Tag Archives: School

Oct8

What I’m thankful for…

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What I’m thankful for…

Today is Thanksgiving! I wanted to share 9 things I’m thankful for. I chose 9 things because I am 9 years old.

1. I’m thankful for my family because they care for me and they love me, they cook for me, they take me to really cool places and they hang out with me. My parents want the best for me and they believe in me and encourage me. My parents help me with my schoolwork and my blog. My parents always take me to my swimming lessons and karate classes and cheer me on. They are always there for me to talk to.

2. I’m thankful for school and education because it provides me a place to learn. There are a lot of kids in the world that don’t have a chance to go to school or have a good education. I know that I’m lucky to live in Canada where all kids get to go to school. I’m thankful for my teachers and principals who have been kind and supportive, believing that I can get great marks when I work hard.

3. I’m thankful for discovering the people who inspire me, like Dr. Jane Goodall, Severn Suzuki, Craig and Marc Kielburger, Spencer West and Terry Fox. Each of them have made a big difference in the world, and inspire others to get involved, take action and never give up. I think about Spencer West a lot and his determination to climb Mount Kilminjaro and his message – Redefine Your Possible.

4. I am thankful for the amazing people that I met at camp this summer. Before I went to Sleepover Camp I had never made it through a sleepover at a friends house because I was homesick. I was scared for a few days but all my friends and counsellors encouraged me to not be scared. I loved it so much that I stayed for an extra 10 days and I can’t wait to go back next summer!

5. I am thankful to have learned about Free The Children and that I was invited to go to We Day. Craig and Marc Kielburger started these organizations and events that make caring fun and cool. They encourage young people to learn about the world and take action to help stop things like child labour or hunger. They raise money and awareness and work in places all over the world to bring clean water, education and medicine to children.

6. I am thankful that I never have to worry about not having enough food to eat. I have been learning about Food Banks and how many people rely on them for food. At school we are collecting non-perishable food to donate to a local food bank and I am going to participate in Free The Children’s We Scare Hunger and will be collecting non-perishable food when I go trick-or-treating this Halloween.

7. I am thankful for my dog, Indigo. She is a Shih-Tzu and she is 13 years old so she’s sort of like my big sister. She’s super cute and cuddly, she always kisses my face and I give kisses to her too! I play with her by throwing my toys and she loves it when I scratch behind her ear. I love cuddling with her in bed and taking her for walks. The best part of the day is coming home from school and she is so happy to see me.

8. I am thankful for all the nice comments here on my blog because it makes me feel good that people are reading. I am especially happy to know that in some people have been inspired to be more eco-friendly because of my posts and tips.

9. I am thankful for both of my great-grandmothers. I called my father’s grandmother BooBoo. She was so nice and caring and she loved me so so much. I loved her too. She lived to be 97 and passed away in September. I’ll never meet another person like her and miss her. I am thankful that I went to visit my other great-grandmother this weekend. I haven’t seen her in a long time and I am happy that she was feeling better and up for a visit with me and my parents.

There you have it! 9 things that I am thankful for! Tell me, what are YOU thankful for?

Some of things and people that I am thankful for.

Sep13

I Have Celiac Disease

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I Have Celiac Disease


I have Celiac Disease. It means my body cannot digest Wheat and Gluten, if I do, I do not grow because my body does not get the nutrients it needs. I was diagnosed when I was 3 years old. Having Celiac Disease means that I have to be careful with what I eat. As long as I keep to my gluten-free diet, I will be perfectly healthy. I have learned a lot about how to read ingredients so that I can be responsible for my health.

Things I cannot have are things like french fries at most restaurants, pizza on pizza on pizza day at school and hot dog days at school, birthday cakes, ice cream cones at Baskin Robbins, chicken fingers and nuggets, dessert at most restaurants, donuts, muffins and bagels, cookies, cupcakes, pretzels, egg rolls, tempura, noodles, pasta, onion rings and a lot more!

