Well as of right now I am living alone in my new house and it gets lonely sometimes. Molly headed back to Arkansas due to illnesses and she was advised not to come back and to stay around doctors. She has been greatly missed by her students and her colleagues. So for christmas I decided to do an art project with the students and include older students hoping that they would set an example for the younger kids and for the most part it worked! Here are a few pictures of that project.
It was really fun and I know the kids had a good time doing it.
Well after that we started getting ready for our Christmas program. We decided to sing the song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer because I had kits where the students could make their own antlers and they really had fun with that. Every day we practiced singing the song for about a half hour and I think the kids were getting sick of it. Soon after the Christmas program the teachers headed home to see our families. The only problem about flying in the Bush is that it is always weather permitting and the weather was not permitting on the day we were to leave. It was really foggy until about 6 PM when a plane finally made it out to Marshall it got a flat tire. Another plane could not land to get the first plane fixed until the first plane was moved off the runway. So as teachers we are ready for anything right? Well that night we ended up towing the plane with a 15 passenger van full of our gear and us. It was really a sight to see. Something that I can tell my children! By the time the second plane came it was too late to get the teachers to Bethel to make it to our connecting flights. A lot of phone calls and a lot of money later I was able to make it onto a plane that was heading to Arkansas and would make it before Christmas Day.
When I finally made it to Arkansas I felt like I was in a dream. Was I really in a place that wasn't -30 and was Drew really holding my hand. For anyone who has been away from their significant other for a long time you know what I mean. Two weeks of bliss later it was time for me to get back on a plane and head back to Alaska to see my kiddos again.
We got back to work on a Thursday and those two days were great! The kids were great listeners and we got a lot accomplished together. I was able to also participate in Russian Orthodox Christmas. It was really cool! What happens during Russian Orthodox Christmas here is that members of the village walk from house to house following the star. Each house even if you are not a member of the church opens their homes to the star and the carolers then you give something to the carolers and those who are following the star. Here are a few pictures of the star. It spins the whole time the carolers are singing, and they sing for about 45 minutes. It was amazing to see these students standing still for 45 minutes!
Monday we started getting back into the routine of what really goes on in the classroom. I have just one student that has a hard time being in school every day. It is sad how this student takes away from the learning of all of the other students.
The other teachers tell me I am a saint for I what I get the opportunity to experience each day in my classroom. I just say it is another day in the life of a kindergarten bush teacher. This week I have had my calendar torn off the wall, toys on the floor, my boots in the toilet and in the sink, garbage sacks torn up, and my whiteboard eraser taken and gotten wet then wiped all over the walls.
The positives, my students are learning to count by 5's, they have almost completely finished their science standards and social studies, they have improved in their AIMS (reading) scores from the beginning of the year and they are nicer to each other.
I keep telling my principal that they might not be able to read next year but the students will know how to be nice to each other and know what a good choice and a bad choice are and that it is better to make a good choice. We are slowly getting there but I know they are on the right track!
Well I am off for another exciting week of teaching! This week we are going to study about Chinese New Year hopefully they learn a lot!
