Celebration of Learning

I’m not sure how many other schools do this, but every year, our school hosts what we call a Celebration of Learning. It is essentially student-led conferences, but rather than staying in a stationary place, the students have stations with either activities, projects or discussion places set up in order to demonstrate to their parents or families what they have been learning.

The tables I included in my room this year were:
Table 1 – Welcome Table – Take the piece of paper that has the activities and tables outlined as you travel around the room.
Table 2 – French – Play a memory match game using the cards which contain the French and English days of the week.
Table 3 – L.A. – Show your parents the textbook “Volcano” and describe what you have learned about Mount St. Helens. Then look at the Slideshow to show your picture with your volcano project.
Table 4 – Art – Show your parents your Huichol Yarn Painting and describe the method you are using to complete it.
Table 5 – Math – Get your bag of Skittles from the teacher and complete the written ratios.
Table 6 – Science – Using the materials provided, demonstrate the experiment we performed in class to prove that air takes up space (big, clear tub filled with water, clear glass, blank paper).
Table 7 – Spelling – Give your parents a spelling test using any lesson we have studied.
Table 8 – Social Studies – Share your plan with your family to help a problem in your community.
Table 9 – Bible – Using the Bibles provided, share one thing you have learned since studying Revelation.

This night does take a large amount of time to plan and set up, but the effects of it are awesome. There is little for the teacher to do, other than the set up and preparations. Instead, you get to sit back, make sure everything is running smoothly, and watch how the students interact with their own parents. You get to see parents smiling and laughing with their children. It’s really amazing to watch the relationships that get strengthened in a night like this.

I also like it because it causes busy parents to set extra time aside to sit and be interested in what their children are doing. I think the extra time alone, with the spotlight being on them in their classroom makes the night that much more special.

I’m curious to hear if your school does anything like this. Leave a comment below! I’m always up for new ideas!

Week 7 Day 5

I could barely get out of bed this morning. I am past the point of physical exhaustion, and well into mental exhaustion. I think the flag football tournament last weekend really messed me up. I’ve had no down time with the meetings and work I’ve been trying to catch up on. Not to mention my husband’s time with me has decreased and my house, well, let’s just say there is no way I’m letting anyone come through my door. I’m embarrassed. Somehow, I have to find time.

Today was a pretty normal day at work. Although the kids still had lots of questions and conversations they wanted to talk about which is fine. After all, it is Thursday and we don’t have school on Fridays so their minds are prepping for the weekend.

After work, I had another long meeting. I am also on the Social Committee which we’ve renamed InReach. We’re in  charge of planning staff retreats, monthly staff encouragement activities, spiritual growths, as well as any staff parties. Oh my goodness… and I thought my plate was full already. I’m starting to get scared of the workload, I really am. But it will be through God’s strength that these things get done, not my own. I know that for a fact.

This evening, somehow, we made it to the gym. It was my second leg workout of the week completed in three circuits. Legs kill me every time; every time. So I was more than happy when it was time to come home and go to bed.

Week 7 Day 3

It was nice to wake up back in my own bed. But I was still tired from the weekend’s activities. Nevertheless, I had picked up my food from the gym last night so I at least didn’t have to cook anything. It did hit me that this was my last week to have Fresh Fit Foods supply my meals! I’ll have to look at meal ideas later…

The day went alright. We had a presenter come in and show us replicas of Roman armour and related it to the Armour of God. It was an excellent presentation done by a man named Dick Stenbakken. You should really look him up. He created all of the pieces himself, and they’re amazing.

Of course, today the kids had so many questions about so many things, and I feel as if we did very little curriculum work. But when their questions are for good reasons, I really don’t mind.

I took a nap when I came home. I was just too tired. But my husband and I did make ourselves get up and go to the gym. Tonight was a mix of three circuits focussing on my shoulders, triceps and abs. I finished the workout with 25 minutes of steady state cardio. And when I came home, I very quickly headed back to bed.

Week 6 Day 7

So my mother started texting me at 4:00 a.m. My students woke up at 5:00 a.m. And despite any effort to make them go back to sleep, they were wide awake. And so, my girls were showered, dressed, hair and everything done and ready for church by 6:30 a.m. And yet breakfast wasn’t until 8:00 a.m. and church service not until 10:30 a.m. They spent a lot of time singing praises to God and even got compliments on sounding like a heavenly choir. I was so impressed.

Now the boys were a different story. They did not get up until much later. And although I turned on the lights at 7:15 a.m. so that they wouldn’t miss breakfast, I got yelled at to turn them back off. Oops. All in good fun though!

Following the church service that was held for us, we ate lunch (again, so thankful I had my meals prepared so that I could say no to the meal they had). However, what I didn’t expect was that I’d miss the activities for the next few hours.

We discovered a problem that had occurred between two students and it was immediately deemed that one student had to leave. Of course, upon hearing he would have to leave, he decided to make a run for it. I HATE running, more than I could ever explain to you. Not to mention running through brush and over hills. No need for a workout today. I got my cardio in for sure!

After everything was taken care of and settled back down, we were getting ready to play football in the town on their professional field. The kids played so well, even despite some unfair calls that were made, but that’s a different story. The problem was how cold it got. I had stopped and gotten snacks and hot chocolate for the students for later as even I was literally freezing watching the games.

