Roller Coasters

Monday was a top-of-the-hill day. Everyone in the family had a good first day of school. We practically bounced home (like Tigger).


But when we got home there was a phone call. The call was about our Fearless Leader, who missed the first day due to being ill. He is more than ill. He had a stroke and is facing what could be a long, slow recovery.


So, we are not quite at the top of the hill anymore. Fearless Leader has worked so hard for the past two years to set an example for all staff and students that Grassy School is a great school where real learning happens. He has been the first at school every morning; picking up garbage on the school grounds so that students would have a clean, safe place to play. He was outside every single recess on yard duty supporting staff and making sure kids were safe. He was everywhere all day, putting out fires and solving problems; the Energizer Bunny.


He has been an inspiration to remember why we are in education - for the students. It's all about them, not about us.


We have started our school year without him, and are feeling his absence. So, as I reflect on a great first week of the school year, I am saddened by the fact that Fearless Leader was not able to be here to enjoy it with us.

I am praying that he will be back with us soon, and we will all get to hear his, "Have a good day!" over the PA system.

First Day

It was the First Day today. It started out with a few kinks; a late start from home, Fearless Leader is away sick, and our Opening Assembly was cancelled.

So, with a few minutes less organizational time this morning to plan an hour more instructional time I dove in.

And is was wonderful! Wonderful!! It may have been my best First Day in six years.

All the reasons I love to teach came back to me today; the connection with kids, getting to participate in their growth, teachable moments, AHA moments, making connections with students and students making connections with learning, and the arts.

We painted with fabric paint on the first day. And I didn't have to take paint away from anyone. I didn't even have to warn anyone that I might take fabric paint away. Later on they worked independently for 20 minutes, then asked for more time to draw and write. To write! How amazing is that?

I finished the day with the same grin I started the day. But at the end of the day, it was not just an I'm excited and nervous and glad to see my students grin. I was HOLY COW I LOVE MY JOB AND AM ALREADY FALLING IN LOVE WITH MY CLASS grin.

Life is very, very good.

Running Lesson # 12

Due to the demands of family on my part, and a change in her carpool schedule for Running Goddess we are no longer able to run together mornings. I was moping this morning when the alarm went off and I had to yank myself out of bed without the lure of social intercourse. In fact, I was downright sad.

However, I did yank myself out there and was able to enjoy a good run, thanks to the motivational input from my mp3 player and some good country music. In fact, I was quite please with myself as I started walking up the last 'cool down hill'.

Then I looked up.

My what a big dog. Our usual running buddy isn't that big. I thought to myself. Oh, poop. That isn't a dog. And I froze.

You got it, a bear. Standing in the clover and chewing on lavender coloured flowers for breakfast. He didn't even notice me.

Now, there are all sorts of guides on how to deal with a face-to-face interaction with a black bear. In theory they are great. In theory I am a very brave woman. I have talked a bold, brave, brash talk for six months of running with a buddy.

In reality, standing on the road all by my lonesome, I almost peed my pants. I was scared.

In case you don't know much about black bears, they can outrun, out climb, and out wrestle the fastest, most limber, or strongest human beings on earth. We get handouts at school each spring on how to deal with a bear up close. They are serious handouts. They don't mince words about black bears. Thankfully I read them.

And those bears, they are not cuddly. They are BIG. (I don't even want to imagine how scary a grizzly would be that close.) On TV and at the zoo they look pretty small and not at all scary. 15 feet in front of you on a lonely road with no other route home, except by the bear... Well, me call a scaredy-cat if you will, but they are Intimidating.

So, this large-ish bear was minding his own business and eating his breakfast. I needed to get home for my breakfast and start the first day of school, but had to get past him to do that. I referenced my rusty-trusty memory for those helpful bearwise handouts given to all students at school last year and I tried a timid stomp with my feet.

He looked up, then went back to breakfast.

I took a deep breathe, praying that this wouldn't make him mad enough to come at me, and shouted shakily, "Go away!"

He looked up, then went back to breakfast.

The bearwise guides say to lift your shirt above your head (no, not to flash him, but to look larger) and make lots of noise. So, I repeated myself a little louder while stomping my feet, "GO Away!" I wasn't at the shirt lifting stage yet.

He looked up, then went back to breakfast. Then I started to stomp closer (no I am not suicidal, just hungry for my breakfast). He looked up, and gave a big sigh, and lumbered across the road and into the bush on the other side.

