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A Blog about our Life: Family, Renovations, DIY, Crafting, Cooking, Parenting, Gardening, and life in our little world.
PLUS MINUS STAT IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE NUMBERS
Using stats from sports is a great way to get some kids interested in math concepts. One stat used in hockey is called Plus Minus. You get a plus if you are on the ice when your team scores a goal, and you get a minus if you are on the ice when your opponent scores on you. This stat is a great example of positive and negative numbers. I've made up a few examples the kids can work through featuring the NHL's top scoring player Alex Ovechkin! We start off simple, he scores a couple of goals and has a positive number.
On the other side, the team that is scored on by Ovechkin, they head into negative numbers.
I throw in a general numerical sense question to reinforce the idea of positive and negative numbers in this situation.
The we do it all again. Starting with a new scenario featuring New Jersey Devils star forward Taylor Hall. Again we start in positive territory.
Then we take a look at the opposite side of the equation - the negative numbers.
Then we put both the positive numbers and negative numbers together and show what happens.
Then I leave the kids with a complex question combining both positive and negative numbers to work out. This time I use the much talked about John Tavares of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Most hockey fans will know of the Plus Minus stat, but, have many actually thought about the actual numbers behind it? I'm hoping this real world example of how positive and negative numbers work will spark some interest in math and number sense.
I've been on a bit of a hockey player biography kick lately. That cool air in the arena bring on this hockey-mania I guess? I read two book ORR (by Bobby Orr) and OFFSIDE (by Sean Avery)...and, boy, oh boy, were they completely different narratives.
I picked up ORR from the library the other evening and ended up reading about half the book in one night. What kept me up into the wee hours of the morning flipping through the pages? Orr's philosophy on sports and hockey. I kept finding myself nodding along with his opinions the more I read. His views mirrored the way I see sports - have fun! do your personal best! be a good sport! do a variety of sports! be a better person off the field/ice because of sports! The stories he shares are all shining examples of how he lived his values. He is one of those very humble guys who prefers to deflect the spotlight off of him and shine it on others. A great example is his story of the goal he scored to win the Stanley cup in overtime. That infamous picture of him flying through the air with arms outstretched in celebration...
This is a picture and a goal he is asked about often. And, who wouldn't be proud of that! It's every hockey players dream as a kid right? To be the hero that scores in overtime to win the Stanley Cup! That would be story to tell over and over and over...right? Well, not so much for Bobby. His response is always about the rest of the play that led to this goal - Sanderson's great forechecking that kept the puck in the St Louis end and his pass to Orr. He makes sure to point out that was his only goal of the entire series...his team mates had scored all the other goals to get them into the final game. His goalie stopped all the shots to put them into overtime. He just happened to be that player that got the game winning goal. The second book I read, OFFSIDE by Sean Avery was the exact opposite. Avery prides himself on being in the spotlight. I don't remember how many times he mentioned the crowd at Madison Square Garden chanting his name. And, it wasn't because he scored the game winning goal in overtime to win The Cup...it was because he caused trouble out on the ice. He was a pest, and his game plan was to annoy and bother the other team until they could take no more and slashed him or hit him and got a penalty. He also loved to use his minor celebrity status to get into 'cool' clubs and impress the ladies. Not the role model type of person you want your kids to model their behaviour after.
I really enjoyed both books for different reasons. ORRs was easy to relate too. I agreed with most of his views on life and sports, and kept thinking was a great role model he is for young hockey players like my sons. Avery's book was interesting to read because it was a world I'm not familiar with. His stories were of a player desperately trying to keep a spot on an NHL team by using less than role model worthy strategies. His off ice tales are wild and erratic as well, which made for some interesting reading. One of those books that take you into a life that you would never imaging leading. Well, gotta go, back to the rink to watch the boys play some hockey.
You can make quick, easy, healthy school lunches for your kids in no time flat!
Prep ahead of time. Here are some ideas we use:
Prebake muffins. Freeze them. Take one out per day and throw it in the lunch for snacktime.
Cut up a melon and store it in the fridge (a big watermelon can last all week!)
Dried fruit. It doesn't go bad, it's sweet like candy, it can fill any small spot in a lunch container.
Baby carrots. Kids love em, they do not need cutting, they may be the only vegetable some kids eat.
Grapes. No prep work. Even pulling them off the vine is optional.
A couple of videos showing these tips in action. We post school lunch videos all the time on our youtube channel - OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL- keep updated by subscribing.
