June 18, 2017: Kodiak kids are crazy

Here we are, on our last night of camp.  Traditionally on the last night there is a bonfire and the kids go swimming.  In the ocean.  At 8 PM.  This evening it was cold enough for me to wear all three of my jackets at the same time.  And the kids still swam.  Happily.

It kind of makes me want to live here forever so I can raise my own kids to be crazy bad asses.  Might be worth it.

June 17, 2017: Catcher's Beach

At camp today, everyone took a walk at low tide over to Catcher's Beach.  I guess it's called Catcher's Beach because the shore here catches all the garbage from the ocean.  We grabbed a big stash of trash bags, round up the kiddos, made sure we had our two gun carrying adults at the front and rear of the pack (one of the only hiking rules for the kids was "Stay between the guns."  That's one I hadn't heard on a field trip yet), and set out for the beach.  It was a beautiful hike.  The sun was out (still only 50, but sunny!!) and the kids were happy.   On our way to the beach we passed a patch of dead trees that are still standing.  Marya told me that these are trees that were killed in the 1964 tsunami that destroyed the village on the island. Apparently you can still see remnants of the village on certain parts of the island as well, but we didn't go see them.  I can imagine these trees are a powerful reminder of the destruction that fell on Kodiak in general, but especially on the people who lived in Afognak at the time.  They were eerie yet still beautiful.

Once we made it to Catcher's Beach, the kids all grabbed their trash bags and filled them with beach garbage.   Parts of old fishing nets, weathered water bottles, chunks of plastic with Japanese writing.  I saw three boys work together to carry a mattress sized piece of styrofoam from the beach back to camp.  Granted, they were more motivated by the prospect of it becoming their new raft once they were back at camp more than their desire to rid the beach of pollution, but do the details really matter?  Watching 30 kids hike back to camp with their yellow trash bags flung over their shoulders made me really happy.  The kids took pride in cleaning up a beach that very few people ever even get to see.

June 16, 2017: Petroglyphs

Tonight, after a full day of camp (which included failing yet again to master the stitch that Ms. Suzie was teaching us, learning the ins and outs of bear safety, zip lining, realizing that I was carving my paddle to be immensely fatter than everyone else's giving it the look of a banjo or halibut rather than a traditional paddle), we got invited to go out on a boat to see the Alutiiq petroglyphs.  This was a really, really awesome opportunity.  There are only a few spots on the entire island of Kodiak where you can find some of these carvings, and Afognak happens to be one of them.  While they are a little hard to see in the picture, they were easy to spot from the boat.  There are just a few of them (In the center of the rock to the left), and I learned that some of the pictures' meanings have been lost over the course of time.  I didn't think to ask if anyone knew what these symbols may have meant.

After we looked at the petroglyphs, we took a trip out to the little island where some of the adults and kids had successfully shot a seal that morning.  As we idled up to the island, we saw between 20-30 seals sun bathing on the beach and rocks.  As soon as they heard the boat, they jumped into the ocean, and the next 15 minutes or so, we watched their curious heads bob up here and there as they checked us out.  I have seen seals before while kayaking or from shore, but not this close, and definitely not this many at once.   Again, I felt really lucky to be part of the camp this week and to be able to see these sorts of things.  I know I was at camp to "help" with the kids, but I felt like I was being grossly overpaid with all these experiences :)

June 15, 2017: Dig Afognak

I was fortunate enough to spend a week at a summer camp called Dig Afognak.  It is run by the Native Village of Afognak.  They put on three different weeks of camp, each with a different theme for kids in Kodiak to learn more about the Alutiiq culture and history.  I attended Earth/Harvesting camp, but they also have a survivor camp and a music/language camp this summer.  Most of the kids who attend are Native, and there were a variety of different presenters and teachers who taught the kids sewing, carving, group games, how to harvest plants, bear safety, zipline, and language.  My job was to escort a group of kids (ages 9-14) through the different activities, but I got to participate in each activity alongside the kids.  I also slept in the kids' dorm along with 3 other teachers so we could help them at night if they needed anything.  This was such an amazing experience!  It was humbling to be a student again.  I think it's safe to say that I am a bit of a slow learner, and that I am decently unskilled in many areas (I actually stabbed myself in the leg with a carving knife while trying to carve my paddle).  I was amazed at how hard it was for me to remember the sounds in the Alutiiq alphabet, or retain Alutiiq vocabulary words for more than 45 seconds.  It was a great reminder that learning is hard, and I am hoping that it turns me into an even more patient and accommodating teacher this fall.

