Who can describe the utter majesty of Niagara Falls? Even the rows of noisy tourist shops can’t take away from nature’s beauty. Above the sounds of traffic and humanity’s masses, one can hear the thundering of the falls before they catch a first glimpse. When the Player Development team from Sint Maarten visited Niagara Falls, 14-year-old Big King was very impressed.
I woke up at 6 am. I was so excited to go to Niagara Falls.
We waited to get on the boat for hours.
“I get close. It was beautiful.” -Puppy, age 6
We went under the fall!
“We went close to the falls.” -Little King, age 11
We all loved it and got wet a lot.
When I take off my coat, only my sleeve was wet.
“I stood in the front for a better view and to get wet from the waterfall. The Niagara Falls was beautiful in person.” -Theo, age 14
Niagara Falls were pretty incredible! We all enjoyed our experience on the Maid of the Mist boat ride. Zack, another teen in our group, made an awesome video of the ride with his Go-pro. Click here to watch it.
The crackle of the fire, the smell of wood smoke, the taste of fresh sweet corn– the tearing of thorns? For the Player Development kids from Sint Maarten, all of these things say “Canadian summer.” This year, they got to experience their first camping in the temperate zone. We didn’t stay the night, but we did get to do all the best of camp activities. Tré, a teen from our group, writes about his time at Camp Wetaskiwin.
The trip was almost over. We went to a campsite. It’s very nice.
We played “Capture the Flag” in the wild bush! It was really fun until I bruised my side. I got so many cuts as well, but it was worth it.
“No one was left unscathed.” -Theo, age 14
After, we dove into the pool to cool off, which was nice from all that running.
“We had lots of fun.” -Skijlaar, age 12
When we cooled enough we had dinner on the fire. Tin foil dinner, where we put chicken, onion, potatoes, and vegetables in the tin wrap it up and put it into the fire. It turned out to be delicious.
I would surely do it again.
Thanks, Tré, and thanks to everyone who made the camping trip happen! We had a great time.
TheI Can book series by Miriam Laundry is one of my new favorites. I consider myself a children’s book connoisseur, since I grew up with a reading specialist mother who fed me a steady literary diet of Caldecotts and Newberrys. And honestly, I’d put the I Can books on the shelf next to Eric Carle and The Little Engine that Could. The incredible success of the self-published books (Miriam holds a Guinness World Record for the largest online book discussion in a 24-hour period) is a testament to the greatness of these books. The stories are straightforward enough for a child to grasp, yet at the same time inspiring to all ages. The message is simple: “I can!” When Miriam held a workshop in Canada for the Player Development kids from Sint Maarten, she sparked an idea in their minds that they will never forget.
In the book I Can Believe in Myself, Molly believes that she can’t speak in public. As she goes through the day, she realizes that many of her classmates say “I can’t” about things Molly knows they can do. She comes up with an idea: everyone should write down what they think they can’t do, shred the paper, and go for it. If you believe in yourself and try, you just might do it! During the workshop, each one of us shredded an “I Can’t” statement.
Theo, a 14-year-old in our group, later wrote in his journal:
“Coach Tom told us about Miriam Laundry. We then went to the Tennis Academy and met Miriam and we had a workshop with her. We also went through one of her books. We also got to help her choose her next book cover.”
Theo thought that getting to help choose the cover of the next book was pretty cool. He thought the concept of “I Can” was even cooler. The day after the workshop, we visited a park with a ropes course. Theo said, “Oh, I can’t do that. That’s way too high.” So he stayed behind. After a few minutes, he changed his mind. He told us that he had thought about what Miriam said, and decided to give it a try. Not only did he go all the way up, he had a lot of fun doing it!
Big King also had an epiphany:
“I saw Miss Laundry today. She did an experiment on Stacey and I thought she was acting, so I ask Miss Laundry to do the experiment on me and it did work.”
The experiment showed that thinking falsely or negatively makes us physically weaker. She called Stacey, a chaperone in our group, up to the front. Miriam put pressure on Stacey’s lifted arm and asked her to say a negative phrase and then a positive one. Stacey was visibly stronger when she said a positive statement. Big King was skeptical, so he asked to be a volunteer, too. You should have seen the shock on his face when it worked!
