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Author: Erin Thomas
Releasing the Giving Hangover
This post was originally published on December 21, 2017. It seemed like a good time to reflect on our giving habits and how we teach our youth to show up for their communities. It never failed. I would receive mountains of canned goods, dry goods, and cash from well-meaning donors before Christmas (always accompanied by copious amounts of cranberry jelly), but the season inevitably came: The Giving Hangover. Call it the Winter Blues, or the Post-Christmas Slump, or whatever, giving always droppe... Read More
People Aren’t Flies: How Youth Can Listen Without Needing to Be Heard
We have all experienced a time when we believed we had a genuine connection with a person, only to find out that they had a specific agenda in mind. We have all experienced someone that has tried to proselytize or preach at us, to use us to get ahead, or to gain access to our friends or family members. For many people, what starts out as a genuine connection dissolves almost instantly as soon as the sirens of topics such as politics or religion are sounded. We know how difficult it can be to hav... Read More
“Teacher, I’m A 6!” – Thoughts on Children & The Enneagram
Use of The Enneagram – a personality profiling system – has risen in popularity in the past few years. Some scholars trace its use to ancient cultures and religions, but its use in post-modern self-awareness growth can be more attributed to psychological, sociological, and mystical studies beginning in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Serious Enneagram practitioners and scholars would caution people about using it as a parlour trick to amuse ourselves. It was, after all, designed to help us un... Read More
Creating Mental Health Supports for Kids in Isolated Communities
I live in a small town. Our county has about 3600 residents in the town proper, with another 7000 scattered throughout the County (a County which includes two First Nations reserves and two Metis settlements). We have two grocery stores, a few gas stations, four schools, a post office, some shops, plenty of industry and farming operations, and a pretty nice community centre for our size. If you’re looking for small-town Canadiana, look no further. We’ve got it all. Only… we don... Read More
Strengthening the Oaks
I have three nephews who are the lights of my life. At six, three and one years old, they are going through the beautiful stages of discovering the world, imaginative play and pepperings of endless questions. Their energy, giggles and pretends are all gifts that I cherish each and every day. My one year old nephew is pretty much happy to climb inside his mom’s tomato pots, dirt notwithstanding; my three year old nephew is already expressively pragmatic, wanting to know how things work and ... Read More
Gift-Giving Ideas: All It Needs is a Little Love
How are you planning to share the love this Christmas? Some of you are already doing a facepalm: “Good grief!” (said in true Charlie Brown voice) “Is it Christmas time again?” Black Friday anxiety is already piling up. In response, I’ve compiled a (hopefully) helpful list of gift-giving ideas that might assist you in creating a terrific Christmas for you and your friends and family. The cool thing is: we can share these ideas with our kids and help them create their... Read More
I’m Sorry, Maya Angelou, I Didn’t Understand You
My first exposure to you, Maya Angelou, was inside the folds of a cheesy Hallmark card when I was a pre-teen. I was searching for the best card I could for Mother’s’ Day one year, and I came across a Hallmark design with pastel butterflies and flowers. The quotation inside bore your name, but I don’t remember what the words were specifically. I just remember rolling my eyes, shutting the card and putting it down. I disliked pastels, but more than that I truly disliked pithy say... Read More
A Canadian’s Top 10 Checklist for Beating the Winter Blues
It’s the middle of February and we’re in The Zone. Winter has caught up with us, we’re weary of the cold weather, we aren’t getting enough natural sunlight, road conditions are often hardly mediocre, and… the kids are ornery. That’s right: ornery. Downright unpredictable. Bored. Whining. Frustrated. We have plenty of activities for them to do, but they remain energetic one moment but restless and cagey the next. It’s difficult to know how to respond to s... Read More
The Adult Amendment
“Amend”: to correct, to make right, to reconcile just with unjust, to come before one or more person(s) and ask for tangible, recognizable peace henceforth — “to make amends” “Amendment”: the action of putting into practice amends made between parties _________________________________________________________ Amanda Todd’s suicide is a tragedy that will haunt our collective, cultural psyche for years to come. Discussing youth bullying is paramount, ... Read More