One of my favorite parts of the camp was being able to watch everyone process the animals after each hunt.  Since I am not native, I didn't participate in the hunts, but each time something was shot, it was brought back to the beach and everyone pitched in with helping clean and process the animal.  It was fascinating.  In the picture below, some of the adults are cutting the coat off of two of the sea otters that were hunted that morning.  In all, 8 sea otters, one seal, 11 fish, and 3 deer were caught this week.  Marya showed me how to scrape the extra muscle layer off of the seal intestines.  They can be used to make rain gear!

My favorite single moment at camp was one evening when we gathered on the beach to learn some Alutiiq songs and dances.  There is a group of young men and women who dance and sing, and a couple of them were at camp with us, so they led us through some of the songs.  We learned one about seal hunting (my new favorite), one about a whale giving itself as a gift to a village, a banya song, one about a spear being returned to the people, and countless others.   I felt very lucky to be included in this celebration of culture.

But this was just day one, and there are a lot more experiences to share..

June 14, 2017: Pyramid, take 2

Last summer I took my family up Pyramid for the first time.  It was a great hike, and it was supposed to be sunny that day, but the fog rolled in and it was hard to see much from the mountain top.  I have heard that the view on top of Pyramid is pretty incredible, so I was bummed that I didn't get to see it when we went.  I knew I'd need to go up again sometime this summer to see it.  Kinsey hasn't been to the top either, and today's weather looked like it was going to be sunny and clear, so we planned a quick hike before I left for Dig Afognak this afternoon.  We drove out to the mountain and saw that there was a good deal of fog surrounding the peak, but we were hopeful that by the time we got to the top, it would have cleared.  The weather was calling for sunny skies.  So we started the hike.  It never cleared.  This was our view from the top.  It was actually so foggy that we lost part of the trail and couldn't see where we were going.  For a few minutes I was afraid that we were going to be so lost that I would miss my boat over to Afognak.  Luckily we just wandered for a while and eventually stumbled across the trail again.  So 2 for 2 hikes up Pyramid without seeing the view!

June 13, 2017: Puffin Pride

I took Heather out on the kayak today for the first time!  We went around Near Island and saw a bunch of puffins.  I have seen them a few times, but this was the closest I have been to them yet.  I failed to get a good picture when they were flying over us, so this was the best I could do, but know that they were actually a lot closer!  Peterson Elementary's mascot is a puffin.  The winning team for field day gets to keep the school spirit stick in the classroom.  The stick has a big puffin on top of it.  It was in Heather's room all year because the teacher who had one it the previous year transferred and Heather took over her room, so she inherited the stick.  And kind of hated having it in there.  So I am fully convinced the puffins today sought us out specifically because Heather had Peterson Puffin spirit stick mojo or something.  

June 12, 2017: True Colors

We discovered today that Henry LOVES when Meagan and I serenade him.  Today we sang the "True Colors" song by Phil Colins to him and he squealed with excitement from his high chair.  Anytime we stopped he asked for more.  We might take our new singing show on the road.  I never felt confident in my ability to wow a crowd with my voice, but my moment is now.

June 11, 2017: Fruit Pizza in the making

I am not that person who ever takes pictures of food I am making.  For obvious reasons.  But I have a friend who loves fruit pizza, so I sent him this picture before church letting him know how awesome I was and that he better appreciate me.  And then I didn't take any more pictures today, so this is what you get to look at.  My life is so exciting.  I am ready for this blog to end :)

June 10, 2017: I am berry disappointed...

