Well I’m almost done work, but it’s a struggle in this heat!
Our normal summer is about 25-28 with the odd day at 30 degrees. Well today we have spent the day at 43 degrees. They cancelled school for the kids which was a good call, but we still had to go in. I looked at it’s a way to have extra clean up time in my room, but when it hit 30 + degrees in my classroom (we don’t have AC), I was done. They finally let us go home at 1:30pm. Walking home at that time was torturous!
I ran this morning before school and got three kilometers in. I still think this will probably be my lowest mileage month yet:(. I am running tomorrow afternoon too, but am considering going out in the morning too just to get a little extra in.
When I came home from school today it was even too hot to knit, so I did a jigsaw puzzle so I can return it to a school friend tomorrow.
It was gorgeous and only 500 pieces so three hours was enough to get it done.
I also managed to do a yoga class in front of my fan. I am getting good at doing everything in front of the fan! I have spent the entire weekend in front of the fan during this heat wave!
Well I’m going to go pull my PJs out of the freezer and head off to bed.
I am still at school. Unlike the districts around us we go right until Tuesday at 2:50pm. It’s going to be interesting as it is supposed to hit 41 degrees on Monday which is unheard of. We haven’t had that temperature since one of my pseudo brother’s wedding fifteen years ago. I have to admit to being a little worried about keeping kids safe in an unair conditioned building at that temperature😳
Today was PJ and stuffie day so the kids were super excited. They also got their year end movie this afternoon. I spent the time ticking off some year end jobs.
I met up with Dennis after work for a run. We went to a local park that is wooded as it was 28 degrees and it actually went better than I was expecting. I have to admit I’m not getting much mileage in with these hot temps, but I’ll hopefully be able to make it up in July when I am off.
I also got a yoga class done on FitOn tonight. Every time I see my much lower mileage so far this year I remind myself that I’ve quadrupled my yoga time so far so that has to have benefits too. Besides I didn’t have any time working from home this year where I could squeeze in a lot more runs!
Knitting wise I have finished a shawl and I am on the second sleeve of a sweater, but as they are both test knits I am not yet able to share them. I will do so as soon as I can.
I’m off to bed early as last night was a tough night. I got my second covid vaccination on Tuesday night and yesterday afternoon and evening it was just like I had covid again. Not very pleasant. I’m glad to be feeling better today, but want to give my body a little extra rest.
I’ll try to check in and let you know if I’m surviving the heat wave. I know it’s not hot for some places, but it’s very hot for us!
Well it was the second to last Monday and I survived:)
I started the day by realizing it is Bookclub this Sunday so I had better get going on the book. This is the book I suggested as my friends had loved it- The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware. We shall soon see if it’s too scary for me!
Teaching:
We had promised the kids that we would do one fun thing a day so they brainstormed last week and Liane and I picked one for each day.
Today we started the day with a land acknowledgement as it is national indigenous day. The exciting part for the kids seemed to be that they could see each other on the smartboard. We watched a video about indigenous and read a book, but then I left it alone as one of my kids had nightmares after the last discussion on residential schools. It’s always tough to approach these heavy subjects with the little guys!
They had music while I coloured the four birthday certificates for the kids with summer birthdays. You can bet I bought birthday certificates for next year- no more wasting preps colouring!
After our snack we went into the forest with the other grade one class and had a nature scavenger hunt. The kids had a fabulous time and were super excited!
This afternoon they had buddy reading and then we started creating mini books of our own stories. We shall see how it goes as I don’t think I will get back to it until Wednesday.
We ended the day playing outside. We started by trying out the new sensory path and games put on the front patio. My students never get the front patio so this was super exciting!
Amazing how our new principal was there less than a month and figured out the kids on the patio needed something to do!
Exercise:
It is super hot for us here today- about 30 degrees which is 90 for the US so I really didn’t feel like exercising, but that’s no excuse! I did a total body agility Fit On class and called it done.
I then met up with my teaching buddy and we bought snacks for the class for Thursday when we show the movie.
Knitting:
Finally I have been working on my test knit raglan. I am super concerned that I am going to run out of yarn, plus it seems big. I tried it on and it’s a little loose, but okay. I think I’m going to cheat and not add as many stitches. I will only do five increases throughout the body instead of eleven. I know I should do it exactly because it is a test knit, but it’s going to be ginormous if I do that! I just won’t say anything and hopefully it won’t be noticed. I think I’ll go do the collar before I carry on with the body.
