"Humor is no joke when it comes to its effects on a child’s brain according to research from Stanford University.

“How you relate to peers, how you understand your peer group, how they relate to you, whether they are accepting of your participation, and humor definitely plays a role during childhood,” said Reiss. He believes that humor helps make people resilient, improving their ability to cope with stressful circumstances.

We've talked humour, actually a day doesn't go by where our team isn't bent over double laughing, but to get serious for a moment, ahem - we looked at humour and how it affects learning...And we had comedian/teacher Steve Brinder in to talk about it. It was...yes funny...and entertaining...and informative.

That's what Dr. Leora Pinhas, head of the eating disorders program at the Hospital for Sick Children, says time and time again about childhood obesity. She says it about obesity in general, actually. And this year at the Sandbox Conference, which is aimed at improving the health outcomes of Canadian kids, I finally fully understood what she means.

With my history, I'm surprised it took me this long to 'get it'.

Let me explain: I have a bit of a history with weight. I was a chubby teenager who was very unhappy with her body. I lost 30 pounds when I started to run regularly, and that changed my life for the better. After having a baby, my weight has gone up 50 pounds and down 50 pounds (not including baby!) over a bit of a tough journey. But at one point when I was still 40 pounds heavier than I am now, I was still running marathons. Full marathons (42.2K). My time wasn't as good, but I was healthier that your average bear. By far.

And yet the BMI said I was well into the overweight category. To run a marathon, they say you are in at a level of cardiovascular health that makes you one in 10,000 North Americans.

So to have judged my health based on my weight, as we do with obese kids, is to potentially misjudge the situation. Do they like to run around and play? Do they eat their vegetables? Do they have genetics that make they heavy kids no matter what they do? These are questions, Pinhas says, that are often simply not asked.

And what's worse, is that by focusing on the weight, focusing on how much they should lose, focusing on cutting out this food or reducing that amount, we so often actually cause the problem to escalate.

This approach is actually leading to fewer kids eating vegetables and whole grains, fewer kids getting exercise, more true disordered eating and shorter lifespans in the end. And it doesn't lead to weight loss!

This is one doctor we all need to start listening to.

Read the article I've written about what Pinhas says parents can do if they are worried about their child's relationship with food and find out more about what she has to say about how it's not about the weight.

A Hero Never Known from Michael Kinney on Vimeo.

This beautiful little video was produced by former TVO producer, Michael Kinney, and it perfectly demonstrates the kinds of stories we want to hear from you for Black History Month. Don't worry, you don't have to produce a video, although that would be fun. Just tell us who is your hero and why. It could be someone rather famous in the black community, or, as in Michael's case, it could be family. Perhaps it's your big brother who always helps you out, or a teacher who inspired you. Maybe it's your mom - I hope someone suggests their mom.

We have three BlackBerry PlayBooks to give away - pretty good prizes, don't you think?

Later this month, I'll have an interview with Zanana Akande, former teacher, MPP, and the first black woman appointed to the Ontario cabinet. She thinks it's vitally important that black kids are proud of who they are and who's come before them.  Our contest is a way to share that pride.

Watch for my conversation with Zanana later this month at TVOParents.  If you'd like to learn more about Michael Kinney, he can be found at

Twitter: twitter.com/michaelkinney

Facebook: facebook.com/michaelkinney.page

I wrote about this last year after the awards ceremony, and you can see past winners on the Ministry's website. I wish you could see the nomination packages I had the privilege of reading when I chaired the selection committee. Then you'd really understand how wonderful these people are. There are reference letters from principals, colleagues, parents, and students - long lists of the many ways the nominees have affected their students and school communities.

Well, it's time to nominate this year's great teachers. Think of the teacher who has made life wonderful, exciting, inclusive, safe for your child or for other students at your school. The teacher who has made the kids want to be at school every day because it's just such a good place to be. The one who pushes them above and beyond their comfort zones so they discover who they are and what they can do. And where they might go next.

Then go to the Ministry's website and nominate that teacher. You can also follow the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. It might take a bit of work, but it's worth it. The teachers who are nominated are understandably chuffed, and the ones who win - well, they have very big smiles on awards night.  So go for it.  Name a great teacher. The deadline is Feb 6.

Here's the problem. This little guy is a new skier in a group of kids who have skied before. He wants to be the leader, but can't even get down the hill. So he's frustrated and feels like a failure. He falls and won't get up. He refuses to practise the skills. He says he feels stupid. Unfortunately, unless his parents enrol him in private lessons, which are expensive, he's stuck with a group, and it's impossible to make up a group of skiers who all have the same abilities, as hard as you might try.