I decided to make fruit pizza for our small group potluck tomorrow.   Fruit is real expensive here, so I got Meg to agree to buy me the berries from the commissary since it's a lot cheaper there than it is at Safeway.  She found strawberries for $3.50 a container, which is a steal here!  They are usually at least $5 a piece.  I swear I am going to get scurvy because I am too poor to eat healthy.  :)  I went to Safeway later in the day to grab the non-fruit stuff I needed and saw that for the first time in history, strawberries were actually cheaper here than at the commissary.  Go figure.

June 9, 2017: Happy Birthday, Meg!

Henry looks just as excited about the cherry cheesecake that Kyle made as Meagan does.   And trust me, she's pretty excited. 

Happy 31st birthday, Meagan!  So happy I got to celebrate it with you and your family!

June 8, 2017: Swip swap. fail.

I decided to try to sell these hiking pants on swip swap, which is a facebook yard sale type group.  I have had this on my to-do list for a while and just haven't gotten around to it.  While I am proud of myself for digging them out of my closet and taking the picture of them, I guarantee it'll be another month or so before I get around to actually posting it on the site...  So much work...

June 7, 2017: Grossest humans ever

My friend Joel is neat.  Neat like clean.  He's also neat in the "different and cool" way, but that's not the kind of neat this story is going to talk about.  Some of our friends were talking about tidiness or something and the topic of making our beds came up.  Joel seemed extremely surprised to learn that I have only made my bed a handful of times in my adult life.  Not only surprised... maybe a little appalled.  I think the words, "I just can't believe that.  I never would have thought that about you," (with a slightly disapproving tone) came out of his mouth.   Then I told him that I also eat snacks in bed, and he just about lost it.  :)   So... tonight, Alanna and I decided to watch a movie, eat popcorn, and drink wine in my bed tonight.  Obviously we had to text this picture to Joel...

June 5, 2017: wildflowers and weeds

Just out for a beautiful summer run...

June 4, 2017: Rock on

We found another painted rock on our walk today.  We tried to make enthusiastic smiles, like the rock's.  Sure, I guess it worked. 

June 3, 2017: Recycled birthday cake

Happy birthday, John!  We had a little bonfire tonight and it happened to be John's birthday.  Nobody had prepared anything ahead of time, but Chris' birthday was the day before, (Happy Birthday, Chris) so we changed the 27 into a 24 and used the remains of Chris' cake to celebrate.  We are resourceful here in Kodiak!

June 2, 2017: Women's Bay shipwreck

My friend and coworker, Abbie, has never been kayaking before, so I took her out to Women's Bay.  I hadn't ever kayaked here before, but I heard there was a cool shipwreck you could go see.  It was pretty neat!  I don't know anything about the ship, or the story of how it sank, but it was cool to see.  My goal this summer is to expand my kayaking horizons.  I have heard that there is an island with a fox farm, an island with underground jail cells that you can see, and I still need to get out to whale pass.  Lots to see!

June 1, 2017: Super Awesome Brother

If the shirt says it, it must be true.  :)

May 31, 2017: Slowest. runner. ever.

I can't help but crack up every time I go watch Arthur play tee-ball.  The kid is actually pretty good at most sports, and tee-ball is no exception.  He is usually a pretty quick kid, but when he runs with his batting helmet on, he looks pained.   And he is sooooooo slow.  And if there is a puddle in the base line, he intentionally walks so he can stomp in it.  He's got potential.

May 30, 2017: First official day of summer

Today everyone else is going back to work.  Clearly, I am not.  Hammocking with Buskin and Jonelle is exactly what I want to be doing on my first day off.   Jonelle has become one of my dearest friends in Kodiak.  I am thankful for her wisdom and insight.  She has been a great encourager, and she's pretty funny, too.  I got to spend quite a bit of time with her over the last few days and am feeling a bit spoiled  :)   Buskin is my friend Jolene's dog, but she is letting me borrow him throughout the summer so I can get my puppy fix!

May 29, 2017: kayaking posse

This kind of stuff makes my heart happy. 

