08 October 2010
Playground Fun
Last weekend I was very extravagent, and spent $3.50 on an 18 foot long skipping rope. It's a proper skipping rope with handles and is bright yellow and black. On Tuesday this week, I was on playground duty at recess, and I took the skipping rope downstairs with us. The children were really excited, and it didn't take long to get the fun started. Not long after the 3rd graders started enjoying themselves I had 4th and 5th grade students (with whom we share recess) lining up to say, "can we play too?". It was great to see the children all playing together and having fun. Even some of the teachers were getting in on the fun. I'll have to say this was one of the best purchases I've made here in Cambodia (after all those books of course). I'll try and take a photo next week to add to this post.
04 October 2010
A Monday in the life of Grade 3K
It’s only Monday, but it’s been such a good day that I thought I’d write about a day in the life of Grade 3K at East-West International School.
The bell rings at 7.30am and all the children line up in their classes (from Pre-school 1 to 8th grade). The principal says good morning to all the children, and they say good morning to her, and to their classroom teachers. Then, since it is Monday today, the children (and Khmer staff) sing the Khmer National Anthem as the Cambodian Flag is raised. Those who don’t know it are expected to stand still and quiet out of respect for our host country. After this, the children are dismissed to their classes with an encouragement to learn well.
After climbing 3 flights of stairs, the children reach our floor, and then they take off shoes and backpacks, and bring water bottles and homework (including classroom library books that need changing) into the classroom. Once they are settled on the mat I take attendance, taking this time to personally say good morning to each student by name, and then I read aloud part of a story to them. At the moment we are reading The Magician’s Nephew, by C.S. Lewis. Sometimes I will get the children to make predictions about what is going to come next, other times we’ll talk about new words, and other times we will just enjoy the story together.
The next item on the day’s schedule is a whole class language arts time. On Monday that is when the children prepare their spelling lists for the week, as well as noting any other homework that is required. This is an interesting time, as all the children are at different stages in spelling, so they each have an individual list. This list might include words they got wrong in written work, vocabulary words from our current Language Arts theme, as well as words from our Core Words lists. The teacher has to check each list before they go home, since it is very easy for the children to copy a word incorrectly, and if they learn to spell it incorrectly it is so much harder to then relearn the correct spelling. Preparing the lists takes longer or shorter times depending on the child, but all lists have to be finished by 9am when the children head off to ICT and library. Children who finish quickly have the opportunity to enjoy some silent reading time. This is also the time when the children change their classroom library books. ICT and Library lessons give me one of my three short preparation periods for the week, so I usually try and get some papers graded, future lessons planned, or even some filing done!
There is just ten minutes between ICT/Library time and recess, so this is usually silent reading time. Recess lasts for 20 minutes and the children usually enjoy the break playing downstairs under the building. After recess, we have a two hour block during which the children have one hour of English Language Arts and one hour of Khmer instruction. They are divided into two groups based on language ability, so the Khmer teacher and I each have half the class at a time. This is a great time because it allows for more individual attention to students, and for better differentiation of instruction. At the moment we are working on a “recount” of a visit to a hospital, and all our English language activities have been focused around a short piece of writing. I’m enjoying this, and getting some great ideas for building Language Arts units.
Lunch follows at 12 noon, with 20 minutes for eating and then 20 minutes for playing. Today I was on playground duty for the second 20 minutes, so I have to make sure I eat my lunch before the children are released from the eating area. Unfortunately today it poured rain during our lunch break, so part of the playground was not able to be used, but with a large part of the playground under the building there is still plenty of space for active play (although Australian students would find it very restrictive).For those who remember the posts in my original classroom at Logos, there are several of these and a staircase in the middle of the play area, but the children still manage to have lots of active fun!
Lunch is followed by two 50 minute lessons. I take the other Grade 3 class first for mathematics, while their teacher has my class for Science/Social Studies, then we swap over and I have my own class for mathematics. We then have 10 minutes at the end of the day for final notices and packing up ready to go downstairs. It’s essential the children are downstairs in the waiting area by 2.30pm as there is very limited parking in the streets around the school, so we aim to have the children picked up as quickly as possible. Each afternoon the principal and her Khmer colleague are at the gate to say good-bye to the children individually in traditional Khmer fashion. I love that she does this.
