Instagram!!! #teachertalktuesdays

I've joined Instagram with Thinking of Teaching! I've been on for awhile now with a personal account and love it..can't imagine it would be any less with all the incredible teacher ideas being shared.

Looking forward to all the Tuesdays to come.

Re-reading? A Do or a Don't?

Do you ever re-read your favourite books from when you were younger? Do you remember the book that created you as a reader? The book that ignited that spark? I do!

As a child I was in love with Anne of Green Gables (the whole series), and my second favourites were the Little House on the Prairie series and Little Women. It's not so surprising that historical fiction is still my favourite genre as an adult!

There is something special about reading a book that you love. You know what's going to happen, you know the characters like they are friends and yet you hang on every word waiting to see what's going to come next.

If you haven't read Anne of Green Gables- stop here! SPOILER

Every time I sit down to read Anne of Green Gables (which I try to do every year) I feel like I am greeting an old friend that I haven't seen in awhile. I anxiously wait to see if Marilla and Matthew will decide to keep Anne. I am indignant when Gilbert calls Anne "carrots" and enraged when Anne is forced to sit with Gilbert as a punishment. I cry big, fat tears when Matthew dies and wonder how Anne's life will ever be the same.

Reading an old favourite is like a warm cup of tea, or hot chocolate that greets you after a cold winter day. It's a hug from a loved one. It's the feeling I want to inspire in all my students, and now especially my daughter! I bought Avery her very own copy of Anne of Green Gables and it is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. Hardcover. Pink with tea cups, teapots and flowers embossed on the cover. Gorgeous. I wrote a special note inside for my little little and I look forward to the day when I can introduce her to something that has been such a huge part of my life.

As I have grown older I have noticed that I connect with Anne at very different times in her life than when I was younger. As a girl I ached for Anne to get her puffed sleeves, just as I ached to wear the right clothes and "fit in". As a teen I wanted Anne to win that Avery scholarship and go to college just like I anxiously awaited my own university acceptance. I held my breathe on Anne's first day as a teacher and hoped she would be a success and loved by her students. On my own first day I tried not to let me nerves show and thought that if Anne could make it through then so could I.

And now I am a mom. I have finished Anne of Green Gables  and am working my way through Anne of Avonlea. I can't wait to get to the time that Anne becomes a mom. Will that resonate with me like all the rest of Anne's life has? I have no doubt.

As I always tell my students-  Re-reading a book is great. You are a different person now than when you first read it and can probably learn something new.

Fighting the Monster

Jen from Runde's Room is having a sale this weekend and all of the proceeds are going to help a young boy in his fight against cancer. 

Please take a moment to visit Jen's blog and her TPT store to help in any way you can!

Big News!!

So I know it's been awhile since I've really posted anything of substance but I have some really good reasons. 

Yes, I said reasons. Plural.

First, we bought a new house!! It has more bedrooms. A bigger yard. A fireplace. It's not a condo. So many pluses.

Then, we had to sell our place which meant we had to get it ready. Wow, was that not fun. We shipped our dog off to the in-laws for a week, hid all/most of Avery's toys and actually made the bed for a change. We listed on a Tuesday morning and had an offer by Wednesday night. Great!!

Not so great....the closing date for both house is the last day of school. Which I can't take off, obviously. So I'll go to work in the morning from my old house, hope everything goes well with the move and come home to a new house. Crazy.

But, I have saved the best news for last....on top of all of the house news we are also having a BABY!!

Which means that I have been dealing with all this while in the first trimester and super-tired. The baby is due in early November, so I am about 10 weeks right now and almost through the tiredness and everything else that goes with the start of a pregnancy. So far it's been so different than my first pregnancy (no morning sickness!!!) and I am looking forward to being in the new house, getting a nursery ready again and moving Avery into her big girl room. 

So much life all at once.

Happy.

Our Day of Pink

Here are some the activities my class participated in for Day of Pink!

Brainstorming how we can stand up to bullying!

Creating a class mural.

We also read a number of books:

The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein

Pink by Lynne Rickards

The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman

I also showed this clip of a flashmob that was put together for Day of Pink.

Finally, this video by Artists Against Bullying- True Colours.

I hope you had a chance to share, talk, create, and read about this important day.