Sunday Afternoon Thoughts

It’s a strange feeling when you realise that you’ve over half-way through the first term of the year.

For me, I start panicking about what I’ve taught (or not taught) and what I’ve got to fit in before the start of second term because report-writing is now officially around the corner, and honestly it’s completely exhausting.

Schools are intensely busy places – we’re forever fitting in special events, guest speakers, updated timetables, buddy activities, curriculum and just about anything else you can think of. It requires a certain amount of flexibility and I know that I am (currently) a much more relaxed teacher when it comes to accomodating these, often last minute, changes.

I wasn’t always, though, and it’s something that takes time, patience -and possible a few tears every now and then – to understand that leadership is actually very understanding of the interruptions and that if something slips, the world won’t end. It’s often OURSELVES who are the ones putting pressure on our own selves when everyone else is willing to give us a break.

As such, it’s obviously been a completely nutty term for me, hence my absence in posting. So many things have been happening:

• Starting back in a classroom
• Parent information nights
• Leading the Literacy team
• Leading the Graduate Liaison Program at my school
• Expanding the Graduate Liaison Program (with a colleague) to incorporate graduates from local schools
• Swimming lessons
• House Athletics Carnival
• And… oh, yeah, teaching!

I haven’t had a chance to create more video content for my teaching youtube channel because I just haven’t had the time, and I’ve come to terms with it. (Mostly. It’s hard when you want to do a good job at something and yet find it difficult to actually find the time.) That said, it’s still on the agenda.

The most important thing is that my class is fantastic and they’re doing so much work and doing it so well. They’re an awesome bunch of little learners and I’m so lucky to do what I do, and be surrounding by such great kids, and colleagues.

Now it’s only a few short weeks (filled with public holidays, professional development days, professional learning days and planning days – go figure!) until the end of the first time and I’m exhausted, but loving my job.

How are YOU doing? What’s been happening in your classroom this term?

Elizabeth Richards Teacher Diary 2018

Over the years I’ve used various teacher planners – Erin Condren, bullet journals, generic teacher planners, printed planners from TPT, a Kikki.K binder planner. I love planners. I love trialling new ones. I’m honest with myself when they don’t work, and when they do. I also know I need to switch it up now and then because change reinvigorates the way I interact with them.

I’m going to share a few thoughts on the planner I’m going to begin 2018 using – I’ve also got a video flip through of it, so you can scroll down and hear my thoughts if you like!

This year I decided to trial the Elizabeth Richards Teacher Diary, and bought myself one just to see how it goes.

It’s very similar to an Erin Condren planner – it’s A4 size, and quite thick and thus heavy. However, depending on how you plan to use this, it may not be a problem. I intend to use this as a bit of a classroom ‘bible’ and it will stay at work during the week, and come home on weekends so I can map out my week. (If this is something you’d be interested in seeing as a video, let me know in the comments.)

Let’s talk about a few of the features:

• The front cover is actually a plastic pocket that you can slip covers in and out of easily.
• It comes with 2 sturdy covers, with 2 designs on each (total of 4)
• The back cover is a thick/sturdy plastic with an elastic strap

It has:

• A yearly planner
• Note pages
• Dividers for each month
• Undated monthly layouts
• Undated weekly spreads
• Lesson review space
• Password lists
• Student contact details
• Health information
• Parent communication logs
• Classroom expense tracker
• Professional Development log
• Assessment Checklists

It is very colourful and well laid out. For my intended purpose, which is weekly overviews and on-the-go notes, it’s going to do exactly what I need it to do as a desk planner.

The paper is about the same thickness as general copy paper, so it’s not a planner to be using permanent markers in, but that’s easy to work with.

I’ll be very honest and say I don’t know if I’ll use this one planner for the whole year (I’ve yet to manage an entire year in a single planner), but I want to give it a good go. My detailed lesson plans are all electronic, so this is purely for ensuring that I have a clear visual overview each week and that system works pretty well for me.

Do you use a physical planner? Which one do you love to use?

Cleaning Scissors | A Cleaner Classroom

Back to school inevitably means a lot of cleaning up – tables need to be wiped down, dust needs to be cleared and everything needs to be ready for the first day.

I have to say, one of the jobs I hate the most is cleaning scissors. In my school, scissors are a communal resource in the classroom, and working with little kids means that they get all sorts of glue and gunk on them during the year. It’s gross.

