Question of the Week

Jenners from Find Your Next Book Here posts a question each week and I thought rather than just commenting on her post, I'd post my own answer.
Question of the Week: Life-Changing Books
This week question comes from Steph The Bookworm:
Has any book you've ever read been life changing for you?

I have a series of books that changed my life. I know I read I think everything about fertility and having babies, and raising babies and child development, but the one book I think I read that most changed my life was quite simply the first book I read by Mel Levine, Educational Care. I then proceeded to read "A Mind at a Time, The Myth about Laziness.





Synopsis:
Educational Care presents a wealth of information regarding weak attention control, phenomena related to: reduced remembering, to chronic misunderstanding, deficient output, delay skill acquisition, and to poor adaptation. In addition, this book has chapters for the provision of education care, assessment and management, and implications and applications for the misinterpreted child. The Appendixes is a valuable resource for every teacher to peruse and use for those students whom could benefit from such helpful planners and organizers.

Educational Care gives tremendous assistance on both fronts:educational strategies in the classroom and strategies that the home caregiver can provide to assist children with learning problems





I continued to read books on this subject throughout my childrens school days, and still from time to time read things, but that first book, changed my life, gave me hope and most of all TOOLS.




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It's almost Christmas

Well tomorrow will be the Night Before Christmas, and my house still looks like we just moved in. There are boxes and bags and stuff all over the place, and none of them presents. And while I've been doing stuff all week I know I just will not have it the way it should be, and to top it off today I had to do the grocery run, and since I don't drive that was TOO many hours. The upside of course is I didn't have to worry about parking, or traffic. I still didn't complete my list, but I couldn't buy a chicken if my life depended upon it. Just none left. I guess it will be vegetable stock. I really am trying this year to do the traditional Polish Wigilia, (Christmas Eve). I'm not sure why we don't eat meat on this night, but I've always told my children, " you don't eat the animals that gave Our Lord shelter." That seems reasonable, I'm sure there is more to it but I just don't know, if anyone does, let me know. We will have our red Barszcz, pierogi, a fish of some kind. We as children, didn't care what the dessert was because everyone was anxious to open presents. Yes we open on Christmas Eve. And I hope I'll be able to stay awake long enough to go to Midnight Mass. On my grocery adventure today I went into my favorite Polish store, ( I really need to practice my Polish, very few of these ladies speak English) and one of my favorite tunes were playing, I can see Bronia singing it, I immediately thought of Pan Karasek and Yes you guessed it I started to cry. It's so embarrassing. Fortunately everyone was so busy no one seemed to notice. You'd think I'd be out of tears by now. Pan and Pani Karasek were our Polish school teachers, and I think I hear his voice every time I write in Polish, spelling hints you know. I remember those feather wings he made for our Christmas pageant. The world is a better place because he was here. Enjoy.

I never went to kindergarten...

I never went to kindergarten. In Canada, Hamilton, Ontario to be exact the kindergarten program did not become part of the educational system until after I was four by December 31st. So consequently I did miss out on a lot of things my nieces baby will soon enjoy. But that doesn't stop me from spreading a few words of wisdom that I read about in Annette's blog this morning.

1. You don't need a financial planner to help manage your milk money.

2. Napping isn't a luxury... It was mandatory!

3. Forget working out... you had recess.

4. Two words: SNOW DAYS!

5. Coming out top meant getting picked first for kickball.

6. You knew your work was a hit when it made the refrigerator.

And every bodies favorite...

7. Even the toughest day ended with milk and cookies.

And now in English...

I know for me regular readers you know I'm a research junky, and family history is something I've been trying to gather for years. Unfortunately neither of my parents ever wanted to talk about details. So it's been a long and winding road, not many records available after the war. But I'm still trying. So a salute to my mother country today in Rememberence. When I was in grade two in Polish school our wonderful teacher told us this legend of why this melody us unfinished, it intrigued me so much that when I went to Poland I'm sure my cousins were not too happy with me as I insisted we go to Krakow and listen, they were wanting to shop. I did hear it for my own ears. Apparently legend has it that the bugler was shot with an arrow in the throat and was therefore unable to finish his tune.

