Second Annual SPA DAY!!

What started as a random thought last year, has turned into an annual tradition.  I think that I will have a Spa Day EVERY YEAR... no matter what grade I'm teaching.  Even grade 12 kids would love a spa day (not that I have ANY aspirations of ever teaching grade 12, but you never know).  I encourage you to set up a similar experience for the short people in your life.

They L.O.V.E.D. it.  Even the macho boys that said they didn't want to come to school because "Spas are for girls" were right into it.  One of those boys even went on record saying, "I love Spa day, this is the best day ever!!"

Here are some photos.

See.... not just for girls. :)

Certain stations were really popular... so we needed an appointment book.

Even the dinosaurs were getting massages.  Yes, that's a BBQ brush, but it feels nice on your skin.

Yoga Station

We were blessed to have a real hairdresser come in... she came up with some very cool styles.

Mrs. C is getting the royal treatment.  

Mrs. MJ mixing up the (virgin) margaritas.  

May The 4th Be With You!

I am not a Star Wars fan.  At all.  In fact, I have never even seen a single minute of a single movie (gasp... I know!).  But I am a fan of creating special Kindergarten memories.  And when the calendar say "May the 4th Be With You," you can bet we're going to celebrate.

The boys in the class were soooooooooooo excited.  The girls were too.. just not as much.  But when the day came, the girls were just as much into it as the boys were (or perhaps a little more).

So the downfall of this whole plan was that it didn't enter into my mind until May 1..... not leaving me a heck of a lot of time to plan.  Fear not... Pinterest to the rescue.  Add that to some borrowed toys from our dayhome, a talking Darth Vader mask from a friend, a creative volunteer mom and a basket of toys from one student... and we were GOOD.  TO.  GO!

We had 2 toy stations and 2 craft stations that the kids rotated through.  They all had a blast.  We mixed in a lot of time for light saber duels too.  I think that the learning assistants might recover eventually.  I honestly feel bad for all of the things I ask them to endure in the name of awesome.  But it's not about us... it's about the kids.  Right?  I'm already disappointed that May 4th is a Saturday next year (but I'm sure I'll work something out).

Here are more pictures.  Again, the really good ones have kids' faces, so I'm unable to post them.  :(

TOP TEN: Teacher's Convention

Top Ten Things I learned at Teacher's Convention this year:

10.  A session on iPad apps will always be bad if the wifi connection isn't working.  That poor presenter.... what do you do when your WHOLE session is web based?  :(

9.  I still don't know what a MOODLE is... but I probably should... so I didn't put my hand up and ask.

8.  The wraps in the cafeteria are just as awesome as they were in the olden days, you know, when I was in college.  They are more expensive now.... but worth every penny.  I also found out that Betty retired.  She made the best wraps.

7.  "The success of the education system can be measured by whether or not our kids move back into our basements after college."  Profound words from a wonderful session with Yong Zhao (www.zhaolearning.com)

6.  It's not as hard to find a parking spot when you show up 20 minutes early.  Who knew?  I wish I would have known that when I was a student at MHC.

5.  "We are all born leaders.  But the ones that stand out are those who can be leaders day after day, even when nobody is watching."  Thank you Cassie Campbell for your brilliant keynote address.  And thank you for bringing back such strong memories and making my eyeballs sweaty with THIS Olympic montage.

4.  "The professional code of conduct applies 24/7... there is no "on your own time" when you chose teaching.  When you are a teacher you are a role model... of you don't want to be a role model.. don't be a teacher."  Great learning in the E-Liability session.

3.  It's always great when a huge group of teachers come together to learn and share.  It's nice to catch up with old classmates and colleagues... and to see the new faces as well.

2.  I will never get tired of looking at the art displays.  It's a great place to steal ideas be inspired to come up with new and better projects to highlight student abilities.  

And the number ONE thing I learned at Teacher's Convention is....

Recess and lunch are still my favourite subjects (much like my students).  It makes me sad to think that schools put so little emphasis on these lovely SOCIAL times for our kiddos.  

Thank you to all of the people that made the SEATCA 2012 Convention so awesome.  You're the BEST!

Random Acts of Awesome

All school year we have been saving our juice boxes... and Mrs. MJ takes them to the bottle depot and returns with MONEY..... woooo hoooo.  We've been saving up for something awesome.  And today was the big moment.

Random Acts of Kindness Day.  It's my favourite field trip.  Hands Down.

I took our bottle money (OK... I used my debit card.... but the kids don't know that).  I bought 17 medium hot chocolates from Timmy Ho's.  We taped a little note on the top ("Wishing You a Warm Day... From Mother Teresa Kindergarten... Random Acts of Kindness Project").  We broke off into groups.

And then.

The magic happened.

I love my job!

Each child had a hot chocolate to give away.  They were a little nervous.  A little excited.  And a little unsure what to expect.

We walked through the mall.  One child said, "I'm going to save mine for the bus driver."  Awwwwww.  The look on his face was priceless.

  

Another child said, "I'll take it to her, she looks thirsty."  Another insisted that she wanted to take her hot chocolate to the "XBOX Guy" (EB Games store).  And everyone that we met was THRILLED with our project (although some were a little confused).  

We intended to catch people off guard.  We intended to bless strangers.  We intended to make someone's day. 

Mission Accomplished.  

And those short people learned that it only takes a little to make a big difference.  $27 to be exact.  :)