Back in the Classroom – They’re on their way!

2014-12-06 | puppy1952

It only really hit me on Friday that the end had come. I have been taking it one day at a time, sticking to routine, enjoying the specialness of each precious little girl and not thinking about the fact that I would soon be sending them on to the next teacher!

Of course we had spoken about how they felt about moving on in a care circle. This is what they said: “I am a little bit nervous but I’m also excited” “I am looking forward to learning new things” “I know in Grade 2 I will learn about birds and bats and that’s exciting” “We’re going to build things and I like that” “I will miss you and I hope my new teacher will be kind” “I want you to be our new Grade 2 teacher!”

Who the new teacher would be was a closely kept secret. They’re all going up together so their was a great deal of speculation as to who it could be – was it the teacher who took last year’s girls? I told them it could be anybody – Maybe Coach K (Grade 7 male teacher) would come down to teach Grade 2 – anything is possible. They shrieked in delight and at home time one reported to her dad – Coach K might be my new teacher!

Friday finally dawned. The girls arrived full of excitement and expectation. They were noisy, fidgety, over-the-top and I had to calm them down before we could do anything constructive. The choir girls (half my class) had to go off to practice so normal routine could not be followed. The remaining girls did some fun worksheets until the others returned. I just managed to complete handwriting when we all had to go to our Award Ceremony Practice. And that was that. We returned to pack up, tidy the classroom, have our snack and go out to break.

At 11 o’clock, armed with their stationery I took them to the meeting place. Mrs K announced who the Grade 2 teachers would be. My class were first and they cheered when they heard the great news that they were to be with pretty, young Miss Mey!

Waiting in anticipation

Where is Mrs Fenwick’s Class?

In the new classroom on a much bigger mat!

This is not the teacher were we were expecting!

She helps us too!

Do you like it?

While my girls were wrenched from my care I was left feeling rather bereft – I had no new little ones to welcome to soften the blow but I know I’ll get over it – there are new horizons for me too.

At the end of the day the girls returned content with the knowledge that they had landed on Planet Second Grade without mishap and the continuing journey is going to be just as exciting.

But it’s not quite over in Grade One yet! We have our Awards Ceremony on Monday, Tuesday – no school for you, girls. And on Wednesday we bid a final farewell to each other with a Teddy Bears’ Picnic – So remember to bring you favourite cuddly toy, a healthy snack, juice and a treat!

Back in the Classroom – Welcome

2014-01-17 | puppy1952

To all my new parents – a very warm welcome to Grade 1 Fn! So often the reply to your “What did you do at school today?” is – “Nothing!” This is the place you can log into at the end of each week to see the what the answer should have been!

Two and half years ago I returned to teaching after a 10 year break during which I only did relief work – then the call came again. It was supposed to be for four months —- but still I’m “Back in the Classroom!”

The first day of school is always exciting but for Grade 1 it is a giant leap to the next phase of their lives. Even though the first few days have been short, I am sure you have found your girls to be quite exhausted by the time they got to bed! There is so much newness, so much to get used to and so much excitement. Be patient with them until they get used to their new lives. A good routine, healthy diet and early bedtime will make all the difference in getting them to settle.

There was a fabulous welcome to all the new little ones in the hall on Wednesday morning and then we all trooped to our classrooms and started working straight away! The girls were introduced to The Gruffalow, learnt about RED, made a picture from circles and are getting to grips with writing their names. They have had their minds filled with new expectations and routines and I have to say they’re coping beautifully.

Red is an exciting colour

I made balloons for my clown out of circles

There is just too so much to do!

At last – time to play on the mat!

Back in the Classroom – Reading to Children

2013-09-07 | puppy1952

“Whose mommies and daddies read to you, everynight before bed?” I asked my girls . A sprinkling of hands went up. “Whose mommies and daddies read to you before you started Grade 1.'” Just a few more hands went up. I noticed that most of the girls who were still being read to, were good readers themselves. Those who never had stories read to them were making slower progress.

The mistake that many parents make is – Now that my child is reading – I needn’t read to her any more. She must read on her own – she needs to practise.

