Update

The end of the school year has two very distinct feelings attached to it. One is panic. If you are in Grade 11 or 12, teach Grade 11 or 12 or know someone who is in Grade 11 or 12, chances are you are feeling the side effects of panic. Take a deep breath. This too, shall pass.
The other feeling is one of distraction. The side effects of distraction are procrastination, day dreaming and talking with ones friends when one should be doing other things.
I blame the sun. I don't think classrooms should have windows. The pull of the outside world is too strong. It is May, but in everyone's heads and hearts it is already June.

I looked at my last blog post, which I wrote before spring break. In some ways, spring break was a long time ago--in others it was just yesterday. I had a very productive time, I painted walls, slept a lot and starting Foundation Class with my puppy.

Easter weekend was pretty fabulous, also. I went to Disneyland with some of the boarding girls. I frolicked down Main Street. I hugged Goofy, and Minnie (Mickey was somewhat illusive) and I rode essentially all the rides. I finally experienced Space Mountain. The first time I went, it was closed. The second time, I left it until the last possible minute and it broke down when I was on it. Having rode it now, I don't really know how to describe it. It was kind of all a blur--not just in my memory but an actual blur. The ride was really fast.
The girls were all very well behaved. They were so busy doing what they were supposed to do to have any energy left to misbehave. They also rode all the rides. And acted like kids, which is awesome because now-a-days high school girls seem to think they need to dress and behave like adults.
I spend all my time acting like a kid, not just in Disneyland.

School is insanely busy at the moment. Outdoor Education week is coming up, where I get to go camping with a bunch of 13 year old girls for 4 nights. This may seem like torture to some, but I am excited about it. After Disneyland, I realized how vital it is to get out of the classroom and spend time with my students.

Enough bloggin' for now.

Report Cards

Report Cards are only fun if you are in Grade 4 and Grandma gives you a toonie for every A you receive.

 Even then, it depends.

Why am I on my blog when I could be productive and edit the last of my report comments? The answer to that question is quite simple.

My head may explode.

Grades are so superficial. I think the one thing we (as teachers) should mark is effort and participation. That is how kids learn. If they don't try, if they don't buy in--they don't retain any knowledge.

I just want to send a quick note to parents once a month being like "Yo. Your kid listens really well and she also gave a girl a hug when they were sad. It was pretty top drawer of her."

Isn't that enough? Why should I spend 20 hours over my weekend giving numerical value to each and every assignment a kid hands in? What does that number matter?

But I'm a hypocrite, really. When I was in University there were some ungraded courses. I hated them. "Why should I put in maximum effort if all I get is a pass or a fail?" I said. "Why not scrape by if that is all I require to move on?" I said.

I am a Grade junkie. Yet I want something better for my students. I want something better for my kids, if I have them.

I want school to be about the friggen journey, not the grade at the end of the tunnel.

Puppy Fever

Let me list the reasons why I have sucked at doing a weekly entry in this blog.

1. School is busy.

2. Report cards are imminent.

3. Sometimes I forget I even have a blog.

4. We got a puppy.

Chewie. Short for Chewbacca. He is fluffy, he is sweet, he loves to Chew (which is basically our fault as we named him Chewie) and he is all ours.

I am completely in love, and completely overwhelmed.

Everyone tells you having a puppy is a big deal. Everyone says it is like having a baby. Everyone says it is time consuming. Everyone says you have to be ready to dedicate a huge portion of your life to this little animal.

Everyone was right.

Getting a puppy is a big deal. For an undetermined amount of time you have to clean up poop and pee.

It has been 4 days since our last in house accident.

Getting a puppy can be stressful. For the first two weeks we didn't sleep through the night, and the crate training was not exactly what I would call successful.

Now he sleeps in the hallway in his crate with a sheet draped over top. We had our first full night sleep last night.

Getting a puppy can be a wonderful bonding experience for a couple. And an opportunity to learn. James and I have had many discussions about how this is good practice for when we decide to have kids.

Thank all that is holy we haven't got children also. Chewie is our fur baby and that is good. That is enough.

Cats do not like puppies. Especially when the dog barks and chases the cat. I want them to snuggle each other but that may just be a pipe dream.

Suggestions for people getting a puppy: 

Take them to puppy class. 

Tire them out with play time. 

Introduce them to kids who are good with dogs and let them run around. 

Introduce them to other dogs and let them run around.

Tire them out with car rides.

Cuddle them when they are tired.

Listen to the teacher in puppy class.

Take them out to poop a half an hour after they eat their food.

Take them out to pee, a lot.

Buy a good jacket if it is winter.

Buy easy to slip on shoes.

Read books, but don't believe everything you read.

Listen to advice, but don't believe everything everyone says.

