Back in the Classroom – Our Senses, Animals, Butter and Valentine’s Day

2014-02-14 | puppy1952

Teachers travelling to the future from a bygone age may not recognise the schools they visit in the 21st Century – well our school certainly is one they might think was created from creatures from another planet! It appears that no work is ever done – it’s just fun, fun, fun. Songs and movement, dressing up, outings to exotic places – well I never – is this what the world of the future has come to – I am sure they would wonder.

Yes – it is fun at our school but wow – do our children learn – and they don’t even know it! On Thursday we went to Higgledy Piggledy Petting Farm at Imhoff’s Gift and used our senses to learn all about farm animals and also how to make butter. What is butter? asked one little girl. mmmm – I guess some people only use margarine on their bread in these heart safe days! The jury is still out on the truth of this one though. Personally I like to think a little bit of butter is better for Betty.

The girls smelled the stinky farm smells, listened to the cocks crow and other animal noises, touched the furry creatures and they were beside themselves with joy to be able to feed them first hand. Even the pigs were adorable.

The goats got loose and I got a photograph!

If we hold our food up high we won’t be stormed by hungry birds

I’m not too sure about this piggy

The goat is safely back in his pen

Cuddling a furry creature is just the best

We’re trying to tempt the guinea pigs out of their safe place

He is so soft

Love is holding a pet

The bunnies were the best

After washing our hands carefully we went on to make butter while brother class connected with the animals. What a fun thing that was. We learned that milk actually comes from a cow and that we could shake the cream from the top of the milk to change it into a solid that is called butter. And boy does it taste lovely and creamy on the biscuits our teacher gave us the next day.

Ready to learn about making butter!

Churn it up , Churn it down, Churn it all around

And what do you get – creamy butter!

This so amazing

It tasted delicious

We also learned how to milk a goat – yes we did – but it was not a real one!

It feels weird

Is this really where milk comes from?

What a crazy thing to do!

I’m getting the hang of this

What is my mother going to say!

We ate our homemade butter on biscuits on Valentine’s Day

mmm Creamy and delicious

Well – I’m not so sure about this

I think its okay

Yum Yum

Oh – yes – this is good!

On Friday there was more fun at school – we all dressed up in pink or red and white and celebrated Valentine’s Day. I was so spoiled by my little girls who brought me flowers and chocolates – Thank you girls and parents – I felt very pampered. Everybody looked amazing but we chose four specially lovely outfits and then the girls voted for a winner who was quite overcome with joy. The others made her feel very special when she was presented with a heart-shaped eraser and a lollipop!

The princesses all dressed up

Aren’t they gorgeous

Cuteness in pink red and white

But the kids weren’t the only ones dressing up – the teachers joined in the fun too. We also decorated the teachers’ lounge and had some romantic music playing. We were treated to a cupcake and a cutesy poem telling us how fab we are!

Don’t you love the tie!

Full of fun she is!

Love you daaarling

The gorgeous girls

Ladies in Red

Love you my friend!

Nothing like sharing Valentinés with a handsome young man!

We all love each other at SVPS

The girls were fascinated by the story of Valentine – ask them about it parents – I hope they remember it and can repeat it to you.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Back in the Classroom – ANAs and the End of a Busy Term

2013-09-14 | puppy1952

This is my last “Back in the Classroom” post for this term and I will make it brief. As usual it has been a busy week but the big event was the ANAs – Annual National Assessments. Every child in the country sits this assessment at the same time on the same day. Literacy was on Tuesday and Numeracy on Thursday. There are strict rules governing how the test is administered. In Grade 1 the class teacher is allowed to invigilate and read the paper to her own children. This is a relief as the little ones feel quite insecure in this type of situation. This is because we never assess our children in this way. It is very formal and our way of teaching and testing is far more relaxed in the Foundation Phase.

The children are used to sitting in cooperative groups but for the ANAs they had to sit alphabetically in rows. Of course anything new is very exciting and the new arrangement got the girls completely hyped up. Fortunately we practised a few times before sitting the real thing!

Back to the dark ages in neat straight rows

Back to the ‘olden days’ in neat, straight rows

The two tests were in fact not difficult and most of the girls did well. But the results really make no difference to their overall marks – they are merely an indication to the Powers That Be that the children are reaching a basic standard for their grade. Are the schools achieving what they are meant to achieve? So the girls should do well. Sometimes children who get good results when assessed by their teacher do poorly in an ANA – these are the children who don’t function well in formal test situations although they are perfectly capable. The wording of the questions can be confusing, they’re used to working cooperatively but now they’re expected to act like Matric Students. They’re not allowed to talk and they have to wait until everyone has finished a question before moving on which causes a break in concentration.

