"We love our new painting of Benjamin for the mantle!"
"Ray is such a talented artist! Check out his work! He can paint anything!" "OMG! So good!"
"We absolutely love the painting! Super cute! Thank you so much again Ray!"
"I thought that painting you made looked real when I first looked at it! Nice work Ray."
"We love our new painting of Benjamin that Ray made for the mantle!"
"I'm hanging this painting up right now! Can't wait!"
"I go to your website a lot! I really like the Placemaths!" "Genius!"
"So much of what I want to do as a math teacher comes from you - and they think I'm the math expert..."
"So grateful for our work together. I have a deep respect and admiration for you as an educator..."
"It's been such an honour and pleasure working with you these past two years. I knew you from the pro-d workshops I attended and getting to know you has been great!" I knew I could always come to you if I had a problem."
"Thanks for being present and fun. I think the kids always know you care. I can tell you with the little people in my class that you made many feel like they were 'the coolest kid in the school'"
"The connections you made with the students and families and community at large have left a lasting impression on all of us. You will be missed by all!"
"Thanks for making us all laugh!"
You have such an amazing way with the kids, and are teaching all of us so much about how to get better at engaging the kiddos in their own learning!"
"Your humour is what gets me through many of the challenging times!"
"Thank you for everything you've done for our school community!"
"Thank you for making our kids smile and feel safe! We're oh-so-lucky to have you nurture and guide them..."
"So glad you're at our school! You bring so much to our school community!"
"I appreciate how welcome you've made me feel at this school. Your easygoing leadership contibutes to a positive workplace!"
"Thanks for your support through the challenges this term has brought. It's very appreciated!"
"Thank you for your kindness and support during my first year at this school!"
"Welcome to our school! The kids adore you, you're teaching us how to engage the kids in their learning more, you're supportive of us! ...and you get us laughing too!"
"Your website is fabulous! Thank you!" "Thank you for all of the helpful resources, ideas and gifts along the way!" "Thanks, Ray - you are a one-of-a-kind educator, with a non-stop, boundary-pushing, creative mind!" "Thanks! It's really going to help me!" "Just so much useful information that can be used tomorrow, next week, throughout the year! Really practical ideas and creative ways to teach!!!"
"I will include Ray Appel in my list of most influential learning and professional development experiences..." "I think your approach to teaching maths is great! It makes maths significant to the students we teach. That's what I call QUALITY TEACHING!" (teacher from Australia) "I think your viewpoints make complete sense. Thank you for the boost!" "You are a true inspiration!" "Your enthusiasm and passion for teaching is infectious!"
"Finally, I'm beginning to understand where adaptation of resources and student communication of ideas fit into my program, and your ideas have been instrumental in helping me work that through!” "You really captivated me and made me more comfortable teaching math!"
"I share your rational, geeky passion!" "You are a true inspiration!" "Your dedication to this profession is something I aspire to..." "Thank you for supporting and encouraging my deep passion for teaching!" "Everything Ray presented was ground-breaking!" "The graphics and visuals were absolutely stunning!" "Your message struck a chord with everyone involved, and you did a great job of furthering our district's knowledge around truly engaging adolescents!" "I liked the way you looked at how time is spent in the classroom - the handout was very practical!" "We all wished we could have seen more of your presentation! (Hopefully we will!)!" "Thank- you sincerely for the tremendous work that went into yesterday. Do know that it was greatly appreciated and very well received!!!" "We are truly fortunate that we have found Ray and that he is willing to come all the way here to share his wealth of knowledge and materials with us about his grand passion – Math (and Art)! " "Ray modeled excellent teaching practice all the way through his presentation. His teaching always brought me back to the criteria of good questions and why ask them!"
"Lots of good thinking and sharing time, with a lot of connections to our classrooms!"
"It was an awesome morning. Ray has to come back! I learned so much and was so motivated by the content. His presentation was entertaining and so interesting!" "Loved your sense of humour, your passion, the reassurance that this is something I can teach, the assurance that we can teach it in many different ways. I learned a lot!" "The hands-on demo games, great graphics-interesting, the connection to literature, and fun twist you put on workshop made it all worthwhile!"
