1.26.2013

I'M TEARING UP ACROSS YOUR FACE

I'll be honest: second term of the school year is the most difficult one. There are a number of reasons why this is. You're cramming work into only two and a half months instead of three and a half like the other terms, students and teachers come back from a lengthy two-week break from each other to find that motivation is hard to jump-start, and the weather is often uncooperative. Rainy days and most recently very foggy days turn into inside days for recess and lunch, forcing all of us to be cooped up inside the school eager for a chance to run outside. Consequently, we're more easily annoyed with each other and more easily distracted from our work. I remember last year around this time feeling the exact same, although I was much more unprepared since that was my first year with my own class. Now, believing myself to have enough years (6) of teaching experience to recognize this feeling and acknowledge its presence, I'm trying to do things in class that will lift my students' spirits and my own; art projects that take a multitude of days to complete, science worksheets that inevitably turn into art projects, and reading chapter after chapter of Roald Dahl novels for story time (so far I've read them four). Just as schedules and work ethics were getting going, I had my wisdom teeth pulled yesterday, putting a halt in my routine. Let's hope that sleep and apple sauce make for a smooth recovery.

wooden crocodile from Costa Rica, on my teacher desk

group project art, puzzle piece line colourings make up a frame for class pictures

my new fav pants, green baggy corduroys, from J.Crew.

dogpark in the fog, Olympic Village

couch shopping


solarium turned home study / plant sanctuary in our new apartment


four wisdom teeth, two intact, two in shards

1.12.2013

WAY UP HIGH, OR DOWN LOW, I'LL GO WHEREVER YOU WILL GO

Between the end of school, moving to a new apartment, Christmas time, strep throat, and a major toothache (which will lead to surgery, ugh...), my bf and I went to Costa Rica. It almost feels like I wasn't even there because it went by so quickly. But, when I have time to stop and close my eyes, I can see the bright green trees of the rainforest, dig my toes into the warm sands of the beach, and feel the hot sun beating down on my fair Vancouver skin. Here is Costa Rica, in the blink of an eye...