{Gifts}

There is something lovely about having a small child come up to you with a small package wrapped that they picked themselves just for you.  Having to wear new bracelets together for the last few days of school because every time they see you they look at your wrist to check if it is there and give you a shy smile of happiness when it is.  Of cards written and decorated with candy canes; boxes of chocolates and sweet treats too.  No teacher expects gifts, but when they are thoughtfully given as a way of saying thank you for doing a great job it is a special thing.

Also sweet is the unexpected gift that is given at the school presentation night to thank you for all your efforts throughout the year.  I was not expecting that any more than I was expecting my daughter to win the consistent achievement award for Kindergarten; what a great night all round!  I have been blessed this year to have worked with some wonderful teachers and students and to work at the school my daughter started at in the same year.

Today was my last day and at first I felt sad but then I decided to be happy and excited.   Teachers said they would see me in the new year and wished me well on my final pracs and my boss said to hurry up and qualify and make sure she was the first person I saw when I did; as I walked out I know I am no longer employed but I am still a part of the school family.

End of Year at School

The season of silly is upon us!  I had no idea that the last week and a half of school was all about Christmas craft, cleaning, presentation night and community Christmas Carol based events.  Everyone at school is exhausted, myself included!!

I finished prac and got back to work just in time to SENA test year 3 and year 4.  A lot of these children have been coming to me for intensive maths classes for the past 6 months so it was with great excitement that I plotted growth in nearly all areas for nearly all students.  Even more exciting was seeing students use different strategies;  I loved seeing the different ways the students' approached problems in different ways. 

I was sad to tell school that I would not be taking any more hours in the short term next year.  I have practicums organised for term 1 and from there I will be applying for my teaching number.  I am very grateful to this wonderful small school for giving me so many opportunities and look forward to being 'just' a parent next year before hopefully returning as a casual teacher on class.

The Mathematical Association of NSW {MANSW}

Back in September I was lucky enough to be able to go to the MANSW 2013 conference with 3 of the teachers from the school I work at.  I am not traditionally what would be called a 'maths' person so I was in part worried that a lot of it would be over my head and also excited to be learning new things that would help me teach maths.

The conference was at Terrigal and the above photo was the view from our shared apartment.  As a regional Australian it was nice to wake up and see the water each morning.

We went for a walk and saw some wonderful views of the surrounding headlands too.

There was so many good sessions over 2.5 days that it would be hard to mention them all.  I had fun folding paper and investigating shapes although I did have trouble assembling my cube shown above so I am not sure many of my primary school children would be giving that a go under my watch!

I loved the idea of using bendy straws fitted together to investigate angles and 2D shapes.  This will get used for my upper primary children but I think lower primary would lack the gross motor skills to assemble them and would be easily distracted and wanting to play (and blow) in the straws.

I enjoyed snipping strips of paper into different trapeziums and then sorting them in relation to size and angles.  This would be a great way to demonstrate that shapes can come in all shapes and sizes but still share common properties.

The food was great too.

I am lucky that I was given the chance to go to this conference even though I am not yet a qualified teacher.  I know when I enter my own classroom for the first time with a full class of students that I am responsible for teaching that I will be a better teacher because of the opportunities I have been granted so far as I finish my degree and move closer to my teaching number. 

Manipulating Maths

For my lower Stage 2 children I try to keep maths as hands-on as I can.  Concrete materials help them 'see' the concepts in action and they always engage well with tasks such as these. 

A deck of cards and bingo to test multiplication facts.

Jigsaw puzzles based on a hundreds chart.  This is great for working out the decimals as they can use their knowledge of whole numbers on the hundreds chart to help work out the problem.

Using base ten to introduce the addition of decimals before a formal algorithm is applied.

Function machines for fun and as an introduction to algebra (not that they know that).

Fractions.  Different orientations and options explored through cutting up paper.  Some of the children did not think they were still quarters if some of the pieces were cut out differently as seen in the orange example so this proved to be very valuable (and still fun).

Fraction games...

...more fraction games...

...and more hands-on fun.

Some of these children have gone from actively disliking maths to asking if I would come in on my days off to make up missed lessons.  It is a good feeling to see them starting to enjoy mathematics.

MiniLit

I have been offered a job by the school I completed my first practicum at.  I will be running a literacy programme called MiniLit.  I have already done my training for this new role and I am excited (and nervous) to be going back to work in a field that will compliment my studies and further my teaching experience too.

picture source 

It is a 20 week programme so I will be employed for both term 1 and term 2 this year on top of my studies and other duties.  I hope to enhance my literacy teaching skills and look forward to working closely with a small group of children.

At the end of last year I spent a day at the school setting up my office and putting up my alphabet frieze and other materials.  I cannot tell you how good it felt to do that!  It does highlight the importance of conducting yourself in a professional manner while on practicum; you never know what may come of it not just long term, but in the short term too.