All district inservice

This was a short week at school. And that was a good thing. I was soooo tired going into the week, and I came down with another cold... 2 colds in the first 6 weeks of work isn't terrible right?! :)

So Wednesday we took off after school (3 attempts to get in the van and meet the plane) for Hooper Bay inservice. We made it in pretty fabulous weather. I was able to sit co-pilot and enjoy some sunshine on my face, some laughter with the pilot and some serious appreciation of the fabulous opportunities I have been provided as well as the beauty of my home.

Woooooo co-pilot!!!

It was cool to see all the era planes headed to and from Hooper Bay.

I was busy checking things out. Man I love flying!

Bush Alaska is a close second to Oregon as God's Country.

Sarah has gotten MUCH better with her flying... But we did have some bumps that scared her pretty good... And when we banked to come in for a landing in the wind she was convinced we were upside down, but we were not... Our wings MAY have been perpendicular to the ground...

Its been a great weekend of laughter and inservice. Hours of volleyball and a few new friends. Thanks to Hooper Bay for being fabulous hosts!! Thanks to Sam and Brandon and all my peer teachers for the fun. Time to head home and get some work done so I can accomplish my goal of being an awesome teacher.

P.S. Thanks to Jana Mae for the beautiful pictures.

Donorschoose.org Project!

Hey folks,

So I have been in district inservice for the past two days and I've seen all sorts of stuff. I am super excited about a few things and I'm way inspired to be a rockin awesome teacher this year. So, I've got a new project open on donorschoose.org. It is called "Recovering Lost Minutes in the Classroom". It hasn't actually posted yet on the website, but I will let you know when it does. The whole project is almost $1200 which is HUGE, but between October 8 and 15 donors choose is having a "Friends and Family Campaign" where I will give you a match code to enter and whatever amount you are able to donate it will be matched by the donors choose board of directors. This is really awesome because it means that my fabulous supporters would really only have to donate a total of less than $600 because the other half would be matched by donors choose.

I know many of you supported my last project, "Whispering Our Way to Better Reading" last fall and I am so very appreciative of that!! My class last year loved using the whisper phones during silent reading time. I haven't trained my students yet this year on how to use the appropriately, but plan to get to that soon. :)

So I'll let you know when my project is posted. But in the meantime, since you're already here I'll give you a run down of what I'm doing... I sat in a training about super cool technology with my super cool techy friend Sam. I am now super inspired to get some cool technology into my classroom. My current project is to get a iPod touch for each student in my classroom and then syncing them to all have strictly educational apps at my students levels. This will enable my kids the ability to practice important skills like pattern recognition, addition and subtraction, alphabet and phonemic awareness skills, etc. I plan to use these iPods during times when a few students have finished early or perhaps if the whole class finishes with 3 or 4 minutes to spare rather than doing a short song and dance or maybe cleaning the classroom my students would be able to pick up their iPod off the corner of their desk and play their game of choice to practice those math and literacy skills.

My project is only for 5 iPods and I have 15 kids, but I plan to purchase a few on my own between here and Christmas break so that I can hopefully get enough that kids only have to pair up rather than be in a trio. We'll see how it goes.

Again I appreciate your support in my education and in my classroom. I love you all and am so so so grateful to you!!

Catchin up in Sept.

Its been a busy month in Alakanuk. School is off and rolling. The kids are starting to  remember the routines and expectations I've taught them. I'm getting more and more organized which also helps I think. Fewer distractions to mess up our days. I really love that I have another teacher in my classroom for 45 minutes in the morning for reading rotations. Its helping me to be more cognizant of what my kids need and what they are capable of. It also keeps me on track, no more lazy mornings for us! :) 

I've been able to go out moose hunting with my friend Bummer about 4 or 5 times now. I LOVE IT!!! I have seen quite a few moose, but haven't yet taken a shot at one. Most of the cows we've seen have had calves with them, so you can't shoot them. I haven't actually seen any bulls on any of my moose trips, but others have told me that they've seen bulls. Clark went out all day yesterday and got home last night with a bull. He said that they saw over 30 moose, only 2 of which were bulls. I am hoping to make it out Monday after work and hopefully get something. I think Bummer is headed into Anchorage soon so I gotta get as much moose hunting in as I can. Speaking of, I probably should be going out today but....

