Hello everyone. I’m excited to share the news of my upcoming book signing at Chapters-Indigo, Woodbridge. If you live in the Toronto area, I would love to see you there. Come and say Hello.
Lora
“WORDS” Book Signing
5
Category Archives: Uncategorized
What it means to be Canadian
In a word
Hope, richness, belonging, open. These are a few of the words some naturalized citizens from across Toronto used to describe their feelings about Canada and their citizenship.
To celebrate Canada Day the Star profiled 10 naturalized citizens, representing 10 different countries. Some were refugees; others came as immigrants. Some have been here for decades; others are newly arrived.
But they all share a common love for the freedom Canada has guaranteed them and the security their citizenship has given them. They place great value on their Canadian citizenship and it has deep meaning for them.
Click on the images to hear their answers.
From Pakistan
Aisha Daanish, 42, laughed as she recalled how she missed Canada when she went back to Karachi, Pakistan to visit family and friends only a year after she first arrived.
It was an odd and surprising reaction, she confessed. She had spent most of her life in Pakistan. Yet, here she was back in her native land and all she did was miss Canada.
She chose the word warmth to describe a country that has some of the bitterest winters on the planet. But it isn’t the temperature that she’s referring to, but rather the warmth in people’s hearts.
In Pakistan, Daanish, a kindergarten teaching assistant in a private faith-based school in Mississauga, realized it was that warmth she was missing; craving. Even the tiniest gestures of friendship, such as a neighbor advising her and her children to dress warm on a crisp fall day, made her feel she was part of the fabric of the country.
“That really touched me because that’s what Grandmas used to do in my country of origin,” she said, explaining she doesn’t feel she can call Pakistan her home anymore. “This is home now so there has to be another word other than back home.”
From Sri Lanka
Tolerance is the word Keren Stephen chose to represent her feelings about Canada.
“We are mindful,” she said of Canadians. “There is a reluctance to succeed at any cost here. And I guess the whole culture is one of tolerance and including people.
“I like Canada. I like its values. It’s amazing the amount of volunteerism that goes on here.”
The 50-year-old chartered global management accountant came to Canada in 2009 along with her brother, his wife and two nieces from Sri Lanka. They left because of the violence.
“Being in a war area there’s so much activity,” she said. “There’s so much negative. Even if you’re not personally suffering, you hear about others suffering. I was affected, but not directly. You’re living in a war. There is fear, risks.”
After travelling the world for business, she settled on Canada after ruling out the United Kingdom and Australia. “I had heard good things about Canada…One of the key things is values…Canada is a very inclusive country. I wanted to form my home base here.”
She got her Canadian citizenship in November, 2013. And it was momentous. “It was the final signing off,” she explained. “That’s it. You’re there now. You’re a citizen and have obligations. It also gave me the feeling that I can really behave like a citizen…I can call myself a Canadian.”
Share this:
Happy Father’s Day
Words on a Limb would like to wish everyone a Happy Father’s Day!
Share this:
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
Share this:
Happy International Women’s Day!
A woman is the embodiment of tenderness, strength, love, devotion and wisdom. On this International Women’s Day, Words on a Limb would like to extend our appreciation and recognize women across the globe for being the pillars the world stands on. For without love, nothing else matters.
Happy International Women’s Day, 2015!
Share this:
Words on a Limb asks…
Image
If you could go back in time and give your 20-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Share this:
We remember you … Maya Angelou
Today we lost one of literature’s most endearing, inspiring, brilliant leaders, Maya Angelou.
She was known for many things – actress, director, producer, teacher, activist, but perhaps what set her apart was her brilliant contribution to the world of literature as a poet and writer. In her autobiography, “Caged Bird”, Maya Angelou challenged the common structure of writing by producing work that her editor, Robert Loomis called, “high art”.
In honour of her life and the inspiration she has left with us, I’d like to share some of her words. They will continue to enlighten us in her passing.
Words mean more than what is set down on paper.
It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.
If you don’t like something, change it.
If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return.
Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.
There is no greater agony than bearing
an untold story inside you.
Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.
We may encounter many defeats
but we must not be defeated.
If you have only one smile in you
give it to the people you love.
If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else,
you will have succeeded.
Life loves the liver of it.
Rest in peace Maya.
Great article remembering Maya Angelou by Jian Ghomeshi
Share this:
What It Feels Like To Get Lost In A Book
Great read …
Share this:
Can you tell?? I couldn’t!
Aside
Quiz: Can you tell the difference between Modern Art and Painting by Toddlers.
Click on image to take the quiz.
To those celebrating – Happy Easter!
Share this:
A Book’s Journey
Going from an idea to a book, Stan Morris shares how Sarah’s Spaceship Adventure came to be.
A Book’s Journey
By Stan Morris
It is late at night, and I am not asleep. This is not an uncommon occurrence, and neither is what happens next. A vision forms. In this instance, it is of a girl/woman, maybe twenty years old, maybe eighteen. I hope she’s at least seventeen, because she’s not wearing any clothes, and her hands are tied behind her back. Continue reading
Words On A Limb 
