Leaving Polaris and Chasing the Sun

Christmas break is here at last! These past few weeks just flew by!!! We had Thanksgiving (3 times!) and a school Christmas program to keep us busy. I've got a few photos for you guys!!!

When the wind is just right the snow knows no boundaries. Also known as - a good reason for Arctic Entries.

One of the designated snow piles is just past our house. It can be quite jarring to be sitting on the couch and feel this thing rumbling towards you.

Mwahaha! Ann's window!

Why bother with the dollhouse if you can live on the truck?

Bundled up for the weather.

We made turkeys for Thanksgiving! The one on the left is a preschoolers and the one on the right was made by a Kindergartener.

Community Thanksgiving dinner. 

After the dinner the was a dance. (I intentionally posted a blurry picture for privacy.) The two little dancers are a couple of my girls!

Like many children they have pretend picnics with stuffed animals. But those particular critters aren't invitees, they're the main course.

How to know that you are the first one to work on a winter day...

 Shaving cream + baking soda + glitter = SNOW!

It is just like punching dough according to my girls. These two are content to just mix forever, some of the older kids get a bit... messier. But seeing as that is very nearly the point of sensory material, I try not to sweat it too much.

Recipe for snow found at this awesome blog: http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2013/01/erupting-snow-recipe.html

Later in the week it became more of a cooking material and pots moved into the box. I initially discouraged this but have relented because it is spawning some great play and conversation, besides some of the dishes have never been cleaner. We also added different colors because... they wanted to see what would happen.

We had a great performance at the Christmas program - though by that time we were down to two students! :) They sang four songs (English and Inupiaq) and did two traditional dances... and totally stole the show if I do say so myself! I think it shows that we've been practicing a long time because they knew the songs even though it was their first time performing. :)

Can't wait to head back in January!!!

A Few of Their Favorite Things...

My kiddos are amusing. I wonder what I would have been like in school, but since I didn't go to preschool I really don't have much for reference. However, I can note their favorite things and incorporate them into the classroom like you wouldn't believe!

1. Pete the Cat
Alright, my kids have only heard the one book, Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. No one told me about this book before, but I wish they had at some point in Children's Literature. At any rate my kids like it so much that I went ahead and incorporated several activities from the book and ordered all the others from Scholastic. And it is very much one of my favorite things to see them engaged in a fun book.

2. Going 'Inside'

How can one convince students to choose a book listening center? Stick it inside a tent of course! They love being hidden inside the tent, I've played three or four books backed to back for students before because they want to stay in the tent. I think part of the fun is that it is 'kid-only', teachers can see inside but it is pretty small so they don't go inside.

3. Big Words

They love learning big words. They might not use them but they do enjoy learning them. I've taken advantage of this by adding 'Amazing Words' to the new circle time learning. But I've also used terms like science and vocabulary and had students remember them! 

4. Non-fiction

Yes, my kiddos do like some storybooks (#1) but they love almost all non-fiction, especially non-fiction with photographs! Finding good preschool level non-fiction has proven to be harder than I would have ever imagined.

5. Sick Turtle

A game that I found online (but I cannot remember where!) to play with my kids on Talk Like a Pirate Day. With a couple exceptions they love Sick Turtle. It is a game where I call out a command and they perform a corresponding action. I like it because it tests their memory and listening skills (along with gross motor - triple whammy!). They like it because when I say, "Sick Turtle!" they can lay on their backs and wave their arms and legs in the air. I'm considering adopting this game to lots of varieties...

6. Shark Tag

I got the idea for playing shark tag from another ECE teacher in the district. But my class is pretty small and they didn't really understand the concept that after being tagged they become 'it'. So now I lay down different colored hula hoops and call out colors for them to run to for 'safety' (even if I catch them they continue playing, in this game one person is always it). I have even caught them initiating this game by themselves! They still call it Shark Tag even though the hula hoops are all that remain of the original game (even the rules are different). But I love it because it tests their listening and color recognition (again gross motor!!!), they love it because I chase them. They love chase, no matter who the chaser or chasee is, and probably 90% of their recesses end in some sort of game of chase.

I'm Still Alive!

Well, I became one of those people... Blogs were a big part of my research before coming to Alaska, and it would drive me batty when the blog would just... stop. So expect a pretty long post today, while I share some teaching stuff, tell family and friends how I'm doing, and give any blog researchers out there such as I was a chance to see if this is the life for them.

First off:
Teaching little ones is constantly a new challenge for me, they are completely unlike anything I was prepared for. I love my littles, it's true, but they are tough to figure out sometimes! Calendar time is something I was told was very important for preschool... I'm tossing it out in favor of exploration time. They get nothing from the calendar, it holds about as much information about time for them as Dumbledore's watch does for me. In other words - none. It looks nice in the classroom, but at the end of the day it isn't teaching them anything, look for an update on my replacement soon.

I also believe that art is very important especially for little ones, so we do lots of different art projects. And at their age it is all about the process not the product. They don't care about the end result, it ceases to exist in their mind after they are done with it. My kiddos just like making the art, it's their parents that want to keep it. With this in mind, I've allowed for several projects that allow for being abstract, while giving us something nice to send home. But without a doubt the most popular art method is putting them around the table and letting them just spread the paint around.

