Sue’s #WritePhoto prompt:
I see the beginnings of a valley
I see distances starting to form
A natural split happening
A land that will become torn
Will beauty dissipate
Or will it double?
Will we have peace
or trouble?
Brexit?
Rift...
Ritu 2019
Rift #writephoto
21 Mar 2019 50 Comments
in #WritePhoto Tags: #WritePhoto, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Photo Prompt, Reverse Etheree, Rift, Sue Vincent
One Liner Wednesday – #1LinerWeds – Feedback
20 Mar 2019 39 Comments
in #onelinerwednesday Tags: #1linerweds, #onelinerwednesday, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Feedback, observations
” [Class teacher] has a wonderful aura around her that makes the classroom environment inviting, entertaining and leaves the children wanting to learn…”
My Observer – 2019
Okay, so it won’t quite be a one liner today, just a few more to explain the quote above.
Yesterday I had my formal lesson observation.
For all you non teachers, this is a time where you are watched to make sure you are doing the right thing, all the way through your teaching career.
At each stage the expectations rise higher and higher…
The last two years have seen my observation be a total shambles. I have been stressed out like you wouldn’t believe!
The first one last year was scheduled at a tough time for me, after a lunchtime sale with my School Council, in a class I hadn’t worked with that week yet… not my choice. It was just how the cookie crumbled.
And it was awful. Even after huge amounts of planning, nothing went right as I felt so stressed out. It was no fun. And the results were so awful that my Team Leader said she knew what I was like usually, so she discounted it and said we could reschedule at a later date.
Great.
Then the rescheduled one never got organised so I requested that the Head just come and observe me instead, which was duly arranged.
Except, after planning, I managed to fall in the classroom and had that suspected fractured elbow.
But even if that hadn’t have happened, I would have been stuck, as the snow fell hard at that time, and school would have been closed anyway!
Third time lucky and finally the observation happened, with lovely, positive feedback.
Phew!
This year, I think we may be due three separate observations.
The first which should have been before Christmas ended up being delayed, again, because of staffing shortages.
So my last one ended up in January.
You don’t understand quite how much extra planning goes into these observation sessions.
For a start, I have to fill out a two-page plan for that 30 minute session… and that takes ages… alongside making sure everything is there for the children and adults in the room, it’s no wonder we teachers get stressed!
So this morning, with trepidation, I came into school, butterflies in my tummy and a nervous disposition at my disposal. You see, I had a new Teaching Assistant who had only started on Monday, and my other one had been off sick on Monday. Would this observation happen?
It did, and at the right time, thank goodness!
My staff were all in, the Parent helper who volunteers was amazing, and the kids were really on task for the most part.
Sure, there were a few points to pick up on, which I agreed with (the issue being not being in a class of my own, so having to really fit in with what needs doing in the class), there was that lovely comment above.
And it made my day!
I slept like a happy baby last night!
For Linda’s #1LinerWeds challenge.
Colleen’s 2019 Weekly #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge No. 128 #SynonymsOnly Sing & Spring
19 Mar 2019 34 Comments
in #ColleensWeeklyPoetryChallenge Tags: #ColleensWeeklyPoetryChallenge, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Colleen Chesebro, Spring and Sing, tanka
Colleen’s Poetry Challenge:
A beautiful dawn
I can hear the bird's chorus
The sun is shining
A perfect start to the day
Bringing a bounce to my step
Ritu 2019
RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #245 Easy&Ride
18 Mar 2019 26 Comments
in #ronovansweeklyhaikuchallenge Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Easy and Ride, Haiku, Ronovan's Weekly Haiku Challenge, Senryu, Writers Block
Ron’s Haiku Prompt:
Really not easy
Riding that writerly horse
Keep on falling off.
Ritu 2019
Chai And A Chat #24 #ChaiAndAChat
18 Mar 2019 51 Comments
in Chai and a Chat Tags: #ChaiAndAChat, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Catch Up, Chai and a Chat, Family, Parenting, Pops And Mum, School
Hey there Peeps! I hope you’re ready … never a quiet one in Ritu-World!