So that leaves my daughter trying to keep him happy and on the snow so he'll eventually catch up with the others.

She's trying so hard to motivate him. She's making it fun and including games. She's giving him the opportunity to lead. She's making sure she's giving all the kids individualized instruction so he's not the being singled out. She has stickers!

If he can ski down the hill with his group by the end of the season with a smile on his face, she'll have been successful. I think that's her goal.

Teachers, you must go through this all the time. If you have any advice for my daughter, please share it. The weekend is fast approaching.
 

And do you know Sir Ken Robinson? He's a world-renowned education and creativity expert. Here's an animation adapted from one of his talks. It's guaranteed to get you thinking about what education should be.

So, I started our literary journey together with a book I thought we could both enjoy: Wally Lamb’s “Wishin’ and Hopin’: A Story of Christmas”.

Lamb, best-known for Oprah’s book club title “She’s Come Undone”, is an adult writer but it was Christmas time and I figured it would be still be age-appropriate since the story centred on 10-year-old Felix Funicello, fictional distant cousin of the real-life Mouseketeer Annette Funicello, during the nostalgic and memorable weeks leading up to his school Christmas pageant in 1964.

And it was - for the most part - though my daughter was as perplexed as Felix at some of the dirty jokes he would hear from older boys or men at the lunch counter his father owned. My daughter loved “Wishin’ and Hopin’”. Even though the story takes place 50 years in the past, she could relate to this sweet, inquisitive boy and the antics at his parochial school. We made a pact to listen to it every Christmas.

And so 2011 ended as it began – indeed, how we also bookended 2010 -- with the both of us in the car laughing hysterically at blunders in the St. Aloysius Gonzaga Christmas pageant. It was just as funny three Christmases after first hearing the story.

In between, we discovered classics such as “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle; notable fiction offerings such as Rebecca Stead’s “When You Reach Me”, which was about kids obsessed with the concept of time travel in “A Wrinkle in Time”. We also listened to the books of beloved children's authors E.L. Konigsburg and Judy Blume.

My daughter ended up finding a favourite book in the bunch and on her birthday, she unwrapped a hard copy of “The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate”. She’s read it twice since. Calpurnia is a heroine she relates to – an 11-year-old girl with a love of science and a determination to avoid all thing girls are supposed to like or do – set in rural Texas during the final months of 1899.

Most of the audio books I list below are likely to appeal to girls, though not all, and are for readers aged nine to 12. Many, like Calpurnia Tate, are historical in nature – that’s the Mom in me trying to sneak some literary vegetables into her reading diet. But the stories and characters are still relatable and compelling.

I would pick the books at first, but when my daughter liked a particular author, she would look them up and ask for more of the author’s work. Not all books are available in audio book form, but if you look over the digital catalogue at your local library, you would be amazed at what you can find. I also recommend perusing year-end “best lists” for good recommendations of children’s books that aren’t to be missed.

After two years, our time with audio books has become something we both value – the sharing of stories we both love. I often find myself waiting eagerly for our morning drive to school and our evening drive home, because I want to return to our continuing story. And I’ve often had to stop myself continuing to listen after she leaves the car in the morning – a cardinal sin, she has declared, and has since instituted a “no-listening-without-her” rule. A few times we cheated, bringing the CD’s inside, curled up together, listening to our stories on the couch. I’m expecting her literary tastes to change in time. I’m just thrilled I get to be part of that journey.

Sandra Gionas is a producer on “The Agenda with Steve Paikin”.

Our 2011 Reads:

Wishin’ and Hopin’: A Christmas Story by Wally Lamb

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

Penny From Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm

Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall

The Penderwicks of Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall

Boston Jane by Jennifer L. Holm

Here at tvoparents our shows are available for a time as audio podcasts, which are kinda perfect for the commute to and from work!

Here was a fascinating discussion called Are Girls Too Sexy Too Soon?

And here's a panel discussion we did called "In High Esteem" on the never-ending subject...

ABC Life Literacy Canada President Margaret Eaton came in this year to tell us how families can incorporate literacy activities into their busy lives. It didn't sound too difficult. Here's what she had to say:

We have interviews with Robert Munsch, including him singing the "Love You Forever" song, and an interview with Tufts University researcher Maryanne Wolf about how reading isn't natural. It will give you new respect for the work children do when they learn to read. 

If you're looking for books to share with your child, check out our TVOParents Book Club. Our discussions range from graphic novels to books for reluctant readers and everything in between. 

And TVOKids is busy this week. The Space will feature "Book Week" beginning January 23rd, and Gisele's Big Back Yard is launching Sir Readsalot of Signs, part of The Adventures of Sir Readsalot.