Finally, just before 3pm, when the majority of the children are gone home, we are free to head back to our classrooms, to prepare for the coming day, pack up, and head for home!! I’m not sure why I feel that today was such a good day, but I do know that it seemed to go smoothly, and I’m looking forward to another busy day tomorrow! Maybe it was just a good day because most days are good days. I thank God for his strength throughout each day, and for all the lessons I am learning along the way.
* ICT = Information and Communication Technologies, which is more than just computers, but it does mean the children get to use the computers in the computer lab.
The bell rings at 7.30am and all the children line up in their classes (from Pre-school 1 to 8th grade). The principal says good morning to all the children, and they say good morning to her, and to their classroom teachers. Then, since it is Monday today, the children (and Khmer staff) sing the Khmer National Anthem as the Cambodian Flag is raised. Those who don’t know it are expected to stand still and quiet out of respect for our host country. After this, the children are dismissed to their classes with an encouragement to learn well.
After climbing 3 flights of stairs, the children reach our floor, and then they take off shoes and backpacks, and bring water bottles and homework (including classroom library books that need changing) into the classroom. Once they are settled on the mat I take attendance, taking this time to personally say good morning to each student by name, and then I read aloud part of a story to them. At the moment we are reading The Magician’s Nephew, by C.S. Lewis. Sometimes I will get the children to make predictions about what is going to come next, other times we’ll talk about new words, and other times we will just enjoy the story together.
The next item on the day’s schedule is a whole class language arts time. On Monday that is when the children prepare their spelling lists for the week, as well as noting any other homework that is required. This is an interesting time, as all the children are at different stages in spelling, so they each have an individual list. This list might include words they got wrong in written work, vocabulary words from our current Language Arts theme, as well as words from our Core Words lists. The teacher has to check each list before they go home, since it is very easy for the children to copy a word incorrectly, and if they learn to spell it incorrectly it is so much harder to then relearn the correct spelling. Preparing the lists takes longer or shorter times depending on the child, but all lists have to be finished by 9am when the children head off to ICT and library. Children who finish quickly have the opportunity to enjoy some silent reading time. This is also the time when the children change their classroom library books. ICT and Library lessons give me one of my three short preparation periods for the week, so I usually try and get some papers graded, future lessons planned, or even some filing done!
There is just ten minutes between ICT/Library time and recess, so this is usually silent reading time. Recess lasts for 20 minutes and the children usually enjoy the break playing downstairs under the building. After recess, we have a two hour block during which the children have one hour of English Language Arts and one hour of Khmer instruction. They are divided into two groups based on language ability, so the Khmer teacher and I each have half the class at a time. This is a great time because it allows for more individual attention to students, and for better differentiation of instruction. At the moment we are working on a “recount” of a visit to a hospital, and all our English language activities have been focused around a short piece of writing. I’m enjoying this, and getting some great ideas for building Language Arts units.
Lunch follows at 12 noon, with 20 minutes for eating and then 20 minutes for playing. Today I was on playground duty for the second 20 minutes, so I have to make sure I eat my lunch before the children are released from the eating area. Unfortunately today it poured rain during our lunch break, so part of the playground was not able to be used, but with a large part of the playground under the building there is still plenty of space for active play (although Australian students would find it very restrictive).For those who remember the posts in my original classroom at Logos, there are several of these and a staircase in the middle of the play area, but the children still manage to have lots of active fun!
Lunch is followed by two 50 minute lessons. I take the other Grade 3 class first for mathematics, while their teacher has my class for Science/Social Studies, then we swap over and I have my own class for mathematics. We then have 10 minutes at the end of the day for final notices and packing up ready to go downstairs. It’s essential the children are downstairs in the waiting area by 2.30pm as there is very limited parking in the streets around the school, so we aim to have the children picked up as quickly as possible. Each afternoon the principal and her Khmer colleague are at the gate to say good-bye to the children individually in traditional Khmer fashion. I love that she does this.
