Winding down

As the days get longer, it feels as if we are in a roller coaster, the clicking has stopped and the brief moment before lunging forward passed days ago.  There isn't much left of school, yet there is so much to do before the end.  It is exciting and a race at the same time.  Pacing everything out isn't terribly difficult, it is just a matter of keeping the kids motivated and still in the game.

Our class has been building a lot of snow structures lately.  I have been told that snow like this is rare on the island, so the students and I have been out making snow forts and even created a snow family complete with a snow cat.  Snow, so much better than sticky, stick-to-everything mud that flings up the back of one's legs when walking.

This Friday we leave for Anchorage to check out a technology conference in town.  I am pretty pumped.  Learning about new ways to use the IPads in the classroom and other tactics to keep the students engaged through computers is my cup of tea.

I apologize about the lack of posting.  It is hard to blog about the mundane, especially when we haven't left the island since coming back in July.  Not a whole lot to talk about.  Well, there are things, but I don't want to breach anyone's trust out here by disclosing things that most would consider--not really news.

Perhaps, I'll write when we get into town.  Between our training sessions in town, we hope to get out and check out Fur Rondy.  We'll see.  The schedule looks pretty packed.  A month from now will be spring, bring on the mud.

If the pictures are distorted click on them.  I had to shrink them a tad---the slow internet was just not cutting it for the bigger images tonight.

Spooked.  Notice the food chunk falling.  The little unknown bird was nearby waiting for any abandoned scraps.  The snow is deep enough where birds are willing to take a risk to get some yum yums.  I can't wait until the end of summer when that salmon start running...  The new camera is pretty great.  This photo was taken with a zoom lens from indoors through dirty glass.  I can't wait to chance losing an ear to get some great bird pics.  (joking-partly, but the eagles are fierce defenders of their nests, even if a person is hiking below a 50' cliff)