Following Polaris: 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!