"I love your original ways of approaching the curriculum. Your Born Numeracy is fantastic!" "I really enjoyed the video, your use of technology in the presentation, your graphics, your sense of humour, and lots of great ideas presented in different ways!" "Whoa! Really enjoyed the practical handouts, the mixture between games/lecture/video (change of pace), the handouts, and the opportunity to “partner”, ideas for finding information!" "Loved your sense of humour, your passion, the reassurance that this is something I can teach, the assurance that we can teach it in many different ways. I learned a lot!" "The hands-on demo games, great graphics-interesting, the connection to literature, and fun twist you put on workshop made it all worthwhile!" "I’ll definitely sign up for your next workshop – thanks! Very useful & enjoyable!" "Had always heard about you but had never looked up website. Will go home right away and look up!" "Thank you for accommodating so well such a large and diverse group!" “Thank you very much for presenting at these workshops you have made math fun for me to teach and your workshops are interactive and engaging!”
"It was an awesome morning. Ray has to come back! I learned so much and was so motivated by the content. His presentation was entertaining and so interesting!"
"Lots of good thinking and sharing time, with a lot of connections to our classrooms!" "I started the session feeling very tired and was amazed how engaged I was despite this!" “You gave another awesome, inspiring workshop today - thanks again! Finally, I'm beginning to understand where adaptation of resources and student communication of ideas fit into my program, and your ideas have been instrumental in helping me work that through!” “Thank you very much for presenting at these workshops you have made math fun for me to teach and your workshops are interactive and engaging!”
"What a powerful P.D. session. I was engaged, and enjoyed the comic relief! Great speaker and great use of technology. Thanks for the CD - much appreciated!"
"Excellent all around!" "Very worthwhile will be using some ideas next novel study!"
"Thanks for all your support Ray! May your passion be as powerful here as in the classroom!"
"Thank you for modeling what you teach! I love your passion!"
"Thank you for all you have given me, and for believing in me always..."
"Thank you for modeling all that stuff that can't be taught in 3 easy steps..."
"Thank you so much for your energy, enthusiasm, expertise, and passion! We have all been inspired by you!" "Really enjoyed this! Good range of activities!" "A surfeit of riches!" "I took your math picture book ["About Math"] with me and read it in the car on our vacation this summer. It is FABULOUS! My 11 year old son loved it. I can't wait to see the others!"
"I really liked the way you organized the mini-skills necessary to get kids to summarize and respond! [with 'The Any Novel Novel Study']"
"I love your management ideas, especially the marking rubrics!"
"Great ideas for literature! Man, I wish I had your talent creating Powerpoints!"
"I loved it all! Thanks!"
"I'll keep looking at your website!"
"Very tangible and helpful for the class!"
"I always have a great time at your workshops and learn so much! I only wish your workshops were longer. You are such an enthusiastic speaker! Thanks again!"
"I really liked the connections to real life experiences, the video connections, websites, and how to get the kids to think about what they're really doing!"
"I really liked everything! I made special arrangements to come from afar (it wasn't easy to get here!). I was NOT disappointed! I loved the tips! Great connections to websites (this is a BIG way into the future!). Great connections to literacy. THANK YOU!" "Current usable material. Well organized. Good blend of presentation & participation. Great use of audiovisual!" "Great, new ideas. Kept 'students' involved. More from him please!!!" "You were great (as usual). They always always always want you back!" "Ray received rave reviews from the teachers of New Brunswick! Only criticism- they wanted more! Thank you for the opportunity and I hope we can do it again!!!"
"Thanks for the great workshop! I thought it was one of the most helpful workshops that I have attended in my 11 years of teaching. Thanks again, Ray!"
"Ray is a fab facilitator. Wealth of information and demystifyier of math."
"Low key and great! Loved the slides!"
"Great info! Lots of future info on web site. Thanks Ray!"
"I loved your approach to math! Excellent set of ideas. Great! Have him again!"
"It's great to have someone like Ray who is flexible and can incorporate in presentations, examples that are relevant to the audience!"
"Very good sessions! Specific and usable examples. Good use of time. Nothing was pointless. Very enjoyable and useful!"
"Very interactive and interesting!"
"Your model lesson in the classroom was great!" "Really good and fantastic presenter! Wow...worth going to." "Your new math movie on YouTube is awesome....it should be played in every class in the country!"
"Excellent conference! Ray is an amazing resource! I hope he comes back!"
"Bring Ray back for more P.D.!"
"An action-packed, emotionally charged chapter closes for me today! It's demanded more of me than any other life experience yet, and I'm so grateful for having you as a Faculty Associate (SFU) to model the kind of educator I hope to become. Thank you for everything!" "I now feel confident to write and use rubrics. I can also see changing my ways!" "Your addition to our Focus Day multiplied our teachers' knowledge exponentially!"
"Thank you very much for the wonderful workshop on Friday. We were engaged and learned a lot! Loved those movie clips and the way you kept things moving!"
