When in Wemindji...: IT. IS. SNOWING.

I don't really want to talk about it. Okay I will talk about it. It's horrible. Just terrible. It has been getting cooler in the recent days of September, as to be expected for the season and location. Fine. But this morning I awoke to a startling and traumatic sight. White stuff covered my porch and car. FROZEN SNOW AND HAIL. Yes. HAIL. Now don't get me wrong. I understand the effects of where I choose to live. I understand that winter comes on early, fast and with a vengeance. But I at least expected to have until Thanksgiving before the white fluffy stuff arrived to make my life a living hell??! Don't I at least deserve that much? Apparently not. So it snowed/hailed all afternoon into the evening. The kids saw the snow and lost their minds at the end of the day. Literally screaming and making plans for wearing winter jackets tomorrow and worrying about riding their bikes home (there was no snow sticking to the ground mind you but I could totally understand the panic). I will keep you posted on Snowpocalypse '14.

The past week and a bit have been crazy busy but lots of fun. Last week we had a PED day which was pretty good, I got a lot of work done and crossed a bunch of things off my (never ending) list. Saturday night was an awesomely fun movie night at Sam's house with Marsha, Monika, Meghan and Courtney. After a few false starts of various shows, we finally settled on Grease to which we all sang along to wholeheartedly. It was a blast. Next movie night will be SPICE WORLD! Can't wait. Last weekend I also started my painting project at home! I managed to tackle the accent wall which was way less agonizing than I expected and now I have the bug! I can't wait to paint the rest of my living room and hang my curtains!

This week in the classroom it is all about colour! We are learning our colours (as well as numbers 1-20 and alphabet) and the kids are having a blast. Each day is a different colour combination and Monika and Meghan and I have been going all out! We have even managed to convince some of the other teachers to participate! My partners have been planning some truly awesome math and science activities and we are heavy into character analysis with Franklin and the Bear series. My kids are pretty perceptive and love to be read to so learning about character actions, thoughts and feelings is an easy task. Having access to books on CD and Youtube is also a great way to blend a little fun into the activities. My class is LOVING centers (aka "fun games") and I am too. These centers definitely promote independent learning and really hide the fact that they are learning basic skills at all! They are also a great reward/incentive with little prep required. My class is HIGH ENERGY and have the work time limit of approximately 30 seconds so it is imperative that I have plenty of brain breaks up my sleeve. My new favorite website is www.gonoodle.com which offers tons of fun and short dances, yoga and breathing videos and activities to get the kids moving and refocused. My class's favorites are "Ninja Training", "Awesome Rainbows", "Push the Buttons" and space breathing. Between those and "Just Dance" videos they dance along to like true backup dancers, my kids are kept under a small degree of control and expel some of that incredible energy that I am so envious of.

Anyways, it is Rainbow day on Friday so I will be baking many rainbow cupcakes Thursday night. A weekend trip to Radisson is in the plans and hopefully the snow will hold off until after then!

On a more sombre note, recently a teacher/tutor colleague of mine lost her youngest daughter in a tragic canoe accident close to Mt. Tremblant. We all know how costly funerals can be and due to certain employment circumstances, she can't receive the normal benefits that many teachers here are entitled to. So Wemindji teachers have put out the call to help cover her financial costs while Melodie, our friend and colleague makes arrangements and begins the healing process. Now is your time to complete a random act of kindness. Every little bit helps and I know would be appreciated. Visit the fundraising campaign here: http://www.gofundme.com/supportformelodie