Good evening friends! Tonight's post comes to you from the Bishop's library (though may be posted later from home since my computer is about to die). Also, sorry that this post is coming two days late - this is my first chance to actually sit down and write! So as I sit here and stream the replay of the Olympic figure skating pairs short program event, here is a look back on my past week!
Alright, so last Monday started off with practicum as per usual. You may remember that I wrote last time about my lesson that went horribly wrong. Well, I decided to try my lesson again but made some adaptations so that it would hopefully work a little better. In the first week, I had asked my students to summarize a chapter in their novel study book and then make a short skit about it. Since the summary part proved to be a little too demanding, I made summary note cards for the chapters that I wanted the students to present and then had the different groups make a skit based on my points. This worked so much better! We were able to have 4 performances at the end of the class which my associate teacher videotaped on her iPad so that the students could watch themselves at a later time. The biggest struggle was with the group work itself and I learned that my students need a bit more structure when working together to ensure actual work gets accomplished. We did get to have a mini-lesson on compromise though, which seemed to help a little bit. I also got to help my associate teacher do some marking, which is a really great way to learn about my students and their abilities. We were marking for the grade 6 class though, so now I need to challenge myself to actually teach a lesson to the grade 6's.
After practicum, I had my K-E class and a group meeting with my professor regarding practicum. I really like our group meetings because we get to chat about our practicums and our prof always brings snacks. Also, in my K-E class, my prof talked about making school like summer camp, so Vicki and I did an air high five across the table and told him about our video that was about exactly that. It was a proud moment for us. After class, I went to the gym with Jocelyn and then to knitting club where I handed in my finished hat. Wendy was so proud of me! Then, Hannah, Jocelyn and I made a group trip to Provigo to stock up on groceries for the week. It worked out well that we all went together because we paid together and took full advantage of the 10% off Monday student special. Then it was time to go home for a family dinner and a night of homework.
On Tuesday, I got up bright and early to tackle my huge pile of homework and study for my quiz in Children's Literature that night. I went swimming at the pool and to my two afternoon classes, one in which we had a presentation on vocabulary development and got to play two of my favourite games, Scrabble and Bananagrams. I went to the library with my friend Gaby and then to the student ministry supper with Gaby and Elizabeth. Following dinner, I had my night class where I took my quiz, which went a lot better than I was expecting, had a group meeting with my Reading Circle to plan our Alice's Adventures in Wonderland presentation and then a lecture. Then it was time to head home, do some homework and hit the hay.
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| My Reading Circle Group (this photo was a requirement for the course) |
Wednesday again was fairly typical with a morning of homework, followed by a gym workout and my K-E class. I then raised my Virtual Child for a bit and then Jocelyn and I did some homework together in the Bus Stop Café. It was my night to came home and make dinner for my housemates. For the first time, I received a dinner request and so made some meatball soup for everyone, aka the easiest meal to make ever, so I was happy to satisfy the request. Unfortunately, everyone in the Bachelor-watching club had a lot of homework so we were unable to watch the Bachelor. We are falling very behind in the season. A marathon may be in order soon.
Thursday, I continued to plough through all of my homework and then went swimming and to class. Despite starting off the week very stressed, my stress level gradually decreased as I sat rooted at my desk working away. I feel like as I am writing this, I have forgotten some other factor that was causing me stress but it has slipped my mind; hopefully, it wash't too important. Maybe it was all the online discussions I had to do for my one class. After class, I came home for a quick break before heading back to campus to go to Speaker's Night at the Gait. This was an event where all of the candidates running for an executive position on our SRC had a chance to speak and answer questions about what they would do if elected to represent the student body. Two of my friends from the Leadership Floor are running for positions: my friend Jason, who is the current VP student affairs is running for President and my friend Matt is running for VP student affairs. The elections are happening right now, so I wish them both luck in their campaigns and encourage all BU students to go vote!! Now!! I had to leave Speaker's Night early though because I was on duty in Mackinnon. (BRB the Canadian team is skating). Ok back again. I was on duty with a fellow RA Rob and it was a pretty quiet night overall. I was happy to have some company from some of the Mack boys and a visit from my housemates during the night and I was able to watch the recap of the Olympic figure skating team event so it was actually a pretty nice night. I slept over in my friend Amanda's room so did not have to walk home in the middle of the night, which enabled me to get to bed earlier than usual.