"Showed your movie, Born Numeracy to my grade 3 students and they loved it! Prior to the movie I sent home the question you raised, "Where do you find math in the real world?" as a conversation starter for family dinners. Great talk between parents and kids! Then in class we brainstormed where you'd find math in the real world and graphed some of our findings. Later during computer lab time we watched it. Great fun and educational too... who would have known?!!" "Thanks for helping us with the changes that are coming! It was exactly what we needed! I look forward to having you back again!" "I have learned to distinguish between mathematics and arithmetic. Showing kids how regularly they use logic and reasoning in everyday life should lend some credit in the classroom. I will have my students doing more to recognize this!" "It was fabulous. We had a high school principal rave that it was the best workshop he had ever attended! Ray did a great job!"
"It was a great workshop...very worthwhile!" "I really liked the solid examples and strategies - very 'here's how'!"
"Outstanding combo of hands-on activities and theory."
"Well organized. Walked away with ideas for teaching!"
"...enlightening and conjured up much discussion!"
"You provided us with tangible material and food for thought!"
"I learned more in those 6 Numeracy Learning Group sessions that I did in 100 workshops!"
"The teaching materials he generates are excellent"
"Thank you for the wonderful workshop!" "...it was a fabulous workshop - VERY well received! Ray is a great presenter - very laid back. It was very practical!" "Thanks again for your outstanding contribution and support, we all appreciate everything you do."
"Ray is a very easy speaker to listen to and he is very responsive to his audience!" "Thanks again for your terrific presentation!"
"My class and I are really enjoying your "Any Novel Novel Study"! I am actually looking forward to doing report cards next week as my marking book is now set up in a way that makes sense to me and is an easy conversion to our report card writing program!" "Thanks for an excellent workshop! I really look forward to using your ideas and organizers to get my students excited about literature!" "One of the big things I’ve learned (re-learned) today is the importance of making math relevant to students. Making a connection between what they’re learning in class and how they can use it outside the class makes it real & worthwhile for them. It’s even better if they make the connection themselves by looking outside the classroom. Having students do self-assessment is a great tool. Jayden’s Rescue is a great way to make math fun!" "I really like the idea of introducing art and “The Novel” into the math program as a means of re-inforcing the concept that math relates to other subjects; and all things are connected. Visuals are recognized as a necessary tool for S.E.W..s" "I really liked the handout on conferencing questions and the “Am I Using Effective Strategies?” handout. I plan to use both of these in my classroom, as well as the Math Placemats. I plan to use the Placemats to begin the day!" "I’ve been reminded how creative math can be. I’m going to use the coloring map idea as a way of starting. Then – onto Jayden’s Rescue. Thanks Ray!" "Ray has done it again! He wowed the crowd, was gentle and encouraging and really met the needs of his audience." What I took for being right-brained my male cohorts in the math and computer science areas always teased me about as being female, I was thrilled to see YOU promoting and modeling these ideas in this way...I knew I was right brained and the methods always differed from most of my colleagues YOUR WORKSHOP was a delight...thank you so much for being a spokesperson so effectively for these techniques. "Extremely well presented with lots of ideas and practical solutions."
"Brilliant presentation!"
"[Ray's]...excitement and enthusiasm for teaching is contagious. Because he makes every effort to keep up to date with the latest research and the implications for learning, he has much to offer!" "Out of all the courses this year, I found this course to be the most useful due to the instruction provided. Ray's enthusiasm and knowledge has really prepared me for my teaching career. Thank you Ray, this was a wonderful semester!" "Ray was great. He was able to take a "dry" idea (assessment), and make it interesting. A very engaging speaker!"
"So creative! Great ideas...."
In regards to Ray's movie entitled, The Born Numeracy, (said with a great sense of humour!): "Just when you think a genre has nothing more new to offer, Ray Appel turns it upside down and shakes up our world. This is a shocking wake-up call, a must see for all those who think they understand the role math really plays in our world." "Everything we learned could easily be applied and did not just repeat theories but extended into practice!" "Learned the most from this course compared to all the others combined! Tons of thought-provoking ideas and great use of technology."
