Not that I'm complaining.
This week was filled with new and exciting teaching experiences for me. First of all, I took my grade six class into the senior school to conduct a microscopic experiment. I do have to admit, I was slightly terrified they would somehow find the chemicals and blow something up. I even made them sign a contract basically selling their souls to me before I would allow them to enter the lab. Turns out there was just the right amount of intimidation involved with travelling into the senior school that they were both excited, and well behaved. I had all types of comments, one of my favourites being "OH. MY. GOD. You HAVE to come look at this. Wicked. Wicked. SO wicked." This was uttered out of one of the boys in my class that doesn't usually participate too much in class discussion. He wanted to show me the slide of onion skin because he could see the cellular make up. I found it a) awesome he was so engaged and b) hilarious because I planned the lesson so I had already looked at all the slides.
It was also fun because due to my small amount of experience with microscopes I seemed to be able to find the specimen when kids were having trouble. I felt like a hero, swooping in to refocus the magnification to reveal something they had never seen before. I spent a lot of the class gloating "Yes, yes, children. I know I'm the best scientist in the world. Do try to keep your admiration to a minimum. I will sign your homework later."
Have I mentioned I am reading "Hannah and the Spindle Whorl" to the class? It is perfect for them as it centres around this 12 year old girl living in British Columbia. It is relevant, funny and the kids seem to really connect with the characters. I've been told that it is their "NEW FAVOURITE BOOK" and the "BEST BOOK EVER" and "SO FUNNY". Though they may be slightly hyperbolizing their immediate love for the book (they started saying these things after reading like 2 chapters) they do seem to genuinely enjoy it when I read. The book really is wonderful, so that helps.
If I haven't suggested this book as a good read, I would like to remedy that horrible oversight and do so now. It is truly a wonderful read that provides such a vivid picture of the West Coast of Canada. The 12 year old voice of Hannah is captured perfectly, and I'm so looking forward to reading the sequel. So are my students, it would seem.
Another book I've read recently that was quite enjoyable was also by a Canadian author. "Crystal Promise" is a urban fantasy novel. I shall try not to give too much away, but one of the things that I really loved about the novel was the fact that it was primarily character driven. Those are the kind of fantasy reads I like best. I am able to engage in the world and the way in which society functions within that world if I am attached to the characters. Basically, I have to want to play the game in order to follow the rules. Some fantasy/sci-fi books tell you the rules of the novel's universe before they have you hooked in any way. For me, those ones end up in the donation bin. I finished "Crystal Promise" in two days. I couldn't stop reading until one conflict or another was resolved. Read more about this novel on amazon, and then I suggest you buy it. Click here to be directly taken to the website.
I suppose that is all I have to say for this fine evening. The book I'm currently reading is part of the "Fablehaven" series, which are meant for 10-15 year olds. I pretend I read them for the sake of recommending them to children, but really I just like.
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