But it is a good experience and I am proud of my girls. They performed well but at the end of it they said they were jolly glad it was over!

Next week we will wind down with some fun activities and preparations for the final term. Covers will be made and books sent home for covering in plastic. Parents please be prompt in returning them to school. I look forward to chatting to you all at Parentline on Tuesday.

Back in the Classroom – Market Day and a Fun Music Lesson

2013-08-09 | puppy1952

As usual time has flown and this short week has been filled with activity, fun and excitement. My carefully planned Monday had to be adjusted when the girls’ favourite teacher (IT bloke of course) came to inform us that we were to have an unscheduled period on the ipads. This on the same day that we have Visual Motor so that set the tone for the day! However, the little geniuses applied themselves diligently so as not to be excluded from the I.T. lesson if certain goals were not reached! Always great to have a carrot to help with discipline.

I have for a few days been assigned a visiting student teacher. She is studying through UNISA and needs to do her practical so I am the lucky one. Her first lesson had the children clapping, clicking and, dancing and singing as they learned to recognise patterns in Music.

Old Mac Donald

Singing, Clapping and Clicking

I am the kind of teacher who believes that junk food is very bad for children. That does not mean that I never indulge in the odd pizza or chocolate. I also use sweeties as treats on occasion. BUT – my rule is that no junk may come to school in lunch boxes – and don’t dare buy lollipops from the school tuckshop! The girls know this and try their best to bring healthy snacks to school. So when The Grade Seven Market Day happened on Wednesday they couldn’t believe their luck when Teacher said – you can buy and eat whatever you like!

The lessons learned went above my food fetishes. At the entrance to the hall – (rain prevented and outdoor market) R1 tickets were sold and with these they could make their purchases. It was amazing to see the little ones work out what they could afford and carefully make their choices for the best bargains on sale. It was also delightful to see the Grade 7s gently being patient with them and helping them to count out their tickets and what they could spend.

These look good

Are you sure I’m allowed to buy these?

How do I look?

We’re all going on a sugar high

Look what we’ve got

All stocked up with treasure

How can I help you Angel?

Coloured hair in Uniform!

I was very proud of my girls when after all this excitement, they settled down well with their Xhosa teacher and impressed him so much that he gave each one a star!

The weather in Cape Town has been that preferred by ducks and chilly on top of it. So it was great to see a tiny bit of luke-warm sunshine on Thursday. The only interruption to our day was a full practice for our upcoming assembly. Moms and Dads you are in for a treat on Tuesday morning. Be seated by 8:15 sharp when your little stars will be sharing with you all they have learned about caring for Pets. Hard work followed and we achieved most of what we set out to do at the beginning of this busy week and then we burst out to greet the long weekend and celebrate being free and liberated women and girls.

For my overseas readers this is why we celebrate National Women’s Day in South Africa. On 9 August 1956, more than 50,000 women staged a march on the Union Buildings in Pretoria. They were protesting against the Urban Areas Act or “Pass Laws” of 1950. Petitions containing more than 100 000 signatures were left the Prime Minister, J.G. Strijdom’s office doors. Outside they stood silently for 30 minutes, many with their children on their backs. They sang a song which translated means – you touch a woman you touch a rock. That phrase now paraphrased to “You strike a woman, you strike a rock” has come to represent women’s courage and strength in South Africa.

Because of our mothers’, grandmothers’ and great-grandmothers’ strength and courage in all kinds of human rights protests, we as women and girls have a better life. And I think that so do our boys and men. And as we celebrate this Women’s Day weekend let us not forget the support and affirmation we receive from our wonderful fathers, brothers, sons, husbands and male colleagues. Have a great weekend everybody!