Finally, just before 3pm, when the majority of the children are gone home, we are free to head back to our classrooms, to prepare for the coming day, pack up, and head for home!! I’m not sure why I feel that today was such a good day, but I do know that it seemed to go smoothly, and I’m looking forward to another busy day tomorrow! Maybe it was just a good day because most days are good days. I thank God for his strength throughout each day, and for all the lessons I am learning along the way.
* ICT = Information and Communication Technologies, which is more than just computers, but it does mean the children get to use the computers in the computer lab.
30 September 2010
Three very important minutes
This afternoon, God blessed me through three very important minutes with one of my students. Praise Him for all He is teaching me each and every day, as I journey through this year of change and discovery.
So what happened? I have had a lot of difficulty convincing one of my students that he needs to do his homework. Yesterday, after a month of other strategies, he had a chat with the principal and I told him that if he continued to not do the homework without good reason I would need to contact his parents. Today, his homework was done.
Then this afternoon, as I was handing back some other work, I discovered his copy of the worksheet was missing. He said he didn't know where it was, and so we went and had a look in his bag together. What I found there prompted me to ask a question about his parents, and his response to that question prompted a longer conversation. In talking with him, I discovered that both his parents are presently in other countries, one just for a short time and the other for a longer time.
That made me think! I wish I had taken more time earlier to find out what was happening in this boy's life outside of school, and to let him know that he matters, and that I really care about him, not just his homework/schoolwork. When I moved to this school, the importance of relationships was emphasised. Today, reminded me of this. My personality type has a tendency to focus on getting the lessons taught, and the academics of education. Praise God that He is teaching me, ever so gently, to get more in touch with the Feeling and Intuitive sides of my personality, and to be more thoughtful about the who of teaching rather than the how & what. If you pray for me, then pray that I will continue to be sensitive to both God and my students as I learn to focus more on relationships and a little less on academics.
So what happened? I have had a lot of difficulty convincing one of my students that he needs to do his homework. Yesterday, after a month of other strategies, he had a chat with the principal and I told him that if he continued to not do the homework without good reason I would need to contact his parents. Today, his homework was done.
Then this afternoon, as I was handing back some other work, I discovered his copy of the worksheet was missing. He said he didn't know where it was, and so we went and had a look in his bag together. What I found there prompted me to ask a question about his parents, and his response to that question prompted a longer conversation. In talking with him, I discovered that both his parents are presently in other countries, one just for a short time and the other for a longer time.
That made me think! I wish I had taken more time earlier to find out what was happening in this boy's life outside of school, and to let him know that he matters, and that I really care about him, not just his homework/schoolwork. When I moved to this school, the importance of relationships was emphasised. Today, reminded me of this. My personality type has a tendency to focus on getting the lessons taught, and the academics of education. Praise God that He is teaching me, ever so gently, to get more in touch with the Feeling and Intuitive sides of my personality, and to be more thoughtful about the who of teaching rather than the how & what. If you pray for me, then pray that I will continue to be sensitive to both God and my students as I learn to focus more on relationships and a little less on academics.
25 September 2010
A productive long weekend with some fun thrown in!
One thing I love about this time of year in Cambodia is all the Public Holidays. Friday was Constitution Day, next week is a full week, but the week after Thursday and Friday as well as the following Monday are Pchum Ben. The following week is another full week, then we get another Friday and Monday off for King's Coronation Day & King's Father's Birthday. All those holidays are great for making sure I spend some time relaxing, and still keep on top of things for school, but they do make covering curriculum a challenge!
So what have I done this weekend? Well the first project for the weekend was the Classroom Library. I wanted to assign reading levels to all the books that I could, make an inventory of the titles and put labels on them so I have a chance of getting them all back. Here they are all packed up and ready to go, along with a few samples. That is now complete and I'm looking forward to taking the books to school on Monday morning.Another job on the agenda was planning for the coming week. For me, that also involves making sure I have all the materials that I need ready for the coming week. I've done most of that, with just some laminating projects to finish off. Since the laminator takes a while to warm up, I try to do this in batches, so it will probably be tomorrow evening's job to finish those things off.