May 26, 2017: Best helper ever

HAPPY LAST DAY OF SCHOOL TO ME!!!  I spent the day cleaning out my room and getting ready for summer.  Meagan was sweet enough to come in for the morning and help me organize books, take down posters, inventory curriculum, wash book shelves, and laminate things for next year.  We had Arthur with us for an hour or two, and he insisted that he wanted to help.  I taught him how to remove staples from the bulletin board, and he was quite the hard worker!  Cutest teaching sidekick I could ask for.

Happy summer!  This was one of my favorite school years ever.  I loved the kids, my teaching team, and the parents I worked with.  I have now finished my 10th year of teaching, and have taught 175 children in my classrooms.  I love my job.  It's hard, exhausting, frustrating, infuriating, and draining.  But so worth it.  I have laughed uncontrollably, cried quietly in my classroom closet, danced like a crazy fool, stretched my imagination, failed a hundred times, prayed fervently, sung off tune with enthusiasm, and partied hard with each group of kiddos.  People often ask why I became a teacher.  I feel like I should have a touching story about a teacher who inspired me to follow in his or her footsteps.  That's not really the case.  While I believe I had good teachers, I went in to teaching because I knew I kind of liked kids, and I didn't know what else to do.  I'm so grateful that I was too unmotivated to look into anything else, because this has turned out to be the most rewarding career.  I don't know if I'll be in this field forever.  The minute I become washed up and stubborn and crotchety, I'm making myself switch careers.  Kids deserve more than that.  And unfortunately, the lifespan of a good teacher tends to be short.  The job is hard.  But until I reach that point, I look forward to however many more years ahead of me I have.  I signed my contract and will be returning to Peterson in the fall.  So here's to at least one more of this craziness that I love. 

But until then...  SUMMER.

(!!!!!!)

May 25, 2017: Would you rather...

Every morning we begin class with our morning meeting.  We greet one another by name and with a special handshake or high five.  Then we do some sort of sharing activity.  Jen introduced "Would you rather" to the kids and they are obsessed with it!  There is something quite hilarious about asking a 7 year old to choose whether or not he would rather be a giant hamster or a tiny rhino, or whether he would rather sneeze cheese or have chocolate tears.  Or if he would rather shoot spaghetti out of his fingers or sneeze meatballs.  The amount of uncontrollable laughter is amazing.  Since Jen is leaving this summer, I had to take pictures of all of her would you rather cards so that I could make my own and continue this next year.

If I haven't mentioned it already, Jen was an awesome student teacher.  She also introduced two truths and a lie to the kids for share time.  They kind of struggled with that, so she condensed it to one truth and one lie.  The kids make two statements and the rest of the class has to guess which one is the truth.  The first day we did this, the kids' statements were ridiculously obvious.  "I am sitting on the carpet.  I am home watching tv."   "I am wearing a red shirt.  I am wearing a blue shirt."  We had to model and coach the kids on how to make tricky statements.  We still got the occasional awkward yet kind of funny statements, like the following:

Student:  My mom's mom is dead.  Or... my mom's mom is alive.
(The rest of the kids start putting up a 1 or a 2 on their fingers to indicate which one of the statements is true.  I am sure I have a look of panic on my face.  Do we really want to discuss a dead grandma if that's the case? )
Me:  Ok, it looks like everyone has their guess.  Which one is true, sweetie?
Student:  My mom's mom is dead.
Half the class who guessed correctly:  YES!!!!! (fist pumping and high fiving)
Me:  ...      ...      ...      ...    um...  .... do you want to talk about it?
Student: no.
Me:  ok, who is next then?

May 23, 2017: Alaskan sun catchers

We made these sun catchers as an end of the year art project.  I love them!!  One of my favorite time killing teaching crafts ever.

May 22, 2017: clipboard magic

Every teacher needs a good clipboard.  A parent painted this one for me as an end of the year gift.  I love it!! 