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” -Proverbs 17:22
The kids talked about the “I Can” concept for the rest of our Canada trip. They called out friends who said “I can’t.” They stopped themselves when they started to say it. They tried things that they wouldn’t have done before. And it wasn’t just the kids who overcame their fears! Peggy, one of the moms who joined the trip, made it all the way to the top of the CN Tower, despite her fear of heights. Talk about rising above your fears– literally!
I know these boys won’t forget the lesson, and I’m sure they won’t let the kids back home forget, either. We have every kid at our clubhouse read both I Can books, and now all the kids from the trip have their very own copy! We’re all excited to talk about what we learned and apply our new-found confidence to our lives.
One of our boys back home reading “I Can” at the team clubhouse
If you want to get a copy yourself, you can find Miriam’s I Can series on her website. No, this isn’t a sponsored link. I just love the books and the way kids respond to them! I’m sure you will, too. Happy reading.
Twelve-year-old Adonis was impressed by the Ontario Science Centre. There was so much to see and do! Here’s what he had to say about it in his travel journal, plus a few words from his friends.
Today we went to Ontario Science Centre.
“The first thing that caught my eye was the dinosaur.” -Big King, age 14
We went everywhere in the Science Center even to the bottom of the Science Center.
“The best part was the 6th floor because everything was interactive.” -Theo, age 14
We saw a t-rex from Jurassic World, Bumble Bee, camel made of so much things, Dr. Frankenstein [Einstein?] made of bread, shrunken heads.
“I liked the tall man.” -Puppy, age 6
Then there was a “grab the jewely.” The jewely was a hologram.
“The best one I like was grab the jewel. It was a hologram.” -Little King, age 11
After that, we watch an Imax movie called “Beautiful Planet.” It was about an astronauts in space watching earth. Watching it at night and morning.
“Me and Tristen got shocked.” -Skijlaar, age 12
I’ve been to a lot of science museums and trust me: this one was exemplary! I think that the museum is best summed up by one final quote:
“There’s a lot of cool stuff.” -Tré, age 14
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Be sure to comment and let the kids know what you think!
Safari Niagara is probably the coolest zoo I’ve ever been to. The cost of entry gets you a look at hundreds of animals, interesting shows, access to the go-cart course, and even a huge ropes course. It’s a great place to take a huge group of kids. Here’s 14-year-old Theo from the island of Sint Maarten on Safari Niagara and his experience there.
Today we went to Safari Niagara which is a zoo. First we saw a bird show that had owls, hawks, and falcons.
A lady showed us different species of birds.
And then I saw more animals.
I saw tigers, bears, lions, parrots, macaws, foxes, tapirs, and camels.
When we reached, we took a train and saw flamingos.
I think at first we couldn’t look at one bird because a skunk went inside the cage.
By the rhino’s exhibit I rode a buggy whilst watching emus.
Then we ate hot dogs and hamburger and I climbed a huge jungle gym.
Thanks for sharing your journal entry here, Theo! We certainly had a fun time at the park. Be sure to share and leave an encouraging comment for Theo to read!
Harriet Tubman is an international hero. Her story continues to inspire countless around the globe, including Triston, a boy from Dutch Sint Maarten in the Caribbean. Triston and I are on the same trip to Canada with the little league group I help coach.
Hi my name is Triston and I’m a baseball player. I’m 9 years old. I’m in Canada with my team for pleasure and learning.
Today I visited the Harriet Tubman school statue. I also saw the Underground Railroad and St. Catherines Heritage Church.
The statue is located in the Harriet Tubman School. It is her in a chair. My team and I surrounded the statue and took a picture. To escape slavery she followed the North Star. She was a courageous woman. The men dressed as women and the women dressed as men to escape slavery.
At the church there are readings about how she escaped slavery. One of them shows where and when she was born. She was born in Maryland and was born in 1820. She died in 1913.
Peg Leg Joe taught them the song ‘Follow the Drinking Gourd’. In the song explained where the Big Dipper and the North Star was. They jumped from trees to trees and lakes to lakes. The reason they jumped to trees to trees is because there were tracks on them. They swam because the dogs they sent can’t sniff in water. At night they followed the North Star.
Harriet Tubman helped slavery end.
Triston wrote this all by himself– from memory. He is our resident expert on Harriet Tubman! From his reading, he has memorized many important facts about her story, including dates, names, and places. Please take a minute to show encouragement to Triston by commenting, liking and sharing! He’ll be excited to see that other people enjoy his writing.