We talk to our babies before they can understand the words we say – and very soon they’re talking too. It’s the same with reading – first we read because they can’t read themselves but we must continue. Read books to your children that have a more advanced vocabulary and watch how their use of language improves. There are many advantages of reading to your child.

It’s a wonderful way to get your child into bed and settled for the night.
It’s a special togetherness time – sit close to your child and let her see the words and pictures as you read.
Your child will be hearing well-written English which will contribute to her gaining good language skills.
You can use the story for life lessons and discussions.
Books, both fiction and nonfiction, teach general knowledge.
New worlds are opened for you both to share.

Let reading to your child become part of her bedtime routine. Make sure radios and television are off when you read to your child and make it a special time – do not let any digital devices interfere with this time. Put your phone on silent!

What should we be reading to our children? Take them to the library and show them the array of books in the children’s section and let them choose! Some children really love nonfiction so don’t neglect that. Let them browse through a nonfiction book and let it be more of a question and answer session rather than reading it from cover to cover.

There are many modern children’s authors writing wonderful stories with fantastic illustrations but don’t forget the old fashioned fairy tales. The girls in my class love The Three Little Pigs and Cinderella as much as the children who I taught from past generations did. Alice in Wonderland, Peter Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh – just never go out of style.

Here is my very short suggestion list – there are so many books out there but in my book these are compulsory reading.

AA Milne –Winnie the Pooh

Beatrix Potter – Peter Rabbit + all her other books

Kenneth Graham – The Wind in the Willow

The Brothers Grimm – All their fairy tales

Lewis Carroll – Through the Looking Glass

Ludwig Bemelmans – Madeline

Rudyard Kipling – The Just So Stories

Enid Blyton – The Wishing Chair and The Faraway Tree

I read to my girls at school as often as possible. I read stories that we as Grade One teachers have decided on together as well as books the girls bring that they want to share. We all enjoy the stories. But this is not a substitute for Mom and Dad reading to a child. There is not the same intimacy, bonding and sharing. Start the habit now. If time runs out – leave the homework – Read to your child!

Back in the Classroom – Birthdays, Bonds and Cooperative Learning

2013-05-19 | puppy1952

No matter how well you plan as a teacher you never know what is actually going to happen on that day! Take Thursday for example. As I greeted my girls no fewer than five arrived in mufti! Five birthdays on the same day in the same class – what were the chances! Of course this meant five lots of treats to celebrate too. Oh boy – we worked flat out till snack time before I handed out the first party pack at 10:10. And yes – the sugar high had set in and I had to do a lot of movement activities as sitting still was going to be a problem. At 12:30 they got the sliced cake and cake pops and finally as they left at hometime cup cakes and iced donuts were distributed.

The Five Birthday Girls

It’s a Barbie Cake

We have been working hard on our number concepts. We can count to 100, in ones, twos, fives and tens. We have worked hard on knowing the difference between before and after, one more and one less, recognising numerals and number names and many more things. Now we are ready for real sums. To introduce the concept of partners in our bonds we play a wonderful game called dancing digits which gets the children moving – so good for the brain. Each child is marked with a number (Don’t worry moms – it comes off easily!) and told to find someone else that she can partner with to make, in this case, five. They scurry around and argue and debate, little fingers work overtime and finally they connect with the right partner holding tightly to her hand until the teacher congratulates them on their cleverness.

Together we make five!

So do we although its the other way round!

Zero is a difficult concept but we’ve got it!

Mathematics is so much fun!

In our groups we use concrete apparatus to reinforce the concepts. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is for children to use all their senses to learn. Seeing the counters, touching them, moving them around, listening to songs and rhymes about numbers etc are all part of the learning process. Learning bonds off by heart before the concept is embedded in the brain does more harm than good.

Find three with your eyes and grab it make it one more – make it one less – how many do you need to make five

Interpreting the written sum – Those signs can be confusing!

The girls also did another cooperative activity this week and learned from the previous weeks’ experience. It was so rewarding seeing the lesson learned and the ones who were in conflict last week working beautifully this week.

This week’s activity got the girls looking for 3D shapes in pictures of actual things. They made a graph of these. They compared their columns but also discovered where they went wrong by comparing their graphs with those of the other girls.

