Thanks to everyone who participated in the Markham Fair Giveaway! We selected two winners who will be enjoying the fair which starts TODAY! Congratulations to T.B.C. and G.V.! (My girls were great and managed to pull out a Facebook winner and a WordPress winner.)
Month: September 2016
Markham Fair Giveaway Ending Soon
Hi, HTM followers! Don’t forget to enter the latest giveaway on my blog. We have two amazing family passes (two adults and three children) to give away for the Markham Fair from September 29 to October 2.
You can enter in two ways:
- Visit the Hip Teacher Mama site on Facebook. Like and share the post. Comment with your favourite farm animal.
- Send me an email at hipteachermama@gmail.com with your favourite farm animal.
Good luck!
READ ALL ABOUT IT – WORD ON THE STREET
Free books, authors, and signings, oh my! Yesterday, we attended the annual Word on the Street. It was their second year at Harbourfront. We had a good sunny day to enjoy and though there was a strong breeze off the lake, the walking and heavy load of books we lugged around kept us warm.
There were numerous white tents with as many amazing vendors as you could imagine ranging from Random House to Penguin to Scholastic. We met several authors including Paul Colvello, author of Toronto ABC. I couldn’t resist especially when he wrote a personal dedication to each of the girls on a sticky word bubble note (he kindly obliged when I asked for a horse picture for Charlotte). Then we met Lana Button, author of Willow’s Whispers. Middle A said she remembered that book from last year. I Googled it to see what it was all about and the main idea was perfect. It’s about a little girl who speaks too softly (I’m always reminding the girls to speak up when talking to their teachers or people we meet).
After some pictures (Lana Button tweeted a pic with the girls), we walked through all the aisles looking for more goodies. We loaded up on $3 books as well as freebies. There were some privileges to being teachers. I spoke to some other authors and am very interested in their stories. Can’t wait to see if I can work out a review or giveaway soon. Will keep you posted.
Moving along, we discovered the Cooks and Books tent. How lucky to have caught Prairie Girl’s founder, Jean Blacklock, giving a talk about her business and inside tips on baking. We stuck around long enough to get a sample and boy, was it worth it. I also approached the Toronto Star’s Karon Liu just to say hi and mention that I liked his work. Imagine going to all these awesome events daily and writing about them? What a dream!
After a couple more hours of book buying and chatting, it was time to head home. The girls were excited to show Baby C what they got and what we picked out for her. I’m so happy this festival was a hit and Hip Teacher Dad loved it as much as I did. (He did pick up a Toronto VS Everybody t-shirt during the day. It wasn’t a book, but people will read the shirt so that’s a literacy connection, right? )
We were thrilled the weather cooperated as a rainy day would’ve literally drowned out the festival. Hope to make this an annual tradition for my little bookworms and I. I’m really glad they love to read as much as I do. I just wish there were more hours in the day so I could read for leisure instead of for work.
Did you attend the WOTS festival? Any good recommendations?
GIVEAWAY: Markham Fair Family Passes
We’ve all seen the yellow and green signs along McCowan Road so we know it’s coming. Now the important question is, who’s excited? Hip Teacher Dada is absolutely in love with fall and one of his beloved fall events is the Markham Fair. (I’m thinking it’s the food, but he’ll deny it.) We are approaching the weekend before Thanksgiving so do you have your passes yet? I am excited to check it out with my three little ones as Baby C did not have a chance to attend last year due to a cold.
The Markham Fair is four action-packed days filled with rides, crafts, shows, and ever popular kid show characters. This year, we will see Nickelodeon favourite, Dora the Explorer, on Sunday. In addition, the largest outdoor Monster Truck Madness event will take place on Thursday and Sunday as well as the Freestyle Motocross FMX. For those of us who are there to check out the tiniest and cutest, there will be the Superdogs show on Friday night. We will see farm animals each day with horses, pigs, and sheep galore. Kids can see a sheep being sheared or a cow being milked. Curriculum connections abound!
For those more artsy than myself, check out the indoor exhibits for the baking contests, the largest zucchini, or the wonderful students’ posters. HTP and I will likely be lingering around the blooming onion stands while the kids try to win a prize or two.
Now to join in on the action and win a special Family Pass (2 adults and up to 3 children), all you have to do is:
- LIKE and SHARE this post on Facebook.
- COMMENT with your favourite farm animal.
OR, if you do not have Facebook, please email your name and favourite farm animal to:
hipteachermama@gmail.com
The winner will be selected at random and notified by private message on Wednesday, September 28. Please note that:
- Tickets will be at the gate ready for pick-up.
- The contest runs from Wednesday, September 21 to Tuesday, September 27.
Good luck and see you at the best local event in town!
THE WIGGLES GIVEAWAY WINNER
Congratulations for participant, L, for entering the giveaway. She will be attending The Wiggles concert in Toronto on October 8. See you there with your little one!
NOT HANDY, BUT WE DID IT!
It took me a few months to research the model, get the plans and the parts, but in mid-August, Hip Teacher Dada and I finally got to hacking an Ikea stool and make a little learning tower for Baby C. For anyone who knows us, they know we are NOT handy at all. We are all about contractors and leaving it up to the professionals. We can do basic things like painting and grouting, but to actually work with woods and saws. Ha! This was a challenge we thought we could handle only because half the project was already Ikea designed.
We got the stool and Hip Teacher Dada assembled it when I was out one afternoon. The next step was purchasing the necessary wood parts from Home Depot. First time I bought wood at HD and it was cool to know that they will cut it for you. We sanded down the parts and began the project in the garage. It was going well at first, but for some reason, we had difficulty drilling through some pieces. We tried to do things manually too. In the end, I had to borrow a more powerful drill from my friend’s husband (thx Sean) and we were quickly on our way. After it was assembled, HTD’s job was done and he left me to paint the stool. The project didn’t take too long and we were excited to show the girls.
