Indiana Goes Back to School Blog Hop

Thanks Hilary for the shout out and sending readers my way!  I'm excited to see what you've created!

It's that time of year again!  BACK TO SCHOOL TIME!!! YAY!!!

Now I know some of you teachers are still enjoying your summer vacation, but the busy bloggers in Indiana have been preparing their arsenal of tricks for the beginning of school.  One of my awesome blogging buddies had the brilliant idea to have a blog hop between us and boom  the Indiana Back to school blog hop was born.

My contribution is a song lyric sheet I plan on using in my classroom.  My new school is with high expecations for EVERY student.  No matter where they come from all kids in this school system are expected to go to college.  It starts at the youngest grades and continues to high school.  Because of this I was inspired to use Will.I.Am's What I Am song in the classroom to build classroom community.  If you've never seen the video with Sesame Street characters check it out here and afterward, check out my freebie here!

Alright!  Check out the rest of the Indiana bloggers throughout this blog hop.  Personally I can't wait to see what Nicole has in store for us as we all return back to school.  Check out her freebie as the caption for our button.  HAPPY BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

All Things Apple In 2nd

Indiana Blogger Meet Up

I'm very much behind my fellow Indiana bloggers with the post... so I'll put down my delicious Panera salad to tell all about the amazing women I had the pleasure of meeting recently.

Thanks again to Graphics by Kady Did Doodles 

On July 11, I spent 3 hours eating delicious Mexican food and gabbing with wonderful women.  Before I even walked into the building I was getting out of my car and was told by a man leaving the restaurant, "You must be one of the teachers meeting up here."  I guess I exude teaching like a pheromone.  I walked in and found the fabulous ladies who planned the whole event.   Heather from Teaching Through Turbulence and Cierra from Adventures of Room 129 were amazing at planning the get together.  We had personalized name tags and even a picture frame with in an inspiring quote. They even thought of a "Dirty Santa Teacher" gift giving game.  Everyone brought a school supply or TPT product to be gifted, traded, and stolen. 



This beautiful collage was created by Jenny at LuckeyFrog's Lilypad

It still amazes me that a group of 14 other bloggers from ALL over Indiana and some surrounding states all were chatting away like friends within a few minutes of meeting.  The afternoon I only took a few pictures to document the fun... but boy did we ever have a great time.  I'm still a bit star struck by meeting some of the people I have been following and now being able to say I actually have meet them.  Check out these awesome ladies on their own blogs through the linky.  I'll be reading their blogs and keeping in contact until our next meet up, which if you ask me can't come soon enough.

PS:  I just am working on transferring my blog to Blog Lovin... so <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/6349335/?claim=375xf6nbr77">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

CURRENTLY

Grr!!! Don't you hate it get annoyed when you have a post almost completely finished and ready to post when all of the sudden it disappears... yeah me too.  Let's try this again.

I love Farley  and her awesome linky party.  I know I'm super late in posting this...  but I have no internet in my new apartment.  So here's the run down.

Listening:  All of you T. Swift haters out there can put your haterade down right now.  I've been a loyal fan of her music since I was a high school senior.  And proud of it.  :)

Loving:  Sipping on my Skinny Iced White Chocolate Mocha is my summer version of my favorite winter drink.  And I can use the internet at Starbucks for as long as I want.

Thinking:  The exhausted woman in me is saying, "Go back home and curl up with a book and nap your Saturday away."  The proactive teacher in me is saying, "GET OFF YOUR REAR!"  Oh internal conflict. Thankfully this post is on my to-do list so both sides are appeased.

Wanting:  I just moved into my BRAND NEW Indy apartment.  I've got the furniture in for the most part.  Unfortunately it's still pretty barren and boring.  Pinterest has been my best friend for a little over 2 weeks.  Too bad my pocketbook is that of a teacher and not an interior designer. There will be future posts about the progress.  I promise.

Needing:  Longer weekends.  Need I say more? 

Tip/Hint:  Blogging is a thing that can be overwhelming especially as a beginner.  I have just come to the conclusion that if I write truthfully about what's happening then I will stop comparing myself to other teachers... I will still beg, borrow, but never steal ideas from other teachers. 

