Winter Beauty

The view from my kitchen window this morning.

It is a beautiful way to end the year.

Heard over the pulpit today (while Allen was conducting): ...and for our intermediate hymn we will sing, "Let Us All Pass On."

Tired of this year yet, dear?

Flames Game

The kids and I volunteer in the concession at games and concerts at McMahon stadium and at the Saddledome. Perhaps volunteer is a bit of a misnomer. We do get the money eventually. It goes to swimming. The Flames organization has a deal set up where kids can earn money for sports and school trips. They actually consider it a donation to kids sports. It is really great. The work isn't glamorous, but it is nice for them to be able to work and contribute towards costs. They get tips, which is fun. They are usually spent on mini donuts or in the Flames store.  Best of all, we often get to watch parts of the game or concert - the last part anyway!

We also get to see all sorts of interesting behind the scenes stuff. For example, last night as we were leaving this guy was loading up all the St. Louis Blues hockey bags. Huge bags, all matching, each with a players number on it. Best looking hockey bags I have seen in a long time! They are a far cry from those poor bags that get drug through the snow after being dumped out of the back of a truck at the rec centre where my kids have swim practice. And I guess another benefit of being a pro is someone hauls your equipment around for you (although, judging from the moms I see hauling hockey bags at the rec centre there are a lot of pro kids in Calgary).

Last night, when we arrived, there were about 10 police men at the security desk where players, employees and important people come in. They were all decked out like sharpshooters you see on TV: bullet proof vests, dull grey outfits with big black boots, and really big guns. When we walked in, I said to one, "Are we expecting trouble tonight?" He did the best don't-respond-and-show-no-emotion I have seen in a long time. 

Turns out they were there because Stephen Harper attended the game. He picked a good one. Flames won it in overtime in a shoot out. Very exciting!

Weaving

Peirce has always liked weaving. He wraps strings around cardboard and weaves stuff like no kid I have ever known.

Allen discovered that a friend of mine knew how to do REAL weaving, and had a loom. He asked if Peirce could come over and do some weaving. The stuff he makes is absolutely incredible! He has even created his own patterns. He is one talented kid :)

Big! At Storybook Theatre

Tonight we got to go see Big at Storybook Theatre. It was especially fun because Peirce's friend, Gabe, was in the play!

We thoroughly enjoyed the story. It was a great time! Our family really loves Storybook Theatre!!

Winter celebration

Peirce's school had a fabulous winter celebration. It was really great. I really love French Canadian celebrations! you can check it out here.

Pronghorn Meet!

My family is all gone to Lethbridge for a meet so I'm watching from afar. So far things are going well! go Jill!

In the end, she took time off everything! Now that is a good weekend!

LDs and ED

Today was early dismissal. I have a love hate relationship with EDs. I always want to make it a special day, the kind of day that kids really want to be sure to never miss. Today we had a research day to launch the structure projects we are doing for science. It was a crazy day. Not all the links I had planned (and tested just the night before!) worked. We had indoor recess so there were no breaks. It was a mini marathon of madness.....but I would say we could call it a success.

In the afternoon we had a presentation about learning disabilities. I'd have to give it a mixed review. It was good to be made aware again of the challenges kids can be experiencing with their learning. However, there are so many questions. How do I know if a kid has a learning disability or they're just surfing along on the "that's good enough" mantra. 

I suppose I will turn to the only way I know to get some answers.....keep reading. And all along the way, remember to add a little more kindness and gentleness when it comes to interacting with children.

....but first, I have a huge pile of marking to plow through! Good thing for cold days (apparently the coldest in the world). I have no desire to go out tonight!

Snow day!!

We have had the blizzard of the decade. I remember this happening a lot when I was a kid-but I don't think my kids have seen it in their lifetime. There was so much snow that today school busses didn't run. That just doesn't happen! 

Unfortunately, I still had to work. I was scheduled to go to an iPad workshop. It was so amazing!! I learned a ton. I was really glad I braved the crazy roads and went.

