Today went fast. Tomorrow is our Year 3/4 camp, so we spent the day sewing camp head-bands & answering six million questions about: the food, the cabins, free-time activities, when is a good time to read books at camp (my kids are such nerds :) ), lollies and... "when you said that we aren't allowed to bring DSes (plural of nintendo DS) to camp, can we bring them for the bus ride there and then put them away when we get there?" um...no.
Both of my favourite stories of the day relate to one of my little boys with Asperger's. He is a tad anxious about camp. This morning he handed me 5 envelopes, each labelled "About Camp" and included the following messages:
Miss F, I think camp is dangerous. from C
Miss F, The quad bikes are dangerous. From C
Miss F, Camp is very dangerous and I am worried about camp. From C
Miss F, Please help me! From C
Miss F, I think I might be able to go to camp. From C
Too cute! We looked at the pictures of camp again & talked about all the safety features of the high ropes and quad bikes.
As he was leaving class this afternoon he was still anxious about tomorrow & asked for my phone number. Thinking his mum might want to chat to me tonight I gave him my numbers which I don't normally do. By the time I got to the staffroom after school I had already missed 2 calls from him.
I called him back & our conversation went something like this...
C: I have decided that I am not going to come to camp.
Me: Why's that? It's going to be so fun! You don't want to miss out...
C: Well the high-ropes is very dangerous, I might bump my head on a pole or a tree or I could crash onto the ground.
Me: Remember when we looked at the pictures of the high ropes? You have to wear a helmet and you'll have a special harness so you won't fall! It's very safe!
C: Well the quad bikes might flip over...it's very dangerous
Me: You are good at riding a motor bike! A quad bike is just like that, but has 4 wheels so it's even safer! And you wear a helmet...
His mum interrupted, took the phone & told me that he would definitely be coming to camp, he is actually very confident with heights & rides a motor bike often. She's convinced that he is going to be fine.
He took the phone back...
C: Well I'm just getting ready for my afternoon nap, I usually have a nap in the afternoon...
His mum (in the background): You do not! Stop making up stories! Say goodbye to Miss F!
C: Oh I need to go now. bye.
I'm sure I'll have some great stories from camp! My kids are so fun!
After school I had lovely afternoon tea with 2 amazing friends. I love catch ups and also iced chocolates.
My day changed at 6pm. Just as I was leaving my house to go to band practice, my neighbour R, who I haven't seen in at least 6 months, popped in. He had just been to my other neighbour's house (they are technically on either side of my house, but their properties meet behind mine). This visit was VERY out of character because they have been enemies since 1968. Well... he had gone to visit to pay his condolences. Blue died today. Lovely old Blue who mows my lawns, cuts down my dead trees & brings in my garbage bins is dead. R told me that he had been climbing a ladder down near his chook pen and fell... to his death.
I don't know how I feel. Mostly I am regretting not spending more time with them, Blue & his wife. There's always something else to do. The last time I saw him was last Saturday as I was hanging out my washing, he was walking through his yard. He didn't notice me. I should've called out & said hi & taken a moment to chat about how things were on their side of the fence (and listened as he told me what I should do to neaten up my back yard as he usually would). But I didn't. I just hung out my clothes and went back into my house.
I wonder if you ever feel like you've done enough when someone dies.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
The classroom with the water-feature
Today was exhausting. It was a mufti (out of uniform) day, it was a wet day & it was also the last day in a SUPER busy week. However, (my boss would be so proud of my 'full-stop capital h however comma') there was an amusing situation which made up for at least a portion of the craziness... yet also added to it.
When Katrina and I were walking down to class this morning we noticed that every other class was lined up on their verandah except ours (which was highly unusual, since we have the super good kids)... we just assumed that being out of uniform had turned them feral & prepared to lecture them about being in the right place as so on.
