Challenges at work

This week has been extremely stressful working with James and there have been a number of factors that have contributed to this.

- James has tendencies to hurt other tamariki in our class, often I cannot work out what has led to these incidents and often they seem totally unprovoked. I have worked hard since moving into primary teaching to create a calm and peaceful learning environment where tamariki can come and know that this is their special place, a place that is safe and caring and they know where they are loved. This to me is one of the most important aspects of my pedagogy. So I have really struggled these past two weeks seeing tamariki getting hurt, seeing how bewildered and upset they are when they don't know why James has hurt them. I have struggled to justify to them as to why the event has happened and have found it distressing as often the hitting is quite hard and to the face.

_ James is still toilet training and often won't co-operate to visit the toilet, resulting in accidents.

- James doesn't return after morning tea and lunch breaks. I did put on the white board a photo of James introducing him to the rest of the teachers asking that they please help him get back to class but it hasnt happened very often. James has also gone missing after the bell at 9.00.

- Our teacher aid situation has changed drastically this term. I have gone from having the support of a teacher aid two days per week to having none. James' support worker is Rebecca, she is great with him but has been away sick this week. Although I had replacements this confused James and his behaviour escalated and by Thursday and Friday the situation in class was almost unteachable and the new teacher aid who started on Thursday was questioning if the job was right for her. 

I am trying my best to support James, but feel that at present I'm not doing anyone in my class justice. I am acutely aware of my eight year one students who need extending. And also to the rest of the tamariki who have just started and are still settling into routines. I feel really torn as I am so often having to be pulled away from teaching to address issues that arise with James and by the time I get back to where I was working the teachable moment is lost.

On Friday I had a meeting with Bathsheba, Tina and Aimee. I said that I wasn't coping and that I feel extremely stressed and that my mental wellbeing is not good. That my mind is consumed by James, trying to work out a solution of how I can better support him.  They asked what I thought a solution might be but I felt so overwhelmed that I couldn't even think straight and became upset. Bathsheba suggested I take the weekend to think things over and we would catch up next week.

28.2.19
Today Suzanne from Parkside came and spent time in Ruma Tahi even though James was away. She has been really supportive and offers suggestions and ideas to try and help me. I do however find it really difficult to have discussions about James while I am teaching. I was trying to work with tamariki who were working in their zones and in the end I had to stop as I couldn't support nga tamariki and talk to Suzanne at the same time. Next time she visits I'm going to ask Suzanne if we can have any discussions regarding James during break time so that I can concentrate fully on either my tamariki or the professional discussion and not juggle both.

5.3.19
Aimee told me last night via text that as from today James will be moving out of my class and into Ruma Rua. Later in the day when I asked Aimee how James Mum is feeling about this change she said she was fine about it and that she requested the move into either the Whare or Ruma Rua. I felt slightly left out of this process but feel it is for the best and I can now focus on my teaching rather than behaviour management. 

Number Agents: Holiday Readings

During the holidays I have been following two blogs which are Number Agents and Longworth Education. These posts have been extremely thought provoking regarding the education of our five and six-year-olds in New Zealand. 

Since joining the Primary sector I have begun to really question what value is the quality of work that is expected from teachers to teach our young tamariki. I have experienced huge amounts of testing and pressure put onto tamariki and things are being asked of them that developmentally they are just not ready for. Asking them to provide writing samples, math samples and reading samples that just put undue pressure on them.

I worry what impact this has so early on in their school learning journey, is this turning them off learning and coming to school and how does it effect their mental health. I am seeing stressed tamariki and then I begin to feel stressed which I believe is counterproductive. From my observations tamariki in my class are most open to learning and new experiences when they are happy, feeling secure and supported and engaged in play-based activities. This is when I see great learning happening. Play Based develops social skills, provides leadership opportunities, teamwork, problem-solving and huge oral language development to name a few. I have now spent over a year and a half in Room One and was guided by another Junior School Teacher when I arrived, she too could see that as the curriculum was it just was not working for our young learners. I struggle with the idea of 'School Wide' termly topics and feel new entrants would be more engaged in interest-based learning, things that were more relevant to them.

