Living the busy life!

A Shaky excuse...

2009-10-26T19:08:00.002-06:00

Today one of my grade 1 boys told me he couldn't run in Phys. Ed. because he was sick.

"Oh," I said, "What are you sick with?"

His reply? "I have the hiccups."

I almost made him run an extra lap.

What a nut.

2009-10-20T18:43:00.003-06:00

Today I was telling my students that I'm going to be gone on Friday. Before I could tell them it was to a town nearby for an inservice, Mindy, who is a very quirky girl in grade two, blurted out, "Where are you going, Miss Smith? China?"

To which I replied, "Of course."

And without missing a beat, she replied, "Oh, well bring me back a fortune cookie!"

You mean teachers DON'T live at the school?

2009-10-19T21:07:00.003-06:00

It's always funny witnessing different students' reactions to seeing their teacher outside of school. Some kids' parents have a lot of teacher friends, so seeing teachers out of school isn't a big deal. Other kids have older brothers and sisters, so the whole teachers as real people is an old concept for them.

Tyler's mom invited me over tonight for a jewellery party. Tyler was happy but underwhelmed to see me there. 3 or 4 more of my students were also there playing in the basement and thought it completely normal that I was around. Sarge, however, is the first of his siblings to go to school and I don't think his parents have many teacher friends. When Sarge saw me, he just kinda stared at me and waved. Then he turned to Tyler's little brother and whispered, "Hey, Tim, that's my teacher." Tim just said, "Ya, I know." Then Sarge grabbed Dallas' arm and said, "Dallas, did you see who's here? Look, look who it is!" And of course, he thought he was being quiet but everyone could hear him and all the moms were giggling.

So just to set the record straight, no, we don't live at the school and yes, we go grocery shopping just like everyone else.

Just in case you didn't know.

Disappointed.

2009-10-13T22:07:00.001-06:00

Can I just say that all this business with John and Kate makes me so sad?

Now that's a 75 cent word!

2009-10-10T09:50:00.003-06:00

So, in the classroom this week, my students were making their own cornucopias for Thanksgiving. (Out of paper, not basket weaving. That would be very cool, but maybe a bit advanced for grade 1 and 2 students). Anyway, they were having trouble saying the word and I heard a few different pronunciations.

My personal favourite, though, was Haley's. When she finished hers, she excitedly exclaimed, "Miss Smith! I'm done my cornucoppity!"

Happy Thanksgiving, Canadians!

Friday! It's Video Friday!

2009-09-25T07:34:00.002-06:00

Seriously. Wow. So funny.

Video Friday!...erm, Wednesday.

2009-09-23T22:30:00.003-06:00

Ohmigosh. If you haven't seen this, you're welcome. It will make your day.

If you have, enjoy it again!

SK to BC and back...in photos!

2009-09-12T15:56:00.015-06:00

Here they are, a very select few of my pictures I took on my trip!

Sadly, I didn't stop here.

Life changing soup in Jasper.

I took this picture for my mom.

I love Jasper.

I stopped for cherries, peas, and jam at the best fruit stand I found.

It rained from Jasper to Vancouver.

The sun would come out for a little windows of like, half an hour and then it would be back to the rain!

Sadly, I couldn't stop here either.

The hydrangeas in Vancouver were insanely huge and beautiful.

This used book store was CRAZY.

I love notebooks. And journals. And pens. And paper. Naturally, this store was like heaven for me. I could have spent $500 there. Seriously.

In the past couple of months, I've got this specific writing on my starbucks cup AT LEAST 5 times. What are the chances?

On the ferry on the way to Victoria!

Emma jumping into frame.

GREAT store where I got some great art pieces.

Stanley Park

Vancouver Aquarium

Turns out octopusses aren't cute at all. Quite ugly, in fact!

I'll give you 3 guesses what province I'm in now...and the first two guesses don't count!

Classroom Quotables

2009-08-31T20:53:00.003-06:00

Today, one of my students told me about his fishing trip. "I caught this huge, 700 pound jackfish!"

"Hmmm," I said, "700 pounds is bigger than your whole boat. Do you think it may have been 7 pounds?"

To which he replied, "Ya, maybe about that."

I can see he's going to need some extra practice estimating.