Jana has made friends with some of the Era pilots stationed in St. Mary's (KSM). She has gone on a few different weekends to hang out with them, talk pilot shop talk rather than teacher shop talk, etc. A few weeks ago she mentioned the possibility of a roasted pig dinner and said she wanted me to come along. I was stoked, I love meeting new people and clearly I love to eat. :) Ha! So, we've been talking about it and she said at the beginning of this week that it'd be this weekend and they'd come pick us up then bring us back on Sunday after the BBQ. I knew it'd be a busy week to get through but I was looking forward to the weekend. Well, between volleyball practice starting, the district technology guys coming for a few days and my daily lesson planning I wasn't ready to go to KSM last night when they came to pick up Jana Mae. I told her that I'd try a different weekend that I just needed to rest up and get organized for next week. I was disappointed, but was taking the responsible route for myself. 

However, I soon realized that it was going to be a long boring weekend of being lazy in AUK. So last night I text Jana again and said, well if it's still an option maybe I would like to come... Plans were in the works and I got a text this morning from saying they'd be here around 10:45 or 11 for me. I showered, threw a few things in my bag and headed out for the airport. Now, the old airport was a short 5 minute or less walk from my house. If the plane called and said they'd be there in 10 minutes you still had five minutes to grab your bag and make it in time. On Monday, September 17 they opened our new airport. Its probably close to 3 or 4 mile walk from my house. So I called a friend who owns a Honda to see if I could use his taxi service. He didn't answer and I thought, "oh heck I might as well start walking. Maybe if I'm lucky someone will pick me up." 38 minutes later I arrived at the new airport. I mean, thank you pack test for training me in setting pace and keeping it. Ha! When I got to the airport I found two cute little dogs chilling out.

Cute puppies that were hanging out at the airport.

 So here I sit at the airport waiting for the plane to make it here. He called as I was sitting down and said he was leaving Kotlik, had to stop in Emo then he would be here. Should be in the next few minutes. I am super excited to meet and BS with some pilots. I've been wanting to get a pilots license since Papa had his little Maule tail dragger and even more so now that I am able to fly all the time in 207s and caravans. Maybe these guys will have some words of advice for me. 

Reppin the EOU gear at the NEW AIRPORT!!!!

Other big events from the past week or two...  I started the Insanity workout a week ago today. I am happy to say that I haven't skipped a day of that either. Those of you who I have recruited at different times to work out with me know that I usually am good for 3 or 4 days then I get lazy. Well, not this time my friends! I am gonna get through all 8 weeks and when I do now only will I be stronger, fitter and in better shape, I will also know that I can stick with something for longer than a week. (I thought about inserting my before pictures, but NOBODY wants to see me in a bathing suit right now... So when I'm done in 7 weeks I'll post the after picture.)

Volleyball practice has been fun. Its a good start to the year. We've had between 6 and 12 kids a night at practice. Some of the kids are picking up on the skills really quickly which is encouraging as a coach. (I'm actually just the assistant coach, but it still is good to see!)

Oh, I hear the plane coming in.  I better shut down and get ready for a weekend of laughing, BSing, and taking a small break from life. 

Cheers!

Second year... Serious challenges

We've been in school for 11 days. Eleven days doesn't seem very long, but when you are a teacher struggling to manage 5 kids who have little idea what school is like eleven days seem much much longer!

This year has been one to truly test my patience, my management and my love for teaching and kids in general. I have ten boys and five girls. The girls aren't angels, but definitely easy enough to manage. Five of my boys are testing my patience every day. Three of those five missed nearly half of kindergarten last year so they have little experience of what is acceptable behavior at school.

So after a long weekend of cleaning fish, moose hunting and basically not enough sleeping, I started the longest week of my life. I have no problems in the morning with behavior. I am convinced that the kids are served straight sugar water because the behavior in the afternoons is so much worse in the afternoons. Thursday was THE WORST DAY OF MY TEACHING CAREER!!! Holy moly. Kids were not listening, parents were being sassy, I was exhausted, and when I asked for some help I was told that "Things will get better." My poor sister Ashley had to listen to me complain and cry about it.

I've been doing lots of thinking about how I can make it easier this weekend... And rather than spending time in my classroom actually finishing my plans for the week I made a deal with another friend.

First day of school!

Wow. So much work and the day was gone so quickly. I started off yesterday morning with some Dr. Seuss wisdom for myself and my peers... "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."--The Lorax. I was reminded of this often by my coffee mug. This was truly my inspiration as I prepared for this school year.

I am thankful that I was able to work so closely with the kindergarten class last year because I didn't have to go through any name games because I already knew the kids and they knew me. I have a great group of students and I am so excited to see how far they can go this year!

I must say that I was a million times more relaxed yesterday than my first day last year. Its amazing how nervous one can be without realizing it. This year was quite different and has mean fewer hours in my classroom cleaning and organizing. I am pleased with how my room is set up, I may still have some minor housekeeping to do in my room, but for the most part its just how I want it to be.