The big girls were just as in awe as Baby C when they saw the stool. She got on it and couldn’t wait to help me wipe down the counter. Now she watches me as I do the dishes or prepare a meal. We didn’t follow the Ikea hack exactly so we call it “a hack of a hack.” Although we don’t know how many more projects will be in our future, it’s nice to know that we stepped out of our comfort zone and tried something new.
BACK TO SCHOOL GIVEAWAY: THE WIGGLES IN CONCERT!
I’ve been so excited to share this contest with my followers! It’s been hard to keep it under wraps. Our whole family loves The Wiggles and cannot wait to join them for their Toronto show on October 8. Their songs are super catchy and I just love their dances. Hip Teacher Dada and I find ourselves singing the songs even when the girls aren’t around (I’m not even afraid to admit it). As a mom and teacher, I adore The Wiggles and Baby C looks forward to her daily episode just before dinner. She can rock out to most of their songs and she’s only 20 months old. Not only do they promote healthy eating and exercise, they share lessons in vocabulary and good manners too. I can’t say enough good things about this group.
It’s been 25 years since this top children’s entertainment group began amusing and amazing kids all around the world. They have just released a new CD and DVD called Wiggle Town and have a new partnership with Netflix. Founding member, Anthony Fields (Blue Wiggle), along with Emma Watkins (Yellow Wiggle), Simon Pryce (Red Wiggle), and Lachlan Gillespie (Purple Wiggle) will be at the Ricoh Coliseum with Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, Henry the October, and Captain Feathersword to tickle our funny bones and get us up and dancing. They’ll be showcasing classic nursery rhymes as well as Wiggles’ favourites such as “Hot Potato,” “Rock-A-Bye Your Bear”, and “Do the Propeller”.
Always of charitable spirit, The Wiggles are proud to continue their partnership with Corus Feeds Kids for all Canadian tour dates. Corus Feeds Kids is Corus Entertainment’s national philanthropic initiative that focuses on nourishing children’s bodies and minds by providing proper nourishment needed for healthy development and long term success. Come on out and see this amazing quartet perform live!
Now you have a chance to see this Aussie Fab Four live in person courtesy of The Wiggles themselves! Hip Teacher Mama is proud to give YOU a chance to win a pair of tickets for their October 8th show in Toronto. You can choose between 11:00 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. shows. Travel, accommodations, and food are NOT included.
To enter, simply complete a few easy steps:
- You must have liked Hip Teacher Mama on Facebook and Instagram.
- You must share this post on your Facebook page and tag 5 friends.
- You get one entry for every 5 friends you tag when you share this post. (So if you tag 20 friends, you get 4 ballots.)
- This contest begins on September 6 to September 16, 2016. This is for one pair of tickets. It would be an amazing outing for you and your special little one!
- Please email hipteachermama@gmail.com and include your full name, email, mailing address, and phone number after you have liked HTM on FB and Instagram and shared the post. Please include the concert time you would like.
- You are not eligible if you have won something from me in the past 60 days.
For even more Wiggly fun, become a fan of the group’s official Facebook page or follow them on Twitter via Twitter.com/TheWiggles. You can also see behind-the-scenes of Wiggly life and stay up-to-date with Wiggly news by following the gang on Instagram @thewiggles.
TEACHING EMPATHY
In just a few days, Big H and Middle A will be starting school again. They’ll sit in their classrooms and learn literacy skills, math equations, and how to read maps. Their teachers will no doubt do a great job, but I’m also hoping that they’ll emphasize the religious virtues dedicated to each month.
As always, I love to read Facebook to pass the time. For me, it’s like a current magazine that’s constantly updated. I read quite a few links and have joined several forums. I love seeing my friends’ posts and keeping up with what’s happening in their lives. Last week, one post in particular hit me hard, but I don’t know the lady. She posted it in a Mommy forum and I felt compelled to read it to the girls.
It was a mom’s post about her autistic child who was hosting a birthday party over the summer. More than 20 kids in the class RSVP’ed to attend and in the end, only one showed up. My eyes welled up with tears reading that line. I couldn’t imagine that happening and how disappointed the child must have been. I felt the excitement of the preparations of the decor, loot bags, and snacks only to fall down into such sadness when only one “friend” showed up. I pictured this happening to my own kids. The mother went on to say that the child no longer wants to attend school. It was heartbreaking. The mother asked for birthday cards (and not gifts) to cheer her up and it was an easy request to fulfill. I was happy to do it, but I also wanted the girls to understand the why behind it and to see if they could come up with that idea themselves.
After reading the post to the girls (leaving out the part about the card request), we talked about the situation and how the little girl must have felt. I asked, “Is there something we can do?” They quickly came up with, “Let’s get her a gift!” and “Where does she live?” After a few more suggestions and understanding that she lives hours away, they realized sending a card was a good idea. I told them after that it’s what the poster suggested, but I wanted them to figure it out for themselves. “Remember, that this year there is always going to be a child who may be left out or lonely. I want you to look for them and make sure they are included.”
Last night, another friend and teacher, wrote about about reminding ourselves that all children just want to be accepted. No one is weird, but different. Don’t judge others because of their clothes, shoes, or hair. Going back to school may be an amazing and exciting time for some, but simply terrifying for others. Social issues are a huge part of the school environment. I know this because I’ve dealt with it in class before (especially at the Junior level).
We all come from different walks of life and that is what makes us special and unique. We all have a back story. No one knows it all until we take the time to talk to that person and get to know them. I hope this year, my girls continue to be kind and caring and to reach out to those who cannot advocate for themselves. Multiplication is good and all, but I hope they come home excited about being a friend to someone who doesn’t have one.
Hip Teacher Mama 