Another student was telling me about his summer when they went to the waterpark. He told me that he was scared to go down the biggest waterslide because..."I'm afraid of hikes."

Back to school

2009-08-28T20:42:00.004-06:00

Yikes! It's almost been 2 months since I blogged last! What can I say? It was my first summer vacation as a teacher.

It was wonderful.

And busy! When school was done, I spent a few days here in the Village tidying up my apartment and my classroom. Then I went to Saskatoon to pick up my sister Shannon and we went home to my parents' house for mom's birthday. We stayed for a couple days and went back to Saskatoon. I spent a couple nights there before leaving on my big trip.

It was wonderful.

I took my time getting out to Vancouver. I stayed a night catching up with Lynnie C in Edmonton, then I spent a day and night in Jasper (where I did my part in supporting their economy!) and then I crossed the border into BC. I spent a night with some friends who just moved from SK to BC, and then I finally got to Vancouver!

I spent about 10 days in Vancouver and it was so great. I was staying with one of my best friends, Emma, who worked during the day while I did my shopping and shopping and sightseeing, (yes, I know I said shopping twice...I really did a lot of it!) and then we kicked around together in the evenings.

I left Van. on the 17th of July and drove to Calgary and then back to my parents' house. We drove to Moose Jaw the next day to meet my sister and Arizona Grandparents, where we spent the weekend doing the tunnels and drinking milkshakes and yes, more shopping. My parents and Grandparents went back to my parent's house for the rest of the week.

It was wonderful.

I was so enjoying relaxing that I stayed for a few days longer than I was planning! I think I would have stayed another week, but I had a meeting in Saskatoon.

So I went to Saskatoon for a few days, and then I was off with my friend Colleen to Pioneer Girls' Camp for a week!

It was wonderful.

We had such great weather and it was SUCH a lovely group of girls this year. Other than our furry friend who kept visiting (think Winnie the Pooh) (but that's a whole other blog for later), it was a seamless, fun week.

Then I was back in Saskatoon for a few days, where I squeezed in some last visits with friends, and then I was back to the Village by the 15th of August! I spent the last week planning for the school year and working on my classroom and now we're back at it! We started on the 24th and students started on the 25th, so we've already had 4 days of school!

So overall, my summer was...wonderful.

Facial Accessory

2009-07-05T22:45:00.004-06:00

No, I didn't get my nose pierced, if that's what you're thinking. Although, I want to.

So, I've wanted glasses my whole life. I was always jealous of people who had glasses because every couple of years, they got a new accessory for their face! But, I've always had really good eyesight, so I've always been out of luck.

Well, I went the other day for my first eye appointment in probably 5 years*. I've always been a little bit farsighted and now because I do so much close-up work like marking and reading and computer work, I've been getting a bit of eye strain. So the optometrist said I could get glasses to reduce the strain!!! Hooray! Finally!

*Okay, maybe it's been 10 years. I know, I know.

T-Minus 5 days!

2009-06-29T13:20:00.010-06:00

I'm supposed to be packing to leave The Village for the summer, so naturally...it's the perfect time for a blog!

I'm off to Saskatoon to pick up my sister and then we're off to my parents' house to celebrate mom's birthday and then...Ginger and I are heading west! In 5 days! Here are my travel plans:

Saturday, July 5th-leave Saskatoon in the am and travel to Edmonton. Have supper with LynnieC and crash at her place.

Sunday, July 6th-leave Edmonton and travel to Jasper. Do stuff in Jasper. Stay overnight.

Monday, July 7th-leave Jasper and travel to Salmon Arm, BC to see newly moved friends Karen and Garrett and baby Ezekiel. Supper, stay overnight in their camper.

Tuesday, July 8th-leave Salmon Arm (very weird name) for VANCOUVER!!! Emma!!!

Wednesday, July 9th-Wednesday, July 15th...hang out in Vancouver. Plan to see Aquarium, zoo perhaps, Stanley Park, Auntie Brenda and Uncle Garry, hopefully hop over to Victoria to see more family, have sushi, go to the opening of Harry Potter 6, and other fun stuff!

Thursday, July 16th-leave Vancouver and make a loooong day of traveling to Calgary. Stay overnight.

Friday, July 17th-leave Calgary for Saskatoon or Leader...haven't decided yet.

