Kids Puzzle Room at IPP

Kids Puzzle Room

One of my proud accomplishments at IPP was to set up this puzzle room for the kids. This took a tremendous amount of effort to prepare. Bill Ritchie and I. with the help of others, came up with this format. These pictures were taken right before it opened. I was really happy with the result. I have to give a tremendous big thank you to Penny who helped me to set this up very late at night. It was a thrill for me to see it all put together!

ThinkFun Game Club

This table was a display of all the six games from the Game Club Set #1 plus the two new ThinkFun games from Set #2. Here the kids could sit and play the games and explore the new ones. Everyone loves these games.

SNAP Math Fair Projects

We shipped to Australia 8 SNAP Math Fair Projects from students in Collingwood! These were projects done by kids from my local Admiral and Nottawa schools. They were a great display of what SNAP Math Fairs are all about. I was very proud that Brandon's project made the cut. It is the first one on the left with the backboard made from comics.

Puzzle Story

The puzzle story was an incredible display, a project that Bill and I began over a year ago. I must make some special thanks to people who helped us make this possible. Many thanks to Saul Bobroff and George Miller who helped us by making the wooden puzzles. The wonderfully talented Amanda Manning who created the absolutely beautiful illustrations for the story. My dear friend Michelle Fleming and the kids at her Georgian Bay School of the Arts for painting and decorating all the wooden puzzles. The puzzle story is a story that I wrote (with much help and guidance from Bill) about two kids searching for Mathemagical Knowledge and its a spoof of Wizard of Oz. Its also a tribute to Martin Gardner as the two main characters' names are Rengard and Mintra (jumbles of Martin's name). Creating puzzle story was an incredible journey that was indescribable to watch come to life. A very fun project indeed!

This was the second year that Bill and I put the kids puzzle room together at IPP. I wished Bill could have been there to see it put together, I know he would have loved it. (Bill was not able to attend IPP this year.) I loved doing these puzzles with the kids from IPP as well as the big kids too! One of my fondest memories this year was sitting with the great Harry Nelson working on some weighing puzzles together. I am a very lucky girl!

Mr. Puzzle's Place!

Wei-Hwa (described below) and one of the world's most brilliant puzzle designers, Oskar van Deventer, are working to solve a rolling ball maze.

Here is Oskar's link:

http://www.clickmazes.com/indexo.htm

Akio Kamei works on putting together a very difficult burr puzzle. Akio's work is so beautiful and one of my favourites. I can only hope to have an original Kamei in my collection one day.

Here is Mr. Kamei's link:

http://www.karakuri.gr.jp/

Oskar drives the ThinkFun truck. This is fitting since he is wearing a ThinkFun cap! Once Oskar tried this truck on for size, we soon had others willing to join in the fun!

Yes that's right! A life-size Rush Hour! This was a thrill to see and play! After the photo-op, we actually played a few challenges! I loved this, especially when it was my car's turn to move!

One of the most wonderful puzzlers I truly had the pleasure to get to know better this trip was this gentleman, Dick Hess. He has such a warm and supportive spirit. Here he is running a disentanglement puzzle workshop (wire puzzle) which is one of his specialties. These I find extremely difficult, however, my Chris can solve with ease. Dick made it look so easy but they were not so easy to make! One of my puzzles from this workshop looked an absolute mess but I had a lot of fun doing it!

This is Harold Raizer making his disentanglement puzzle during Dick's Wire Workshop.

What a great day! Can't wait to see the giant group picture (in the shape of Australia?) that was taken this day! And I'm proud that mine is one of the names now engraved on a plaque at Brian and Sue's Puzzle Playground!

IPP Begins!

After a 15 hour flight that went a lot better than I anticipated, I finally arrived in Australia. The first big event was a day at Brian and Sue Young's (Mr. Puzzle). What a wonderful time!

Jerry Slocum at Mr. Puzzle's. It was an honour to see him again!

I must share my feelings the first time I met Jerry last year. It was incredible. For me it was like meeting celebrity. I have admired his work for a long time and I believe in what he is does. It was an honour to meet him and a thrill to realize that THE Jerry Slocum now actually knows me personally!

