Advent

This Sunday begins one of my very favourite seasons. I love the music, the traditions, and the family time of Christmas. I also love to redecorate, so adding seasonal decor to our home makes me feel good.

It will be our first Christmas on our own. LK won't be planning and practicing for many services, we won't be madly dashing from services to visit family, and we won't be trolling the malls looking for the perfect gift at the last minute. Some of those changes will be very welcome. Some will be hard. I don't miss LK working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but do already miss the anticipation of Christmas Day brass players at church and the excitement they brought to my worship. I don't miss the drive on Christmas Day, but will miss the gathering and laughter with family members. I hate malls in December, particularly the week before Christmas when the mood turns to barely controlled panic in shoppers' eyes. I love looking for just the right item and finding it (especially at Winners).

It is a time for us to develop traditions of our own that are meaningful to us as a family. Our first was the Santa Claus parade in Kenora last night topped off with a dinner of Chinese-Canadian buffet. It was my first parade in many years (all those years in TO and we never went to the parade), since I was a girl in Perth. It was a great parade, impressive for a town of 13 000. Both kids were entranced; Jo with the trucks and lights, Fiona with Santa (who she has decided is real). The friendly camaraderie of parents and families waiting on the sidewalks was wonderful. What a nice way to begin the season.

One of our family traditions is to put up our Christmas tree and decorations on the first Sunday of Advent. So this afternoon we pulled out the Rubbermaids filled with Christmas paraphernalia and went at it. Fiona was so excited. She loves to watch the tree go together and have lights strung along each branch. When that is done she gets to lay out the ornaments and decide which ornaments go on the tree this year. Jo was fascinated by all the sparkle and the things that swayed. He did more decorating of himself than the tree. At one point he ended up with strings of red beads looped around his body from head to toe. He was very pleased with himself.

So the house looks like Christmas and the stereo is filled with music of the season. It looks like Christmas outside with more snow gently falling. My cup runneth over with good things.

5 Day Work Week

A five day work is becoming rare for me. This week school was closed again on Tuesday for a community funeral. It is payday Friday as well, which means 3 and 1/2 days of school. All this family time is wonderful, and I must admit that it is certainly easier to balance home and work with a 1/2 day every other week, but I am a bit concerned about all the learning time we are missing...

An amazing morning!

The most wonderful words a teacher can hear are any phrase that expresses joy in learning. Yesterday morning as we began math I heard one of my students exclaim, "I love math drills." (And there was truly no sarcasm in her voice.) I was grinning from ear to ear as they wrote their drills.

Math drills are a daily part of math in my classroom. I believe that knowing the basic facts automatically makes a huge difference in how students feel about and achieve in math later on. I want my student to have a chance to love math in a way I never did, until I started to teach it and really understand the beauty of the patterns in mathematical structures. So, we drill. They have a goal to reach a class average of 70/100 in order to 'graduate' from the addition drills. We celebrate with a popcorn party!

When the time is up, students exchange papers and we mark the work. Then we calculate our class average together. Yesterday, TJS was very proud of his highest score yet and asked to lead the class in finding the average. So, he wrote the scores on the chalkboard, led the class through adding 6 2-digit numbers and then used my calculator to find the average. First, they did this on their own! Second, their average was 63/100!

They were grinning from ear to ear now. I was so proud of them that we called the principal down to our classroom to show him our progress; 11/100 on their first drill in September and 63/100 on November 20. He was appropriately full of praise for their hard work and we continued with our math lesson.

It was an awesome morning!

A New Challenge

I have a student teacher starting in my classroom on Monday. Some would say that the changes I have taken on in moving to a new time zone, culture, and professional setting would be enough for one year... not me! I am a sucker for punishment. Or at least an opportunity to try something new professionally.

Those of you who have worked with me know how much I love new ideas in my classroom. I am often tweaking and trying new things. So when a colleague who is involved with a program to certify Native teachers through Nipissing approached me about doing a placement in my classroom I was delighted.

So she starts Monday. I am trying to wrap up units and organize my schedule and plans so that her time in the classroom is smooth and productive. I did not really accurately anticipate the amount of time this would take. I never do. A new idea is too exciting to pass up even if it means a lot more hours logged on the job.

Sundays and other meanderings of the mind...

