WELCOME

The purpose of this blog is to provide an archived resource of Personal thoughts, learning resources, and parent information.

Regular postings will be added on Mondays.

Wednesday 28 September 2011

True Reflections


I remember clear winter nights in Grande Prairie where between the light from the full Moon and the reflection of the snow I was able to drive my skidoo without lights and easily know where I was going.

The Moon is pretty much just a humongous cold rock orbiting the Earth. It has no light of its own. It has no active volcanoes or fires. Yet there are nights when it is bright enough to provide surprising amounts of light.

All of the Moon’s light comes from the Sun. None of it is self-generated. Yet it shines incredibly brightly.

As Christ-followers we are like the Moon. We are reflectors of Jesus. For most people we may be the only Jesus that they will see, hear or interact with.

God has saved us by His grace and has also called us to be His light in the world.  He has called us to shine His light into the darkness that seems to be pushing out the light in our communities. However, light always displaces darkness. Dark spaces can be brightened by a single candle, while the light from a candle is never overwhelmed by darkness.

I would encourage you in your homes, to your children, to your neighbors and family, to people you work with and go to church with…be the reflection… be the light of Jesus in their lives.

Remember that you are His reflection.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Teaching Our Daughters



I found this on a friend’s Facebook status and thought that it was too good not to share.

We need to teach our daughters to distinguish between a man who flatters her and a man who compliments her .... a man who spends money on her and a man who invests in her .... a man who views her as property and a man who views her properly .... a man who lusts after her and a man who loves her .... a man who believes he is God's gift to women and a man who remembers a woman was God's gift to man… and … we need to teach our sons to be the right kind of man.

Thursday 15 September 2011

Planning for Success

EVERYONE NEEDS A PLAN
Whether it’s planning for the day, planning for a trip, planning a budget, or planning a meal, we need to plan.
Starting a new school year is no different. It’s no mistake that we begin the year with Student Learning Plans. SLPs give us a starting point for planning our year.

STEP ONE: RESOURCES
This year, I’m teaching two new courses in my part-time grade seven classes. Starting with a solid curriculum and a good set of resources is the critical first step.

STEP TWO: YEAR PLAN
My next step is to pull out a calendar. On it I mark all of the holidays, trips and the date that I’m hoping to finish everything. I break my year down by term and start to fit my units into those terms. For example: Science, three terms and three units, simple one unit per term. 

STEP THREE:  UNIT PLANS
Once the overview is done, it’s now time to break down the units so that they fit into the term timeline. There will be lessons that you will want to budget more time for and others that you choose to skip altogether. The goal is to get them to all fit inside the timeline so that things are completed.



PLANNING FOR ONLINE COURSES
If your child has signed up for an online course you still need to do some planning.
My experience from the last two years  is that students start strong and complete a lot the first two months. Then something happens…

I’m not sure if it’s that they feel like they are ahead of the game, or they get distracted, or the original excitement wears off and students begin to fall behind.

If you’re looking at a ten-month school year, September through June, then online students should be completing 10% per month.

That equates to 30% complete at first term, and 60-70% complete by second report card.
If it’s Christmas and your child only has 18% of the course completed then things NEED to be addressed.

Here is a link for a wonderful planning tool. Thank you Brenda Unruh. 

We've All Got Fears


When we venture into any undertaking we find it both exciting and scary, especially if it’s something we’ve never tried before.  
For twenty-four years I've entered the new school with those mixed emotions.  My thoughts always bounced from… Yes, a new start. Who will bring the unknown challenges? Will I wreck these kids? Where will I find the energy? How in the world do I deal with that?! We’re going to have so much fun learning together! How can I build into the lives of these kids?

I can imagine that many of you are experiencing some of the same emotions.

PRAISE GOD we don’t have to make it through one day on our own. We have The One who created our minds, and the hearts and minds of our children, to help us every step of the way. We have the Holy Spirit to speak into our hearts and guide our journey. We have the assurance that God is on our side cheering us along. 

Yes, a new year can be scary but God does not want us to do this on our own.  He wants to spark the conversations, and lead the teachable moments. He will give us the words to say and the direction to go.
Begin each day with prayer and step out in confidence that He’s got it all under control.