We left the field at 11:30 p.m. (can you tell how long of a day this was for me?). The students were debriefed when we got back to the gym, they were thankful I had gotten snacks, and spent the rest of the night celebrating and having fun. After we sent them to bed and made sure they were all in bed, we went over to the weightroom and had a little fun workout session of our own. We kept checking in on the students who were of course tired and went to sleep very quickly. Following our workout, we sat around eating before bed. Again, couldn’t have done this without my pre-made meals. Thank you so much Fresh Fit Foods!

It was a late night of going to bed around 2:00 a.m., especially exhausted from already running so much today. But I was never more happy to see my sleeping bag on the floor, no matter how uncomfortable it was.

Week 6 Day 6

This morning was a bit of a rush, trying to get the downpayment for my Invisalign paid, trying to pick up a parcel from the Post Office, trying to get laundry done, trying to pack for the trip, trying to get the bed freshly made and the bedroom cleaned, trying to clean the bathroom, trying to make it on time to my chiropractor appointment, and trying to make sure all the extras, such as my food and vitamins and everything were all in order. I didn’t even get to the dishes like I wanted to! Ah! There is not enough time in a day.

I drove my own car down to the tournament while the rest of the students and the male sponsor (our P.E. teacher) went on the bus. We set up in the gymnasium where the girls slept on the stage and the boys slept on the gym floor below. There was only a drop down curtain on the stage to separate us. And the floor was less than comfortable.

There were only a few introductory activities that evening before everyone was sent to bed, but the kids were too excited to sleep right away and so eventually, they settled down and we were all to bed.

I did manage to get my workout in this morning, somehow. In fact, it was the first thing I did to make sure I got it in. Again, I did 3 circuits with a focus on back and biceps. I finished with 25 minutes of cardio.

And can I just say, having those pre-made meals made it so easy for me to say no to the supper they held for us at this event, and made it so convenient to have the fridge and microwave at my anytime access in the building we were sleeping. I don’t think I would have been able to stay on track otherwise! I may think about pre-ordering my food again when anticipating a trip away.

Week 2 Day 3 : A Hard Day

For the first time EVER, I woke up at 4:30 and went straight to the gym! I completed my circuit training and was able to make it home in time to help my husband get ready for work as well as do some laundry and take care of our animals while still getting ready and making it to work on time! What a morning! I also took delight in cooking and eating my breakfast at home, something that rarely if ever happens.

Of course, once I made it to school, I realized the pit in my stomach. My Jewel was leaving today. I was filled with sadness, anger, and several different emotions. I really am trying to stay positive about my neighbours, but I really have little good to say.

The day turned into an incredibly long day. I was at work from 7:30-6:20 in meetings and not accomplishing half of what I needed to. I estimate there are at least 5-7 hours worth of grading waiting to be done and huge paperwork deadlines for the end of the month that I have not had time to do.

Of course with the longer hours, I did not have enough meals with me to fill that time span and I was extremely hungry and tired.

I then became quickly stressed as I knew we were meeting my dad, my sister, and her boyfriend for her birthday supper and also so that my dad could take my baby. The only bad news is I couldn’t get ahold of my husband who was supposed to be coming with me. It was a couple hours before I could reach him.

I ended up packing up the dogs myself, and drove in my car to the restaurant, noticing along the way that I had forgotten some items Jewel needed for the flight and having to make a pitstop.

I was the last one to arrive, and we put the dogs in my husband’s truck with the windows down as people have a habit on calling Animal Patrol on all people, especially with dogs in the vehicle regardless of how they are prepped. In my husband’s tall truck, it is less likely people will climb it to see in the windows.

Supper was good, the food was excellent. I ordered a salad as you can always pick and choose the toppings: get a good chicken breast for protein, a couple nuts for fat, lots of greens and other veggies, and I also had quinoa on my salad for that extra carby protein. The salad was excellent!

We had a good time, but when it came time to say good-bye, I had a hard time. My baby was leaving and this was it. We took pictures, I went through thorough instructions, and did all that I could to say good-bye.

On the ride home, I went alone. My husband had the dogs with him in his truck, and I wept driving in my car. I began reflecting on life and how it seemed such a mess. I thought about how my husband and I are living in a city that we both don’t like, beside unfortunate neighbours, and things seem to be getting ripped away from us without us having any control. We’re both not happy where we are, as busy as we are, with the rules we have to face. The only thing in my life that seems to be somewhat controlled is my diet and the gym. That honestly is all I have control of. The government restricts my husband from school over a paper they refuse to admit they lost. The government restricts me from my babies that I never planned on having but have adapted and made my own sacrifices in order to keep and take good care of them. Those higher than me in my career control the amount of meetings and extracurricular activities I must do which take up more time than I would like to allow with no financial compensation. My husband’s job is controlled by the journeymen he works with and has to work the hours they set out each day. We are stuck in a city where jobs are more abundant to ensure that our bills can be paid since my husband cannot advance in his career without the government papers and thus needs a company that can take him on for now. Everything about my life seems to be controlled by someone or something else. I’m stuck. I’m a mess. The one thing I have is the gym.

And so even though it was late when we got home, we unloaded the dogs, sat for a minute, and went to the gym. The man at the desk recognized me from earlier that morning when he was ending his night shift and mentioned how shocked he was to see me twice in less than 24 hours. I smiled and continued to walk. The gym is the one thing people cannot take away from me. And so my cardio became complete; 12 minutes of HIIT on the stairclimber. And the day was done.