Slice of life challenge

1st March 2012

A place I love...

I love my classroom at school.  I have lived in my current town for the last 8 years.  I have my home with my husband, where we raised our 2 children.  I have no other family here and my classroom is my home away from home.  I really think about the layout of my classroom and how to meet the needs of my students.  My classroom furniture is old and the walls are a bit tatty but by the end of a school year - my class has student work and teachers work all over it.  I have a terrible habit of never throwing anything away.  At the end of year when the trailer is outside our classrooms I'm in there looking for bargain.  Old boxes!  Broken desks!  Shelves!  I just love it.  I have been teaching in this classroom for 4 years this being my fourth year.  Each year I have moved my desk to 4 different corners of the classroom.  This is a great way to clean and get rid of the clutter.  I'm a clutter bug.  

I have joined up with the challenge of slicing a part of my day each day for a month.  I'm going to post a photo of my teacher look for the day and then slice a bit about that day.  I even challenged my students to write a sentence a day about their day.  They loved the idea especially being able to have a slice of life party.

I love my family.

I love my job as a teacher.

I love my own fashion.

I'd like to do more sewing.

I'd love to do more decoupage.

I'd love to do more quilting.

I'd love to do more physical activities like keeping fit.

Love to you all! 

Slice of life

What a day!

New learning:  New learning today is that with 5 and 6 years old I need to give them 2 or 3 instructions before they can do as I ask.  

1.  Get your library book

2. Put your shoes on

3. Line up at the door

Yay!

We arrive at the library and stop at the blue line outside the library to remind the class about the procedures in the library.  The librarian is away.  Mrs K runs around behind the desk and puts on her librarian hat.  Before running around I place a blue seat on one side of the library desk and I ask the children to line up behind the seat.  I call each child over check their book back and I show them the orange dot on the spine of the book with the authors letter first 3 letters indicating where the book needs to be put back on the shelf. Books all checked back in.  The children are given 15 minutes to look for a book.  Back to the mat when they have their chosen book.  I put 2 blue seats in front of the librarian desk.  The first seat is for the issuing line and the second blue seat is for the issued books.  

Done!  All books are issued and it's back to class.  Children walk out in a single line we stop along the way to wait for the stragglers.  Reading our library book time and eating a piece of fruit.

A slice of 40 minutes in my day.

I love getting dressed up for my teaching day.  There is no dress code at our school but I like to go to the effort of dressing well for my students.

Today I have a heavy heart.  I have 2 young adult children.  They still feel like my babies and love the need to be needed to be their mum and help them with their daily lives.  My heart is heavy because they are fighting.  I sometimes feel like a referee in a boxing fight.  I want to hear them both out and I want to understand both of them.  I sympathize with this one and feel like a traitor and then I sympathize with the other one and feel like a traitor.  My husband, well the arguing just doesn't affect him like me...  All the arguing just goes over his head.  I feel like I'm drowning sometimes with the bickering.  I know the only one that can help us is God.  I go to my trusty bible look for a scripture that will speak into their situation and to take the pressure I feel.  

My daughter is 22 and my son is 20.  They are both studying and living together away from home.  My husband and I live in a small town which is 2 hours away from my children (can I say children because they are 22 and 20).  At their age I was self-reliant and self-sufficient.  I took care of myself and it was sometimes lonely.  My heart's desire was to always be their for my children.  

What to do?  Financially they have to live together because they are both studying and my husband and I take care of their living expenses.  The answer has yet to come to me??

Our son is about 8 months here now 20

Our daughter is 2 here now 22

The God of peace be with you them. Amen.

May the God of hope fill them with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that they may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

I stumbled on these 2-lil birdies and thought I would attempt their challenge... Threw this effort together just to have a go. 

The next challenge will be to link it?? 

Old skinny jeans $20

Scarf $5

T-Shirt $1

Boots $20

Cardigan $15

(My first attempt at linking to another blog...  And it worked!!!)
http://www.twobirdsboutique.blogspot.co.nz/

Slice of Life

Slice of Life
Hi!  My name is Christina.  I am a primary school teacher of year 2 students (5 - 6 years old).  I decided to take up this challenge because as a teacher I expect my students to be writers yet I consider myself a doodler, not a writer.  Writing doesn't come to me easy and I quite often have loads of typos.  I feel that if I challenge myself to write then I might be able to inspire my students to write.


I've quickly created a blog which at this stage looks rather boring.  I worry about writing online and sharing but I'm just going to take a chance and do it!  I have a class blog which I've added to this blog.  I consider this challenge as part of my self-reflection and learning from other teachers.  


A little bit about me...  I am a Kiwi (New Zealand).  I am married.  I have 2 adult children and a gorgeous grandson.  My life is my family and teaching.  I love sweet cupcakes.  I love the Silver Ferns.  I love the All Blacks.


Today, I was like any other day.  I love teaching.  By the time the bell went for the beginning of class it was pouring with rain.  We have been at school for 3 weeks and 2 days.  The students are settling into our school routine.  I spent the first week discussing class and school rules.  Name tags made for the children's little tables.  Library corner created (I could do a better job to create a more cosy place to read).  My students are 5-6 years old and the day is quite long for these little people.  Modelling books sorted for Reading, Writing and Maths.  Our topic for this term is Water.  Writing is Recounts.  Art is sketching.  Maths is Number and Algebra for 4 days and 1 day of Measurement and Statistics.  


I bought cheap rolls of wrapping paper to cover my students working tables and a old teachers desk and a another teacher table.  The colour of the paper is lime green such a fun colour and it adds a little bit of colour and freshness.  It's about time that I made or bought some new comfy cushions for my library corner.  Space in my class is limited and I don't seem to be able to give or throw away old furniture.  I live in a tiny town and the closest city is 2 hours away and sourcing materials and knic knacs is tricky.


This year group of children is fairly new for me and today I was informed that I would have to start testing my students on what they call here in New Zealand 6-year net.  This will be a challenge only because it's new and it entails doing 3 running records.  


Turtle time nearly over and time to have a hot cup of tea and one of those sweet cupcakes.


How do I post or link to SOL?

Birthday wishes... 

20 years of hopes and dreams

Be brave and have courage

Move forward and take a new path

Believe you can achieve

You have support

You have love

We are here

How excited we are for you

Am I a writer? No.  I expect the children that I teach to be writers, yet I hardly write.  I doodle and I make lists that I always loose.  I have 4 or 5 note books and journals and I write in them randomly about anything: to-do-list, planning, reminders notes about paying bills and I even draw pictures.  I pray and write prayers.  I have no structure to what I write.  I just write.  Here I am to blog.  I wonder how long I keep this up.