Skip to main content
25 years of teaching! 
What have I done?
Here are my reflections.
As I think back & consider... 
25 years as a NZ Teacher.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Changing Spaces

The blocks were in tubs on the shelf in the center of the room. It was time for a change, so the blocks were put onto the shelf by the OHP, providing a more enclosed space for the children to build with the blocks.  One of the children spent time building a structure. After he has finished, he was able to leave it there for a while, and later in the day he was able to put the blocks back on the shelf where he had found them. Changing spaces creates new opportunities.

Journals & Writing

We like to write about what interests us.  It's the same for children.  Journal writing time is an invitation for the children to draw something of interest to them.  They tell me something about their pictures and I write it on the page.  They see how writing happens by starting with an idea then seeing it get written down.

Tape Man

Some of the children put  blue tape over their mouth.  Usually I would have said something like, "Take the tape off your mouth. It's not for putting on your mouth."  Instead I thought of Tape Man (with some pride, being from New Zealand).  I thought of creativity.  I thought of art.  So we sat together for whole group time, some with tape on their mouth.  I said, "I've got something to show you."  When they first say him one of them said, "It's scary." I reassured them that it's not too scary and that he's being funny. So they started to laugh.  Pretty soon there was no more tape on mouths (not that I minded if there was, it's just hard to laugh).  Thank you Tape Man for reminding us that creativity begins with exploration in play.