• Strengthening the Relationship and Enabling Opportunities (Treaties, rights, governance, jurisdiction, title, etc.)
• Unlocking the Potential of First Nation Economies (economic development, partnerships, land issues)
• Realizing the Promise of First Nations Peoples (education, health, safe and secure communities, etc.)

Education is definitely a priority.  Fewer than half of all First Nations kids on and off reserve finish high school in this country.  We've examined this in-depth.  Here's our interview with Chief Stan Beardy on the lack of full-day kindergarten in First Nation schools.

And here's all we have on the aboriginal child and education. Hope it explains a few things.

Barbara has made a huge contribution. She's published more than 20 books, sold 1.5 million of them worldwide, and is famous for her gorgeous pictures. If you have kids or have bought books for kids, you know them. Hers are the ones with the bold, colourful plasticine illustrations - The Party, Perfect Snow, and Picture a Tree, to name just three.  Here's our book club discussion with Barbara:

Barbara Reid also visits schools and libraries sharing her passion for reading and expression through art. If you're not lucky enough to see her there, she has a fantastic website where she shows you how she creates those beautiful pictures. You have to check it out. I told her it made me want to try it myself, and she said "Good, that's what I was hoping for."

Not only do picture books tell a story with few or no words - they're full of detail, and kids love detail. When I was a kid I loved these little story books that had borders of tiny pictures around the edge of every page - extra details to peruse. And that's what I loved about Jan Brett's books, which I read to my kids. She's written many books - The Mitten, The Hat, Berlioz the Bear - and they all have these lovely detailed drawings around the edges of every page, giving you clues as to what will happen next.

So what do kids learn from picture books?  Our TVOParents Book Club guests, Barbara Reid, Sheila Barry and Patricia Storms, had a lot to say about that, and they should know. Barbara is a plasticine artist and author of The Party and Picture a Tree, among many others. Sheila is co-publisher of Groundwood Books and Patricia Storms is an illustrator and author of The Pirate and the Penguin. Picture books are fun and they teach a child early reading concepts, like left to right, top to bottom. They also encourage observation and deduction. (Speaking of observation, a big hit with my kids was the Where's Waldo series of books. How many hours I spent looking closely at every little detail trying to find that guy.)  My son also loved Stephen Biesty's Cross Section books, and David Macaulay's The Way Things Work, all of them very heavy on illustration. I'm pretty sure they helped him become the creative problem solver he is today. Our guests also said pictures often create a second or opposing story line to the text, which adds yet another layer to the learning.

That's just a bit of what they said. Here's the whole conversation:

Near the end of the discussion Barbara, Sheila and Patricia recommend their favourite illustrated kids' book. They're all gorgeous, and of course I mean the books and the guests.

This is as good a time as any to look at the other favourite kids books out there (in English).

We ran a contest asking what book must kids read before leaving childhood - We got lots of answers, including the A.A. Milne classic, and we asked some special guests to come in for a great (and fun) discussion on whether the people's picks were on the ball.

HIPPY Canada, as stated on its website, is "about helping parents learn how easy, fun and rewarding it is to teach their children at home."  It specifically targets diverse groups of people, newcomers who may feel excluded. To that end, I hosted a public lecture for HIPPY Canada called "From Isolation to Inclusion" where we heard from academic experts and a parent who used the HIPPY program.

Here's an example:  How to Help Your Child Learn to Cook. This is the English version, but we have it in eight other languages as well.

You can find all the videos on our new page. Enjoy!

Our dear friend and colleague Sandra Gionas over at the Agenda with Steve Paikin, wrote this blog today, and is confronting obesity on tonight's show with some big guns. There's a panel discussion, but also a live chat where people can share their stories, advice, and encouragement.

We too have tackled the obesity beat.  Here is an interesting panel discussion on Childhood Obesity that Cheryl hosted.

We recently posted a blog on a controversial anti-obesity campaign going on in Georgia.  Did you see it? There's an interesting overlay of social shame and judgement that accompanies obesity - it goes beyond physical health. One colleague who had gained weight through medication said that for every pound of weight she gained, in the eyes of society she lost 10 points of her IQ.

Also, Karen Bridson, one of our digital media producers (who is also a fitness nut who has battled her own weight issues over the years - and written books on it) wrote this article: Does Intense Focus on Obese Weight Backfire?

And of course over at TVOKids they work hard to get kids off the couch and moving - with their Million Ways to Move campaign...which is now toting 1.5 million minutes of moving on its board.

So, is it an all-out war? And who will win? Have you started a campaign against extra weight? How about your kids? How is it going?

It's an ongoing debate whether this is an equitable way to educate children: Who goes to these schools? Will there be auditions? Can parents handle the commutes to some of these schools? Does it shut out those who are not as comfortable with how the school system works?

