Educators from across eight districts came together on October 10 for our cross-district network dinner meeting. We met at Grauer Elementary in Richmond and began in The Studio, thinking about how different art materials inspire mathematical thinking, connection-making and questions. After time with materials, we discussed some big interdisciplinary concepts... Continue reading

Hosted by BC School Districts 53 and 57, educators from across the Okanagan region came together on August 28 for a summer institute focusing on Reggio-Inspired Learning Experiences in Mathematics. We looked at the principles and practices inspired but the centres in Reggio Emilia, Italy and made connections to our... Continue reading

September meant back to school for three of us - Neil at McRoberts, Janice at the school board office and Colin beginning his second year of Kinesiology at UBC. Adam began his second co-op position at Connor, Clark and Lund Financial Group in downtown Vancouver. Adam enjoyed his co-op position and working downtown. He took the train in every morning and ate lunch out every day - so many choices downtown! He learned a lot about his field and really enjoyed the people he worked with. Adam continued to play rec hockey at UBC and also played hockey with his... Continue reading

So many of you have witnessed the escapades of Janice and her RAV4. There are many stories to tell and many kilometres driven but on October 15, I finally said good-bye to my trusted vehicle and purchased a new Honda HRV. I love my new zippy vehicle that actually has doors that lock, windows that unfog in seconds, lights, clocks and a radio that works and it has heated seats. Things that I miss about my old car: the very mathy license plate, the memories of all the travels with the boys to sports, Whistler, to the Okanagan and having... Continue reading

District teams came together at Grauer Elementary in Richmond on May 9 2018 to share and celebrate their district's project work for the school year. We focused on district projects, spatial reasoning connections, new math resources to support our project, inspiration from study tours and visioning. The Studio at Grauer... Continue reading

July began with a bang - celebrating both Canada Day and Shelley & Jessica's wedding on July 1st! Neil and I really loved the wedding - so authentic, so warm and so wrapped in love! Colin worked a bit at Ichiro in July while he was waiting to be deployed for wildfire firefighting. He also volunteered a lot with the BC Mobility Opportunities Society doing hikes, paddle boarding and kayaking. He did a short trip to Calgary and the Stampede with a group of friends (lots of fun). Adam lived out at UBC for the month of July as a... Continue reading

April began with an Easter lunch and a happy 83rd birthday to my dad. It was beautiful and springy in April and this inspired my photos and my baking. Neil and I visited the Cherry Blossom Festival at Garry Point... For work I visited Cranbrook... and I went to Washington, DC to present at and attend the NCTM Annual Conference. Highlights for this trip were visiting the Smithsonian Museum of National History and going to the National Portrait Gallery and seeing the Obama portraits. April was full of studying and final exams for Colin and finishing up projects at work... Continue reading

So 2018 kind of got away from me so instead of "a month in the life" post, I'm going to try and get caught up with some quarterly posts just so I have some sort of archive of the goings on for our family. January was a bit of a whirlwind with Adam moving to Ottawa to do a co-op position as a junior economist. Before he left we celebrated his 21st birthday! On January 4 , Adam and I (and lots of luggage) left for Ottawa. It was going to be our last time together as a family of... Continue reading

As I reflect on bringing back JOY as my one little word for 2017, it was a very good choice, so good actually that it might stick around for 2018. 2017 brought a full year of freedom in many ways for me (aka PhD free) and with freedom apparently comes joy. I am a believer that you can choose joy and seek joy. I have tried to be very mindful of this in both my personal and professional lives. Of course, there are aspects of my work that are not always joyful. But...there are many times when I have been... Continue reading

December brought more Great Canadian Baking Show technical challenges - brandy snaps and rugelach. I had a work trip over to Victoria for a couple of days. I love Victoria any time of year but it is especially festive in December - special displays in all the hotels and lovely lights everywhere. When I got back the Christmas preparations really began - getting a tree, last minute shopping, wrapping, meal planning and lots of baking. And the night before our 24th anniversary, I opened the door into the garage and got dripped on. It was pouring rain outside and it... Continue reading

November here always teases us with winter a bit - some years we get a bit of snow but it never seems to last very long. We had some lovely warm days too which of course meant we had an intersection of summer, fall and winter all at the same time - life on the west coast! Other parts of BC were decidedly in winter mode though. I flew into Kelowna and drove to Salmon Arm to do a full-day presentation. In the morning, I woke up to heavy snow but at the time, thought it looked so pretty (and... Continue reading

October started out feeling like summer... Adam has been accepted into the co-op program at Sauder and now as part of his degree requirements, he needs to complete 12 months of co-op work. Lots to learn and think about as he will be beginning to apply and interview for jobs. Colin seems to find all sorts of things to get involved with at UBC and has had a successful first round of midterms - phew. Celebrating Grandpa Kamide's birthday: I went down to Portland with some colleagues to present at the Northwest Math Conference and to promote next year's conference... Continue reading

