Berry Picking

Last Friday after school Meghan and Andy took me out berry picking. We drove the four wheeler out towards the beach and got out to check to see if there were berries at various spots. At our first stop I got a lesson in shooting the rifle. I only did it once but it was fun! We checked several more spots but most of the tundra is pretty dry so there aren't many berries this year. We finally found a nice, swampy, mushy spot with lots of crow berries (also called blackberries). I don't like the crow berries. They have a bitter taste and leave a wine like after taste. There were some blueberries hidden among the crow berries and those are delicious! We picked for a while and drove to a few more spots. I saw some old salmon berry plants but they are pretty much done. The salmon berries have a red tint and look like salmon eggs, hence the name. There were also some cranberry plants but those berries aren't ready to be picked yet. The bear berries look a lot like the crow berries but grow on a different plant. Meghan said we don't eat them. She isn't sure if they don't taste good or will make you sick. The tundra is tiring to walk through. It's very mushy and deep so you have to take big steps and be careful because some spots are deeper than others but you can't tell until you step in it. I got some very pretty pictures while we were out and I had a lot of fun.
The next morning Meghan invited me over for breakfast. She used the blueberries we picked to make pancakes and they were delicious! Later that night we made jelly with the other berries. We used the crow berries and some salmon berries she already had. We mixed them with other berries and fruits to make different flavors. We mushed them up and then added pectin and sugar. Then we dished them into jars and put them in the freezer to set. I didn't try them yet but they looked delicious.
I have also now officially survived the week two of school! Psych and speech came out to do services. One of my students has his re-evaluation. I didn't realize I needed a form signed so at 8 o'clock at night Andy took me to their house. You're supposed to just walk in but we knocked! The parents were out berry picking so I walked over in the morning and then walked with the boys to school after mom signed. Things are going more smoothly each day at school but I still feel lost with some of the special education things. There are silly things like getting a formed signed I don't know about. It's hard not having another special education teacher here to tell you about little things like that. Overall I'm holding up well. I haven't cried yet so I think I'm doing pretty well!

Here are some pictures from our berry picking adventure, jelly making, and some from our nightly walks. Remember click on the picture to make it bigger. :)

 Salmon berries

 Best friends

 Crow berries took forever to smush

 Play break!

 Treat time!

Mango and salmon berry

 Piper loves finding all the bones here. 

 And puppies...

 Walrus skull

 Salmon drying

Puppies!

First Week of School

I have officially survived the first week of school! I spend all day and all evening Thursday-Sunday getting my room ready and planning for the first week. All the preparation in the world can't prepare you for the first day of school though. High tide was at midnight Monday so ATVs were flying past my window from 1:45-3:00 in the morning. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep and my kids who were up river didn't get much sleep either. The first day of school was...rough. I teach kindergarten through third grade but I'm mostly with the first graders. Because we use scripted reading and math programs (Reading Mastery and Saxon Math) the kids are split into groups by their level and the paraprofessionals do the scripted programs. You would think only have a maximum of five kids at a time would be a breeze...until you do it. Don't get me wrong, they are great kids! There are just some behaviors that make things tough and it was the first day! On the second day of school two kids tried to go to school at 4am. This made Maggie bark which lead to Meghan's dogs barking and Piper barking so we were all up at 4am. They then tried to come back at 7:30 and finally came back at the right time, 8:45. The second day of school was better and the third even better. I was exhausted by the end of the week but as they got more into the routine and I got to know the kids better things went more smoothly.

Here's how my day goes:
8:00-9:00 prep
9:00-9:15 pledge and DOL
9:15-10:45 reading
10:45-11:00 recess
11:00-11:15 spelling
11:15-12:00 language
12:00-12:35 lunch
12:35-1:45 math
1:45-2:15 calendar/read aloud
2:15-2:45 science/social studies
2:45-3:15 my kids go to Yup'ik and then are dismissed but I have preschool 2:45-3:45

My church sent me an AMAZING package of school supplies (posters, Tootsie Rolls, calendar items, etc). I just got them this week so I didn't get to hang them up yet but I can't wait to! Everything they sent is just perfect and exactly what I would have picked out! I can't thank them enough for that! The kids love the Tootsie Rolls. A lot of kids don't have the support or supplies at home to do homework so it doesn't get done. I've been giving them a Tootsie Rolls for doing there homework and so far I've gotten most of it back!

My biggest stressor right now is my special education duties. I have four IEPs due in October and I need to hold two meetings within the next couple of weeks. It's a lot but I know I can do it.

Piper and I have been going for walks every night around the village. We usually have an entourage of kids with us but we walked late last night and were alone so I was able to take some pictures on our walk.

Here are some pictures of my room so far and on our walk! (they get bigger when you click on them)

Maggie likes to come on our walks with us.

And Piper likes to make friends. 

Puppies!

You can't really see them but it's the sled dog team yard. 

Walking back towards the school.