How did it get to be December???

Time has definitely sped away! After the surprising snow in November when lots of leaves were still on the trees (and some still are) we seem to be back to our normal winter environment around here, rain!
I have had so many good intentions about blogging but it obviously hasn't happened for awhile. I am actually currently writing this blog and my class blog. There is always that question does technology save time or take time.
In my class blog I was just sharing some pictures of my grade seven class and their grade one reading buddies. I love teaching older kids but grade one students have a special place in my heart. And they have a special place in the hearts of their grade seven reading buddies. Now we do more than read.
We just completed three sessions of skating at our local community center, which is about nine blocks from the school. Having my kids along makes the walk easier for the little ones and it really helps with getting all those skates tied (although some of mine have struggles in that direction as well). Our school is a school mainly of children of immigrants and skating is not always a familiar activity so that these sessions are great and can encourage families to have their children have skating lessons that are quite affordable. By the third session students had gained a lot of confidence and for most of the grade one children this was their first experience on ice.
Once a week usually my students read with their buddies and make notes that they share with the first grade teacher. Yesterday we did something different. We brainstormed and then drew and wrote about skating together. This was incredibly successful. Seeing my students drawing and writing really inspired the younger children and of course, my class loved it as well. One really neat thing as well is two my students have siblings in the class. One has his brother,who adores him, as his buddy. Another decided that her sister would do well with her friend and she has her sister's friend as her buddy. It sure is great having this many teachers!