I took a gamble and brought my kindergarten class to the Remembrance Day assembly today, just after 11 a.m. We had talked about it beforehand, especially the minute of silence, and I think they were excited to take the challenge. I told them I’d spoken to the principal about it, and we both believed they…
Category: School Snippets
School Snippets: Student Elections and the stuff we really want from our world
The other week at my school, Grade 5s and 6s participated in hypothetical democracy: student “elections”. I put that in quotes because they don’t actually get to elect anyone – there is no student council or anything – but they get to hear speeches and platforms and read campaign signs, and then vote. One of…
PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE KINDERGARTNERS
In the first week of school this year, I passed a kindergarten colleague in the hall with a student hanging off her arm. As we crossed paths, she said, “I’m too raw of a mommy for this job.” I totally get it. Her being a “raw mommy” means that she exudes maternalism that the kids…
Help! My two-year-old is out to destroy my sanity…
Apparently it’s World Gratitude Day today. (I’ve never heard of this, but Care2 told me. I bet Oprah started it.) I started today feeling as ungrateful as I have in ages, all because of that wonderful kid I love so much. It seems unfair to gripe about him when I’ve been collecting bits of bloggable…
Kudos to the Kindergarten Teachers
I’m friends with lots of kindergarten teachers. Skye is one of them; Mr. A is another one; and there are a bunch more. Thank goodness, because I am joining their ranks (sort of), rotating through the French immersion kinder classes to do math, and having one class all to myself for most of every other…
How to put a serious damper on someone’s morning
If you really want to take the wind out of an innocent person’s sails first thing in the morning, tell them about your stillborn baby. That does the trick. Yesterday was the first day of school, and I was lucky enough to have an easy and anonymous day in the kindergarten wing, where none of…
School Snippets: BIG questions from seven-year-olds
I had an interesting discussion with my French Immersion Grade 2s yesterday – an impromptu one that I was not prepared for. We were looking at the globe and doing a little summative review – remember what continents are? What’s this line around the middle called? Where do we live? Then, one student asked how…
BANG Movie Review: THOR
I first typed BANG Movie Review: Thor, and it just didn’t look right. This movie requires CAPS, people. See? I went to see the movie not knowing anything about the comic book it’s based on – except that it deals with the Norse god of thunder. I knew that it starred Chris Hemsworth, that guy…
Royal Wedding(s): the world deserves a happy, sentimental tizzy
When I was three years old, Lady Di and Prince Charles were married. I know I saw footage of the wedding (in replay), and it seemed like the most amazing and wonderful thing ever. Diana’s beauty in her dress made my tiny heart light up. I imagined what it would be like to be one…
School Snippets: Foreign Unrest with 9- and 10-year-olds
Last week in my Grade 4/5 Core French class, we opted out of French for one period, because the students wanted to talk about Libya. It reminded me of music class in high school: once in a while, our music teacher would tell us to put away our instruments and we would sit and talk…