Merry Christmas Everyone!

This is the time of year that we all need to regroup and re-energize for the hope and promise of the new year of 2010. Unfortunately, the honest truth is that this time of year takes as much energy as you are prepared to put in. I even have the twins' birthdays just before Christmas, hence not too many posts in the month of December.

New year ...new start!

If I could share any golden advice I would say be careful not to let time go tumbling past you. Set little achievable goals that allow you to feel organized and empowered for a new beginnings. We teachers are hopeless at collecting things and always wanting to be better! Write a list of your goals. Cross them off and celebrate your achievement of a good use of time. With three school age boys as well as Christmas and school holiday plans I try to keep chipping aways at teaching goals and study.

My beautiful husband always says: "There is only one way to eat and elephant...one bite at a time!"

Blessings of this special season to you all.

May 2010 be filled with much laughter and happy memories for you.

Carmel

Out and About with the Class. (Part 2)

SECRET SPIES

Apologise about all the secret stuff;

however, children love the mystery of it all and it really works!

As I am doing all the “getting ready to move out” instructions, I explain that there will be a certain number of secret spies in our midst.

1. These spies will be looking for the two best children in the class that have followed all the class rules. I secretly ask two or three children to do this role while the class is moving out! The other children who are not chosen love trying to work out who is the Secret Spy.

2. On our return to the classroom the spies are to stand in front of the whiteboard so they can nominate their people. The one catch is that the teacher has to agree with the nomination! This puts the fix on friends choosing friends, unless justified. While both the spy and their nominations all receive a reward, I have been know to double the reward when a true spy does not pick their nomination based on same sex or friendship status.

STATUES:

If you are just moving a short distance and not going to waiting long,

like a whole school assembly, then you could try this idea for a bit of a chuckle with no noise!

(Relationship building)

Front and back leaders are chosen, lines are formed and the teacher is at the front. Here I can control the group as well as work out where we are going. Each time you turn around to check on the class, the children have to “freeze”; I call out the number of people I did see moving and don’t the children love it as the number decreases! With older children I estimate percentages.

DECTECTIVE EYES/EARS:

This works well with the middle to lower classes.

Before you move off to your destination, explain that today we are going to look /listen very careful at everything as we move to and from the church. When we get back to the classroom, have a little Quiz to decide who your best detective is.

Sample questions may include: What animal made a loud noise just as we reached the church door? What colour are the flowers on the altar today? Which teacher waved at us as we walked quietly to choir practice? It does give the children a focus.

For older children I like to give just one quite tricky question, like: How many tools did the groundsman have in his wheelbarrow? What colour was the plastic box near the tuck shop?

SHADOWS

This is not really a game rather an metaphor that I find the younger children relate to quite well.

I tell the children we are going to be shadows as we walk to the library. Shadows don’t speak, they don’t even make any noise with their feet. They just silently guide pass watching and listening to everything interesting on their way. The little ones often start taking a lot more notice of their shadows during their outdoor play. You could introduce the best shadow award!

MAGIC TELESCOPE:

Inside or outside the classroom, this strategy works effectively with Year 3 down.

Cupping your hands to mime the holding of the telescope, or binoculars if you choose, really accentuates the process of looking for a specific person and a specific behaviour. I find the children love watching your eyes as you go through the movements. When you finally link with an individual child their whole face lights up with a smile! I only ever reward the positive!


MAGIC GLUE:

This is a strategy best for year 1 or below.

When you are faced with the challenge of pairing the children quickly

in order to move to a new location…… try this.

You have the pot of magic glue. Paint it on to a child’s hand and then place that hand into the hand of a partner. Never to come unstuck until you say. Rather than always holding hands the next painted hand could be painted then placed onto the partner’s shoulder, back, head, ear, knee, tummy…….get ready for the giggles! Join the line. Also works well as a transition idea between activities.



Trust this may be some inspiration and as always I would love to read of any other ideas that you find work well. We can all learn from each other...that is what it is all about!

Live,laugh and learn,

Blessings for this Christmas Season,
Carmel

Out and About with the Class. (Part 1)

Children today are constantly on the move from one space to another in a school environment. There are endless opportunities in a day where the class needs to move as a group in order to get to a specialist lesson, (such as….Music, Drama, Japanese, Physical Education, Art) whole school assemblies, the church, library visits, or even the next door classroom.

