Up in the Treetops

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..as for me maybe next year

When I first saw the treetop trekking course I was in awe. I couldn’t believe how high the course was. I found out later that the wires were anywhere from 25 to 40 feet off the ground. This is the first year that Mono Cliffs has offered this amazing program to students. Our school was only the second school group to attempt this course.

Before the students were allowed on the high course they participated in a team building activity where they were encouraged to walk across a low ropes course. The wires and swings were close to the ground so that if one lost their balance all they had to do was step off. It was pretty challenging walking across those wires but I did it. It wasn’t a pretty site as my body wobbled and shook, making my way across.

It was raining and cold the morning my group headed towards the treetop course. The three groups that had already experienced the ropes had perfect weather. Everyone raved about the experience and my colleagues encouraged me to take on the challenge. All of us were fitted with safety harnesses and helmets and then sent to a different low ropes area where we learned how to use the harnesses and transfer our clips from one part of the course to the next. Safety first.

After going across the low ropes I felt much more confident and even allowed myself to hang from the ropes in the harness. I waited my turn to go up the cargo net to the first platform. I cheered on the students ahead of me and praised the two who attempted the climb but couldn’t bring themselves to go any further than the platform. When it was my turn my hands were already numb from the cold but I started the climb up the ropes anyway. It was much harder than I expected. The first platform was 30 feet from the ground and I was about 6 feet away when my arms just gave out. I tried to rest but my experience with anything physical has taught me that when you’re physically spent, pushing yourself can only lead to trouble.

The one thing that I’ve always wanted to experience is being repelled from a significant height. So rather than climb back down I asked if I could be repelled. It was a lot of fun and it inspired the two students who didn’t continue on the course to climb back up and then then experience the same thing. I think they felt a lot better having done that.

As for me, I definitely need to build up my upper body strength before I attempt this again. Losing more weight would also help. I’m actually looking forward to trying this again.

Off to the Cottage for a Couple of Days

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….hopefully the bears stay away

Even though I’ve just returned from a 3 day excursion with some of my students I’m heading north to join my friend D and her daughter for a ‘girls weekend’ at the cottage. We had planned this before I knew about the Mono Cliffs trip. I was too tired last night to make the trip so I’m heading up after I write this post. It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful weekend, weather wise. My lessons for the week are planned and there isn’t anything I can do about the library on the weekend so I think I’ll be able to enjoy myself without worrying about school.

I’ve been reading about bears on some of the blogs that I follow. It seems like more and more bears are moving into communities that haven’t experienced them before. I know that they’re trying to fatten up before the winter hibernation but it makes me nervous to think that they might saunter by looking for food at my cottage. Hopefully they’ll find enough food at the dump, which is a few kilometres down the road from us.

Enjoy your weekend. I’ll report back on Sunday night.

Cheers!

Exhausted but Rejuvenated

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….I can barely keep my eyes open as I write this

Today I returned to the city after three days at Mono Cliffs with 54 grade 5s.

The experience at this well established outdoor education centre was very different from years past. The focus used to be more ecological with geology hikes to the caves, eco hikes through the woods along the Bruce Trail, exploration of the ponds, orienteering, and survival skills in the woods.

This year’s programs still focus on the environment but are more adventure based. The children participated in archery, instincts for survival games, co-operative games and team building, mountain biking and tree top trekking. The last two activities are completely new and just blew me away. The equipment for the mountain bike ride was top notch and the design of the tree top trekking was awe inspiring and frightening at the same time.

Mountain Biking

I have owned bikes most of my life and I still ride today. Now I do more city riding and I haven’t been on a mountain bike for several years. About half of the students hiked a short distance through the woods to a cabin in the clearing where Mono Cliffs stores all their bikes and related equipment. The remaining students were at other activities. At the cabin each student was equipped with a bike that was suited to their size, a water bottle and a helmet. They were instructed on how to wear the helmet and how to adjust their seats.

A couple of students who had never ridden before were taken to a clearing with a couple of instructors and were given personalized lessons on how to handle the bikes while the remaining cyclists were lined up and taught about changing gears and braking. Then we all got onto the bikes and rode around in circles for awhile, practising

proper braking, going up and down hills and keeping a safe distance between the bikes. When the leaders felt we had mastered the skills sufficiently we set off for our afternoon ride through the conservation area.

The ride took us into the Mono Cliffs conservation area which is open to the public. The trails started out wide and mostly downhill and when the path became too rocky for beginner riders we all dismounted our bikes and walked for a stretch. The leaders made sure that the children took frequent water breaks and aired on the side of caution with the paths that they chose. As we were going downhill, I realized that the trip back would be a lot of uphill but I didn’t know that we’d be pushing our bikes back up the side of the cliffs. The leaders and the teachers were able to pick up their bikes over the rocky areas but some of the smaller children struggled to get their bikes up the hill. Surprisingly on one complained and they all seemed to enjoy the adventure.

