Inspire Your Kids To Read!

In my latest CHEX Daily segment, I'm chatting with hosts Teresa Kaszuba and Mike Judson about how to motivate and inspire your child to read over the holidays (or anytime!) I'm also showing some great recommendations, whether your child is just starting to read words, or is older and having trouble finding material that interests him. Plus, I'm showing off some totally awesome festive nails...more about that in another post!



One reco:

My Favourite Holiday Books - Video

Today I'm sharing a video where I chat about my favourite holiday books (from an extensive collection!) My class looked on as I recorded the video and one student even got to play videographer (so my apologies for any shaking, but it was worth it for his experience!)

What's your favourite holiday book? I'd love some new ideas!

The Virgin Mary's Diary: Kids Write the Cutest Things

I gave my kids a writing assignment: after listening to the Gospel account of when Mary learned she would be giving birth to Jesus, students were asked to complete a diary entry from Mary's point of view. Here's one particularly astute entry, shared (as always) with parental permission. Love it!

Should Schools Enforce Dress Codes? My CBC Radio "The 180" Interview

Last week, I was interviewed by Jim Brown at the CBC Radio show "The 180" about dress codes in schools. Regular readers already know my thoughts, as I've written about them before here (which is how the show found me):

http://thismomloves.blogspot.ca/2014/06/in-defense-of-school-dress-codes.html

When looking at events taking place at other schools (currently being covered in the media) my overall analysis is that the dress codes aren't the problem. How they are being explained is an issue (because no, dress codes do not exist so that boys can focus/control themselves or because there's anything wrong with the female body) as well as how they're enforced. I would be upset too if girls were always being taken to task while the boys' infractions were ignored, if indeed that is the case.

The show presented both sides of the argument, and I'd love to know what you think - whether you agree or (respectfully) disagree!

http://www.cbc.ca/the180/2014/12/03/do-school-dress-codes-unfairly-sexualize-girls/

(Click "Listen" to hear the interviews)

The Possible Police: Cute Children's Title

In "The Possible Police" (written by Wylde Scott and illustrated by Hannah K. Shuping) a child's dreams are called into question by the eponymous authorities:

"You simply can't, it's just not done..."
"Give up your hope and face the facts!"

However, the child knows better, with reponses like:

"You have not seen, you do not know, what I can do, where I can go..."
"No one can stop me."

The soft, hazy artwork is pleasing, though my my grownup, writer's brain was fixated on the rhyming pattern that sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. The kids, however, loved the whole thing!

In fact, the book led to some great carpet discussion about what lessons we learned, with feedback (from seven and eight year olds) like:

"I learned that I can do anything I want to do."

"I learned that dreams can come true."

And, most interestingly:

"I learned that the grownups aren't always right."

Brilliant.

Disclosure: I was provided with a free copy of the book for review purposes. Opinions are, as always, my own.

Christmas Gift Ideas For Teachers

In my latest CHEX Daily segment, I sit down with hosts Teresa Kaszuba and Mike Judson to chat about Christmas gifts for teachers:

Are they necessary?
What do teachers really appreciate? (It might not be what you think!)
What if you're on a budget?
How can you acknowledge support staff?
And (since Mike asks!) what my least favourite gift is...though please be assured I really do appreciate the thought, no matter what! (Mike, husband of a teacher, also shares a great gift his wife received!)

By the way, when I sent out a tweet asking for others to share their Christmas gift ideas for teachers, David Smolyn from The Body Shop in Peterborough (@TBS_Ptbo) was quick to tweet back to suggest their "Glazed Apple gift, packaged in a fun and reusable apple inspired tin. Only $20!" Because it can be hard to get people to take the time to reply to tweets, I thought I'd give him a shout-out here!

Usually after my segments I come home and type out any of the points from my notes that I missed, but we managed to pack a lot of ideas into four minutes!

One popular suggestion we didn't discuss was ornaments. Anything with the year and/or the child's name makes it a real keepsake (sometimes there are kiosks at the mall for personalization), and it can also be neat to select one that is meaningful to the teacher in some way: a guitar for the music teacher, a Montreal Canadiens ornament for the (discerning) hockey fan, etc.