May 21, 2017: North Sister

North Sister is my favorite mountain hike.  She is a beast- not as high as Pyramid or Barometer, but still really, really steep.  The views all the way up are stunning, because she overlooks Monashka Bay.  And every time I have climbed North Sister, I have seen mountain goats.  I was itching to get out and hike to the top today, since I haven't been there yet this year.  Today was a gorgeous day, so I just went by myself.  I didn't see any goats today, but I ran into a few eagles at the top.  The peak is really small, and one eagle had claimed the top for himself, so I didn't get to stay very long.  I did get to experiment with the timer on my apple watch though.  You can set your phone up and then take the picture from your watch so you don't have to run to get into the photo.  Which is great for me because I am clumsy and the chances of me falling off the mountain while trying to run into the camera view are pretty high.  I mean, I came close to plummeting off the side of the mountain while trying to achieve this epic shot.   This white girl cannot jump, so I am amazed I got this far off the ground.

May 20, 2017: Torch Run

Stephanie heard about a 5K today that was hosted by the police department and was a fundraiser for the special olympics.  We showed up, excited to run and to support a great cause.  We didn't realize that the run wasn't a loop, and that it actually started downtown and ended 3 miles away at the Safeway.  We hadn't planned ahead and dropped a car off at the finish, but no biggie, we figured we would just turn our 3 mile run into a 6 mile run and run back after the finish.  Then we learned that we would be running as a group and carrying a lit torch with us the whole way.  How awesome!  And they were providing hot dogs at the finish line!!  This girl has never turned down a hot dog in her life.  (When I was in college I tried to be noble and give up meat to reduce my carbon footprint on the earth.  I made it 6 weeks!  And then my friends had a BBQ where there were hotdogs.  Vegetarian phase officially over).   After we finished the race, scarfed down a hotdog, and mingled for a bit with the other runners, we headed back toward our car.  The run back was significantly less exciting with the lack of a cool torch and the addition of hotdog gut. 

May 19, 2017: Staff Party

We had our end of the year staff party tonight.  Every year, our school rents out the Buskin beach house and we celebrate the end of another (incredibly great and incredibly exhausting) school year. We say goodbye to the teachers who are leaving us, play some ridiculous group games, eat huge amounts of food, sing some karaoke, and spend time with one another without kids around.  This year's theme was Greece, so the games we played were all Olympics related.  Here is Bonnie, getting ready to compete in the hurdles.   Look how intense she gets :)

I feel so fortunate to work at Peterson.  The staff is unbeatable.  I have the best first grade team I could ask for.  My kids are awesome and the parents are supportive.  Even on the most exhausting days, I'm excited to be at school with the kids.  Puffin Pride right here :) 

May 18, 2017: Classroom closet treasures...

I FINALLY CLEANED OUT MY ENTIRE CLASSROOM!!!  I have been dreaming of doing this since I moved into the room 2 summers ago.  I had two closets and 11 cabinets full of stuff to go through, so it's taken me this entire time.  But today, I can finally say that my room is fully organized!  I was going through all of the old curriculum materials that have been shoved into the closets for years, and I stumbled upon this gem.  Tide pool teaching manual from 1984!

May 17, 2017: Ask and you shall receive...

A group of friends and I have been going through the book of Hebrews together.  We were reading today about Melchizedek, and I was having a hard time remembering when he lived compared to other people.  Just as I was feeling beginning to feel overly frustrated, I just yelled out, "They need to make a big chart that shows when everyone lived.  Like a huge timeline with everyone on it so I can visualize this!"  At the exact moment that this was coming out of my mouth, Fred was in the process of excitedly unfolding this magnificent timeline that they had found on Amazon.  He had read my mind, and the timing was perfect.

This picture just shows a snippet of the entire timeline.  It's pretty phenomenal.  And just what I needed.

May 15, 2017: Mismatched Monday

It must be Monday, near the end of the school year, because nobody seemed to be able to match their socks this morning :)  Some were closer than others.  And I think the best part is that two of us in this picture are teachers...

May 14, 2017: What is this?

I have no clue what animal this is.  The kids at Sunday school ask me every time I come down here to volunteer, and I never know what to tell them.  Anyone have any ideas?

