A few years ago, I listened to this program on CBC radio and recently I found the link to it again!

This is a great episode of Ideas which takes highlights from Footprints, a symposium on Sport & Society.  The first two speakers speak about how activity can help children with autism.  The first speaker is a psychologist who talks about an innovative classroom setup in Eastern Canada.  The second speaker is a young woman with Aspbergers (on the Autism spectrum), a novelist, who recounts how activity helped and still helps her cope in her day to day life.

http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2011/06/02/footprints-1/

It is the last week of November, and I am reminded through, all my senses, that the Christmas season is near.  However, at the moment, what I am looking forward to is December 1st.  This has always been a special day in our family.  To me, even as an adult, this means that I will get to start my advent calendar.  So, you may be wondering, what does an advent calendar have to do with learning? SO many exciting opportunities!  (Although for me as an adult, my advent calendars have graduated into something not so 'educational' and more 'chocolatey' as my family has discovered that Lindt makes yummy advent calendars).  However, as a child, my mom did many things with advent calendars and often we'd do something different each year.  Of course, as a child, this was a surprise and the first present that I got to open (always an exciting thing, presents).  There are so many homemade advent calendar ideas online and in print. Whether you are from a religious background or whether you just want to have some concrete way of answering the question "Mommmmmmm.... How many days are there till Christmas?", you could try something different every year.  From calendars where you read a different book each night, to ones where you make a new ornament or craft, there are many ideas to keep your child's hands and brains busy thinking!

As well, when I was younger, there were commercially made advent calendars available that didn't contain candy or chocolate.  They had quotes, sayings or small phrases written in them.  On years where my mom didn't make her own, she would buy these ones (on sale of course, from last year's Boxing Day sales).  I always thought she bought these ones because I wasn't allowed to eat chocolate, but I look back and realise that it was also because she wanted the Countdown to Christmas to involve all my learning skills!  Moms can be so tricky, sneaking in all that learning when a child thinks it’s play!

So, as the 1st of December approaches, I eagerly check my mailbox every day to see if mom has sent a package.  In it, there will be an advent calendar and this means that the time of sharing, loving, giving and family time is here!  Something new will happen this year though...... for on its way, to my parents’ mailbox in another city..... is an advent calendar just for them!!  Time to share the learning (and chocolate)!

In the fall of 2010, as I was driving to my students' house, I was listening to The Current on CBC news.  The topic of the day was "Special Needs Inclusion".  As the students I was working with were both High-functioning Autistic, I was especially interested in sharing it with them.  After listening to the program, my two students were very passionate about their feelings about Inclusion in the classroom.  I suggested that they write a message to Anna Maria Tremonte.  The producer loved their letter so much, the two were interviewed over the phone (a definite learning experience for them), and then featured on the following Letters section. Here is the link to the original episode:

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2010/11/01/nov-0110---pt-2-special-needs-inclusion/

and the portion of the Letters episode where my students are interviewed:

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2010/11/04/nov-0410---pt-3-letters/

Each day, as I check my inbox to deal with the latest question or communication, I also get emails that make me think.  I'm not one to sign up for many 'email-a-week' services, and have been able to keep my junk mail low, so these inspirational emails are always a bit of sunshine on a rainy day! Today's email was from Danielle LaPorte, an inspirational speaker, motivator, author and businesswoman.

I was first introduced to her by Amy Quarry of Adboom and Dianne Tharp of Ayami International when they held a workshop that used Danielle's "The Spark Kit" (which is now a book called The Firestarter Sessions that you can see here) as a basis for a workshop to help inspire those starting or on the entreprenurial journey!

So...... the Burning Question for today is:

What do you Want.... That you already have?


Read the article first, its short... and zippy... and kicks your butt making you think about all those things that you want, that really... you already have!  I think this is an excellent article for all those young adults out there too as it will show that you allready are farther along than you think!

If you want better grades, more money, to understand math, have different friends, want a job, don't want to go to school, think about all those things that you already have!!!

If you tend to be "glass-half-empty", you will have to stretch your brain, because most likely, you already are achieving some of your dreams, you just don't realise it!  Now its your turn....What do you Want...that you already have?

It seems that every week there's a new "Celebrate This problem/disease/group of people" day.  Under this barrage of emails and Facebook events, comments, feeds and invites we tend to forget about them and think "Arg! Everyone's always looking for more of my money!"

I too was thinking about the best way to support a certain cause.  Not all of us have extra cash that we can give out to the various charities that support each cause.  Instead, I came up with a short list of other ways that you can help.  The example I am using today is April is Autism Awareness.  So, the examples below are how you can support this cause in different ways!

• If you don't know what Autism is, do some research online or at your local library!  (Please use more than just one website/book to form your conclusion).  This will help you be more knowledgeable about the disorder and eliminate stereotypes that you may have.
• Many people have autistic people in their family or circle of friends.  Plan to spend a few hours or a day with them and their family.
• Have a discussion with an autistic person to see how they see the world! This works well with high-functioning children/adults as they are more able to articulate what they see/think/feel
• Do some research about local charities that are supporting the cause.  If you choose to donate time or money, make sure you know some information about them ahead of time.  Talk to people as well as online research!
• If you want to support a national charity, speak to friends and families of Autistic children/adults.  These families have all been involved in many different organizations and can provide information as to which charities help directly or indirectly.  This way you can get some first hand information on how certain organizations work to help individual families!