Moving a group of students quietly and efficiently can sometimes be more challenging than it looks. The real truth can come down to management style of the permanent class teacher. Some classes have a well established routine that is best not to interfere with. Classes like this are proud to show you how they can self manage these situations. Leadership roles are usually displayed and the children know exactly what is expected of them. It is easy to find only positives things to express to the class teacher at the conclusion of the working day.

On the other hand, there are classes are so full of boundless energy and enthusiasm for life that it hard to get them to move as a group, let alone in two lines! Moving the class as a group is the one time you can really feel venerable to observations of any onlookers. Hence, I would offer these starting suggestions and strongly advise you to continually learn from your experiences in this area of management.

· ESTABLISH THE GROUND RULES: Quickly review what management structure is already in place. Affirm or outline the expectations of what will take place. Always highlight the positive behaviours that will be noticed or rewarded.

· FRONT AND BACK LEADERS: Whether upper, middle, or lower school, well managed or not, used to lining up in one, two or no lines, children always love being in charge! This strategy means you can allow four children to have “their time to shine.” I am always careful to ask the two front leaders move off when the class is ready but to stop and wait at a certain spot, like “Stop at the bottom of the library stairs.” This allows the group to stay together. When I am happy the class is settled and calm I would suggest the next waiting spot for the leaders. This way you also maintain some control of the movement. The Back Leaders are asked to walk so they have no-one behind them. In this way, you as the teacher can confidently move between the front and back, knowing all other children will be between these two sets of leaders.

· SECRET SIGN: Before leaving the classroom, establish a secret sign that communicates the need for attention of the whole group while you are out and about. A hand in the air is the golden oldie. The attentive children follow your lead and somehow those who are paying as much attention suddenly realize they are the only ones still chatting. Everyone else has their hand in the air!

Trust these thoughts may have a positive influence on your day.

To conclude here's a thought from an old African proverb....
"Don't look where you fell, but where you slipped!"

Live,laugh and learn,

Blessings for the journey...

Carmel

Don't Make Assumptions ((PART 2)

· Don’t assume that photocopying is done by the office staff and is available in limitless amounts.
· Don’t assume that all children will return from their visit to the toilet or come back after lunch.

· Don’t assume all children will have the necessary stationery equipment like a pencil and a rubber!

· Don’t assume the specialist teachers and parents will know who you are.

· Don’t assume you will never leave any of your person equipment behind in a classroom. Always put your name and mobile number on everything if you want it returned.

· Don’t assume your bag is safe in the classroom, unless the room is locked.

· Don’t assume that a stranger (with no identification) in the playground is allowed to be there.

· Don’t always assume that the significant adult picking up the child at home time is the legal guardian. Very difficult area however, careful observation is required at all times.

· Don’t assume you are in the right duty area. If you are not positive, ask!

· Don’t assume that every child is sick just because they say so. Check with your partner teacher, or office staff, for a quick personality review then make your decision. Be as objective as possible!

· Don’t assume that a child will always understand what you meant let alone what you said!



The wonderful book, The Four Agreements written by Don Miguel Ruiz, states that one of the four fundamental agreements is precisely ....DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS. While my version is a little simplicistic and a little tongue in cheek, I do hope it serves to enlighten your thinking when you turn up for your action packed supply teaching day.


Live,laugh and learn,
Blessings for the journey,
Carmel

Closing the Day

The final term of the school year is busy and filled with lots of addition activities. Finishing a school day calmly is very important for every one's sanity. Don’t run yourself out of time. Allow plenty of time for the tidy up and shut down. Outline expectations and turn the essential clean up-time into fun!

I always give children a signal that they are close to finishing time. This gives children a chance to make a last minute effort to complete or enjoy the task. When Clean Up is called there is no plead for “Just as Minute” and the cleaning process can start.

The Mystery Object : Sometime during the activity identify a mystery object. It might be the pot of glue, a red crayon, or a child’s hat. Whatever the object watch to see who deals with it correctly during the tidying up process. Announce the object and the winner! Reward.


Tidy up Telescope I get my magic telescope out for lots of reasons but mostly to see the best tidying up person and sometimes to see who is ready and waiting. I mime the holding of the telescope with my two hands and it is great to block out all other vision and focus on one child at a time.