Back in the Classroom – Creative Expo Day and an Ignition Outing to The Navy

2013-07-26 | puppy1952

We are really back in the swing of things at my very active school. Looking back I have a feeling of satisfaction that so much has been accomplished because I never believe there’s enough time! The week started with a long ‘to do’ list and two big events to get through. In spite of this we managed to complete all the work planned, fit in an assembly practice and survive the ‘big events’

On Thursday we had our Creative Expo Day. Visitors shopping for the best school for their youngsters popped into our classrooms to see what sort of creative things we did with the children. The Grade Ones have learned all about 2D and 3D shapes and so we decided to do something creative around this. After viewing a PowerPoint presentation on shapes and where we see them in everyday life the children designed a model and then used toothpicks and Jelly Tots to construct a 3D building. What fun the girls had and how impressive their models turned out to be. Girl brains do not get the engineering thing quite as easily as boy brains but most of my princesses managed beautifully. There were one or two who insisted on making pretty shapes in 2D but that’s okay – they’ll get the 3D thing eventually

I wonder how I should design this thing

Totally absorbed in the task

I’ve done it

We joined ours together!

This morning there was great excitement as it was Outing Day! Everybody arrived with packed lunch ready and after reading and handwriting we set off to Simonstown. We call this kind of outing an Ignition Outing the idea being to ignite the children with an idea of what kind of career they might like to enter when they grow up. The naval officer who was our guide told me that he was inspired to join the navy at a young age when he went on a similar class outing. We joined our brother class on this outing and it was clear that it was a big hit with the boys. The girls, however, were also asking questions and thoroughly enjoying the experience although not quite so excited by torpedoes that killed the enemy.

Listening intently to all this new information

Looking at a Battle Ship

May I ring the Captain’s Bell? No!

It would be fun to be a Navy Diver

The children were allowed to explore the Naval Museum, saw a short video on how a helicopters are used for rescue and got to learn about a variety of things you could work at in the Navy. Our handsome young naval guide was brilliant with the children and they all went home with a good insight of what the Navy was about. Thanks to the Moms and Dads who gave up their valuable time to transport us there and back. We really appreciate it.

Back in the Classroom – Third Term, Mandela Day and Creative Kids

2013-07-22 | puppy1952

Although I had enjoyed a stunning three weeks abroad on my own I couldn’t wait to get home to my husband and family. The plan was to land in Cape Town at lunch time on Saturday giving me a day and an half to prepare myself for school. But that didn’t happen did it! Because my grandson was to have a birthday party that night my amazing husband decided to whisk me away for a Romantic Reunion and save me from the invasion of a dozen teenagers!

The following morning we went to see my daughter in her new flat and then to lunch with friends! The last thing on my mind on Sunday evening then was school! Isn’t it amazing thought that when you’ve been doing this job forever you just walk straight in and it is as if you haven’t been away. The only thing I forgot was to bring back the freshly washed chairbags! “You see girls,” I said. “You should never be in a muddle on your first day of school. You should get everything ready the night before!” They all agreed but were very forgiving nevertheless. Within five minutes we were back into the swing of things. The girls clearly had a great holiday and were ready for action. They were excited to begin writing in feint lines and I am proud of how well they are coping. We also began our sum cards which are not very easy to set out, Moms and Dads and there were a few glitches about skipping a line and muddling plus and minus but it won’t be long before these little geniuses have that sorted too.

Mandela Day was the big event of the week. Sadly the day dawned rather cold and overcast and rain was imminent when we all went out to sit in formation on the netball court and sing to Madiba. The photograph of the children with a drawing of Mandela’s face is awesome. Go to the school’s webpage to see this. http://blogs.sunvalleygroup.co.za/

The Grade Ones were about to go and do their 67 minutes of community service and we were ready and armed with our black bags for a litter clean up. One of my princesses piped up “We can’t go out in this weather. It’s too cold. I might get sick.” “No,” I replied, “We’re doing this for Madiba – we must be strong and brave!” “Yes,” replied another “We’re not that kind of princess!” We’re certainly not – we’re the hard-working kind! But the heavens opened and the rain came down so our 67 minutes had to be postponed after all! Even tough princesses could melt in the rain. Instead of the litter clean up and gave the girls a brief lesson on the life of Nelson Mandela and showed them a clip from the internet planning to stop it if it was beyond their understanding. But they were riveted and had many questions to ask. They were horrified to hear that apartheid meant segregated beaches, busses and classrooms. I also showed them a clip of Johnny Cleg dancing with Mandela and that got some of them up and dancing too.

On Friday we got stuck into a cooperative activity. The girls brought boxes of all shapes and sizes and designed a city. The idea was to build the kind of buildings they would see in their community. I was delighted to see how well they worked together and how creative they were with the limited materials they had.