Any suggestions for must-sees in Vancouver/Victoria or along the way?

Auto excitement

2009-06-15T16:54:00.006-06:00

I BOUGHT A CAR!!!

It's a 2005 Pontiac Wave, 5 speed manual, and it's so cute!

Now I just need the perfect name. My friend Tanys suggested Ginger. Any other suggestions?

Another video, still crazy

2009-06-09T07:21:00.001-06:00

Walter's first marshmallow.

Video Friday

2009-06-05T07:25:00.002-06:00

Here's a video of my cat, Walter.

Forgotten comfort aid...

2009-05-31T22:05:00.002-06:00

When I moved to the village, I was NOT INTERESTED in another basement apartment. Been there, done that...for the past 7 years. I wanted light. So I got an above ground level apartment, forgetting that that brought with it a higher likelihood of raised indoor temperatures.

With the return of spring, we've also had a rise in temperature over the past week or so. I've been complaining (to myself) about how warm my apartment has been and today I thought to bring out the little fan from my bedroom. I had forgotten how much of a difference a little fan could make. As I was enjoying the breeze, I looked up and remembered...I have a ceiling fan!

Dare to dream...

2009-05-21T19:35:00.003-06:00

So, we've been having a bad run of luck with weather lately. It was an exceptionally cold, snowy, miserable winter this year but things were starting to look up. It started warming up in April and it was feeling like good old spring was here to stay...rain and all!

Then May came. In the last 3 weeks, we've had snow/sleet 3 times and just around the time that it is SUPPOSED to be sunny and greening up, more rain. Yesterday, when it was busy sleeting (is that even a word?) outside, I told my students that we needed to do some spring decorating to encourage the weather. So we made flowery, springy decorations to hang from the ceiling and hung them up.

Today? It was sunny and beautiful outside.

So now my students think they are soley responsible for the re-arrival of spring.

Show interest with caution

2009-05-15T07:34:00.003-06:00

So, I was in drama all through highschool and for my first 3 years of University. I love theatre. So, after a few years of not being involved, I'm thrilled to be back in the swing of things on the directorial side. I helped direct our school's senior play this year and had a blast. We also took our play to our regional drama festival and put forward a respectable, hilarious show.

At our region's AGM, Carol--the past president of the Saskatchewan Drama Association (SDA)--was talking about the board and how they need new people. She teaches in our region and is retiring this year and was saying that our region should continue to be represented. She was begging for volunteers. I told her I MIGHT be interested in helping out in some way and could she send me some information about it.

Fast forward a couple of months. Having not heard from Carol, I hadn't though about what we had talked about at the regional AGM. I got a grant from the SDA to go to the Provincial Drama Festival...I got to go to some directing workshops and see all the plays. (It was fabulous). All of a sudden, 2 weeks before Provincials, I got an email from Carol, thanking me for my interest in sitting on the SDA board (what? I didn't say that!) and that she needs a short bio from me.

What? What? This is moving to fast!! I was trying to decide what to do, when I got another email from her like, 2 days later saying she really needed the bio, so I figured well, I'll just send her the bio and then when I see her at provincials, I'll talk to her about exactly what I might be getting myself into and how much I want to commit to.

When I got to provincials, I got my registration package and in it was the program for the provincial AGM (that was happening that weekend). Guess what was in the newsletter? That's right, MY NAME, with my bio, in the elections section for CHAIR of one of the committees!

So there you go. My "I might be interested" turned into me being a chairperson on the SDA board.

The lesson? If you show interest (or even make eye contact) in something that is in need of volunteers, you are as good as SIGNED UP!!

She's heard that before!

2009-05-11T17:36:00.002-06:00

Today Mindy, one of my grade one girls, came to me to tell me that her Great Gramma was coming along with her on a trip. She started to walk away and then stopped, turned around, and told me:

"She's really into God."

Feline Psychosis

2009-05-05T22:37:00.003-06:00

Oh my gosh. My mom sent me these and they are just TOO FUNNY not to share! Enjoy!

Arachnids and seeing red...

2009-05-04T19:25:00.005-06:00

I've blogged before about my students taking care of spiders for me. Now that it is spring, those 8 legged freaks are out again. I had to kill one on my own in my apartment the other day. It. was. HUGE. And I found myself wishing that one of my 7 year olds was here to do it for me.

