Jan 6, 2012

Last day of the holidays - weekends don't count!

It is now 8:36pm on Friday 6th January. It has been really hot today. I woke up at just after 5am and came downstairs for my coffee and read but first I washed the dishes from last night because I was too tired/lazy to wash them then. Ciaran got up soon after so not much "me" time today - no worries though because I realise how blessed I am that I get on so well with my boys. They may beg to differ but I know that's not really true! - Love you my precious boys xx :) . I want to post a photo of them but that could be tricky as they are not very co-operative when it comes to me taking photos of them. I will see what I can do at a later stage - it may require some stealth and cunning but I always rise to a challenge! Watch this space.......

Next up I vacuumed two of our 3 levels - where does the dirt come from? I swear somebody sneaks into our house at night and sprinkles dust, dirt and hair on the floors just to make sure that I am kept busy! That's not to mention the washing (clothes) that accumulates on a daily basis. That's my side of the housekeeping - Chez cooks the majority of the meals for which I am truly grateful. I am so over cooking. I'm quite happy to go without - not that my body would make you think that!!!! I blame it on that "M" thing that happens when you reach a certain age!  By this time I had to go for a swim. Last night's storm meant the water was a bit cooler today so it was actually refreshing. The rest of the morning was used up doing school "stuff" on my laptop. I had good intentions of going in but decided to do the work at home instead. We had a management meeting scheduled for 2pm so I thought I'd go in about an hour before and do a few things in the classroom. This did work according to plan and I  managed to cart a whole load of stuff I had been working on at home to school.

After our Management Meeting I went back to school and stuck up labels inside and out. There always seems to be so much to do for Grade 1! It's funny because the week before we are due to go back I always start doing little bits and pieces to get me back into "school mode". I had one full week of total relaxation which was bliss. I read and lay on my lounger upstairs on our balcony with dips into the pool inbetween to cool off. Very relaxing and just what I needed to recharge my run down batteries. If you are a teacher you will understand.

Yesterday I said I would post some photos of my classroom. I have not totally finished yet but it is nearly there. I still can't make up my mind whether to group my desks or keep them in rows. In rows the children are all facing the board from the face on which is good from an OT point of view.In groups some children are at an angle which means some have to sit sideways.They also tend to be far more chatty in groups - not that they need any encouraging! For now the desks are in rows but I may change it. I am always open to change and new ideas but if it works why change it?
OK - some photos if you are interested.

Yesterday I unpacked the stationery and put into each child's " pencil tidy". This is a plastic cutlery holder which we use to store the basic items needed on a daily basis. I also labelled the pencil tidies.

This is the bookcase containing "Fun Books" which I had to totally reorganise. The books were all mixed up.
One of 3 cupboards which I unpacked and reorganised, putting books from the same series together. The titles were all mixed up.

I have added this tent in the middle of my second classroom. I thought that the children might enjoy using it as a reading area. I mentioned before that I had made new cushion covers to match the bunting. The 3 on the right are not new. They have appliqued pictures on them. Will show some closeups at another time. I hope the tent will be considered a fun place to ' hang out'. There will be some rules which have to be obeyed so that no one gets out of hand.

A section of the bunting on one side of the classroom. I made 35metres. Originally I bought 5 metres of bias binding but my firnd Janine told me it was not nearly enough and she advised that I buy a whole roll. I did and it was just enough! Looking out of the window I overlook the Aftercare area and the building site. We are in the process of adding another 4 classrooms on top of an exising wing. Our school has grown so much and has become very popular which means we have to turn children away every year because we are full. Now we will be able to accommodate another class and relocate classes which are currently having to use temporary premises, which is why I am where I am. Hope you can make sense of that!
Looking at these photos I have just realised that some of the other photos I took were deleted when I took my camera in to see why it was not autofocussing.The man in the shop deleted photos and reformatted my SDHC card to see if that would help. Oh well, I'll need to take some more later. That's all for now as I am having trouble publishing this post. Our internet keeps going off - very frustrating.

3 comments:

  1. Love the bunting and now see what you mean about the tent :). Your classrooms are so much more colourful than the classrooms here - are all your walls that bright green?
    And to Ciaran and Caelen, sometimes you have to just let Mum's get photos then they'll leave you alone. My 3 are learning slowly but surely ;)
    Xx

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  2. Hi Rhona,
    Yes my walls are all that colour. At first I wasn't sure if I liked it but it has grown on me. I'll pass the message on to the boys. Hope your double glazing makes a difference. xx

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  3. I am just loving the beautiful scenery and the photographs of your daily activites. I still think of South Africa as my 'home', where so much of my active life was spent. Love to you all and tell my grandsons that I like to see them too. Mum xxx

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