These are just a few ways you can help to learn about and support any cause!  My advise is always to start local!  It is much easier to see the difference you have made by starting with someone in the community!

Multiplication is always a challenging subject for students to learn.  You begin learning multiplication by making ‘groups of’ numbers (or counters).  Counters can be beans, beads, anything of a uniform size and shape.  Previous to teaching multiplication, the child should be familiar with adding and subtracting using counters.    A beginning question you might ask for multiplication could be “If you make 3 groups with 4 beans in each group, how many beans do you have totalled?”  Once the child has mastered making groups of equal numbers, then you can start asking the question something like “if you have 3 groups of 4, how many do you have total?”

In Montessori, there are many different ways to teach multiplication.  One interesting way that works for children of all ages is using the Multiplication Bead Board.  Here is a video of a student demonstrating how she is using the board to solve multiplication problems.

Here is one more link to someone’s blog where it describes how you would use the board.

I think this would be a great tool to use at home.  Imagine all the different activities you could do using this board beyond multiplication! You and your child could make up games, do addition, division, subtraction and maybe even some variation on Tic-tac-toe or S.O.S!!

Here is a link to a bead board you can make using paper, foam core and push pins!

And, another creative solution is using an old bathmat!!  And, of course you could make your own if you are skilled with a saw and drill. 

Today, as I was busy researching and getting ready for some of my clients this week, I 'happened' to check Facebook, where a colleague of mine, and the author of a blog called Terri's Teaching Treasures happened to post this inspiring video.

Last time, in Part 1 of this series I brought up a few questions to consider while you’re discovering what homeschooling is all about.  The link to that article is here. At Momentum Learning Centre, we believe that families should know their options for education, and the subject of homeschooling can be confusing.  There are many styles of homeschooling and here, we’ll sort out the basics!

Did you know that prior to 1989, homeschooling in BC was not allowed? In fact, those parents who did choose to homeschool their children were often putting themselves at risk with the possibility that Social Services might get involved.  All over teaching their children in their home, what had been done for centuries before!  However, now that those laws have changed, there are many different options for families to consider.

There are two two Ministry of Education terms that you should know before you start.  They define schooling-at-home in two terms; either Distributed Learning or Homeschooling.  Distributed Learning (previously known as Distance Learning) is where your child is enrolled in a school (whether public or independent but in the same province you live) under supervision of a certified teacher, but completes learning in a home environment. Homeschooling on the other hand, is the traditional idea where a student may be registered with school, but may complete their learning in any way the family requires.  One other important difference between the two is that while registering with a DL school, you are still following the Ministry of Education’s guidelines for meeting provincial standards however with Homeschooling, you do not need to meet these standards and may educate your child in whatever way you feel best.

Two helpful websites with great FAQ sections are the BC Home Learners Association and the BC Homeschool Association.  Both of these websites support families who are Homeschooling their child, but also will help answer questions that you might have regarding Homeschooling or Distributed Learning.

Learning can happen in so many ways, that exploring the option of Homeschooling or Distributed Learning can open your world in ways you had never imagined!  Stay tuned for Part 3 where we discover some well-known Public and Independent schools that support DL and Homeschool learners in BC!

You're thinking about homeschooling your child?  What a wonderful opportunity for your family!  Homeschooling, no matter what kind, can be a very rewarding experience for your child and your entire family.  It can bring the family closer as you navigate the world of learning together with your child.  Instead of asking "So, what did you do today at school?" and getting an answer of "I don’t know, stuff..." you and your child will already know the answer!

There are also many different options when it comes to homeschooling and this series of articles will help you navigate the many options you will first be introduced to. 

First of all, here are some questions to consider before you start.  This list may seem overwhelming; however it is a good exercise to think about the many options and possibilities before embarking on this wonderful journey: 

• What type of schooling/unschooling will work best for your family?  
• Does every member in your family support this?
  
• Do you have any close friends who home school?  if so, what is their experience and advice? if not, who could you talk to in order to get some advice?
  
• Those subjects you struggled with in school, are you prepared to re-learn them to help your children through?
  
• If you are unsure how to break something down into small steps, or don't have a background in a subject do you have the desire to learn or help your child find out about it on their own?
• Perhaps you could 'outsource' this to another family member?Is your family in a financial situation where you could afford variety? 
  
• Home schooling can sometimes be more affordable than traditional public school, however, there may be quite a cost in setup and materials depending on what type of program you will do with your children
• .Who will be the primary 'teacher' or 'learning guide'?
• and lastly, Are you excited and enthusiastic to spend the day learning alongside your child?First, what type of home school do you think will work best for your family?

You may have the answers to all these questions, and you may need to ask around and do some personal research on your own.  Whatever choice you make, whether to homeschool your child or not will be the right one for your family!  Good for you!  You made a great choice!

Stay tuned for Part 2, where we will investigate the many options available to families in B.C.!