The kids stayed home. They found some awesome drifts and built a fort in one of them. So much fun!

Favorite Place

This is my new favourite place in my house. I love to sit here early in the morning, or late at night with the light on and read or pray or just think.

Love it.

Nerdlution

Exercise every day. Good goal.

That's all fine and dandy to say when you have a week off of school. So far it hasn't happened.

So, I'm a little leery to join in the nerdlution.
And I'm really eager to join the nerdlution.

What's the nerdlution? I heard about it on Twitter. I read about here and here and here and here and here.

Basically, it's a bunch of people committing to a new habit for 50 days - from today until Jan 20th.

I can't help it. I'm in. There is a long list of things I should do. I'm trying to keep it simple. For the next 50 days I will:

1. Spend time on my SS lesson each day - even if it's just 10 minutes. I will think about it and work on it a little every day.
2. Read for at least 30 minutes a day.
3. Plan something every school day to share my love of books and reading with my class.

I'd like to put exercise in there too....baby steps.

...and I'll blog about it. Here goes!

Strengthening My Muscles

If you are a runner, you will know what I am talking about. It's that moment when you realize you could probably run forever. Something clicks and you just go and go and go. I'm working on that. I've been going to the gym this week and I have been alternating running and walking, and I feel like it is a great move. It feels great. I feel more limber. My lungs feel strong. I think I just might become a runner!

Reading is like that for me too. Sometimes I just have time for little snippets of reading here and there. Life gets too busy and I just don't have time for long stretches of reading. Like not exercising, gradually your muscles start to weaken and pretty soon starting up again is really really hard.

This week I have also been doing lots of reading. Something has clicked and I have my reading muscles back. I can read for hours! A books day is reasonable...well, the right book, anyway.

....and it feels so good!!!

You can read about the books I've been enjoying on my book blog.

Remembrance Day

Peirce spent this morning with his scout troop at a Remembrance Day service at the cenotaph. Pretty cold, but a wonderful experience.

We will remember.

Fall Invitational

Today I woke up at my usual 4:30 am. I decided to get up and get ready for the day since we needed groceries and Superstore opens at 6:00 am (although, I discovered, it's difficult to shop at 6:00 am because they have boxes and junk strewn all over the place! ....customer awareness really isn't their forte). However, it is nice to be able to zip around the store with no one else there. Heck, there isn't even anyone really paying attention to the self-check out tills (not that that's a good thing!)

Anyway, we grabbed some things and were off for a 7:30 am warm up at Foothills Pool. Jill swam in the morning and Peirce swam in the afternoon. I was shadowing as the Chief Finishing Judge for the entire day (translation....sit on a hard bench all day long and review finish times....yawn!)

Jill's highlights:

3 seconds off 100 breast
Lovely tea party or something while doing 200 IM (translation: added time)
Same time for 100 back
Relay team totally dominated!

Peirce's highlights:

7 seconds off 100 breast
Good entertainment for 200 IM (did 75 of fly and 25 of back....oops! DQ!)
Same time for 50 free
Took off 50 seconds on 400 free
Relay team totally dominated!

All in all it was a good day.

....not such a great day for my sore tailbone though. Time to lay down and read, I'd say!

Lawrence Hill, Author Visits Calgary

Last year, in book club, we read The Book of Negroes. It is an amazing story. Check out my blog post about it.

This year for OBOC (that's nerdy reading people lingo for One Book One Calgary) chose The Book of Negroes for their book. Tonight they had a lecture by the author and I got to go! Even better, I went with a friend! It was so interesting to listen to him. I'm always fascinated by authors. I find them to be curiously smart and great with language.



"I wrote the book to remind us of our own history...and to celebrate the resilience of the human spirit." ~Lawrence Hill

"Blood fills our imagination just as surely as it fills our veins" ~Lawrence Hill

They even had a cool band start off the night:

Feels Like Christmas!

Today after school it felt like Christmas. All the kids left quickly. I let them do their homework in class so they wouldn't have any homeork. All the teachers were giddy. Why?! It's Fall Break!!

