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Author Archives: Lora
The Perfect Package – Happy Father’s Day!
Father’s Day is just around the corner and what better time to get crafting.
Father’s Day is a special day to honor fathers and father-figures in our lives. In Canada, Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June, though it is also observed widely on other days in many other countries. Father figures may include step-fathers, grandfathers, brothers or other male figures that help and guide us through life’s journey.
How do we, in turn, honor these prominent male figures?
Some people give cards, chocolates, clothes, accessories or gift vouchers. Others take their father or father figure out to the movies, enjoy a meal together at a restaurant, lounge in a café, or simply enjoy a restful day in the park.
In my classroom, we are preparing for the big day by creating The Perfect Package.
envelope stamp address label
Inside the package – poem and student image
Below is a poem I wrote and plan to share with my students as we begin crafting next week. Keeping in mind that not all children may have a father in their life, I left the recipient open to include a figure that may take the place of a father, whether it be a grandfather, uncle, brother, etc.
My Hero by Lora Rozler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
To download a copy of the poem and craft kit, for your personal use in the classroom, click on the image below.
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Let the countdown and crafting begin!
Happy Father’s Day!
Lora
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Childhood Thieves – The Residential School System
Imagine!
A frightened child sits beside you, her hand clasped tightly in yours. Silent tears stream down her face, clouding her otherwise golden brown eyes with a pool of grey. She is voiceless. Despite her heartbreaking pleas, you cannot help her. She must go.
Sitting on the damp bench, you wrap your arm around her quivering body and wince as you look at her grief-stricken face – the same sweet face that 
nourished your soul for the past six years. Images of her inundate your mind, cascading from one scene to another. The day she was born was your happiest ever. You planted a tree in her honour that year. Will it continue to grow in her absence? You recall how easy it was to soothe her then. You’d hold her in your arms and sing sweet lullabies, the very ones your mother once sang to you. But who will comfort her now when she’s lonely and scared? Will they care for her when she is unhappy or sick? What if she’s hurt? What if she’s hungry? You panic. You try to restrain the fear that is taking over.
You close your eyes and pray. Please take care of my baby. Oh hush, you mustn’t let her see you cry, or she will surely realize your comforting words were nothing but lies.
It will not be alright when they tell her she must abandon her birth name. It will not be alright when they cut off her braids. It will not be alright when she feels homesick and is denied her brother’s embrace. It will not be alright when she wonders why you cannot be there on her birthday or why she has to miss grandpa’s 70th. Time will surely not fly. But you do and say what you must, for the choice is not yours.
The cruel rain continues. They will come for her and you must let her go. You gave birth to her but somehow you do not know what is best for her. You raised her, nourished her, taught her, but she is not yours.
A van emerges from around the hills, slowly making its way up the road. She squeezes your hand, a final plea. I
n just a few moments the scent of your hands will be all she has left of you.
“Please Mommy, I don’t want to go”.
A kiss, a hug and a swift smell of her hair, your heart is in pieces, yet you pry her hands out of yours. You try to sound sensible when you know nothing you say or do will ever be so.
“I will see you in the summer, my sweet rose,” agony overwhelms you as you watch her climb aboard, sobbing and confused. Why is mommy letting this happen? What did I do wrong? Doesn’t she love me anymore?
You are numb. You wave when all you want to do is shout at the world. That is my baby disappearing into the thick mist.
You continue to stare long after the van disappears behind the hills. Surely this must be a horrible dream, a nightmare.
You look around. All is still. You pick up the discarded doll and hold it close to your body. You weep for the child they thieved from your home.
Imagine!
Lora Rozler
It was a few months ago that my friend and colleague, Michele Parkin, enlightened me with one of her picture books, Shin-Chi’s Canoe by Nicola Campbell. I had reached out to her a few days prior when I sought an Ojibway translation for a picture book I was working on at the time. As always, she was more than happy to help and the discussion that ensued left me wanting to learn more about the Aboriginal people’s struggles. Knowing my passion for children’s literature, Michele kindly offered her book.
I brought the book home with me the same day and as I read it, a sense of rage began to build. My children happened to be playing in a nearby room and and all I remember feeling is deep sadness for those families whose children were taken away from them, stolen from their home, their culture, their life. There was something about the the way the story was told that touched me deeply. As a mother, the thought of having to endure something so horrific is beyond comprehension.