Last night was tough, but I have to say, life has improved!
Last night I did Costco with my mom and teaching buddy. I didn’t buy very much, but seemed to spend a lot of money 😞. I then came home and spent three hours fixing report cards. For someone who usually goes to bed at nine, staying up til midnight made today tough.
I did get my reports posted, printed and handed in right away this morning. It felt really good to not have to think about them for the weekend!
Teaching:
We used loose parts today to have students create a character and a setting. This is where students can use any type of materials and be creative. They were super engaged and it was neat to see what they came up with!
We had a big hunt after recess which was cool! One group found a golden beetle that was gorgeous! I read them the book, The Bug Girl which was really good!
This afternoon we had our wrap up for the Jump Rope For Heart campaign. Our little school raised over $8000! The kids have been living skipping and have taken to bringing skipping ropes to school. It’s great to see!
Exercise:
I thought I’d be going out with my mom again, but she met up with my aunts and uncles. I suppose they can have her for one afternoon😜. I took the time and snuck in another 3km as I had to cancel my run yesterday to get my report cards done. This makes the second week I’ve been short mileage. Thankfully non-school time is coming!
I also did my FitOn class which was an EMOM workout. Every minute on the minute you have to do some moves and get them done in that minute. I’ve heard of the workout style before but hadn’t done it, but it was fun.
I have a conundrum. I feel like a lot of the FitOn workouts are not that hard or long, but I love how it gets me to exercise everyday by giving me badges, and my exercise stats, etc. I would love to go back to NourishMoveLove as it has longer and tougher workouts but it doesn’t have those extra little perks. I’ll have to think about how I can solve this problem
Knitting:
With staying home I have been working on my Kith Shawl and am actually getting very close to finishing it. I thought I might finish it tonight, but I think I’m going to sleep instead.
Thankfully I can finally share the test socks I did.
These are the scalloped shorties pattern by Josee Paquin (uandIknit). They are done in cascade heritage yarn in the colourway Anis. I find shorties knit up so quickly that it’s fun to make them!
Hopefully I will have more finishes to share with you soon!
I’m still going crazy with report cards and children in full summer mode at work, but two things have happened that have made life so much better!
My parents are visiting!!!!!! I am so happy to see them after a year of only having voices on the other end of the phone! I am collecting as many hugs as possible while they are here!
We went to the pub for dinner tonight which was awesome! It is our first day of the lightened restrictions so it was great to celebrate with dinner with my parents!
I finished the test shawl!!!! This is the one that I have had many problems with, but they have all been ironed out and it is quite gorgeous! I’m not sure I’m allowed to show it yet, but I’ll give share as soon as possible. It feels like it’s been forever since I finished a project!
I got 5.38km in today and hope to do another run in the morning to make up for my missing 2.5km from Sunday. The rolling hills and pouring rain got to us so we turned around early. I’d really like to get to Kathy’s soon so hopefully I’ll be able to get a few extra runs in over the next two weeks.
I also did a weights workout on FitOn though it was so late, I really wasn’t sure it was going to happen!
Well I need sleep as I’m playing chauffeur tomorrow.
Sorry I’ve been quiet- it’s not been the best time. It is super stressful at work- report cards and problems between co workers making for a tense atmosphere.
In knitting I have nothing to show because me and the test knit shawl are still arguing. I got to row 48 with no problems, didn’t realize I made a mistake on row 49, got to row 51 and had to tink back to row 48🙄😖
I have been super tired and actually slept in for two hours yesterday morning as my phone shut down during the night and for the first time in my life, I was almost late for work. The girls at work laugh as I arrived 16 minutes after waking up and still beat a few of our coworkers to the building. It made for a super stressful day for me though.
Exercise wise I am still running and doing my FitOn workouts. Nothing new there, though I am trying to go a little higher on run mileage so I can reach Kathy’s house ASAP!
Otherwise, nothing is happening so I will write again when I have something to show for my life.
Counting the days until I get to see my parents!!!!!!
I am feeling very behind as I still need to have 9 kids read to the class and I need to assess a ton for reading individually. Ugh!
It was super hot again today so we spent as much time outside as possible. We did our goals for the report cards. Grade 1s setting their own goals- it really is a joke! I am becoming very good at just saying- nope go pick a different one.🤣
We did our chalkboard spelling, did gym outside. We then walked around the school on our way back to class finding objects outside that are the same size as our foot. We did our math drill and then went to lay on the gym floor to cool off.
