Yes, it has been ages since I have written on my blog. I was busy working this year, and then June arrived, and it felt like summer already.
I am teacher by profession. What this means is that I spent a year at university learning how to teach school aged children, and this is now my "preferred" area of employment. I also studied biology, and forestry at university, but I do not have my registered professional forester designation, and I didn't do much field biology. I supposed I could qualify myself by saying I am a science teacher, but really, I am currently an occasional teacher, which essentially means I am a Jill of all trades. You want me to teach French immersion, pas de probleme. Phys. Ed., sure! Junior Kindergarten? Bring it on, I am a mother of a two year old and a four year old, I can handle it.
And yet, being an occasional teacher is quite challenging. You are always jumping in midway through the year. You are not sure if you will finish off what you have been assigned to teach. You are taking over classes with someone else's rules. You might be one in series of teachers, and the students no longer care.
I love teaching. I am constantly listening to, and reading about new things I can introduce to students, if I were given the opportunity to actually have a class of my own. But, with declining student enrollment, permanent teaching jobs are becoming harder to obtain, and new graduates somehow get scooped up before me. Former students are often hired to work beside their former teachers. I am not originally from here, so I don't often have that connection to the schools. Also, I have been home with my young children the past few years, and tend to be more constrained with regards to the jobs I can take. It becomes quite a different thing to drop everything at 7:30am when you also have two children to get ready to leave the house, and you have to line up a sitter on short notice.
I have been lucky enough to have a sitter who said I could call her in the morning if I needed her. Usually, I try to line up my work ahead of time, to prevent the morning anxiety. It is even better when I can land a longer term for teaching, because there is much more stability. Regardless, I do love the days when I have the opportunity to be home with my children.
Hence the title of my blog. Summer is upon us. We have had a bit of slow start to the warm weather, but lately, it has been so nice, you have to spend time outside with the kids. One afternoon, my daughter was entertained for two hours, just blowing bubbles. Seriously, I had quite a lot of fun too. Who doesn't like blowing bubbles? Well, it can get a little frustrating when the bubble solution works as well as water!
So far, the best bubble solution (not homemade), that I have come across is called Blast O' Bubbles. We got them at a birthday party. The bubbles last long, and you can make a multitude of them with each dunk. I am not sure if wand shape is a factor too. I do know that the mega bottle of Miracle Bubbles I bought does not work at all. It frustrates my daughter, so we've shelved this brand. Maybe it will work better in the bubble mover, since half of that solution gets dumped out when the kids are pushing it around the yard. Does anyone else have a good experience with bubble solution?
We didn't have much luck with the Walmart big wand bubbles either. The bubbles aren't any bigger because the wand is narrow, and once the solution goes below the opening of the wand, it doesn't function as well. These bubbles also popped quite quickly.
Looking for some more outdoor activities? Water pistols are always a hit, and cooling in the hot summer weather. The latest recommendations from the Health Unit is to stay out of the sun between 10am and 4pm. This can be a bit of a challenge, unless you have a child who still naps most of the afternoon. Find some shade, like that of a tree or an umbrella. We have a large carport, and a garage with two big doors, so we'll hang out under the cover of these when the sun is at its highest. Another fun thing is putting our slide into the kiddie pool. Of course, this only works well with shorter children, but it provides a few hours of splashing fun. If anyone else has some ideas how to wile away the warm afternoon hours, let us know.
I am looking forward to spending lots of time with my kids this summer. Hopefully, I get a job in September, but if not, I get to watch my eldest start school, and could attend her school events. Plus, I get to spend some quality time alone with my youngest. He rarely gets the opportunity to have me alone since he's the second child. Stay at home mom is a very rewarding job.
PS. The U Pick Strawberry farms are starting to open around the area. Where is your favourite picking place?
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