The song/word of the day

I don't know how many of you are aware of this program on CFRB radio, but each morning, especially on Sunday I am awaken at 6:10 to listen for the song of the day. This has been going on for some months now, apparently my husband has been trying to win a trip, (so he doesn't have to pay for it). Well he will not be celebrating a second honeymoon if he continues this crap. Then at 9ish he continues to listen to the Bill Carol Show. I am so reluctant to tell you all of this in case you listen and catch the insanity. Being that Andy is hard of hearing he listens to all of this loudly, so you can't help but hear. Anyway, today the big discussion on the talk show was regarding a woman who's daughter is autistic, apparently she was reported to the Children's Aid Society on the insights of a psychic(not sure if that is spelled correctly). Well, you can imagine the comments at home I had to endure. And out came the Gypsy files. I've been hoeing out papers of no importance, sorting and get rid of unwanted pictures, books etc. So some of the Gypsy files have been reduced considerably. That's the activity for the day I suppose. I made him re chalk the shower yesterday, I believe we might be getting a new shower door.

Have we come to this. Has society become so afraid that on the insights of a psychic we torment parents. Who the heck hired that principal, and where are her brains, maybe she left them at the RAM. (You know the bar at the university) I hope this parent files a grievance with the Teachers College.

It made me think of my mother. You're probably sick of hearing about my mother. But, my mother use to read cards. I remember when I was a child of about 12, this family would come every once in awhile to have their cards read. Apparently my mother's insights help locate the one woman's child who was taken by her husband. My mother use to freak out if we had been playing fish with her cards, and there was usually only one deck in the house. She always claimed that she couldn't read cards that some one had lost or won on, and heaven forbid if we actually used pennies. She would never read our cards. I'm sure she told us how she learned to do this, I think it must have been from the gypsies in Siberia. She never ever would have allowed Andy to be persecuting them as he does, if she was aware of it. I'm starting to think we will have to add the income from 222TIPS to our taxes next year. Anyway here is my song of the day. It's a winner.

May comes to an end...

When I was growing up in Hamilton, ON Catholic Schools were quite an elite group. You had to pay for your children to attend a Catholic high school. Of course my older sisters both attended, apparently my parents ran out of money when I got to that point. I do remember the whole city coming to a complete halt, when it was the Marian Day Parade. The Catholic High Schools would do a huge Marian Day Celebration at what is now Ivor Wynne Stadium. Traffic would be re-routed, parking was limited and you would just walk. The buzz equaled that of the Ti- Cats at their peak. The Cathedral Girls School would do the Living Rosary. At the end of this beautiful prayer the stadium would sing wonderful hymns and crown Mary with a crown of flowers.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_crowning. I don't know when this actually stopped in Hamilton, probably when we got public funding. We then had to be politically correct and let boys into the girls school and vise versa. One of the things we lost as a faith community in our funding deal. I know that the honoring of Mary the Mother of Jesus has not gone out of fashion as a matter of fact, one of the gardening newsletters I read had quite a article in it, with names of particular flowers that were inspired by Our Lady. The students at our elementary school planted a Mary Garden.

This Sunday at Mass the Legion of Mary Crowned Mary during our service. Many of the parishes in Toronto still do a Marian Day Parade, nothing as grand as Hamilton but none the less a wonderful celebration. I always feel we should honour our mothers not just on Mother's Day but everyday, so too I hope we as catholics will remember Our Mother in Heaven. A few days ago Leslie wrote about music. A song by Amy Grant called Breath of Heaven always makes me feel great. Check it out.

During the ongoing controversy of Catholic Education once again fingers are pointed at the waste of Catholic Schools. Let's remember that waste occurs everywhere, not just at "Catholic Boards" we just happen to notice it more, or so it seems. As a person who missed out, I have spent my adult years trying to catch up to the education my sisters got at the Catholic High School. It would certainly be economical to eliminate Catholic Schools, or so we are told. Dig a little deeper to be sure you are aware of the reason Catholic Schools exist. It really is a significant historical journey, not necessarily one of faith, but certainly one of commitment. I suppose I feel so strongly about this because I missed out, I made sure my children didn't. I don't know that it matters to them at the moment, but it will when they are dads. I'm sure of it. Keep the Faith.