May 13, 2017: Godzilla Child

The boys and Meg came to my classroom today so we could paint something for my mom for Mother's Day.  Henry tried to destroy everything in the room.  We gave up caring, and the room might be a little bit of a disaster when I head back to school on Monday.

May 12, 2017: Tire swinging

Me and my buddy, hanging out on the tire swings, enjoying the sunny day. 

<3

May 11, 2017: PIZZA PARTY!

It's P-Pizza Day for ABC Countdown.  This is a picture of me with 13 cheese pizzas in the back of my car.  So ridiculously pumped to stuff my face with pizza alongside 53 first graders.  We got enough so that every single one of us could make ourselves sick.  It's going to be an awesome afternoon.

May 10, 2017: Mom time

I took my mom up to the top of Pyramid tonight.  It was really nice to get some one on one time with her.  Things have been busy since she got here, so I was really thankful for these couple hours to laugh and talk about big life stuff with her.  If you have met my mom, you already know this, and if you haven't, you'll have to take my word for it... she's pretty amazing. 

May 9, 2017: My first rock!

 Kodiak has a rock hiding group.  It's fairly new, but it has grown tremendously and become extremely popular in the month or so since it has started.  People from around the community paint rocks and hide them along various trails or near places in town.  When you find a rock, you can keep it or rehide it somewhere else, but you have to take a picture of the rock and post it to the group's facebook page.  There are people who post pictures of 4-5 rocks that they find on a single hike.  I go on a run or hike almost every single day.  I have found zero rocks.  I am the least observant person in the universe.  I already knew this, but my inability to find rocks makes this the first time I really cared that I was terrible at paying attention to my surroundings.  Today I went for a quick walk out to Boyscout beach and found TWO rocks along the way!  You can't tell from my picture that I was very excited, can you?  

May 8, 2017: Little Nugget

The newest Little Man is doing really well!  The other boys seem to have adjusted well to having a new little brother in the house.  I'm not one to seek out baby snuggles, but I have learned that I love the ones I get :)

May 7, 2017: 10.5 miles!

Our training for the Crabfest Half Marathon is going well, as you can see by this amazing action shot.  I have some great running buddies!  We even unintentionally coordinate our outfits.  Kinsey match pretty well too.  You just have to trust me.

May 6, 2017: Lunch Bunch

Some of my kids earned lunch with me.  When this happens, I let them pick the menu.  Here's my shopping list.  Pizza is also on the menu, but I already had that in the freezer at home.  Can't wait to feast tomorrow!

May 5, 2017: Kodiak field trips

Today was J- Jewel Beach Day!  We took the kids to Jewel Beach for a first grade field trip.  I LOVE thinking about the huge differences between teaching in Kodiak and teaching in Chicago.  Field trips are just some of the ways that these schools are polar opposites.  In Chicago, the most outdoorsy trip we ever took was to a farm.  The kids walked around an immaculate dairy farm (that even had electronic information boards for the kids to read and interact with).  And even here, their parent chaperones were hosing them down with sanitizer before lunch, swatting frantically at insects, and struggling with farm smells.   In Kodiak, we wake up and see it's going to be 48 degrees and just a slight chance of rain, and we pack the kids up and walk 30 minutes to the beach!  Kids throw on their waders and Xtratufs and are in the ocean collecting sea glass and crab shells.  Our parent chaperones are digging in the sand alongside the kids, happy to be seaside on such a "beautiful" day.   There are dozens of things I appreciated about teaching in Chicago, but I have to say Kodiak field trips are my jam!

I also have to say that I really liked this note that one of my student's mom put on his water bottle.

May 4, 2017: I'll do anything for KFC

Steph and I ran up Pillar Mountain tonight.  When you run up a mountain, you tend to get a little hungry afterward.  I really wanted some KFC (which is strange, because I almost ALWAYS crave McDonalds after a workout).  I realized though, that I had forgotten to bring my wallet with me on the run!  I knew I had two rolls of quarters stashed in my middle console from over 3 years ago.  I contemplated (for about 15 seconds) whether or not I was too prideful to pay for my meal in quarters.  Nope.  I was even happier when I realized that I knew the girl working the drivethru window.  She laughed at me, but assured me that someone paying for their meal with 29 quarters was not the strangest thing she has seen from a customer... :)

May 3, 2017: Mini fridge murder

The other day was I- Ice Cream Party Day.  I stored some frozen strawberries in my classroom fridge, but apparently there was a leak in the bag.  That, or something very, very disturbing happened while I was at home...

