The Happiness Project - Week 21

Our Canadian summer

is slowly coming to an end.

But Ethan and I have had a great time.

We made the most of our last weekend

on the continent

and went to Niagara Falls this weekend,

with my cousin

and her family.

We went on the Maid of the Mist.

Got close to the Falls.

Went for a walk

and got wet.

And checked out the

Cave of the Winds

 where we were given matching sandals.

Oh,

and got soaked!

Happiness is

Niagara Falls.

Family Picnic

I come from a large family.

Or rather, extended family.

Not many people comprehend how large it is.

Let me give you a small sample.

My father is one of 8 siblings.

Now, each sibling is married

and has anywhere between 2-3 children.

There are 19 of us cousins.

From there,

a bunch of us are married with kids.

Let me see...

I think there's about 13 kids from there.

The reason I mention this?

Yesterday Ethan and I attended 

the Jamani Family Picnic.

I told Scott there was almost

200 people there.

His comment:

"There's no way you have 200 people in your family."

I said there was 200 people there.

There's more in the family!!!!

Basically, 

this was a gathering

of my grandfather's family.

This is a picture of my grandfather

(he's the tall one in the white suit)

with his cousins.

The picnic was the children of all these

cousins.

There was even a huge family tree

and a binder which had all the branches.

It was quite the day!

First Grave on the Right - Darynda Jones

How is it, 

that I'm only reading this book now?

How is it,

I have not read it before now?

This book was great!

How great?

Well...

let me tell you.

Charley Davidson

is a PI who works with the

Albuquerque Police Department.

Her uncle is a cop.

She helps him solve crimes,

mainly murders,

cos she has inside information.

What kind of info

you ask?

Well,

Charley is the Grim Reaper!

Yup that's right.

She helps the dead pass through the light

that is her!

Now,

the best part of Charley

asides from her best friend, 

Cookie.

And no,

it's not the hot skiptracer,

Garrett

(can I add a yum here)

or even the mysterious Reyes

(double yum)

it's her sense of humour.

She named her boobs:

Danger and Will Robinson!

I know!

Who does that?

Charley does,

that's who.

And she's even named her ovaries!

Beam me up and Scotty!

Come on'

you know you'll love her!

I did!

High Five for Friday

We've had a fabulous week.

I cannot believe we only have

one week left of our vacation!

Where has the time gone?

Some of our highlights this week

include:

Swimming with cousins

Toasting marshmallows

Celebrating Grandpa's 75th

A great find at the comic store

Niagara Falls

Writer's Workshop - Coffee

I'm not a coffee drinker.

I'm a latte drinker.

My father-in-law was asking me,

recently,

what the difference was.

"A latte has a lot of milk?"

So I thought,

I'd use MamaKat's prompt

to learn the difference.

Coffee is brewed by mixing ground 

coffee beans with hot water,

steeping it,

then straining out the coffee grounds. 

It's drunk either black,

with/without some sugar, 

and possibly a small bit of milk

or cream. 

Espresso is also made with the same

coffee beans,

but darker roasts are used

to give a more intense flavour,

and the ground is finer.

Espressos also use an espresso machine. 

It has a more intense flavour than coffee,

which helps explain the teeny weeny

cups.

Oh, and no milk or cream is added!

Cappuccino is made with equal parts

espresso and milk,

where the milk is frothed

which basically doubles the original

volume of the milk.

This foam is then poured

over the espresso. 

Latte is also made with espresso.

This time twice as much milk

as espresso is used.

The milk is heated

using a steam wand.

The hot milk and espresso

are poured together. 

Whatever foam may have been formed

during the steaming process

is poured over the top. 

And now,

I want a latte!

The Emergency

I have a 7-year old.

This means I can now

pee alone.

Don't judge!

You know what I'm talking about!

Actually,

I should say,

having a 7-year old means

I should be able to pee alone.

Today,

Grandpa's out.

Ethan has showered and is dressed.

He's entertaining himself with the Family Channel,

comic books

and toys.

I tell him I'm going for a shower.

He is not to open the front door

and only answer the phone

if it's Uncle G.

Basis covered,

right?

So,

here I am,

enjoying my shower.

All covered in soap when I hear,

"mama, mama, mama"

thump thump thump

(the thumping is him running up the stairs)

"mama, mama, mama"

thump thump thump

"mama, mama, mama"

thump thump thump

I do what every mom would.

I quickly rinse

(I'm sure there's soap everywhere)

grab my towel,

throw the door open and

ask

"What's a matter?"

"Rasool mama sent you a picture of Hailey!"

This is the big emergency!

Yes England,

you may have a prince,

but Ethan has a new cousin

and she's more important than

anything.

Even more important than mommy's shower!

The Happiness Project - Week 20

It has been years since I last went to the cottage.

If I'm honest,

it was probably the year Scott and I got married.

Yup,

that long ago.

Which means,

Ethan's never been.

Part of the issue

is we are rarely home in the summer.

And for the last 2 years,

the times Scott's dad has gone,

it has not been a time Ethan and I could go.

Until now...

Yes, Ethan had his first cottage experience.

The view from the deck.

Ethan played with bubbles,

went for a swim,

and even went fishing with Grandpa.

