Over the last three weeks my class has been participating in learn to swim lessons put on by our local swimming pool. As with many things like this. It is easy to gripe about disruptions to the classroom programmes in the middle of a busy term. However after the first session realised these three weeks... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: Creating classroom calm – meditation in classroom
During the summer holidays I had the pleasure of visiting the amazing learning space of @sherratsam and his colleague Chad. If you ever get the chance to visit either of these educators, please do. However for those whose PD budget doesn't quite stretch to a visit to international classroom visits, you can visit their blog Time Space... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: Not all kids…
Not all kids like hearing the last bell of the day. Not all kids have food in the pantry when they go home from school. Not all kids are safe in their homes. Not all kids know where they will sleep that night. We don't like to talk about the lives of kids who come... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: Maintaining a classroom reading culture
A new year, a new group of kids but still the same goal, getting kids into reading. Even amongst the Year 8s there were a few kids that needed to get back into the reading. The kids have started bringing in books to read to themselves and I've started reading Whale Rider to the class.... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: catching bubbles
On the last days of my summer vacation I had the pleasure to visit @samsherratt class in Bangkok. His class blog (and an older version) is source of inspiration for me so to see the class in action was surreally wonderful. Among the dozens of ideas I saw during my time in class was the... Continue Reading →
Start of the year team-building activities for the classroom
With the start of the year winding down I thought I would share with you some icebreaker activities I've done with my class to help build a sense of team this year. Human bingo Like bingo but instead alongside content questions e.g knows their 8 times tables backwards you can add in things like 'went... Continue Reading →
The second year of teaching is so much better than the first
One of my co-workers last year remarked that the second year of teaching is so much easier than the first. Not only do you have a new workplace, but also learning the ins and outs of teaching without having a supervising teacher in the room. There's nothing more isolating than those few weeks in your... Continue Reading →
Goodie buckets and lollypop moments – making the first day of school awesome
This year I've resolved to share more of my practice online. I'm not sure how interesting it will be once the term really begins, but for now this school year is new and sparkly. I have lots of energy and want to share (as opposed to last year which just seemed to pass in blur... Continue Reading →
Weekly reflection: It’s been a good year
When I first became a stepparent one of my friends remarked that once you become responsible for a child, the days are very long but the years are short. I was reminded of that comment as I was grabbing my belongings in my empty classroom and realised that although there were some very long days,... Continue Reading →
Not all kids look forward to summer holidays
As teachers are busy finishing off final reports and bits of assessment there's a temptation to be in countdown for the end of year holiday. Today I was reminded that not all kids relish the idea of six weeks away from school. Is it because my teaching is so awesome? Well no. For some kids... Continue Reading →
Teaching the Teacher 