It goes in this column I think

This is so much fun

Do we have the same results?

It is the Autumn term and the weather is getting chilly but we have been lucky with some lovely sunny days and inside the classroom there is always sunshine with these precious little girls.

Back in the Classroom – First Assembly and Pyjama Party

2013-05-06 | puppy1952

To those of you who faithfully follow my blog I have to apologise for posting this week’s episode late. I have been fighting a cold for a couple of weeks and not been quite with the programme. I fear I have been a grumpy teacher and not given my girls my best either. But thankfully the little people are very tolerant and have put up with me in spite of my moodiness.

This last week was a fun week and exciting one for the Grade Ones. Our topic this term is all about our families. Constructing family trees helped us learn about the importance of each person who makes us who we are. And boy were we proud of our trees. For a few weeks now we have also been preparing for our first ever performance at Assembly. Each grade in the school has to take their turn to demonstrate at an assembly what they have been learning in class. The Grade Ones have been watching in awe as the others have been the centre of attention and now on Tuesday it was their turn.

Parents are always invited to our assemblies a score or so turn up each week. But on Tuesday – wow – every chair was taken. The four Grade 1 teachers were hugely proud of their little stars. They performed to perfection – it was a thousand times better than the rehearsals. It was as if having an audience got them to pull out all the stops. Well done Grade Ones – Your teachers are proud of you!

To end the week we entertained our classes at a Pyjama Party on Friday Night. What an excellent turn out we had. Of course the object of this is twofold – to raise funds for the school and to give our parents a ‘date night’. The little ones had a ball and from the comments I had from my parents they seemed to appreciate what we did.

It was a pyjama party so did I wear my pyjamas? Of course – and my little girls loved my Hello Kitty PJs.

Snuggling into our cosy rugs

Looking for ‘monsters’ in the dark

Bonding

We were allowed to bring siblings and cousins

Even the teacher wore pyjamas

Back in the Classroom – Family Tree Project

2013-04-26 | puppy1952

We have been learning about families. Our own nuclear families, of course are the most important. We have learned that there are different kinds of families – single parent families, grandparent headed families, extended families and so on. The most important thing in a family the girls believe is that each member cares about the others. The girls certainly have a strong sense of family.

We have also focussed on our ancestry and yesterday the Grade 1s constructed family trees. They all brought a bottle filled with sand, a branched twig and loads of photographs and bits and pieces to decorate the end product. They cut out leaves and pasted on labels. It was an Expo Day so many visitors wandered in and out while all this was going on.

I will let the photographs speak for themselves.

Busy Tree Builders at Work

I am the newest leaf

I need to get to the top branches

Grandparents are the roots

Do you like my tree?

Concentrating carefully on the cutting out

Some strong branches on these trees

I have a great family

Back in the Classroom – Speaker Reader Final, Group Teaching and Patterns in Nature

2013-03-15 | puppy1952

We had one Grade One from each of our classes up against the Grade 2s and 3s in the Speaker Reader finals on Wednesday. There was much excitement as we filed into the hall. There were four external judges seated at their tables ready and waiting. Who would the winner be? My little finalist was all dressed up in her tooth fairy outfit as she would be reciting a very topical poem about loose teeth! Those judges had a hard job choosing a winner. All the children were dressed up fancily with elaborate props, their confidence was phenomenal and they presented their pieces with a polish that belied their age. There was no microphone and the judges were right at the back of the hall. During practices I had encouraged h to her to speak as loudly as possible but she was still quite soft. But when she got onto that stage she blew me away – WOW – her voice was animated, loud and clear! She performed flawlessly. It just took an audience to bring out the best in her. I could have burst with pride.

Calling on the Tooth Fairy

But the competition was strong and I thought at most she’d make it to third place. Well the third place winner was announced and it wasn’t my fairy. So when her name was called in second place I jumped up from my crouched position where I was taking photographs and cheered! The third place was a Grade 3 girl who gave advice on how to survive as an eight-year-old and the winner was just outstanding – a wonderful poem about a smelly welly done by a talented little girl in Grade 3.