I also believe planning is restricting learning, having to learn to timetables and missing out on teachable moments and where they might take us, and what investigations could have been made. All the reading I have done in the holidays say that planning and play-based don't mix its like to trying to mix oil and water!  I have begun looking at new ways to plan and track and hope to try some new strategies throughout the year.

This year I am going to make a stand, I am going to follow what my gut is saying, I am going to keep worksheets to a minimum and hopefully stop them altogether Through observations I am going to decide when tamariki are ready to read and write. I am going to stand up for my tamariki and be ready to articulate my beliefs if I am challenged.

I know I am only starting on the Play based journey and will take small steps to develop and refine my teaching practice, but I know what my class needs and will strive to give them what they deserve. 

Through futher reading on the Number Agents blog I have discovered planning using a 'Mind Map' format. This really appeals to me and I can see it being a lot more authentic and useable. I think for me for planning to be a successful tool it needs to be fluid and adaptable and something that grows with the interests and progress of the tamariki in my class. I am going to trial it for a couple of weeks and have a discussion with Aimee about it. I have complete my first one for week one and enjoyed the process and feel it better reflects the learning and tamariki interests in my class. I will also beable to track individual tamariki better, bringing their interests forward into the following week and plan my provocations better. 10.2.19

Play based learning in Room One

This year I have tried to offer more play-based learning in my classroom as a better way of meeting the developmental needs of the tamariki in my class. Through my observations from terms three and four last year it became clearly obvious that as Primary teachers there is an expectation on us to be pushing tamariki to do things that they are not developmentally ready or capable of doing. I have seen the pressure and stress that this places on them and so have tried to work on different strategies to better support the tamariki in my care. I am particularly concerned about the expectations placed on them regarding writing and the outcomes that are expected of them.

I have struggled with the pressure of knowing what my tamariki are ready for compared to what is expected of them and trying to justify the reasons I feel the way I do. I have attended a course on play-based learning and visited two schools offering play-based programmes and this has helped to strengthen my desire to follow my heart and do what I feel is right.

I have slowly been introducing more play-based activities throughout the year, encouraging pre-reading and writing activities through many different ways and focusing on activities that encourage oral language. I have taken on board what I learnt at Longford Education's course about how if you want play-based to be sustainable and authentic it needs to be introduced slowly.

I have noticed tamariki are now more engaged in their learning, with a focus on less formal learning and more small group, child lead activities and also seeking out interests that come from the children and extending them. 

I have also been committed to trying to spend more time outside, encouraging tamariki to develop gross motor skills, teamwork and using their imagination. I have set up a water area just out from our classroom where tamariki can poor, mix, measure and create, this has been really popular. We also often put a tent up where tamariki can read to buddies, have quiet time or pretend they are camping. We have also been spending time getting to know our wider community by doing a number of local walks and meeting people who work in our community. We also spend time exploring our community garden. 

Through these experiences I believe tamariki are developing many of the skills required in all curriculum areas, they are more willing to attempt new challenges when writing if they have genuine experiences to write about. Our class is calm and tamariki are engaged in learning without the underlying pressure to get things done within certain time frames. We are flexible and tamariki are able to learn at their own pace.

I have also had positive feedback from Lois who said that the tamariki who moved up to her class at the start of term four were coping so well and were well prepared for learning in her class, with great literacy skills.

To me this feedback tells me I am on the right track and I hope to continue to build upon my current play-based learning next year. I would like to focus more on child led learning, get a sandpit build and work more closely with Aimee now she is moving into room 2.

Today I am going to begin the Yolanda Soryl phonic programme. I am feeling a little apprehensive about implementing this and are still struggling a little to have a clear picture in my head. I am hoping that once I begin things will start falling into place. For the past two terms I have been running the letterland programme focusing on one letter a week which has worked well with tamariki but I can see that one letter a week takes too long to get a grasp on letter sounds. I feel I am going from one extreme to the other with the YS programme focusing on a letter a day. But I can see the tamariki will gain a quickerunderstands
ING of letter sounds using this method. The other challenge I am facing is that my teacher aid left at the end of the term and I have a relieving TA for four weeks, she has had no experience with new entrance and I have also had four new Chen start.

