The Washer Life
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The Washer Life

It’s 11 p.m., and I am headed to bed. Though it is suggested that the average family does eight to ten loads of wash each week (spruce.com), in our home, the washer and dryer run almost continuously throughout the day. Due to the specific nature of Rachel and Janneke’s needs, we average five loads a…

Making Friends
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Making Friends

Young Sicily Bridges brims with creativity and believes she can make anything. She lives at 48 Grasshopper Estates with her loving mom and is surrounded by unique neighbours. Though Sicily’s home address alludes to grasshoppers, “in all her years there, she had never seen one grasshopper, or, come to think of it, any grass. That…

Post-pandemic, should schools still go all-in on technology?
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Post-pandemic, should schools still go all-in on technology?

This month report cards will be going home to parents, assessing how well their children have caught up from more than a year of disrupted learning. Now that we’re back in the classrooms, I’m wondering – along with other teachers – about the long-term effects of our virtual education experiment. Anecdotal evidence suggests that during…

The art of questions
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The art of questions

Art Linkletter asked children questions. He concluded “kids say the darndest things.” Do we ask enough questions? Questions play different roles. Questions investigate, inquire, interrogate. Questions expose need, attitudes, understanding, misunderstanding, interpretation and inconsistencies. Questions can challenge, express frustration or curiosity, create agreement, or show disagreement. Questions create interaction, discussion, relationships. Good questions invite. Do…

In thanks to Sunday School teachers
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In thanks to Sunday School teachers

As face-to-face Sunday services are beginning to happen again throughout the country, so too will Sunday School/Children’s Worship recommence. This recalls a long-ago Sunday School teaching experience. “Come on Bob, how hard can it be to teach a group of three-year-olds?” Thus spoke my wife as I got off the phone and mentioned my reservations…

The kite lady
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The kite lady

I can say without reservation that flying our kite is Rachel’s favourite thing to do. Unleashed in the wind, the colourful fabric and long tail is eye-catching and mesmerizing. As often as possible, weather permitting, we drive Rachel and Janneke to The Spit. It’s a narrow tree-filled stretch of land alongside the Welland Canal that…

Foster families urgently needed as pandemic lingers
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Foster families urgently needed as pandemic lingers

“Now, more than ever, we need to be helping our kids. If you have a spare room, consider it,” Trever Elliot says. He’s a foster provider, advocate and care home provider in the UK. “Ultimately, whatever’s going to happen with this virus,” he says, “we’re either going to get through it together or on our…