Moving Pictures

As I continue to readjust to life post-Antarctica, one of my favourite things to do has been to relive the experience through my photographs. My #antarctica365 project has been such an enjoyable experience so far, and I love having an excuse to continue to comb through the thousands of photos I took looking for the …

Back to Reality

Coming back from Antarctica is hard. You go to parties to see your friends, and they ask you, "How was it?" but you keep finding yourself at a loss for adjectives. Amazing or spectacular just doesn't seem to cut it. "Tell me all about it!" they say, but you stare at them like a deer in the …

Let’s Keep in Touch

While I'm south of the Antarctic Convergence, I am going to try to be totally present in the moment and enjoy every minute of my time there. My plan (when Internet is available) is to mostly post to my Twitter and Instagram accounts, which you can see small bits of below, or the full picture …

One Last Thing Before I Go

It's not every day that I get publicly serenaded (traffic noise and winter coughs and all), but when I do it's by my school's choir on the last school day before my expedition. Indeed, all of my bags are (finally) packed and I'm (anxiously) ready to go. But before I do, I simply had to take …

Peggy the Penguin Update

In my last blog post, I let you know about the most recent plushy addition to our classroom. Since that time, each child in the class has had a chance to take Peggy home to introduce it to their families. My hope here was for each child to build a strong attachment to Peggy, so …

Back to School

Faster than you can say "No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks!" it feels like summer is over and fall is upon us. Although September is an exciting time of sharp pencils, fresh notebooks, and smiling new faces, it is also a time of very little work-life balance. As teachers, we have …

If We Build It, Will They Come?

A few summers ago, I signed up for a workshop offered by the Monarch Teacher Network of Canada. The registration fee was being subsidized by my school board, and I figured, why not? It ended up being one of my favourite professional development workshops and has had a profound impact on my teaching. Since then, my …

Antarctica: A Year On Ice (Film Review)

The anticipation is starting to get to me! I have been patiently watching the other Grosvenor Teacher Fellows depart and return from their expeditions, but mine is still more than 5 months away. When the current group returns home on July 8, more than half of us will have already been on expedition. But one …

What Is Geographic Education?

When I first told my friends and family about my selection for the Grosvenor Teacher Fellow Program, they were, of course, overjoyed for me. But, well-intentioned, many have since asked me questions like, “You don’t teach geography, so how did you get selected?” It’s true that many Grosvenor Teacher Fellows are not geography teachers. We are …

The Countdown Is On!

At this time of year, many teachers have a number of "countdowns" going on. Now that my shipboard travel and flights have been officially booked, I am very excited to begin counting down for my Grosvenor Teacher Fellow expedition! My to-do list to complete before then is very long -- including getting a complete medical physical and being …