Look on the internet, but don't freak out if you are reading too much.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Cry if you have to.

Ask people to play with your puppy so you can have a nap.

Leave the puppy in a safe place while at work with nothing to destroy.

Buy toys.

Live your life, and love the dog.

Be nice to your spouse.

Try to talk about something else to your friends and family.

And take lots of pictures.

The Aftereffects of my Napping Addiction

Three hour naps are not good for my social life.

I'm supposed to be at an authors group at this very moment. I know what you are thinking, "authors? When did she become an author?" Well, mostly I go for the tea and company. I have always loved to write, hence why I keep this silly little blog going. Who doesn't have a half finished tome saved somewhere on their computer? I have a few, to be honest. They are located under funny little filenames like "I'm writing a book!" or "Stuff I do instead of homework!" or "This is rubbish!"...

Back to the whole issue of napping though. I was exhausticated (that isn't a real word) at work today and when I got home I climbed into bed and immediately fell into a comatose state until 6:58pm, two minutes before I was due to arrive at said writers group. I then was famished as napping is hard work and needed to eat dinner. At this very moment I'm supposed to be lesson planning for my very full day tomorrow. I need to make a priority list, and force myself to do only the things at the very top of said list. That way I won't end up distracted on social media and stay up late AGAIN.

The list will go as follows:

1. Get off of blog
2. Go get school bag from living room
3. Open math book
4. Stare at math book for 15 minutes
5. Write math lesson
6. Take out Socials work
7. Write Socials lesson in 1/3rd of the time it takes to write math lesson
8. Panic that I am forgetting something
9. Give up on remembering what I've forgotten
10. Read and then sleep

The Apple, The Tree and the 48 Hour Cleanse

I have recently got it into my head that I should do a 48 hour smoothie cleanse. It must be some dormant masochistic behavior that is leading me to believe it is a good idea. My Father and Brother will tell anyone that listens that I'm of a split personality: kind happy Kim and then hungry Kim. I suppose they aren't completely groundless in these tales, however some could be said for the both of them as well. The apple falling from the tree, and all that.
Anyways I believe I shall be doing this cleanse either next weekend or the weekend after. I can't see myself lasting anymore than 24-48 hours. After said cleanse I hope to continue on the health train to reach the healthy station to live in healthtown. I hear they do crazy things like run and ride bikes and snack on carrots. It is my greatest wish to enjoy snacking on carrots. Okay so maybe not my greatest wish but I do want to be accepted into the "we care about our bodies" community.
I wish I could channel my addictive nature into exercise. Instead it gets all used up by French fries and good books. Perhaps it would be easier if I removed all my coats from my exercise bicycle. I imagine that would be a good place to start.
Speaking of books! I just finished one called "Juliet" which was about the secrets and intrigue behind shakespeare's most famous tragedy. It was a good little read and it made me want to visit Italy and fall in love, very much. So I decided to keep the romantic European trend going and immediately picked up Joanne Harris's novel "Chocolat" after. So far it is very good. I haven't seen the movie in a long time so I will watch it after I am done. I'm currently waiting for Johnny Depp's character to make a sultry appearance.
You may wonder how school is going. I suppose that this is natural because usually I talk about such things. Well, you will be happy to note that the university is still there, and I still attend it. I did get my practicum placement which I may have mentioned before? I'm not sure. However I will say now that I'm very pleased with the placement and wish we were in practicum right now.
So that is all the excitement I've got for you tonight. I know you all (I say you and you all with the sarcasm of someone speaking to an empty audience) were sitting on the edge of your computer chairs.
Oh, I will leave you with this tidbit, today I saw a man riding a bicycle with a full sized exercise ball. It was quite impressive.
Goodnight!

So They Call it Puppy Love

I have recently been suffering from an affliction. It involves the incessant need to look up adoptable dogs in my area. This is a gigantic problem considering my mental health and the fact that I cannot, by any means, have a puppy right now. My Dad won't let me and although I am 23 years old and in theory an adult that should be able to make my own decisions, I'm afraid that I am at the mercy of my fathers rules on this particular instance. If only I had a job and wasn't the poorest girl in the land. Then I would have a puppy and perhaps a pony. (Woo! Alliteration!)
Moving back with my father full time is going to be very interesting. I've lived with him on and off for my whole lode, that being said I've also had my own place (as well) for the last 5 and a half years. So I've been a part of, yet separate. The thing I suppose I'm most concerned about is the amount of stuff that I've accumulated over my time in university. I do, in fact, have a whole room of things that I am unwilling to part with. I know that I do not need two beds, however I want to be able to have those two beds if I ever manage to grow up properly. As in one left at my dads and one at my grown up house. I am incredibly lucky because my father is one of those people that will always want me around (no dog though) and I will always have a room in my childhood house.
I guess I should make it clear that I do have a dog, though Chippy is 19 years old. I can't really say this any other way but, she is going to die soon. I am trying to come to terms with that along with reconcile the fact that my dad will never own another dog again.
He is a cat person, though he is a monogamist cat owner and refuses to betray Cosmo and allow an imposter into our home. So it would appear I am at a stalemate with this particular situation. Which is truly unfortunate because I love me some animals. I find that animals are incredibly therapeutic for me and I'm in a much better space when they are near.
I'll just have to wait for a)when my dad changes his mind or b) when I get my own house. Both seem incredibly improbable to me at this current time.
I have much to write about my next practicum placement and my school adventures, however I am in need of slumber. All this puppy talk has made my eyes sleepy.
Goodnight Neverland. Sweet dreams.

