Grades 1-3

  They call me Ms. Amy or Amy. One child actually calls me Ms. Valentine because I said he could call me Ms. V and that reminded him of Valentines J Oh, they are so cute and loveable—and WIGGILY at this age! If I hadn’t been supply teaching in the primary grades this past year, I probably would not have taken this position. I still don’t know if I would want a full time position in the primary end, but it definitely is a fun change. We get to start the day with the singing of “O Canada” and then have some “Huddle Time” where we roll a die that has different questions on it like “What kind of music do you like?” or “What do you want to be when you grow up?” or “What is your favourite summer activity?” It’s pretty relaxed, although the act of listening to one another is definitely a skill that needs to be practiced in this class. Everyone wants to share at the same time and we have a rain stick that is supposed to dictate whose turn it is. These kids are especially hyper due to all the sunshine they are getting right now. I’ve also heard from some of my coworkers that many of their students have trouble with self-regulation; that is, understanding the reasons for their own feelings and needs and regulating their actions. Oftentimes, this translates into temper tantrums and exasperated whine-fests.

   One day last week, at 3:00 (school ends at 3:30), I had three kids all the sudden start bawling their eyes out and run to different corners of the room (one kid went under my desk) to hide and wail. Apparently, the boy who was leading the game of Hangman (I know…. great teaching methods!) was upset because someone (who wasn’t playing) told the other kids the answer. One of the girls who was shaking away in a corner, tears streaming down her face, was upset because the answer to the Hangman was “(her name) loves Dean”. Ack! Really! In grade 3?! Another girl was upset, hiding under our round table, but I’m still not sure why she was crying. Finally, Dean was standing in the middle of the room with his arms up in the air and a quizzical look on his face. I think he missed the whole episode and was wondering what happened to the Hangman game that he was trying to participate in.  Thankfully, in 30 minutes, we got everything sorted out and they were all wearing smiles by the time they went out the door at 3:30. When those things happen, I just want to yell at them “Get OVER it! You should NOT be this upset!” but I think there is a lot more going on in their lives than school that is stressing them out or factoring into these episodes. Exhaustion from lack of is one of those factors. I saw some of my 7 year-old students out playing at 9:30 pm one weeknight… Gak!

   Here is my classroom. It is beautiful! The school was built in 1998 (the last time there was an ice road- so they could bring in all the materials) and it is very big for its total of 40 students. This year is the first year it has had a highschool program. The highschool program is very unique and caters to the needs of the students who are around. Occasionally, the school misses out on having certain resources on hand, but generally they have or with careful planning can get anything they need for their programs. Teachers are flown down periodically for additional training sessions as well.

 

Figure 1 The School from the outside.

 

Figure 2 Its a huge room for 11 students.

 

 

 

Figure 3 Lots of resources and space to put them!

 

 

Figure 4 The kids go home for lunch for an hour which means I get an hour off in the middle of the day. Its pretty spectacular. These two backpacks seem to sit here all day and all night and all weekend. I'm not really sure what their purpose is.

 

 

 

 

Figure 5 This is our terrarium. The teacher received larvae from a science for kids group. The larvae grew into caterpillars and by the time I got here they were all chrysalis (in pupas). I have the pleasure of seeing them come out of their cacoons!

 

 

Figure 6 They came out! We are feeding them sugar water on cotton balls and we will have a "releasing party" this week! Fun!

 

 

Figure 7 The community bell in front of the community hall (to the left).

 

Figure 8 Ted Harrison's version of the community bell and a fun description of Old Crow from his children's book about the Yukon.

 

Figure 9 Teacher housing. There are two duplexes so enough for four teachers. The school also has use of a truck; one of 12 vehicles in the community.

 

 

Figure 10 The school playground with the teacher housing in the background. Super close. Super convenient.

 

 

Figure 11 This is where I am! Wow-- and I thought Whitehorse was north!