Alright! I'm off to do productive things today.  Wish me luck.

Here's What You Missed

I'm back from an extended hiatus from blogging.  Why was I such a terrible blogger?  Probably because I have been living out a suitcase for 4 weeks. But there have been a lot of changes in my life since then.  Buckle up blogger buddies...  Here's been my journey back home so far!


1.  This week is my 4th week for my summer day camp job.  Hooray!  I get to work with kiddos all year long and workout for free because the place I work at allows staff free membership during their employment.  Here's a picture from a lunch outing with another counselor that resulted in a cupcake bakery find. 

Can't you just imagine the taste of that cupcake?

2.  I went to visit my aunt in Chicago this Wednesday.  We bonded over my favorite breakfast restaurant Le Peep foods, talked about life,  and did a bit of apartment furniture window shopping.

Gotta love this woman!

3. I got a new car recently.  Yeah I'm so excited.  This is my first and only car I've ever owned myself. Say hello to my Silver Senorita!

Getting the keys!!

 
4. I am officially a teacher in Indiana.  Yes ma'am and sir!  I got a job in Indianapolis.  I will not lie to anyone it was scary moving back with no job possibilities, but it worked out in the end.  As of right now I am supposed to be teaching 3rd grade.  Which, in my opinion is the best grade EVER!

This is what I looked like on the Orientation Day.

5.  I am moving in my very own Indiana apartment.  More pictures to come.  :)

After 4 weeks of searching, prayer, and hard work... now I'm ready to start my new life in Indiana! 

As you can tell from this post this is a summer of lots of craziness, so the next time I'll be posting on here I will be writing about the Indiana Blogger Meet Up.  SoOoOo excited about meeting up with the other teachers from my home state of Indiana.  Be on the look out for more details.

You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone

I've been back in Indiana about 8 days.  Count 'em EIGHT days!!! I know I can't believe it either.  I'll use this post as a way of letting future rural teachers know the ups and downs of being a "world traveling" teacher.

Letting Go
When you spend 2 years of your life putting roots down it's hard when you have to make the move back home.  I didn't expect my leaving to make such a fuss, but there were several tears and not from my students but from adults and teens in my village.  My last few days were spent getting rid of junk and cleaning.  Lots of helpers walked away with free stuff because let's be frank here... I am not spending almost $20 to send home EVERYTHING in my house.  The night before I left I was invited to the dance sponsored by the village.  I have never had so much fun dancing like a fool with 3 year olds to 60 year olds.  The day I was leaving I had two little girls walk me from my house to the airstrip and gave me presents to remember them by.  I am tearing up just thinking about those girls right now. 

I will not forget my experience in the village because it has definitely had an impact on who I am today.  I will not forget the kids I worked with or the families that opened their arms to me.  I can't forget the tears and hugs I gave away during those last few days.  Will I ever return?  Never say never!

Flight Back Home
Alright so my trips take 24+ hrs to get from my village all the way to Indianapolis.  God must have been watching out for me because I was picked up on my last bush flight by a caravan, which is like the limos of planes and ran into other teachers leaving their villages at the same time.  When I got into Anchorage I managed to find a comfy spot to do a bit of reading and relaxing during a 10hr layover.  About 4 hrs in I got a call from a colleague asking if I wanted to do dinner in the city.  And finally when I got on my overnight flight, I had a row to myself.  (I repeat:  A ROW TO MYSELF) Yours truly managed to get an uninterrupted 6 hours of sleep on a plane!! 

SURPRISE!!!

 

Have I mentioned before I am blessed with a pretty rocking boyfriend?  He showed up at the airport an hour early with my favorite color of roses... kissed me in front of complete strangers and managed to plan surprise party with his family.  I walked into his house after being a complete pill complaining that it wasn't fair we weren't going to my favorite restaurant (arrival tradition) and saw his sweet family all yelling surprise and a huge banner with balloons, cake, and presents.  Yeah I'm pretty sure he loves me.