Follow the Stanley Cup as it travels across Canada
Canada is a big country. It's hard for little minds to relate to the far away province of British Columbia when they live a thousand kilometres away (or more likely two thousand kilometres away). Let's put some context with the giant space, let's connect the provinces with something tangible (like the Stanley cup!)...okay maybe not literally tangible, but, something the mind of an eight year old boy can imagine holding up.
There is a tradition of NHL hockey players taking the Stanley Cup back to their hometown. Great, let's use that to our advantage and get our little students to match up the hometowns of their favourite hockey stars with the provinces on the map.
Luckily, Canada is full of great hockey stars, so I easily found a few who have won the Stanley Cup and taken it home. I just listed the player, their hometown, and asked the kids to colour in the province of their hometown in a certain colour.
For the last six months I have slowly been isolating myself from the world, not in a bad mental health way, but, by not keeping up on what is happening around the globe. It happened gradually, a change in job and routine meant I stopped listening to podcasts. A faster commute to work meant I missed the World News on the radio. Summer - well, you are forced to disconnect with the rest of the world when you are off camping. I didn't think much about it, I mean listening to the news and keeping up with world events was kind of a hobby, a luxury...but, I'm too busy now and it doesn't fit into my life. So what?
Well, I realized the other day that I'm becoming ignorant. A few small things happened to make me realize that the path I'm leading is probably not that great. I just happen to be was watching (no judging please) the Duggers (that 25 kids and counting even more show) and one of the boys was on a honeymoon in Greece. The thing that struck : how obvious it was that they knew nothing about Greece, the people, the cities, the history, the politics, how hard the financial crisis of ten years ago hit them (and they are still paying for it), the immigration problems...nothing. They knew nothing! Which makes sense b/c their family completely isolates themselves from the world. Fine for them, but, I don't want to be like that. And, I certainly don't want my kids to start their life like that.
What American's think of Europe.
Then I managed to hear about the terrible bridge collapse in Italy, and someone questioned how that could happen. And, I actually had an opinion - from the years of listening to world news I've learned a few things about how Italy runs (and it doesn't seem to have the most efficient public service sector) and I recall hearing concerns over infrastructure in Italy years ago. It made sense to me. I felt informed.
That made me realize how important taking some time to keep up on international news. It's one of those things where you take in tiny clips everyday and over the years you develop a wide knowledge base that you can call upon to make sense of the world. It kind of helps see through fake news...
Long term exposure to news lets you see the real picture
What I am doing to accomplish this you ask? Making time to listen to my favourite (and most trusted) update - CBC World at Six. I listen to the podcast the next day b/c I'm usually busy at six taking the kids to sports, or making dinner, or just living life. Getting out of North American, figuratively of course. It seems the North American news bubble is so focused on itself that it rarely notices there are places like Europe, Africa, Asia, where interesting things happen too. Which is why I make the trip to BBC World Service - Making a point to visit this site where there are interesting shows and articles from the entire world. And, the 'news' is not the typical negative-fear inducing-headline worthy kind of news that we are used to. There are positive stories about small accomplishments that give you a real idea of how life works in different parts of the world.
I am going to make an effort to share tidbits of what is going on in the world with the kids. Have those mind blowing conversations around the dinner table where I explain the intricacies of how the European Union is dealing with immigration...or maybe keep the topic simple.
The first day back to school is always full of excitement. The night before we are getting lunches packed up - a little rusty from the long summer months of non-school, but, always eager to get back into the swing of it. This is the time I get all sentimental and look back at old videos...
I love looking back at what we did over the years. I fondly look back at the container systems, snippets of the kids when they were little...I also love rediscovering meals, tips, snacks, that I've forgotten about.
First Day 2015 - We had BUILT lunchbags back then. The soft bag we could pile all of our containers into. Man, they worked great. I wonder where they are now?
Items to note:
Homemade corndogs (in muffin shape). The kids loved those things.
Blueberry flax muffins. Healthy, delicious, and heavy (as in filling).
Burrito cups. Like a taco cup but with refried beans instead of taco meat.
First Day 2016 - I was very concerned about bread getting soggy. The kids kept asking for the same meals over and over...repeating chicken burgers, repeating pitas!
Reminder to myself:
Homemade frozen burritos. Cheap, easy, delicious, and can be made ahead of time and frozen.