Breathing deeply a sigh of my own and watching very carefully for bushes moving, I walk up the hill.

Guess what was sitting at the top of the hill?

My running buddy dog friends. They were not interested in the bear at all. They were looking at me as if to say, "Why didn't you wait for us?" In fact, I am not even sure they noticed the bear.

"Thanks guys. Aren't you supposed to chase off the bears?"

Nobody heard me, including the dogs. They just stared.

So, the lesson in all this. Running alone can be good. And sometimes it takes a little courage. But always, it is an adventure.

Oh, and read those handouts. You never know when you will need their advice.

Prepwork

We are ready... I think. For school, that is.

Classrooms are set up. Lessons are planned. Clothes are set out for the first day. I am in the midst of making birthday cards for our classes.

It has been a very busy week and a half. Our kids have been dragged to the school day after day. They have shown remarkable patience with their parents as we try to get organized better than we did last summer.

Last summer. Oooh! That was not pretty. LK was offered a job and accepted with less than a week to go before school started. Since he had no training or experience in getting a contained classroom set up, we did it all together. It was a bit insane, and as a result I was less than prepared when the first day of school arrived.

This year is very different. LK has been working very hard to get his classroom ready independently. It is amazing to see how far he has come in just a year. Now he comes to my room to bounce ideas, but really doesn't need me. He has laid out his classroom, organized student materials, and made his plans with little input from me other than, "Yes, that sounds good." His room looks great and he has an excellent plan for his first week. This man is a natural teacher!

As a result I am much more prepared, and much more relaxed than last year. Funny, though, I still have those nervous tummy spasms that are a part of every back-to-school season. The best thing; I am getting ideas from my 'newbie' spouse on what to include in my own first week.

Movie Night

Every Saturday night in our family is movie/games night. One week we curl up with Fi and watch a movie together, and the next week it's a game played around the kitchen table. It is a time that Fiona really looks forward to each week - really the only time she has both of us to herself anymore. It also is something that is for big kids; no little brothers allowed.

Well, tonight we tried to watch "Arthur and the Invisibles", borrowed from the library. Because of a scratch the movie kept freezing and we gave up halfway through. We were all disapointed, because it was a pretty good movie. Fi had a trembling lower lip all the way up to bed.

We had decided that we really want to get the last of our debt paid off this year and were not going to splurge on luxuries, like movie rentals, etc. But there is no place in town to rent movies anymore. The only options for movies are buying, borrowing from the library, or borrowing from friends. Not a lot of our friends up here have a big library of 6-year old friendly movies. That is logical, as we are the only ones with a 6-year old.

So I am rethinking our decision not to subscribe to zip.ca. Perhaps it would be worth a basic subscription to be able to have undamaged movies and a woder choice than our small town library's small budget allows. Any experience with Zip? Any advice? Suggestions?

Looking Forward

Yesterday we had a workshop on changes to the pension plan at work, and of course it got both of us thinking about the future. Are we looking forward to our retirement? It seems like a lifetime in the future. I have trouble envisioning my life that far away, although I know very well how important it is to be preparing for it now.

There are things that I have no trouble envisioning and looking forward to right now.

I am excited about this school year. I have a small group of students, which means being able to get to know each of them very well. I have the same grade for the third year in a row, which means I have gotten comfortable with the curriculum and can start having some fun with it. And, I am starting my third year here in Grassy, which means that I have started to feel more comfortable with the community and my colleagues. All lay a foundation for a potentially fabulous year, which I am really looking forward to.

My kids have jumped into new stages in their growth. Fi took a leap in confidence and independence this summer. She now swims right out into the water (with water wings) never looking back. Last night she rode her bike without me holding on to the back for the first time. She sat so tall in her seat, just radiating pride at her accomplishment. I am looking forward to seeing what steps in confidence she takes this year in third grade.

Jo has finished the potty training journey, except for nights. We are enjoying his very responsible attention to the messages from his body, as well as the accompanying announcements, at full volume, in all places - public or private. He is very serious about where we do and do not pee; not in his very special fire fighter underwear or on George Curious (more special underwear), who would not like us to pee on him. We do pee in the potty, or off the peeing rock if we are playing outside. I am looking forward to the huge changes in him as he has his last pre-school year.