My Dad is a Party Animal. I, Am Not.

The other day we had a really interesting activity in class. We were exploring discrimination, which is a heavy topic indeed. But the activity was done in such a way that we were comfortable to put ourselves in vulnerable situations. We were placed into groups and asked to come up with a feature that was common to each member of the team. We then had to create a sort of society or group mentality based on that feature. We were given the room to make this feature as ridiculous as we could. Then we had to justify WHY this feature made us superior.

Our group decided on soft elbows. We called our society the "Velvet Elbows" and had a coat of arms and everything. We operated under the belief that we were more desirable because we had naturally moisturized elbows and therefore were more attractive to the opposite sex. We had the choicest genes as we got to pick the life partners with the best attributes and therefore our children were superior. We did not allow people with rough elbows into our society and referred to them as "roughbows". Then, if a pair of roughbows had a velvet elbow we would give the parents the great honour of taking their child and raising them.

We were all in hysterics by the end. The other groups came up with ridiculous common features as well. One group said that they could "control minds" but didn't really want to so they were proving their superiority by choosing not act on their power. I asked the question of where they congregate or come together as a society, one of my classmates said "well, we don't have to meet because we can simply communicate through our minds. Sometimes we communicate through telekinesis sometimes text message". This is not the most perfect recount of what happened. It is a sort of 'you had to be there' situation. However, I would hope you would get the idea in that the activity was done in an engaging and sensitive manner.

It is Saturday night, now. My Dad is out with a bunch of people he knew in high school. He even asked me if he could call me to pick him up and I said "You know you can always call me, no matter what time. That being said I would prefer if you found another option if you are very late."
This is an extreme example of role reversal. I--at the age of 23--should be the one going out and causing havoc. Instead, I'm sitting at home watching the second Bourne movie with my brother and his girlfriend. Somewhere inside, my 18 year old self is crying to be set free. Perhaps next weekend I will make the effort to party as if I had rockstar tendencies. Get down all over town, and all that. I mean, it is unlikely... but yeah.

Tomorrow I work at the Highlands Fling Festival in Victoria. It will probably be the highlight of my weekend. Highlights at the Highlands. Heh. Anyways West Shore asked me to work it and told me they feed whoever works for them and I said "THAT SOUNDS GOOD, I'M GOOD WITH THAT".

I much preferred the newest Bourne (sans Matt Damon) than the first three...

I'm going to stop writing on this here blog before I embarrass myself any further.

Goodnight Neverland

It was bittersweet seeing all the first years around campus today. I was there for class while they were there for orientation. Their post secondary education (for the most part) is just starting. Mine ends a little bit more with each day. I was sad.

But then I stole a popsicle meant for the first years and I felt immediately better.

Tomorrow is Friday, which is delightful news as that means my first week is over! Done! Finished! Only five weeks left of class after that and then I begin practicum. It blows my mind how soon we are finished.

I just watched The Borrowers movie and completed two paintings. Recently, for some unknown reason--I've been fixated on tiny people that live in walls. I actually spent one night looking up movies and books that revolved around gnomes or fairies or just regular old little people. I found that Terry Pratchett wrote a series about gnomes that is actually quite funny. That got me on the audiobook kick I was writing about earlier.

Anyways, not really sure what the obsession with tiny people is about. Other than, perhaps that I DO BELIEVE IN FAIRIES!

It is important to me that I get as many Peter Pan references into this blog as possible. I warn you, don't expect subtlety.

I marathon napped today, which was probably a horrible idea because now it is almost 11:30 at night and I'm just kind of laying here contemplating what the next couple of hours looks like for me. I'm hoping soon a wave of exhaustion will take hold and I will manage to get a good nights rest. I hope, but do not expect this to be the outcome.