Today I introduced the letter L to tamariki using YS I felt like I muddled my way through it and it felt really disjointed and challenging even though I had everything prepared I am hoping that tomorrow will be better and that I can make it more fun for tamariki.

Making Learning Visible

After attending the Play-based course last Friday and having a debrief with Aimee on the drive home I have been thinking of how I can make the Key Competencies visible in my class so whanau can gain a greater understanding of what Learning through play looks like.

During my time teaching at kindergarten, I used to make a lot of displays about how tamariki learn so decided to try and create one in Room One. I worked on this display yesterday afternoon with my tamariki, believing that if they are involved in the display they will be more likely to want to share it with their whanau. There was lots of oral language that came from this activity, tamariki excitedly sharing what they had been doing in the photos and talking about where they would end up on the wall.

I was really pleased with the end product and this morning when whanau were dropping off their tamariki many took them to look at the wall. I also received some lovely feedback from parents and also the relieving teacher I had today. I am hoping that this wall might become a permanent display that evolves and grows throughout the year, something we can add to and talk about with one another.

I hope that from this display whanau will gain a greater understanding of how tamariki learn and that learning through play is still learning but just in a different way.

Reading advice from Mandie

I have been wondering about my reading group techniques for some time now so asked if Mandie could come and model what she does with one of my reading groups.

Mandie came this morning and demonstrated how she takes a reading group. Mandie gave me some great tips and pointers. No one had told me to stop finger pointing once chn have 1:1 sorted so this was great to find out. Mandie suggested I get chn to keep their hands under the table while they read and tell chn to read with just their eyes.

I liked how Mandie started the session with the alphabet cards and asked chn if they could spell a certain word on the whiteboard, they were allowed a quick look then Mandie covered the word with her finger. Chn responded really well to this technique and were excited with the new challenge and I could see the benefits of it straight away. I think I will use shape words for this activity, and use a list relevant to the group.

Mandie then went through the reader with chn turning the pages of their book as she went through each page, pointing out words, discussing the story and text so they were familiar before they started reading.

Once they started reading Mandie and chn read together, Mandie asking different chn to read a page every now and again but mostly together. If there was a word they didn't know Mandie would write the first letter on the whiteboard and ask chn the sound if they couldn't get the word she would do the next letter and so forth.

I found this visit so helpful and supportive, Mandie gave me great feedback on chn and also demonstrated a running record for me. I wish I had Mandie's help when I first started, I feel I have been really doubting myself and have been worried I wasn't doing my chn justice which has been stressful. Mandie told me that the chn in the group that worked with her are all where they should be for reading ability and will be moving up a level soon. This was really reassuring to hear. Im feeling much better now and have a clear direction to take and new techniques to try. Next term Mandie said she can visit again and this time I have asked her to model writing, Im looking forward to it already!

Reading update


I have trialled Mandie's reading techniques for a week now and can really see how well they are going to work. I have noticed in this short time an improvement in fluency by keeping hands under the table. Children are also really enjoying using the whiteboards to spell out words.
19.9.18

I have been trying to think of a way that I can help tamariki grasp sentence structure. During story writing it is sometimes a bit of a struggle to get tamariki to think of a story to write. So I have been researching different ideas and came across and activity called sentence builders. 

This activity consists of pieces of laminated words and pictures, Tamariki choose a picture then they need to choose a word with a star above it, this is a beginning word. And finally the middle words. Tamariki then lay them out in front of them and everyone has a turn at reading their sentence to the group, practicing their finger pointing. White boards are then passed around and tamariki write their sentence out.

I have found this activity to be a great success, tamariki enjoy making up silly sentences and are helping each other when someone becomes stuck. We are able to talk about sentence formation in a fun way and tamariki are proud to share their finished work with the group and whanau on seesaw.

We will carry this on for one more week and then next term will look at adding descriptive words.

I have been really struggling to find a planning format that works for me, I have looked and tried a couple and adapted some but haven't used them because they just didn't feel right.
So this week I asked Katrina to talk me through how she does her planning and what works well for her. Katrina was so kind and made a lot of the planning fog become clear, she has kindly offered to let me use her planning format and adapt it to suit my needs.


