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Tag: fun

  • Summer; and What to Do with It…

    Summer; and What to Do with It…

    Summer. For some students this means vacation, relaxation, hot weather and no school. This is what summer is all about. Unfortunately, with this comes summer learning loss.[1] This is the loss of basic math and literacy skills created by the two month summer break students receive. It is important that students stay involved mentally and physically throughout the summer. With all of the beautiful weather, students have many opportunities to work, volunteer and study, thus keeping their minds active.

    Summer holds many employment opportunities; outdoor jobs such as landscaping and public parks patrol, to indoor jobs such as lifeguarding and clerical work. Ontario Parks offer seasonal jobs to students. Students can expect to network and meet new people, developing new skills for the future. They can also earn professional certifications such as a CPR and WHIMIS training.[2] Deafblind Ontario is another interesting and helpful organization that hires students. This organization is devoted to assisting individuals who are hard of hearing and visually impaired. Aside from working, students can also volunteer both for experience and to accrue the required community services hours needed for a high school diploma. A fun way to volunteer is to help coach organized sports.[4] The YMCA of Canada also offers many volunteer opportunities. Students can greatly expand their knowledge of a chosen field by volunteering and potentially gain full-time employment upon graduation.

    While summer vacation can be relaxing, students tend to forget what they learned in the previous school year. It is important that students continue their studies and keep their mind and body both mentally and physically active. Playing sports is great way to stay fit. Reading is also an excellent way to stay informed and mentally alert. It is essential that students continue their academic and personal growth over the summer.  By working and volunteering, students can meet new people, develop and improve their skills and discover new things about themselves. So, my advice is to make the most of your summer by mixing together work, play and volunteer; you cannot loose!

    [1] http://www.canada.com/life/curb+summer+learning+loss/1731823/story.html

    [2] http://www.ontarioparks.com/careers

    [3] http://www.deafblindontario.com/summer-students

    [4] www.peelschools.org/students/40hours/volunteerjobboard/Documents/Dixie%20Soccer%20Club.pdf

  • All Work and No Play? How to Balance Work with Fun

    All Work and No Play? How to Balance Work with Fun

    Student life can be super stressful, and don’t worry, we hear you. What, with the constant tests, study group sessions, and seemingly endless stream of readings and homework, it can be understandably difficult to find time for yourself.

    It’s important to do well in school, but it’s also important to take a little time off every once in a while. Doing something that you enjoy is a good way for your brain to relax in-between all the hard work it’s doing. If you go easier on yourself every once in a while, you can reduce your heightened stress levels (a clear consequence of working at maximum capacity all the time). Plus, a break from school is a nice reward for a job well done.

    Of course, just as school shouldn’t eliminate the possibility of fun from your life, constant fun shouldn’t replace the time you’re putting into your academics. Achieving a balance between work and play is a key part of being a good student.

    Here are some suggestions for how you can balance your academics with the time you should be taking for yourself.

    Book it. In the same way that you plan out your school assignments and due dates (at least, if you’re conscientious enough to do so), you can plan fun things for yourself, too. On your calendar, make a note of the things you’re going to do in-between your study sessions. You can take relatively short breaks to watch a movie, go out for a coffee, or read a few more chapters of that book you were working on. Stay true to your schedule and you won’t be wondering where your “me” time went.

    Make it work. If you’re cooped up with your books all day, figure out a way to at least make your studying more enjoyable. (Yes, it’s possible!) Working on an assignment you like will probably make you happier than studying something you couldn’t care less about—which is a good point to note for the future as well. If all else fails, make small changes to your work environment, like putting on a playlist of your favourite songs or studying (productively) in a group instead of on your own.

    Treat yourself. Of course it can be difficult to think about taking time for yourself when you’re cramming for a big test. A good strategy is to focus on your schoolwork first—get it all done and out of the way—but have something to look forward to after it’s done. Make sure to do something for yourself right after the test date, as a reward for all the hard work you did. That way, you can relax with the completed work off your shoulders.

  • Keeping a Journal

    Keeping a Journal

    Keeping a journal is a great way to find clarity in your thoughts and to express yourself. Maybe there are issues you are going through in your personal life such as family problems,  issues with your friends or maybe the passing of a loved one.

    Writing daily or weekly in a journal/diary is a great way to let your emotions and feelings out. It can prove to be very therapeutic.

    Getting started is very simple. Grab a notebook or diary from the dollar store, write the date and just start writing. It would be helpful to write alone in your room or outside in quiet area that you may find peaceful. Write about anything that comes to mind and don’t over think it. There’s no right or wrong. Write about what you did that day. Where did you go? Who did you see? What did you accomplish? What do you feel during that moment? Are you sad about something? Are you happy? Are you stressed?