Fall break?! What a concept!

We went back a week earlier than usual in August and so we now get a week off in November. Apparently November is the month with the highest absenteeism amongst students and teachers.

I'm quite excited. Not quite sure what I will do this week. I do have some report cards to finish. I've got lots of work to do around the house. I've got lots of books to read. And I want to do lots of exercise. I'm sure the week will go by quickly!

Sometimes School Stinks

I remember many a conversation when my husband and I became parents. We had no idea poo would be such a big part of parenting.

I had no idea it would be such a big part of teaching either.

Well, it's not always poo. Sometimes it's other bodily functions.

Pee: Kids pee their pants. More often than you want to know. Even in Gr. 3.

Poo: Sometimes kids just want to keep playing at recess, so they don't go to the bathroom soon enough. Sometimes that really backfires on them (no pun intended).

Sometimes the teacher has to help them with their messed up pants. Sometimes the poo falls out 'plop' right on the  floor. True story. Luckily that wasn't me!

Sometimes there are mystery poos. A few weeks ago one of my colleagues said she found a piece of poo in her room. No one would own up to it. It was a mystery poo that somehow got out of someone's pants.

Barf: A couple years ago one of my students arrived at school and his back pack was full of barf. We never figured out who did it. No one went home sick that day. No one had barf breath (I checked). It was mystery barf...and one messed up backpack. And the books. Oh the books!!

Then there are rotten lunches. I had a kid who brought his lunch to school every day in a grocery store bag. I guess his parents didn't bother checking to see what he ate. Sometimes he didn't drink the milk that got handed out to him. He just put it in his backpack - until one fateful day when all the food began to rot and stink to high heaven. We thought it was poo. It took a long time and a series of eliminations (Is it the snow pants? Maybe someone fell in poo without knowing....take out all the snow pants. Nope. Is it a jacket? Maybe it got on a jacket. Take out all the jackets. Nope. Room still smells like poo. Is it a back pack? Examine all the back packs. Nothing....until we come across one....open it up and holy hell!! There it was)

These are the things they never tell you when you're in school to be a teacher.

Good thing. I might not have bought into the idea.

Yup. It's been a rough week.

Choose Kind!

Today, for me, is Choose Kind Day. It's a saying, from a great book I read, called Wonder.

When I was pregnant with Destiny I felt like she was a gentle little girl. I still feel strongly that she was very kind. After she was born, I felt a strong desire to be a little kinder, especially to children. I have decided that today is my own official Choose Kind day, in remembrance of her.

I'm so blessed to have people who remember her birthday every year. She would have been six years old this year. Maybe she would have been coming to school with me and been in kindergarten or grade one this year. Imagine how different life would be if we had a six year old in our family!




I also got flowers from my cousin. I was doing fine until she showed up to tell me she loves me!! Lots of tears. They're grateful tears though.



I remember, when she was first born, how hard it was to talk about her. I couldn't do it without crying. People said it would get easier with time. I couldn't imagine it ever getting easier - but it really does. I can even accept now that maybe it all happened for a good reason. She brought something into our fmaily that couldn't have happened any other way.  I do feel blessed for having gone through the experience.

We love you Destiny. You will always be real to me.

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”
“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.
“Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
“I suppose you are real?” said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled.
“The Boy’s Uncle made me Real,” he said. “That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.”
The Rabbit sighed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him. He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; and yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad. He wished that he could become it without these uncomfortable things happening to him.

  The Velveteen Rabbit (emphasis my own)

 

This passage really touches me because some people are really uncomfortable talking about the whole Destiny story. They aren't sure what to say when it comes to a baby that is dead. I'm okay talking about it, but I try not to make other people feel uncomfortable. As ugly as the whole situation is, it is beautiful to me.



Bottle Drive

We had a bottle drive today. Unfortunately the snow didn't arrive soon enough to cancel it ahead of time. It all came down during the bottle drive though!



....these kids have fun no matter what they're doing!

