Saturday February 1st
Last Tuesday the school year started for thousands of teachers across NSW with School Development Days. Schools in our local area arranged for an occupational therapist to present current research and latest ideas for teaching students who have some sort of learning delay that is impacting on their learning. It was a very long presentation and a bit of death by powerpoint (I hate it when they read the information on the slide to you and slides that are full of text grrrrr) but there were some very practical ideas I hadn't tried yet. I made a commitment to give them a go with my class this year and I have already noticed some interesting things!
The first 3 days with my class have been delightful. I have 17 Year 3 and 11 Year 4 students. I love having 28 in my class :-) You can divide it evenly so many ways, so I am happy. With the space I created with the desks at the wall, I got them moving, a lot! I never had them sitting for more than 10 minutes and got them stimulating their large muscles, hugging themselves tight and letting go and shaking for 1 minute. I read somewhere that shaking stimulates our bodies and minds and is great for getting ready for writing. Gee I was impressed with the results. The kids wrote something each day and I noticed an improvement- I love that.
I'd have to say writing is my favourite subject to teach. I love how creative and imaginative kids can be with the spoken word. I love using Circletime to get to know my kids. They really open up when they feel happy and safe within the class.
I am really looking forward to this year :-)
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