Matthew Turns TEN

Ten years ago today I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy!  Some days it seems like just yesterday and at other times it feels like forever ago.  Matthew has been a true blessing in my life and has changed me in so many wonderful and positive ways, as having children does.  I am so privileged to be his mom and I am so proud of the little man he is becoming.

In honour of his tenth birthday I have written a TOP TEN list of some of the wonderful things about Matthew!



TEN THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MATTHEW:

1. Matthew is a HAPPY kid!  Truly - he wears a smile most of the day and it a joy to be around.
2. He is LOVING.... he still likes cuddles and will hold my hand when we take the dog for a walk.  
3. He is CURIOUS and asks lots and lots of questions.  
4. Matthew is a good FRIEND and likes the company of others.
5. He is PASSIONATE about all sports and loves the fun of the game!  He is a good sport and never gets upset as the team goalie when he has a bad game.
6. He is INNOCENT and has a genuine sense of wonder about him. 
7. Matthew is OUTGOING and not in the slightest bit shy.  He happily performs his 'dance moves' when we have friends over for dinner.  Usually he is the LEADER of the group and likes to organize all the kids.  
8. Matthew is ENTHUSIASTIC about most things in life including school and sports.  He does not like to be sick and never complains about his commitments.  In fact, he gets up early, eager to greet the day and hates to be late for anything. 
9. He is an ENTREPRENEUR  - He consistently sets up lemonade stands and even tried to sell his art work  several years ago.  He is learning how to save his money
10. Matthew DREAMS big and sees a world of opportunities!

Cookies he helped me to make to share
with his class on his special day!!!

Yes, he does fight with his sister and argue with Scott and I.  He can be stubborn and slow to do what is asked of him when it is something he does not want to do (e.g., make his bed, brush his teeth, etc.).  Overall though, he is a great kid and I love him so much!  

As much as I enjoy watching him grow, it makes me sad too, as I know that one day he will be grown. So tonight I am reminding myself that time is fleeting and I need to cherish my time with my big/little boy!  Tonight I am going to mimic the mom in the Robert Munsch book Love You Forever and I am going to creep up to his bed and sneak in a quiet cuddle.  

New perspectives

A view from my window...

What an outstanding week I had at the beginning of May in Victoria!  The weather was been beyond beautiful, coupled with the fact that I took a float plane for the first time, and worked with some visionary mathematics educators to draft  new curriculum.  Although I missed Scott, the kids, and Buddy our dog, I didn't mind having a whole bed to myself for several nights without hearing or feeling any little children's feet pitter-pattering their way into my bed and wrapping about my legs.  I was glad for the good night's sleep as I needed to be well rested for the thinking required of me during the day.

Stunning islands...

I pulled on my word of the year 'strength' many times during this week.  First, I had to be brave on the float plane.  I like flying but get nervous when I feel turbulence and when we met a few bumps on the way over, I frantically looked for a handle to hold on to... which there wasn't!  Minus the minor movements over the gulf, the flight was breath taking!  

Second (and this occurred more many times during the week) as I sat in the presence of the team of math educators working with me on the Math Curriculum, I questioned my position among these vastly experienced teachers in the area of mathematics.  I have always been passionate about mathematics but have never been required to think deeply about the big ideas in mathematics, which are important and how they could be articulated in words.  As I sat, listened, learned and contributed to conversations,  I honestly marvelled at my team members' brillance and felt honoured to spend the week with these amazing educators.  It was an experience I will never forget.  It brought me to a deeper level of understanding of mathematical pedagogy and for this I will forever be grateful.

Later today I leave for the ConnectEd Canada Conference in Calgary and I look forward to coming together with other math educators who are interested in the powerful learning and understanding that can occur when teachers combine inquiry-based approaches with technology in mathematics.  I anticipate an intense but fun weekend of learning and seeing new perspectives!  And I am excited for a Saturday evening with my cousin and her kids!

The bridge to Westham Island!

Minoru park and downtown Richmond.

