Returning to Teaching from Maternity Leave

I haven't been writing much lately and that's because in October 2014, I found out that I was pregnant after two years of "trying". Earlier that year I was diagnosed with PCOS and so through diet, exercise and metformin, I was able to successfully fall pregnant.

I took an entire year off from work once I had my bub, but I have now returned in a part-time capacity. I'm only working two days… and I've come to realise that two days is really tricky. Two days away from my little boy seems like FOREVER, and yet when I'm at work, two days is far too short to get everything done. It's also hard because while you're part-time, you're sometimes expected to program and do work like that of someone working a full load.

Anyway, my first day back was horrendous. I had to firstly find something that fit my new, squishy body. I then had to find my handbag, a USB and a pen to write with. On my way to work I had to fight back the tears because I knew once I got started, I'd never stop. When I finally arrived it was a Staff Development Day… WHICH WAS AWESOME because I thought I could acclimatise to everything. But then I was hit with "pedagogy" and "theories" and "PDPs" and all of these new acronyms I had never heard of before.

Image taken from BuzzFeed.com

I felt out of my depth.

I've been back to work for seven weeks now and I'm happy to say that my brain is starting to work again. Terms are coming back to me and so is my confidence (although it's still got a little while to go). Over the next couple of weeks I'm going to update my THRASS and spelling resources. I will share my ideas here with you all -- so watch this space.

I will also be sharing a stack of ATSI websites/ resources and interactives that I have found whilst on Mat Leave just in time for NAIDOC week.

And finally I will be sharing my TOP EIGHT TIPS for heading back to teaching from Maternity Leave.

So keep an eye out for my new posts and feel free to comment below with you 'back to work from maternity leave' story. Surely I'm not the only one who found it difficult???

What should I actually spend my money on?

I ask myself this question every year! 

Some years the answer is simple as I have more money in my pocket and less reservations about spending. But lately, I've found it harder and harder to part with cash. It was ok at first… kind of a novelty. However now it feels like I'm constantly spending my money on things, and it's not always worth it. So I've compiled a list of things I BELIEVE that you should spend your money on. Anything outside of this list I would have to seriously question whether or not I'd actually need it. Let's face it… we've all splurged on resources thinking that they will change teaching for us, only for them to be put on a shelf and forgotten about.

The back to school shopping list:

1. A Diary (doesn't matter what type… this is a necessity)
2. Pens/Pencils/Erasers/Rulers/Sharpeners, etc (ONLY if your school does not provide these items). I usually buy a stash for those "just in case" moments and I like to have new stationery for myself… it's kind of therapeutic.
3. A USB (if you don't already have one)
4. A new folder for your program
5. Laminating pouches (we all use them!!)
6. Velcro/Blu-Tac/Thumb Tacs (again only if your school does not provide these items)
7. Soap/Paper Towel/Tissues (I usually get my students to bring in these, but it's nice to have one lot ready to go for the new year)
8. WHITEBOARD markers (my school provides these but they're always hard to get your hands on!!)

Other than these eight things… everything else you spend your money on MUST REQUIRE a lot more thought before handing over the credit card.

Remember that your school does supply you with stationery (obviously each school is slightly different), you can borrow books and other resources from your school library and even your local library. I'm fortunate enough to live close the the Henry Parkes Equity Resource Centre which has stacks of resources that teachers can borrow.

What to eat?

The question most of us ask ourselves each morning is 'what will I take for lunch today?' 

I absolutely hate planning meals. I hate organising them of a morning but I especially hate eating garbage because I didn't make the time to organise my lunch. There's nothing worse than sitting down in the staff room to eat your packet food to then smell the beautiful aroma of someone else's lunch. Try adding being pregnant to that you've got yourself one crazy teacher.

Now I'm no expert at this… but I hoped that by doing a bit of research for someone else, that I would be able to find the motivation to get my butt into gear.

I've found a couple of great blogs/ posts from ladies across the world who have come up with inspiring lunch options. Not all of these ladies are teachers, or even pregnant, but their ideas are so usable… anyone can do it!

The first blog is titled Pregnant Girl Diet and it's written by a lady named Kari Burghardt. I particularly like how she pushed the need to drink water and introduced the idea of a 'Snack Pack' (see left). I'm going to give the water bottle idea a go… I like how she chopped up strawberries, limes and pears and put them in her water bottle. I only wonder how long the fruit will last?

