The Final Countdown

Well, 2nd quarter has come to an end. I am exhausted. The past two weeks the kids have been off the walls because of Thanksgiving Break and the coming Christmas Break. My head is spinning. Most days I come home from school and almost immediately fall asleep on the couch. Needless to say, I am ready for a break. I am currently sitting in my classroom waiting for parents to come conference with me. As I sit here I can't help but think about Friday: the day I travel back to Palmer. Friday seems like forever away. I have a lot to do until then...I just don't have the energy to do it. For example, I have to have at least two days of lesson plans and materials out before I leave for break just in case I don't make it back (planes might not be able to fly because of the weather).

I had a couple of interesting cultural experiences. An elder past away so I learned the community rituals. The body stays in the home in a casket for several days until the funeral. During that time, people in the village come to the home and see the family. Then, for the funeral, the whole village shuts down until the funeral is over. The church is packed with people. It's really a cool experience to be apart of village events (even though that one was very sad). Another experience I had was during the Thanksgiving Basketball tournament. The villages thrive in basketball. We went to the city gym and watched all the teams. The crowd gets super into it! It's fun to see who everybody roots for. Even my students have a favorite team and talk about it. 

Anyway, this quarter went fast. I didn't feel like I had enough time to effectively teach anything. My students struggled immensely with division. I honestly cannot figure out how to teach it in any other way. I've gone through my books, I've looked online, I've talked to teacher after teacher. Nothing seems to be working, but I have to keep moving on. Hopefully it'll come with some more time.

I decided to just focus on science this quarter. We learned about the animal life cycle and the human body. I was very impressed by how hard the kids worked and how much information they retained. Last week, the class learned about the brain. I was so excited that my sister was a guest speaker (via Skype). It was much better for them to learn about the brain from an expert rather than me. The kids LOVED her and were so curious about her and her life. It was great to see her again, even if it was through Skype. My students also discovered microscopes and had a blast exploring. I was able to get some great science shots of my students being curious.

Now, the best thing of all....The Christmas Program!! It was a success! We practiced how to walk on stage and our order. The kids practiced watching me and waiting for the commands (records up, ready, 1,2,3,4). My goodness we knocked them dead. I was definitely nervous, but I went in with the attitude that I've done all the teaching that I can do, and now it was up to them. Even the students I was really worried about did well. I am so relieved that it is over. Now, I just have to prepare for music next quarter. My students complain about it and say it's boring, but once they get it that's all they want to do. Music is too important for me to let it go though...so they will just have to get over it!! :)

Well, my friends, I am counting down the days until I hop on the little Bush plane and fly back to the Valley. I have a lot of preparation to do, but I'm ready to just do nothing. 3rd quarter is going to be long. SBAs are in April so 3rd quarter will be a race to get everything done to prepare.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

P.S. I'm trying to get my pictures uploaded!

Christmastime is Coming

Happy Thanksgiving! This quarter is going by so quickly! I feel that 2^nd quarter has been more of a success than first. I have made a lot of small changes that have made me feel more in control and like I am making good progress toward becoming a better teacher.

I have become very attached to my students, which is definitely helping as the year progresses. Currently, we only have two and a half weeks left in the quarter (then Christmas break!!)! My students have been working very very hard at the recorder in order to prepare for the Christmas Program in two weeks. I know that I am getting super nervous. Some people are finding my class very annoying with the recorders, which makes it that much harder for me to feel prepared. I’m hoping that my class will really step it up during the performance. They all know how to play it, but it’s a matter of playing together as opposed to playing at the same time. We’ll see….

It’s getting colder as the winter progresses, but it hasn’t been too bad. I do have to wear my parka and facemask now. When I get a ride on a Honda I usually have to wear my goggles so that my eyes don’t get too watery. It’s all fun though. My body is adjusting to the cold pretty well. After mostly living in Oregon for the past four years I have forgotten how different the darkness is. It has finally reached the point of 10:30 or 11:00am sunrises. I can truly say that I am at school before the sun is up and after the sun is down.

My work hours are long and I am pretty exhausted, but the fact that there are only two and a half weeks left really helps move me along. Pippi is also a big help. She reminds me to play and to love. We often cuddle and she now runs around the apartment floor freely. She can be quite the character! The kids in the village love her and they all want Guinea Pigs (sorry parents).

Although stressful, I really love working here. St. Michael is treating me well. I miss Oregon a lot, but I know that I can make this my home too. It’s different from places I have lived recently, but the uniqueness makes it worthwhile.

Well, my friends, that is all for now. It really hasn’t been too eventful lately, just a lot of work. At this point, I’m praying for a successful end to the quarter and a fantastic Christmas Program.

Happy Holidays!