Here's one article on it from today's Globe: Opening of Specialized Schools Reignites Fairness Debate

And here are some ways we've tackled this very issue!

We spend a lot of time these days talking about how important creativity is not only to a child's learning, but to their success, how important creative thinking will be to the future of business, the economy, life as we know it, blah, blah, blah.

So what's happening? Who's getting creative with creativity?

Then Andra wrote, "In fact, it’s one of education research’s most consistent findings that teachers generally don’t like creative students." - I found myself wondering - is this true? Is it? Is this the problem? We've tackled the issue of arts in education - but really, parents & teachers, what's the reality? Are creative students too much work? Let us know.

Now, of course, we here at TVOParents (in the spirit of open disclosure), are intrigued since our colleagues over at TVOKids work their digital fingers to the bone to create games and apps that are all aimed at helping children learn - all tested at the teacher and classroom level, all of them starting with the learning objectives of the Ontario curriculum.

And...fun.  Yup. There. I said it. Fun.

Speech – you could say it’s pretty important. It’s needed to function in society, it precedes and affects literacy development, and vocabulary is the single greatest indicator of cognitive ability. The Hanen Centre, which offers programs for kids with speech and language delays, estimates 1 in 12 children in Canada are affected, yet speech is not often spoken of! It’s definitely time to speak about speech. 

My first son started talking when he was about one year old. My second son, on the other hand, had very few words at 18 months old. He may have had 6 words, considering his doctor said animal sounds counted as words (laugh out loud), however, he chose not to use them. No, no, that would be too easy on me. In order to express his needs, he preferred to point, whine and sway his body from side to side. They say boys are late talkers. At least that’s what I heard, and that’s what I was told whenever I questioned my gut feeling that something was wrong. I decided to use that information to ease my case of ‘worried mother syndrome’.

When I took my son for his 18 month check-up, I was shocked by what the pediatrician said. “He should have more words by now - he might have a speech delay.” Speech delay - are you kidding? All the information I had collected for reassurance suddenly went out the window! Learning curve.

The pediatrician recommended a private assessment by a Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) to determine what was going on. A private assessment was our only option in order to get something done in a timely fashion, since the wait list to be seen by an SLP through the public system was well over one year (and that’s considered short). So, we had the private assessment administered right away, and we placed our son on the year long waiting list for Ontario government funded Speech and Language Services.

Like other parents dealing with this issue, we experienced a number of emotions, including sadness, frustration, worry and fear. OK, I admit that I experienced those emotions the most. But moms were born to worry, right? The process of diagnosing a speech delay is not always clear cut, and in our case it was not an easy road. Canadian SLP’s have guidelines with respect to what they can and cannot diagnose, and medical doctors typically do not diagnose speech and language issues.

After an SLP assessment, it was suggested to us that our son presented as a child with “apraxia.” Conveniently, that is one of the conditions that Canadian SLP’s are not permitted to formally diagnose. Medical doctors are allowed to diagnose this condition, however, we were advised to deal with our SLP with respect to diagnosis. Confusing.

According to The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America, apraxia, also known as ‘childhood apraxia of speech’ is a “neurological speech disorder, in which children have great difficulty planning and producing the precise, highly refined and specific series of movements of the tongue, lips, jaw and palate that are necessary for intelligible speech.” Have I mentioned the learning curve yet? To simplify: these kids have trouble creating sounds and putting them together. It’s usually due to poor motor planning. Hmm, ‘motor mouth’ now has a new meaning.

We settled for a diagnosis of “presents as a child with apraxia” and then therapy began. Finally getting a handle on what was going on, and then receiving the appropriate intervention put us all at ease. Excellent progress was made, particularly as my son got closer to the age of two. He still has work to do with his sound articulation, however, he can now express himself, and speak in 3-6 word sentences fairly clearly.

This experience taught me a number of things. First and foremost, I learned to trust the power of the maternal gut instinct. If I truly believe there is something not quite right, it can’t hurt to voice my concerns to the experts. Second, early intervention is important. The research shows that the earlier we intervene to help our children, the better the results. It makes sense to provide intervention while the brain is still developing. I also learned that a therapist alone is not going to “fix it”. As a parent, I needed to be part of my child’s therapy, and implement weekly strategies and goals. Above all, discovering that my child has speech issues has taught me to keep positive, face the parenting learning curve with bravery, and speak up. On to the next challenge!
 

Lisa Cantkier is the mother of two very active little boys. She is also an Ontario certified special education resource teacher who has been working with children with special needs, both in and out of classroom settings, since 1998. Lisa enjoys researching and writing about education, health and wellness issues.