So far Sundays have been the hardest days to be away from friends and family. The rest of the week we are busy with daily tasks of working and two kids. On Sunday we have a slower pace. The blessing is that we can stay in our jammies until 9:30 if we want (church doesn't start until 11) and we have a slow breakfast together. This morning both kids slept in until 8 (it was heavenly as Jo has been getting up by 6:15 all week). It is also fabulous to have LK home on Sunday mornings. No more madly rushing to get two kids to church on time by myself. Although he is not working there, he does play at church on occasion to help out. So we don't always sit in the pew together as a family. There aren't pews either...

The down side is that we have spent Sundays with our TO family for 6 years and we miss their company on Sundays the most. This Sunday was better. I think it was because LK went out shooting early this morning (with his camera) and Fi has two friends over this afternoon. Jo thinks they are here to play with him, too, and keeps trailing around after them. The house feels busy and active rather than mopey. So the key is to keep busy.

We also stayed home yesterday instead of doing the run into town filled with errands that are no fun for the kids. It was really nice to just putter here. We are planning to try and limit our town trips to once a week. Now that the roads are covered with snow and ice what was a one hour trip has stretched to 1.5 each way. That's a lot of gas!

Bouncing

My usual pattern when something frustrating happens is to be a bit of a diva; moaning and groaning a lot about my hardship, and then get over it. I love to relive stories of the hardships of life (of which I admittedly know very little).

Yesterday morning I arrived at school to find my classroom door open already. Not a big deal except for the fact that my window was broken (the frame, not the glass) and the contents of some of my desk drawers were messed up and missing. Two classrooms had been broken into. Some money from hot dog day (serves me right for leaving it there), my chocolate from Oma (how could they?), and my jump drive (with all my work on it) were missing. The money was just a bit, not a big deal. The chocolate, well it's chocolate (milk, not dark, so survivable). But the jump drive had all my work from this year on it. I have backed up, but not everything recently. Thankfully report cards were recently backed up. So I had the opportunity last night to update a bunch of work. It was a late night, but life goes on.

So now I am treating myself to a night of movies and popcorn. No schoolwork. Even though I ought to be puttering.

Yup, it's winter.

In Toronto when the stores started playing Christmas music I have always felt like Christmas was ages away. I now realize it had a lot to do with the weather. Now that we have temperatures below zero consistently and snow on the ground it feels like Christmas is on the way. It feels a bit like when I was a kid myself. In fact, this weekend I had to remind myself that it is only November and perhaps a bit early to dig out the music and decorations.

Now that we have settled into the idea of staying here at Christmas (which is necessary due to the crazy costs of gas and airline tickets, plus the purchase this fall of the new-ish vehicle and winter tires- also crazy expensive) I am looking forward to celebrating together. LK and I are trying to think of inexpensive ways to make special memories with the kids. It reminds me of Christmas in BC when I was little.

Speaking of winter tires... when we began the discussion with other, more seasoned staff members about whether winter tires were needed (we only ever used all-seasons in TO) and what price range we should look at, tires seemed somewhat affordable. Then we heard that Quebec had passed a law that all Quebec vehicles must sport winter tires and that a shortage was predicted for this winter. Fast forward a week and we are making an appointment for tires:

• Earle (mechanic): Well, I can put tires on for you next Wednesday, if we can find the time. I called Winnipeg, there are 16 tires left. I put your name on 4. Do you want them?


• LK: 16? (thinking to himself In the city?)


• Earle: In an hour they'll be gone.
  
• LK: We'll take them.


• Earle: They are $ *@% each. Do you still want them?


• LK: (gulp) ye-es.

Now that does sound like a crooked mechanic, but he isn't. His reputation in Kenora is as the most honest, trustworthy guy in town. He is for real. There are no tires left. Thanks Quebec.

Let it Snow...

Winter is here officially as of November 7. It snowed lightly all afternoon and evening yesterday. Now we have 2 inches on the ground. I wonder if it will stay?

We are in the midst of birthday party preparations this morning. Fi is excitedly awaiting the arrival of three classmates after lunch. First, however, we have a cake to ice.

My mailbox runneth over...