TOMORROW is a WONDERFUL day because tomorrow the plans happen for DISNEYLAND! I will probably write a post tomorrow night outlining the finer details of our booking. Like, where we are staying. And when we are flying. And how I have plans of chasing Captain Hook until he takes a GD picture with me! I am a tiny bit bitter about this picture business because when I was there last (almost 10 years ago now) he ran away from me and I neither got a picture OR an autograph.

I suppose I have nothing else to report. Other than the fact that I hope to get my practicum placement soon so I can begin to plan lessons and get my head wrapped around the age group that I will be assigned.

But that is about it. Goodnight faithful readers!

Party Over Here

So, Friday night. Party over at my house. I'm hanging out with my brother and his girlfriend and we are getting real crazy over here. Watching National Treasure. I'm in my Eeyore pyjamas. I've staked claim to the couch but survey says that won't last long because I'm super tired and National Treasure is a long film with an overabundance of American history that (sorry USA) is not really an interest of mine.

Also, Game of Thrones is calling. I'm 70% done Dance with Dragons (thanks Kobo app for making my reading life so... precise) and things are going DOWN. I shan't be giving any spoilers, but lets just say George Martin has got my attention.

I sure do hope he doesn't die before finishing the series.

Oh hey, speaking of Game of Thrones, Sean Bean is in National Treasure! I forgot about that. Pretty sure he dies in this movie, just like in every other film he has acted in. I think it must be in his contract. Click here to watch the Sean Bean death montage.

Today was my last day of work. It was sad. I made a lot of friendships this summer with kids of all kinds. I got a lot of hugs today, though I'm not really supposed to hug them. BUT I AM A REBEL CAMP LEADER! HUGS FOR ALL!

I got a very interesting sunburn today. Not often do I burn the tops of my hands. I also have an awesome circle burn on my inner legs thanks to being in a kayak for the afternoon. It was a wonderful way to finish my summer job. I spent the day on the beach and paddling through the water.

Between the tubing on Wednesday and the kayaking today I do feel like my arms may feel better if they were removed from my body. But that too, will pass.

No rest for the wicked(ly awesome) as tomorrow I move back to my apartment by my school for my roommates birthday and then school starts on Monday. August school start--I'm still not over it.

Sleep time is now. Goodnight imaginary readers... I shall leave you with this golden nugget:

Nicholas Cage's hair is a National Treasure in its own right!

Hah. I should be a comedian. 

The Negligent Blogger

Wow! Talk about neglecting my blog. I got busy and look at what happened.

I don't really know where to begin? Last I wrote here I think I was just starting my camp job. Things have changed a bit since then, but a lot has remained the same as well. Such as life, I suppose.

I'm a newly single woman. That is all I wish to say on that because as a teacher and a professional I'm not using this blog for anything but happy thoughts. It is, after all, titled Second Star to the Right. And if Peter Pan taught me anything, it is that happy thoughts make us fly.

Metaphorically fly, that is. I don't have any pixie dust so I cannot ACTUALLY fly.

Work has been amazing this summer. I am so happy I stuck to my guns and got a job working with kids. They truly make my life meaningful. Not only that, I got to go kayaking, tubing and skim boarding. While getting paid.

Met a lot of awesome people as well. One in particular stands out in that she has kind of adopted me in more ways than one. She is my partner in crime and she has let me stay at her place for the past two weeks. Which, let me tell you-- has made my life so much easier. Before that I was commuting back and forth and the drive had grown tedious to say the least.

I've also discovered the beauty of audiobooks. I'm not quite sure what my aversion was to trying them before this summer. They are brilliant! Especially when you are listening to a book by a british author and the reader is also from the UK. It is delightful. I've taken to listening to Terry Pratchett books. I also don't feel bad about starting new books in audio format when I'm already reading a book (right now Dance with Dragons) because audiobooks are completely different than other books so I can have as many going as I want. At least that is what I tell myself.

TapadhLeibhCards has been doing alright. It isn't the money making venture I hoped it would be in the beginning. However, that being said I have sold some of my art work. How many artists can truly say that?

HERE is the travelling bit of this post, I'VE DECIDED TO GO TO DISNEYLAND! Well, my friends whom I am graduating with this December kind of decided and I thought, "that sounds fun I'm going"... So, I will probably be blogging about that quite a bit. I haven't been to Disneyland since I was 14. It is about time, I think.

School starts on Monday. What kind of program starts in August? Mine, I guess. I'm going to miss working at camp. Not only because having money is awesome but because I've really enjoyed my time there. It is better than any other job I've ever done. Though with some of my previous jobs that really isn't saying too much. Not that camp doesn't have its challenges, it does. But the rewards are so awesome and I love to hear when a kid has had a great day or they enjoyed their time with me.

So that is about it, I guess? Oh, I paid of my credit card! This is big news. Only to be racked up again, but still. I paid it. So I can put Disneyland on it :P

That is it for now. Tootles!