I look at my kids and wonder at how quickly they are growing up. It seems just yesterday we were bringing Fi home from the hospital (with LK driving 20km/h to protect his precious cargo). It also seems a lifetime away; I can barely remember what life was like before kids. Yet, before I know it they will be building homes of their own and I will be facing retirement.

But not today. Today I look forward to the joys of the next, and pray the I will continue to see the blessings of each day as I live them.

Comments

My dearest LK is faithful about staying up-to-date on what is happening in the world around us. He faithfully check the Globe and Mail in the mornings to check in with the world. When he reads something that he thinks I would be interested in (usually articles on education - I am not nearly as broad in my interests as he is) he sends me a link.

Yesterday I read the latest article he sent a link to. The article was discussing the EQAO testing and the fact that the Ontario Federation of Teachers is calling for the test to be looked at; is it helpful, effective, cost-effective?

Now, I should know better than to read the comments on education articles. But dialogue is such a key part of examining an idea more deeply for me. So I foolishly clicked on the comments and waded in.

That was a mistake. It seems to me that most Canadians hate teachers. At least most Canadians who comment on education articles in the Globe and Mail hate teachers. I have not read an article in the education section where the comments do not degenerate in a teacher-bashing party. It is very discouraging.

Usually I get all angry and fired up after reading the comments and want to personally email all of them and invite the walk a mile in my shoes before judging me. I want to rant about the unfairness of judging an entire profession based on a small sampling. I don't think all dentists are out to defraud me because I had one bad experience with a dentist. If I did, most people would tell my I am being ridiculous.

Why is it okay to do this with teachers?

Since I can't do that, I am learning not to take all the bashing personally, and am starting to be able to focus on the comments where people actually comment on the news, not the profession. But there were over 400 comments to wade through. Any idea how many were actually commenting on the article? Less than 100. Sad.

Between the difficulty in getting a job and the major hate-on Canadians have for our teacher, it's a miracle that there are still so many young people who want to be teachers out there.

Running Bliss

Running Goddess is home. It was absolute bliss this morning to run together.

The run itself, not so fun. I have been on vacation and so have been only doing short runs to 'maintain'. There really is no maintaining without the hills. And I had forgotten the gloriously challenging hills that are Grassy roads. So, we have a new goal, get those hill legs back.

But the talk during the run. Oh my. Let's just say that I am a social runner to the core. I love to run with company and chat. And when I can chat with someone who is funny, positive, and lets me blather on sometimes after the point has disappeared around a bend somewhere behind us, I am in heaven.

So, welcome home Running Goddess. Here's to many chatter-filled runs this year and lots of collegial dialogue. It is going to be a good year.

Laughed Until I Cried

Check out www.catalogliving.net. LK showed it to me last night and we laughed so hard we had tears streaming down our faces.

First Monday

For teachers, this time of year is New Year's. We literally start a new year every September. Today is First Monday for us, hopefully. Since I am a hopeless chat-and-visit junkie when at school with colleagues, particularly after not seeing them all summer, I need to work on getting the classroom organized and planning before my dear colleagues all arrive. That way I get my chat-and-visit fix when they arrive, all while distracting them from their work, and also am prepared for the first day of school.

Here we start a week before the traditional Canadian start of Labour Day. I don't know why, but we also are finished a week before most Canadian boards. That is very nice in June. So August 30 is the big day this year. Staff meetings starts next Monday. That means this Monday is my big starting day.

I am just waiting to find out if the hall floors have finished being waxed. For some reason they were left until the very last moment and were not done when I went to pick up mail on Friday. Hopefully they will be done today because I am getting that anxious feeling of being behind. Already.

Church Check-In

Our first Sunday back and we were glad to be able to see familiar faces in church this morning. It is exciting to go away and come back to friendly faces.

In the spring we were battling too many germs and burnout, so we took a sabbatical from church for a few months. After traveling over the past month and visiting home churches of family and friends it is good to be home.

Fi was excited to go to Sunday school, which she does not do when we are visiting. She was full of news about what the plans are for this year in the car on the way home.

Jo is in his second day of big boy underwear and was a bit stressed to be out of the house. We made sure to show him the washroom as soon as we got to church, but he didn't want to use it. Thankfully he was able to wait until we got home. He has been dry all morning after going through most of his underwear yesterday.

So on the grocery list this week; more underwear for Jo and more mouse traps since there is more mouse evidence in the laundry room again today.