Just before lunch today our school secretary walked up to me and said, "There's a lot of packages in the office for you and Fiona." with a grin on her face. I danced to the office (I love mail days) and found packages from both families as well as beloved friends and my Toronto colleagues stacked on the counter. What a heart-filling moment; bubbling over with being cared for. Thank you all for showering us with love and care packages. (Mental note to self; never forget how special a care package can make you feel).
My class was agog to see what came, and all wanted me to go get Fi right away to open her presents. They have adopted her in a way. I get regular reports from them about how she is doing... "Your little girl was cold at recess" from her grade 1 peers, or "Fiona is standing in the hall." from mine as they return from the washroom after recess. Usually that means she has been watching her classmates get their coats off and go into the classroom and is standing there deciding what she ought to do next (a bit of a dreamer, that one).
They had to wait and the packages went home at the end of the day unopened (except for Oma's which I knew would have chips for LK and chocolate for me- so it was opened and the chocolate stashed at school for "emergencies"). Then Fi opened them after supper. Wonderful gifts, so thoughtful. Thank you again all for making her feel your love from so far away.
Parent-Teacher conferences were tonight as well, so I stayed at school (with a lovingly packed dinner left by LK). I always get worried and anxious about P-T Conf's. I am afraid that I have misread a student or missed something important in their growth or development and a parent is going to be upset with me. It rarely happens, but I worry anyway. Tonight they were wonderful; six of nine parents came out. All of them showed that they loved their kids just like I love mine. Several even asked how we are doing in adjusting! Wow. I felt accepted, blessed, and respected and was very encouraged.
I came home to a quiet house and had my debriefing time with LK. I love our end-of-the-day talk. It anchors me and binds us. Now I am breathing deep joy from the depths of my soul.
I just used a lot of words, but they didn't quite express how grateful I am for what those boxes mean. Thank you especially to D and J at WCS for your package. LK and I are looking forward to those ling winter nights to read and watch movies thanks to you.
P.S. winter has not arrived yet, it is supposed to show tomorrow with a real snowfall. Yesterday was still above 10 degrees!

Birthday

Fi is 5 years old today. It was a great day. First, I slept well last night, although not nearly long enough. Second we all had breakfast together this morning. I love family breakfasts, especially when LK cooks. (I really have the best husband in the world). Third, although I was late and didn't walk to school this morning I happened to head out the door just as two colleagues were leaving for school and hitched a ride easily. And when I arrived at school my duty-teammate offered to do the before school duty, which left me with 20 extra minutes to get ready for class this morning. 20 minutes can be remarkably productive if you are motivated.

The school day was a good one, lots of laughter with my students, the stress about curriculum that I have been feeling for a few days evaporated and we enjoyed learning together. As a result it was a productive day, too. However, I was hit with a long-lasting wave of exhaustion at lunchtime. By the time school was over all I could think about was a nap.

Then four little girls invaded my classroom. Fi and three classmates who are becoming close friends and play together really well came to 'visit' while she stayed with me after school. Despite the noise and mess it was delightful. I was so glad to see her laughing (somewhat manically- all pumped up on Halloween candy from the school celebrations last week and very excited about a real birthday party on Saturday) and playing with an abandon that we haven't seen anywhere but at home for months. She is really starting to feel like this is home. Praise God!

Then LK picked us up and I drove home while he ran home. The kids and I walked up the driveway to meet him as the sun set (at 5:15) and turned the treeline along the lake into a stunning silhouette. I revelled in the blessing of my family and a place to live that has constantly changing beauty all around us. I love them so much!

Dinner was Fi's choice (a birthday tradition in our house; birthday person chooses the menu) so we had mac & cheese with chicken strips. LK and I had some veggies & dip in a nod to healthy eating. The highlight was four phone calls in a row with birthday wishes from various loved ones across the province in the 10 minutes before we ate. Fiona was glowing by the time she ate. Thanks to all for the TLC, she felt so special and cared for.

After dinner was bath time, a very happily anticipated event here. Jo runs for the tub when he hears the word bath. After a lot of splashing and a soaked bathroom floor everyone was bundled into pjs and ready for bed. Just before being tucked in Fi had one last call from Auntie Heather, who actually got more than a few mumbled words out of Fi.

Then the blissful moments of peace in the house after children are quietly in bed. I love those moments, even if they are short before the night's work begins.

A good day!