- If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you – “Week Three – In-Law-less – done!!
- If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you work has been manic (isn’t it always? Life in an Early Years class…) We had Science week, so hyped the kids up with a chance to meet some minibeasts, like ginat Africam landsnails, tarantulas, African milipedes, cockroaches and a snake! Then on the Tuesday, my day started with a panic, as my team leader was off sick, and there was a moderation meeting happening the next day, across the schools in our academy. For those of you that don’t know, moderation is when you compare your judgements about pupils with the other schools, to make sure you aren’t making too easy/harsh judgements about how a child is progressing. I was worrying as I have never done one of these without here there, and the other Reception teacher has never been to one before… blind leading the blind? Yup! On top of that we had planning to do the next day too, which was going to be cut short because of the Moderation meeting. So by 9am on Tuesday, I had gathered moderation information, chased up paperwork, and created a skeleton plan for the following week’s learning. Phew! But thankfully my Team Leader ended up back that afternoon, because she cannot stay at home! So no panic in the end! But the day did not end without a tension headache… oh yes…
- If we were sipping chai together I’d say that, moderation went well. I kinda feel a lot more confident about these things now, and hope that the experiences will help me further along in my career.
- If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that the rest of the school week was relatively simple, until my kids decided to embarrass the heck out of me first thing on a Friday morning. Playing up and messing my classroom before the day had even started, arguing and generally making a nuisance of themselves. I ended up blowing my top at Lil Man before he headed off to his school… Seriously? Can children not even keep calm for at least 10 minutes, without causing a storm? BP felt like it rose high!
- If we were sipping chai together I’d say that, on the flip side, he has done really well in a Maths test, proving that the tutoring we send him for seems to be working! And he is also playing badminto regularly, on top of the cricket, and on Sunday, he was scouted for a Badminton Academy! I am very proud of him and his strengths. (Not so much, his teenage strops and attitude!)
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you Lil Princess got me worried this week. I would walk past her room, and hear her shout ot periodically, “Just shut up…!”… Turns out I didn’t need to worry! Apparently she did really well, but I couldnt watch as I was short staffed at the time!
- If we were sipping chai together I’d say that the weekend was absolutely wonderful with Pops and Mum. They brought a huge box full of my old photos from infanthood to university and I spent a long time perusing… they also found old certificates of mine, and embarrasing school photos too! We spent a long time chatting, reminiscing and talking about all sorts, and I learned so much from them both, about their lives, and customs and traditions in our culture. It’s amazing how I learn new things about my parents every time we sit and chat. Seriously, you think you must know everything about them, and then they tell you things that make your head spin… I hope to share some of the stories one day, on the blog, but I tell you what, Mum could write a memoir, and it would be amazing!
- If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that mum even managed to help me Marie Kondo the heck outta my kitchen which I had been dreading! We stripped countertops, emptied cupboards, threw out of date stuff away, made a (huge) donate pile and scrubbed cupboards and drawers and walls too (bit of a condensation issue in the kitchen) and then put it all back, wrapping up equipment that is used less frequently so it stays clean and generally more organinsed. Feels good, but 8 hours of that andf my shoulders are killing, my body is exhausted and eyes are itching from dust and all sorts! Still – feels GOOD!
- If we were sipping chai together I’d also say we had to sleep on the sofa bed for two nights, as I would never inflict that upon my parents, and I totally appreciated that Sunday night bubble bath that I have made sure I enjoy each week, as part of my ‘self’ word of the year!
- If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know we went a bit spiritual too, at the temple on Sunday, celebrating the birth of a baby in one of Hubby Dearest’s friend’s family. Soul cleansed, kitchen cleansed, body cleansed… just need my mind to be emptied now, though I fear that will never happen!
- If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that official lesson observation week is also this week, so I just need to get Tuesday out of the way, successfully (my observation day) then I can breathe and relax!
- If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that this coming weekend, NOTHING is planned – honestly! I hope for lots of lazing around. I need it!
Have a wonderful week, Peeps! Let me know how your week went!
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