The second is a post titled 50 Pregnancy Meal Ideas from the Fit to be Pregnant blog. This blog post gives numerous meal ideas and has a section dedicated to snacks. However, most of these meals require a significant amount of prepping. I may take a recipe or two from this blog… but not all.

The third and final post I'd like to mention is 5 Tips for Safe, Healthy Lunches while Pregnant which is from the Fox in Flats blog. This blog post does exactly what it says… it gives you great tips for safe, healthy lunches. The five tips are:

1. Make your own
2. Invest in some good quality lunch containers
3. Keep it chilled
4. Serve hot things HOT
5. Try and focus on what you CAN eat

Simple tips, however, absolutely necessary!

This term, I'm going to make my own lunches. Healthy, yet tasty meals that very rarely include sandwiches. I will post some of my favourite lunches over the next couple of weeks.

Oh and remember… good quality doesn't always mean expensive! 

Sometimes you'll just need to look around and maybe do some research before you buy. I was able to pick up these cheap BPA FREE containers and this 1.6L BPA FREE drink bottle from ALDI the other day. They were on special and I cannot wait to use them when I go back to work!

Simple ideas to make my job easier!

I am a massive fan of VISTA Print. Particularly when they're having a huge sale. Two years ago I decided to make some business cards which simply said 'A note from Mrs Sellen'. Simple idea right? Well I have used them almost every day of the past two years. On these cards I can send home simple reminders about notes that are due in to school, and I can also send home little notes to parents about how well their child has been doing in class. The kids love them. The parents love them. And they're so simple.

I originally got this idea off PINTEREST (where all good ideas come from) and I've modified it slightly to better suit my classroom.

Here is the original idea (click on the image to head straight to Pinterest):

Here is what my modified version looks like:

If you are lucky enough to get a really great deal from VISTA Print, you might get 250 of these for free. This time round I paid $9.99 for them. As I mentioned before, they've lasted me two years so it is definitely worth the investment.

This year as I'm going on Maternity Leave I decided to make a bunch of labels (in the same design) to stick to the things that belong to me that I will most probably leave behind. Teaching can be quite expensive and I don't really want to buy a lot of these resources again. So for $9.99 I bought 140 labels with my name on it, so that I can mark my belongings (I will be taking a lot of things home too). 

Here's what my labels look like:

It should take about 7 days for them to arrive as I just got standard shipping… but I can't wait! I want this transition into Maternity Leave to be as smooth as possible!

WOW where did the year go?

It seems to be that time of year again where I find myself freaking out about the year ahead and my list of "things to do" keeps growing. 

It has been almost a year since my last post. As you can imagine, the year fills up and you find yourself drowning in various commitments. 2014 was a HUGE year for me. I had a great time teaching Year 5 and I also had a great year personally. I found out in September that I will be expecting a bundle of joy in May 2015 and so my priorities around work and life have shifted dramatically.

I will be going back to work for 2015, however, this time I will only be working for one term. Over the next couple of weeks I will share how I've set up my classroom spending the least amount of money as possible and how I will hand-over my class to someone I haven't even met yet. I want to be kind to this next teacher, but I also don't want to do their whole job for them. It will be a balancing act. BUT I already have a plan and *fingers crossed* it works :)

Like any year it's important to start the year off with a diary. For me, this choice was far harder than usual as I will only be working for one term. I needed a diary that would suit me in my professional and personal life. So this year I decided to go with a kikki.K A4 Weekly Leather Diary. It's a weekly diary (which I love) and it has plenty of space to write down notes and anecdotal comments from the teaching day. There is also a significant amount of space for the weekends (the most important days of the week) and it has monthly planners. Click on the image of the diary to be redirected for the kikki.K website. If you buy from the store, they also throw in a free pen. I LOVE BARGAINS! 

That's it for now… I will be back shortly with MORE amazing Back to School ideas! 

Visual Art

Over the past year, I have been instagramming some of my classroom ideas. I particularly love art so I thought I'd share some of the artworks I have taught to Stage 3. Sometimes it's hard to come up with the ideas... so hopefully this provides you with some inspiration!

Self-Portraits

My class created this artwork this year. It was an artwork that I got them to work on during the first week of school. Firstly they sketched out their portrait, then they transferred their ideas onto canvas and painted. The hardest part was mixing skin colour but as you can see below, they got the hang of it!

Operation Art - Tree

Last year my class created an artwork for the Operation Art competition. For those who don't know about this competition, students can enter an artwork into the competition and if their artwork is chosen, it is displayed at the Art Gallery of NSW. The competition supports Westmead Children's Hospital.