"I appreciate the mountain of resources you've given us!" [Our principal] particularly enjoyed the intellectually stimulating way that the workshop was run. He enjoyed the current info that you brought to the table. It was very validating for him to see how the things that the group came up with matched the WNCP assessment documents! Thanks! "Thanks Ray! That was one of the best sessions I've taken. It's obvious you've done a lot of thinking and research about Math and Math instruction. Thanks again! "Awesome! I'd recommend him to all! Thanks Ray. You Rock!" "A bunch of our teachers came back from [one of Ray's] workshops and one of them was inches off the ground and so excited she could hardly stand it. She came back totally inspired. Her comment was around how perfect it was to receive in-service on a new method/resource 'right from the horse’s mouth!'" "Ray is awesome! I learned so much from him and am so excited to teach math. I wish Ray was my Faculty Advisor!"
"I wanna be like Ray when I grow up! TOTAL INSPIRATION!"
"I came feeling intimidated about learning what my role was in teaching... but now I feel more confident, and I'm leaving with excitement and anticipation!" "Saw the video clip! Don't know how you do it! ...but you keep getting better and better!" "I can use this in my classroom and introduce this to my collegues to better our practice for all our students!" "Excellent workshop! Very useful. Helpful!"
"I gained a great amount of "tools" I can take back to the classroom and use when I do big projects which I love!"
"Thanks for the two great days. I can't wait to set up my new 'prescribed learning outcomes' Unit Planner!" "Loved your Keynote!"
"Excellent! I'm very interested to try this method of assessing" "I really liked all of the examples of things we can do with kids. Really useful tips to implement. Practical materials are easily accessible..." ....moretocome!
To contact Ray, go to Facebook: and search for Facebook RayAppelZapple For Education Resources: Teachers Pay Teachers "Descanso Bay Abstraction" (2019, Acrylic 30" x 40") My largest painting so far, this was a playful abstraction (Gabriola sunset) framed in a representational format (dusk scene).
"Monty Too" (SOLD) (2019, Acrylic 16" x 20") Another dog portrait. He was much loved by the owner and passed away a while back. When the owner saw the painting, she cried, as it brought back a lot of really good memories for her. "One Raven Wait" (2019, Acrylic 16" x 20") Every time we go into the ferry lineup,this is a sign that I look for. Are we going to make it? I decided to paint it along with a common bird found on Gabriola. I loved painting the hydro lines. Lots of fun.
"Sunset Ocean Abstraction" (2013 - 2019 Acrylic 20" x 20") I pulled this abstraction out of my pile of canvases and with the help of a fellow artist, we coated it with a thick layer of resin. It looks incredible and it popped out the colors. Just what I needed!
"Gabriola Colouring Book" (2018, Acrylic 12" x 12") I painted this for an Art Show (Feb. 2019). One page of the coloring book shows a raven and a forest floor. The second page gives a glimpse of Malaspina Galleries. As a little in-joke instead of painting "Crayola", I decided to paint "Gabriola". The challenge was to get the markers and box to look 3D. I actually worked backwards form the top layer to the back layer which made it a bit trickier than usual. Lots of fun!
"Chloe" (SOLD) (2018, Acrylic 20" x 24") I took a picture of Chloe and the family who bought it wanted that pic painted. I love how she looks back at the camera. I've heard it said that if you can get the eyes right, your viewer will forgive you for other parts of the painting. I worked hard to get those eyes translucent and somewhat loving. We gave that family a Mickey Mouse leash. As an in-joke, I painted in a Mickey collar.
"Benny" (SOLD) (2018, Acrylic 24" x 30") This painting was done for a realtor in Squamish BC. She has an amazing Bengal cat, and it was an exciting project. I painted "Benny" directly from a photo, changing little. I altered the wall color to turquoise because I thought it would contrast nicely with Benny's coat. His fur proved to be a fun challenge. Once again, it was a painting in layer upon layer... I added a little heart in the fur (look closely) as a little token of my connection to Benny (even though I've never met him). "Sir Winston" (SOLD) (2018, Acrylic 20" x 24") This painting was done for an historian and friend. He deeply loves and is very knowledgable about WWI and WWII history and Sir Winston Churchill. For a surprise, I thought I'd paint it, and then send it to him at work. This one was tricky. I left the hardest part to near the end (the eyes). It's been said that if you get the eyes right, your viewer will forgive a lot. I spent about 3 hours on the eyes until I felt I nailed it! My friend loved it! "Monty" (SOLD) (2017, Acrylic 20" x 24") This painting was done for a neighbor couple who have the sweetest pit bull I've ever met! They rescued him, and have given him a great life! He's blind, has two teeth, and has had a lot of infections in the past (note left side of Monty's face). I began by adjusting the composition by taking out Joel's arm off the back of the lounge chair. I loved painting his pink belly. Once again, it was a lot of thin layers to get it right. I find that in order to make skin look translucent, it has to be thin, watery layers... dried... then more thin watery layers. I added the beer bottle because Monty LOVES my homemade beer. It's become a bit of an in-joke. They loved it and hung it in their sitting room! "VAG Tiles" (2017, Acrylic 20" x 24") About 10 years ago, we lived near the Vancouver Art Gallery. I used to go a lot! One day, I took a photo of myself stepping onto their amazing tile floor. Ten years later, I painted it. I think there's about 600 tiles there... I love how I painted the signature. Fun! "One Day" (2016, Acrylic 20" x 24") This painting was done because I needed a bit of a painting boost. A year earlier, I painted "All Star" (see below) and I wanted to paint my Converse shoes again because I had so much fun painting "All Star". At the time, I was fixated on painting clouds (besides being fixated on shoes!). I combined the two passions and came with this. Because I wanted a floating feeling, I decided to leave some of it undone; making a translucent feeling to it all. The "One Day" refers to the day when we would move to the Gulf Island and retire... It gave me hope and a goal.
