Kids See Free Program at Loblaw Optical Centres

With our children back to school, I am sure we all remembered to get them all the necessities they need for the school year. This is also the time for us, as parents to think about our children's eyesight. If we are unaware that our children are having a hard time seeing the blackboard or reading it might impact their learning. During my recent visit to the Loblaw Optical Centre, I learned a few ways we can recognize if our children need glasses.

Important Books for the New School Year from DK

Having good reference books at home and in the classroom for school age children and beyond is important. In DK's Back to School Boutique you will find useful books that will be handy for our children to refer to either to grow their curiosity or to use for research. 

Exceptional pediped® Boots for Children

I love pediped® shoes and boots for my children. pediped® is an award-winning children’s footwear company that sells its footwear in over 2,500 stores in the United States and 40 countries worldwide with an offering of more than 150 designs for boys and girls between its three lines. Their Originals® are soft-soled flexible infant shoes for newborn to 24 months, Grip ‘n’ Go™ available in sizes 19-23 are perfect shoes for active toddlers transitioning from early walking to a confident stride, and Flex® footwear are for established walkers in sizes 22-38. I like the exceptional quality and the comfort of the distinct pediped® styles.

The Art Institutes Culinary Schools Competition for high school students

The Art Institutes International Culinary Schools invites talented future chefs to enter the Teen Chef Competition.  High school senior students or high school graduates in US, Canada and Puerto Rico (expect Quebec) can apply for this scholarship opportunity before January 24, 2013.  
This competition is an opportunity for all those interested in pursuing a culinary career to experience the excitement and discipline of the industry.  To enter the competition students over 16 years must submit an entry/release form, a favourite recipe, essay and transcripts.

The finalist in the competition will participate in a cook-off competition in March and be judged by professional chefs and culinary faculty.  The entrants will get the recipes in advance and have an opportunity to participate in a pre-competition coaching session.  Here are more details.
Each participating location of The Art Institute in North America will award three tuition scholarships to the winners.
*$4000 and $1000 to the top two high school seniors and 
*$1500 to the top high school graduate.

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Get Back-To-School Ready With Canadian Turkey

With the end of summer here, we're all getting ready to adjust to new habits and back-to-school routines. Making the transition from relaxed days, later bedtimes, sleeping in and weekend fun to schedules, routines and healthy habits can be tricky for busy families. With so much on the go, it's no wonder that one of the biggest challenges for parents is getting good quality meals on the table. Come September, tips and tricks that help you get organized are essential, so you can deal with getting kids ready for busy weekdays packed with school, activities, sports, and homework.

Novels for adults and teenagers

We have been reading a few books (for adults and youth) that you can add to your list of books to read. Read below to read a synopsis and our thoughts for Grown-Up Pose, Indelicacy, My Summer of Love and Misfortune, Don't Ask Me Where I'm From, The Complete Sherlock Holmes, and Solving Sherlock Holmes Puzzle Your Way Through the Cases. 

Win $500 To Shop at Children's Place

The Children’s Place is a wonderful place to buy clothes for children especially uniforms and clothes for back to school. I like being ready for school a little early so I shop for school clothing and accessories at Children's Place in the summer.

Get Ready for a New School Year with Church and Dwight

As we plan on getting ready for the new school year, Church and Dwight has a few items that will come in handy for every household.

Hearty Sandwiches with Ivanhoe Cheese

School nights can become hectic sometimes, with running to after-school activities and getting homework and projects done. I like to make sure we have the ingredients available for our favourite, healthy, quick meals during the school year handy, as the nights arrive faster each day and we all get tired pretty quick. Our dinner menu usually consists of flavourful pastas, noodle dishes, hearty soups, salads, or loaded sandwiches.

Won't Back Down: a must watch movie

Won't Back Down is a fabulous movie that I highly recommend all the adults who are concerned about education to watch.  This empowering drama is inspired by actual events.  
It is about a hard-working single mom Jamie Fitzpatrick (Gyllenhaal) who is concerned that John Adams Elementary is letting her daughter down.  She teams with a caring teacher (Davis) who wants the best future for her own son.  They set out to improve attitudes and elevate the school’s academic standards, despite the odds with courage, hope and persistence.

The movie points out that unions usually protect the interest of teachers, but not necessarily the students.  It is a big eye opener for parents, teachers and administrators to start thinking and focusing on our children.  

Being a teacher is more than a job and I don't think every good student can become a good "teacher".  I think a good teacher has to have a committed teachable personality.  I don't feel our system gives the opportunity for people who have the passion for teaching to get the jobs.  Unfortunately, not every classroom or teacher across North America sees being a "teacher" in the same way.  