Hope these tried and true ideas are helpful.

Live, laugh and learn......
Blessing for the journey.
Carmel

Supply Teachers Alert! Don't make Assumptions!

This section has been included as a bit of fun especially if you entering into the world of supply teaching for the first time. Making assumptions can be your downfall.! Be warned and make sure you ask questions. This list is just part of a longer version. The rest of which I will offer in a following blogs. Actually, the assumptions get funnier as they list grows. You know what they say....."Many a true word is spoken,though only in jest!"

So, therefore, I offer for your consideration the following:


· Don’t assume the day will be organised for you.

· Don’t assume that you will be with any one class for the whole day.

· Don’t assume just because no duties are on your class’ timetable you won’t be asked to do a duty or two.

· Don’t assume you will have plenty of time to read that Relief teacher’s File later in the day. Best to read it ASAP! Important information will be discovered within its pages.

· Don’t assume that just because there is a specialist lesson scheduled you can also take a break. Ask if there is another class you should be relieving.

· Don’t assume you will be in the four walls of the classroom all day.

· Don’t assume you will have a relaxed lunch break.

· Don’t assume that the class will be all happy to see you.

· Don’t assume your classroom will have a CD player.

· Don’t assume art supplies will be plentiful.

· Don’t assume that photocopying is done by the office staff and is available in limitless amounts.

Trust this is of some assistance as fore-warned is fore-armed! May Term Four, 2009 be both rewarding and professionally challenging for both growth and creativity.

Live,laugh and learn.

Blessings,

Carmel

A Spring Clean in the Spring Holidays

Here in beautiful, south-east Queensland, it is school spring holidays . Yeah! Not only do I have my own lads home on holidays to enjoy, but it is time to refresh and recharge the batteries before facing the last busy term of the school year.

I also enjoy the process of a good old-fashioned spring clean:
......spring clean my ideas,
......spring clean my strategies,
......spring clean my class files and storage systems.

In starting with my zany pencil case and all the odds and ends stored here, I thought I would share a few of my life's essential contained in this case. Apart from all the usual items you would find in a pencil case, I couldn't be without my red, blue, green and yellow hard plastic pop-sticks. They are a fantastic tool for quickly sorting children into groups as well as allowing small groups to take turns fairly and monitoring points given in a game situation. I am always thinking of new uses for these handy little inclusions.


A few small, shiny, coloured crystals fall form the corner of the case. Note to self: I must add more of these! When a class is working well and don't want to distract from the learning environment but I do want to affirm a student's behaviour, I simply place a crystal on their work. As relief staff, I may not know every one's name and this is another way around that issue if the class is new. At the conclusion of the lesson, I gather the people with the crystal awards and suitably reward them for their work. The crystals are given back to me. At other times I may give the responsibility to one child to be a "secret spy" if the class is to move off to assembly or perhaps the library. The secret spy is given three crystals and has the responsibility to award them to three worthy class members. If the spy chooses wisely, they too ,have a crystal on their desk as a reward. Again the crystals are returned at the end of the day. Another strategy, is using the crystal to acknowledge people who wish to contribute ideas to a group discussion or hands on activity but have to wait their turns. I know who is next by the crystals!

Lastly, I have used crystals to heal a broken heart! When held in a hand or deep in a
uniform pocket, they can give the owner the power to overcome their troubles and allow happiness to return! It is not just little girls who like coloured bling! Hee,hee! ( The only warning I have is that if using these in younger classes, a child doesn't put the crystal into their mouth!)

Magnetic pegs, my calculator, my double dice, my digital timer that needs replacing from overwork, my favourite Koosh ball and a gorgeous purple gel pen all tumble form the case only to returned clean and ready for term 4.... the final term full of all the Christmas busy-ness How I make good use of these items and more are all in "Relief Insight" Handbook for Teachers.

For now I must get ready for our family adventure to the Gold Coast and the beautiful Gold Coast Hinterlands. With three sons and a husband who loves to explore in our 4WD, life is always an adventure rather than a holiday. I know we are going top be living, laughing and learning these holidays! Wish us luck!

Live, laugh and learn!
Blessings for your teaching journey....
Carmel