On the last portion of the trip we rode through grassy fields. This is where some of the children wiped out. The paths were very narrow and overgrown with tall grasses, shrubs and trees. There were lots of dips and rocky areas as well. At least when they fell it was usually into the tall grass. I think at this point of the ride we were all getting very tired. Certainly that was what was happening to me and I started to feel claustrophobic on those narrow trails. I fell twice before I finally abandoned the idea of riding on the hilly areas of the field.

When we got back onto the road I got back onto the bike and finished the ride back to the cabin. Other than a few scratches on my ankles I was unhurt and all the children survived the ride with relatively few bruises. Later in the day the lead instructor came to me and apologized for the route she had taken, realizing that it was probably a little too long and technical for our students. The group that had done the ride in the morning had taken a different route and the group that went the next day chose another route. It is early days for this program and the leaders are still working out the glitches and the best routes to take.

All in all it was a great experience for all of us and the two students who couldn’t ride at the beginning of the afternoon were confident cyclists before we headed back to the centre for dinner. On our way back we passed the tree top trekking course and witnessed first hand what we could expect to experience the next day. More about that in the next day or so.

Bull’s Eye!

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….I hit the mark at Mono Cliffs

On Monday I was asked to join the grade 5s on their trip to the outdoor education centre at Mono Cliffs. I’ve always loved this trip and it’s one of the things that I miss now that I don’t have a homeroom. That morning I put that very thought out into the universe when I was talking to some of the parents during our cross country practice.

We were one teacher short for supervision for this year’s trip so after some rearranging of timetables it became possible for me to go on this trip. On Wednesday morning we packed 54 students and all their luggage into two school buses, waved good bye to some anxious parents and made our way up north to Mono Cliffs for 3 days of outdoor activities.

One of the first activities that I took part in was archery. I used to hate archery in high school but since coming to Mono Cliffs for over ten years it has become one of my favourite things to do. Today for the first time in my life I hit the bull’s eye. I was shocked and thrilled at the same time and it left quite the impression with the kids.

A Word a Week Challenge – Square

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Mama Cormier

Stained Glass Ceiling at Queen’s Park, Toronto

Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Courtyard of the Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland

Sweet ‘squares’ for high tea.

A Word a Week Challenge – Square

A Day of Cleaning and Purging

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..including cleaning out my inbox

Many of you gave me permission to delete my unread emails that I couldn’t get to over the summer. I fully intended to follow your advice but I started to read them, a few every day including the new ones that came in. Today I finally finished reading every single email and I’m glad I did. I would have missed a lot of great stories, wonderful photographs, beautiful works of art and delicious recipes if I had merely clicked the delete button.

I started my morning by giving the kitchen a good cleaning. I paid some bills and then sat down for breakfast. We were suppose to dog sit Lucy today but my daughter’s plans changed so after breakfast my husband and I discussed what we could do together. We agreed to work on the garden and start cleaning out the garage. We haven’t had a great vegetable garden this year so much of the vegetable boxes and planters were already cleared out but the flower beds needed some pruning, thinning and weeding. My husband cut the grass while I sorted through the plants.

After filling two large garden waste bags, K and I tackled the garage. We have wood in there from over 30 years ago. We started to pull things from the far corners of the garage and filled 4 garbage bags in no time. Some metal items we put on the curb right away. Even though it was a Sunday they miraculously disappeared within the hour. We have people in the neighbourhood who drive around looking for scrap metal to recycle.

We’ve decided to call in one of those junk retrieval companies to pick up the wood that we have stored in the rafters. I think if we haven’t used it after 30 years we’re not likely to start finding uses for it now. If anyone in the Toronto area wants free lumber you can post a comment here or email me.

After working about 4 hours in the garden I felt that we got a pretty good start on cleaning out the garage and the flower beds. Even if we don’t do anything else this season at least we have room in the garage to store our garden furniture.

I also gave my birds a nice clean cage tonight and before I go to bed I will transfer a load of laundry into to dryer.

Lunches are packed and ready for tomorrow. It always feels good when you can see the fruits of your labour……and I read all my emails. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pouring Down Rain

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….not the best day to visit the McMichael Art Gallery

You might think that visiting an art gallery when it’s raining ‘cats and dogs’ is the best time to visit an art gallery. Not so, at least not when you go to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg. The gallery is situated on 100 acres of beautiful conservation land which you can explore through a network of paths and trails. One of the first things we noticed, even in the pouring rain, was the intoxicating scent of the trees that surround the gallery and line the pathways throughout the grounds.

After we had made plans to go to the gallery with A and J, my husband realized that this was also the weekend of the Binder Twine Festival in Kleinburg. Normally you can’t get near the place during the festival but because of the rain we were able to drive straight onto the McMichael property.

The gallery was featuring two of my favourite photographers, Ansel Adams and Edward Burtynsky.

http://www.tfaoi.com/cm/4cm/4cm227.jpg

http://www.modto.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Edward-Burtynsky-Oil-Spill_4_oil_skimming_boat_near_ground_zero_gulf_of_mexico_2010_lg-e1284764201203.jpg

As in most galleries, I couldn’t photograph the actual works of these great photographers so I found a couple of pictures from the internet to share with you. Both these examples were at the show.