Proudly receiving her certificate

At my school there is always something happening. We have a full programme of varied activities as we believe in teaching children not subjects. However, the three RS are not to be neglected. In order to do all the marvellous things we do we have to be creative about time management in order to fit everything in. I find that honing in on small groups is the best way to ensure that each child’s needs are met.

Teaching children in small ability groups on the mat while the rest of the class get on with a task at their desks gives the teacher the opportunity to give each child the attention they need. Each group will work at their level. The material presented will never be too challenging for the slower learner nor too easy for the faster child. Because of this, each child feels secure in her learning environment and because she is not being stretched beyond her capabilities, she feels successful.

I know the answer!

A six to seven year old child still needs to work in the concrete. She learns to count by rote and to recognize number names and numerals even before she comes to school and this is important. But learning the three-ness of 3 and whether four is more or less than five objects requires objects that can be seen and touched. This is why it is important to be given this opportunity in the small learning group where the teacher can observe individuals and give guidance.

At home, counting actual objects, sorting socks into pairs, counting the cutlery when setting the table and sharing items with siblings and friends are all good concrete activities that help children master basic mathematical skills.

Working with counters – first grab three – how many more to make 5.

While one group is being taught on the mat the rest of the class get busy with a task. We investigated shapes in nature and with this inspiration decorated an African Pot for a book cover.

Animal prints are so attractive

Everyone had a different idea

Yesterday I asked my girls, Who wants to come back to school tomorrow? They all put up their hands. “Why do you want to come to school?” The answers I got were all to do with play and fun. – School is fun. I can play. I get to meet friends and make play dates. Break is cool. – And I was so waiting to hear – So I can learn to read, write and do mathematics!

Back in the Classroom – Get with the Programme

2013-02-10 | puppy1952

Get with the programme is an expression that I am often heard to utter. My children and grandchildren raise their eyes to the ceiling and I know what they’re thinking. But I don’t say it lightly – it is something I have in my life I have learned to do! In my chequered teaching career of 30+ years I have had to get with a new programme so often that I’ve lost count. It was group teaching versus chalk and talk, look and say versus phonics, the old maths, the new maths and the even newer maths. Then there was Outcome Based Education and now it something called CAPS. And when I was young I would grouse and complain or rant and rave against those in their Crystal Towers who had lost the plot and exclaim things like fix it when it isn’t broken – and don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. And then in the end knuckle down of follow the programme! Now I believe that if you don’t want to follow a certain programme then don’t teach at the school that offers it. And if you have doubts about what a school offers your child – don’t send your child there either! You see I believe that every ‘programme’ has its merits and if it is followed correctly it will work and the children will learn. If, however, a teacher has no faith in it, there is no doubt that it will not work.

At my school we certainly do things differently. The thing these days that we have to understand is that we are dealing with a fast growing technological world. Our children are into it and we as teachers cannot afford to lag behind. So a teacher who is still relying on the good old tried and tested programmes of old is going to have trouble getting the 21st century child get interested. Sorry – but what worked even 10 years ago is not going to cut it now! I started off saying that I have learned to get with the programme and I want to get with it even more with an interactive board in the classroom – but as yet my school can’t afford it. So I have made a plan and compromised with a flat screen HD Television and laptop computer. It’s not perfect but it does make an enormous difference.

Another programme that was brand new to me when I started teaching how was the THRASS. Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills. Well! Literacy is my thing. I have a special diploma in speech, hearing and language difficulties. At my previous school I followed a programme of teaching phonics and reading that I was well trained in by the principal and I believed in it. It was hugely successful too. So changing to THRASS was a challenge. Horrors of horrors even the font was different! But if I wanted to teach at this school – I HAD TO GET WITH THE PROGRAMME. Now that I’ve got to grips with it and made it work for me I am loving it. This year we are using a set of stunning work books that have been developed to fit in with the CAPS requirements; we have a set of tracing boards for the new font and I have created some PowerPoint presentation to teach the phonemes and graphemes and the kids too, are getting with the programme, having fun and learning at a rate that makes their teacher proud!

Practising the correct letter formation

Working hard in our THRASS workbooks

Now we know c cat, k kitten and q queen and ck duck and ch school will follow later

Now we know c cat, k kitten and q queen and ck duck and ch school have that phoneme too.