Make making lunches a festive event with music - www.radionomy.com/80sthrowbackparty
First Day 2017 - We had fancy new lunch boxes. Go Green Lunchboxes. This was also the first day of kindergarten for Oskie. I love that we went over what he should eat (not the cookies first!).
Do your kids like tacos? I'm willing to bet they do. It seems to me that 95% of kids LOVE tacos. So, let's send tacos in their lunch. To make a tasty taco meal that travels in lunchboxes here is a recipe we call Taco Cups. It works best, and saves time, if you have tacos for dinner the night before. 1) Use those very small tortillas and press them into a muffin pan to form a cup shape. If you only have big tortillas just cut out a circle - about the size of a mason jar lid - you can even use a mason jar lid. I have. 2) Throw the muffin pan in the oven at 350 for 10 mins. The tortilla will crisp up and keep its cup shape. This is essential since it will hold in the yummy taco filling! 3) Fill the cup with leftover taco meat and add a sprinkle of cheese.
4) You can send a dollop of sour cream or some avocado in a small container on the side. Here are a couple of our school lunch video showing The Taco Cup:
The long "How-To" video:
A very quick tutorial (sans narrative) on how to make Taco Cups:
In this video I show how great it is to throw Taco Cups into the bento boxes / lunch boxes.
Taco Cups is a favourite with my kids. They ask for it all the time. Every other parent I know that has tried the taco cups have all said the same thing, 'they love them'. I hope this helps you pack up some great school lunches this year. It's a hard task doing it day in and day out, but, keep truckin'. I find it very interesting to see what other parents pack in their children's lunch boxes. I've spent far too much time watching Youtube videos of other lunch packers putting everything from organic-vegan-wraps to extreme-processed-packaged filled lunches and still find myself interested in the next video. Here are a few in case you are interested... Here is a cute healthy lunch featuring food with google eyes. I think the accessories you can add to food make lunches look so fun.
Don't be intimidated there are plenty of good solid lunches like this next one, showing simple foods, a packaged food or two, all in an inexpensive ziplock container system.
Then there is this parody I made - it is Tasty with a capital T ... and all the other lunch buzz words like Bento-Box, Organical, Protein Friendly, Glutton Free. I cut up a mango too!
This fall Olivia is going to a new school - into a french immersion program. I feel it would be very beneficial if old Dad brushed up on his french. How? We know that language is best learned when you are immersed into an environment where only that language is spoken. But, if that is not possible you can turn to the internet. You can watch Youtube videos, search up worksheets, read blogs...or you can use an 'APP'. Yes, there is an app to learn french (or a handful of other languages) called DUOLINGO. Duolingo is awesome! Yes, there is 'work' to do, but, not the classic "let's conjugate the verbs...je ___, tu ____, il/elle ____ This site makes learning french kind of fun. It is set up like a game - a quiz game! Oooh I love games, especially quiz games. I really like when they start off really easy and you feel so smart. Then I adore (that's french for love) when the challenge level rises as if there is an algorithm tracking all your answers/mistakes and tailoring the questions for you...hmmm It does start off kind of easy with multiple choice formats, or even pictures...
easy enough
Even if you have no idea what is going on and you guess right you can still learn a bit by the explanations the site gives you.
ahh, that's what it meant
Then is gets a bit harder. Luckily, you can hover your mouse over the words and get a translation...help that eliminates that feeling of total terror when you feel completely lost in another language.
tu mange (hover over apple to see if it is feminine or masculine)
They keep in interesting by mixing in french and english - makes you think (and learn too!) If you make a mistake you get an explanation. There are more indepth conversations in a message board that can be helpful as well.
Oooh, I made a mistake
BUT, what I love about technology is that there is much more than just typing and reading...you can click on the little icon and listen to the words being spoken. Another level of learning right there!
I can hear the words...in FRENCH!
And, to keep you motivated you get points everytime you finish a 'round' of learning. If you finish an entire lesson plan you get a crown! Ooh. You can go a bit further by setting your daily goal of X number of points, and there are extra bonuses along the way.
I've met my daily goal, yay me!
I love how the lessons are set up. They are split in sections/topics; starting with basics and you have to earn your way to more advanced stuff. There is a small lesson you should read before tacking the questions. They are easy to follow and usually have charts to refer to if needed.