Confessions of a student

If someone were to have observed me from afar this week, it would have become quite evident that changes were occurring in my behaviour patterns.  Funny things started to happen including me cleaning areas in my house that had not been touched in awhile (or ever!) and items on my "to-do list" began to disappear rapidly.  One might call this productive, while others who know better could tell you that this was actually my unique way of procrastinating.   This week I began my final two Master's classes.

Below is a link to one of the Photobooks I finished this week of our fun Springbreak trip with Scott's family to Cancun, Mexico!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly allows you to customize your photo book just the way you want.

Marvellous Mathematical Memories with Matthew

Moments of pride occur for parents when we are able to see our child shine ~ these become moments we truly cherish!  One that stood out for me occurred a couple of weeks ago at Delta’s Math Celebration held at Port Guichon Elementary School.

My son Matthew was invited to participate in this outstanding, well-organized math event held by Donna Bletcher, Delta’s Mathematics Consultant.  Students were grouped into teams that worked collaboratively to share, discuss strategies, and discover solutions to mathematical problems.  As a math educator, I loved that the focus went beyond simply getting the right answer and instead valued the process of learning.  An inquiry approach was used as the questions were open-ended and had multiple pathways to answers.  This promoted active learning requiring both a hands-on and minds-on approach.  Points were awarded for exploration, communication, risk taking, use of multiple strategies, and cooperative learning.  Students worked as communities of learners, helping and learning from each other. 

As I observed my son and the other students in the room, you could see the high levels of engagement, enjoyment and motivation, as evidenced by the smiles and laughter upon the faces of all of the participants and observers.   It was mathematics at its finest!

Not only was I proud to be Matthew’s mom, I was proud to be a parent in the Delta School District.  A huge thank you to Donna Bletcher and all of the other educators who took part in creating proud mathematical memories for students and parents of Delta schools.

Matt's close buddy Nolan doing some big math thinking!

Matthew and his team!  He is on the far right.

The Neilson Grove Students!

Strength - My 2013 Little Word

Wow ~ what a year it has been.   2012 was very good to me and my family but wasn't without its challenges.

My word for 2012 was WONDER.  I did a lot of wondering and in the end I think I came out of the year knowing more, thinking more critically, and having a better overall view of life in general.   Some days I simply wondered how I would survive everything I needed to do... and other days I would lose myself in wondering about complex topics.   I have always been passionately curious.   I ask a lot of questions and like all the little details.  My questions allowed me to view and think about things, people, family, and education from multiple perspectives.   This helped me to focus in on what is important and what is less so.

Unfortunately as my schedule became increasingly busy, I wasn't able to write on my blog as often as I would have liked.  I did wonder how I could make this a priority as I find that through writing I am able to thoughtfully reflect and come to better understandings.   I never did find a way!

This year my focus word of the year came to me early.   Some time in October I felt the need to channel my inner strength to help guide and sustain me through what I believe will be one of the most challenging periods of my life ~ finishing the last bit of my Masters (completion set for August), working 80% (really 100% plus), parenting two kids, learning a new role at UBC, and holding dear those other things in life that I value such as friends, family and fun.  It was in this moment that I knew I had my word.

Although I am only in the beginning of understanding what Strength will mean to me this year, below are some of my initial thoughts.

This year I need strength:

• to stay focused and positive and not let the burden of worries tarnish the happiness of the day
• to have the difficult discussions and say things that others may not want to hear but need to hear in thoughtful, and respectful ways.  In my new role, this is a requirement. 
• to find the energy to deal with parenting challenges that should be addressed.   It is far easier to let things go but that doesn't do anyone any good.  
• to stay up late at night working so that I can give daytime hours to my family.
• to honour my own professional thoughts and opinions and stand for what I believe in.
• to say "no" to things and not feel badly.  Unfortunately this means no book club, less coffee dates, and missing some 240 club meetings.
• to remain calm and rationale when what I really feel like doing is screaming and throwing a fit!
• to resist those late night snacks!
• to let go of my wish to have the house (well, really the floors) clean at all times.
• to try to post at least twice a month on the blog.   I have found that writing brings me much reflection, laughter, and peace.  
• to remember that I do have the strength to endure ~ I just need to believe I can do it. 

