Friday I’m in Love *warning this post contains images that readers may find distressing.

So, it’s Friday. I do love Friday. Don’t you?

Today was a great day.  The class were happy and engaged… there was talk of the Feiffel Tower (that’s Eiffel Tower to you) There was wondering about how to build said Feiffel tower with blocks as well as the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We had a wonderful incursion, where, among other things children learnt what to do if they see a used syringe. Yes. Really. Welcome to the 21st century people.

In case you are wondering what to do, you STOP! DON’T TOUCH IT! QUICK! GET A GROWN UP! There are even actions!

But what Friday really means is the weekend is almost here .  That means I can deal with this -

WARNING THE IMAGE BELOW MAY CAUSE DISTRESS!

Yes.  That is my bath.  A deep, claw foot bath.  Yes.  It is full of laundry.  There was more, but I shoved it in the washing machine… on Tuesday… it’s still in there.  Just one of those weeks. *

So, now you have been shocked… may I suggest a calming drink? It is, after all Friday.  Cheers everyone!

Have a great weekend! xxx

*Yes, and now it seems it’s just one of those weekends… discovered nits this morning in the Blue Eyed Boys hair… so the washing pile was de-bunked from the bath… and added to with more towels, sheets, pillow slips…. and I think, in there somewhere my sanity.  I wonder if it’s too early for a drink?

Tags: Friday I'm in love with you, OCD, school

Friday, I’m in love.

Recently on a Friday afternoon after lunch and a play and a story and a chat and a drink and a rest and putting on shoes,  the class, The Lovely Assistant, any parents willing to hang around and help, and myself have headed outside the kinder confines to THE TENNIS COURTS. Yes, that’s how we like to say it, in loud, excited tones.

THE TENNIS COURTS are a magical place for the class.   They are HUGE.  The have NETS. They have (thankfully) a very high fence on all sides. We have started playing Fruit Salad on the courts.

Fruit Salad is a running game.  Just the thing for a Friday afternoon.  There are rules. There are apples, there are pears, there are bananas, there are oranges.  I have tried other fruits… but other fruits can cause Friday afternoon tears.  Mangoes are not always wanted. Strawberries are wanted by everyone, even the bananas.  Kiwi fruit, well, apparently no one wants them.

The rules are simple.  When the fruit you have been named is called you RRRRRRRRRRRRRUN across the court from one yellow line to another yellow line – wait, that’s a white line Sweetie, here is the yellow line, keep running over here…. yes, that’s right, here is the yellow line… what’s that? You need a wee, OK in you go with The Lovely Assistant… oh, you need a wee as well? Ok go catch up, Oh, you don’t need a wee, your shoelace is undone, will I can fix that… but you will need to now come off that yellow line I was so keen for you to run to so I can tie the lace.  Now, where was I… OK, APPLES! No one runs.  BANANAS! Everyone runs, even the apples.

This is where the next stage of the game comes in. When I call FRUIT SALAD everyone is supposed to run, because, you know it’s a fruit salad. Sometimes everyone does run, almost.

When it’s fruit salad I am meant to try and catch fruit… then put them in the jam pot.  Then I can also call out JAM POT and the jam pot runs screaming (I didn’t specify the screaming, it just seems to come with the jam pot.) So, now we have apples, pears, bananas and oranges running. We also have fruit salad running as well as the jam pot screaming like baby banshees running.

Are you following so far? Simple really, isn’t it. So, here we go… FRUIT SALAD… run… run… I’m going to catch you…. yes Darling, I know you are an orange… but when it’s fruit salad everyone runs, even the oranges… Um, Petal, aren’t you in the jam pot? You are? Well, wait until I say jam pot then you can run OK? Hmmmm, what’s that? You don’t want to be a pear, you want to be the goose? Well, perhaps when we play duck, duck, goose… Oh, Lovely-ness, if you run screaming into my legs and climb up them hug them it makes it very easy for me to catch you, so if you don’t want to be in the jam pot run away from me next time.

By now I am out of breath.  I am hoarse from saying fruit salad, and Jam pot, and various other fruits.  I am sweating from trying to catch all the little fruit salad pieces.  Really, who knew four year olds could run with such gazelle like ability?  There are, after a time, only a few pieces of fruit children left waiting to be put in the Jam Pot, where the rest of the class wait with The Lovely Assistant, who, being much fitter than me seems to be barley raising a sweat from all that running with the jam.

It’s at this point I declare game over, so we can start playing Duck, Duck Goose… have you ever tried to get 25 or so children in a circle, sitting down and then get one to chase another AROUND the circle?

Friday, I’m in love with you.

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Tags: children, Friday I'm in love with you, running, school

I. Am. Exhausted.

Well, it’s been a long time between posts.  A very long time.  It’s not that I don’t want to blog, I do, I really, really, do.  It’s just I don’t have time, or energy.  I am, for all intents and purposes working full time at the moment and studying.

I have been sick, and still am not well, but the chance of just resting up are slim to none really. Having rheumatoid arthritis means that often if I do get a cold, it take me longer to recover, my immune system not being what it should be.  Again, the solution is rest… pffft.

I have not been for a run for over two weeks, everything hurts.   I have a blocked nose, my ears ache, my head hurts.

I am exhausted. All. The. Time.