On top of all this there are a couple of other extra learning tools. Flashcards. We all know flashcards work for memorizing single words or phrases - well, they've done it digitally. The great part is that you can read the word, hear the word, see it in context. Isn't technology great?!
There is also a practice section where you are bombarded with a random assortment of questions. It's a timed, high pressure 'game', that makes things fun (if you like that sort of thing).
The best part is you can review your questions and answers. Another great way to learn.
I have found this site and app so useful. You are given all kinds of different ways of learning french (or as I mentioned earlier a bunch of other languages too) and it is fun along the way. A great tool to have in your toolbox of learning :)
Finding that balance of good quality nutritious food and 'junk' is tricky.
Go into any classroom and you will see a variety of lunches - from one extreme (junky): lunchables and a pop To the other extreme (hippy-dippy): a free range hard boiled egg in the shape of a hello kitty on a bed of organic kale. We try to meet in the middle. I have a little fun with the extremes in this video - from 'would your grandparents recognize the food' to POGOs!
I really think you can't go wrong with my strategy: A foundation heavy on the fruits and vegetables. A sprinkling of things considered unhealthy, processed, sugared, nitrate-ized....this strategy works well, even on that day when you say, 'we need to do groceries'. You can use what you have. That's what I do in this video:
We all have time constraints, energy limits, budgets, picky eaters...it's the classic economics question - marginal gain per unit of energy put into a task. How much time and effort do you need to put into a lunch to make it just healthy, tasty, and cheap enough? Hopefully this last video will inspire you to do the least amount possible...with the most reward. AKA - easy to make lunches that are tasty and healthy:
I remember being bored as a kid. I'd be bored with my toys, bored with TV, bored with books, so I'd complain to my parents, "I'm bored". They'd throw back the typical parent response, 'go find something to do'. I'd trudge back to my room, lie on my bed and be bored. But, a little while later I'd be busy again, drawing or cutting up old hockey cards and creating a new game with them. I'd be outside climbing the tree stringing up rope to catch a bird. Something like that. I'd end up creating something; a game, a picture, an inventive bird catcher (that never really worked). That's what you did when you were bored. Is that still happening today? It sounds like not that often. With overscheduled kids, working parents that feel guilty 'doing nothing' on a Saturday, cell phones constantly grabbing their attention...there is just no time to 'get bored'. But, it turns out being bored is very, very, very good for the brain. There is more and more evidence coming out making the connection between boredom and creative thinking/brain health. Turns out letting our mind wander, getting bored, zoning out, daydreaming, all those kind of things are very important for the brain. Another one of those perks of slowing life down or simplifying life. Being 'unproductive' is the new productive! I read a great article - linking boredom and creativity - urging parents to rebel against our culture of 'being productive' at all times and instead take an alternate route and devote time to your inner self (and appearing to be unproductive). This article does a great job of explaining how the brain reacts to boredom. I also stumbled across a similar podcast explaining how boredom is NEEDED to make the brain as creative as possible. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-school-of-greatness/e/51883202 Just something to think about.
WE'VE HAD A FEW LUNCH CONTAINER SYSTEMS OVER THE YEARS
The foundation for a good school lunch starts, not with food, but, with the containers you send the food in.
Wow, what a good quote I just made up!
Over the years we have had a variety of lunchboxes and for the most part they have all done the job well.
Classic metal box lunch system - apparently not cool for the grade 3 crowd
We started out with a Lock & Lock system. It is an ideal size, with removable compartments that allow a lot of flexibility - the container can hold a sandwich one day and the next day can be transformed into four small containers of [insert food such as chickpeas, chicken, tomatoes, lettuce].
These containers are durable - we have been using them consistently for eight years and they are still in mint condition.
Here is a video showing the lock and lock system and how we used it:
Last year we were given a premium lunchbox - A GOGREEN LUNCHBOX - to try out. We teamed up with FENIGO.COM who gave us the lunch containers to review.
The Gogreen is a big container split into different compartments - I think calling it a Bento Box would be fitting. It holds a ton of food (great, for our giant eaters) and it keeps everything in...as in no leaks, even with wet foods!
The Roots Lunchbox from Costco was what Elliott used for his lunches most of last year. He did not like the big Gogreen box ... and I have a feeling taking a giant green lunchbox out of his backpack somehow embarrassed him. So, we bought him a 'generic' lunchbox - the ROOTS one from costco.
There are many other ad hoc containers we use - tupperware, ziplock, sistema. Most of these were smaller containers used for specific purposes like holding sauces, dips, yogurt.