Back in the Classroom – Ending the year with a Teddy Bear’s Picnic

2012-12-07 | puppy1952

Wow – what a year! I have always loved my job. I know there are some people who drag themselves to work every morning but I always wake up quite happy that I am going to have a day that will be different to the one before. I may sometimes get frustrated, tear my hear out when I don’t get the response I want from certain children, cry tears and sweat blood to get through the work that needs to be done – but I still love every minute and wouldn’t change what I do for anything. I have taught all the grades from pre-school to grade 7, either full time or in a temporary capacity. When people ask – “What is your favourite grade?’ I always reply with – the one that I’m in.

I am in Grade 1 now and it’s awesome. And it has really been one of the best years of my long and chequered career. I have had an amazing group of little girls and the most wonderful parental support.

On Wednesday morning, I celebrated each of my little ones at our Awards Ceremony. Before the certificates were presented we had a few musical items. I being the sentimental old teacher that I am had tears in my eyes when the only two Grade 1 musicians were from my class. When my pianist played “The Russian Dance” I nudged my colleagues and said, “She’s one of mine!” And boy did she play beautifully. I did the same when my violinist was in the centre of her trio playing “Twinkle Twinkle” She looked straight at me when she came down from the stage and I just wanted to jump up and hug her in front of all those people but had to contain myself with a thumbs up.

After the principal’s wonderful speech on Irresistible Schooling for 2013 it was time for the Grade 1 teachers to go up onto the stage to present the certificates to their classes. I was so proud of their beautiful behaviour as they filed onto the stage, shook my hand and stood proudly in neat rows on the benches displaying their certificates for all to see. Each child in our school is celebrated and receives a pack of at least 2 certificates highlighting their special achievements. The high achievers are singled out briefly for academic achievement, academic progress, neatness and emotional intelligence. These children each receive a badge as well as their certificates.

Because today was our last day of the year we celebrated in a different way – We had a Teddy Bear’s Picnic.

Paddington Bear is an old friend of my daughter who followed me an many occasions to the various schools at which I’ve taught. Today was no exception.

But before we started I was presented with a myriad of gifts and had to open every one before we could start our party. I was spoilt with Christmas cakes and chocolates, beautiful jewellery, shower gels, perfumes and creams, a plant in a cute little pot guarded by a Christmas clad animal and a lovely wild life calendar. The cards were full of precious little messages and the opening of them caused great excitement and joy.

The girls were supposed to bring just one little treat each but some kind moms sent delicious eats to share too. So off to the Lapas in the quad we went with blankets and teddies and what a fun time we had. (Thanks Aunty Carol (my neighbour and volunteer rooom mom although she has no kids at the school) for running home for my memory card which I foolishly forgot to put back in the camera after downloading pics to the computer!

Not only did it look stunning – it was delicious too.

Carol cutting and serving the delicious chocolate cake

Come join us on the jungle gym

Don’t even think of separating us from our bears

A teddy bears’ picnic is fun with Paddington

Paddington – please come and play – I’m lonely

Aren’t our bears just the best! And they just loved the party!

010 Paddington and friends eating pop cakes

Sorry Paddington – no marmalade sandwiches – Have a Pop Cake

011 Having a good time with our bears and friends

Hey Paddington – Isn’t this a fun party!

And a lovely time was had by all

The classroom was not a great place to be today as it was being prepared for a fresh coat of paint and everything was off the walls and stacked where space could be found. So we played for ages before finally going back to clean up and pack up.

I gathered all the girls on the mat and just for ‘ou-laas’, we rapped the alphabet. When we got to zed zed zed, I said, “and that is the end of the alphabet and the end of your Grade 1 year! A couple of the room moms had just walked in and one said, Please may we interrupt – we have a surprise for you.

I couldn’t imagine what it could be as I’d already opened so many little gifts. She presented me with a box. I dipped inside and found a some Ferrero Rocher chocolates, a very generous gift voucher for our local mall and the dearest little wire bound book. On the cover was 1F 2012 – Inside on the first page a photo of me and then each child had a page with their photograph and a message and drawing done by themselves. There were also pages of photographs of the class events of 2012. How these two moms managed to get this all done without my knowledge I have no idea. Grade 1 girls are not good at keeping secrets – but they kept this one! Well it was hard to keep the tears in check. My girls were already emotional but seeing the teacher teary really set them off – so we parted with many hugs and I love yous and I’m going to miss you and I don’t want to go to Grade 2!