I have to do 2 assignments for a uni course I don’t really want to do, but due to a difference in what deems you as a qualified teacher BETWEEN STATES OF THE SAME COUNTRY I have to.  I could just quit my job and start working in a primary school, but I want to keep teaching kinder.  I could take leave without pay and do the practical component in 4 weeks straight, but then there would be no income for a month… ah, nope, not an option.

It’s the start of the school year still, and I have a class of children who are still settling in, some well, others less so.  On Friday I was, for the first time in many, many years at a loss as to what I should do with a class of over tired children, unfamiliar relief staff, and myself having had no lunch break… what I wanted to do was sit on the mat and cry really.  Not an option.

I remained at work long after my required time trying to come up with solutions for the less settled children, but really what they need is a teacher with enough energy to focus just on them.  Which, by the middle of the year I will be, with  the uni work behind me.

So really, it will be OK.  This will pass… life will resume to it’s former rhythm. This I know, and it’s what keeps me going.

So now, I’ll take a breath, wipe the self pitying tears, and get on with it.

Or, as my darling Best Pam says, I’ll build a bridge and get over myself.

Tags: arthritis, build a bridge, school

Hump Day Happiness

I know, I know I’ve been absent a long time… life has been happening, as it sometimes does and I have not had time or energy to blog.  I have been working every day, been to Tassie and been unwell. But, I felt it was about time I started hump day happiness again.  Although I’ve been flat out, I have a lot to still be thankful for, a lot that made me smile this past week.  So without further ado here they are.

1.  Going to Tasmania to spend time with my Best Pam.  We have been friends since we were 10.  That’s a long time!  We know each other probably better than we know ourselves.  Best Pam managed to find play dates for both her beautiful children and we managed to wander along Salamanca Market and indulge in a leisurely lunch with wine… with no children.

2. Having the chance to be there as best Pam took her baby girl to her first day of kinder… I can still remember the day that little one was born, and now she is a kinder girl! How did that happen? Being there to see this milestone was an honour.

3. Coming home from Tassie and seeing my own beautiful kids waiting to hug me as I walked in the door.

So, what has made you happy this past week?

Tags: hump day, it takes a village, school

My School – My opinion

Last week the Australian Government launched their new My School site.  The Government stated it will give parents and carers  information on their child’s school, as well as help parents and carers make decisions about which school to choose.  The results that have been published on this site for each public school are linked to NAPLAN testing.  This testing is carried out in grades 3, 5, 7 and 9 looking at the areas of literacy and maths.

My eldest child has taken part in this testing.  My youngest will do so this year.  Before I continue I need to point out I am a teacher.  I have taught from Kinder to grade 2, as well as taking on a role as a reading recovery teacher, and a role working with children on social skills.   My children attend a local government school. They have previously attended a private school.

While I understand parents want to arm themselves with as much information as possible when choosing schools for their children, I have a number of concerns about the way the information has been presented on the My School site.

The site shows each schools NAPLAN test results – so in essence the information in the site relates to literacy and numeracy.  In both primary and high school it relates to only two grade groups.  The results are from tests.  Tests in themselves hold a range of problems.  Testing is not always the best way to determine a child’s ability.

Tests are done in an artificial environment – some children work well to a test, others do not. Some children cope well with the stress of the relatively unknown situation, others do not.  Testing like this does not take into account factors such as (for example) whether or not a child has had a late night, is feeling unwell, has had a change in home circumstances that may be adding to anxiety levels. Tests such as this do not cater well for children that learn best through seeing and hearing someone explain a topic, or for children that will understand a question best through a hands on approach.  Tests such as this do not take into consideration multiple intelligences – that is the different ways people work to demonstrate their knowledge.  For example, some people do well with a written explanation, others do best visually, with diagrams or maps, others do best using concrete materials to solve a problem.

Testing such as this is only a small part of each child’s make up.  It is only a small part of each schools make up.  NAPLAN testing, and therefore the My School site take into consideration these literacy and numeracy results only.  Schools, however, are so much more than this.  Where in this comparison is any reference to The Arts? To Sports? To the way children with additional needs are catered for? Where is the reference to the way the school involves the community through shared partnerships, through the way families are (or are not) welcomed into the school.  Where is the reference to how staff work together? Where does this site show the way a range of cultures, including our own Indigenous cultures are catered for in a real, ongoing rather than tokenistic manner? The site does not reference how much professional development staff at the school participate in each year. Nor does it make reference to whether staff are aware of current policy, research and practice methods.  It does not indicate how behaviour problems are managed.  There is no reference to a change in school leadership, as new senior staff and principals can change the way a school operates.

All these factors, and more, go into making a school.  While literacy and numeracy are vital, so is knowing your child is respected, and that your child’s voice will be heard with in the school.

So, what am I saying in all this?  It would seem to me that the My School site smacks of tokenism.  It has simplified each school to a test score. It does not give a holistic picture of a school – no website ever could.  Schools by their very nature are complex, dynamic, ever changing places. Some schools have a wealth of resources at their fingertips.  Others do not.    Schools are not the sum result of a national testing scheme, and that is what bothers me about this site.

So, while I have looked at the site, and at the results of the school my children attend, I will be looking at these results in the broader picture of the school as a whole.  Taking into consideration local factors, and local knowledge.  I would urge everyone else to do the same.  Because it takes a village to raise a child, not a test result, or a web site.

Tags: children, it takes a village, my school website, NAPLAN, parenting, school