The past few weeks have flown by for me after I announced that I will be taking part in The Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure Walk. This was important to me in so many ways. Sick Kids is an incredible hospital that does so much for the children and families that are treated there. They open their doors, hearts and give their all to their patients. I was privileged as a high school student to participate in a research study at Sick Kids. It was this study that sparked my love of medicine and the hope it gives families.
What is The Great Camp Adventure Walk?
The Great Camp Adventure Walk is a challenge by choice event held in Toronto on September 26th. Participants can challenge themselves to a 5km, 10km, 15km or even a 20km walk. It is an event that is open to all: young children, families and even pets! The day is full of fun, camp like activities and more.
Participants can register on the Walk for Sick Kids website. If you would like to donate to my team, you can do so at our team page, Live, Dream, Hope. Our goal is to raise $1,000 and we are a quarter of the way there.
All donations raised go to The Possibilities Fund at Sick Kids Foundation. The goal this year is to raise over $2 million!
You can also enter to win a $100 donation to a team of your choosing and a $100 VISA gift card for yourself. A definite win-win!
Disclosure: I am part of the Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure Walk for SickKids campaign with Influence Central and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”
The first day of school is always hard no matter which way you look at it. New teachers, new class rooms, new routines and seeing your friends for the first time in two months can be quite daunting for children. I can still remember to this day the stress of the first day back! It leaves such an impression on you for life.
This was me on my first day of grade one, transitioning from the small kindergarten area into the big fields. Back in the day we had to dress up for the first day of school which usually included dresses, knee highs, tights and fancy shoes. Looking back now I cringe! Fashion was tough in the eighties and nineties eh?!!
Starting two to three weeks before school resumes, we like to help adjust our children back into the school mode. This helps not only ease their fears but helps them return to a routine easier.
Here are some simple tips to get back into the school mode:
Set up an easy schedule that your children can follow. This should include getting up earlier (my kids are now in the routine of sleeping into nine which has to stop!), earlier bed times, reading and workbooks time. If your child is a visual learner, posting a schedule can help or even including a reward chart is always helpful.
Let your child choose their own back to school clothes. Going back to school is tough and kids want to fit in with their friends. Allowing them to choose their own clothes helps this process. It allows them to express their personality and identity, not to mention it is a lot of fun for parents to learn about their child. This year, our youngest took loads of fashion advice from his big brother.
Watch school related television shows that teach about friendship, overcoming fears and being school smart. We all learn a lot from movies and television shows and children are exactly the same. Allowing them to watch children friendly shows that show true friendship and how to rock school is always helpful for them to overcome their fears. Some great picks currently playing on Netflix are Dinotrux, Project Mc2 and Ever After High.
How do you help your child overcome the first day of school jitters?
Disclosure: I am a #StreamTeam member and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.
Medicine has always been an important part of my life. When I was younger, I wanted to be a surgeon more than anything else in the world. My life was centred around helping people and trying to make them better. It was what motivated to become a lifeguard, to volunteer in retirement homes as well as at York Central Hospital and later to participate in a research study at Sick Kids Hospital as part of the Aventis Biotech Challenge. The days that I spent not only in the lab but with patients taught me so much. Medicine is all about healing and creating miracles and why my life has always centred around caring for others.
While I may not have become the surgeon I had always wanted to, I did graduate from a Kinesiology program and I am currently working in a teaching Family Medicine unit. Every day I am able to witness little miracles in our patients and share in these moments with them. It is a role that has humbled me and taught me to appreciate every moment in life because nothing in life is ever guaranteed. My work has brought home to me how important it is to give back to others and to support research and providing care for patients. This is a concept that I am continually trying to share with others.
Sick Kids is a world leader in both patient care and research in order to make sure that every child has the chance to be healthy, happy and dream. It is because of courageous individuals, volunteers and generous donors that these children are given the chance to achieve all they deserve.
The Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure Walk will be held this year on September 26th, 2015 in downtown Toronto. The Great Camp Adventure Walk is a challenge by choice event – you get to choose whether you want to complete a 5km, 10km, 15km or even 20km. Campsites are found along the route every 2.5km, each having its own unique theme and activities. The Main Camp at Fort York will be full of family friendly activities including: entertainment, arts and crafts, Fun Zone, games, Tuck Shop and quiet areas for rest.
The Great Camp Adventure Walk gives families the opportunity to not only support those in their lives that may have been affected by childhood illnesses and cancer but to also teach their children about the importance of fundraising and the miracle of medicine. It gives children a chance to support children.
If you want to be a part of this important day to benefit Sick Kids, head over to the Great Camp Adventure Walk page and sign up to take part in the walk (they are dog friendly too!) or donate to a group or individual participating (if you want to donate to my team, you can do so here). If you are signing up for the Great Camp Adventure Walk, you can use the code: social, to receive a $10 discount off the registration fee.
The 2015 goal is to raise $2 million for Sick Kids and every little bit helps! So head over to the Great Camp Adventure Walk to learn more, donate, volunteer and participate. Every action counts and makes a difference in a child’s life.
Please take a moment to enter to win the following giveaway. Not only do you walk away with $100 but you also win $100 donation to a team of your choosing – a win-win!
Disclosure: I am part of the Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure Walk for SickKids campaign with Influence Central and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
My second week turned out a lot better than my first week with regards to my goals, for which I am quite proud of. My daily routine became much easier to stick to (thankfully) and I have begun to notice some differences with how I feel mentally (not so foggy brained) and my stomach feels lighter and not so heavy feeling. This has made attaining my goals that much easier to accomplish.
So here is how I did with last week’s goals:
1-2 pound weight loss. I maintained my weight but did not lose anything extra.
Continue to maintain my vegetarian diet with a meal plan This is becoming easier and easier!
Yoga fours times this week. Honestly, yoga has become my favourite new form of exercise. It leaves me feeling so refreshed from head to toe.
Daily evening meditation.
Daily squat, lunge, push up and crunch challenge with a fitness calendar. I posted my calendar on the fridge so now I have no excuses! I go through each day highlighting what I have completed.
Two litres of water a day
10,000 steps minimum a day. I did it!! I am so proud of myself – all week I reached a minimum of 10,000 steps.
Daily morning detox tea I am using Purgo teatox which I love.
This week’s goals:
1-2 pound weight loss.
Yoga four times this week.
Daily evening meditation.
Daily squat, lunge, push up, crunch and plank challenge.
Two litres of water a day.
11,000 steps a day (got to up my goal a bit!).
Two 3km walks.
Here is my big surprise: I am taking part in the Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure Walk on September 26th! I am officially ‘in training’ mode as my team-mate would like to complete the 10km walk. You will find more out on my upcoming walk for this great cause this week.
Don’t forget to enter my giveaway to win a $50 Shoppers Drug Mart gift card!
Getting back to school is all about fun and the numbers! And what better way to introduce your child to their numbers with a fun game from DK Canada.
The Get Ready for School Numbers Memory Game is the fun way to introduce your child to the world of numbers and counting. This book helps to enrich your child’s educational development as well as prepare them for school. The box contains a booklet with games, cards and an instruction sheet.
This boxed book set is suitable for children ages three to five to help prepare and enhance their current education. It provides instruction for parents to help encourage their child, while providing bright colours and a fun way to look at numbers for children to keep them engaged.
The cards come in four different colours with instructions on where to start and what activities to introduce at each stage. Teaching your child important math skills can be hard (I like to learn myself by reading examples so I find it hard to explain lessons to my children). This book helped me get over my awkwardness and help me teach my youngest son, who is heading off to Junior Kindergarten this year!
Get Ready for School Numbers also helps you to relate the learning skills to real life (counting objects, opportunities to count together, etc.)
How do/did you introduce numbers to your child?
Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product free of charge in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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