As the mother of an autistic son, I feel author Beth Wiseman does a wonderful job of portraying the daily obstacles faced by parents living with a special needs child. She captures the frustration of dealing with rigid routines and unpredictable behaviour, the concern for a child in crisis, and the embarrassment Kade feels when young Tyler acts out in public. She also shows how beautiful and lovable our children can be, and how easily they give themselves to love and joy.

Plain Promise is a book full of warmth and fellowship. Some of the plot is predictable, but the vignettes of community and family life are well written. Wiseman shows respect and admiration for the Amish people, while not attempting to paint their lives as either perfect or free from worry.

Although this is the tale of one father’s journey to become a better man, the book gives us glimpses into the lives and minds of others around him as well. Kade seeks to find a relationship with his son and with God, widow Sadie Fisher to find her place in the world, and friend Jonas to decide whom to draw close to him and how to live out his remaining days. There is a very strong message that we are not all meant to follow the same path in life. It is normal to have questions and doubts sometimes, but if we are on the path intended for us the work should not require an overwhelming effort.

Plain Promise is one of several books in a series of novels by Beth Wiseman, called Daughters of Promise. Each volume is about the journey of one person who comes to an Amish community. While I am eager to read the books that came before, this book reads well as a standalone novel. The books are published by Thomas Nelson who were kind enough to provide me with a review copy as part of their BookSneeze program, in exchange for my honest thoughts on the story. As it deals honestly with relationships between men and women, I recommend it for adults and mature youth.

Copyright © 2010 Kyla Matton. All rights reserved. Plain Promise is the work of Beth Wiseman, copyright 2009. Cover art used with kind permission of her publisher, Thomas Nelson.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

If you enjoy the articles in this blog please feel free to visit my other published works at Associated Content. Thanks!

Did you ever think that shepherd’s pie represents the three founding cultures of Canada? A new exhibit at Montreal’s Château Ramezay Museum wants us to consider it. Corn from our First Nations peoples, they say, beef from the French and potatoes from the British.

History of shepherd’s pie

While corn is undeniably a New World food associated with our First Nations peoples, it is rather difficult to pigeon hole the beef and potatoes in shepherd’s pie. The name we use today for the popular meat is derived from the French boeuf, but beef was also eaten in Britain throughout the Middle Ages. As for the potato, it is a New World food taken back to Europe by the Spanish. It was accepted more quickly by the British than the French, but was grown elsewhere in northern Europe.

Shepherd’s pie – or pâté chinois as many know it in Quebec – is but one of a number of peasant dishes designed to use up leftovers and to stretch the household food budget. The British had cottage pie as early as 1791. The French had Hachis Parmentier in the 18th century as well. Another dish called cowboy pie was known in New England.

Let’s Eat!

Take an afternoon to learn about the eating habits of New France, and reflect on how traditions endure even today. Visit the Let’s Eat! exhibition at . . .

Read more: Food Exhibit at Montreal Museum . . .

If you enjoy the articles in this blog please feel free to visit my other published works at Associated Content. Thanks!

Lester B Pearson School Board wants to improve French language proficiency in its schools. How to achieve this was one of the key questions asked of stakeholders in its most recent round of Major School Change consultations.

The board has already lost English first language programs to attrition, but now debates are pitting supporters of the so-called “50-50″ bilingual programs against those who feel French immersion programs better serve the needs of students whose first language is not French.

Having a choice of both immersion and bilingual programs creates duplication of certain services, and the strain on school board budgets is reflected in a large number of school closures and mergers in recent years. Despite the obvious issues associated with offering different programs, parents in both immersion and bilingual schools have traditionally opposed the adoption of a “one size fits all” approach to language of instruction.

But as Quebec’s largest English school board faces yet another round of Major School Change, parents and faculty are reaching toward the most creative, broadest sweeping suggestions in order to secure . . .

More: Less English in Quebec’s Anglophone schools . . .

If you enjoy the articles in this blog please feel free to visit my other published works at Associated Content. Thanks!

H1N1 vaccination clinics in Montreal had been standing empty recently, and yet staff were forced to turn away anyone not in a priority group because of Montreal Health Agency policies. As school boards react to announcements that Quebec health officials plan to have schools bus elementary and secondary school children to mass vaccination sites, healthy children in the 5 to 19 year old age group have been bumped up into the priority group.

Busing to Mass Vaccination Centers a Costly Decision

Quebec’s director of public health protection, Dr. Horacio Arruda, claims there isn’t enough vaccine available and says bringing it to schools would result in the loss of precious doses. “If we distribute them across thousands of thousands of sites we will lose vaccine, so we will have less available vaccine for the people to benefit from it,” he said in a CBC interview.

Although the concern is understandable, there has been no information released yet as to how schools are going to pay for the cost of transporting children. School boards worry….

More of  “H1N1 vaccine costly for Montreal school children”…

If you enjoy the articles in this blog please feel free to visit my other published works at Associated Content. Thanks!

H1N1 has parents of school aged children in the Montreal area concerned. Already, the peak of the outbreak has been announced in other provinces, but it seems Quebec is just heading into the worst of it. Schools are setting up new policies for health-related absences, and parents are being asked to be specific about a child’s symptoms because schools are required to report the number of absences related to flu-like illness.

Waiting to have a child vaccinated, knowing that the flu is going around, is a pretty nerve-wracking experience for parents. It makes me happy that my girls are homeschooled. We are keeping contacts with groups of people down to a minimum for the time being, but I’ll rest easier once they’ve had their vaccines and I’ve counted the two weeks for the antibodies to be created.

It’s not so much that I’m afraid my kids will catch the “plague” and die. But no one likes to see their kids sick, and getting any form of influenza is very unpleasant. Having a son who has communication difficulties makes things harder for us, and of course being six people in an apartment it’s difficult for us to isolate a sick child until the risk of infecting the others is passed. So, let’s just say that prevention is pretty important for us.

H1N1 Vaccination Clinics Stand Empty

After the initial line-up crises at vaccination clinics health officials faced a great deal of criticism over their lack of preparedness. Kids were waiting outside for hours in the cold and rain, only to be turned away due to vaccine shortages. No toilet facilities were provided, so that parents sometimes had to choose between caring for a child’s immediate need to go to the bathroom, and staying in line to receive what at that time seemed like a life-saving vaccine.

Stricter policies, and the institution of coupon or bracelet systems when line-ups are long, has drastically reduced wait times even at the mass vaccination clinic opened in the Olympic Stadium. But now we are hearing reports of clinics standing empty.

In order to be sure there will be no more vaccine shortages, queue jumping is not being permitted at all in Quebec – well, unless you happen to be a hospital board member or a major donor.

This tougher policy has resulted in people being turned away from clinics, even when there are no line-ups and when nurses stand idle. News reporters have asked about taking advantage of these lulls, and been told the Montreal Health Agency has set a policy that does not permit nurses…..

More: Clinics to Target Children 5 – 19 in Laval & Montreal Mid-November…..

If you enjoy the articles in this blog please feel free to visit my other published works at Associated Content. Thanks!