May 2, 2017: Mom time

Since Kyle's mom is also on the island visiting, my mom is staying with me this week.  As much as I love adventuring, I really enjoy bumming around with her as well.  I don't own a tv, so we got cozy and watched a movie on my computer instead.

Captain America + Mom + being in bed by 8 = happiness.

May 1, 2017: High and Low Tides

For our ABC Countdown, today was H-High and Low Tides Day.  We took the kids to Near Island to search for tide pool creatures.  We have been studying tidepools over the last few weeks, so they got to hunt for the plants and animals we have been studying.  We found chitons, limpets, sea stars, anemones, hermit crabs, fish, barnacles, and snails.  This day was especially fun because my mom came as a chaperone.  It's been great having her on the island, and my kids love her.

April 28, 2017: ELLIOT IS HERE!!

My newest nephew has arrived!  He is cute and snuggly and healthy.  I think he looks a lot like Arthur did when he was a newborn.  I'm beyond grateful for the time I have to live near my sister and her family.  It will be really hard when we part ways next summer.  For now, I am soaking up these moments and praising God for giving me such a wonderful family. 

April 27, 2017: Friendship Day

Today was F- Friendship Day, so we worked on our makeshift yearbooks.  I was so proud of my kids.  They have not been this motivated to write in a LONG time.  They sat and wrote sweet messages to one another for over an hour!  I gave them the option to take a break after about 20 minutes, and they all wanted to keep going.  They are an incredibly sweet group of kids, and their messages to one another were perfect.  I loved the messages I got from them as well.  My favorites have to be one kid who wrote "You're the best teacher in the world," and then another kid wrote on the next page, "You're the best teacher in Alaska."  Apparently he had a better teacher in the lower 48 somewhere :)  I also died laughing when I saw this message from a kid: 

If you can't really read it, it says "Stay cool" right above the boat.  I swear all the kids were writing this in my high school year book 15 years ago!  I think I have done a pretty stellar job at staying cool all these years. 

April 26, 2017: School Pic

We have been working our way through ABC Countdown over the last couple of weeks.  For the last 26 days of school, each day is given a letter of the alphabet and themed according to that letter.  We start with A and work our way down until the we get to the last day of school, which is Z- Zoom on Outta Here.  I did this at my last school and introduced it to Peterson last year.  The kids LOVE it, and it gives us a lot of ways to incorporate math, science, or reading in fun, creative ways.  It has opened up times for all of the first grade classes to plan social events and for the kids to celebrate the hard work they did this year.  Some of my favorite days are A-Airplane flying competitions, D-Dodgeball Day (May have accidentally clocked a few kids in the face that day), E-Engineering Day, H- High and Low Tides Day, N-New Name Day (Can't wait to see what the kids want me to call them that day.  I'm going to make them call me "Your Majesty" all day long), S-Silly Science, and W-Wacky competitions (Get ready for Minute to Win it!) just to name a few.

Tomorrow is F-Friendship Day and we are making makeshift yearbooks for the kids.  Each page has one friend's picture and then a large space below where that friend can write a message to you.  The only picture I took today was one of myself for this book.  Here I am in all of my teaching glory.

April 25, 2017: I heart Dwight Schrute

And I want this shirt. 

April 24, 2017: Field Trip Fannypack

My friend Jim got me this super cool fanny pack!!  I'm going to use it as my field trip fanny pack from now on.  It's just the right size to store bandaids, kleenex, snacks, a sharpie, my phone, a plastic baggie, and a pair of rubber gloves.  All the field trip necessities!  Just in time for our upcoming trips to Jewel Beach and Near Island.  And field day!  The end of the school year just got that much more exciting.