It wasn't till we got really close that one of our boys ran up and said "there's water!" We then saw that the bark-chip pile next to our classroom had sprung a leak... the grounds-keeper had hit a pipe while he was trying to move the bark-chip. The water was not just trickling down the hill to kindy, it was arching up at least 2 metres, over the railing and onto our verandah, preventing the kids from getting close to the door. Since the water was spurting from underneath a bark-chip pile it was also "hailing" bark-chip on our doorstep. We had a layer of bark-chip covering almost 2 square metres outside our room, which of course got trekked into the classroom once I managed to brave the fountain & usher the kids inside.
Crazy start to the day, but makes for a good story.
When Katrina and I were walking down to class this morning we noticed that every other class was lined up on their verandah except ours (which was highly unusual, since we have the super good kids)... we just assumed that being out of uniform had turned them feral & prepared to lecture them about being in the right place as so on.
It wasn't till we got really close that one of our boys ran up and said "there's water!" We then saw that the bark-chip pile next to our classroom had sprung a leak... the grounds-keeper had hit a pipe while he was trying to move the bark-chip. The water was not just trickling down the hill to kindy, it was arching up at least 2 metres, over the railing and onto our verandah, preventing the kids from getting close to the door. Since the water was spurting from underneath a bark-chip pile it was also "hailing" bark-chip on our doorstep. We had a layer of bark-chip covering almost 2 square metres outside our room, which of course got trekked into the classroom once I managed to brave the fountain & usher the kids inside.
Crazy start to the day, but makes for a good story.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Everyone Else Strategy
Today we had a few minutes to spare after maths so I was going through some times table flash-cards with my kids. When we came to hard ones I got kids to explain the strategies they used to figure it out. I was really impressed with the strategies they explained (like "if it's 12x3 I know 11x3=33 so I just add 3 more").
My favourite was the 'everyone else strategy' that one of my Year 4 boys explained..."If I don't know the answer I use the 'everyone else strategy'... I just wait till everyone else has answered the question then I just join in." He soon gave us a demonstration when I flashed "4x7" at them. He sat with a deep look of concentration on his face, thumb and first finger on his chin and repeated "Using the everyone else strategy..." until the rest of the class chimed in with "28", he then quickly added his "28" on the end. My aide and I cracked! I couldn't keep a straight face, there ended the lesson! I love the original explanation of a tactic so many kids use! (I may just need to work on developing a few more strategies that don't involve cheating :) ).
How often do we, even as 'grown ups' use the "everybody else strategy" to gauge what we're meant to say and do? To make sure we've got the "correct answer"... hmm. This morning in our staff devotions we discussed how real fulfillment, energy and even rest comes when we are doing what God has called us & equipped us to do. If we spend too much time trying to fit in with what works for everyone else, we might miss our own calling, or spend our time being jealous of people who have what we think we should have, rather than using what we have to glorify God where we are. This has been on my mind for a while, but I love the reminder. (I'm also loving reading Deuteronomy, but that's another story) My kids teach me so much!
My favourite was the 'everyone else strategy' that one of my Year 4 boys explained..."If I don't know the answer I use the 'everyone else strategy'... I just wait till everyone else has answered the question then I just join in." He soon gave us a demonstration when I flashed "4x7" at them. He sat with a deep look of concentration on his face, thumb and first finger on his chin and repeated "Using the everyone else strategy..." until the rest of the class chimed in with "28", he then quickly added his "28" on the end. My aide and I cracked! I couldn't keep a straight face, there ended the lesson! I love the original explanation of a tactic so many kids use! (I may just need to work on developing a few more strategies that don't involve cheating :) ).
How often do we, even as 'grown ups' use the "everybody else strategy" to gauge what we're meant to say and do? To make sure we've got the "correct answer"... hmm. This morning in our staff devotions we discussed how real fulfillment, energy and even rest comes when we are doing what God has called us & equipped us to do. If we spend too much time trying to fit in with what works for everyone else, we might miss our own calling, or spend our time being jealous of people who have what we think we should have, rather than using what we have to glorify God where we are. This has been on my mind for a while, but I love the reminder. (I'm also loving reading Deuteronomy, but that's another story) My kids teach me so much!
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