    You can even write about your short-term or long-term goals. What steps do you need to take to get there? Write them down. By writing down your dreams and goals, you are making more of a concrete commitment to them instead of just thinking about them. By writing them down and seeing them, you are more likely to act upon them later.

    Keeping a journal is not about just writing in it. It’s a great way to reflect as well by reading past entries. Maybe as the days go on and you read what you wrote before, you’ll realize that life isn’t so bad after all. You may feel better about a particular issue you were having before or maybe you changed something in your life for the better. You will see progress in your life. Maybe you accomplished some of your goals. Knowing that you achieved something that you wrote down from before is a great feeling in itself.

    As you get older, you will be glad that you kept a journal to see how your life was like in your younger days and how your life is different now. It’s a great way to keep track of memories and important moments in your life that you may forget otherwise if you didn’t write them down.

    Overall, keeping a journal is a great tool that serves many purposes. Happy writing!

  • I Want to Be A Robot!

    I Want to Be A Robot!

    Miss Inglis’ kindergarten class at Parliament Oak elementary school had to answer a special question this week. The question: what do you want to be when you grow up?

    The study of childhood occupation aspirations has been going on for decades and approached from many different angles. From the psychological transition of fantasy to realistic choices, to gendered influences on the traditional roles children choose.

    In a 1952 Ginzberg study, it was noted that children go through three stages in choosing occupations: “fantasy choices (before age 11); tentative choices (ages 11 to 17); and realistic choices (ages 17 to young adulthood).”

    Parliament Oak kindergartener Jack wants to be a robot. Maddie wants to be a rock star and James wants to be a spy.

    These children’s choices are fantastical. But as the workforce in Canada shifts towards the service industry and technological occupations, even a mail carrier may soon be considered a fantasy career choice.

    However, some career choices will stand the test of time. For example, kindergartener Ciaran wants to be an animal scientist, and Alexander wants to be a doctor. Career choices in science are likely to continue to be in high demand despite rapid changes in technology.

    Gender influences noted by scientists Levy, Sadovsky, Troseth, and Stroeher determined that early in life, especially from ages four to seven, young boys and girls are likely to choose traditionally male or female careers.

    This was a very common theme in Mrs. Inglis’ class; Oskar wanted to be a soccer player, Brian a policeman, Sophie a hair stylist, and Katherine a bride. However, social psychologists Garrett and Tremaine reported, “as children get older, they tend to be more flexible in choosing non-stereotyped careers”.

    An interesting aspect of these studies done in the 1970s is that boys reported to have double the amount of fantastical career choices than young girls. Garrett and Tremaine’s research noted, “girls learn early on that few adult vocations are open to them.”

    Today, we are living in the crossover effect of male/female college enrolment rates. According to the Population Reference Bureau organization, it officially occurred in 1993 and now leaves males seven percentage points behind females when it comes to college populations.  This change improves the likelihood of female success in the workplace and increases their vocational opportunities.

    Mrs. Inglis’ class did not reflect that change, with boys and girls averaging at very similar amounts of choices. The students are set to graduate this week, and it will be neat to see what they will become, and who will find success in the workforce of the future. My money is on the robot kid, but only time will tell.

  • What’s a Living Statue?

    What’s a Living Statue?

    Suppose that you could make a good living just by standing still. If you are physically fit, have good self-discipline, and enjoy acting, you could become a special kind of performer called a living statue. Ever since circus performers first started acting as living statues, this form of mime has become extremely popular, especially in Europe. People like Petronella Carter of London, England have made the art of being a living statue into a career.

    The name “living statue” describes what the job involves. Basically, living statues pretend to be real statues of various people, such as famous authors, painters, or characters from books or movies. They might join with other living statues to create a scene from history or everyday life or they might work alone.

    Every year, living statues in Europe hold competitions in the Netherlands to see who is best in various categories. Children, amateurs and professionals compete to see who has the best costume, best act, and most interesting entertainment. Each person portrays a certain character, such as a girl selling flowers or a man carrying luggage. These competitions bring a large audience to watch both the stillness and the movements of living statues.

    Being a living statue involves working on many different aspects of character, costume, and movement, according to Petronella Carter. She has been working as a living statue since the 1990s. During these years, she has learned a lot about the art and her own skills in portraying various characters.

