Winter Wanderings Nov 2022 to Jan 2023

November Fun - Reading Day

My Favourite event of the school year is Reading Day! I'm way behind in documenting but we celebrated reading day in mid-November and I meant to post these way earlier.

For those who guessed it... I was Paddington Bear and I had SO much fun putting this costume together.

 Winter Adventures

2022 was a celebratory year for my family as my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary along with my mom's 70th birthday. To join in the celebrations I left at the end of the November for a long overdue visit to see my family, since I hadn't been back since the summer of 2020.

Lots of planning goes in to leaving for 3 weeks and I was blessed by an amazing team who covered for me. Before I left we did our traditional visit to the Christmas market and the kids had learned their Luke 2 verses.

 

The parents filled a crate of gifts for me and I was blessed beyond measure before I hopped on a plane to Canada for 5 weeks.

 

First Stop once back in Canada....

Tim Hortons!

 

Eggnog lattes, puppy snuggles, honey crisp apples, hockey games and nephews!
Joys of being home in Canada!

Happy 50th Anniversary

Christmas prep

Got to visit SA friends and watch my old school do their Christmas program!

Bethlehem Star

For many years my home church has been putting on a Nativity project called Bethlehem Star where we put up a huge circus-like tent and turn it and our gym into the streets of Bethlehem and share the gospel message of the coming of Christ.

My first weeks back I helped with setting up the tent and preparing for this big production that welcomed just over 4000 visitors.

My pictures don't do it justice as I was more caught up in helping than taking pictures this time around.

Family Celebrations

To celebrate Mom's 70th we rented a chalet in the mountains. Our luck would have it that this would be the week when it would hit -28C (not including windchill!) Needless to say I stayed indoors for most of our time and enjoyed the snow from the windows

Merry Christmas

I made gifts this year :)

My nephews are fishermen and wakeboarders and I wanted to get them new lifejackets but this was not the time of year to be looking for a lifejackets. So I made them some out of bubble wrap with the promise of replacing them if they didn't meet safety standards. The scarf and hat were a labour of love for Mom's birthday.

 

New Years Hello 2023

I returned to CZ at the end of December in time to ring in the new year and gear up for the next school semester.

Enjoyed celebrating the new year with some friends and watching the city get set on fire.

Back in the Classroom

We have been learning about liquids and solids and exploring God's amazing creation. What I love most about teaching grade one and two is their wonder for the world. What we find mundane and normal they find amazing and fascinating. How shaking a bottle with dish soap in it can make it foamy and how a candy seems to disappear in water. Mind blowing discoveries of what happens when you mix corn starch with water! Every new discovery causes me to marvel at our creator and how he intricately designed our world and everything in it.

We are now on Winter Break and I have gotten into enjoying stay-cations recently and exploring the city I live in more each time. Newest venture going to the top of the clock tower in Old Town. I don't know if I will ever tire of the beauty that is this city

Next week we will be celebrating our 100th day of school! How time flies! Looking forward to what the rest of this year has in store!

August - October 2022

 Fall Fun

We have had a great start to the school year. This is my third year in a row teaching a split class. We had to turn away a number of families with grade one students this year because we are still in need of one more elementary teacher. Praying for God to provide us with one more teacher for next school year so we can finally split into solid grades which will allow for more enrolment. 

I have 7 grade ones and 8 grade twos this year that keeps me on my toes. It has been an adjustment coming out of Covid-19 restrictions and the impact that isolation and lockdowns have had on our younger generation. Many of these kids spent their preschool years at home and had less opportunity to play and interact with other kids. We are learning how to play, use imagination and treat one another as we would like to be treated.

The Coronavirus pandemic is slowly becoming a memory as we start to bring back traditions and start new ones that allow our parents and community to be involved once again with our school and students. This year we invited parents to come and join our students for lunch. Something so simple to have our parents come into the classroom for lunch time was a wonderful time to make connections with parents and have them get a glimpse of their kids' world.

Science Fun

Exploring how sound is made by vibrations and discovering pitch, volume and how to make sound travel through objects.

Happy Thanksgiving

Had a great group come together to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. No longer any restrictions on how many can meet together and being able to have celebrations together once again.

Holiday Stay-cation

It is now end of October and we had our first long awaited Fall-break holiday. I decided to have a stress free holiday and enjoy what my beautiful city of Prague has to offer. Great coffee shops, beautiful palaces and coffee truck nooks and fall colours.

Prague is filled with many palaces. The Clam-Gallasuv palac is one of those gems with beautiful baroque architecture and was a place where both Mozart and Beethoven performed.

Looking Forward to What is to Come

The next month of November is going to be packed with busyness! We will have parent teacher conferences followed by our annual, highly anticipated, Reading Day. I am already working on my costume and I am excited for the fun that is planned. Will let you guess who I am going to be...

 
My students are already working hard on learning Luke 2 for the Christmas concert and I am sad I am going to miss them perform it. However my reasons for missing this year's Christmas season are a very good one. After 2.5 years Covid- restrictions in Canada have lifted and I can go home in time to celebrate my parent's 50th wedding anniversary and my Mom's 70th birthday! CISP graciously have granted me 3 weeks leave in order to go home and spend some much needed time with family. I have a great team of teachers filling in the holes and I pray for them as they hold down the fort while I am gone.  I will be back in Canada November 26 - Dec. 29. I look forward to celebrating Christmas with many of you and taking in the Christmas season with family and friends in Canada.