I have never been given such a lovely farewell gift from a class before. It has been a very special year and I feel so rewarded.

Thank you to all my special little princesses – and a very big thank you to your wonderfully supportive parents.

Back in the Classroom – Plunging into the Fourth Term

2012-10-27 | puppy1952

I can barely believe that the final term of 2012 is already upon us. What a busy year it has been including a fantastic musical under the belt. My little girls excelled themselves at cuteness when they did their “Your feet are too big,”dance in the foundation phase production of Cinderella and Rockefeller. Yes there were some tiny mistakes with the bossy ones instructing the others what to do but oh boy it was adorable with the princesses dressed in their ever so cut blue and white checked parlour maid pinafores over red puff sleeved blouses and bright red ribbons in their hair. The Grade 7 girls expertly did their makeup –their little lips in red heart-shapes, cheeks all rosy and bright eyes shadowed beautifully. While waiting in the classroom I had constantly to reassure them that nothing had smudged and that they all looked gorgeous (which of course they did!)

The show was only over by 10:00 p.m. and each cast had to perform two evening and one matinée show. They were exhausted, and indeed with all the rehearsals and performances I wondered if we would ever get back to normal again – but we did, I was worn out so you can just imagine how they felt!

That all ended on Tuesday 16^th and we have just completed a regular school week! And wow – am I delighted with my girls. Looking back over the year I am freshly amazed at how much they have grown from that first, fresh new day of Blasting Off to Big School. Thirty-two nervous, excited, brand new learners unable to read, write or do arithmetic have become competent, confident readers, writers and calculators and I swear I don’t know how! Did I really teach them so much in such a short time? I asked them, “”How did you learn to read all these words?” These are some of the replies – “I just know them!“ “I taught myself” “I’m clever!”

I cannot explain how rewarding it is to teach the first year of school to fresh, eager young children so ready to absorb whatever you throw at them. It is a challenge, a responsibility, a privilege to be entrusted with these young minds. I don’t have to fill them – I have to create an environment in which they discover for themselves – and when I hear their answers to how they got there I know I have succeeded. Nobody responded with “You taught me Ma’m” And that makes me proud – they have learnt simply by being in my class and they’re as mystified as me as to how it all just happened,

I am excited and thrilled that my girls are doing what they’re doing. It blows my mind and I am humbled. No two have the same learning style – each has her own individual way of getting there Each has her own individual problem, talent and drive and I am proud that each one is making progress at her own pace – in spite of me.

If I have provided a learning environment in which they feel confident enough to strive for their own perfection then I have succeeded as a teacher and that is what it is all about – that is the reward and right now I am feeling so fulfilled.

Back in the Classroom – Grade Ones on show.

2012-05-01 | puppy1952

Each grade has a to present an assembly two or three times a year at my school. Our little Grade Ones have watched the older children performing on stage and now it was their turn. Last year we relied on a wonderfully musical and dramatically talented colleague to come up with creative ideas when it was our turn – but this year we had to do it ourselves. We decided to make our theme – Blast off to Big School and my grade head came up with a wonderful script. Each teacher wrote a rhyme about her name and taught her class to recite it. The children were interviewed on video – What do you like about school and a power point presentation of what they are learning was presented. They recited a poem about starting school and quite a few of them had to learn a line or two to say alone. We (the kids and the teachers) were pretty nervous about how it would go down but our first practice went off well – but the last one was disastrous. The kids were restless and noisy and forgot their lines. The video froze in the middle which our sound man said had never happened before.

It’s going to be a disaster, I whined to my grade head.

No it won’t, she said. Bad rehearsal – good performance! But she wasn’t looking too convinced and It don’t think one teacher slept well the night before. But – wow – our little angels came through in the end and did not let us down. The parents laughed in all the right places and from where I was sitting in the sound box – they looked so precious doing their thing on the stage. The power point and video went in sync with the children’s presentation and there were no technical hitches at all – PHEW!