    Many living statues work at street festivals and other outdoor events, but Petronella works mainly indoors, where she has a greater range of costumes and characters to use. Sometimes, she has to spend an hour and a half putting makeup all over any part of her body that is not covered by clothes. This makeup helps her to look like a statue made of bronze or other metals.

    Through her work, Petronella has developed ways of dealing with the challenges of being a living statue. She limits the amount of time she stands in one spot and has learned to control her breathing. Petronella can ease the pain of sore limbs with small, slow movements that no one is likely to notice. However, she also knows that standing still is not enough.

    Movement is what makes the difference between a living statue and a stone or metal one. Most living statues make an occasional small movement or even a large action. They might wink an eye or give out flowers to people going by to show that they are alive.

    Becoming a living statue does not require any special education, but it involves a lot of self-discipline and training. If you want to join this profession, you could start by learning to be a mime and by slowly increasing your ability to stand motionless.

  • Real Jobs: Hot Dog Vendor

    Real Jobs: Hot Dog Vendor

    Some jobs seem like they can’t be real – just think of being a hot dog vendor.  Everyone loves hot dogs, and it seems like a dream that you could even work with them. Work in this field can be very good for independent people who enjoy being with people and dealing with food.

    You and your family might sometimes eat food from street vendors. You go to a food cart and ask the person for a hot dog with mustard or ketchup, and then the vendor puts the food together and gives it to you. Hot dog vendors spend much of their time selling food to people on the street or in office buildings.

    The first step in becoming a hot dog vendor is to learn about how to handle the food. Wieners are easy to cook, but they have to be stored properly. Buns also have to be fresh, and the condiments (like ketchup and mustard) also require care. Before they start to work, hot dog vendors need to know about handling food safely and about cooking meat properly.

    Some hot dog vendors learn all that they need to know by working with others on the job. Others, however, might decide to take classes at a college or cooking school. A small percentage of hot dog vendors might even get a degree in a subject related to food or even something completely different. Education has little effect on a hot dog vendor’s salary, but it can help to provide background information that can be useful for the work.

    Besides learning about how to handle food, hot dog vendors need to learn about their equipment. They have to use fuel tanks, cooking utensils, and anything else that they need to run the business.

    Do you love food and being with people? Why not consider working as a hot dog vendor?

  • School vs. Life

    School vs. Life

    When you  make the move to junior high and high school, everyone seems to think that there is no way to balance both having a social life and excelling in you academics. However, there is always a way – as long as there is a will!

    The way I see it, you need to earn your breaks, vacations and time off; That is what used to drive me to finish up my last essays and my final projects. I would look at the calendar and mutter to myself, “It’s almost March Break – I got to work hard now so that I can fully enjoy my time off school”. Then I would put all of my effort into my work until the very last class and forget about (almost) everything! Essentially, you want to be able to relax during your breaks and long weekends, so you just have to think of this as a “crunch time”.  Even now, in university, I do this to myself – I work and study hard and once I finish the exam, I shop! Sounds odd to some people, but I call it a “Celebratory Spree Day”, the day when I get to relax after pushing myself to study so hard for my exam period.

    One can also practice time management by planning when you will study and setting aside a few hours for fun with friends, too. For example, give yourself some hours to hang out with your friends before heading home to finish assignments and study.  It’s possible to have great academic standing and a social life, you just need to have the determination and the planning.

    Always remember to enjoy life!

  • Dream Job: Ice Cream Taster

    Dream Job: Ice Cream Taster

    Imagine a job where you could get paid to eat your favourite food all day. Could anything like that be real? Working as an ice cream taster, for example, sounds like an imaginary job, but it really does exist. A man named John Harrison samples many different flavours of ice cream every day as part of his job for Edy’s Grand Ice Cream. Becoming an ice cream taster like John Harrison involves education, constant learning and daily care of the taste buds.

    People who want to work as ice cream tasters might start by getting a job in an ice cream shop and learning about different flavours, as well as finding out what people like to eat. Knowing how to preserve ice cream and to make it look and feel right is also very important. After high school, the next step is normally to get a university degree in an area such as food sciences.

    A food sciences education will help the ice cream taster learn more about different flavours and how they interact with each other. Courses in this program are also helpful for learning about proper food handling procedures and other things that ice cream tasters need to know. Working as an apprentice in an ice cream manufacturing company is another way of learning the skills necessary for the job.

    For John Harrison and other ice cream tasters, taking care of the taste buds is very important. Do you know how your taste buds stop working properly when you burn your tongue with a hot drink? Anything that affects the taste buds can influence an ice cream taster’s work. Before John Harrison goes to work, all he has for breakfast is some oatmeal with tea to drink. He has about sixty types of ice cream to try every day, and he has to make sure that his breakfast has no effect on his taste buds.

