Another confession...

I have a confession to make: I've been putting off writing on this blog.  This past term I've been a relief teacher and, on more than one occasion, fell into the trap of thinking of myself as just a relief teacher which meant that anything I taught was just relief teaching and of little value.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the implications that kinda thinking has for this blog.

You know what though? I'm not just a relief teacher. Or just a contract teacher. 

I. Am. A. Teacher. 

So, my months of self-doubt and questioning are over. A couple of shares to get this blog going again:

• Remember how one of the things I love about relieving is learning from other teachers? Well, I recently stumbled over these photos that I took a few months ago. If you're a fan of  Look Say Cover Write Check as a spelling activity, this is an awesome way of doing it. Using an A4 card folded into thirds you can make neat little folders that can be stored easily and reused for the whole year (or quite some months at the very least.)

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• I taught design and technology (school wide) for a few days early in the school year.  One of the age groups made trioramas with models made from air dry glue (the recipe for which I found here on pinterest). I asked the students to show me something they did or somewhere they went during the holidays. 

•  I took a four week contract in a reception class at the end of term 1 while their regular teacher was on long service leave. I was very conscious of leaving very clear notes about what we did while she was gone and so I started gluing small slips into the students' book explaining what we had done. I hand wrote specific notes about each child when I glued them in. I was particularly pleased to be able to communicate so clearly with the regular teacher about progress and  how I differentiated the children's learning activities. It took only a few minutes because I used my lesson planning notes. I hope to continue this practice as I move into my new contract.
  I think it also serves well in demonstrating my engagement with  a slew of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

So, I'm back. I'm excited to be sharing a grade 3/4 class with an inspiring teacher. I have a .4 contract for the rest of the year and will also be available for relieving for the other three days of the week.  It's going to be a busy couple of terms,  but now that our house renovations are coming to a plateau for a few months it will be manageable. Stay tuned!