For most of us living in secular North America, there are very few ceremonies that mean anything to us. If you are not religious you do not have a coming of age ritual. Weddings are fewer and far between and hopefully funerals are the same. So what do we have? We have the milestones setContinue reading “Grade Six Graduation: How it should be”
Tag Archives: school
How to help your kid: let them fail
I have been thinking of failure lately. I have recently just gone through a three to four month period where I have not accomplished any of my own goals set – finishing my manuscript, running the marathon (oh, I did the training part. I just neglected to actually register until it was too late andContinue reading “How to help your kid: let them fail”
September was not in books
We interrupt this regular programming due to the very scary and unprecedented fact that I did not finish any books in September. Nope. Nada. Not one. Okay. I did finish an audio book. Does that count? I attribute this appalling state of affairs to the insanity of the first month of school. Oh and JContinue reading “September was not in books”
Is it over yet? A Day in the Life: End of School Year Edition
Tired. Fatigued. Exhausted. Overrun. Overwhelmed. Sleep deprived. Haggard. Bushed. Worn out. Knackered. Drained. Burnt- out. Can’t find anymore synonyms to correspond with this end-of-the year feeling. You know. That feeling you get when just as you’re about to finish the last act, all the balls you’ve been juggling since September are going to come crashingContinue reading “Is it over yet? A Day in the Life: End of School Year Edition”
Back to life, back to reality
Do you remember that Soul II Soul song? Now, who doesn’t, come September, get that song in their head? The kids have been back at school for over a week now. The Montreal French School Board likes to think out of the box and make the kids all start on a Thursday. Innovative or blasphemousContinue reading “Back to life, back to reality”
High School Hell Begins at Age 10
One rainy late August afternoon, after the kids and I had just emerged from the public pool, hair dripping and that kind of relaxed-tired that you get after a good swim, I ran into an acquaintance of ours that just happened to have a daughter the same age as my oldest. After all the nicetiesContinue reading “High School Hell Begins at Age 10”
New Kid in School: A primer
Does the feeling ever go away? ‘Cause I find myself sitting in little desks in classrooms surrounded by a gaggle of my peers that I don’t know, all nervous and wondering how to start a conversation without seeming like a total loser. In fact, almost every year since I have moved to Montreal I haveContinue reading “New Kid in School: A primer”
End of the Year Concerts in Review
The end of the school year always means one thing: the end of the year concert (dah dah dah duhhhhh- in case you need it spelled out for you- that was the ominous music being cued). Except, this year, it wasn’t so bad. And I say this was a cocktail of shock and bewilderment, asContinue reading “End of the Year Concerts in Review”
Over-praising our children
The other day, I assisted a presentation given by my daughter at her school. The presentation was on rabbits and she had been working on it for months. Her partner in crime, one of her best friends, happened to be sick that day, so a nice young man stepped in and helped her out. IContinue reading “Over-praising our children”
Parental negligence?
It has been a few months since I have even opened my children’s agendas or signed anything from school. They don’t say anything and although I still occasionally ask as a matter of form if they have homework, I haven’t seen any for months. This is partly due to the fact that I get homeContinue reading “Parental negligence?”
Lina Branter 