So I am really not being dramatic here when I tell you that I cannot remember a specific time or place when I have been so exhausted in my entire life. My entire life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I may have to take up drinking Red Bull or coffee or eating raw coffee beans! Seriously!! Grade Ones have an energy that is unmatched in the natural world!
But more on that later.
I have been quite absent from the blogging world for the past couple of weeks, but for very good reason. After helping my aunt move, moving my existing storage unit into a bigger storage unit (don't ask), throwing a backyard bachelorette BBQ, seeing family and friends, helping my mom move furniture and belongings so the floors could be redone for what seemed like the millionth time as well as doing ALL my Wemindji shopping and shipping and car packing in 2 days, driving up to Wemindji, moving my whole house back into it's rooms after the floors being redone, cleaning up a storm, unpacking my boxes, hosting a couple of social events AND finally unpacking my new classroom - you could say I was a little busy.
All in all it was a very nice summer. I saw my friends, had tons of bridal party fun related to my BFF Katherine's upcoming wedding, spent some quality time with my family and got a TON of shopping done for Wemindji. Shopping, as I am sure you know by now, is a major passion of mine and lets just say the experience did not disappoint this time around. I managed to find some great items to spruce up the ol' homestead (now complete with gorgeous new floors) and really make my house feel like a home. My summer felt far too short though and I really wish I had a couple more days in the south and a few more up here to prep too.
So Monika and I got a new teaching partner-in-crime this year with Meghan. Marsha (who was supposed to teach Grade 1 with Monika and I) took a resource position in elementary this year and she is going to ROCK it. She's already been such an amazing source of information, insight and knowledge and resources and materials, I know she will be able to help me through the inevitable sticky parts of teaching such a wide range of abilities. Meghan on the other hand is a fantastic fit in our Grade 1 group. She is funny, flexible, low maintenance, cool, calm and collected and laughs at my jokes so she is essentially awesome. I can tell we are all going to have an amazing year together. My friend Samantha took a transfer from another WAY remote Cree School Board school in Whapmagoostui (aka Great Whale). She is DYNAMIC, creative, awesome, hilarious and such a great teacher. Her classroom is the stuff of teacher dreams and she pours her heart and soul into her work. We have a whole bunch of new great teachers this year and I cannot wait for the laughs we are going to have and the fun we will experience together.
Today was the first day of school and it was an experience. I got my group of 17 kids coming to me from a very differently structured environment so they were expecting something a little different I think. Multiple requests for sleep and snacks had me scrambling for excuses other than "This is grade 1, we don't sleep or eat anymore!!!" (LOL). We managed to have a very full day with LOTS of reading (which warmed my heart like you can't imagine) and fun "back to school/first day of school" activities and tomorrow we are going to focus heavily (again) on establishing classroom rules and routines. I feel like this group, and every group I have encountered for that matter, thrives heavily on routine, stability and structure. Luckily I am very like-minded and will strive to find a good balance between structured work and "play". I am looking forward to seeing the fruits of my labor and the hard work I know these kids are going to do pay off!
It's been a wild couple of weeks and they have definitely taken their toll on my energy (and it's only Monday!!) but despite my complaints I am very optimistic and excited to see what the rest of the week will bring!
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