Here is a link to a page on Jerry:

http://www.johnrausch.com/puzzleWorld/jerry_slocum.htm

One of the highlights of visiting Sue and Brian Young's place was all the giant puzzles around Mr. Puzzle's property! I knew I was in the company of wonderful people when they were just as excited about life-sized puzzles as I was!

Wei-Hwa is one of the most brilliant puzzle solvers ever! Here he is after solving the giant-sized Chinese puzzle rings!

These guys (Iwahiro and Frans in yellow and Rod in red) persevered on this giant burr! I'm not sure if they ended up solving it! It was around a giant flag pole and at the top of the pole was a giant six pieced burr!

I was very pleased to meet Serhiy Grabarchuk Jr and his wife Kate. They live in the Ukraine and administer puzzles.com. Serhiy Sr has created many great puzzles and I'm learning Serhiy Jr is so talented just like his dad. I enjoyed meeting them both very much. Beautiful people!

This is the site Serhiy Jr administers:

http://www.puzzles.com/

And this is a site Serhiy Sr. administers:

http://www.ageofpuzzles.com/home.htm

This event was fantastic! Sue and Brian put so much effort into making this a memorable event. They served kangaroo, baramundi, crocodile, vegamite, emu, and other Aussie fare. Their puzzle collection was displayed and was a feast for the eyes. Those of you who think I'm nuts for my collection and have teased me for my math room, you would have been amazed by theirs! It was incredible!

I was like a kid in a candy store in Mr. Puzzle's shop and have many more puzzles to proudly add to my collection. The ones that are really Aussie I will display with pleasure.

I will write one more post on this great event! Until then, keep puzzling!

Tanya

A Wonderful Layover in LA!

Helen, Shannon and Marlene

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit my family in LA when I had a 9 hour layover on my way to Australia. I haven't been to California since I was 2 yrs old, so this was a real treat. Marlene picked me up at the airport and we met Helen, Aunt Mary, Uncle Ed, Lilian, Gorman, and their daughter Shannon for dinner at a very large Chinese restaurant. I also had the treat of seeing Lilian and Gorman's beautiful new home! They had just moved in!
It was wonderful to visit with family and I really appreciated everyone coming out to see me! Next time I'll come and stay longer! I promise!

My Babies Go To Camp!

Arriving at camp!

This summer, Brandon, Kayla and Max went away to camp for the first time! It was extremely nerve-wracking for me! They stayed overnight at Camp Simpresca for three nights and four days. I should have felt more at ease, especially since I went to this camp myself! I started there as a camper when I was 7, then was a C.I.T. (Counsellor-In-Training) when I was 16, then a counsellor, program staff and eventually I was Camp Director! I couldn't know the place any better! But it was different sending my own kids!

Out Front of Our Church's Cabin!

But it was a wonderful experience for everyone. The kids had a great time and I believe its important for them to know they can be safe away from home as well. They are very home-bound so this was stretching their comfort zone. It was funny, Chris and I were poised by the phone each night wondering if the camp would call us because the kids were too homesick. They didn't! Kayla definitely had the hardest time being away, but we were surprised that Max adjusted so well. They really looked out for each other. So everyone survived and they met many new friends. I am very proud of them!

At My Favourite Spot at Camp; Vespers!

Exciting Adventure Ahead at IPP!