Math

My math class is such a hoot. I asked them to do some reflecting on math - what they're good at, what they need to work on, etc.

Some of my favorite comments on: ....when it comes to math, I wish....

 

• I wish I could be taller and be picked to answer questions
• I wish we could eat during math (a girl after my own heart...er, stomach?)
• I wish the word problems were harder and the skip counting was easier
• I wish it was all simpler

Life Changing Moments

 

This morning I almost died. Serious.

I was sitting at a red light. I heard a big crack and looked in my rear view mirror to see a little car flying down the road straight at me. I didn't even really have time to think or do anything. Right as the car got to me it suddenly turned, flew over the median (luckily there was no traffic in the oncoming lanes) and hit a tree dead on.

I drove my vehicle around the corner and then ran out to help. We had our first snowfall last night so the snow is kind of deep. I was slipping and falling and trying to get there as fast as I could....it was surreal. The car was totally wrecked. The driver was probably in his early 20s. My guess is he had a seizure. He kept going in and out of consciousness while I was on with 911.

Once the firetrucks came I left. It was an odd feeling to just walk away - but they said the police have my info from the 911 call so I could leave. That's when the emotions kicked in.

My guess is this is the first seizure this guy has had....his life has changed today.

So has mine.

Grateful to be alive. Grateful to be able to tell the story and not be hurt. I should have been hit. I had actually just turned the radio off a few blocks previous and was talking to God as I drove.

 

Man, did I say a prayer of gratitude after.

Book Whisperer Presentation

Last Spring I was asked to teach a workshop on reading for the Charter School Conference this fall. I had read The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller and was quite excited about it. That, along with my grade 3 book club, and perhaps my obsession about books, made me the perfect victim. I was thrilled!

I also ended up doing the same workshop for the International Reading Association this past week. It's good to have to present something more than once. By the 3rd time I had a pretty good presentation going!

I really enjoyed preparing for this. I probably should have started preparing my slides sooner, but that seems to be my style. I ruminate on a subject forever, and then at the last minute pull it all together. It would be better on my nerves though if I could somehow convince myself the deadline was sooner than the actual deadline and have it done early. I always see right through that when I try to do that to myself though.

All I know is I truly do love reading with kids. I love kids books. I also love reading. It is wonderful to be able to talk to people about something you really love. Last year I was asked to do a presentation on Storybird.com - which is a pretty cool website. There sure was a difference talking about something I'm passionate about though!

....now I really must get working on report cards.

Wayne Who?

I'm having the kids in my class write a biography about a friend - so I wanted to teach them what a biography is by watching a few videos of famous people. I tried Wayne Gretzky. No one had heard of him. No. That's not true. One person thought they had heard of him. "He played hockey in the olden days in Calgary."

 *sigh*

 Kids these days!!!

Things I Loved About Last Week

It has been a great week.

1. I took my kids to a really fun concert by Rick Scott on Monday. I picked them up at the pool with dinner in hand and persuaded them to go to it with me. They agreed on the condition that I wouldn't stay and talk to people forever after it was over. Deal! It was a lot of fun. Rick Scott is amazing and they recognized that.

2. I got an email from a mom of a child in my class. I had told her how one day her son was calculating how long it was until bed time. I asked if he was tired. He wasn't. He was excited to be able to read our book club book, The Witches, with his mom, as they do every night. She told me she'd been reading it aloud to him and really enjoying it. She also said that she doesn't ever remember reading a book from start to finish in school and wanted to change that for her son.

Isn't that awesome?!

3. We had an awesome assembly on Friday. We did the cup song with our own words. Tricky!!

4. I got to volunteer at the football game Friday night ( $ goes to swimming). Peirce loves it. Loves it! He really wants to grow up and get a job and is excited to have something on his résumé (must be his dad's son). I was excited because I got to just sell beer tickets rather than work in the concession - our regular spot. The ticket booth is heated!! Best kept secret!

5. I have the best husband ever. He keeps gas in my van. I hate checking oil, getting gas, etc. I can totally do that. - but he does it for me because he knows I hate it. Ahhhhhhh!!!!!