Update:
I have been using Katrina's planning template for two terms now and it is working well. I have made changes to work in with my daily routines and add links where necessary. I am finding the links really useful when using my planning each day, having everything in one spot has made my planning more effective. I would like to look at a way of incorporating a reflection of the week section. in the side panel. Aimee is also keen for me to give her planning format a go so I might look at trailing that next year, though I am really happy with my current format and wonder if it's worth changing.

Pokeno school visit

Visit to Pokeno School

Today I went to visit Pokeno School to visit one of their New Entrant classes. I was really interested to see how they do their Yolanda Soryl program but sadly we had to leave before they did it. I found it really interesting to see how their morning routine progressed and how their writing program worked. I gained some ideas that I could bring back to my class, ideas around introducing a writing topic to the group and how to draw ideas from tamariki.

I discovered that they have a writing goal at the back of their writing books and they regularly revisit these. I am going to try this in my class but put it at the front of their books so their goals become visible to them. I will develop a format and two forms one to start with and then working towards the next.

I have wondered if I could also make one of these for math and reading also. I will see how well I get on with the writing one.

I have been continuing to struggle with my planning, it was great to have the opportunity to see Karen's planning and what works for her. I was able to pull some ideas from her planning that I look forward to seeing how they may work for me.


Update:
I have created my own versions for tamariki goals to put in their math and writing books. Tamariki have enjoyed looking at their goals and receiving a sticker to place beside a goal when they reach it. We revisit the goals that they are working on at the start of each session so they know what they are working towards.

Yolanda Soryl

Today I went to the Yolanda Soryl course on how to teach Phonics. I found this course full of tips that I know will become useful teaching tools in my everyday practice. I really liked the way she linked tasks with actions which are similar to what I am doing currently with my shape words. This technique has a great success rate with children often seen using actions to words they are learning throughout the day. I am going to use Yolandas youtube videos as a follow up to this course as the day was so fast-paced that at times it was challenging to take in. I think it will also be helpful for Angela and I to watch them together so she will be able to understand what we will be teaching nga tamariki. Aimee has also kindly ordered some of Yolanda's resources and we hope to have them for the start of term two. Today I was able to put into practice one of the activities Youlanda had demonstrated using individual whiteboards and nga tamariki responded really positively to it.


Update:
Yolanda's programme has become second nature in Room One now, we all know the routine and it runs smoothly each morning. I have noticed that tamariki have a much stronger sound and letter knowledge since starting the programme and we are getting through the letters much more quickly and are able to also revisit them. I have also noticed a greater improvement in tamariki using their letter knowledge throughout the day whether it's through their zone work or story writing or during their play-based learning, their letter and sound knowledge is now evident everywhere.

Teaching Portfolio 2018

This a a space for me to collect and present the evidence needed to show that I am meeting the NZ Practising Teacher Criteria. The twelve criterion are listed on the right side of the page  and have a number to show how many pieces of evidence I have collected,. An initial post was needed to set up the 'label' needed to make the list. With each post of text or photo/video, I can add a date and a label to show when the criteria was met. 

I have been running the zones for four weeks now and they are working well, they have been a great way of teaching tamariki the shape words through games, they have responded well to this style of teaching. I have had to tweak the groups a couple of times to try and get better tamariki combinations. They now seem to be working well together and I have grouped tamariki in mixed learning groups so that more able learners are able to step up into leadership roles and our less able are supported by more knowledgeable friends.

Angela and I have many informal discussions throughout the day as to whats working and whats not and I adjust the zones/groups to suit, realizing that what might work well on one day may not on another and that many different factors can influence this.

I have introduced zones to our tamariki as a way of them strengthening their knowledge on the shape words. I was able to talk to Katrina and with her support, I could see how this could work for our class. At first, I found the idea overwhelming and couldn't think of how I could implement it so it is meaning full to my class, I knew there was no point in just copying Katrina's exact ideas that somehow I had to adapt it for the best outcomes in my class.