One of the pages I follow Facebook is Scholastic, and today I discovered they were having a one week sale on Teaching Resource Books for just $1, at Scholastic Teacher Express. http://teacherexpress.scholastic.com/dollardeals?&product_type=269&view=all. There were 278 teacher resource books available as e-books for just $1. I got over $100 worth of books for just $15. No delivery - just download them and save them in a safe place and print them (either single pages as you want to use them or whole books). That was time consuming, but also fun!
Over the last two days I've also managed to read 5 or so of the books, enjoying rereading some of the classics, as well as some I've never read before. This is NOT work. It's fun.
I've also managed a trip to a local store for some essential/non-essential supplies for the coming week, and but will have to do a little more shopping tomorrow when I will go a little further afield for bread and refrigerated items.
This evening I plan to visit a friend, for pizza and a movie.
I've still got a lot of other jobs on my "To do" list, but they will just have to wait. Tonight I'm going to relax, enjoy good food, and good company and hopefully a good movie too!
24 September 2010
"The Boy Who Changed The World" by Andy Andrews
The beautiful illustrations impressed me, as did the way the author connected each boy’s story to the next. The font is clear and easy to read, and I liked how some key points are emphasised in different fonts. The message comes through very clearly, and the story itself is easy to read. While the message is clearly a Christian one, and God’s plan for us to make a difference is clear, it was also presented in such a way that I felt comfortable reading the story in my secular classroom.
To see how children would respond to the story, I read this book to my 3rd grade class the day after I received it, and they enjoyed it. Many of the children recognised and appreciated the fact that they can change the world. Considering that English is the second or third language for almost all of my students, I was thrilled at how much they connected with the story. The repetition of key phrases was very helpful for children who are still learning English. In each of the four stories within the stories, there were aspects that the children were able to connect with, such as Norman playing a game with his sisters, and Moses giving up something precious (his horse) for something even more precious (George).
Here’s what some of my students said about the story:
- I like the story because Moses traded his favourite horse for George.
- I like this story because it is very good and it tells everybody about how to change the world.
- I like the story because the boy saved one billion people.
- I like the story because the four boys grew super plants for people that are hungry.
- I like the story because it tells us how to change the world.
- I liked the story because I love the two girls. I like their hair colour.
- I like the story because the story tells us how to learn to change the world, and I liked it because the story tells us how to learn to do something right.
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com
23 September 2010
Old books and new books
Those who know me well will know that I love to read, and so it will come as no surprise that I greatly desire to engender a love of reading in my students. To do that, they need to have books available! We have a developing library at East-West, with some great books, but at the moment the children cannot borrow books (forms need to be signed by parents stating they will cover the cost of replacing any lost books - and I understand and support the reasons for that). At the same time, it does make it difficult for some of my students to read at home, and so I sought donations to help me build a personal classroom library that I can lend to the children. I have had one donation so far which has enabled me to make a start on this project, and so yesterday I went to a great second hand book shop where I purchase 90 books for $80. That equates to about 4 books per child at the moment. I'm still hoping for more donations, so I can also give each child their very own, brand new Scholastic book at Christmas time, as well as offer a wider selection of books, including more non-fiction (harder to get hold of, and more expensive). This weekend's project is to identify the reading level of the books and also label them so they return to the classroom! I suspect I'll probably read a few along the way as well. I still enjoy reading kids books. Watch this space for the children's reactions to their new "classroom library".
On Tuesday evening I received a very special parcel. I'm very grateful to the guys at Logos who made a special, unscheduled trip to the post office to pick it up for me. It was a brand new hardcover copy of a book called "The Boy Who Changed The World". It is so exciting to receive brand new books, and this one will be greatly treasured. I shared it with the children on Wednesday morning, and they really enjoyed it. Watch this space for a BookSneeze review, coming very soon.