 

End of the Year Reflections

This is a perfect post to do on my last day of teaching here in the bush!  Thanks Miss Lifesaver for creating a chance to link up with other bloggers.  I might be a little obsessed with blogging after this year's blogger experiences!  I'm totally okay with that.

Without further adiue:

1. What was the biggest professional challenge you faced this year?
   My biggest professional challenge was implementing my own version of writer's workshop.  As a second year teacher, with LOTS of room to do my own thing in the classroom, this was an amazing opportunity.  It was also a very difficult experience because I don't have much experience with the Writer's Workshop model.  And... to top everything off... I work with students who have had K-2 experience reading and writing in the Native Alaskan language of Yup'ik.  On the bright side my kids and I have grown exponentially this year from this.  They are all able to write a paragraph that makes sense and is on topic!  Yay!
   
2. What was the biggest personal challenge you faced this year?
   Wow.  This has been quite a year of growth personally for me.  I guess the biggest challenge for me would have to be making the choice to move back to Indiana.  There have been lots of health issues my dad has been facing in the past 2 years, my little sister is expecting her first child, and I just found out my sister-in-law is battling breast cancer.  Not to mention handling a long distance relationship for 2 years has been another reason for coming home.  I can't wait to finally be there for my friends and family again.
   
3. How do you think you've grown from your experiences?
   I think I'm a smarter, more mature, and interesting person because of all that has happened to me this year.  Getting to teach in rural Alaska has changed my life in more ways than I can explain.  I am no the same perosn that I was last year or when I started this job in Alaska.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about what's in store for me.  (Where will I be living?  What job will I hopefully get? Etc.) But, I have faith that my God can move mountains and has great things planned for my future.
   

You Are the Dancing Queen...

It's been a beyond crazy past week here for me with Prom, Graduation, and end of the school year fun times.  If I were to tell you everything this post would be a million miles long.  I won't bore you to tears, so I'll just post pictures and a quick blurb about each of them.

Prom

In our village the school hosts a prom for the 7th-12th grade students as well as the community.  Yours truly becomes a dancing fiend  chaperone for the night as well as the decorator extraordinaire! This years theme was Rouge Dream... very girlie with pinks and purples.  The kids did a great job getting the gym ready and making it look like a different place.  The night of prom I hosted a girls afternoon and ended up curling not only my own hair, but 7 other teens!  My oh my did my fingers hurt by the end of the night.  Once everyone was ready and the music began there was lots of dancing and giggling that filled the night.  I am sure going to miss going to prom every year when I move.

Awards

Look at my kiddos!  I was seriously blessed with this class this year.  Our behavior went from second grade all the way to soon to be fourth grade material.  Many of us were struggling readers and are now able to decode and comprehend with ease.  Most importantly we love to learn and know how a community of people work together to make things better for everyone.  At our Friday assembly I had passed out two kinds of awards to reward my classes efforts.   The first was student chosen (These came from Primary Paradise TPT  HERE) and the second was picked by me.  (I got them from Mrs. Parnell's TPT store HERE )  Both of these were perfect for what I wanted to say to each child.  Also, my entire class  placed on the AR reading race against the 4/5 grade class we have been competing with, so everyone got a ribbon, certificate, and pencil.  To top everything off I had several kids that acheived honor roll and perfect attenance which means they were put in a drawing to win cool prizes.  And low and behold one of my kids won both a perfect attendance AND honor roll prize.  WOOT WOOT!

Graduation

Friday was also graduation day for our three seniors at the school.  This year I was close to the two girls because I was lucky enough to be their FEA (Future Educators of Alaska) Adviser. I even was able to take the one in  pink to Anchorage for the first time in her life for a pre-teaching conference.  I think that made this year's graduation all the more special.  I clapped and hollered when I heard their accomplishments named, cried with pride, and celebrated their movement to the next step of their life.

Alright back to the grindstone.  Two more days until school is out and only 6 until I get home to Indiana!

Indiana Bloggers Blog Hop

Thanks Mrs. Rippy for having readers make a "pit stop" on my page.  Hahaha. Get it?!  Race humor.  What can I say I work with little kids who love my terrible puns.