    Ice cream tasters have to develop methods of having only one taste in their mouths at a time. Normally, they roll the ice cream around in their mouths and then spit it out. John Harrison starts his day with lighter flavours like vanilla and then works up to stronger flavours like chocolate. Between flavours, he eats a plain cracker to get rid of the previous taste. Sometimes, he has to sample flavours that he does not like, but he has to think about what others might enjoy.

    Do you love to try new ice cream flavours? Do you have very sensitive taste buds? If so, you might want to consider becoming an ice cream taster.

  • Don’t Grow Up Too Fast

    Don’t Grow Up Too Fast

    All throughout school you’ve probably heard time and time again about thinking about your future. Looming college applications and career aptitude tests pressure you into worrying about your future career or post secondary education long before you actually need to. Of course, while it is important to consider these things, you should also take some time and enjoy your youth. These can be some of the best times of your life so don’t stress yourself worrying too much about the future. You still have plenty of time to grow up and deal with these things as they come upon you.

    As a student and young person, you’re under a lot of pressure from a bunch of people; your parents pressure you to behave, your school pressures you to achieve good grades, your friends pressure you to hang out, and (if you have a part-time job) you have to work, go to school, and maintain a social life – all of which can be quite stressful.

     While it is important to consider the desires and opinions of those around you, ultimately you should try to do what makes you the happiest and leaves you feeling the most fulfilled. Youth is a time of exploration, of making mistakes and learning from them. When you get older you’re suddenly obliged to deal with a bunch of adult responsibilities, such buying your own groceries, paying your taxes and hydro bill, working a steady job and paying for a house or apartment.

    When you’re still young, you have plenty of time ahead of you that are without major responsibilities. Youth is a time for having adventures, trying new things, and stepping outside of your comfort zone. So don’t try and grow up too fast – you’ve got decades to be an adult but only a few years to be young and free of adult responsibilities. Take this time to explore your boundaries, learn new things and find out who you are as a person.

    The bonds of friendship that you make when you’re young are strong and lasting, and you’ll often find that some of the people you meet in elementary school, middle school or high school will remain some of your closest friends. Grades are important, but so is having a good and balanced social life. It is no fun to have straight A’s if you don’t get the time to see your friends, relax and pursue your hobbies.

    The key to happiness is keeping a well balanced life. By all means spend time studying or working a part-time job, but remember to leave yourself some free time for socializing and just plain having fun. You want to enjoy your youth, not spend most of it stressed out over assignments and jobs. Do what feels right for you and DO take other people’s opinions into consideration, but always remember that it is your life and in the end it is up to you to decide what to do with it. So spend some time having fun and don’t grow up too soon!

  • Dream Job: Game Show Researcher

    Dream Job: Game Show Researcher

    Watching game shows can be a fun way to relax. Do you or your family like to watch them? One of the very popular game shows is a quiz show called Jeopardy. The show features three people answering all kinds of questions about topics like sports, history and languages. Have you ever thought about the people who write those questions? Game show researchers help to provide the material to keep shows like Jeopardy running, educating and entertaining people.

    Some game shows involve a lot of action and audience participation, but Jeopardy is different. It involves three people at a time answering questions read out by the host, Alex Trebek. The show has gone through several versions with different rules and styles.

    Each show features three basic sections: jeopardy, double jeopardy, and final jeopardy. The first two sections include six different topics or categories with five clues in each one, which any contestant can answer. Final jeopardy involves one category, and all of the contestants must try to answer that one. Questions can come from almost any field that people might know, including history, language, science or mathematics.

    When people watch the show, they might not know how much work goes into research for each episode. A whole team of people spend hours every day looking for information to use on the show. Michele Silverman Loud is one of those people. She graduated from Tufts University in the United States and hoped to become a journalist.

    When Michele was unable to find work in that field, she applied for work as a researcher for Jeopardy. She enjoyed the work and later moved into being a clue writer for the show, using the information from the research team. Since the show is on television five days a week, she was never out of work.

    Both the researcher and writer jobs require a certain amount of knowledge but not any particular education. Most people in this field have at least a bachelor’s degree. However, the ability to find good information and write clearly is more important. Finding good sources of information is the first step. If the information is wrong, the contestants and the audience will be unhappy. Clear writing is also essential to avoid confusing the players. Researchers and writers have to know how to write something that is easy to understand

    Can you imagine working on a fun game show for a living? You can do it! Dream big.