My personal favourites: I start my segment by sharing my very favourite gift - which doesn't cost a penny! However, if you're going to spend money, charitable donations are fabulous (anything that provides food, books or healthcare to kids tops my list), I love gift cards (I don't find them impersonal; I promise - Chapters, Tim's, restaurants, spa, they're all good!) and chocolate never goes to waste at my house. Who am I kidding, it doesn't get past my desk! Quite honestly, I am honoured when families take the time to acknowledge me in any way at Christmas. You can't go wrong!

Hallmark's New Northpole Collection - with GIVEAWAY!

I'm always excited to find a box from Hallmark on my front steps, and the latest delivery did not disappoint. Inside I found a selection of Northpole goodies, all the way from the enchanted city!

My favourites: all of these fun supplies for North Pole-inspired baking! Shown below are Bake Like an Elf Kit with recipe cards, Cookie Wonder Wheel Rolling Cookie Cutter, Northpole Sprinkle Bell, Northpole Cookie Flipper and Spatula and Northpole Big Elf Apron for Adults (it reads "Cookie Maker"; there's also a children's version available reading "Cookie Taster"). Isn't baking even more fun with Christmas-themed supplies?

I had a lot of questions about this Northpole Communicator ($29.95) designed to help you stay connected to Santa and his Northpole friends from December 1st through Christmas, but the special envelope in the box "for big people only" makes it clear(er). My girls are SO excited to get started with it.

Northpole Dance Like an Elf ($19.95) has already been used for some festive Daily Physical Activity in my classroom, as instructions are called out like "Stir the hot chocolate!", "Build a snowman!" and "Ski down the mountain!" It's a fun way to get kids moving when you're indoors.

Shown below: a little polar bear friend with snowglobe, Find Me Santa! Snowflake Christmas Decoration with Light ($9.95, cute for any child, but particularly meaningful for children who may be travelling at Christmas and worried about being found) and Northpole Cozy Nesting Bowls ($9.95, a perfect hostess gift)

Rooftop Drop Game ($9.95, set up this cardboard rooftop and take turns tossing the beanbag- shaped gifts down the chimney, just like Santa might! A cute game for kids, but I could also see it being used "with a twist" for grownup gatherings. I was going to offer it as a prize in my class, but perhaps I should save it for our staff parties!)

As always, Hallmark has you covered, and they're even giving away one "Northpole - Dance Like an Elf" (my students LOVE it!) to a lucky Canadian This Mom Loves reader! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below letting me know what your favourite Christmas song is (and make sure there's a way for me to contact you). For extra entries, you can also leave additional comments to let me know you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or (NEW!) Instagram or receive my emails (please leave your username for verification).

This giveaway will be open until Monday December 1st at 11:59 p.m. Eastern, after which time a winner will be chosen through random number generation. Good luck!

Disclosure: I was provided with the above items for review purposes. Opinions are, as always, my own.

My Christmas Decor: A Photo Tour

Today I'm giving you a little tour of my home, all decorated for Christmas (except for the tree, which isn't up yet). A lot of credit this year goes to my creative mother, who came to help me shake things up . We've been in our house 11 years now, and I've been stuck in a bit of a rut in terms of putting the same items in the same places at Christmastime every year. Mom brought a new eye (and a a few new accessories) and Chez Winn is festive and ready for the holidays!

Before I get started, if any of you happen to post about Christmas decorating, I'd love for you to leave a link in the comments, so we can all check it out for even more ideas!

Now, one important note to my dear readers:

I am not a photographer (I have too many other jobs).

I am hoping that you can appreciate (and hopefully get some ideas and inspiration from) my home, through my simple point-and-shoot photography and natural lighting. When I had a mini panic attack and thought "I should iron those bathroom towels for the blog photo!" I realized it was time to put the camera down and give my head a shake. Today I'm sharing what my house *really* looks like, unedited and unfiltered.

Enjoy!

Pretty cute for a DIY!

Had to watch video tutorial in order to open my Bath and Body Works hand soap.