In my years as a journalist I've met several aboriginal families, produced reports from northern reserves, talked about the challenges facing the community. Here at TVOParents we've discussed aboriginal education and we've talked about kids who grow up poor, black and fatherless.  We did not, however, extend that conversation to include other groups of Canadians who struggle with absent fathers.

Many times host Anna Maria Tremonti asked the question, why?  Why have we not talked about this until now?  The answers made sense to me. A researcher said aboriginal men are invisible. Sometimes they're in jail, they're unemployed, they may be homeless or close to it. Out of sight, out of mind. She also said aboriginal communities are living with seven generations of damage from the residential school system where families were broken and boys did not learn from their fathers, and then could not be real fathers. They desperately want to be good fathers but they don't know how.

How can this be turned around? How can young men learn to be fathers? How important is dad in the family? And what happens when kids grow up without their fathers? Here's our discussion "Do Dads Matter?"  Ian Brown, Dalton Higgins and Brian Russell share their thoughts.

What do you think? How important are dads? And how can a man learn to be a good father if he didn't have one himself?

Just found a link to an article called Very Accessible Review of Parent Involvement Research - and it also gives you a link to The Best Research Available on Parent Engagement -

We've covered the topic and have 2 interesting discussions...which you can watch here...

The education world is having an on-going discussion on how much young kids should interact on social media (although they're not supposed to be able to have accounts), or how teachers deal with social media, or how these tools might actually be useful in learning...Do your kids use social media (even if they're under age?) Do your kids use much technology in the classroom? What do they use?

And here are some quick facts about ADHD from us.  Hope it helps.

Snippets:  "What about these kids who travel abroad to volunteer?"  "They're just doing it for the prestige. People here need help too."  "Kids should pick something they're interested in, not just anything."

Well, I have to fess up. I listened carefully because one of my kids did do a month of volunteering in Africa and one of my other kids is going this year. Are they driven by prestige? I don't know. Maybe. Do I support their desire to see the world, to learn about cultures different from ours, to help people who need help, to test themselves in an unfamiliar environment without parents at hand?  Yes, yes, yes and yes. They've also volunteered closer to home - with young children at a ski school, a sailing school, and they've helped at their own high schools. I understand why parents talk about this. To graduate from high school in Ontario, kids must log 40 volunteer hours.

Who knows which experiences will change them? That's for them to find out. As far as I see it, my job is to encourage and say yes, if possible.  We talked about this - how, when, where.  Here's our discussion.
 

Here's an excellent article about mandated volunteering by education author Alfie Kohn.  You can also see/hear him in our discussions "Should Kids Compete?"  and on grading kids in  "Do Ontario Report Cards Make the Grade?"

How do you feel about kids volunteering? What should they do? And what should be the goal?

Strong4Life.com has billboards, videos of children who ask, "Mom, why am I fat?", and the self admonition - "Ignoring the problem is what got us here in the first place. It's time to wake up." It has led to a raft of negative and positive media as people duke out the approach.  What do you think?

Controversy Swirls Around Harsh Anti-Obesity Ads

The controversial obesity ads

Fighting Obesity - or picking on fat kids?

Georgia ads causing stir as boy asks, 'Mom, why am I fat?'

Of course, we've tackled the issue before...

I was in Grade 7 or 8 and at a sleepover at Roxanne and Jennifer's house. They were my twin friends. Their mom was a teacher and their dad was an architect and they lived in a modern, kind of cool, house with a ravine for a back yard. I liked it there.

At this sleepover, their dad turned off the lights, pulled over a chair, and read us scary stories. Can you imagine? I absolutely loved it. It was so dramatic, so unusual. My parents never did anything like this. Although they were both readers, they didn't read out loud to us after we were little. I was so impressed that this dad would spend his time reading to us, entertaining us. I still remember the room, the light, where we were sitting on the floor. I don't remember the story (that's not good, is it?)  But it was special.

Margaret Eaton's going to talk about the value of reading out loud to our kids even when they're older. And she'll give us some real, practical tips - everyday things we can do - to help our kids become literate. We'll post that interview late next week, in time for Family Literacy Day on January 27th. In the meantime, here's an interview we did last year with beloved Canadian children's author, Robert Munsch, who's an ambassador for ABC Life Literacy Canada.

And have you ever wondered how to sing the famous "Love You Forever" song? Well, here's Robert Munsch himself singing it for you.  Enjoy.

Need more on Aboriginal education? We have it.

Keeping kids active and always having healthy food choices available for them is pretty tough, though, in North America these days.

There is, however, lots parents can do to help their kids. Check out our article on what you can do.