I'm so excited to be joining up for my very first blog hop.  I was invited to collaborate with fellow Hoosier bloggers by the lovely Brenda from Primary Inspired. I couldn't say no, especially with my big move back home to Indiana is happening in only 8 days!!!

Feeling like I'm missing out on all the Indy 500 spirit that I see pouring out of friends and family back home I decided to make a few pages to help students practice writing their numbers to 100.

There are three pages to practice different skills.  Since this is my first freebie, please don't judge the cute factor. I made this because even though I teach 3rd grade I still sometimes have my kids asking what comes after 76 or 53... Summer isn't even here!! Ah well.  Practicing never hurt anyone...

With that this teacher needs to go to bed... but not before I send you on your way over to the wonderful Jodi at Fun in First Grade!  I'll be racing right over there myself in the morning!

Budding Blog Link Up

http://iheartrecess.blogspot.com/2013/05/may-budding-blog-linky.html

Since I've got way less than 200 followers I decided to participate in another linky party.  Thanks
I {Heart} Recess for coming up with a way to help out little blogs like myself.  :)  I will totally be checking out other bloggers through this.


1. Why did you start blogging?
I actually started blogging for the purpose of keeping people updated on my experience teaching in rural Alaska.  When I graduated from University of Indianapolis, my amazing alma mater, I was looking for adventure and applied to a school district in southwest Alaska.  I was contacted all of June and the day before I took a mission trip to Mexico I got the call offering me my dream grades 3/4.  Because all of my friends and family wanted to keep in touch during my adventure here I started this little blog.  Now it's also blossomed into a way to network with other teachers and become inspired to be more creative in the classroom.

2. What is your favorite subject to teach and why?

My favorite subject to teach hands down is reading.  I LOVE to teach reading for all sorts of reasons.  Seeing the light bulb go off for emerging readers.  Gauging student growth.  Tying all sorts of other subjects with reading. Introducing students to new worlds such as Narnia, Wonderland, and District Twelve.  That you can escape everything going on and escape with a book.

“At one magical instant in your early childhood, the page of a book—that string of confused, alien ciphers—shivered into meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, whole universes opened. You became, irrevocably, a reader.”  -Alberto Manguel

3. Describe your teaching style.
That's absolutely the hardest question to ask me, because daily I think it changes.  As an indvidual, I'm a person that is not very structured, silly, and spontaneous... but in the classroom I'm the opposite.  I have specific times and routines that my kids have come to love and implement when I'm gone.  I love when my kids look at the clock and tell me it's time for AR reading time.  Or that it's time for us to do our science experiment.  How I usually instruct in my current position is using the "I Do, You Do, We Do" method, but I'm flexible with my kids needs. I personally enjoy being a facilitator rather than an instructor.  Finally, I make it a goal to have my class thrive on group work because I was blessed to have teachers and college professors that exposed me to classrooms that had a great sense of community.

4. Give three interesting facts about you.

• I know 3 different languages pretty well.  Yup'ik, sign language, and Spanish pretty conversationally fluently.  My ASL and Spanish are a little rusty after 3 years.
• I read magazines from the back to the front.  I started doing that when I was in high school because I got tired of flipping through a million ads.
• If I hadn't been a teacher I would have been a wedding/event planner.  I love finding ideas for baby showers, birthday parties, and weddings.  ESPECIALLY on Pinterest.  It's kinda my favorite thing to do other than teaching.

5. Do you have a TpT store?
I do have a TPT store, but I have yet to utlize it.  That's a goal I have for this summer and next year.  I will actually be creating my first freebie this weekend!  I'm super excited.  Stay tuned!

Five For Friday

Does anyone else feel like these last few weeks are going by SOOOO slowly?!  My goodness.  In the classroom time goes by at a snails pace, but once the bell rings it zooms by in a rocket.  Probably because I am still in the midst of packing and applying for jobs.  Yay for linking up.  Thanks again Doodle Bugs Teaching for connecting everyone.  Here's my week in about 5 sentences.  I'll start out with the bad and end with the good.