This afternoon I assessed two kids, and we read a book about First Nations and started colouring a feather. 215 children’s bodies were found on the grounds of a residential school so it’s been a tough week acknowledging this event while being appropriate for six year olds.
We ended the day playing outside.
I left pretty quick after school and stopped by the grocery store to pick up some food.
Knitting:
I finished my test knit socks last night!
Tonight I was working on my test knit shawl, but really feel like I’ve made a mistake so I have emailed the designer to see if I am on the right track or not. In the meantime I am using my leftover skein of Fleece Handmaiden to make a The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief. This yarn is a fingering where it calls for worsted, but I have double the amount of yarn, so will just keep knitting until I finish the skein. It has been really nice to be doing a straightforward knit!
Exercise:
I did three laps of the field with the kids today for National Running Day and then this evening I did a kickboxing video in FitOn. My high speed data ran out so my workout took forever as I knitted in between it buffering🤣
I managed to get a salad made and my dishwasher loaded so I am going to call today a success.
Wednesday’s always seem nice as I plan less so we don’t have to rush rush rush:). We got through some reading practice this morning and it was nice to be able to let the kids work in pairs!
We did some more skipping practice. Today we introduced the long rope. I tied it to the door handle and the kids practiced jumping over it. I do wish some teacher had done these skills step by step for me when I was little! I just keep telling the kids that grade one is a good year to learn things! We did our math drill. Then in the afternoon I continued to call kids for reading assessments. I’ve only gotten five kids done in two days and these are my good readers. It’s been interesting to see that while they can all decide at above grade level, the comprehension isn’t as high as I expected. If I have the chance I will try to test them at mid grade two as well and see if the comprehension is better.
We finished our sheet in germs from last week and then I had the kids tell me what their favorite art project was this year. I was so surprised when so many of them said the cherry blossom art as my teaching buddy and I figure that’s our worst lesson of the year. We tried to do art outside and everything that could go wrong, did go wrong! We ended the day with outside playtime
Exercise:
I made myself come straight in and change as it had gotten cold today so I really didn’t feel like running? I did manage to get 3km in, stop at the grocery store for veggies and then get my FitOn workout done. I had to choose between the 6 minute Pilates abs or the 16 minute HIIT class, but I was good and did the HIIT.
Crafting:
I have spent the rest of the evening knitting. I did my two rows on my shawl which went very smoothly and then I have been working on my test socks, which I had to rip four rows out of. Thankfully I am back to knitting again. I had better get back to them as I want things done so I can knit with that Road to China yarn!
We spent a lot of time looking at our new butterfly larvae and talking about them. It was cool to see the kids so excited and enthralled.
Besides this we managed to get to plant a few things in our garden, do chalkboard spelling, practice our skipping, do a math drill, and learn about germs. Of course we ended the day with outside playtime.
Shopping:
I left right away and met up with my teaching buddy for some retail therapy. I think I have everything I need for summer teaching now:)
Exercise:
I did my band workout from FitOn. It was fine and over in half an hour.
Knitting:‘I worked on another dishcloth at lunch and my test shawl at night, though there just wasn’t as much time for knitting as I would like!
We wrote cards for someone in the school to make their day special. We then tackled a math drill and the kids had library with the principal.
This afternoon we did a science experiment on a solid and a liquid turning into a gas. Who knew baking soda, vinegar and a balloon could be so exciting!
I helped get the butterfly larvae organized after school which probably means the matter unit is over as we move onto butterflies. I hope I don’t lose any this year!
We tried to start our report templates but our brains were mush so I left for my run.
Exercise:
I was still not feeling myself and extremely tired at the start of my run. The timing of my first kilometer shoes that as I was about a minute slower for that kilometer. I must have gotten a second wind after that as I did the rest of the 4.38km pretty quickly for me.
Thankfully my FitOn class today was a yoga flow class that was quick.
Socializing:
I had just started my class when my phone rang and I was being invited to an outdoor meetup of the trivia team at one of the lady’s deck. It was an awesome evening of fun and laughter.
Crafting:
There was not much time for crafting today, except I made a dishcloth for my friend out of the dishie I had purchased from knit picks. I really liked the yarn and will definitely buy more, but first I have to use up some skeins!!!!