Meanwhile, TVOKids is making learning about healthy choices fun with its new game Healthy Bodies.

Your kids can also sign up to log their minutes in the TVOKids Million Ways to Move campaign.

And don't forget to watch our panel discussions on the childhood obesity epidemic here and how healthy bodies translate into healthy minds, below.

We met in Thunder Bay where I was hosting the IFOA's LitonTour event. Bartleman was there to read from his latest book, As Long As the River Flows, a novel about an aboriginal family struggling with the legacy of residential schools. My first glimpse of him was as he rushed through the doors of the hotel banquet room we'd booked for interviews. His flight had just arrived and he ran in with his suitcase in hand and a smile on his face. We asked if he'd like to check in to his room first, have a few minutes to get organized. He said no, he was ready to go. So we did. He talked about his book, of course, and he told moving stories about growing up as an aboriginal kid in a time and place where that wasn't so easy. He told one great story about how he learned to read at the town dump.

James Bartleman also sat across from me at dinner that night where he told stories about being High Commissioner in South Africa. He was honest about a physical attack he suffered there and about his ensuing depression. In fact, he says that's what led him to writing...it was a way for him to share what was on his mind. 

As Lieutenant Governor, Bartleman tried to reduce the stigma of mental illness, he fought racism and discrimination and he promoted literacy among First Nations children by starting the Lieutenant-Governor's Book Program.  More than a million books were donated to school libraries in First Nations communities, especially those in northern Ontario.

Congratulations to you, James Bartleman. You truly deserve this award, and I hope we meet again.

Big Study Links Good Teachers to Lasting Gains

So what do you think makes a teacher great?

In the meantime, this is a topic we've touched on...have a listen:

Catch our main page on Bullying with all sorts of resources and interviews with parents, and other experts - including our interview with Lorna Blumen, who just wrote "Bullying Epidemic"

And the interesting thing to note? How does the impossible goal of being the perfect parent affect your child?

We tackled this when we launched our new website in September - Parent Judgement: Why Do We Do It?

How have you experienced parental judgement? Or have you found yourself judging?

Instead, try to learn something about your aboriginal neighbours. If you can't get to a First Nations reserve, read, watch, and research. Here at TVOParents, we've tried to explain some of the issues facing aboriginal communities and their children. Our most recent interviews were with Grand Chief Stan Beardy of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which includes Attawapiskat. We talked to him about children's mental health issues and suicides in his communities. We also had him explain why kids in federally-funded First Nations schools, right here in Ontario, do not get full-day kindergarten, the very program that's supposed to level the playing field.  Here's that conversation.

Aboriginal kids also get less money to learn, $2000 to $3000 less than kids in provincially-funded schools. Add to that the high cost of almost everything in remote communities, and the gap widens further.

For a little background, you can watch Aboriginal Education Past and Present...

and Solutions for the Future.

We've also discussed Aboriginal Education in Timmins, where we asked "What do urban aboriginal school kids need most?"

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty promised this in the November 2011 Throne Speech:  "Your government will continue to work hard to close the socio-economic gap between Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal Ontarians. And it will continue to call on the federal government to work with First Nations, other Aboriginal partners and the province to improve education supports for Aboriginal students."

We'll be following this in the new year. The conversation has finally begun, I hope.

Here are our feature videos on Finland, including Cheryl's interview with Pasi Sahlberg back in November at the People for Education Conference and his keynote address. It's a fascinating system that doesn't rely on standardized testing, doesn't have private schools, and maxes out on the education of their teachers...we repeat: can we learn from them?

One of the interviews that's top of mind for me these days, with Attawapiskat in the news, is my talk with Grand Chief Stan Beardy of the Nishnawbe Aski First Nation. Attawapiskat is on the far eastern edge of that nation. We met up with him in Thunder Bay a couple of months ago where we talked about youth mental health and the high number of youth suicides in northern aboriginal communities. Imagine - one in ten young people kill themselves and they live in small communities, so everyone is affected.

Chief Beardy also talked to us about the lack of funding for full-day kindergarten in First Nations federally-funded schools. This is astonishing because one of the goals of  full-day kindergarten in Ontario is to give at-risk kids a fighting chance to catch up with their peers.

Children's mental health was a real focus at TVOParents this year and will continue to be so next year. I attended a York University workshop on the links between mental health, school and prison, and we covered the Summit on Children and Youth Mental Health where we spoke to Dr. Bruce Ferguson.

Another important conversation we had, as I see it, was how to get your kids interested in elections. There's lots to ponder in Toronto, Ontario and Canadian politics these days, and Taylor Gunn gave us some practical tips on how to engage your kids in the process long before election time. I liked him and I liked his advice.