The good news is that there are lots of foods and treats and snacks that are gluten free and lots of companies are making more gluten free products so that I can have most of the list above because there are substitutions that are good for me.

Because I have Celiac I take a lot of care to be prepared for everything. Even though I’m not able to have things what other people are having, It doesn’t mean that I can’t participate I just have to bring my own dessert for a birthday or pizza for pizza day at school. Packing lunch for school is sometimes hard because my Mom and I have so many things to think about. There are a lot of kids in my school with different allergies like peanuts and sesame seeds. My lunches have to be nut-free, sesame-free and gluten-free. A lot of the gluten-free foods are made with either nuts or sesame seeds. It takes some extra time when we grocery shopping, but we do ok. We want everyone to be safe and healthy.

It bothers me when some other people are having something I can’t have and I feel left out. I deal with this by having a different treat and still participating. It’s not a big deal even though it is hard. My health’s more important and I always remember that. It’s sometimes frustrating when we’re out for the day and there aren’t a lot of things that I can eat for a meal. Places that are especially hard are Canada’s Wonderland, The Zoo, Baseball games and the EX. My parents always ask about the ingredients and sometimes the people working there don’t know if there is gluten in it or not. So I don’t have it just in case there is gluten in the food.

In the 6 years since the doctors told my parents and me that I have Celiac disease, there are more products at the grocery store and more restaurants that have gluten free food choices. My favourite restaurants to go are Swiss Chalet, Boston Pizza, The Olde Spaghetti Factory, Il Fornello, Pizza Pizza and PF Changs.

Here are some of my favourite Gluten-Free foods that we always have:

From the top left: Lundberg Risotto, Corn Pasta, Blue Diamond Crackers, Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix, Kernels Popcorn, Chapman’s Ice Cream, Cinnamon Chex, Udi’s Gluten Free Bread, Nature’s Path Waffles, Schneider’s Country Naturals Hot Dogs, Gluten Free Cafe by Health Valley Chicken Noodle Soup, Rice Crackers, Nature’s Path Gluten Free Crunchy Maple Cereal, Annie’s Gluten Mac & Cheese and Popcorn.

Sep12

Eco Book Review: The Eco Student’s Guide To Being Green At School

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Eco Book Review: The Eco Student’s Guide To Being Green At School

I took this book out of the library at school. Obviously, it’s an eco book. It’s by J. Angelique Johnson. This is what I learned from this book:

1. Use a task light, like a lamp, when possible. it uses a lot less energy than overhead lighting and it’s better for your eyes.

2. Use both sides of paper. When you use both sides you aren’t wasting the paper.

3. Use recycled toilet paper. It’s keeps water’s clean, the chemicals used to bleach white toilet paper are left out. Those are bad for the water.

4. Hang window coverings on south facing walls. Close them to keep cool during summer months. Keep them open to stay warm in winter.

5. Don’t throw away paint. You can cut down on waste by scraping unused paint back into the container.

6. If a piece of clothing is too small, you can donate them or give them to someone else. You can also use an old t-shirt as a rag to clean with. Reuse things to keep them out of the garbage and landfill.

7. Talk to your teachers, principals and friends. Encourage everybody to stop harming the environment and do things to help it. Create an Eco Team. Ask them to go green by making your schools eco-friendly.

I really liked this book because it teaches you in a fun and creative way that it is easy and cool to be eco-friendly at school. The Illustrator is Kyle Poling. His pictures also tell the story and teach the lessons.

I would recommend this book for people who want to help their school or people who are interested in the environment. The book is easy to understand. It’s good for any reading level.

The author also wrote a book called The Eco Family Guide To Being Green. I bet it’s a really good book too!

You can find this book in your school or neighbourhood library. Remember all of these facts when you’re going to school. Hey, it’s cool to be eco-friendly at school. Yes, I made up that rhyme.