1. On Monday I got a phone call in the middle of the day, which is never a good sign, and was told to call my brother back when school let out.  That feeling something was wrong ate away at my stomach until 3:45.  I gave my big brother a call and my heart hit the floor with the news I got.  His beautiful and amazingly kind wife of only 3 years had been diagnosed with stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma.  The news didn't hit me until the next day after a particularly rough day at school.  I was a puddle of tears for about an hour, until I noticed how my brother and his wife are taking the news.  My brother has created a Facebook support page that has nearly 100 followers and is all about kicking this cancer's butt.  My sister-in-law is as amazing as ever with positive thoughts and posts about the news she's receiving almost immediately after she finds out.  So... instead of being sad and scared I've adopted my brother and sister-in-law's new motto of being WENDYSTRONG.
   
2. Mother's DayHas anyone else read Mama, Do You Love Me? to their class this week?  It was perfect for Mother's Day and relatable for m y 100% Yup'ik classroom.  The story is about a Native Alaskan Inuit mother and daughter who discuss the conditions of love as only a young child and mother can.  My class LOVED reading the story!  They were proud to see their culture represented.  They loved it so much that I decided to have them use art to represent themselves as the little girl/boy asking their own mothers!  Here's what we created.
3.  Moving/Packing
   Boy oh boy do I hate packing.  There's only 16 days left until I go home.  I changed my flights to an earlier flight, costing myself 200 dollars but saving myself 2 more days with everyone in Indiana.  On the downside that means I really have to get busy with my packing.  I absolutely abhor packing... Any suggestions on how to make it easier and/or more fun??
4.  Warm Weather
   I know I know I know, it's almost half way through May and it is warm everywhere... except in Alaska.  Recently we had such a warm up that I went to the village store and picked up ICE CREAM! YUMMY!
   

   

   The Atmau Teacher Family goes for ice cream!

   
   
   With the warm weather brings melting snow and ice, as well as the kids staying out to play later and later.  Yesterday I was sitting in my classroom minding my own business doing something productive (Shocking, I know!) and all the sudden I heard "SPLAT!!!" and giggling outside my window.  It was several of the little girls in my class throwing snowballs at me.  :) Definitely made me smile!
   
5. TPT Sales
   I recently posted on my FB that I will at some point end up selling my first and second born children to TPT because there is always such good stuff!!! You can never have too many good resources.  This summer one of my goals is to try to be better at creating my own stuff to sell and give-away on that awesome website!

CURRENTLY: I will always come right back to you

Linking up again with the infamous Farley for her Currently Link Up.  It might be my favorite post I do all month.  :)  I love the teacher blogging community.  I'm super mad I never joined up in the fun last year.  Oh well... se la vie!

• Listening:  Where We Left Off by Hunter Hayes, might just be the quintessential long distance song.  Found it this weekend when I was in one of those ready to be home with my S.O.
• Loving:  TPT/Blogger are my two favorite things to check when I come into the school daily.  Since I live so remotely, I go over the school for more than just work purposes... and some how these two websites end up being part of my fun time.  No complaints here. :)  I love teaching stuff even when it's the weekend.
• Thinking:  GRADES will be due soon and I've completely been dropping the ball.  Grr.  Don't you hate when you are doing so many engaging and relevant lessons that it becomes tedious to grade?  Oh well... That's what my netflix and spotify accounts will be useful for these next 6 hours.
• Wanting:  I think there is a pattern  here.  I NEED MY DIET COKE FIX.
• Needing:  Mother's day is only a week away.  This year I will not only be buying for my own mother, but also for my little sister.  She's expecting her first bouncing boy in August.  What to do when you 4000  miles away?!
• Summer Bucket List:  
• First and foremost I will be participating in the Color Run 5K that will be taking place at Downtown Indy.  I'm super pumped to do it, since my best friend and I LOVED it last year.  It's also part of another goal for the summer, which is to drop at least 20lbs.  I'm not obese by any means but a good portion of self discipline wouldn't hurt my health. :)  
• Second goal, but is my first priority, find a teaching job in Indiana.  I'm super excited to be making the transition  back home, but would feel even better if I knew I was going to be teaching in the fall.  PRAYERS, TIPS, and SUGGESTIONS are welcome!
• Finally, I can't wait to spend time with my boyfriend.  Yep! 2.5 years together and 20 months of that have been spent 4000 miles away... we're done with being the Long Distance Couple.  Ready for some QT with my cutie.  (Terrible pun, I know!  But I just couldn't resist.)
  