On a personal level, I absolutely loved sitting down with authors at the International Festival of Authors Lit on Tour events this fall, of which I hosted three.  Did you know former Ontario Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman learned to read by scavenging comics from the local dump? Or that Johanna Skibsrud taught kids in Northern Canada? Or that Joseph Boyden tried to kill himself as a young man? All of these authors as well as Drew Hayden Taylor, Madeline Thien and Jane Urquhart shared stories of their childhoods and how they got to be writers.

Next year promises to be even busier and better, so keep checking back.

Happy Holidays to all of you. See you in the New Year!

Producer Albert Wisco spent a day with the McCallum family in Toronto. Their son Matthew lives with cystic fibrosis. Here's his story...

It’s my job to learn what struggles kids face in school, what changes are happening in their brains as they grow and how those struggles and changes affect their emotions, their progress and their potential in life.  

The story research we do here at TVOParents has informed my parenting, and I’d like to think, made me a better parent.

But my son has informed my work just as much as my work has informed my parenting.

Watching him grow and change and choose has given me a plethora of ideas for shows and stories for us to explore here at TVOParents. Case in point is our recent panel discussion on whether or not graphic novels are good enough for the classroom.
My son was a reluctant reader until he was about seven years old. He could read, but preferred not to. That’s about when my mother bought him the first in the series of BONE graphic novels by Jeff Smith. He read it front to back within a few days and was hungry for more. Thrilled, I ran out and bought the rest of the series.

And we haven’t looked back. He is now hooked on reading. I credit Jeff Smith with giving my son the love of reading. Still, my son prefers graphic novels to more text-dense chapter books, which prompted the question for me: what if he never wants to move on to chapter books in his recreational reading? Are these ‘real books?’ Can he use them in the classroom for book reports or is that considered cheating?

And so, I booked a panel of experts, included the best-selling graphic novelist Jeff Smith, to discuss the issue and come to some conclusions.

Here's a fascinating journey one family took to get their child the best pre-kindergarten experience they could - The Pre-K Underground

We've tackled the difficult topic of declining enrolment and school closures...have a look...

As reported in the Globe and Mail: 'The debt burden of Canadian households has surpassed levels of both the United States and the United Kingdom and, by at least one measure, they are hurtling toward those countries’ peak levels of 2007, new Statistics Canada data show.'

Look at this quote from the StatsCan report: Household credit market debt expanded in the third quarter as mortgage debt and consumer credit debt increased to $1 trillion and $448 billion, respectively....The ratio of household credit market debt to personal disposable income increased to 150.8%.

Any rise in unemployment, or interest rates...and many of us are going to be in serious trouble.

Have you talked to your kids about money?  Need some help with that? 

The study just released in Notices of the American Mathematical Society is by Wisconsin researchers Janet Mertz, senior author of the study and a professor of oncology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Jonathan Kane, a professor of mathematical and computer sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. "We found that boys — as well as girls — tend to do better in math when raised in countries where females have better equality, and that's new and important," says Kane. "It makes sense that when women are well-educated and earn a good income, the math scores of their children of both genders benefit."

This is a fascinating on-going discussion. Cheryl had a great talk with three women who wanted to debunk the same notion - and now there's a study to support their position...

Then today a twitter friend - @rpondiscio - sent us a link to "Reading Comprehension Requires Knowledge of Words and the World - Scientific Insights into the Fourth-Grade Slump and the Nation’s Stagnant Comprehension Scores" - which questions the data...of course. 

So have you noticed a 4th grade slump?

Here's the panel discussion we did...

This is not just frilly stuff.  As explained in the report, kids who like to read do better in school. There's research to prove it. This does not mean that our kids CAN'T read. In fact, in Ontario, they can read better than ever. They have the technique. They just don't enjoy it. 

People for Education got this information from the EQAO surveys that are given along with the standardized tests in Grades 3 and 6.  It asks students, among other things, if they like to read. The percentage who say they do has gone from 65% in 1998/1999 to 50% in 2010/2011. That's a significant decline.

It's possible that kids do not consider all their reading when they answer that question. I'm thinking of reading online, for example. But could it be that there's just too much emphasis on reading for achievement (standardized tests) and not enough focus on reading for pleasure? Has the decline in the number of teacher librarians across Ontario affected the way kids read? Could it be that public libraries have cut hours so it's harder to just pop over to borrow a book? Or are parents pushing kids to read for school rather than for themselves?

I'd say yes to all of the above. So what can you do about it? Well, my advice would be to, first, read for pleasure yourself and let your kids see you doing it. Second, allow your kids - encourage them even - to do the same. We've had some great TVOParents Book Club discussions about books kids love. Our latest one was about graphic novels which can hook some reluctant readers. You'll hear in the chat that kids who read graphic novels often become voracious readers. 
 

