This post is in partnership with TD Bank and the TD Grade One Book Giveaway program.

If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know how much I love languages. Having studied languages during my undergrad, I am now able to speak French, Italian and Spanish in addition to Portuguese, which I learned from my parents. There is something about learning new words and being able to communicate with people from all over the world that fills my heart with happiness. It's one of the reasons that I count myself among those lucky few who absolutely love their job. Teaching French to students as early as grade one brings me great joy out of the sheer fact that not only can many of my grade one students have basic conservations with me and their peers in the target language, but they can also read many high frequency words as well. While I am only required to assess them on listening and speaking at that age, reading plays a huge role in their learning and thus, in the way I teach.

Even though I've been teaching for over 17 years, it wasn't until a few years ago, when I adopted a different teaching method based on storytelling and plays, that I truly began to appreciate the importance of reading and re-reading stories to children. I liken it to when my own children were infants and were first learning to speak. They would often repeat what they would hear us say, the songs we sang or the stories we read. These stories would become so familiar to them that the day they picked up those storybooks, they were able to read most of the story on their own or, at the very least, had the confidence to retell the story based on the pictures. It was that connection to the story that helped them to persevere along their journey to becoming fluent readers. 

Knowing how beneficial it is to expose children to books as early as possible and as much as possible, I am overjoyed that the TD Grade One Book Giveaway provides more than 550,000 English and French grade one students with a free children’s book written by a Canadian author. And if taking home their very own book to share and read with their families wasn't awesome enough, I couldn't be more thrilled to learn that both the French and English versions of the book include a translation in Plains Cree text in honour of 2019 being named the International Year of Indigenous Languages. The story is called My Heart Fills with Happiness / sâkaskinêw nitêh miywêyihtamowin ohci and is written by award-winning author Monique Gray Smith, with beautiful illustrations by Julie Flett. 

My Heart Fills with Happiness focusses on finding the simple things in life that make us happy and was actually written to support the wellness of Indigenous children and families. I love that the story and the illustrations embrace the joys we typically associate with childhood but so often overlook in adulthood, such as walking barefoot on the grass, feeling the warmth of the sun on your cheeks, holding the hand of someone you love or dancing like nobody's watching. It's easy enough for early readers to enjoy and I know my grade one students will love reading the French version as well. The book will be an excellent conversation-starter as we reflect upon and discuss that which fills our hearts with happiness. Je suis content(e) quand je danse, joue avec mes amis, lit mon livre favori...

Working with the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, the TD Grade One Book Giveaway has  been designed to encourage literacy in young children and to promote a love of reading and passion for books. And thanks to this program, which first began in 2000, more than 9.5 million Canadian children’s books have been distributed to children nation-wide. It is part of The Ready Commitment, a multi-year program launched by TD last year that supports a variety of programs to promote children's literacy, such as the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, TD Summer Reading Club and more. TD is committed to giving youth access to reading programs at a young age, as early learning leads to the ability to succeed with confidence later in life.

This post is in partnership with TD Bank and the TD Summer Reading Club. 

"Mom! I'm bored!"

How many times have I heard that before? As much as I love having so much down time with the family during the summer, it never ceases to surprise me how frequently my son complains that he has nothing to do. I try not to let it get under my skin because really, boredom can be a good thing since it helps develop creativity and imagination. You know what else can help build important skills among kids? Reading. So, enough with the whining, my son. It's time to sign up for the TD Summer Reading Club! 

Despite the fact that we have a variety of books to read at home, it isn't always easy to motivate my son to pick one up and set aside some time for pleasure reading. I think it's because he often associates reading with the dreaded H-word - homework. As a teacher, I fully understand that the more kids read, the more successful they will be in school and in life, so the more I can make reading fun for my son, the better. This is where the TD Summer Reading Club comes in. As Canada’s biggest bilingual summer reading program for kids, it has been designed to inspire kids to explore the fun of reading in their way, no matter their age, interests or abilities. And the best part? It's free to join!

We recently headed out to our local Toronto Public Library and met up with a wonderful librarian named Scott Robins. He gave my son a school-age reading club notebook which includes:

He invited my son to share his thoughts on a good book that he had read recently and so he chose to talk about Small Steps by Louis Sachar. He then wrote his name and the title of this story on a mini book cutout that was later stapled to a bulletin board. It was impressive to see how many other book suggestions there were from other kids. 

Scott then suggested that my son read the prequel to Small Steps, entitled Holes, and to my delight, he eagerly added it to his pile of books. And given that my son loves graphic novels, Scott was able to provide some great suggestions, for which I am very thankful. Even though they're an easy read, he really enjoys them and that's what counts, am I right?

Of course, if I had suggested them, he might have just passed them by. But thanks to Scott's impressive knowledge and love of children's books, I found my son was much more willing to try out some new books. This is why I'd highly recommend speaking with your local librarian to help find books that are not only age appropriate but also speak to your child's interests. Finding it hard to make it out to the library with kids in tow? Fret not, my friends. The TD Summer Reading Program is also available online!

One aspect of the TD Summer Reading Club program that I love is that it celebrates Canadian authors, illustrators and stories. And better still, kids can access a variety of these stories in eBook format for free via the website. On our list of must-read eBooks is Countdown to Danger: Canadian Survival, a  choose-your-own adventure where you have to try and make it out of the woods alive.

Given that kids can take part in the TD Summer Reading Club virtually anywhere, whether it be at a local public library, at home, or online, this program not only helps to keep boredom at bay but it can help improve their reading skills and increase their love of reading as well. It's also a great way to beat the summer slide, since research shows that children who participate in summer reading clubs return to school in the fall without learning-loss and with increased confidence. Plus, when reading is fun for kids, they are more likely to read more and make it a lifelong habit. And look at all the fun things participants can do as part of the TD Summer Reading Club. Kids can:

As with the TD Grade One Book Giveaway, the TD Summer Reading Club is part of the The Ready Commitment, TD's corporate citizenship platform, with the mission to help create a more inclusive and sustainable tomorrow. It is another example that shows how TD believes that literacy fuels education, education leads to better jobs, and better jobs build a stronger economy.

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Convenient coverage + competitive rates = peace of mind 

The cost of Mortgage Critical Illness Insurance is determined by your age when you apply and the amount of your mortgage. The good news is that your premiums will not increase as you get older. They are included as part of your regular mortgage payment and will be converted to the same payment frequency as your mortgage payment.

While I will never be fully prepared for what life-changing challenges may lie ahead, I am definitely going to set aside some time to re-evaluate our family's priorities and our insurance needs. By protecting my family's financial security, I can enjoy all of life's wondrous moments even more. 

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by TD Insurance as part of the #InsuranceThatFits blogger program. The opinions on this blog, as always, are my own.