Anyway, we've only had a couple weeks of nice weather, and they're already making their appearance around the school. So, my students have been taking care of them. And most of the time, they try to get the spiders before I even see them. I love my job.

At our school, spring also brings with it a new obsession. Baseball. Even during the 10 minute recesses, the kids all rush outside with their ball gloves to hopefully get in a solid 7 or 8 minutes before the bell rings again.

So far it hasn't been going well. Last week, a grade 3 student slid into home...and his foot slid into the batcatcher's leg, breaking it (quite badly) in two places.***

Today, one of my students got a bat (mid swing) to the nose. I have SERIOUSLY never seen that much blood come out of someone's nose. It was ALL OVER his coat, his pants, his whole face, his hands, in his mouth...and his nose started swelling IMMEDIATELY. I don't know HOW I stayed so calm, except that perhaps I knew I needed to if I was going to have any chance of calming him down.

Miraculously, his nose is not broken. He's going to be very sore, and no more baseball for him for awhile!

***This kid has TERRIBLE luck. He's had stiches something like 4 times in his life. Now the broken leg, which is casted from his foot to the top of his thigh. If you can believe it, he fell down a short set of stairs this weekend when he was trying to maneuver on his crutches and broke his ankle on his good leg. So now both legs are in a cast.

Free money!

2009-04-28T18:27:00.002-06:00

Remember book orders? I don't even remember if I got many books out of them (Mom? Maybe you'll remember), but I definitely remember how exciting it was to get book orders with all the pictures of possible books I could own.

Well, I had no idea how sweet of deal they are for teachers! Every time my students order books, I get a few free books out of it, and "bonus coupons" based on how much the total order was. The bonus coupons are basically gift certificates for me to use. I've been saving them up all year with the intention of getting a bunch of stuff at one time. I had $140 to spend and I used it all up last night (I love online ordering)!

Here's what I got:

-2 bulletin board sets
-2 bulletin board boarders
-Back to school, fall, and winter window decorations
-a book of phonics poems
-word cards for my word wall
-a cool magnet kit for my magnets unit
-a "root view" kit for my plants unit

And I didn't have to pay a thing! Scholastic rocks!

Oh, well if that's all!

2009-04-20T21:57:00.004-06:00

So, on the first day of school in August, I played a game with my students. I told them 30 things about myself and they each told me 3. Then they said all the things they remembered about me and vice versa. Whoever remembered the most things won. (Obviously they won, since their were 26 kids on their team and only 1 on mine).

Anyway, one of the things I told them was that I want to have lots of kids of my own. Remember, that's the one and only time I said that, and it was in August.

Last week, one of my grade one girls came up to me and said, "Miss Smith, if you want to have babies, all you have to do is find someone to marry you!"

Has she been thinking about my situation for the last 7 months?

I really should have taken a picture...

2009-04-12T19:52:00.004-06:00

So, there are both things I like and things I don't like about living in a village. .

I like that it's quiet. It lets me focus on my work, and then forces me to relax when I'm not working (because there's nothing else to do!).

On the other hand, because it's so quiet, it leaves very few (or none at all) options for activities when I want to do something. Overall, though, I enjoy the slower paced life, especially since I lived SUCH a busy life in Saskatoon for 7 years! *

I don't like that there are so few options and little selection at the grocery store and that the hours are limited. It makes it a bit difficult, because I work longer hours and don't always make it to the store by 6.

On the other hand, I encountered something on Friday that you definitely wouldn't see in the city. I was pretty sick on Friday and was having trouble swallowing, so I couldn't really handle anything I had in my fridge or pantry. I set out toward the store, and then remembered it was Good Friday, so everything was likely to be closed. The Co-op was closed, but we also have another small, family run store. When I got to the front, the "closed" sign was in the window, but above it, written in handwriting on a brown paper bag were the words, "Come around back if you need anything."

So I went around back, knocked on the door, and the owner was back there cutting meat and he let me come in and grab a few things.

Adorable. So village.

*Don't get me wrong, I'm still VERY busy with work, but I don't have a million other side activities on top of it like I did in the city.

Someone give me a paddle...

2009-04-09T16:27:00.000-06:00

I feel like I'm trying to swallow a ping pong ball.