Last week I talked with my Grade 2 class about Thanksgiving and the things we’re grateful for. I was rather disappointed. My school is populated mostly with children who are well-fed, well-dressed, and very well looked after. These kids were like, “Um, je dis merci pour mon Nintendo DSI…” So I told them about how…
Tag: teaching
School Snipp…ing #3
This past Thursday, our school participated in the Terry Fox Run. These are the times that I love being part of a school community; it was positively heartwarming. First, it’s great to see the kids push themselves to run. Some of the Grade 6s ran about 20 laps of the park: that’s over twelve kilometres!…
BANG Movie Review: Easy A, + Random School Snippet
When I saw the trailer for Easy A, I was intrigued. I thought it looked like a smart comedy – and it was. Rotten Tomatoes agrees: it’s at 86% today. It’s about a girl who, partly due to peer pressure and partly due to her soft spot for the downtrodden, acquires a reputation as a…
School Snippets #2
OOOPS. Just found out that one of my Grade 2 students, whom I thought was a girl, is actually a boy. And I’m wondering why I’m such a dummy, why I was so sure he was a girl. I mean, on the first day, I actually thought to myself, Wow, what a strange name for…
Requestion #5: Canadian Icons
In your estimation, who is the most famous Canadian in Canada today? I suppose Stephen Harper comes to mind… but I don’t know many Grade 2 kids who care about him. In Grade 2, the boys care about Sidney Crosby and the girls care about Avril Lavigne… but not vice-versa. It occurred to me the…
Baby Bits XXIV – Fifteen Months Old
We celebrated today by finally finding a spot for E’s very own blue glass ball for his room (a gift from Auntie Beth). I wish I could capture in my memory forever the way his smile looks – full of wonder and joy – when he watches it spinning. He also took approximately two steps!…
Labour Day
School tomorrow! Glad to have had a PD day, last Thursday, to warm up. Looking forward to seeing the kids (most of ’em), catching up with my colleagues, doing fun first-day activities that aren’t really curricular… Hoping to remember everything (like my lunch) – especially on Thursday when I need to drop E off at…
School Snippet #1
There is far too much to think about right now, so I’m going to leave it all responsibly for another time. For now, I’d like to indulge in one li’l thought I had last week whilst teaching (French) questions e.g., “Quel est ton film préféré?” I observed and surmised that Grade Four is a very…
Feeling a Tad Overwhelmed
Whenever I’m feeling like I don’t quite have a handle on everything, it’s time to make a list. Just putting stuff next to bullets makes life seem more orderly. I am a chronic overcommitter. I’m performing tomorrow with Invoketress for the Belly Blush – a veil piece with a princess theme, ooh pretty. I have…
First day back at work
It was pretty good. I enjoyed seeing the kids and my colleagues, and it was track-and-field day, so it was a nice laid-back chance to reintegrate. It’s the first time I’ve left a school and then come back to the same one, and I have to admit it was really nice being welcomed back to…