Friday, I woke up and met Jocelyn at the gym and then came home for lunch and homework. For the past two weeks or so, my friends had been planning a trip to Elizabeth's farmhouse in Wellington, Ontario for the weekend and last minute on Wednesday, I decided that I wanted to tag along. While we were eating lunch, we got a call from the boys we were going with that they were ready to go. We had not been expecting to leave so early so immediately we began a scramble to get ready as fast as possible. Right before we were about to leave, we had a bit of a debate over weather and contemplated whether or not it was safe to drive there, but we decided to forge on ahead with the road trip. I drove with Taylor, Kirsten and Jocelyn, and Mike, Tim, Hannah, Cameron and Elizabeth went in the other car. My car was laughing the entire time about how the three smallest people were in the bigger car with less people, but we were not going to complain. We did hit some pretty bad snow when we got into Prince Edward County but due to Taylor and Mike's superior driving abilities we all made it to the farmhouse in one piece.
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| Me, Jocelyn and Taylor in the En Route! |
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Now, when I say farmhouse, I do not know exactly what you might be picturing, but let me say, Elizabeth's farmhouse is absolutely beautiful. It is like a country home from a home catalogue, right down to every home decor item in the house. It has a huge open kitchen with brand new appliances, a large living room with a roaring fireplace, an art room for her dad, etc., etc. There is ample space for guests, a fully stocked fridge and freezer and a barn right next door to the house. To top it off, it is about 10 steps away from Lake Ontario. We were not able to appreciate its full natural beauty when we arrived in the dark but it was a beautiful sight to wake up to on Saturday morning.
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| The farmhouse! |
We had a late night on Friday and then got up and made an eggs and bacon brunch on Saturday. I was able to sneak away for a run in the snow (which was awesome). My friends all made fun of me for bringing all of my running stuff, but honestly, do I ever go anywhere without them? (Answer=no). Then, SPECIAL TREAT my mom came up to visit me. It was extremely last minute but I was so happy she came to visit. We went out for lunch to the bistro café where Elizabeth worked in the spring, hung out for the afternoon and then she dropped me off at the farmhouse and headed home. It was so wonderful to see my mom, even though technically it has only been just over a month since I was last home. She had been planning to come out to Montreal to visit me that weekend, but things did not work out. This was definitely an ok alternative. After she left, I came home and did some homework and then we all went out for dinner to a local restaurant. Following dinner, we came home for a bit of a games night: we played Monopoly, which Cameron got extremely into, and bananagrams and then had some fun before heading to bed to rest up for the trip home.
Sunday, I got up and went for another run (do not tell my physiotherapist) and then Taylor, Kirsten, Hannah, Jocelyn and I packed up and hit the road. We made a stop at a McDonald's to pick up two Olympic Fan packs (20 chicken nuggets, 2 large fries, 2 drinks and 2 cookies) and I took the collector pins and tattoos. If anyone gets pins 1 or 3, send them my way. I want to collect the entire coke bottle. We made it home in really good time so I was able to get some homework done before heading to work for the night. In Mackinnon, I was able to watch MasterChef Canada while finishing my lesson plan and then had to hideout in a room to finish some more homework while some residents watched various musical tributes in the common room. Who do they think they are, not watching the Olympics?? Luckily, Sundays are early nights so I was able to head home and rest up for practicum the next morning.
Obviously, it is Tuesday now but I will save the details from the past two days for next week's post. I will say that my associate teacher wrote "Super Lesson" on my feedback sheet on Monday, so get ready to hear all about that. Also, that quiz I took last week? I got it back tonight and got 100%! Hopefully, I will have the same luck with my Child Development midterm on Thursday! As well, I have made some great progress on my end of term papers, aka I have selected all of my topics. Now comes the actual "researching and writing" part. Wish me luck. This week is going to be another great one, despite all the school work that I have to do. I am on duty on Thursday, going to practicum on Friday for a special Valentine's Day visit, hosting a red, white and pink themed dinner on Friday night and then Saturday is the Fashion Show! Oh and I will of course be watching the Olympics all week! The skating schedule is pretty much tattooed on to me. I will be sporting my red and white lulu hoodie and Canada hat and mitts all week and probably tweeting about the Games as well, so sorry in advance to my Twitter followers. So I wish you all a wonderful week and I will try to find some time next Sunday to update you again! Until then, keep cheering on our athletes in Sochi!
Oh, and just in advance, Happy Valentine's Day! Feel free to send chocolate my way!
All my love, Erica xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
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