On Tuesday evening I received a very special parcel. I'm very grateful to the guys at Logos who made a special, unscheduled trip to the post office to pick it up for me. It was a brand new hardcover copy of a book called "The Boy Who Changed The World". It is so exciting to receive brand new books, and this one will be greatly treasured. I shared it with the children on Wednesday morning, and they really enjoyed it. Watch this space for a BookSneeze review, coming very soon.
19 September 2010
Some memories are precious, ...
I wrote this entry about a month ago, and for some reason it never got published. I found it today as I was cleaning up my "desktop" so here it is. I hope it might be a blessing to those who read it.
Some memories are precious, so we can tell our souls to recall them with pleasure. But other memories bring pain, and telling your soul to remember those is difficult. Yet both can be profitable to your soul as you assign meaning to them. Profitable memories are those that add to your soul wellness rather than subtract from it. They prompt maturity and growth rather than drag you down or keep you stuck in your own immaturity. Profitable memories contribute to your personal depth and understanding. They challenge you to think broadly rather than narrow your perspective. That’s why profitable recollections can be either pleasant or painful. Even hard times in our lives can contribute great wisdom to our thought closets. (Rothschild, J. 2007. Self Talk, Soul Talk.)
As I read this paragraph, and the paragraphs that followed, it prompted me to think about the memories I have stored away in my mind over the past six months. There were definitely some painful ones, but I can truly say that those painful memories are profitable. Remembering being told I wasn’t being offered a contract for the 2010-11 school year is definitely a painful memory. Not knowing what was next in God’s plan for my life for almost 3 months is also a painful memory. Being offered a contract for the 2010-11 school year is definitely a good memory. The fun I had doing the Jungle Flight during Refresh. Now that is definitely a good memory, even though it was a bit scary at the time! So what great wisdom has gone into my thought closet as a result of this time? More than anything else, I can say that I have seen, and felt, God’s faithfulness. Faithfulness in provision for my physical needs, but mostly faithfulness in that He has always been beside me through the journey. Faithfulness in teaching me the lessons I need to learn. Faithful to the passion He has placed in my heart for teaching middle-upper primary school students. Faithful in the provision of His peace.
God is faithful. What about you? Do you have painful memories that God uses to bring His wisdom to your life? Why don’t you share it with someone. Make a comment on this blog. Write a note to a friend. Write an e-mail. Write your own blog entry. Share one of your profitable memories so that others can learn from them too!
Some memories are precious, so we can tell our souls to recall them with pleasure. But other memories bring pain, and telling your soul to remember those is difficult. Yet both can be profitable to your soul as you assign meaning to them. Profitable memories are those that add to your soul wellness rather than subtract from it. They prompt maturity and growth rather than drag you down or keep you stuck in your own immaturity. Profitable memories contribute to your personal depth and understanding. They challenge you to think broadly rather than narrow your perspective. That’s why profitable recollections can be either pleasant or painful. Even hard times in our lives can contribute great wisdom to our thought closets. (Rothschild, J. 2007. Self Talk, Soul Talk.)
As I read this paragraph, and the paragraphs that followed, it prompted me to think about the memories I have stored away in my mind over the past six months. There were definitely some painful ones, but I can truly say that those painful memories are profitable. Remembering being told I wasn’t being offered a contract for the 2010-11 school year is definitely a painful memory. Not knowing what was next in God’s plan for my life for almost 3 months is also a painful memory. Being offered a contract for the 2010-11 school year is definitely a good memory. The fun I had doing the Jungle Flight during Refresh. Now that is definitely a good memory, even though it was a bit scary at the time! So what great wisdom has gone into my thought closet as a result of this time? More than anything else, I can say that I have seen, and felt, God’s faithfulness. Faithfulness in provision for my physical needs, but mostly faithfulness in that He has always been beside me through the journey. Faithfulness in teaching me the lessons I need to learn. Faithful to the passion He has placed in my heart for teaching middle-upper primary school students. Faithful in the provision of His peace.
God is faithful. What about you? Do you have painful memories that God uses to bring His wisdom to your life? Why don’t you share it with someone. Make a comment on this blog. Write a note to a friend. Write an e-mail. Write your own blog entry. Share one of your profitable memories so that others can learn from them too!
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