To create this artwork, students sketched a tree onto watercolour paper. Students then painted the background with watercolours. Once the painting was dry, students then painted the tree black and used a permanent marker to neaten up the edges.

One of my students' artwork was chosen to be shown at the Art Gallery.

Vincent Van Gogh

Last year, students in my class were studying Vincent Van Gogh. We then created this fabulous artwork using oil pastels and watered-down paint on art paper. The art lesson was very simple and very effective. Every student was proud of what they had achieved.

ANZAC/ Remembrance Day Cinquains 

In the lead up to ANZAC Day, students wrote cinquains about war. Cinquains are beautiful, short poems. They're simple to write and are very effective. We then published our poems onto a background of poppies. Students then stuck a poppy onto the front, made out of red paper. They made an absolutely stunning display.

Rainforest Animals

Last year we were studying the Rainforest for a HSIE unit. Students created this artwork by researching animals that live in the rainforest. They then printed off their favourite pictures, which were no bigger than a standard photograph (actually most were smaller). Students then sketched out their animal on black paper and once they were happy with it, they coloured it in using chalk pastels. 

Operation Art - Sunset

This was the Operation Art competition artwork that I made in 2012. This year I also had a students' artwork from my class chosen to be shown at the Art Gallery.

To make this artwork we used watercolour paints on watercolour paper. It's a very simple art lesson with a brilliant result.

Operation Art - Australian Landscape

This is yet another Operation Art competition submission. This was from 2011. We were reading 'Home to Mother' (the children's version of Rabbit Proof Fence) and tried to replicate the rabbit proof fence. For this artwork we used chalk pastels and chalk pastel pencils on pastel paper. It's a bit of a costly artwork but it is so beautiful!

This was the first year that I had my class work on an artwork for the Operation Art competition. In 2011 not only did I have a students' artwork shown at the Art Gallery of NSW, we were both invited to the launch and her artwork then went on tour with the other 20 odd artworks around NSW. I was very, very proud!

Gustav Klimt

We were studying Gustav Klimt and so we made our own interpretation of the Tree of Knowledge. Don't they look fantastic? We sketched out the trees on black paper, and then painted the tree using gold paint. Students then touched up their tree and added simple designs using metallic gel pens. It was a little bit fiddly when painting, but students quickly got the hang of it.

I've since taught this artwork again and again.

Back to school BLISS!

The first week of school has come and gone. The students in my class have begun to settle in and routines are being set. 

I began the year with a letter writing activity (which I highly recommend!!). I wrote a letter to the students in my class, introducing myself and telling them about my holidays. I placed each letter into an envelope and had it waiting on their desks for them. Next to the letter was a piece of paper and an envelope. We read through the letter that I wrote together, and then students had to write a letter back to me. Some of them were beautiful. It was a great way to get to know my students more whilst also assess their writing.

The chair pockets have been an absolute hit! The students in my class love them and they've already been put to good use.

It's always important to have a stash of paper towel, tissues and soap handy. I have been storing away all of the bits and pieces that students bring in so that it lasts!

2014... the year of organisation and being reasonably stress-free!

I hope you had an excellent start back to the new year. Would love to know how it all went and what great ideas you came up with. Feel free to share below in the comment section.

Some of my 2014 Classroom Set-Up Ideas

Here are some of my Classroom Set-Up Ideas for 2014!

Back Corner:

1. Street Sign

My husband and I made this for an 'Out of this World' youth camp at Luntanda, Mt Victoria. I fell in love with it and I just had to bring it to school. The street sign points to places such as: Hogwarts, The Enchanted Forest, Middle Earth, Hundred Acre Wood, etc.

2. Cupboard

My cupboard is still a work in progress. I have SIX tote trays for students work books. I have another tray that I will use to collect work to be marked. The draws to the left contain coloured paper, scrap paper and bits and pieces.

Literacy Station/ Stationery Station:

1. Literacy Station

I bought these tubs last year for about $20 and they've paid for themselves (check out my Literacy Groups post for more details). I have a tub for each one of my Literacy Groups and a couple of spares... I've already begun to think of things to fill them with.

2. Stationery Station

On the top of the tubs, I have the 'Stationery Station'. I have found some cute containers that house rules, pens, pencils and scissors. I also have a large eraser that students can borrow and a sharpener.