I’d like to share an article I read online, written by Erin Hanson, a researcher at The University of British Columbia. It beautifully articulates and captures the effects of the Residential school experience on the Indigenous people. You can visit the article by clicking the image below: Continue reading
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How Tall Is My Giraffe? Exploring Measurement
A very interesting math lesson stemmed from a story I read to
my students about a king who got a giraffe as a birthday gift. The king challenged his townspeople, offering a reward to the first person who would be able to tell him how tall his giraffe was. The people set off to measure the giraffe in whichever way they could – none of the attempts were successful. Every failed try served as a great lesson about measurement do’s and don’t’s.
How Tall is My Giraffe?
After extracting important math concepts from this adventurous story, I introduced students to a giraffe of my own (my children’s old plush growth chart). I posed the same question to an eager-looking bunch (there was no gold incentive on my end though). With just enough direction, I let students explore solutions to this problem during Learning Centres time. Students showed remarkable interest in this challenge and began gathering all kinds of objects to use as measurement tools.
Before long, the carpet was filled with various 
objects: building blocks, popsicle sticks, snow pants, jackets, bottle caps, books, markers, etc. Students were so excited, they even suggested using me as a measuring tool. How could I say no to that? After a few chuckles and excited cheers, we sat 
down to reflect on our findings, which ultimately led to another great inquiry question? Why did we need so many cotton balls yet such few blocks? How does the size of the measuring tool affect the measurement?
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Happy Mother’s Day!
Roses, cards, chocolates, cookies, breakfast in bed, you-name-it, Mother’s Day sure brings out the sweetest in us. Celebrated on the second Sunday in May each year, Mother’s Day is a time to honour our one and only – our precious Mother (or a mother figure in our life).
I am sure I speak on behalf of many moms out there when I say the most precious gift we can receive on Mother’s Day is one that is especially handcrafted for us. As a teacher I keep this in mind as we set out to cut, glue and craft a personal treasure that Mom will want to keep around for a very long time (if not forever).
Below is a poem I wrote and plan to share with my students this week. Keeping in mind that not all children may have a mother in their life, I left the recipient open to include a figure that takes the place of a dominant caregiver, whether it be a grandmother, aunt, sister, etc.
Under Your Wing by Lora Rozler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
For this year’s Mother’s Day craft, my students will be making a mobile frame, with the theme of my latest poem in mind. Here is a sample of the finished product.
Mobile frame – Back side
Front SIDE – option 1
front side – option 2
To download a copy of the poem and the craft templates, for your personal use in the classroom, click on the heart image below.
Join my Facebook Community and stay in the loop when new teacher resources are available.
Thank you for your support!
Let the countdown and crafting begin!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Lora
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Happy Earth Day 2015
Happy Earth Day everyone! Every year at this time we are reminded of how important it is to preserve the environment for future generations. Whether it be on the radio, television, social media or in educational environments, the flood of content blends into a common message – protect the earth!
We’d like to share a short, yet compelling video clip that made us pay just a little more attention this year. It’s called Dear Future Generations: Sorry. We hope you enjoy it too, and of course … share it.
My favourite line in the video was ‘An error does not become a mistake, until you refuse to correct it’. That is a powerful statement – in all facets of life, but particularly when it comes to taking care of the earth.
With this in mind, I’d like to share some classroom connections …
After many months of collecting recyclable materials, we finally set out to transform old boxes into new ART.
We used materials from our Art Centre (containers made from recycled products) to help with this Earth Day project.
Here is a showcase of some beautiful pieces from our growing collection of Recycled Art:
Fashionable Writing Utensil Caddies
hybrid cars
Spring Basket
An enchanting castle
building blocks
Jewelry box
The latest smartphone
A downtown apartment building
bird feeder
Binoculars
Toy Box
Marker holder
Decorative Tissue Boxes
Pirate Ship!
Recycle is a poem I came across online that was written by Meish Goldish . Students enjoy the familiar rhythm, and the catchy pattern makes it a great math extension as well (don’t we teachers love that?!).
After reading many books relating to Earth Day, our class sat down to brainstorm ways in which we can protect our environment. We also reviewed some of the things we were already doing in our classroom (i.e., recycling , reducing, reusing, composting, conserving energy, using only as much water as we need, not littering, etc.). Students then all had a chance to reflect on what more they could do (at school and home) and completed a promise note reminding them to take action and contribute in whichever way they could. No contribution is ever too small – every little bit helps.
To download a copy of the poem and writing template, click on the image below.
Sometimes we may feel overwhelmed and wonder how these very small acts can possibly solve such a massive problem. But if we all contribute one little building block, we can turn an error into an opportunity.
For more ways you can help, click HERE.
As always, thank you for your time!
