school (and life) lately

making a reindeer glyph

paper snowflakes!

still no haircut. the mullet lives on.

school has been pretty fun the past few days. each teacher in our module planned a couple Christmas craft activities, and then all of our classes spend a good chunk of the day doing them all. I had my groups cutting paper snowflakes and making a reindeer glyph. they loved them both, but I think the paper snowflakes won. it doesn't snow in the NT, so I thought I'd hang a few that the kids leave behind in the windows for funsies.

should've bought this flowery butterfly
headband when I had the chance!

today we had an assembly. I was so proud of myself - I sang along with the national anthem! the first two assemblies, I just stood quietly, but it's so weird just standing there when everyone else sang. soo I made a goal to learn it by next assembly, and I did it!

best. cereal. EVER.

this week, we also drew names for Kris Kringle (Secret Santa)! the kids said that they wanted teachers' names in too, so I'm buying a Christmas gift for one of my students, and one of them is buying one for me :) it's going to be quite interesting to see what the kids come up with, and I'm sure their gifts will be fantastic.

I definitely feel like I have more authority as a teacher, and the kids are responding much better to me. I even have a few that are quite clingy. I know that I am getting attached to them, and it will be hard to say goodbye in a couple weeks.

funny NT weather - sunny here, stormy there

Hannah and I went to Casuarina after school today to send some post cards home. I sent one to my grandma and one to my 1st/2nd grade class in Grand Rapids, and Hannah sent a bunch to friends and family. while she was writing her cards, I bought a skirt (whoops), and then we walked around before catching the bus.

a fun panorama of Wangi that I forgot to post before :)

well, we've got a pretty jam-packed weekend, so I'm sure I'll have heaps to write about (not to mention a whole mess of photos) on Sunday or Monday.

til then! ♥

Obama in Darwin!

earlier this week, Kaye and Roger took us out to the Darwin Boat Club for dinner. the food was amazing, and we had an incredible view of the beach, the water, and the beautiful sunset from our table outside. and when we came home, we saw a CANE TOAD outside the gate. they're an invasive species here, and are killing off a lot of the other wildlife because they're poisonous. I had never seen one before, and I was definitely not expecting them to be so massive.

Mr. Cane Toad

more Harry Potter book covers :X

yesterday, school went pretty well. I whipped up a new math center in a couple of hours while the kids were at P.E. and music class. I am teaching another week of Venn diagrams, but this time I gave them an activity they can do to create their own, and they've really enjoyed it so far. My CT even asked me if she could keep it when I left :)

after school, we hit the shops at Casuarina and made a few impulse buys. this is going to sound weird, but Aussie K-Mart is the BOMB. I bought 2 pairs of shoes (sorry, mom) and a skirt for $25. such good shopping here. definitely going to miss that when I go back to the States.

five dollar shoes! FIVE DOLLARS!
is it possible to be in love with shoes?

today, Hannah and I took the day off school with hopes of seeing President Obama in Darwin. it was such a shock that he was here that we figured if we called around to the embassy and consulate and the NT's Chief Minister's office, that we'd be able to see him at one of his events. yeah, not so easy.

not only did that not work out (surprising, right?), but lots of roads were closed off, and there were no public viewing areas at the war memorial that he visited before he went to the military base.

photo © the news
1st female PM with 1st black president :)

photo © the news

(as I'm writing this, I jumped up and ran outside because I heard some VERY LOUD fighter jets flying near the house... too many clouds to see anything though) it was still exciting that he was here while we were here, and we got to watch it on tv :)

other than that, a fairly lazy day. even though we didn't get to see the President, I was still glad I had the day off today because I woke up not feeling the greatest. I'll just have to vote for him again in the next election so I have a chance to see him again!

teaching lately

school was really great today (even though the mozzies are STILL attacking me 24/7). I'm starting to get to know my students better, and it's been a lot of fun. I think the novelty of having an American teacher has worn off, and they're responding to me more as a real teacher, and wanting to genuinely get to know me, which is nice. I read M is for Mitten earlier this week, and they loved it. they were making predictions what each letter of the alphabet would stand for, and some of their guesses were so funny. next week, we will write our own book about Australia that I can take with me back to the States :)

Venn diagrams!

I taught more about Venn Diagrams today, and Mara (the teacher I'm working with) had a big bin of different colored animals and people, so I let the kids get creative and sort them using the diagram. some of their ideas were so good!

so creative...love it!

we also go do an activity with a buddy class every Thursday. our buddy class is younger, so our kids get to feel like they are really helping them out, which is so important. first, they read a story to their buddy, and then they had their buddy try to find their way through a maze they have been working on creating in maths.

after school, Kaye picked me up and we did a little shopping. thank goodness she called me, because it has been raining a LOT (I got soaked on the way to the bus this morning), and it was looking quite dreary by the time school let out. at the mall, we bought a "sick present" for Hannah because she didn't feel well today, and stayed home from school. it was perfect, and ironically, just what she wanted :)

♥ my aussie mum! :)

I have been eating SO MANY mangoes and avocados, but I'll never get sick of them. they are exponentially tastier on this side of the globe. that, and there are 2 coconut trees in our yard, and I can't wait to try them! I'm told that they'll be falling soon.

I will leave you with this: one of my students asked me how old I was, and I told her to guess. she guessed that I was in my 30s. last time I will ask a student to guess my age.

first weekend!

loving the Aussie HP covers

my first weekend in Darwin has come and gone. Saturday was pretty lazy. we stayed home all day, but Carlee came over and the 3 of us went for a swim and had some drinks. Kaye came down to the pool with some nibbles for us and we snacked and chatted for a while.

mmm curry at the food court

on Sunday, Hannah and I remedied our laziness with a trip to the mall and we shopped our hearts out. we explored an over-priced book store with a very good selection, some clothes stores, the food court, and a couple grocery stores. as a result, I have two new favorite Aussie clothes shops that I know I will miss once I'm back in The States. I never have such good luck shopping for clothes back home!

rice bubbles & frosties!

later that night was our first big Sunday tea. we had around 15 people at the house, all gathered for a delicious roast leg of lamb (SO GOOD), roast chicken, and about a thousand other things. good food, good wine, good people all around. pretty that it's happening every week!

sultanas, aka raisins

once the week got started, we had a bad experience with getting student IDs at CDU, as well as some more meeting-at-the-bus-stop mishaps today, but we (mostly) survived. today at school, I actually taught a little (about Venn diagrams). I was trying to avoid teaching at first since I've only been in the classroom for 3 full days, but it was nice to actually interact with the kids as their teacher. it definitely made me look forward to going to school more.

teaching about Venn diagrams

oh, and the past couple nights, we have been having the craziest storms! on Sunday night, I woke up at 4am to the loudest wind ever, and this morning I pretty much had a heart attack after lightning hit REALLY close to the house. the ground literally shook. good thing it was 15 minutes until my alarm was supposed to go off, because I was not sleeping again after that.

Sam playing with mice I brought for the kitties

I also found out that the average salary of a teacher here in the Northern Territory (NT) is double what it is in Michigan and the price of living here isn't twice as high. plus, teachers in the NT get 52 weeks of maternity leave, 14 of which are paid (or 28 weeks at half-pay). 14 WEEKS PAID MATERNITY LEAVE! they also get 6 weeks recreational leave each year, and relief teachers (aka substitute teachers) average about $300/day! incredible. step it up, America. for real.


so far, being in Darwin for only a week has made me realize how much more I want to travel, and get to know the different education systems and cultures across the world :)