School is out today or tomorrow depending on the school. The students are excited and the teachers are excited and I'm bracing myself for summer.
Summer is good. The sun shines for long hours, it's warm, there are flowers, and it's a great time to drink iced coffee. Summer at work, though, is a bit more challenging. The students are there all day: 10-2 and 4-8. I get a bit of a break in the middle to catch up on stuff. Some centres are open 9-1, 1:30-3:30, and 4-8. I have no idea how they cope with no down time (yes, they get 30 minutes twice a day, but between students who are picked up late and students who leave early, that's not really any time).
So far summer is looking very quiet this year. There aren't a lot of students coming during the early times, which is odd. Usually evenings are quieter. We haven't had a lot of calls about new students yet either; usually that's started by now. It's left us wondering what is happening out there and if we're going to get swamped next week. Usually the first couple weeks of July are wild with testing new students.
I am considering reading comprehension skills for some parents. These would be the ones who haven't returned their summer schedules despite a May 30th deadline, the words "I need the schedule even if your child is keeping the same schedule in the summer" and regular emails. The other parents are the ones who get the schedule and ask to come from 2-4. Is it really to difficult to understand that we're closed then?
Right now we're waiting to see what summer will bring. Will it stay somewhat quiet, or is everyone waiting until the weekend to start calling?
Thursday, 26 June 2014
Sunday, 15 June 2014
Sunday School
Today was the last Sunday School for the year. I finished by giving them their final exam. I don't take it very seriously and they're allowed to work together, use old worksheets, and copy from one another. Basically, I want them to review some key topics and go home with a short recap of the year.
A couple of my boys had most of the worksheets with them (they came prepared this year). They weren't very organized, though, so they ended up with a mess of papers all over the table and everyone searching through to find the right pages! The other teacher and I helped them find the right papers, worked on spelling, and encouraged them to help each other. In the end, almost everyone finished (some students were late and some were slow at writing).
It was interesting to watch. One of the older boys finished his test quickly with some help from the other boys' papers but did not think he should have to help anyone else. He ended up just sitting there doing nothing because I took his test away and gave it to one of the slower students so she could copy his answers. He knew all the answers and could have helped the others, but choose not to. I don't think, in the three years I had him, that I managed to get through to him on this area. He's smart and quick and I haven't been able to teach him about grace and putting others first. I'll keep praying for him.
By now I'm ready for a break from teaching. By September I'll be ready to teach again and very happy to have them back. I'm losing 4 of my boys to the junior/senior high class, but the 3 girls who should move on have asked to stay (two sets of parents are concerned about them being with the older teenagers, and the third girl will stay because there are no other girls moving up).
This summer I need to start preparing for next year. We're going to be studying Acts and the early church.
It's been a good year.
A couple of my boys had most of the worksheets with them (they came prepared this year). They weren't very organized, though, so they ended up with a mess of papers all over the table and everyone searching through to find the right pages! The other teacher and I helped them find the right papers, worked on spelling, and encouraged them to help each other. In the end, almost everyone finished (some students were late and some were slow at writing).
It was interesting to watch. One of the older boys finished his test quickly with some help from the other boys' papers but did not think he should have to help anyone else. He ended up just sitting there doing nothing because I took his test away and gave it to one of the slower students so she could copy his answers. He knew all the answers and could have helped the others, but choose not to. I don't think, in the three years I had him, that I managed to get through to him on this area. He's smart and quick and I haven't been able to teach him about grace and putting others first. I'll keep praying for him.
By now I'm ready for a break from teaching. By September I'll be ready to teach again and very happy to have them back. I'm losing 4 of my boys to the junior/senior high class, but the 3 girls who should move on have asked to stay (two sets of parents are concerned about them being with the older teenagers, and the third girl will stay because there are no other girls moving up).
This summer I need to start preparing for next year. We're going to be studying Acts and the early church.
It's been a good year.
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
What's Up
Okay, I really meant to get back to writing somewhat regularly after school was done. I still plan to. I've just been enjoying not being stressed, not having to write, not having to read specific books within a specific deadline, not having too much to do, and not feeling behind all the time.
In the past month, I've been somewhat busy at work (one day soon I'll tell you about my new responsibilities). I finished writing the Sunday School curriculum, and today I wrote the final exam. I also finished arranging Junior Church for this year. I met with the elder and started planning teacher training and next fall's Sunday School and Junior Church programs.
I've read a lot (still mostly nonfiction, but of my own choice and at my own pace). I've probably spent too much time on the computer, reading stuff and playing games. I finally cleaned the apartment (well, most of it). I bought some plants for my balcony (I choose them based on which ones were prettiest, so they're a mix of pink, purple, red, peach, white, and yellow flowers). I made some banana muffins. I might make more later today (someday I'll post my banana muffin recipe; it's one I got from a friend with slight modifications).
This summer I need to write book reviews for the women's discipleship class at the church, sew a skirt (the material has been cut out for a long time), at least start Sunday School and Junior Church lessons for this fall, and write more.
I'm starting to feel more relaxed and ready to tackle tasks.
In the past month, I've been somewhat busy at work (one day soon I'll tell you about my new responsibilities). I finished writing the Sunday School curriculum, and today I wrote the final exam. I also finished arranging Junior Church for this year. I met with the elder and started planning teacher training and next fall's Sunday School and Junior Church programs.
I've read a lot (still mostly nonfiction, but of my own choice and at my own pace). I've probably spent too much time on the computer, reading stuff and playing games. I finally cleaned the apartment (well, most of it). I bought some plants for my balcony (I choose them based on which ones were prettiest, so they're a mix of pink, purple, red, peach, white, and yellow flowers). I made some banana muffins. I might make more later today (someday I'll post my banana muffin recipe; it's one I got from a friend with slight modifications).
This summer I need to write book reviews for the women's discipleship class at the church, sew a skirt (the material has been cut out for a long time), at least start Sunday School and Junior Church lessons for this fall, and write more.
I'm starting to feel more relaxed and ready to tackle tasks.
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