Lucinda's Library Notes

Cleopatra was my grade eight Halloween costume idea for school as I had a straight haircut just above my shoulders that reminded me of a picture I saw of her. It must have been inspired by the Tutankhamun exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum. It was very impressive to see the ancient artifacts. Further to that, studying Israel and Egypt in the Bible and thinking of Moses when Pharaoh attempted to maintain control of the empire in the midst of the ten plagues, while not directly related, still made the concept of learning about Cleopatra more intriguing. As I was impacted by experiences on trips to the Museum and lessons on ancient civilizations, so I wish to inspire you to teach the child(ren) in your life about these historical people and events. They are not fictional but were real people with stories to tell. Just as in learning through biographies, learning about history has relevance and importance in our lives. Knowing the past and how it shaped us today reveals the significance...

Clarity of message is important for comprehension. If I am not clear on your instructions, I am not able to follow through on them effectively. If I need to stop or I will fall off the edge of a cliff, I need you to shout "STOP!" and not say "You should probably arrest your movements at this point in time." Over and over again I realize how difficult it is though to ensure your intended message is properly understood by the person you are speaking to. We all have slightly different interpretations of situations based on our perspective and our background knowledge and experience. That is why eyewitnesses give such varied accounts but all can legitimately be speaking the whole truth of how the event occurred from where they stood and their unique perspective. The sum total of these different perspectives though, gives a much wider picture of the whole and makes for a richer view.  We all contribute to the world by our own unique way of seeing the world. Consider for ...

I watched a 2.5year old boy listen carefully as his mom counted to ten slowly. He nodded his head as she counted and worked on taking big breaths. Not only was it adorable, it was also very effective! We do it because it works. Quite often people suggest breathing exercises in moments of stress.  When we go for bloodwork they ask you to take a deep breath just as they are about to insert the needle. There are very practical reasons for that but it also serves as a distraction that has a calming effect as well. Breathing is a sign of life. It is a part of every experience we go through. It symbolizes our existence. Breathing exercises are part of preparing for childbirth where controlling your breath impacts the overall birthing experience. And everyone waits expectantly for the newborn to take its first breath to verify all is well! We take a deep breath and slow exhale as we are about to do something new or challenging as a gesture to represent that we are gathering our strength a...

  BEANS Co ffee Beans : I once went to a coffee shop in Pickering that had an art piece of a rooster made from beans, presumably coffee beans from different countries that were of different sizes and colours. It was really cool actually. This particular coffee shop let us go ‘behind the scenes’ to see how they prepare their blends and they even donated some of the empty coffee bean sacks for our church to use for sack races at a picnic. I heard something about using them as canvases for artwork which is interesting. I am not personally a coffee drinker but my brother and son are. However, I appreciate the effort that goes into filling those bags with quality coffee beans and transporting them around the world for others to get a taste of their homegrown treasures. Cooking Beans : The diversity of types of beans lends itself to being a common ingredient in a variety of cooking dishes. You can have your child observe the differences in the bean as it soaks for 24hours in a bowl of wa...

C is for Crafts Why do them? What kind of skills do you gain from craft time? It is an important question to ask because crafts are a common part of the learning curriculum and so there must be a purpose to it. Some people just think it is a break from the academics and yet if you are someone who is artistically challenged OR artistically gifted, you know there is more to it than that. Crafts teach fine motor skills. They teach about a variety of materials and textures that exist in the surrounding world. Crafts help you figure out how pieces come together. They help you see the world in a different way…that it is made of up parts and that different people see things differently. Crafts teach you that we are unique and have many ways of representing one concept. Crafts often serve as a calming and regulating activity which is helpful to reduce mental stress. Crafts bring people together, allowing them to work on their own project (often) yet in the same space as others....

  B is for Boats A brave boy in a battered boat is bobbing on the waves of the blue waters. The boisterous boys bounded along in their bathing suits with binoculars in hand, battling the waves in their hurry to be the first to the boat. The best and brightest had a battle of the minds over their beliefs during a breakfast meeting aboard a cruise boat. The beach became a distant blur as the boat bolted along the blue waters of Barney’s Bay. Beauty and beast alike benefitted from the peacefulness of the blue skies and blue waters at Bingo Beach. So, I am sure you can see what I am doing here as I take the concept of a boat and the literary technique of alliteration with the letter B and have fun creating a variety of visual images in these descriptive sentences. You can try this with any theme and any letter to help develop language skills for yourself and for the child(ren) in your care. A boat is a great topic for literature as it has such a variety of directions. Is ...

I have to laugh! I was sitting looking at the two options I was considering. Should I do astronauts or aquariums? Right away I hear the baseball news came on and say, "The Astros". So that should be my answer but as I began to write my mind was like, "But it is summer, kids need to be inspired to go to Ripley's Aquarium! Water related activities is where it is at" So I decided to cover both, in part. We can travel from the depths of the ocean to the heights of the outer universe, not in practice, but in our learning experiences and imaginative tales. As we gaze at the waves on the beach or look up to the clouds in the sky, we can explore a spectrum of experiences and places that will inspire us in our daily life. The dreams of childhood are wrapped up in moments like these. From the highest of heights... Make giant leaps from hulahoop to hulahoop to pretend you are walking on the moon. Lay on the lawn and stare up at the night sky. Count the stars or see if you ...

Augmentative is adding on to their communication and Alternative is replacing something by providing a different way to communicate. Both of these methods are supplemental ways of helping someone who is experiencing a barrier to some aspect of communication with others. AAC is the abbreviated term.  Augmentative and Alternative Communication is quite diverse and includes advanced technical equipment and very simple options such as a yes and a no picture for a person to tap on. There are versions of it meant for our youngest communicators and versions for those who are elderly and lost their ability to speak and versions for everyone in between. We could have a discussion of all the types available to people and weigh out the pros and cons of different methods and devices. However, that is an extensive conversation that ultimately is only applicable in light of an individual's personal situation. Maybe one is ideal but is far too costly. Maybe another is too challenging for person A...