Poetry saves the day !

School has started again. I am without my trusty teaching partner and dear friend of 9 years. She was declared redundant and my heart is heavy. I do have a new partner who is great and I am excited about working with her but change is hard. That much I must admit. A new year brings new challenges and new joys. I was having a rough day with but the few minutes I picked up a new poetry anthology to share with the class was almost magical. They stopped, they listened, they laughed, they even asked for one more. Since I have vowed to focus more on  poetry this year it was a short glimpse into the magic of the language of poetry. Then they heard their grade 2 neighbours in the hall getting ready for recess and the spell was broken...sigh! Did I mention that we have a new pet, a russian hamster aptly names Baryshnikov. Dignified name for a tiny boy. The children voted, I myself was holding out for Gorky or Chagall !

Goodbye Trevor

My brother in law passed away on Tuesday. Even though he was sick. I just kept thinking of him well. It was better than thinking about the alternative. Jacey has lost an uncle. I tried to explain it best I could, no easy task.  Finally, at the end of my explaination she looked up and said, "You're right mommy I can see Uncle Trevor in the stars". Only 43... He will be missed.

Back to school

September.

New crayons out ready to go.

My little girl ready to take on JK at my school.

At 10:30 on her first day she heard me in the hall and said, "That's my mommy I get to go now". Sorry kitten, no can do.

A new class, very small, worried faces, excited faces. New possibilities.

Back to school is almost a magical time. You get a chance to connect with your students in such a powerful way. Now time to get our classroom routines down.

Back teaching with Jen, so lucky.

Looking to bring more poetry into the lives of my students. What would we be without the language of poetry ?

LOL fundraiser

I went to the LOL fundraiser on Thursday with a group of girls from school.
We went for our friend Gayle a cancer survivor. It made me think of other survivors and the current struggles of my brother in law.
We ate cupcakes, drank, laughed.
I bought some fancy new undies and  jammies.
Great cause, great night, great friends.

Not so great bit...
Driving back to drop off friends, having lost my key, unable to wake Ethan up,
driving back to my mom's, getting stuck on the highway due to construction.

Racing back home in the morning to get clothes and supplies for work.

Getting my first speeding ticket...noticing my p.j. collar was sticking out, super sized tampons were clearly visible in a clear makeup bag on my seat along with my pink devil horn and boa headband and pink lei.

What on earth was the cop thinking about me...oh yes, he also looked in the back and took in the empty baby seat.

I guess this becomes just one of those stories.

Insult to injury when I was driving back on the other side of the road a short while later, he had the nerve to wave at me.  I did not wave back !

Back to the real world

We are back.
Back to snow!
Back to work.
Back to nightmares of my chaotic basement.
Away from the sun.
Away from the magic of Disney with a 3 and a half year old.
Away from the place where when asked her name Jacey replied very earnestly, "Cinderella".
Away from someone else making my bed and cooking our meals.
Away from some carefree family time.
Sigh.

Snow day ?

I am waiting for a snow day to be called by my school.

I bet as I am typing away my students are snug in their beds, wearing their p.j.s backwards, dreaming about the same thing.

Jacey and I went to buy a sled today for our snowy adventure tomorrow. We practiced on the rug tonight.
While I was dreaming I burnt the garlic bread. The cold blast of air from my quickly opened window made me reconsider outdoor adventures.  Staying inside sounds tempting too.  Maybe baking will be in order.  We'll just have to see.

Best news of the day...Mom's lump in her neck is "nothing to be concerned about" according to her doctor.

Worst news of the day...A colleague, a mentor, a master teacher, just announced that she will be retiring at the end of the year. Didn't see that coming.

Today I spent the day waiting for a container of ice, hard packed and loose packed snow to melt.  My Grade Ones could not stay in their seats they checked the status of our experiment every 1-2 seconds ! Finally, I resorted to, "Stay away from the experiment", of course this was said in an I mean business teacher voice. Seriously, how hands on was that. The best part of this was I was not even in the room when the experiment was finally ready to be observed as I was off in a meeting. Admittedly, I did help along the loose packed snow container by scooping out the remaining chunk of snow as my class was dashing off to lunch.  The best part is that I felt no guilt.  Tonight I was chatting to my teaching partner  (aka dear friend and fellow lover of the sprinkle doughnut) and I discovered that she also told her class to "Keep their hands off the experiment or they would wreck it ". What a pair we make...