Lora
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Artists on a Limb – The Proposal
Hello everyone and welcome back to Words on Art, where we invite artists and writers to collaborate and creatively blend brush strokes with words. We would like to thank Tammy for her successful writing submission, The Proposal, chosen to complement Jana’s painting, Peach and Bear. We would love to hear your feedback on this creative blend – please share your thoughts in the reply box in the bottom of the post. Thank you Jana and Tammy.
The Proposal
I held your hand here a thousand times and caressed you as we walked.
We shared our fears, our past, our hurt, and then erased the memory of them.
We spoke of wishes, hopes and dreams – oh, how I long to build them with you.
To spend my life right next to you is what I want to do.
No step alone. No life without you.
Will you marry me?
Our next Artist on a Limb submission comes from Emily Page. It is a 70″ x 48″ oil on canvas, titled 4th Floor. Thanks Emily it was nice to connect with you!
Read more about Emily:
Writers, please submit your poems, captions, short stories and other words to capture the essence of the art to wordsonalimb@bell.net (with Words on Art in the subject line).
Artists, if you have a piece you would like us to consider featuring on Artists on a Limb, please email us with Art Submission in the subject line. Please note, the art must be your original work.
Looking forward,
Lora
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Happy Passover / Happy Easter
Words on a Limb would like to wish everyone who is celebrating, a Happy Passover and a Happy Easter!
May your homes be filled with endless joy and delight.
In honour of the holidays we would like to share traditional Passover and Easter soup recipes – light and delicious for spring-time.
Here is a wonderful Matza Ball recipe, courtesy of Paula.
Favourite Matza-Ball Soup
This is a family favourite Matza-ball soup recipe. It is simple to make and will have guests lingering around the kitchen volunteering to do taste tests. Put on your apron and let’s begin.
To make Matza balls, combine:
- 2 cups of Matza meal
- 2 cups of water
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons of oil
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
Mix until you get a thick pasty consistency. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes to solidify.
In the meantime, chop and fry onions in a little bit of oil, using a pot big enough for the portion you’d like to make.
To make the soup, grate and combine 1 of each of the following: carrot, zucchini, turnip, sweet potato.
Mix the vegetable with very little water, letting it steam. While they are cooking, continue making the Matza balls.
Using wet hands, roll Matza ball mixture into one-inch balls. 
In a wide pan, boil water, adda dash of salt, 1 tablespoon of oil, and cook a few of the balls at a time (not to overcrowd pan). When the balls rise to the top (about 5 minutes), scoop them out. Continue until all are done.
When vegetables in soup pot are tender, add enough boiling water to go just below rim. Season the soup with 2-3 tablespoons of chicken seasoning mix. Add additional seasoning to your liking, including paprika, turmeric powder, and salt.
Let the soup simmer for another 30 minutes. Once ready, serve with as many Matza balls in each bowl as you like.
Warning: make plenty. Enjoy with or without Matza crumbs or soup croutons.
Paula
Here is a scrumptious Easter Soup submitted to us by Gloria.
Easter Soup
Ingredients
For the broth:
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 pound lean beef, cut into 10 to 12 cubes
- 1 pound lamb, shoulder or breast, cut into 6 to 8 pieces
- 1 medium onion
- 6 whole cloves
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 stalks celery, with leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh Italian parsley
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 branch fresh rosemary
- Cold water
To assemble the soup:
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh marjoram
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
- 6 toasted bread rounds
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1 small lemon
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Instructions
- In a large, heavy stockpot, heat a few tablespoons of
olive oil. Season the beef pieces with salt and pepper, and add them to the oil. Let the beef brown on both sides. Cut the onion in half; stud each half with 3 cloves. Cut the celery and carrots into chunks add them to the pot with 
the onion, the herbs, and 3 quarts cold water. Let broth come to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Skim off any gray foam that forms on top; simmer soup for one hour. Add the lamb pieces; simmer the broth for another hour, skimming as needed. - Allow broth to cool to room temperature; strain off and discard the solids. (You can
save the meat for a delicious salad: Shred the meat finely and dress with olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced red onion, chopped capers, fresh parsley, salt, and pepper—terrific on top of toasted bread rubbed with a little garlic.) The broth can be made a day ahead of time and refrigerated overnight. - When you are ready to serve the soup, bring the broth to a boil, then turn off the heat
and let it sit in the pot for about 3 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary. It is important that the broth is hot, but not boiling, which would curdle the egg yolks. Place a warm, toasted round of bread, dribbled with some extra-virgin olive oil, in the bottom of each soup bowl. - Place the 6 egg yolks in a warm soup tureen; whisk them
lightly with the minced fresh marjoram and parsley, a few grinds of pepper, 
and the lemon juice. Slowly ladle in the hot broth,whisking simultaneously to prevent the egg yolks from curdling. Immediately ladle the soup into the bowls and over the bread; grate plenty of Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top.
