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A decision of biblical proportions
“There are lots of other opportunities for people to get their bibles,” commented Owen Sound school trustee Marg Gaviller, after the Bluewater District School Board, in Ontario, banned the distribution in schools of bibles and other religious materials. The vote ended the Gideon Bible Society’s 60-year practice of distributing free bibles to Grade 5 students. Denying distribution of bibles was tied to the fact that schools could not practically offer all religious groups access, which the board must allow, according to legal advice.
Taking action on the pincer grip
Pity the poor child who hasn’t experienced writing or drawing on sidewalks with chalk. But wait! To the rescue is Mrs. Frances Judd, a kindergarten teacher with 25 years’ experience. Thanks to her clever innovation, children as young as three can now savour the virtual experience of gripping a piece of chalk. States the media release: “Today’s children enter kindergarten less prepared to learn to write. Increased screen time has meant less time drawing and coloring, leaving fine motor skills underdeveloped. Chalk Walk, just released on the iPad by Mrs. Judd Games, has ‘pincer-grip action’ that exercises young fingers as they trace colorful, clever lines along unique sidewalk images, picking up letters and literacy skills along the way.”
