Dear Santa

 This year, both the boys were able to write their own letters.  Boy, there was no stopping them once they started.  They were on a mission to write letters to Santa, to be sure Santa wouldn't forget anything on their list!  They even knew enough to add some questions for Santa and to draw a picture.  

Griffin is totally into hockey right now, and more than anything he wants a 

"hockey bedroom".  He has it all planned out.  Painting on this wall, pictures on this wall, I want this wall to look like a rink, with magnets that I can move around.  Very cute!  I have to admit, this is a present right up my alley.  

Take a peek at the bedding I just ordered...love it!!

and this light

 As for Owen.... it's Skylanders, Skylanders and more Skylanders!

How do you top this?

Favourite picture ever!

This sums up the boys perfectly!

41 days until Christmas!

Don't you just love kid's Writing!!

I found this in Griffin's backpack.  A message from a little girl in his class!

Remembrance Day

Remembrance day, such an important day, and yet such a hard day for little ones to understand.  I certainly took advantage of every chance I had to explain and help my boys and my students to appreciate, if just a little bit, the importance of Remembrance day.

Griffin gets it!  He is full of questions, he is inquisitive and wants explanations as to why there needs to be war, and offers solutions to end war.  He appreciated our assembly today at school, and was disturbed that the boy beside him didn't know enough to be quiet.  This is a boy with heart.

 

 This is a picture that Griffin drew after hearing "In Flander's Field"

I love the details... just months ago, he was drawing stick figures.

 

I found this idea on Pinterest, and our school jumped all over it.

What a great way for a school to capture student's thinking and making it visible. 

This is Griffin's Remembrance Day art from school.  I just love that Mrs. M, incorporates art in many of her lessons.  Griffin is just thriving because of it!

This is the art that my class did.  Poppies in Flanders Field

 

What Should Mrs. Bird be for Halloween?

I did this cute activity with my students on Halloween.  The boys and girls had to decide what I should be for Halloween and draw me wearing that costume!

I picked three of my favourites.  Make sure you scroll to the bottom to see my favourite!

Unbelievable!

Halloween didn't start out so well....

Just as we were leaving to take the kids trick-or-treating, the first family of kids came knocking on our door.  We had left a bucket of candy sitting on our step with a sign that said "Happy Halloween, Please take 2 pieces of candy".

Tony met the kids as he walked out of our garage and the looked at him like deer in headlights.  He check on the candy bucket and literally 80% of it was gone!  He called me over to take a look, and I confirmed most of it had been taken.  The parents were still at the end of our driveway and I made them aware that their children had taken more than their share.  They responded by asking their children if they had, and the kids said they had taken 2 each.  I assured them that this was not the case.  The father, replied by asking if I wanted to search their candy bags.

At this point, I knew it was a lost cause.  These parents had let a valuable teaching moment slip by, and more importantly taught their children that they should not be held accountable for their actions.  

Although that is the real loss, many of our own neighbourhood kids  did not get candy from us this Halloween.

This family did not live in our neighbourhood, their four children had on masks and carried garbage bags. It's a shame that their children are missing out on the real spirit of Halloween!

 

Halloween!

My boys love Halloween! and so do I!  I have ever told the story of how I went trick-or-treating my first year of University in Ottawa?  We went to the Prime Ministers house and Brian Mulroney himself handed me my candy bag and tooth brush!

The Embassies also handed out good loot including drinks for the parents!

This year was no different, I looked forward to the day just as much as the boys!

Griffin changed his mind a few days before, and of course too late to order the costume he wanted.  All along he had wanted to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.  This would be his third year in a row!   For some reason, he decided he wanted to be a spy.  I couldn't order the costume or find a trench coat in time, so he settled for a different kind of spy.

Owen wore his second Skylanders costume this year- Crusher!  

 

The boys went with our neighbours door to door!

 

 

Witches of Deerfield!

Happy Halloween!