The idea of this station is that everything is like a Boomerang... meaning that it comes straight back. I find that I usually have to replace the stationery every term (sometimes more often). However, it is nice to know there is NO EXCUSE for not doing work in my class!

On My Desk:

1. How I store my stickers

I don't know what made me thing of this... but I've had this for about a year now and it has been really helpful. 

I picked up a travel wallet from Typo for a couple of bucks and I use the wallet to store my stickers. Travel wallets usually come with dividers, so I use the dividers to sort my stickers... I sort them by way of size. I also put a pen and post-it notes in the wallet so that I have everything I need to mark books.

2. Magnetic Tape

Seriously, this stuff is amazing! It's just like a roll of sticky tape, except the tape is magnetic. This means you can tear off a strip and place on the back of a laminated card, then you can magnetically stick it to a whiteboard. Genius!!

I make sure I have some in my draw AT ALL TIMES. 

I pick my magnetic tape up from OfficeWorks and it's usually around $5. This is a must have!

I hope you have found these ideas to be useful! Remember you can always find PLENTY of ideas on Pinterest. Why not follow me?

http://www.pinterest.com/rasellen/

HOW TO MAKE Chair Pockets

I have always wanted to make these but have never had the chance... more like didn't know how to make them! However, they were super easy to make. I have included the dimensions and step by step instructions below.

Instructions:

1. Measure the dimensions of your chair (width, length and depth of pocket) - my measurements were 100cm x 50cm (the pocket was 28cm deep and the sleeve over the chair was also 28cm deep... the rest of the length was made up of seam allowances and the section that joins the pocket to the sleeve)
2. Choose your material - possibly the hardest step. I bought my material from Spotlight during a special. I got all of my material for $60... which I think it a bargain.
3. Measure twice, cut once - measure out your pattern and then cut it out.
4. Pin the hem and sew (refer to image below)
5. Pin the pocket and sleeve (refer to image below)
6. Sew down the sides of the material (which is in thirds)
7. Turn the sleeve in the right way (pocket will already be turned in the right way)
8. Hang over chair!

I'm not an expert at sewing... actually I'm not very good at all. Yet I was able to make the Chair Pockets... In fact once I got into a routine, it was only taking me about 15 minutes to make each one.

$60 and a day of sewing... well worth it I think!

More Back to School ideas to come!

Blogs to Watch!

I've compiled a list of blogs/ websites that I think are worth following. 

Some people have some AMAZING ideas out there... so rather than reinventing the wheel each time, check out some of these brilliant teachers and their great ideas...

In no particular order:

1. Omnipotent Particle Theory - One of my favs! Cory McDonald has put together some amazing FREEBIES around 'Habits of Mind'. He also has some great ideas with how to further use Class Dojo in the classroom.
2. Science Notebooking - SO MANY amazing ideas! I could spend hours just flicking through all of the posts and getting inspiration!
3. That's So Second Grade - I'm not a Year 2 teacher, however, Ashley Pennell is one organised teacher. I have gotten so many great ideas from her blog... but let me just say one thing... I have no idea how she does it!
4. The Autism Helper. - We all have students from time-to-time who have particular needs. This blog is jam-packed with amazing teaching ideas, in particular, ideas that will benefit students with disabilities. You MUST check this one out!
5. Pink and Green Mama - This is actually a blog written by a stay at home mother. She is a trained art teacher and she has tonnes of amazing ideas. Absolutely brilliant.
6. The School Supply Addict - A great all-round blog. However, the blog has amazing themes and ideas for how to set up your classroom. Here is the direct link for classroom set ups: http://www.theschoolsupplyaddict.com/room-setup.html
7. Teacher Bits and Bobs - Another great all-rounder blog. This one also has great FREEBIES!
8. A Teacher's Treasure - A great blog with brilliant ideas and lots of FREEBIES. I particularly like her back-to-school posts. I will be using some of her ideas, particularly the 'Welcome Back Goodie Bag'.
9. The Nest Effect - I have been referring to this blog for a couple of years now. Tiffany has heaps of great ideas, especially around motivation and rewards. Since browsing her blog, I now have a slight addiction to Vista Print. Tiffany prints business cards and uses them as little motivations for students to aim for. Absolutely brilliant. Here's a direct link to motivations and rewards: http://www.thenesteffect.com/2012/03/motivation-rewards-in-my-classroom.html

And while you're checking out these great blogs... why not look around mine? 

OR check out my Pinterest boards: http://www.pinterest.com/rasellen/

I hope these blogs have been helpful!