Tupperware snack containers - still going after 10 years
Kids love dip for veggies. Great for ketchup, sour cream, tartar sauce (maybe?)
You might be surprised to learn that we found some of these at the dollar store. Including this very useful yogurt container that keeps yogurt and granola (toppings) separated.
Rubbermaid yogurt container / separator
To see this container in action, here is a little video for you. Be prepared to laugh.
Spelling takes time and repetition - things that can be really boring for some kids. You can add some interest using hockey words. For kindergarten kiddies you can label equipment and leave out the first letter. They can sound it out and fill it in. Easy, fun, and full of learning.
Primary learners can have more of a challenge (and some fun) unscrambling the words. I've added some hardcore hockey slang in a quiz section at the bottom.
Answers to the quiz above: WHEELS TWIG BISCUIT BUCKET Another example of a hockey themed word scramble. This one is tough.
Answers to the word scramble
1) hockey
2) skate
3) hat trick
4) puck
5) slapshot
6) power play 7) penalty 8) stick 9) boards 10) body check 11) defense 12) forward 13) helmet 14) offside 15) goal 16) assist 17) referee 18) bench 19) water bottle 20) jersey 21) Wayne Gretzky 22) goalie 23) iceing 24) breakaway MORE HOCKEY THEMED WORKSHEETS - MATH & GEOGRAPHY
Way back in the 1930s you could not go out to the corner store and buy a bottle of something [insert poison of choice], no, no, it was very regulated. There was no push by the province's Premier to make beer cheap (FORD and his buck a beer!). No it was a different time when alcohol was the devils juice. Prohibition was on in the States and up here in Canada we were almost as strict. There were many 'dry' places out there. What I found out was that during this era you had to have a permit to buy liquor. Apparently, it was $2 to buy it and you had to show it everytime you bought booze. You took it with you to the liquor store and they would sign, date, and write what you bought. It sounds like you even had to have it when you bought a beer at a hotel bar. It was a method of tracking drinking habits, and allowed store employees or even police to see how much a person has been drinking and put a stop to it! I ran across an old liquor permit by chance. I bought a book from a yard sale - A James Bond book, DR. NO (the inspiration for Austin Powers' Dr. Evil) - and this permit was in the book being used as a book mark.
The cover feels like a passport - like hard fabric. It was made to last, and it has.
The first page has some interesting personal information. Apparently, the permit was owned by a local resident, Michael McCormick, who was a chauffeur with the City Coach Company.
He did not buy a lot of liquor. But, very interesting to see how things have changed. The perception of alcohol and the methods used to help alcoholics are vastly different.
MAKING MATH AND GEOGRAPHY FUN USING AN NHL HOCKEY THEME
Do you have hockey obsessed kids? We do. So, I took advantage of that interest in all things hockey and made up some 'fun' problems for the kids to do over the summer break. Geography - our middle guy was kind of lost when it came to geography. It was 'boring' to him. But, take a map with NHL logos on it and all of the sudden there is some interest. One way to learn the provinces of Canada is by hockey team right? Math - Math can get tedious, with all the repetition and questions that have no relevance to real-life. Sports can change that! Hockey is full of math; be it stats, probability, jersey numbers...here is a chance to make questions 'fun' and give them life. I tried to add some connection to the questions by creating a story - you've been called up to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs! How far do you travel to play the Winnipeg Jets...and the story (and math questions) continue from there.
My true goal here was to work on geography, so I keep making them refer back to the map...and the math practice is just a bonus.
I made sure to include a few of the children's fav players to keep their interest peaked. And, a small art break (get creative with jersey design!)
I have a soft spot for local heros - my fav player when I was growing up was Doug Gilmour. He's from our town, so I tried to make that connection with the kids. It was a great way to drill down to a more local level in the Geography dept.
Hockey as a theme makes is so easy to incorporate everything from probability, percentages, logic...to FRENCH! Oui! Ils jouent de hockey au Quebéc! So, when you travel to Montreal to play a game get ready to work on some french words.
Calculating time is easy to work in too - you've calculated how far you need to travel, now, how long will it take to get there?
Expanding the map and introducing a few familiar places in the USA is not hard - there are teams in Florida and California. Places they've heard of or been too - Tampa Bay is not far from Disney :)
Then just let the creativity fly, like the puck does when the D-man takes a one-T from the blueline...