  

Slice of Life....

Have I got a neat idea for you guys!  I tried out something new with my class today.  It was a brainchild of too much time on my hands and having great friends that are soooo creative.  First and foremost check out this Slice of Life scholarship entry by none other than a former resident of mine (during my Resident Assistant  days).  Hit like if you're into the video.  She's super talented and deserves a scholarship to help out with school costs! 

Okay, shameless plug over with....  below you find the pictures of what my kids and I created with her help using Skype.  The whole process is pretty easy.  Come up with a concept.  It can be a saying, animal, person... whatever!  Once you've got an idea, start peeling.  When you're peeling the orange do you best to keep as much of it intact as possible.  The bigger the pieces the more possibilities.

 Once you've gotten your orange all the way peeled begin using your nails and fingers to shape, pick, and mold your object.  If you mess up, don't worry.  It just means you get to make something different.

As you're finishing up think about a saying that goes along with your peel.  I had to help my kids a lot with that one, but you can always brainstorm before hand...  Use strips of paper or even the peel itself to create your inspirational saying.

My kids had a rough time at first, because they're not good with few directions, but in the end LOVED the creativity it provided them.

Good luck!

Five for Friday.... Except it's late

Thanks readers for not lighting torches and picking up your pitchforks.  It's been an incredibly busy 2 weeks for this poor teacher.  Most of my post has to do with my chaperoning duties, but I'll include some fun stuff too.  Head on over to Doodlebugsteaching to participate in the Linky Party!

http://www.doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.ca/2013/04/five-for-friday-linky-partyapril-19th.html

1.  TESTING IS FINISHED!  Thank the Lord!!! I took this great photo on the last day of testing when I promised my kids we'd play with art tools.  I absolutely love bringing art into the classroom, because sometimes I think our kids are just TOO inundated with technology and jsut neeed to practice using their imaginations and creating something of their own.  

 2.  I took a high school student into Anchorage for a Future Educators of Alaska conference.  It's a conference held for high school students that are interested in going into the education field and specifically geared towards getting these students to stay and teach in their home state.  It was an amazing opportnity for my high school student to meet other high school student from different areas!  And... she got to experience some of the little things city people take for granted.

3.  I got some cute things in Anchorage, because I'm a total girlie girl and LOVE shopping as much as the next person.  Say hello to my new favorite top.  I've been soo afraid to jump on the mint bandwagon, but after I bought this top and matching heels.... I'm a lover for life.

4.  I also managed to have my high school student help me make a "Yupik Eskimo Polar Bear" for my little sister's bundle of joy.  Yes... my little sister is expecting and due in August.  I'm just now getting used to the news myself! :)

 5.  My mentor visited me for the last time this week.  :(  So sad to not get to see her again, unless I'm lucky enough to come visit her during a holiday.   But her visits were nothing but amazing.  She helped me prep for intereviews, moving, and even videotaped a lesson or two.  With all of her love and support I think I'm a blessed 2nd year teacher. I wish I would've gotten a photo with this amazing woman, but it has been quite the busy week.

Now I'll leave everyone with my ABSOLUTE favorite slam poet telling it like it is about teaching.

Currently... I Will Wait

By the looks of it, I am tardy for the party... Thanks to Farley for creating an awesome way to connect with other teacher bloggers.  Now if I could only get my stuff together and be as awesome at blogging as all you other ladies. :)  Oh well 2 years of experience is a start... right?

Listening:  I blame my Alaska teaching best friend Mr. B for starting the new obsession with Mumford and Sons.  That song has become my classroom song for writing and independent work time.  Once in a while if I'm quick enough I can catch my kids singing along with the chorus!  So cute.

Loving:  I know... I know.... personal life on a teaching blog?!  Who would do such a thing? Someone in a 2 year long distant relationship.  That's who!  ;)  Plus he was sweet enough to send me a goofy message this morning before testing.

