Further university study

Well I've taken on some part-time post-graduate study, while still working full-time.

An interesting byproduct of this has been a renewed understanding, or reminder, of what it is like for my own students as they work each day at learning new things.

• It's tiring and takes much effort
• It's easy to get information overload
• It's important to go over new things many times until they 'settle' into a clearer understanding
• It can be hard to ask questions when you think you should know what you don't really know

So as I continue my own learning and professional development, I think of my students who, at their own level, are doing the very same thing.

Time flies

Almost midway through Term One already.  Where has the time gone?  Like every year (but more-so this year) I'm reminded of how most of the first term ends up being all about establishing the class culture, work habits, expectations, and routines.

The difficulty this year is trying to set realistic expectations, while at the same time figuring out what the most realistic expectations should be.  This includes my own expectations of learning behaviours.  Am I expecting too much?  At which point do I 'draw the line' on off task behaviours.  Gauging this properly for the young 5 years olds is a bit touch-and-go at the moment.

However, I must admit, if I look back over progress during the first five weeks, we are making steps forward.  Here's to that continuing. :-)

Term One nears...

Three weeks until the first students arrive. Two-and-a-half until cluster schools' conference and teacher only day.

Likely to pop in and out this week to sort out room setup now that cleaners should have been through. Then onto actual programme planning the following week.

Clean out and set up

It never ceases to amaze me at how long it takes to clean out, sort out, and throw out bits and pieces when setting up my classroom - especially when moving into a new physical room. Not only that, but when changing levels, I now have more things to consider.

I'm not much of a hoarder but do like to get things in order before getting onto actual planning for the year's beginning.

Next step - arranging furniture.