Type of Programme

Type of House: Large Detached House

Teaching Qualifications and Experience
Bachelor of General Studies (Education), 1995. British Columbia Standard Teaching Certificate (Permanent) 1979. Alberta Professional Teaching Certificate (Interim) 1995. Host Parent for 40+ International students since 1993: tutored/mentored/coached students. Teacher Assistant for elementary ESL students (1995-2000). Volunteer Teacher Assistant for evening ESL classes at Lethbridge Community College.

Hobbies and Interests
Self: reading, hiking, Girl Guides, crafts, home décor. Family: reading, hiking, tennis, fishing, camping, pets

Excursions and Local Attractions
Vancouver Island: Long Beach (shopping, beaches, whale watching tours, etc), Coombs (unique shopping), Chemainus (town of world famous murals, shopping); beaches; live theatre, nature walks and many other scenic and cultural possibilities. Nanaimo: museum, art gallery, university, beaches, shopping, volunteer opportunities, hikes, fishing. Victoria: Provincial museum, shopping, art galleries, provincial legislative buildings, heritage buildings, beaches. November/December: Ladysmith Festival of Lights (last Thursday of November) and other Christmas celebrations in and around the area.

Accommodation, Facilities and Local Area
As a family we have been hosting International visitors for over 13 years, and truly enjoy the experience. We feel we benefit just as much as our guests do. We are open, friendly, down-to-earth, and welcome the opportunity to share ourselves, our family, and our culture with others, while they do the same with us. I use a variety of methods and opportunities to help the student learn English in a fun, non-threatening environment.

Come and join our family on beautiful Vancouver Island! We are an experienced Homestay Family with a large rural home set on 2.5 acres between Ladysmith and Nanaimo. We love sharing our family, our language, our beautiful province/country and our culture with International visitors and hope they do the same with us. Over the past 13 years we have had more than 40 Homestay Guests: the youngest was 11 years old, and the oldest was 60 years old.

Vancouver Island has a mild climate, and some winters we get very little snow. Rain is common in the fall and winter, and we have been having long, warm summers recently. Living in the country, we often see on our property, deer, wild rabbits and many different types of birds.

We are in a very safe, quiet area, with views of farms, trees and mountains from all windows. We have called our homestay CedarHill because we are at the corner of Cedar Road and Hill Road, and because we have cedar trees on or property and views of many hills.

Our home is large, with many different areas to sit and relax: on the main floor there is a large country Kitchen, Pantry/Laundry, Dining Room, Living Room, Library, Sitting-Room, Home-Office, our son’s Bedroom, Grandma’s Bedroom, and the Master Bedroom, in addition to 3 bathrooms. We are unique in that we have two separate basements: one basement has a sewing room, workshop/storage area and one of our two bedrooms for students. The other basement has our Family/TV/Billiards Room, our daughter’s bedroom and the second student's bedroom.

Our family consists of mom/dad, two teens (Ian 19yrs and Amanda 17yrs, elderly Grandma, two friendly dogs and three cats. We are approx 4km from the nearest bus stop but have a bike you can borrow. You are also welcome to join us whenever we go into town. We hike, fish, camp. We are active members of Scouts Canada and Girl Guides of Canada: you may have the opportunity to come and help if you like. We are a short drive from beaches and hiking trails.

We welcome guests from all over the world and can accommodate several visitors at a time. Grandma really loves talking to students and helping them with English. We are a family of readers and there are many, many books and magazines guests may read. In addition to formal classwork, you will be participating in normal family activities: meal preparation, laundry, home maintenance, hikes, watching TV, etc. We talk a lot, and soon you will too - in English !

The Nanaimo airport is 10 minutes from our house. Both Nanaimo ferry terminals are less than 30 min from home. I will pick up/drop off to both locations. A student arriving at the Victoria airport can take the Greyhound bus and I will pick up in Ladysmith.