The gallery itself looks like a chalet set among the trees and as you walk in you are greeted by a large, high ceiling and very open lobby. On the far wall, large glass windows that go from the floor to the ceiling look over the thickly wooded conservation area. Tables and chairs welcome visitors to sit and relax while they contemplate whether to start their tour on the upper level where the featured artists are or stay on the main level to view the large permanent collection of the Group of Seven.

The gallery also houses beautiful Aboriginal and Inuit art on both levels.

On our way out and back to the parking lot we passed a couple of the sculptures that line the paths throughout the grounds and we stopped briefly at Tom Thomson’s Cabin which had been relocated to Kleinburg. The building originally came from the grounds of the Studio Building in Rosedale, Toronto where the Group of Seven worked from. Tom Thomson couldn’t afford the rent in the main building so he rented the refurbished workmen’s shed for $1.00 a month.

For more information about the McMichael Canadian Art Collection you can click here.

Four Days Down

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….and I’m still standing

I started writing this yesterday and I finished the whole piece when I pushed the save button for the last time. I had just added my tags and when I went to preview the post I discovered that an hours worth of work wasn’t there. Oddly enough the tags were there but all the photos and links had disappeared. I tried every thing to find the missing work but to no avail. I have no idea what I did but I was too tired to rewrite the piece so I went to bed hoping the the work would show up the next day. Unfortunately it didn’t so here I am rewriting the post again.

********************************************************************************************************************

School started on Tuesday and four classrooms in our school had been converted into temporary kindergarten classes. A flood earlier in the summer delayed the construction on our new kindergarten addition. The workers were pulled from our job site to repair the damage that occurred in other schools. Needless to say, opening day was far from a normal day.

As I suspected the library was one of the classes affected. Two of the four kindergarten classes have since been able to move into their new spaces but the class in the library wasn’t one of them. In fact it will probably be another six days before the other two classes can move into their new homes.

So it’s art on a cart, which I’m used to anyway but now I also have to do library in a box as I travel from room to room. The staff is anxious to start using the library but I’m not able to unpack my books or rearrange the furniture for at least anther week. It’s a maze of boxes and book stands.

The kids have been great. They look forward to art classes and every class has greeted me with cheers and hugs. I started each class reading the book The Dot by Peter Reynolds.

This is a wonderful book about making your mark in life. Vashti, the main character in the book insists that she can’t draw and her teacher encourages her to put a mark on her blank paper and see where it takes her.

From here I introduced Wassily Kandinsky’s Study of Concentric Circles. Kandinsky never intended to sell his study of circles. He merely wanted to experiment with colour theory and see how colours looked when they were painted side by side. Little did he know that this would become an important piece of work in the art world.

I’ve used this lesson with every class so far. This was one of my very first art lessons when I first started teaching my own art over 14 years ago. This time around I added a new twist to the assignment with the older students. I will share the results with you later next week when they finish the project.

Yesterday I was asked to give an art lesson to the JK/SK class. I came across a wonderful blog, Prek+K Sharing, that focuses on lessons for very young children and lo and behold I found an art lesson using Kandinsky’s Concentric Circles. I decided to use crayons with the junior students and let the seniors use the watercolours. I’m glad I did. The difference in abilities between the 3/4 year olds and the 5 year olds was quite amazing. All in all I was very pleased with the outcome.

More Awards – Thank You Diane

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….I’ve chosen to accept the following

Diane from Heron There and Everywhere has nominated me for 5 awards. I don’t know how I feel about multiple awards but I know that I find it more difficult to nominate others when the awards are so different. Here are the rules:

Display the Award Certificates on your blog.
Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them.
Nominate 15 bloggers for these awards and leave a comment to let them know. (Sorry I could only nominate 10).

Here are my nominations for The Awards. You all inspire me to be a better blogger. If your blog is an Award Free Blog, please accept my well-meaning thoughts and appreciation for the great job that you do. I very much enjoy each and everyone of your blogs.

http://culturemonk.com

http://andieduncan.wordpress.com

http://jtweaver.net

http://whiskeyforaftershave.com/2013/09/03/flying-without-wings/

http://yosport28.com

http://ericephoto.wordpress.com

http://thetorontonian.ca

http://brooklynbystander.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/royal-liver-building/

http://veronicacay.com/2013/09/04/another-fiery-redhead-out-of-the-kiln/

http://talkingexperience.wordpress.com/2013/09/03/bucket-list-2013-week-18-swim-with-crocodile-and-visit-kakadu-national-park/

the rest is just sand

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Mama Cormier

Viveka’s post today put a new perspective on my so called problem. This is a great message for anyone who thinks their life is too busy. It’s all about priorities. The post also has the best Bob Dylan song I’ve ever heard.

myguiltypleasures

I posted this in Sept. 2013 … but I think it’s about time to re-post. Personal I just love this story.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle when 24 hours are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee:

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. Again he asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.