Today I'm off to an amazing conference. It's called IPP (International Puzzle Party). It is organized by Jerry Slocum (the foremost puzzle collector in the world). This is my second year attending and I'm thrilled to be a part of this very exclusive event. In fact, there were only about four Canadians on the list last year who were invited to attend!
This conference is for major collectors and inventors from around the world. One of the invitation requirements is that you have at least 500 puzzles in your personal collection. Last year I helped Bill Ritchie run the IPP Kid's Puzzle Room. It was the first year this room was created. I had an amazing time meeting the kids who visited this room and all the adults as well! It was a great project to be a part of my first year!
And then this year Bill could not attend IPP, so he has asked me to run it on my own. We have been working very hard putting together the puzzles for this room. There are three components:
1) A display of selected SNAP Math Fair projects of kids from the Collingwood area who did Math Fairs this year. I shipped them a few weeks ago and will set them up for the kids to play with and for people who are interested in finding out about SNAP Math Fairs. I have included photos of the actual kids with their projects in the display.
2) I'm excited to have ThinkFun Game Club set up as well. We have chosen 8 games from this program for the IPP kids to play and we are also displaying photos of actual Game Clubs that have already run. It will be great for IPP'ers to see how we're bringing puzzles/games into education as manipulatives for teaching problem solving.
3) A puzzle story will also be on display. This is another exciting display because it was last year that I introduced the idea to Bill. Over the past year, with Bill's help, I've been writing a Puzzle Story for kids to solve puzzles as the story advances. I believe there's a real interest in the classroom for something like this and I'll be very interested to see how the kids react. It has taken a lot of effort to put this together. After the story was written, Bill contacted two amazing puzzlers named Saul Bobroff and George Miller to make some wooden versions of the puzzles we needed. Bill also contacted an amazing illustrator named Amanda Manning who drew the most beautiful illustrations for my story. And finally, a dear friend of mine, Michelle Fleming, who is a very talented artist who runs her own art school, Georgian Bay School of Arts, took the wooden puzzles and had her students paint and decorate them to use at IPP. So now the puzzle story is finished and will be on display for the kids to play and discover!
So I'm very excited to attend IPP and I'm looking forward to meeting many talented people from all over the world. It was funny when last year (this was my first international conference) people would as me where I was from. I'd say "2 hours north of Toronto" and they'd look at me confused. I'd say "in Ontario" and still confused looks. Then I'd say "Canada" and they'd understand. So then I learned to just say Canada immediately.
And this year I'm doing a lecture/presentation about SNAP Math Fairs and ThinkFun Game Clubs, i.e. puzzles in education. So the conference will be great! I will post photos as soon as I'm able!
Tanya

Our Little Campers

Swimming off the point on "our" island. There were many rock points like this and the kids had numbered them all and would swim from one to the other.

This was at the take out point. Our trip was done. Brandon fished the entire time and he caught at least 7-8 fish. Too bad they were all so tiny and had to be released. No fresh fish for us! But Brandon had a ton of fun trying!

Max's 6th Birthday was on our trip! We celebrated with an angel food cake with raspberry filling heated over the campfire and poured all over the top. The best part - the kids each had a spoon and dug in!

Max loved Daddy's hat and hammock! Our little cowboy!

Canoeing In Algonquin

The Daddies and their paddlers. Julie and I had our own canoe on this part. The kids had a blast with their dads in the canoes. It was a beautiful day to be on the river.
Canoe buddies, Abby and Max. They had lots of fun with Mr. Lohnes. At one point while Cory pumped more water, I saw Max go in for a swim. (not sure if this was intentional) but there were giggles all around!
Mommy and Max cuddling at the campsite.

Canoe Trip in Algonquin July 2007

Every year we are very lucky to have the pleasure of camping with our very good friends the Lohnes. Cory and Julie and their two angel kids, Braden and Abby.

Chris and I are avid campers, in fact, we met at our high school outdoors club. We used to go on canoe trips quite often as young adults. Then when we had kids, we compromised by going "trunk" camping. This was fun for awhile, but then, when I joined Cory on a school canoe trip, I came back saying to Chris that we had to get back out on the water. There's nothing like the feeling of peace and serenity on the river. So we decided to take our kids tent camping and in 2004, we did our first canoe trip with the kids and the Lohnes. We also had the pleasure of having my cousin Sandra and her man, Allan, come with us too.

And every year since then we have planned to take the kids on a canoe trip. They absolutely love it. This summer was our third one. Its been amazing as parents to watch them go from being shaky in the canoe and just going "for a ride" to loving it and now paddling with surprising effectiveness.

In these photos, we are swimming and sunbathing on our island campsite in Algonquin. We canoed and portaged to get here and it was worth it. Actually, our kids surprised us this year as the portages went much faster than we anticipated. Each year it gets easier!

I'll post more fun photos from our trip. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful friends like the Lohnes. They are amazing people and camping with them is a highlight of our year. This year I actually got teary-eyed as we were canoeing along the river because I felt so blessed to have them in our lives. We had a toast on the river to many more years together! Let's hope this is true!

Tanya

Martin Gardner, Bill Ritchie and Me!

This is an monumental moment in my life. Some of you may already have seen this photo and know how important it is. I'll reiterate for those of you who don't know its history. In June of this year I planned a visit to Martin Gardner. Bill has correctly titled it my annual pilgrimage to Martin. You see, this is my second visit, however, last year I sadly lost all my photos from the trip.

