Category Archive

Teaching and Learning

Whether you’re thinking about the future of education, talking to your kids about diversity, or just looking for book recommendations, you’ll find plenty of ideas on the topic(s) here.

High Tech Homeschool: how we use Google Drive to schedule assignments at home

Tonight I began a grade book for each child and shared it with only that individual. All of the assignments come to my email, which comes to my phone (which has a Google Drive app) so I can grade anywhere: in the car, in bed, in line at the grocery store or during my husband’s boring Alien conspiracy shows.

How baby sign language is giving my toddler a sense of confidence and independence

Every time Lio signs for the dog, or puts two signs together — like “dog” and “water,” then points at the dog’s dish to indicate it’s time to complete his chore for the day — I just melt. Or when he signs “please” and “shoes,” then sits down so I can take his shoes off before hopping up to scuttle off to try on a pair of dad’s sneakers? That’s baby gold, right there.

Connecting as a community over pie

I watched my neighbors connect. It’s something I don’t think we get the chance to do that often anymore. During this age of social media, many of us spend more time updating statuses or tweeting than we do sitting down and having a conversation. Even better, a conversation over a slice of pie. There is something inherently neighborly and folksy about ruminating over pie.

Book you might wanna read: Four Homeless Millionaires

In 2009 my wife and I sold our house in Winnipeg, Manitoba so we could spend a year traveling around the world with our kids. When we returned to Canada, we relocated to Vancouver Island and moved into a community house with another family and a few university students. (12 in total) We’re currently in our third year.

My tips for keeping life with three autistic kids simply scheduled

Having three children with high-functioning autism requires daily structure on my part. I am an organizational freak to a fault, but even I love me some “organized chaos” from time to time. My kids, however, aren’t so fond of not knowing what’s coming up or what’s going on. So I made them this scheduling area by the front door to not only keep them in the loop, but make it easy enough for me to not feel committed to some intricate details that I usually give up on after a week.

A high school English teacher on 5 books every teen should read

The Huffington Post ran a piece last month about the five books every high school student should read before going to college. It was a pretty good list, and I agree that most of those books are incredibly important for teenagers, but I couldn’t help but think, if I had five books to give my students that they HAD to read, what would they be?

How To Train Your Robot: how I teach kids to program without computers

Last April, I taught six kids of ages 5 to 7 how to program. “In what programming language?” you may ask. Well… I didn’t use a programming language, at least none that you know of. In fact, I didn’t even use a computer. Instead, I devised a game called “How To Train Your Robot.” Before I explain how the game works, let me tell my motivation.

Teenspiration: 250 books Rory Gilmore mentioned on The Gilmore Girls

I love randomly mentioning The Gilmore Girls on Offbeat Mama because I get to find out how many of you are still true and blue, until the very last day on Earth, fans of the series. So when I found the Rory Gilmore Reading challenge — a list of 250 books Rory Gilmore mentioned or read on the show — I knew I had found a post for you: my fellow Gilmore Girl fans.