My Yupik vocabulary wall and behavior management program.

Small group, bookshelf... Plenty of floor space!!

Word wall and class jobs. Same bright paper as last year. :)

This might require some organizing... Classroom library.

Welcome to First Grade!

I intentionally left off the picture of my desk area, because its seen better days... Perhaps this weekend I'll get it organized again and post a picture then. :)

Back in AUK!-pictures from summer adventures soon!

After what was arguably the most awesome summer to date I am back in Alakanuk gearing up for another year of awesome adventures.

The summer began with Hannah's bridal shower and mini bachelorette party at the Pioneer Saloon. Its always a good time when the 5 Carlon kids go anywhere and that night was no different. We laughed and told stories and enjoyed a few beverages. The shower came together nicely and we had PLENTY of desserts to last throughout the next week. It was great fun to catch up a little with some old friends and lots of family.

Then I was off to Washington to hang with my older sis and help with some childcare after school for Cody. As excited as that monster was to see me, we're too much alike to spend too much time together. After our first week together we were getting tired of listening to each other's instructions. But within that time I was able to have dinner with some friends and catch up a bit on life with them.

Soon I was off to St. Kitts to see my childhood friend Kirby. I met back up with Jana and Jamie and Jana's friend Nicole for a week of relaxation in the sun. It was fun to be in total vacation mode, being as lazy as I wanted--laying on the beach, by the pool or spending hours at Mr. X's Shiggity Shack.

From the Portland airport I drove straight home to Paisley--we all know how long that drive is--at 10 PM.... (For those of you NOT familiar with the best state in the Union, Portland to Paisley is approximately 6 1/2 to 7 hours depending on which highway you choose and traffic...) The following weekend was full of more family for my cousin Shane's wedding in California. It was good fun to be able to spend some time with cousins that I don't know well... It was a beautiful day for Shane and Ashley!!

The following weekend was another beautiful day to celebrate the love of one of my favorite girls ever, Miss Emily. She and Tyler had a fabulous wedding and it was great to get to spend some time with them and other friends in the Grande Ronde Valley.

From La Grande I drove about 10 hours across the state diagonally to get to Medford to prepare for Hannah's wedding... Holy cow it was a long drive and I got exhausted thinking about all that was still left to do before Hannah's big day. The week went quickly with more family showing up each day, it seemed. Again it was wonderful to be able to see Hannah and Shane so happy, to see so many family members celebrating their love and happiness and enjoy a few beverages and some good stories with some of my favorite guys ever.

The month of July seemed to fly by. I had planned another weekend trip to La Grande,  but couldn't make it happen. Nor did my Dallas vacay work out as planned... Before I knew it, it was time to head to Cali for the Robison Reunion. After a weekend full of laughter, jokes, more laughter and cousin time we headed back to Paisley for me to pack and get ready for Alaska return.

My final adventure (and quite possibly the hardest one for me to see come to an end) was my almost 2 weeks I was able to spend in Twin Falls with the Porath clan. Its hard to believe how much the kids have grown up in just a year and it breaks my heart to know how much more they'll grow over the course of this year. Hallie wasn't her normal self thanks to her shunt not working right, but I still was able to get some hugs and kisses and smiles and laughter out of my girl. Connor and Mylee kept me on my toes and made me laugh often with their innocent questions and silly remarks.

With tear-filled eyes I left their house headed for the airport in Boise. After an uneventful flight to Anchorage, a few hours of shopping and very little sleep I arrived in Alakanuk on Tuesday.

Sarah and I moved houses so Tuesday was spent hauling totes and boxes from one house to another... Not something I really am very inclined to do again for a LONG time.... Holy cow we have a lot of stuff!!! The house is smaller than our old one, but quite a bit nicer.

Work started on Thursday--oh joy! I am currently at 13 students in my classroom, a few fewer than I thought I'd have last spring. I have seen around half of my old students around the school and it seems as if they're just as excited to see me as I am to see them...

It seemed as if the summer was here and gone before I even knew what was happening. With that said... I can honestly say that I have missed the sounds of the airplanes, the sweet little faces, the calm of the village life and most importantly the people I work with and call my Alaska family. It is wonderful to be home and settling in for another year of  teaching AND learning.

Ski Doo Video!!!

I finally took the time to upload the ski too video I made.... I know it could've used more work, but I was getting tired of working on it for ten minutes here and there.... So its done. I'll probably get another one whipped out this fall with the rest of my footage... Hope you enjoy!! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afWmPCIki_s