Written by Susan Ramsay

Pride. We see it showcased joyously in Pride parades in Canadian cities and throughout the world. We also see it targeted horrifically in places like the Orlando nightclub a few months ago. How can such opposite emotions and reactions surround this simple, one-syllable word? Merriam-Webster defines pride as “a reasonable… READ MORE

Written by Susan Ramsay

It’s January 2016. Time to put down those Sudoku puzzles Santa left in your stocking and test your skills with this family literacy quiz: 1) Why will January 27th be a day to watch for? a) Jupiter and the moon will be close in the sky, and appear to rise… READ MORE

Written by Susan Ramsay

Canada’s recent federal election changed the political landscape of our nation overnight and just a few days later former prime minister, Stephen Harper, and then prime minister-designate, Justin Trudeau, stood shoulder to shoulder to lay a wreath in remembrance of two soldiers slain last October. The ability to change government… READ MORE

Written by Susan Ramsay

Justin was almost 11 months old when he experienced his first Christmas. On Christmas morning he unwrapped his presents slowly, mesmerized by the sight, sound and feel of the bows and brightly coloured paper. But the gifts Justin loved the very most were neither the plastic child-safe toys nor the… READ MORE

Written by Susan Ramsay

It was a whirlwind stop by Liberal leader Justin Trudeau in Napanee a few weeks ago. I watched with fascination as the predominantly red and white clad crowd erupted into cheers and heat-generating hand claps even before their favoured federal candidate stepped off the Trudeau coach bus. The actions of… READ MORE

Written by Susan Ramsay

The image and story was everywhere. Aylan, a three-year-old Syrian boy had been found washed ashore on a Turkish beach. He and his five-year-old brother, along with their mother, had drowned while fleeing their war-torn county to find peace in Canada. The news jolted our senses. Here was a small… READ MORE

Written by Susan Ramsay

The countdown to kindergarten is on! Children attending full day learning programs for the first time anticipate their number of sleeps before riding the big yellow school bus or arriving at their new school. Counting, however, isn’t easy for young children. Joanna Zambrzycka, from the Mathematical Brains Laboratory at Wilfred… READ MORE

Written by Susan Ramsay

“Red Rover, Red Rover, we call Susan over.” As a child I loved this game. My friends and I formed two lines facing one another and, with clasped hands, began our Red Rover chant. Whosever name we inserted into the chant had to leave their line and race toward ours.… READ MORE

Written by Early Literacy

Susan Ramsay, Early Literacy Specialist HFL&A My mother’s voice rose and fell expressively as she sat reading bedtime stories to me as a child. Decades later, as mother of three, I followed her example. I remember my children’s giggles, gasps and questions as we read. As well as these fond… READ MORE

Written by Early Literacy

Susan Ramsay, Early Literacy Specialist HFL&A I went to the library and what did I see?Books to share with baby and me.There were titles and authors that I didn’t knowAnd I wondered which books to choose from the row.So I asked the librarian to please help me outAnd she gave… READ MORE

Written by Early Literacy

Susan Ramsay, Early Literacy Specialist HFL&A If you are looking for gifts this Christmas, here are a few tips to consider when choosing quality books for that special child in your life. Pictures make or break children’s interest in books. Infants who are learning single words like books with one… READ MORE

Written by Early Literacy

Susan Ramsay, Early Literacy Specialist HFL&A January 2015 has arrived and the sounds of Auld Lang Syne echo in my mind even though my holidays have ended and festive songs no longer play in stores. The power of music is undeniable. Music, in every culture past and present, enables us… READ MORE

Written by Early Literacy

Susan Ramsay, Early Literacy Specialist HFL&A When I first read The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, I was enthralled by his writing and storytelling, moved by the sorrow, hope and strength of the story characters, and appalled by my lack of knowledge about slavery and Black history in Canada.… READ MORE

Written by Early Literacy

Susan Ramsay, Early Literacy Specialist HFL&A March 28, 2015. 8:29 pm. Computer? Off. Television? Off. Lights? Off. We powered down for the ninth annual Earth Hour, hoping that our symbolic acts of replacing brightly lit streets and homes with flickering candles will unite individuals across six continents, 120 countries and… READ MORE

Written by Susan Ramsay

Susan Ramsay, Early Literacy Specialist HFL&A “Daddy look!” I turned from my squatted position in the strawberry patch toward the sound of an excited child’s voice close by. A beige sunhat bobbed slightly higher than the row of strawberry bushes, his fist clutching and waving a large heart-shaped berry. I… READ MORE

Written by Early Literacy

by Susan Ramsay, Early Literacy Specialist “In the beginning, all things were made but nothing was finished.” Algonquin storyteller, Dionne Nolan, spoke quietly, holding a talking stick, as she began to tell the story of Owl and Rabbit. Her audience? A hushed and attentive circle of participants attending the first… READ MORE