Happiness is spending time at the cottage.

Rethinking Homework - Cathy Vatterott

Part of my rethinking the way 

I do certain things in my classroom

is also to take a look at homework.

During my winter courses, 

I wrote a paper on homework.

I came across an excerpt from

this book

that went through 

the history of homework.

How homework came about

and the never ending debate 

on whether or not

homework benefits children.

There are many books and articles

written on the subject.

There's a lot of research.

And depending on your point-of-view

research will support it.

Research exists for homework

and against.

And Cathy Vatterott

presents them both.

What she does in her book

is relook at why we give homework.

She asks us to rethink why students

don't do it.

She offers way to give homework

if you must,

but asks that you rethink

your methods.

I know a lot of people

see this book as an anti homework book.

And keeping my personal feelings and beliefs aside,

I admire how she presented both cases

and looked at the needs of students.

Not the needs of parents and teachers. 

Connected from the Start - Kathy Cassidy

I have a class blog.

One of the teachers I worked with in Dar

got me hooked on classroom blogging.

I love it.

This year,

I really got into it.

But I wanted ways to get my students more involved.

I wanted them to feel ownership.

I wanted it to be their blog.

Our school makes student portfolios.

I'm also keen to make digital portfolios 

for my students.

But am unsure how to get started.

Then I read this book.

Not only do I have more blogging ideas,

I have ideas of different ways to connect

my students to the world.

To use the world to foster

their learning.

Cassidy is a teacher, herself.

She shows ways she uses the internet,

videos,

Skype,

Twitter

and blogging

to facilitate her students learning.

I'm actually excited about the new school year. 

No More "I'm Done" - Jennifer Jacobson

I'm spending part of my summer

re-thinking the way my classroom works.

I'm not saying it's wrong

what I do.

I just want to make it better.

And helping my students

become better writers

is one of my goals.

I loved this book. 

It took things I knew

but sometimes have forgotten.

It broke things down

back to basics

and reminded me

that keeping it simple

is the way to go.

My Writer's Workshop

lacked fun last year.

I've already got some fun coloured paper

to get my year started.

Jacobson tells you her system

and provides some sample mini-lessons.

What I loved the most

were introductions to some great picture books

that I had forgotten about

or never heard of.

The Big Apple

For years,

I've driven from Ottawa to Toronto

and Toronto to Ottawa.

And on the way,

we pass the Big Apple. 

Would you believe, 

I've never been there!

On the way to the cottage,

Scott's dad thought we could stop there for lunch.

He thought Ethan would enjoy it.

Ethan's mum also had a great time.

How far is it to Lusaka?

Ethan wanted a picture that made him look like
he was holding up the apple. 

These signs crack me up!

If you're ever in Colborne,

you have to go there!

Outlander - Diana Gabaldon

A few weeks ago, 

a mate of mine

posted a lovely picture of

Sam Heughan

with the comment that he's

unofficially,

been signed to play

Jamie Fraser.

Jamie who?

Exactly my thoughts.

Then I was told he was a character

from Diana Gabaldon's

Outlander series.

So, of course,

I had to read the book.

Let me say, 

I am very thankful I read this while at the cottage,

because it is 

long!

Claire Randal

is a former nurse,

living in 1945.

She is reunited with her husband,

after 6 months apart,

due to the war,

and they are enjoying a second honeymoon.

One day she is shown some

ancient stone circles.

Her husband is fascinated 

as he heard there is a covent

that gathers there.

So they go one morning to watch.

Claire sees a plant she's interested it.

Frank, her husband,

wants her to see if there's any signs

of a fire.

As she walks around the stones,

she hears screaming.

She then finds herself

an "outlander"

in war torn Scotland

in 1743!

Is she a witch?

Is she an English spy?

Claire is confused and wants to go back home.

And then she meets Jamie Fraser.

Circumstances force her to marry him.

But she grows to care and love him.

Will she find her way back to her time and Frank?

Or will Jamie be the one to capture her heart?

Writer's Workshop - Currently

It's been awhile, and time to get back to joining MamaKat, and her Writer's Workshop.

Reading:

Rethinking Homework - As I start to think about the new school year, I'm rethinking the way I give homework and what I should or should not do.

Listening to:

Does the lul of the washing machine count? 

We're back from the cottage and I've got laundry to do.

Thinking about:

Summer classes have begun. 

I really should be studying.

 I'm thinking about studying. 

But am currently busy blogging! 

Watching:

Nothing.

At the moment.

Although I do have a video to watch for one of my classes.

 I guess I should do that. 

But then that takes me back to the whole thinking about issue.

Bummed out on:

I would say vacation coming to an end

except going back to Lusaka means being back with Scott.

But Ethan and I are loving it here this summer.

Bummed about leaving and heading for the cold

that awaits us in Lusaka.

Loving:

Have you seen my new shoe collection?

Am loving them!!!

The Happiness Project - Week 19

This weekend,

my cousin, his wife and son,

invited Ethan and I

to join them downtown

for some

salsa!

Ethan had a blast.

We listened to music,

watched some salsa,

met a Smurf,

and got some face painting.

Happiness is a fabulous day

in downtown Toronto.