WHEN I LOOK AT THE WORLD

Anti-bullying day is this week, February 27th, and for all my years of being a teacher I have wanted to do an art project for it, something powerful, something inspiring, something meaningful. When I asked my students to come up with messages for anti-bullying day, they broke off into small groups and discussed what best to write. These messages are their own ideas, with my only help being to write their words on their hands in facepaint. It is projects like these that make me so proud to be their teacher, wherein most days I feel like the student, learning from them time and again.

LOVE CAN HARDLY LEAVE THE ROOM WITH YOUR HEART

Photos from this past weekend in Whistler. Sometimes I think it would be cool to live in a ski town, you get to dress in lots of wild colours and you can go to the bar with your toque on and no one cares. Also photos from Valentine's Day, a day where kids' clothing looks like a sea of pink and red and handmade cards are distributed and held in amazement. I cannot remember making valentines for my classmates when I was young, although I'm sure I did, but the time and effort that goes into them these days blows my mind. And finally, photos from an art project I'm creating with the help of my students for my Master's course. I can't actually show you what it is, because it's a secret, but it takes place in a curtained-off room in my class named ART SPACE, and you can only go in there alone to create something, and everyone contributes to the same 5x5 foot circular canvas. The first three days of the project have been so insightful, I couldn't have anticipated the issues that would come up with myself and my students designing it. One of the best parts about the project is that everyone who does something can only be in there alone, so when I go in at the end of the day to do my part, I see what's been done although I don't know by who. Children, when left to their own devices, have the most incredible imaginations and artistic abilities, and it has been so inspiring to see what my students have come up with. In another three weeks the project will be complete. I'll be sure to show you the final product.

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

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...