Two days to go

Another teacher commented on Facebook that today (like most Wednesdays) is "hump" day. If we can get over that "hump" it's a downhill run to the weekend. I'm feeling a little like that this week.

After a relaxing weekend, it was back into the usual busyness of the school week on Monday. Things were going OK, then one student had a meltdown during Language Arts, which, while it wasn't major, did put things a little out of whack. Thanks to some support from administration that problem was resolved, and the rest of the day wasn't too bad. Monday is a long day, with an hour of maths after-school program from 2.30 - 3.30pm. That has actually been a really good program, with 8 students participating, and discovering that mathematics can be fun! Yes, we do some work, but with small numbers we can use manipulatives more, and we can play games more easily as well. The next job on the agenda was to post some packages, and that was really fun. Two packages of papers ended up costing about $20 to post, and both envelopes ended up totally covered in stamps (just enough room for the address). Then it was time to head home before the traffic got any busier.

Tuesday was a pretty normal day. No meltdowns today, and music in the afternoon too! We are learning "Puff the Magic Dragon" at the moment and the children are loving it. My fingers are saying "ouch" as I'm playing it on guitar, but that's OK. After school I decided to stay and get some papers graded and finish off my planning for the rest of the week. It was a productive afternoon, and getting home later meant the evening went very quickly! Too quickly in fact.

Today was "hump" day. Wednesday is the last day of the week when I get any prep time during the teaching day, so I made the most of that, as well as the fact that I was not on duty at all today. This afternoon we had our first day of parent teacher conferences. They went very well. It's encouraging to hear how happy most of the parents are, and always useful to hear their concerns. It's also great to be able to share some of the things their children are learning. This time the children were all invited to attend the conferences, and that was great too. They were able to say some of the things they are learning, and it also helps to get kids and parents on the same page when it comes to homework too! It was good to hear that the possibility of missing Fun Friday is a good incentive for a number of kids to do their homework properly and on time. It is also really great to have such a wonderful Khmer teaching partner. He's a great translator, and great with the kids.

More conferences tomorrow, then Khmer New Year games on Friday. After that I get a whole week off! Hooray for Khmer New Year holidays. It's hard to believe we are so far through the school year. Just ten weeks to go! And there are 5 public holidays scattered in there (3 in one block) so it will go even faster. Time for bed now. Tomorrow will be here way to soon. Goodnight world. :)