This movie highlights the problems that we have in the North American education system such as 

• The system passes children that don't meet the grade criteria, which in turn doesn't help the child become motivated to learn, as they know they will be passed no matter what.
• Putting children into "special needs" programs without making sure that they have a good foundation from the start so we prevent issues before it arrives such as reading.
• Many of our "smart" students are not challenged in a fun way at school so they become bored and easily give up.

This movie Won't Back Down is fabulous from start to finish, it doesn't only highlight the bad things in our education system rather it shows the value of caring teachers and importance of education.  
As a parent, I try to do my part as time permits to teach things outside of school, reading with my children, respect and other morale.  Since children spend most part of their day in the classroom, their thinking and learning is in the hands of the teachers and other school staff.  Therefore having the best teacher is very important.  The education system really needs to be looked upon on how they approach learning from the start.  Paperwork over paperwork is not the solution as it makes more unnessary work for teachers that takes away from their real purpose, which is teaching. 
We should also remind our children that they too are responsible for learning and taking a stand.

I believe our children are our hope for the future and these types of movies make us stop and think before it is too late. 

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Bring Back Fun When Going Back to School With Mastermind Toys

Canada’s largest specialty toy retailer, Mastermind Toys have been busy doing their toy-buying homework to help parents get their kids back to school ready. From Backpacks, Bento Boxes and Boogie Boards, to Snack Packs, Scooters and Flash Cards, Mastermind’s list of cool school tools will prepare us and our children ease into the back to school mode. All items are available at Mastermind’s 31 locations and www.mastermindtoys.com.

Activities We Do With Our Children to provide Inspiration

As parents, we find it our responsibility to make our children comprehend that everything around them needs to be respected and appreciated. To make them understand that all experiences provide knowledge, we do a variety of activities with them. Making these activities as part of our lifestyle, helps them become savvy. These activities do not cost us financially, and helps build memories.

Thermos back to school contest

Thermos is a leading manufacturer of insulated food and beverage containers worldwide.  My family and I have used Thermos brand products for a long time, so I could say it is a trusted brand.  

Recap of We Day in Toronto

Craig and Marc Kielburger co-founded the international charity and educational partner, Free The Children in 1995. The organization works in rural communities of eight countries providing a holistic and sustainable development model that improves education, health care, agriculture, food security, clean water and alternative income programs.

Win a Back to School Prep Kit From Shoppers Drug Mart

Back to School time is just around the corner, and many of us may have already stocked-up on all the essentials from notebooks, pens, and clothes to prep our children for class. However, our little ones will also need a few things to tend those cuts and scrapes acquired on the playground. This Shoppers Drug Mart Back to School Prep Kit will help children get back into the swing of things and stay healthy.

Staples Helps Canada Get 100% Ready for School

According to Statistics Canada reports more than 11 million students from kindergarten through Grade 12 (K-12) and including college and/or university, return to school every September. During this final week before school starts, Staples has been hard at work with more than 8,800 associates in 300 stores and a comprehensive website, Staples.ca, Staples is ready to help parents, teachers and students complete their back-to-school preparations. Staples has a 100% price match guarantee, helping customers get a low price on everything in store. To help make the most of each shopping trip, Staples provides tips that can help save time and money.

Fight for Your Write and be a Handwriting Hero

BIC has developed a range of trendy writing tools and handwriting activities that engages and motivates children for the upcoming school year. Learning how to write by hand is an important and crucial skill that helps children develop skills such as physical fine motor skills, cognitive skills, social, emotional, literacy, and communication skills. Being able to write encourages a sense of independence that helps children become thoughtful, inquisitive and confident learners. 

Make Education Savings a Reality this September

In my previous back to school post, I mentioned SmartSaver.org, a company that helps families to access the free money for their children's future education provided through the Canada Learning Bond. Planting the Dream of learning in our children is very important. This starts from a young age, so children learn how important lifelong learning is. When children know that their parents and relatives think learning is important it lays a positive psychological and financial foundation for children to be motivated to continue their education.

Importance Of Saving For Our Children's Future

Everyone's family financial situations are unique, so there is no one solution or strategy that fits all of us when it comes to saving money for our children's future and education. Since there isn't one solution sometimes it is best to hear what other families are doing to save money. 

Getting Ready for a New School Year

Having books to refer to for school projects, the curriculum, and hard to grasp ideas will help ease some difficulties we may face in the school year. We have been checking out couple of books from DK Smithsonian, a year by year guide about History and Science, as well as three books from the Help Your Kids series; Geography, Music, and Computer Coding.