Trees, Sun and Kayak Adventures

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Joyeux September to everyone!

The weather has started to get cooler day by day, but still much warmer than last year. I enjoy a walk to the Mistissini Lodge that overlooks Lake Mistissini every other day in the evening. This particular picture was taken one evening as my friend was walking a 4 month old puppy, persuading her to jump in the water....she did not give in and refused to wet her paws!
One weekend ago I celebrated my birthday with a few of my closest friends (and dogs). We spent 3 days in Quebec City shopping, eating and enjoying the beautiful views. This Quebec City trip is becoming an annual tradition! It definitely is one of my favorite cities in the province, and it's only a six and a half hour drive from Mistissini.

We enjoyed the views of the Chutes de Montmorency, the beautiful waterfalls just outside the city. Lily had the pleasure of enjoying the falls as well! Please enjoy this awkward picture of me holding Lily to make sure she doesn't jump off the cliff.
It was a little bit surreal to be leaving the community so quickly after being there only 3 weeks, but those first 3 weeks of school drained us like a full semester would! I am so excited to have the same group of students I had last year. This has allowed us to start the school year on the right foot and get to work on day 1. The school went from having 3 Grade 1 classes to 2 Grade 2 classes, which means that the 3rd Grade 1 class was split between my teaching partner and I. We now have 20 students each compared to our 12 or 13 from last year. This is like adding 1,000 more distractions and personalities and little balls of energy to our classrooms! 

Despite the growth spurt of my classroom, I came into this year more confident, excited and more steady on my feet. I am really enjoying this year teaching Grade 2 and will continue to do exciting things and of course math with my students. I had a new idea this weekend about each student creating their own "happiness stick"...essentially they each get a foot-long stick from the woods and will sand it, paint it and decorate it to symbolize what in their lives make them happy. The whole point of the stick would be for the student to get the stick, sit with it, hold it or look at it when they feel like they are not happy. I am hoping they will connect it to their daily lives and will see it as a part of themselves and will find that looking at things that make them happy actually makes them feel happier...I will take lots of pictures of this adventure with the students and will post an update when the project is finished.

Lily and I have continued to venture as always in the woods and forest. This was a snapshot I took of her as she gobbled her way through the brush and ate every blueberry in sight. Let's just say it wasn't easy for me to get the blueberries I needed for my blueberry cobbler that night...

I really can't help posting pictures of all the trees and the scenery that I come across on my walks and hikes in this beautiful place, but here is a new view that I have recently begun to appreciate.

Instead of being in the woods or on the trails, I decided to invest in a kayak over the summer (thank you to the endless research on the part of my parents) and bought a beautiful 12 ft Recreational Kayak. I have taken the boat out numerous times but this was the first time I snapped a few pictures while paddling. It was so amazing to view the lake from a whole new perspective. My appreciation for the lake and the place that I live grew with every moment I paddled. The experience really felt like I was in another world, even though I had only paddled 45 minutes away.
Merci pour avoir lu cette semaine!

Thank you for having read with me this week!

Happy September and Happy back to school for everyone!

~Vicki


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