Martin Gardner is an amazing gentleman and I am so privileged to know him. Martin wrote a pivotal column in Scientific American from 1956 to 1982. He is an icon to so many including mathematicians, puzzlists, and magicians. If you don't know who he is, you should google him or go to http://math.berkeley.edu/~berlek/cgt/gardner.html. My own words can't describe how amazing I feel to have a relationship with him.

I began speaking with Martin through the suggestion of another amazing individual in my life, mathematician, Dr. Andy Liu. And it was Bill Ritchie, who I will describe next, who much to my immense appreciation gave me Martin's contact information and phoned Martin in advance to give me an introduction. I'm so grateful for this because I did not want to appear like a crazed fan. (even though I am!) So I phoned Martin (May 15, 2006) and he was so full of grace as he spoke with me and our first conversation I will never forget! At the end of this first conversation I was a little emotional (trying hard not to loose control!) as it was just so incredible to have spoken with him in person, and he suggested for me to call again tomorrow! This was unbelievable! I was on cloud nine! He was suggesting a continual communication! So I began calling him every few weeks! And from these amazing conversations, he invited me to Oklahoma for a visit. Well actually, he suggested if I was ever in Oklahoma, I should drop by for a visit. You can just imagine, I was immediately on the phone, booking the next flight out. And thus in 2006, I made my first trip to see him. It was amazing to spend time with him and he so generously shared his time and himself with me.

So this year, I decided to visit Martin again. We continue to talk and now Martin sends me things like reviews he's done that he thinks I might be interested in. I am very thrilled when I see an envelope with mine and his name on it, written by Martin. This might sound a little obsessive to some of you, but those of you who know who Martin is, you understand. :) During my planning to visit Martin, I asked another very important person in my life, Bill Ritchie, to join me. I was thrilled when he said yes.

I met Bill in person in 2006 through Andy Liu. Bill (current C.E.O. of ThinkFun) and his incredible wife, Andrea, founded ThinkFun together in 1985. ThinkFun is a company I have admired for a long time. They produce wonderful mind-challenging games which I collect and have been using in my classroom for many years. check it out at http://www.thinkfun.com/. Well, upon Andy's invitation, Bill attended my first math fair conference at Fields Institute in Toronto. Check out our website for SNAP Math Fairs at http://www.mathfair.com/. Bill and I have been in communication since then and have worked on many projects together. I will elaborate on my relationship with Bill and ThinkFun and some very exciting news in another post.

So together, Bill and I traveled to visit Martin at the end of June this year. I enjoyed their company so much and it was wonderful to see Martin in person again. He is now 92 years old and very spry for his age! Many incredible memories I will remember for the rest of my life. And it was so fun to have Bill join me as I enjoyed our adventure into Oklahoma City for dinner, something that was new for me from the previous year, as when I went on my own I was just happy to be able to navigate from the airport to Martin and back. I like exploring new places, especially in the comfort and company of others!

So this is the history behind this photo. A very important adventure in my life. I will continue to share some of these with all of you. Sometimes I have to pinch myself as my life is so rich with many amazing adventures and incredible people. Another amazing mathematician I know, Ed Barbeau, said something to me once that I will never forget. He said, "Tanya, you should keep a journal of all the people you meet and who are in your life. You have met some really incredible, important people already. The thing that is amazing about you, is that you're not afraid to call them up and make an introduction. A confidence that will really take you places." I've really taken to heart what Ed said. I've started keeping a journal, and now through this blog, I can share some of them with you!

Enjoy and be confident!

Tanya

The Most Important People In My Life

Here is an up-dated photo of my beautiful family. This photo was taken on July 27th at my cousin Kim Lee's house. Chris and I have been married 12 wonderful years and we have three incredible children; Brandon (10 years old), Kayla (almost 8 years old) and Max (just turned 6 years old). I am very blessed to have such an amazing family. They are my everything; my heart and soul.

Tanya

Let the games begin!

Hello Everyone!


I've decided to create a blog to keep all my friends and family up-to-date. I'm beginning a whole new chapter in my life (will elaborate soon!) and I want to share it with you. I'll be posting family updates as well as personal updates. I hope you find it interesting and join me on some amazing adventures! Welcome to my blog!


Tanya