"Pikey Zzzz" (2016, Acrylic 20" x 24") After having our first cat for 21 years, we never thought we'd get another cat... Well, one day ha came to us. He chose us after being in the wild for a while. At this time I was still into my "clouds" period and made that the background (rather than the living room). My favorite part of the painting is his nose. "Don't Grow Up" (2015, Acrylic 20" x 24")NFS We were on the beach in Waikiki sitting in our favorite spot. Back them, in one 12 month period we had gone there 5 or 6 times. I was wearing one of my favorite T-shirts at the time and was walking back to our blanket when my picture was snapped! I decided to paint it. I hung it up in my school office, mostly because when I looked at it, it was a bit of an escape. We love Waikiki and the T-shirt grounded me. Almost every kid who looked at the painting in my office would ask, "How did you paint that city?" I always told them, "With a very small brush". I don't think they ever got that... they just couldn't get how it could be done.
"All Star" (2015, Acrylic 24" x 24") One day we were watching the bathtub races from the shore on Gabriola. I looked down and took a picture of my feet and decided to paint them. I had sooooo much fun painting my Converse shoes! The detail kept me focused for hours! The skin was tough until I remembered what an artist friend told me "Dark in the back, light on top". Always... Originally, the painting was titled,"All Starr" (with two "r"s as in Ringo "Starr"), but I changed my mind at the last minute. "Harley, Downtown Disney" (2014, Acrylic 24" x 30")NFS, Gifted Another love I have is Disney! I studied Disney-style classical animation back in the early 80s. We poured over a lot of movies frame by frame. Great times... We were in Downtown Disney back in 2013 and it poured buckets of rain. We ducked into a Harley Davidson shop. Lesley tried on a suede cap, cloth hoodie and a leather jacket. On the spot I said that I was going to paint that pic one day! Everything about this painting was a wonderful challenge: painting suede, leather, cloth, hair, skin, embroidery, and reflections. This is one of my favorite paintings. I remember what my high school art teacher said to me once about bottom lips... "Just a mere shadow...". It works!
"Luna" (SOLD) (2014, Acrylic 12" x 12")NFS, Gifted My first painting of a cat. I found the fur challenging. I just kept working at it until I got it. It was for a co-worker who had Luna... About a year later I asked her about Luna and she told me that she went out one day and never came back.
SOLD - 48" x 36" Dark Poppies (SOLD) I was commissioned by a co-worker for this painting back in 2004. I had so much fun painting this for her. It was a huge painting! My apologies to Georgia O'Keefe.
48" x 36" Where Are You Winston? (SOLD) I was commissioned by a Master's classmate back in 2002. I had so much fun painting this! Another huge painting! It was an abstract background with John Lennon's selfie cartoon in white. The couple I painted this for had a room painted in white, with a white grand piano, and the words and music to "Imagine" painted on all 4 walls. Incredible...
"Yeti Dreams Of..." (48" x 36") I painted this in honour of the cat we had for 21 years. I painted this about 4 years before he passed away. He would often sit beside me as I painted it. For the last 10 years, it's been hanging in the Yaletown Pet Hospital by BC Place in Vancouver BC. It was in the front window facing Beatty St for quite awhile and then moved to Exam Room 3. I visited it about 6 months after Yeti passed away. I was looking at the painting in the exam room, standing with the head Doctor who owned the Vet Clinic. I started crying... He was so cool. He just keep staring at the painting, then turned and gave me an empathic glance...
Thoughts on Saving Time in the Classroom
Estimation and Calculation The Born Numeracy
"I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think." Socrates