This Week OFF From School

It was [possibly] my last week off from school this week as kids will start heading back to school next week sometime.  What did I do this last week?... not a whole lot.

This last week off from school I was really not feeling well.  I know, I know, I've been saying for a while that I've been sick but this week was the worst.  Although my cough is nearly gone it seemed to have gotten replaced with a stuffed up nose which is putting a lot of pressure on my head causing headaches and it just feels like I've been stuck on a plane for the last week.  Luckily, my headache has at least subsided but if I'm not feeling at least 90% by Tuesday I think I'll finally be taking a trip to the doctors.

These lovely things were purchased this week...

20lbs of peaches (that are already frozen for smoothies for the next year) and 25lbs of tomatoes that are already cut up and canned to also use over the next year.

I made an apple cake (that I forgot to take a picture of) that was delicious!  But since it turned out (and used 4 cups of apples) I'm making it again next week (and I'll try to remember to snap a picture of it then and link the recipe)

I made another large batch of apple sauce.

I spent a rainy weekend at the lake playing lots of games.

And possibly the biggest thing to happen this week that required very little effort on my behalf was that I actually won something on the Starbucks Summer Game!  It may just be 500 stars but that's a few free drinks so I'm not complaining!  If you aren't already playing you should... I'll be the first to admit I thought it wasn't paying out as well as it had previous years until this week of course so it's not too late!

and that's pretty much it.

Looking forward to next week when I'll hopefully be feeling better!

Free Calm App Subscription $60 Value!

Ok fellow teachers this is a great one!

Calm (the app) is offering a free subscription to teachers (which is a $60 value) and all you have to do is fill out a form!

I won't say to much about the app as you can download the free version and check it out for yourself first if you'd like but if you are looking for ways to introduce mindfulness or ways to calm a class down this could be beneficial to you.  

I tried to apply for the free subscription as a substitute teacher... unfortunately I did it the first time a while ago but I tried again a few days ago and I hoping I hear back from them.

Did you apply for the free subscription?

How do you plan to introduce and use Calm in your classroom?

Update:
It took at least a couple of weeks but I got my free subscription (for as long as I have the app).
Thanks Calm!

What Parents Need to Know About TikTok

This summer I'm doing a series on What Parent's Need to Know about *insert some type of online thing here*... because it's not just parents that need to know these things but teachers too AND if there is one thing we all know it's that online stuff changes so often it's hard to keep up (especially when you aren't even using that app/program)!

Today I'm talking about TikTok.

To be honest, this one I really don't get the desire to have.  Prior to learning about the app I definitely thought it was an app where you mouth the words to different songs and post them... seems kind of silly to me (although I'm sure we can say the same of many, MANY other apps as well).

This poster is free to download at National Online Safety

Here are a few things I learned

1)  Accounts are automatically set to public which means anyone can view and comment on what you post... which seems great because a lot of kids these days want to become "famous" whether it be Youtube, Instagram or Tik Tok... they just want to be recognized.  If they post often enough and well enough I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to get hundreds (or thousands) of people following you... many of whom you don't know.  In addition, they could pick up clues from the surrounding or what you are wearing (such as a school uniform) to gain information as to where you child lives or attends school.  The good news is accounts can be set to private where you have to approve people to follow you.

2)  There are easily accessible in app purchases available that sound like they can become quite pricey.  This isn't the first app I've shared about with these in app purchases Roblox and Fortnite also had in game purchases.  The good news is you can disable this feature as well.

3) Finally, like anything else online there is the risk of seeing something that they shouldn't.  This is why it is SO important to teach kids these days how to be appropriate digital citizens.

This series has been going on for 3 months now and I've posted on a lot of similar topics:

Screen Addiction

Age Ratings

The App Store

YouTube

Instagram

SnapChat

FortNite

Twitter

WhatsApp

Roblox

Minecraft

Momo

This Week OFF From School

Well, I can't say I feel like I accomplished much this week off from school.

My cough is nearly gone (it's about time) and is being replaced with a stuffy nose in the evening and mornings especially (a girl just can't win).

I did manage to go for another really long walk

Can you believe this place is in the city?

I also made some more slow cooker meals for our freezer.  These ones are marinara chicken (and I actually made 4 other bags of just the chopped up zucchini because we had some that was ready to be used.  So I'll have 7 of these meals in the freezer... it will likely last us until next summer.

I made a cinnamon raisin loaf for Saturday morning

This was taken a couple of hours before it was done baking... I had to get the blog up before it would be done!

And I made a bunch of these coconut chocolate chip cookies (they are my favourite!)

I spent the day at the lake with some friends.  It was a bit chilly so I didn't go swimming but I did venture out for a paddle in the canoe (that we managed to stay dry for)

I have a friend that is going to school in the next province over so we had a little good bye party for her... which consisted of us mini golfing.

I've officially got one more week of summer break and then it's back to school for the kids.  My guess is as a substitute I likely have 2 more weeks of break (I checked for jobs online this week and there was still nothing).  

Still plenty of time to start feeling better!

... hopefully!