All's Quiet on the Western Front

It seems the mice have either figured out where the traps are in two nights, or there were only two of them. Hmmm.

When I did my online hunt for ideas, there were several people who said that too many people underestimate the number of mice when dealing with the problem. They don't end up getting rid of them all, which leads to more mice (since the little darlings love to make more mice). I have that phrase on repeat in my mind all the time.

No new droppings anywhere that I can find this morning, though.

Ah well, me and my Javex will keep on cleaning and see what we can find. Today's agenda; moving stove and washer/dryer to clean and sterilize behind and underneath both.

On the bright side, all this cleaning is really good for my house. It doesn't usually get quite this much elbow grease. I am more of a 'good enough' housekeeper than a 'good housekeeping' housekeeper.

War Update

As of this morning: People - 2, Mice - 0.

Dead mice on my laundry room floor. Yuck! Javex is my new best friend.

Thanks to online searches I feel like a mouse expert now and have all sorts of facts tromping around in my head. They can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime. They have 5-7 babies in a litter. They can produce over 100 babies in one year. We better take care of this problem soon, before too many litters are born.

Back to the battle. More cleaning today with my friend Javex, but first a run.

The Mouse War: Episode 1

Well, our welcome home has been tempered by the discovery of new residents in our house; mice. Yuck!

We had planned a quick unpack when we arrived home last night and took extra time when we broke camp at Kakabeka Falls to have everything well organized for unpacking quickly. However, when we walked into the house we discovered that our new house guests had made free with the kitchen and left traces of their presence all over counters and floors.

So, before even unpacking the trailer we set to work cleaning and sterilizing counters and floors so we could come into our own home. Thankfully we had left all food that we opened or in paper packaging in Rubbermaid tubs with lids for the summer. But, they still managed to find enough to set up house in our house.

Today the battle was continued in the laundry room with vacuuming and scrubbing of all the shelving and all our pots and pans on the shelves. More Rubbermaid tubs have been employed to seal all dry goods up and out of reach.

We finished by setting four traps baited with bread and peanut butter for them tonight around the garbage can, which appears to be where the most traces of mouse presence are left. I hope to hear the sweet sound of SNAP! SNAP! tonight before I fall asleep.

Tomorrow the battle continues.

Home, Sweet Home

The best thing about holidays, after the relaxing and sleeping in to decadent times of the morning, is coming home and remembering all the things that make home where my heart really is. Here are a few that came to my mind as we arrived at home yesterday:

1. Sleeping in my own bed.
2. Running into people I know in town, and having them smile to see me.
3. The comfortable feeling of driving familiar roads, with little changes that make it new and wonderful to see again.
4. A brand new deck that is finished and fabulous; what a great welcome home surprise!
5. Cooking in my own kitchen, where everything is stored where it makes sense to me (or to LK), and where the groceries that I like are regularly stocked.
6. Checking books out of the library.
7. Grocery shopping in a store where I can find everything.
8. Having my full wardrobe to choose my outfit from.
9. More than four pair of shoes to wear.
10. Did I mention sleeping in my own bed!?!

And those are just a few of the things that I treasure. I could go on and on about what makes home so sweet. Travel is good. Seeing loved ones is good. Being home in my own space is great.

Touching Base

Our family and friends time is finished for another year (unless some of you are able to come our way...) and we are winding up that bittersweet last day. Bitter because we are loath to let go of our time with you. Sweet because we are eager to be our own family unit once more and head for home sweet home.

There was far too much to rehash at this time, and most of you were involved in our visits in some way. I won't blog about all of our visits except to say that we were hosted graciously by all, showered with love and affection, and felt a year's worth of family and friends all in a short few weeks. Thank you.

Now we are about to move on to the sequel section of our holiday; camping around Lake Superior. We are enjoying the luxuries of one last hotel stay tonight, wireless Internet, a hot shower right next to the bed, a real mattress that is plenty wide enough for sprawling sleepers, and breakfast served to us in the lobby when we rise and shine. So this will be my last blog until we are home again.

Tomorrow we start a trip around the Lake with stops at three provincial parks and exploring Thunder Bay. We are looking forward to a real run with the COW and plan to be experts at camp setup and teardown by this time next week.

With hopes of sunny skies, lots of trails for running, and cosy campfires; see you all when I get home.