Thinking:  Packing.  You'll probably be seeing a lot of that in the next blog posts.  Any advice on how to make packing less daunting?  Besides selling everything you own?!

Needing:  Patience.  It's state testing time and I feel like my kids heads are going to explode and so is mine.  So here's a funny to show how I feel about standardized testing.

http://pinterest.com/pin/101894010291523197/

 

Advice:  "When in doubt... dance it out"  Might be the best thing I've ever done.  When kids are getting antsy have them do a little freeze dance game.  When you're tired of writing lesson plans put on your favorite 90s pop song and dance around your classroom.  When you're overwhelmed with packing or cleaning put on your best rock music and have a personal concert of one... 

http://pinterest.com/pin/414260865693765280/

Five For Friday... Better Late Than Never

Isn't there a saying about how it's ok to arrive "fashionably late"?  Can that go for the blogging world too?  Apologies for posting about 4 days later than I'm supposed to for a linky party.  It's just been crazy with the whole moving back to Indiana, Easter, and state testing.  This post has a bit of cultural explanations.  So... here goes.

1.  This week has been spent in preparation for testing.  The state of Alaska begins standardized testing in 3rd grade, much like many other states.  Normally I wouldn't be so concerned with testing, but I'm the first year of all English instruction and the first year of standardized testing.  Thankfully with the help of lots of practicing test format, language, and math skills I think this group is going to do awesome.

2.  Moving.  I HATE PACKING!  It's stressful and kind of sad... especially when you're not sure where exactly you're making the move to.  But I have faith in the Lord.  Because as my life verse says:  Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord.  "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

3. Visiting friends between villages makes time go by even faster than it already is.  Mr. B and I hopped on a snowmachine and made our way over to a neighboring village.  I had a girls night with a a fellow lady teacher and we all met up for darts and chilli the next morning. Yay!


4.  There was a death in the village earlier this month and  the body has finally been laid to rest this Saturday.  The person was a very kind and caring community member and cared a great deal for the school.  It broke my heart to hear the sad news.  When there is a death in the village there are some cultural events that happen, feasting, sitting with the body, and there are certain things people can't do during the mourning period.  There is to be no ball playing and no clothing out on the lines.  I was fortunate enough to meet with the family members and pay my respects the day before the funeral and took a few photos.

5.  Easter is a big deal here in my village.  Our school actually puts on an egg hunt for the grades K-12.  Throughout the week the kids decorate eggs and on Friday class by class the kids are sent out to find eggs around the outside of the school.  It was so cute and fun to see my kids searching for the eggs they'd spent time decorating.  I even got a chance to decorate 2 of my own.  ;)

Can you tell I miss my boyfriend back home in Indiana???

I Don't Know About you... but I'm Feeling 22.

Weekly update:
A week later than everyone else around the country my class celebrated St. Patrick's Day with trapping a Leprechaun.  Thanks to all the bloggers, pinterest, and TPT people who helped me come up with a way to motivate my kids to write their hearts out and build traps around the room.  Here's just little taste of our Friday madness.

Alaska Cultural Update...
Every year there is a cultural festival held in Bethel, Alaska (nearest "town" to all the villages in our district) that everyone from the area flies or snowmachines out to see.  It's called Camaii (pronounced Juh-mY) which means "Greetings/Welcome/Nice to meet you" in Yup'ik.  This was my second and last year to join in for the fun, so Mr. B and I climbed on to his "snow-go" and high-tailed it to Bethel for the festivities.

Some of the neat things you're sure to see is a variety of Yup'ik dancing, drumming, and LOTS of native crafts.  Ivory sculptures, qaspeqs, parkas, fur hats... you name it it's probably being sold at Camaii.  Sometimes there's even other non-Yupik dance groups that get invited.  This year there was an African/Caribbean drumming group, Alutiq dancers, as well as a hula dance group from Hawaii!  So cool!

Yours truly managed to spend a bit more than she REALLY wanted to, but I walked away from Camaii a qaspeq and polar bear fur dancing headdress richer.  It was also really nice to spend time with some of the second years before I head back home to Indiana for good this summer.