Hello September! We are still basking in the summer weather which always makes it hard to be in classes all day. Both boys are looking forward to their year at UBC. Adam is applying to be in the co-op program for his faculty and Colin is off on a weekend retreat for all the first year students in Kinesiology. Colin is only going to be working on Sundays at Ichiro during the school year and Adam is still going to work a few shifts a week at London Drugs this fall. Adam's also playing recreational hockey at UBC and Colin... Continue reading

In August was all about family and travel. Colin, Neil and I flew to Japan on August 2 and Adam flew over from South Korea to join us. We knew this would be a trip of a lifetime - we can see our "family of four" trips being few and far between as the boys get older and have growing responsibilities with school and work. We visited Osaka, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Kyoto and Tokyo, staying in Air BnBs and travelling by train between cities, enjoying the local food and sites. It was the trip of family selfies. So many amazing experiences!... Continue reading

On Saturday, February 17 2018, educators from Richmond, Coquitlam, Burnaby, Vancouver and West Vancouver met on Cypress Mountain to go snowshoeing and to consider where math lives in the winter on the mountains. Connecting to place and community is an important principle underlying Reggio-Inspired approaches to teaching and learning. Within... Continue reading

The Wonder of Learning Exhibit is an exhibition created by Reggio Children Italy sharing the experiences of the centres and schools of Reggio Emilia. It tours around the world and is in Seattle until May 2018. More background information about the exhibit can be found HERE. More information about the... Continue reading

Where does math live in winter? How does the snow on the mountains inspire mathematical thinking and wonders? Join Lauren and Janice up at Cypress on Saturday, February 17 2018 at 10am for a mathematical snowshoeing adventure. We will snowshoe the Hollyburn Meadows trail together up to Hollyburn Lodge. Bring... Continue reading

On November 18, educators (and children) from all over the lower mainland gathered at Lynn Canyon Park to think about and experience mathematics together. We hiked along Lynn Creek, crossed the suspension bridge and visited Twin Falls and noticed and experienced mathematics along the way. All sorts of wonders about... Continue reading

Continuing the informal in situ institutes we have had in the spring and summer, we will be hosting a morning at Lynn Canyon Park on Saturday, November 18th from 10am - noon. Lauren MacLean and I will be facilitating a morning of math experiences along the creek and canyon amidst... Continue reading

Representatives from nine Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley districts came together at Meadowbrook Elementary on November 1, 2017 for our first BCAMT Reggio-Inspired Mathematics collaborative inquiry meeting of this school year. Each district team brought materials and information to display, to share what they have been doing to enact the... Continue reading

This year's July 1st celebrations in Steveston were particularly special, celebrating 150 years of Canada's confederation. Traditions. This is the first July in ten years that I've been able to wake up each day and feel the freedom of choice. To read what I want, do what I want - without the over-riding feeling of guilt that I should be focusing on my doctoral studies. I have read more novels and professional books of my choosing this summer than I have in the last few years combined. I have baked and cooked and walked and enjoyed my garden and the... Continue reading

I had a less-travelled filled work month - with math institutes at the beach... and a conference in Seattle, where I was able to see my beloved Space Needle from the University of Washington campus and walk by the "Harry Potter building" multiple times a day. Lots of walks out and about - love where we live. I love visiting the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire every year - always lots of inspiration for my own making and connections for my work. This year I did a workshop and made a mason bee hotel for our backyard garden. Fathers Day get... Continue reading

It was another month of travelling for work - I got to see many parts of BC - Saltspring, Cranbrook, Sooke and Kamloops! We visited the tall ships festival at Garry Point to see the Kaiwa Maru. It was fun to see so many Japanese sailors walking about Steveston. Things for Colin's grade 12 graduation started to ramp up in May - a grad boat cruise, fundraisers for the Dry Grad and the crazy spy game - we had water guns stationed at all doors of our house, in his car, etc. To honour my mom this month, I filled... Continue reading

On April 1st I had the honour of helping to pull the ropes to raise the Reconciliation Pole at UBC. I met Margaret and Alex Choinski and we held our spots along a rope together. So much significance in the pole and the experience. There was lots of travel for work again for me - I spent a week in San Antonio attending my first NCSM conference and then helping to host the NCTM Annual Conference as part of the program committee. I visited Victoria for a few days to do some work with the Ministry of Education. I love... Continue reading

On June 10, educators from across the Lower Mainland and Campbell River met at Jericho Beach in Vancouver to think about mathematical experiences inspired by the beach environment. We were honoured to be joined by Dr. Bridgette Clarkston who is a seaweed expert. We learned about the three main types... Continue reading