Maximum mess and maximum enjoyment had by all, I assure you. I also did away with rotations, didn't work so I threw it out and I couldn't be happier. The kids still have their favorite areas, but I do see them moving about somewhat. 

Now on to daily life. We entertain a fair amount of visitors here, like most schools we have specialists stop in for a visit. But unlike other schools they can't just drive over from their house. So we host them while they are here, take them around, take them out for dinner, the works. I went out for dinner with guests four times in one week! 

But there are other aspects that are totally different. Like being sick, I have asthma so coughs tend to settle in for the long haul. I would strongly recommend that if you have asthma but haven't needed your medicine in a while to load up anyway before coming north. The dry air is murder, I'm also getting a vaporizer/ humidifier to help.

The teachers also do a lot at community events, which is fine by me, it's a great way to get out on weekends. This last week has been especially crazy because we had a Halloween carnival, which was pretty fun, especially seeing everyone's costumes. We also had a two day volleyball tournament which was a lot of fun to watch. Our school even won! Go Rams!!! I worked the gate the second day, which amounts to sitting by the front door waving and smiling at everyone that bought their pass on the first day.

Last night we saw the Northern Lights in earnest, the forecast said quiet, so I can't wait to see what a big storm looks like up here! They were amazing, like a little bit of heaven leaking through cracks in the sky. My friend Joe got some pictures, they're a little blurry but still good.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpveedubs/10641258174/in/photostream/lightbox/

Anyway that is the gist of what is happening, here is a brief photo dump for your viewing pleasure!

My hand compared with the track of what is probably a two year old cub.

Bear tracks going off onto the tundra.

These bears were chilling just outside of town.

Sunset.

Sunrise.

Looking back at town from the airport.

The lagoon is freezing over.

Vampire boat in front of the mountains.

Out in the suburbs of Kaktovik there is a 'You Know Ave.' If that isn't the best street name ever than I don't know what is.

Moonrise over the lagoon.

Gary the Arctic Flamingo.

Been A While...

Sometimes you just don't feel like there is anything to post about. School has progressed in much the way that any other school would. The staff had an inservice, the likes of which you won't find outside the bush! And my students are slowly beginning to understand school life.
So many things are different here - I paid $13 for a frozen pizza!!! But so much is the same, go to work, talk with friends, surf the internet... I'm still working on finding that relaxing bit of time for me though.
One thing I love is that it is officially winter (one thing I do not love is that I am going to be dropping a chunk of change on winter gear) we have had snow now for two weeks. Viewing polar bears in the snow is perhaps the best of anything!
Today is turning out to be a major workday because I got so many ideas from the inservice. I need to fix my room arrangement and revise (once again) how circle time works. Plus I need to write some lesson plans for my next unit, finding a way to increase four year old learning, while providing something for the three year olds to do. We are almost there! I also want to get some work done at my house as it has been sorely neglected.
One last note, we are currently the animal-less house. This is saddening to me and I am considering getting a dog.

The Early September Classroom Re-Evaluation

I think it happens for many teachers. At least it is happening to the teachers here, you are a few weeks into school and have decided that this method doesn't work, that subject needs more attention, or maybe I should completely rearrange my room. No, I'm not rearranging (too many pieces of furniture that I can't figure out a better place for) and I'm not devoting more time to a subject (I essentially have a 90 minute program) but my methods are getting worked over. I think that I have been applying logic that I would use with older students to my littles. It doesn't help that I seem to top out at six students (I have 8 enrolled) and I have nine centers! Elementary is also coming together to add Daily 5 into our routine so I decided to have Daily 2. I'll read to them and they'll read to a buddy.
Outside the classroom my time has been getting filled with different community/ cultural events, polar bear watching, and lesson planning. I like all those things but I also need the small group cozy gatherings (we did have a game night!) and a little 'me' time. Now that I am falling more into the planning groove though I think that I'll get some unscheduled time to relax and read or write. I hope to get some paints up here before winter too.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I haven't posted in so long! Sorry all. But with school officially started (including my littles) I haven't found too much time. Hopefully we'll get internet at the house eventually, 'til then when the day is over I don't want to hang around and update my blog. :)

First a few pictures of my classroom. this isn't my ideal set-up but I had to work with the furniture I had, many people comment on how open it is in here. But something else that helps is I got rid of several big pieces of furniture. Since Kindergarten is no longer in here we don't really need some of the stuff.

Art area, will get lots of use I'm sure.

We have a bit of a wild theme in the classroom.

The bulletin board that I have decided to devote to all things nerdy since it is hidden away.

Every time they read ten books they get a husky with their name on it.

I am very proud of the calendar I made.

My Inupiaq alphabet and number line (1-20).

Classroom panorama.

We also celebrated a co-workers birthday. He made a chocolate, bacon, coconut, cayenne pepper cake for us. It sounds bad, but actually tasted pretty good. (I would have left out coconut myself.)

Then later in the week we had bears a plenty, bears galore. We have been making excursions to see them and were rewarded with some great pictures!

Sorry about the photo dump!