In the very same week Grade 1 was once again the centre of focus along with Grade 7 and Grade 4 for the Open Day where we all had to be involved in some sort of science lesson. The children were taught, with the help of a power point presentation, all about 3D shapes. They were shown famous architectural buildings of different shapes around the world E.g. Pyramids and then set the task of designing a 3D construction on paper and then building it with toothpicks and jelly tots. What fun we had. And our children showed us just how creative they could be. Some of the girls, at first, were stuck in 2D and wanted to make pretty flowers but the boys went all out which just goes to show that there is definitely a difference between boy and girls brains!. The girls, did, however, catch on quite quickly and adjusted their constructions to achieve the task set. It was wonderful to see the kids having so much fun while learning and nobody wanted to eat their constructions afterwards!

Well after this exciting week of activity it was great to get a five day weekend. And yes I did relax and have fun but I also had time to sit down and create some fresh teaching material and work sheets. I am looking forward to a three day week ending with some more fun – a pajama party on Friday night.

Back in the Classroom 2012 – Never Give Up!

2012-02-04 | puppy1952

Starting ‘big school’ is an exciting an emotional event. Everything is new, strange and little scary but most are ready for it and part easily from their parents because the anticipated fun of it overrides all fears. But for some separation anxiety is very real and for the first few days I had one or two who clung to Mom or Dad and shed a few tears. Once they were in the classroom though, there were smiles and no more worries till the end of the day. It is hard for a parent to leave a fretful child and hard for a child to stop herself from shedding those nervous tears when everything is so new and overwhelming. One of my tearful ones clung to Dad and the poor man looked at me and said “What should I do?” I took her gently from him and said, “Say goodbye, Dad.” She cried – but allowed him to slip quickly away. “I miss my Daddy,” she wailed. “I know,” I said. I clung to my daddy when I was in Grade 1 too. But I got over it and look – now I’m a teacher – so school wasn’t so bad.” “Did you really?” she asked – “Yes,” I said, “And do you know what – you will see your daddy later on. But I won’t be seeing my daddy any time soon because I don’t have my daddy anymore. And I still miss him – but its okay – I have to think of other things to make me happy. We’re going to have a lovely day at school today so dry those eyes and later on you can tell Daddy all about it.” She looked a bit surprised but stopped crying! There were no tears the next day.

In the three and a half weeks we have been at school we have achieved so much. The parents came to a new parents cocktail party and then a ‘back to school’ night to meet the teacher and find out what was in store for the next near. I had an almost full house/classroom with only 3 parents unable to attend. We started the meeting by saying the alphabet to the Thrass rap and that got everyone laughing and loosening up. I gave my little speech and then opened the floor to questions of which there were plenty. What a great group of parents I seem to have. I hope I answered their questions adequately and set their minds to rest that their daughters were in good hands.

We have a room parent program at my school where parents volunteer to give an hour or so of their time each week to help the teacher with all sorts of odd things from trimming worksheets, cutting out homework reading words, to listening to reading and helping to various individual activities. I have been overwhelmed with an excellent response and have no fewer than 15 volunteers. Other teachers have not been as lucky.

We had our first assembly on Tuesday. By the time a child starts school she is expected to be able to sit still for forty-five minutes and listen attentively to all that is going on. Of course there are times that she is able to stand up and sing and move but no disruptive behaviour will be tolerated. I was extremely proud of my girls as except for gentle reminders to one or two they managed to get through it with exemplary behaviour.

The principals message was profound. He showed a tear-jerking video of an Olympic athlete who ‘finished the race’ in spite of incurring an injury. The purpose of this was to encourage the children to finish what they start no matter what. He also played a recording of one of Churchill’s famous speeches in which he exhorts the British to “Never Give Up.” Later in the week one of my girls was upset that she had mistake and I said, “That’s okay – just carry on – remember what Mr K said in assembly – Never Give Up!”

“Mr K didn’t say that,” piped up one smart kid, “that was the man in the hat!” She then proceeded to mimic him perfectly – “Never give up – never, never, never!”

And I don’t think she will!