Much thanks goes to both Janice and Lisa for their blogs and journeys with the one Little Word Project which was initiated by Ali Edwards.  Their blogposts bring me much wisdom, laughter, connections, reflections, and smiles.   I also thank my friend Toshi who got me kick-started and taught me how to blog.  A year into blogging I am hooked.  Throughout my grandfather's life he wrote in a daily journal and these have since been converted to text and shared with the family.   I see this as his ultimate legacy which he left for us and although I do not place my blog in this high regard, I do believe it is part of my small little footprint in this world.

Christmas Cookies

One of my favourite traditions at this time of the year is baking and delivering Christmas cookies to our friends, neighbours, coaches, teachers, family, and those who might not get cookies.  We begin our baking in late November and try to make at least 120 cookies of each recipe.   I try to make sure the kids have a hand in as many cookies as possible, either rolling the balls, adding M&M's, decorating with icing, and so on.   This year with me working more I wasn't able to make as many different cookies as I typically do... but we did manage to fill 30 plates.

The day of delivery is most special!  I keep the kids home from school and we sing to Christmas music, dancing around the kitchen table and island placing cookies on trays.   Preparing and wrapping the trays takes us until lunchtime.   Just before we pack the van we sit together and read aloud Amy Krouse Rosenthal's book Christmas Cookies: Bit Sized Holiday Lessons.   For any Christmas bakers, this book is a must have.  Rosenthal captures the spirit of the season using key words to describe each page... baking the same cookies each year (tradition), adding sprinkles (celebration), giving cookies to neighbours (thoughtful), not worrying about anyone else's cookies (peace).  

Wednesday Morning!

Our cookies for 2012!

First delivery of the day!

My little elves!

Finally we begin our deliveries.   I just love the way the kids beam with pride as they take their trays to their coaches and teachers and learn how good it makes them feel to be generous, giving to others.   Is is a magical day for my kids and I and this year it was extra special because of the snow!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Today I finished my last paper for this term and am feeling pretty happy!  Really I should have finished it this time last week, but my class was given an extension and I took the opportunity to begin enjoying all the wonderful festivities that this time of the year begins.   So far my kids and I have baked 12 dozen of seven of our favourite holiday treats!

Some of the many things that fill my heart at this time of the year:

1. TRADITIONS ~ Annual breakfasts with Santa, the Neilson Grove Christmas Concert (we are so lucky the staff generously puts this on EVERY year!), baking and taking cookies to others, and so many others...

Matthew and his  buddies!

The Neilson Grove Annual Santa Breakfast

 2. MAGIC ~ The excitement my children have each morning looking for our Elf "Rachoo."

3. SPECIAL ORNAMENTS ~ So many of our ornaments were handmade by the kids or family members and remind us of special memories.   As well, each year I buy the kids an ornament to represent something special in their life from that year.

Sparkly Bauble made by Matthew is Mrs. Morgan's class and  a snowman made
by Megan in Sparks

Aunty Audrey made this for Matthew's first Christmas!

The sandcastle was our way of telling the kids we were going to Mexico last year
and the little dog was for Matthew the year he was three.

Figure skates for Megan and a train back when Matthew loved Thomas the Train
and a cupcake for me!

 4. BEING HOME ~ The coziness of the house with the soft twinkling white lights and smell of baking.  I love the time I get with my family, especially cuddling all together and watching our favourite Christmas movies.

5. TIME WITH FRIENDS ~ Open houses, parties, shopping dates, etc...  Last Friday evening Megan has some special friends over to do some Christmas crafts, have dinner and watch a movie.   It was such FUN!   Matty has opted to take some close buddies to a movie with me over the holiday instead. 

I hope all of you are getting to enjoy some of the many wonderful things this time of the year brings!