I decided to not do the block plan of where tamariki went and when as I found it too daunting, instead I decided to introduce five stations that were represented by a colour and at each station there would be two activities. I began gathering and making activities so that there were enough for all the stations and also surplus so that I could introduce new activities each day to keep the tamariki interested. I will review this implementation once our tamariki have become familiar with the routines and the games to see whether it is working and any changes I need to make.

Update:
Zones have been working well for three terms now, tamariki are engaged in learning and look forward to discovering what activities are available in the zones each morning. I have been constantly sourcing new activities to keep the zones interesting and fresh. The zones have offered many opportunities for peer teaching and tamariki sharing their knowledge with tamariki that are new or less abled. This has been really empowering. I was trying to run our reading groups while the zones were in rotation but found it was too difficult to keep some tamariki on task as well as listening to reading groups. So we now do reading straight after morning tea and during rotations myself and my teacher aid sit with a zone each and work with them. This has worked out really well with all groups working with an adult for one math and one literacy activity each day.

We have had our next intake of tamariki this  term and I had been worrying about how I would keep the zones working so well and how would I introduce these new tamariki to this way of learning. In the first week I kept most of the six tamariki in one group on their own so I could work with them and access where they were all at. I quickly could see that Troy and Calais would be fine in other groups once they became familiar with the new routine and games.

By the end of the week after a number of discussions with Angela and bouncing ideas around we decided the following week to mix all the groups up and place our new tamariki within our existing groups.

This worked well and although we had to make some minor adjustments due to personalities all in all the rest of the class stepped up to help 'teach' their new friends.

I have been struggling with a morning routine that works well for our class. I started doing a morning mat time with our tamariki similar to what I was doing at kindergarten, my starting with a welcome karakia to start the day, then doing a chart on how we arrived at school to tie in with enviroschools and then a talk about the day ahead.

It felt really messy and disjointed, it felt like it didn't have much meaning to the tamariki and the chart just wasn't working so I decided to change things.

Through a bit of research on line I came across the idea of the 'daily news' which is a piece of paper on the teaching station with missing words about the day that tamariki help fill in, it goes over the day of the week, the weather and the days mystery which could be related to either maths or letter.
 This worked much better, we now start the day in a circle with candles lit in the middle and we sing our karakia, the best four singers are invited to blow out one of the candles, we then move on to the daily news and then discussions about our letter and number of the week and then move off to our zones.

Tamariki have really taken ownership of our morning routine, help get it ready and are often sitting on the mat waiting when the bell goes. I has also been heartening to see that on the odd occasion when we have had a computer malfunction this has not fazed tamariki and we just sing the karakia without the music. They have come such a long way and are now confident with all the words, so proud of them!

I have been struggling getting through my reading groups as Katrina had suggested doing each child individually, but I was finding that by the time I did letter sounds, shape words then a reader with each individual child it was taking right up to morning tea time twice a week.

I decided to ask for some advice from Tina and she suggested taking small groups of three or four as this work well for her when she taught new entrants. I could see if I could get this to work it would be much better so began trailing it. What I found was it was much better and tamariki were able to learn off one another and encourage each other and strive to keep up to each other and set them selves goals like trying to get to the next shape word group because they wanted to be like their friends. I have continued to use this method, working out who within the groups work well together and being flexable to change things when needed. So I might have some groups of four some of three and some of two and if someone needs extra support I am able to offer that too. I am now going to focus on how I can extend tamariki reading experiences and get them progressing up the reading levels by carrying out running records and regrouping where necessary.

Starting at Tuakau Primary

This term I start a new teaching position at a New Entrant Teacher at Tuakau Primary School. I am looking forward to all the new challenges it will bring and feel lucky to have such great support and encouragement from Tina and Margaret. I know that there will be big hurdles to overcome and a period of adjustment as I find my way on this new journey. I am looking forward to discovering what it is like for tamariki transitioning to school from an early childhood centre and feel fortunate to be having three tamariki from Tuakau Kindergarten in my class so I will see this transition from centre to school first hand.

Update, August:
What a shock to the system! So much to take in, so much to learn, so overwhelming! I realise that this is a learning journey that will take time, I need to give myself time to find my feet, to discover teaching strategies that work for me by trialling what I learn from others, time to adjust to this new environment, and time to reflect.