Enjoy your soup!
On behalf of our team at Words on a Limb, we hope your holidays are full of heartfelt moments with family. Please feel free to share your holiday recipes in the comment section.
Lora
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Three Witty Goats Gruff
Hello everyone. I hope you had a restful March break and are excited about the week ahead. I’d like to share a poem I wrote a little while back titled, Three Witty Goats Gruff. It is based on a variation of the original story, Three Billy Goats Gruff. I plan to revisit it with my students this week as we continue our exploration around the concept of Measurement and Size.
After reading several versions of the original story to my students, I plan to introduce my version of it via a poem. When I first introduced it (last year), students really enjoyed the chant and patterns, while I loved the teachable moments that stemmed from it.
MATH – counting backwards, detecting patterns, reinforcing concepts of measurement and size, subtraction, etc.
LITERACY – introducing new vocabulary, making predictions, using context clues to make inferences, singular/plural pronouns, synonyms, etc.
Three Witty Goats Gruff by Words On A Limb is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
One of my students favourite follow-up activities was to re-enact the poem using stick puppets. It is a wonderful way for them to practise retelling the story and have fun while doing so. Some benefits of using stick puppets to teach literacy include strengthening oral vocabulary, acting in role, building comprehension, retelling a story in sequence, and recalling details.
Here are some cross-curricular extension activities, including: 1. Three Billy Goats Gruff Maze – students help the Billy Goats navigate through a maze to get to a field of fresh grass (good for refining fine motor, spatial and problem-solving skills); 2. Writing Template – students reflect on their favourite part of the story (while practising important writing skills); 3. Fill In The Blanks – students use a word bank to fill in the missing words from the poem (great for memory skills and practising high-frequency words); 4. Making Patterns Math Worksheet – students complete and create their own pattern using characters from the story (aids with visual discrimination and patterning concepts).
To download a copy of my poem, Three Witty Goats Gruff, including the Stick Puppet Templates, for your personal use in the classroom, along with the cross-curricular activities hown above, click on Billy Goat.
I hope you and your students enjoy the poem and have fun with these activities in the classroom. As always, your comments and feedback are welcome.
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Have a great week everyone.
Lora
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Teaching with Monkeys
One of my favourite ways to teach combinations of five begins with the story, Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed (bear in mind, I teach Kindergarten but this could easily be adapted to other grades as well). After reading the story, initially exploring rhymes, patterns, and chants, I like to use it as a tool for teaching math facts to five.
As I go through the story again (generally over the span of a few days), I take a moment after each verse to introduce a math fact or draw a composition of the monkeys in relation to the bed (i.e., 5 monkeys on the bed and 0 on the ground; 5 + 0 = 5). By the end of the story, we cover all the combinations of five. While we review the math facts, I draw their attention to the pattern that emerges (i.e., when the number of monkeys on the bed decreases the number of monkeys on the ground increases). For the rest of the week, I invite 5 different students each day to come up and re-enact the poem while we sing to it. We continue to review the math facts as we go along.
As an extension, and one that students really enjoy, I have students re-enact the story/song using stick puppets. They begin by colouring and cutting out a template of the bed and the 5 monkeys. Then they glue a popsicle stick to the back of each monkey and take turns re-enacting the story/song to a partner. By the end of the week, the stick puppets get sent home with a letter to parents.
Here is a class chart we made using the templates from above (photocopied on construction paper). It outlines the various ways Five can be made and serves as a great visual around the math centre.
A great way to gage students’ understanding of the concept and evaluate their learning is to have them repeat this activity with bingo dabbers (one colour representing the monkeys on the bed, and another representing the ones on the ground). Each student gets 6 bed templates and uses two colour dabbers to show the various combinations the monkeys could be arranged (i.e., 3 dabs on the bed, 2 on the ground).
Here is a card game I made to help students practice their facts to five and sharpen their memory skills while they’re at it. After introducing it as a whole class activity, I left it at the math station for students to play with during Centre time. I will be sending home a template of the game for families to assemble and enjoy during the March break as well.
To download a Teaching with Monkeys resource kit, including the poem, Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, stick puppet templates (bed and monkeys), bingo dabber assessment sheets, Gimme Five card game and instruction sheets, click on the monkey.
Now for some more fun with monkeys … enjoy!
Happy teaching everyone.
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Have a fabulous March break!
Lora
Words On A Limb 
