The reason you haven’t heard from me much this month is of course because my new favourite thing is….
Our Kindergarten Classroom
The start of the school year is always a whirlwind, and the switch to kindergarten has added in a huge learning curve for me, but I think we’re finding our groove! A couple of little highlights:
The interactive word wall. The kids and their families sent in pictures to go with their assigned letters, and it really helped give them ownership and add to the enthusiasm for the wall. It will just be used for names and age-appropriate sight words, but I still think a word wall is important for the classroom. It has already been rearranged since this picture was taken, as we have seven “K” names in the class and needed to adapt the space!
Our new classroom carpet. The saga of ordering and waiting for this piece of beauty is a story in itself, but long story short: we now have a wonderful spot where each of our 29 students can have their own space when we gather, and a soft, cozy place to sit and play for all of our open blocks of the day.
Cross Country
We have lots of staff members at our school willing to pitch in, so my big coaching commitment begins and ends in the fall with Cross Country. This year our 90-member team once again achieved amazing results, and my girls’ hard work paid off as well, with Liv bringing home gold and Eva bronze. I’m so proud of everyone, not for running ability (though that helps) but for their determination and their sportsmanship.
Fall Decorating
If you know me, you know I love the heat, and I’m always sad to see summer go. However, I do get excited about seasonal decorations, and being at my mom’s house last week really got me inspired. Here’s a selection of her festive touches.
Great Kids’ Book
I was sent a copy of The STEM Club Goes Exploring (from the My Future Story series) for review, and it’s fantastic. While it’s picture-book style, there’s a lot of rich text on each page, so it’s not a read-aloud, but instead a fun way for growing kids (I’d say 8+) to explore different career possibilities. Diverse boys and girls are represented in the detailed illustrations, and the book offers a great age-appropriate overview of the huge range of amazing options for kids who love STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). We know that girls may need added encouragement to pursue their passions in these areas, so it would be a great gift for a little lady in your life – or a little gentleman, of course!
Entertainment
If you’re usually drawn to these posts for my book and movie recos, I’m sorry to disappoint you! I don’t have one non-professional grownup book to recommend this month (I tried and abandoned a couple of works of fiction), but I did see one great movie: Bridget Jones’s Baby. I learned, from my fellow movie-goers, that not everyone is a Mark Darcy fan (what is wrong with you people?) and believe it or not the fact that 2016 Renee Zellweger doesn’t look identical to 2004 Renee Zellweger (from the last Bridget movie) did not ruin the film for me. If you haven’t read her Huffington Post piece, you must.
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