I read this Article which pulls apart how teachers teach learning to read. This is not just relevant to America, it even mentions Marie Clay who was an important part of what we learnt at teachers college – the horrible running records. I was taught to teach the “three cueing” method. When I was a nanny in…
Tag: independence
The perfect egg
I was listening to Catherine Ryan (Radio NZ) talking to a man about how to tell which kids will succeed, he was talking about testing, but it’s all about what they do when they fail, how they react to failure, what they do with the questions they get wrong. I was also discussing with a…
“promoting inclusive practices to support the needs and abilities of all learners.”
As in “I will work in the best interests of learners by:” This is one of the things I have to do it’s in OUR CODE. I am refreshing my teaching qualification. It’s free because teaching is a mugs game. There are 4 values 17 Commitments And 6 Standards. And I have to assess my…
Watching Tv
We are soooo tried, I’ve hardly slept! I’m so tired, we NEED to watch TV (accompanied by some over the top acting ) Mummy? Of course I say “er NO” leading to foot stamping and complaining. How there isn’t anything else to do, really there isn’t. So her friend and I start a game of…
When a holiday programme is school
I really like the holiday programme I’m involved in. It’s how I think school should work… we have but three rules. Respect yourself and others. Respect our environment and equipment Respect play Aka the playcentre ‘rules’ which cover everything from going to the loo, keeping warm, staying inside the cones (boundary), saws, games, not being…
To sport or not to sport?
The Steiner schools think sport is for exercise, health, agilty and enjoyment and competitiveness isn’t encouraged except against one’s self. Montessori schools de-emphasise competitiveness and encourage cooperation. Why? There is a certain pleasure in having rules as defined by someone else governing your game, an abdication of responsibility and it’s easy. For me this pleasure…
She’s gone…
well it had to happen… Saturday 9th of March Helena finished a whole chapter book in the morning, in one sitting, from beginning to end. She was pretty pleased with herself. She told me the plot but only because I asked… I guess I will have a part-time child. I wonder when I’ll be supplying…
THE swimming lessons
So for Helena’s birthday I gave her swimming lessons. They were for 20 mins a day for two weeks. I was nervous as I didn’t feel she was the ‘good beginner’ that I signed her up for – the head under the water thing was still somewhat daunting for her. The first lesson she cried……
Geometry by choice..
We ordered a geometry pack with the homeschool toy library. There weren’t enough squares, can you spot the one she made? They are quilts for a Silvanian family. Helena wanted to turn them into real quilts of course but that’s a LOT of cutting and sewing as well as a lot of space for error….
play, real life or just work?
Aren’t they all the same? Context: Last week she was waiting for a friend to arrive, due at 2pm and it’s 9am… long time right. She’s at a loss so I chuck “busy work” at her, in this case a maths book with questions and pictures that she can write in. We sit at the…
homeschoolery 