Our Kids Blog

Learning to Let Go

It isn’t easy being a parent, feeling the very animal instincts, telling us to care for and protect our offspring. It’s tempting to put our children in the proverbial bubble, and let them gently bounce their way to adulthood! But some lessons need to be learned themselves. At a certain point you have to let go.

As usual, easier said than done!

As I’ve mentioned, my children will be going to a new alternative school that is just opening this fall. Of course I am nervous about it, especially given that my younger son is on the anxious side. He has voiced his worry, a new class, new people, etc. I hate knowing that he is worried about it, but as I explained to him, every school year is going to be somewhat like that: new teacher, some new classmates, a new classroom, and so on. He can comprehend that, and take it in his anxious stride.

For some parents that is not enough, though, and personally I think it’s too much.

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Waldorf vs Montessori Schools

There’s a few questions I usually get when people find out that I went to a Waldorf school. Some questions are about why the school is shaped differently than most schools and always surrounded by trees and nature. Another question is if we’re a cult. But the last one is the most popular one: What’s the difference between Waldorf and Montessori schools?

Hopefully, I’ll be able to answer this as I’m not so familiar with the Other Guys.

The Other Guys, that is, Montessori Schools, have always been Waldorf’s “arch enemy.” The feud goes down in the books along with the Leafs and the Sens. The Jays and the Tigers. Trump and Rosie. Reagan and Saddam.

But really, it’s just a different way of looking at education.

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Tags: Montessori, Waldorf

Summer Reading

Reading should be a year-round habit, of course, but there’s something I find extra special about reading in the summer. Maybe it’s because I sometimes venture outside with my book or maybe there’s just something in the air that gets me excited about reading, but it seems like I make faster progress and enjoy books more when I read them in the summer. I came across a couple of book reviews today, and then that got me wondering what some good books are to read, and not necessarily new ones, but just good books.

I recently finished naked by David Sedaris, a collection of short stories that in total are a memoir of sorts for the author and funny man. Each story had me laughing out loud and the short story nature of each chapter made it easy to digest in chunks here or there (a new baby has a way of interrupting long stretches of reading!).

PhD in Parenting posted a review of Slow Death by Rubber Duck, a book high on my reading list, and one that should probably be required reading for parents.

TVO Parents has a review of Ancient Thunder, which is a book that can be appreciated by young and older readers alike. I love books that work for parents and kids; I have fond memories of sharing with my Dad thoughts about Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game series and in fact still have those books. Later he and I would trade John Grisham novels back and forth. His old copies of the Hardy Boys books made for some of my favourite late night reading as well.

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Comparing Education Tax Credits

The Ontario Education Tax Credit was a short-lived program under the Harris-Eves government that aimed to give families sending children to private school a break. It disappeared along with Harris’ government and hasn’t been missed by many, although school funding and tax breaks is always on peoples’ minds. The Society for Quality Education, though, on their School for Thought blog cited a St. Petersburg Times article as an example of a tax credit scholarship that works, suggesting that the Education Tax Credit could have worked if given a chance.

Hugo Rodrigues, an education reporter with a personal blog, exposes the apples to oranges comparison SQE makes, showing how the Florida program aims to support lower income families (i.e. those that need the help) and not all families.

Of course school funding is a perennial discussion and not one with an easy resolution. What sort of funding model would work best for your family? Would a tax refund affect your decision or ability to send your child(ren) to private school?

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The Week on Twitter: 2009-07-27

• Durham Summer Sports Camps. Basketball badminton golf baseball soccer volleyball bowling. Ajax, Oshawa, Whitby, Pickering http://ow.ly/hGLG #
• Hockey Opportunity Camp in Huntsville, Ontario offers personal growth, friendship, skill development and self-confidence http://ow.ly/hGN1 #
• New e-Newsletter for Canadian retirement & seniors care professionals. Safety, housing, service and more. http://ow.ly/hGPb #
• Florida Air Academy OPEN HOUSE. Sunday July 27. Meet students, staff and faculty. A very cool day & boarding school. http://ow.ly/hGNM #
• Working hard to relaunch our school search website for September 2009. Any requests on what you'd like to see, let us know! #
• RT @educationweek Remembering Frank McCourt, blog post by Creative Writing Teacher http://bit.ly/497a6 #
• High school student reflects on and shares his favorite Field Trips. Great ideas for teachers and schools. http://ow.ly/hUvg #
• @homeschboutique @lindahayase Some pretty neat field trip ideas: http://ow.ly/hUvg #
• Florida Air Academy OPEN HOUSE. Sunday July 27. Meet students, staff and faculty. A very cool day & boarding school. http://ow.ly/hGOc #
• Controversy in Niagara-on-the-Lake as two high schools compete for students http://ow.ly/i0RQ #
• Event posting for this week: Camp sessions still accepting kids, theatre productions and school open house dates http://ow.ly/ii4x #

What’s on: Week of July 27, 2009

Welcome to What’s On, The Chalkboard’s weekly roundup of interesting and exciting events on tap for the week. To help make sure we know about all the best events be sure to leave a comment below or send an email to agnes[at]ourkids[dot]net. Now on with the week ahead!

Monday July 27
Summer Camp Sessions | DURHAM COLLEGE SUMMER SPORTS CAMP
This week it’s Golf and Volleyball camps at Durham College Summer Sports Camps. Many sport weeks are still available. Meet our coaching team here.
Durham College Summer Sports Camp, Oshawa and Ajax, ON| View Camp Profile

Application Deadline | CAMP MARISTE
Spaces still available at Camp Mariste in Quebec. Located on a beautiful private site of more than 1,200 acres, the camp provides about 30 different activities and two specialized programs: one in cinema and theatre, the other in horseback riding.
Camp Mariste, Rawdon, QC| View Camp Profile

Wednesday July 29
Special event | ONCE ON THIS ISLAND – OPENING NIGHT PERFORMANCE
Opening night performance of Once on This Island by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty at No Strings Theatre Productions. 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Contact Denise Williams at 416-588-5845.

No Strings Theatre Productions, Toronto, ON| View Camp Profile
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Up-Close Animal Encounters At Zoo Camp…

Hey everyone,

We are about half way through week 4 of Zoo Camp already! Time is really flying! Over the past few weeks, Biocamp (ages 13-16) and Discoverers (ages 11 and 12) have had some unbelievable opportunities to get up-close and personal with many of Toronto Zoo’s cool critters and endangered species.

Last week our Biocampers had a behind-the-scenes with the Bactrian camels. We all learned lots from the keepers about these majestic and lovable creatures, and also got to meet the newest member of the Zoo’s camel family “Tilly”.

But that’s not all!

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Alternative School Facing Pressure Despite Success

Niagara District Secondary School (NDSS) is a high school in trouble; Eden High School (EHS) is an alternative high school thriving. Thus begins the controversy in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

NDSS needs 350 students by the end of October to stay open beyond the coming school year and has only 250 as of the last count. EHS, on the other hand, last counted 750. But Eden is a religious school and the composition of its board is entirely members of the Mennonite Brethren community.

This has led school board trustee Gary Atamanyk to try to force all Grade 9 and 10 students in NDSS’s boundaries to attend the public school and for Paolo Miele to accuse EHS of indoctrinational religious education counter to the Education Act.

The situation, clearly, is a messy one.

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