While I was doing a few jobs in the classroom today, I figured I’d collect my new room’s scissors and take them home to clean them. Now, it’s a mixed collection of scissors, but I’ll go with it (and I’d rather spend budget money on better resources than replacing scissors that don’t need replacing!).

Here’s my scissor cleaning tip:

Place all the scissors (open) in a  bucket of hot water – as hot as you can get it – with a scoop of washing powder.

Leave the bucket to sit somewhere for a few hours. I left mine for about 3.5 hours, you could leave it longer or a little shorter, depending on how much time you have. The water will go cold, and that’s fine.

When the time is up, grab a sponge and wipe down the scissors to remove any remaining gunk. You may need a tiny bit of elbow grease, depending on how dirty the scissors were, but it probably took me 15 seconds per pair of scissors, plus rinsing time.

Lay your scissors out to dry completely.

That’s how easy it is!

Do you have a preferred method for cleaning scissors? Share it – or another cleaning tip – in the comments below!

My Classroom BEFORE!

There’s just under two weeks left until the school year officially begins here in Victoria.

So far I’ve kept my holidays pretty much that: holidays. It’s really important to recharge, and what I’ve learnt over the last few years is to take that time to not worry about my classroom. It will still be there when the year begins, and if it’s not 100% done, the world will not end.

Today I had to drop off things I had in storage into my classroom and I took this before photo of my room (mostly because I know I’ll forget to take a before photo next time I’m in!). Most of this stuff is mine, although there are some things that belong to last year’s teacher – it’s always hectic to move things at the end of the year, so we’re pretty accomodating.

Later this week I’ll be going in for the first of two preparation days that my team has organised. We plan on going in together to make it more of a positive experience and to ensure everyone’s on track with what’s going on. I may go in one extra day – it just depends if I’m happy with the amount of work I get done.

I’m super excited about my classroom theme for 2018, which I’ll hopefully reveal to you late next week. What I can say is that it’s based off an idea from a whole school initiate we’ve been rolling out over the last 12 months and I can’t wait to show you the bits and pieces I’ve made to put up.

Do you have a theme for your classroom that you’d like to share?

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Back to School: Teacher Essentials Gift

Whether you’re a parent or a fellow teacher, sometimes we all need to find a quick, thoughtful gift for the teachers in our lives.

One of my favourite things to make for my fellow team members has always been a ‘survival kit’ gift. Now, there are plenty of ideas on Pinterest for those of you who want to do a search and see what’s available for those. They came with cute little tags, usually with puns or phrases that match the items included.

While what I’m sharing with you is similar, I also wanted to keep it pretty practical. My good friend, Shanyn, from Classroom Chit Chat, recently shared a post for Graduate Teachers all about Classroom Essentials (it’s a great post, you should definitely go check it out), with lists of items that every teacher should consider keeping in their classroom to make everything run a bit smoother.

I’m piggy-backing off her ideas and creating a Teacher Essentials Gift that would make a great present to give a colleague, or to give to your child’s teacher. And the best thing? You probably have most of these things lying around your house!

In just two steps, you can create your own personalised teacher gift!

Step 1. Choose your container.
This could be a mug, a travel mug or even a small make-up purse/pouch.
A pro-tip, a travel mug is probably preferable to a mug, because it has a sealable lid, which means it can be carried safely to and from the classroom, minimising the risk of spilling hot liquid, but you’ll know your recipient better than I do, so go with something you think they’ll like.
You can pick up mugs and pouches all over the place for very reasonable prices, so just keep an eye out for something you like.

Step 2. Fill your container!
Be creative with this – there are so many different items you could include that will always be gratefully accepted by your teacher friend. Try and personalise it to their personality or preferences. These might range from treats to emergency essentials – remember, it’s the thought that counts!

You might like to include:

• Hot chocolate sachets
• Coffee sachets
• Tea/tea bags
• Tissues
• Wet wipes
• Handcream
• Perfume
• Hand sanitiser
• Dry shampoo (travel size)
• Body mist
• Glasses wipes (if they wear glasses)
• Lip balm
• Colourful pens
• Permanent markers
• Fold-back clips
• Rubber bands
• Paperclips
• Pushpins
• Small chocolates
• Mints
• Safety pins
• Stickers
• Stamps

You can really customise this in any way you see fit, and that’s what makes it such a wonderful treat for any teacher to receive (because, believe me, every little bit of stationary helps and treats are always well-received!).

I hope that this inspires you to create your own teacher essentials gift for a teacher in your life!

What ‘essentials’ would YOU include?

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