Time

I'll admit it. Our life is a little crazier than most people's. We get up very early in our house - which means we go to bed very early. On swim days we leave the house at 5:00 am. On seminary days we leave at 6:15 am. I do marking, read my scriptures, walk (although not enough lately!), write (I am going to be a writer, I decided!) and reading while I wait for Jill. I have my book club book, my grade three book club book, and books I just plain old want to read. I have more to do than I can do in the time I have.

So, that is why I am amazed at other parents I see just sit. Sit and watch. I don't see it at seminary so much. Most parents read or work or walk their dog or do something. However, at the pool, there is always a core group if people who just sit there. No judgments......but really, I just don't get it!

There. I finally said it. I have wondered this for years!!

How does one get that life?! Seriously? Every day you can't think of anything more to do than just sit and watch? Maybe they care more about their kid. I don't know. I think it's pretty boring though to watch them swim back and forth and back and forth. Besides, there is so much to do!!

I seriously don't get it.

Maybe I should get them to do my marking. Mwah ha ha!!!!

Service

I noticed the other day that Jill's iPod was cracked and asked her about it. She said she dropped it while delivering flyers for the food drive. She said she also got shin splints that day.


"Sometimes service warms your heart. And sometimes you 

just get a broken iPod and shin splits" -Jillian Ackroyd




Sadly, that's the way service goes sometimes.

Sentence of the Day

The word to be included in the sentence was delight. We are learning about prepositional phrases to start off sentences. The challenging part seems to be where to put the comma.

After we fixed the comma, this one was perfect. (Did you see what I just did there? LOL)

...and it sure made me chuckle.

"Before I go, I will delight my girlfriend."

Friendship

In my class we are reading stories that follow the theme of friendship. This past week we read a story about a little boy who had to go stay with a family during the week while his mother worked. The older boy thought this little boy was quite annoying for a number of reasons. I thought many of the reasons were quite justified. He was a greedy little guy, always wanting whatever the older boy had. The older boy had to take him places with him where he never had to do that before. He would okay with the older boys toys and break things....typical kid stuff.

After we read the story a couple times I had the kids write a paragraph about whether or not they would like this little boy has a friend. The majority wrote as I expected: that they would not like him for a friend. There were a handful though who said they would have him for a friend. They felt bad for him that his mother had to leave him with another family and they thought maybe he'd be sad or lonely and needed extra love. It was so touching.

One interesting thing to note: the kind paragraphs came from kids of all sorts of religious backgrounds. A Jehovah's Witness, Mormons, and Muslims. If only this could be magnified for the whole world to see. Perhaps we would have a little more peace in the world.

September

It's over. September is one of the craziest months of my working life. Well, September and June! You can tell it is crazy busy by the number if posts and number if km's walked. I didn't even get to 50 km this month with walking, and only 3 blog posts. I made it though!  I'm feeling a little more in control, feeling like I have a bit of a handle on the kids in my class, feel like we are deep into the routines of school life.

.....now to get over this cold :)

Emerging Readers

To me, nothing is greater than getting kids excited about books.

I have one student in my class who has never read a chapter book. I've done all kinds of songs and dances so far this year trying to find a book for him to read. They're all too long, too boring, not enough pictures, and simply not interesting enough. I found one this week that was about bunnies - an Animal Ark adventure. I showed it to him and he agreed to have a look. He came to me and said, "Mrs. Ackroyd, I really prefer books that have a picture on every page. There aren't enough pictures in here." I encouraged him to give it a go. The sales pitch didn't go well. Finally, I resorted to bribery.

"If you read this book I'll give you a no homework ticket."

I knew that is his weak spot. (hee hee)

He took on the challenge. Yesterday he came to me and told me he was finished! It took him four days. The book was 133 pages. He said, "I feel so proud of myself! I've never read a book this big before!"

