This year began as a lesson in loneliness for us all as self isolation brought many challenges. But what if your life was like that all of the time? What if you knew nothing else and it was your normal? Thus the pandemic has taught a mother how her child feels as he tries to … Read more
by Melanie Williams, Freelance Writer • Originally published in Maclean’s and Chatelaine My son’s journey with loneliness started years before the Covid-19 pandemic. If there’s a silver lining to this pandemic and the restrictions imposed on our personal liberties, it’s that I am learning what involuntary loneliness feels like. Loneliness and the effects of isolation … Read more
by Dr. Jennifer Jakobi and Allyssa Costerton-Grant • UBC Okanagan The maxim ‘For every problem, there is a solution’ has echoed through generation after generation. Yet, there is no time like the present to contemplate our role in finding solutions. The impact of global change is at our door step and it is a good … Read more
by Dorothee Birker • KCR Community Resources You care about making an impact and giving back to the community you are raising your family in. However, life is super busy with work, family and home demands. Adding volunteering may seem like too much. But there is a growing trend to start volunteering as a family … Read more
by Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D. • Psych Central www.psychcentral.com “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m supposed to feel a surge of maternal instinct, right? I’m supposed to love my baby. Why am I so overwhelmed and uninterested?” I’m just getting to know Michelle. She had her first baby three weeks ago and has been … Read more
by Marissa Dutoff • The Minimalist Homeschooler Are you interested in homeschooling your children or just adding to your child’s education? So how do you go about that? Where do you start? What resources do you need? Well, Mark Twain said “The secret of getting ahead is getting started”. That quote was my second ever … Read more
by Teresa Pavlin • Telemark Nordic Club We were ready for a change. Both of us have lived in Toronto, Ontario for most of our lives but we had a taste of the west as visitors for I had worked in Squamish as a student and my husband had visited friends in Vancouver. This time, … Read more
by Heather Crown • Studio9 Independent School of the Arts I have a question for you and I want an honest answer: what was your favourite memory from school? I’m going to guess that it wasn’t the end of year math exam that you had to take or the big English essay that you had … Read more
by Isaac Schock • YMCA of Okanagan Over the past year and a half, we have all settled into different routines and created new behaviours. The Pandemic has affected each family very differently and many of us are less active than we would like to be. With limited access to resources like gyms, playgrounds or … Read more
by Pam Nease, Sleep Consultant It was pick up time at the Elementary School. The First Grade teacher quietly approached a mother and asked, “Are you doing anything differently at home?” The woman braced herself and then replied nervously, “Yes, why do you ask?” Moments later, the mom collapsed on the floor of her daughter’s … Read more
by Marie Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D. • Psych Central www.psychcentral.com When I decided to hitchhike one day during my high school years, my grandfather was already waiting on the porch when I got home. Radiating disapproval and disappointment, he merely said, “Heard you were needing a ride.” My ‘driver’ had called him as soon as he had … Read more
by Lindsay Krieg • Three Temples Sensory Design Our senses play a vital role in how we experience our daily life and the world around us. They can affect our mood, behaviour, actions, our responses to people and things. One way we can support a happy and healthy experience is to create and manipulate our … Read more
Provided by Okanagan Regional Library Spinning a story around a campfire may even predate the first time a human ever painted on the walls of a cave. People are continuing to tell stories in the same way, except these days the voices are recorded and the narratives are created by professional authors and thousands of … Read more
by Lucy Benwell, Executive Director • Kelowna Community Music School We begin our story in 1976, when several music-loving parents were in search of an established string program for their children. This search culminated in the birth of the Kelowna Music Society in the living room of founder member Marjorie Denroche and classrooms soon began … Read more