I have always been fascinated with castles. It probably goes back to the Fisher Price Castle that we played with at my Grandma’s house—although it was strangely inhabited by Sesame Street characters. My Grandma had that castle for something like 35 years—my daughters were even playing with it as we cleaned out her apartment last [...]
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens might have been good for Maria von Trapp, but there’s a few things I like too... Fresh sheets, especially if they were line-dried Peanut butter on fresh bread Being in charge of the TV remote My husband’s blue eyes Cuddles on the couch from kids who are far [...]
Over spring break, our family had the privilege of travelling to Hawaii. It was a gift from Heidi’s parents to take some of their family with them to Honolulu. It seemed unreal as we packed for it—but we did have the opportunity to spend 10 days on the trip of lifetime—one our kids will never [...]
I think I liked last year’s Spring Break better. Last year the temperature was 27 Celsius, the weather was sunny, and our family had an amazing week-long trip to Palm Springs, visiting the surreal landscape of Joshua Tree National Park and sunning ourselves poolside. This year, the temperature barely broke into double digits, the weather [...]
Abbotsford Christian School's brand new, very BRAVE blog, Inside Out, is now live! Meet our 10 BRAVE writers...
by Tanya KienekerIt’s 6:45pm at our house. “The most wonderful time of the day,” as my husband and I like to call it. Sometimes we even sing this line, with smiles on our faces, to the tune of the familiar Christmas carol. It’s bedtime. Yes, our kids go to bed very early. When your dad [...]
This is my work mug. I've been drinking from it since before my current students were born. There's much you can know about my mug if you study it as a scientist might. One of the tools scientists use is empirical observation. By this method they could determine things like capacity (32 ml), mass, (347.1 [...]
Privacy is a word that has no meaning in a house full of boys. Perhaps it's just in a house full of Brandsma boys, I can't be sure, since my husband also grew up as one of six boys. But as the only female in my house it seems I have no right to expect [...]
The snow started falling just as the school day was beginning. The forecast was for snow throughout the day, but not enough to warrant sending students home early. After the usual reminders about no sledding or snowballs at recess and lunch break, the students went out to enjoy this relatively novel event—a gift to be [...]
There are moments in your teaching career—even in your parenting, for that matter—when you are suddenly caught off guard by….a REALLY inappropriate word! Even with a few years of teaching experience, it still surprises me what might pop out of these precious, innocent mouths on occasion. Being a grade one teacher, I know words like [...]