I could have just hugged the poor boy to death. The principal walked by about then and so I grabbed her and said, "You've got to see what he's done!" She gave him a suitable amount of praise and love. She said, "I'm dying to hear what you read next!" I said, "Oh ya! If you read this book, do you think you might be able to read another?" He said maybe he'd give it a go.

Here's hoping!!!

------------------------------------

I have some kids in my class who spend all of quiet reading time perusing the books in the library corner. Drives me bonkers! I finally decided enough was enough. I got the book on CD of The Invention of Hugo Cabret and got some head phones and one of those doo-hickies that allows multiple kids to listen at the same time. I picked three kids - two of which just don't stick with books (one I put in there just because with that one there won't be any silly behavior issues....maybe a calming influence??) They seem to really be enjoying the book. Today was one of my favorite moments.

Everyone in the room is finally quiet and into their books. Suddenly, there's a stirring at the listening center. Something exciting has happened in the book. One of the boys suddenly says (you know how when you have ear phones on and you don't realize you're talking loud?), "Oh. My. God!"

Everyone in the class stopped and had to know what was going on.

I love love love that he was so into the story that he had to vocalize his shock.

A New Attitude

I was reading in 1 Nephi today and was struck by the story of Laman and Lemuel and Nephi. It was clear to me that murmuring and grumbling is a way to not hear God's voice. It is interesting that Laman and Lemuel went with Nephi and Sam to get the plates after Lehi asked them to go back to Jerusalem, but all along the way they grumbled and murmured about it.

It made me think of myself. I sometimes spend a lot of energy grumbling about all the things I have to do for other people. I have decided that this year I will stop grumbling and just enjoy it. Driving kids is a great time to visit with them and strengthen our relationship. Waiting for kids is a great time to read or to walk - a person can walk anywhere. I just have to remember to always have the right shoes with me! And serving other people is a great opportunity to feel the spirit and get closer to God - if I'll only not grumble about it.

Laman and Lemuel grumbled. Nephi instead got a fixed determination to accomplish what he'd been asked to do. No wonder he was the stronger one.

And 1 Nephi 4:1 is a great thing to remember. God is mightier than all. If I put him first and make sure I'm reading my scriptures daily I'm sure he will help me make it through the long list of things there are to do each day.

News

Can you tell school is in full swing? I haven't been posting much because I've been running off my feet. We've had a good beginning to the year though.

Peirce's school started the year off by being in the news. He isn't in the clip, but it was pretty cool to have his school in the news anyway.



My school was in the news too. They did a piece on charter school waits. You can see me twice in this clip.

 

 

Fourth Month of 100 km

Another 100 km in the books. It wasn't easy this month. At first I thought maybe I could do 150 km if I walked to and from school every day the past two weeks. Problem was there were plenty of days with meetings somewhere else, days that were going to be too hot, and the simple fact that driving is just so nice! I have walked most mornings since school started - but this week I had to do some extra walks. Thursday I did 9 km, Friday I did 8 km, and today was back to my regular 6 km. Phew! Made it to 100 - no more, no less.

Too bad another month starts tomorrow!! The exciting thing, though, is that this month I will go over 1000 km since I started walking! According to Daily Mile I'm currently at

First Day of School

Today was our first day of school. As if there isn't enough to do and worry about - but today a news crew from CBC showed up as well. They were in the courtyard while everyone was milling about, which was very exciting. Then they went around with our principal to find interesting things going on in classrooms. They decided what we were doing was interesting enough to stay and film us for about 15 minutes. Oh my shattered nerves! LOL Apparently it will be on the news next week.

Besides the news crew, it was a terrific day. I have a really nice bunch of kids. I'm excited about this year and looking forward to a lot of great discussions and reading a lot of great books together.

Jill's August

For the month of August Jill has been babysitting her cousins. I wish I could have her babysit my kids - or babysit me. She's so fun!

Chef Peirce

Allen is always interested in helping Peirce learn more about things he expresses an interest in - especially if it helps with a scouting badge. That's how this started. He set up a deal for Peirce to be able to go to Joey Tomatoes and learn about being a chef! He made a pie while he was there. So fun!