Tutoring geography, agriculture is topical. The tutor brings up maple syrup production by region. Of course my kids have this Friday off, so I made them (and myself) pancakes for breakfast. While they actually prefer plain syrup, I like maple …
Tutoring social studies, the Maritimes enter the conversation. The tutor mentions a discovery he made a couple of days ago about Nova Scotia. Recently, looking at a map of Nova Scotia, I noticed a place called Lawrencetown, perhaps about 5 …
Canadian Geography: two Lawrencetowns in Nova Scotia? Read more »
Tutoring math, number-oriented topics naturally arise. The tutor gives some simple points about the UTM coordinate system. UTM stands for Universal Transverse Mercator: it produces a grid on Earth from which locations can be referenced. UTM organizes the Earth, from …
Tutoring, you observe how people’s lifestyle and attitudes change along with the weather. The tutor reflects on the coming of summer, 2017. To a Canadian, seasons may not begin according to the designated times on the calendar. In my January …
Tutoring Canadian geography, you might mention the Annapolis Valley. The tutor investigates the meaning of the name Annapolis. As a kid I spent three years in the Annapolis Valley. Typical of the Maritimes, it had beautiful summer and fall but …
Tutoring geography, you notice features on maps. Apparently, the Dahomey Gap, possibly aka the Togo Gap, is a strip of dry woodland that runs north from the coast of Benin, Togo, and eastern Ghana. The Gap divides the equatorial rainforest …
Geography: what is the Dahomey Gap (aka Togo Gap)? Read more »
The tutor explains two names for the Islamic State, commonly called ISIS. ISIS and ISIL are two names for the same group. Both are acronyms: ISIS: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. ISIL: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. …
The tutor explains the term Levant. The Levant refers to the eastern Mediterranean region: specifically, it includes present-day Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. Some include the area of Turkey on the eastern Mediterranean shore, as well as Cyprus. In a …
The tutor shares findings about world population and life expectancy from the CIA World Factbook. Now and then I like to drop by the CIA World Factbook. Today I got some surprising intel: World life expectancy: 69 years (much higher …
The tutor discusses the meaning surrounding the cross quarter day August 5. I’ve written a couple of posts about cross quarter days (see here and here): they’re days at mid-season, rather than season boundaries. Often, a celebration is at or …
Lifestyle and seasons: cross quarter days: August 5 Read more »