We've also talked to many experts about reading and writing.  So have a look at our videos, read the report and let us know what you think. Do your kids enjoy reading? What did you do to make that happen?

Jeff Smith joined us because our book club this month is about graphic novels. Also part of the discussion was Larry Swartz, who brought the academic perspective and author Mahtab Narsimhan. There's also a surprise visit from former Ontario Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman who describes the unlikely way he learned to read. You have to watch that clip to really appreciate how much that man achieved in his life. Truly amazing.

I read a lot of comics as a kid - Archie, Casper the Ghost. I wasn't a fan of superhero comics. Maybe that was a gender thing. The great thing about comics was that they were cheap and available. I could buy them with my allowance at the store down the street and there was always a new one on the rack. My kids read Archie comics too, especially on long drives. Comics have long had a place in kids' lives. Graphic novels, on the other hand, are becoming more and more popular. Question is, do comics and graphic novels turn kids into readers or do they keep kids reading at an elementary level?

We debated this at our book club meeting. And it was a debate. Some people think graphic novels are valuable and should even be used in the classroom. Others think they don't allow kids to develop the attention and committment you need to read a 'proper' novel. Do your kids read graphic novels? Are you worried they'll never read conventional novels?
 

It was a GeekDad blog post about the five best toys of all time.  So, what are the five best toys according to writer Jonathan Liu? Well, here are some clues. One of them grows on trees. One can take up an entire room. One might be considered dangerous to young children. One can be found in every bathroom. And one of them is the reason we have laundry detergent. Got it?

OK, here's the list:  Sticks. Box. String. Cardboard tube. Dirt.

I absolutely LOVE this list. My kids adored all of these toys. I could also add tin cans stolen from the neighbours' recyling bins, pots, pans and other kitchen things, and dress up clothes from thrift stores. Some memorable moments include: 

-  my three-year-old son watching a Wallace and Gromit video with a cardboard box on his head, a slit cut out for his eyes. He did this so he could see the world the way Wallace saw it through a slit in the barn wall. My boy has since grown up to be a cinematographer and filmmaker.

-  my daughters making an appliance box into a house with windows, doors and artwork on the walls.

-  me as a kid, waiting for the rain to stop so I could draw with a stick in the Saskatchewan mud. It was like working in the finest clay. I can still feel the smooth, cold, beautiful lines I could make with those sticks and that dirt. Sorry, I've never found it here in Ontario. I've looked.

So while you can't really wrap up sticks or boxes or string, tubes, or especially dirt to give your kids for Christmas, think of them as always there for the taking. Maybe you can just buy the "accessories".

For those of you who can't resist learning more about sticks and dirt, here's Jonathan Liu's GeekDad blog.  And if you want to learn more about those toys marketed as "educational", we've discussed this here at TVOParents on  Do Educational Toys Really Teach?  What do you think are the best toys ever?

In A World Elsewhere, Landish Druken returns to Newfoundland in disgrace after being expelled from Princeton. He adopts a boy whose father is killed on a boat owned by Landish Druken's father. The two live in deep poverty and eventually accept a bribe from Landish's old Princeton friend/foe, Van, son of the wealthiest man in the US, to live with him in his lonely mansion.  It all leads to lots of drama and twists and turns. The book is a compelling, fantastic read.  And Landish is such an adorable dad. But through it all runs the complexities of the father/son relationship.

We were scheduled to talk to Johnston about his book at the IFOA Owen Sound reading, but he was sick and couldn't make it. He said he'd come in another time, however, and he's kept his promise.  So Tuesday it is. And I can't wait.

We'll post the interview as soon as we can.  In the meantime, we have talked about dads here at TVOParents. Ian Brown, who often writes about fatherhood, joined us for our discussion "Do Dads Matter?"  And if you want to watch my interviews with other IFOA authors, you can do that too.

So, what did they choose?  Well, you'll have to watch the book club video to see (sorry - shameless baiting, I know). But suffice it to say you might be surprised.

We also asked you, our audience, what you thought about this, and 162 of you gave us your suggestions. The top pick with 9 votes went to Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree. Tied with 8 votes were Robert Munsch's Love You Forever and The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien tied with 6 votes and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery got 5 votes. My vote goes to The Little Prince which I loved reading to my kids. The rest of that list is posted. Scroll down and see if you find anything surprising. We sure did.

I'm mentioning this book club now because I suspect you might be in a book buying mood as the holidays approach. I hope you'll be inspired by the list or by our book club conversation.