Tuesday, August 28, 2012

I Have A "No-Kill" Policy ...



Yup, you heard me right.

I found a dog.

He's 12 years old. Ex-breeding stud perhaps? Desexed and given away apparently a year ago by the breeder (apparently) ... Breeder hasnt updated the details ...

His "new" owners haven't come forward ...

I found him running in traffic in the rain, following a thunder storm ...

He's underweight, has fleas, toe nails too long, a few patches of dermatitis (I'm so hoping NOT mange) ...

I can't save all the animals in the world even though I want to.

I can save this one.

I'll have a "no intervention" policy ... I'll feed him and house him and play with him and just wait and see while I still look for his owners ...

I'd be so disappointed in myself if I took him to the pound where they'd put him down. Who would want a 12 year old arthritic dog? Not many, if any.

My dog beats him up though. Something to work on. Dog whispering skills to learn.

I have a no kill policy ... because to give him up, would be to let him die, and I wouldn't be able to hold my head up, look myself in the mirror, or sleep with a dry pillow.

I've been saving creatures since I was a child and as far as I'm concerned its clearly in my nature.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Small Achievements

Started today w/ a take away latte and the dog park ...it was such a beautiful cruisey kind of morning ...

I am so glad I work close to home now so I've got a really great work/life balance and minimal travel. Better for my hip-pocket, my car, my sanity, the environment.

As I was pondering life (I had a very relfective weekend) and looking at the blue sky, white clouds ... I noticed the possibilities in the grass ... There were so many possible wishes ...

I made one ...

And during the day I managed small things. Many small things. Sometimes the small things add up to big steps ...

(c) Teachers Ink.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Creative w/ Natural Provisions


Jazz things up with some natural bling!







Reflections: Before & After

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER!!!
I took photos. I can’t share them. I’m sorry. BUT I can tell you how much of a difference I can see. It’s important to take photos I think ... how else do you know how far you’ve come? Your mind will quickly forget what things looked like before ...

I have shared them with my team and it really brought home to them just how far we have come in a couple of months. I put them into a PDF document with before at the top, and then after at the bottom showing the same spaces, with 3 or so photos of each space ... I started with the office and the foyer ... and when I am happy with the children’s rooms, then I will do the same and shock them! Zaaaaaaaaaaaaap!
I wanted to tidy things up in the office and the foyer ... those spaces are after all the face and the "brain" of the business ... people will judge your service based upon what they initially see. And if what they see doesn't represent "business" and "professional" then you might lose them ...
I somewhat have a vision of where I want this service to go ... and I am limited by time (at least at this point I am) ... So, I am under pressure to be a manager and a mentor and an educational leader as well as an innovator! So many things! I feel though, that I am starting to get somewhere with it, which is great ... and the photos help me to remember where I started, remind me of where I'd like to see this "show" go, and give me inspiration to keep going, to keep moving forward!
We've been getting awesome feedback from families and its been really encouraging!
Do you take before and afters?
It really helps you to reflect on what was before, what you’ve got going on now, and where you might like to go ...
That is afterall what they are promoting in the EYLF isn’t it? The distance travelled? I think that we need to show our distance, not just the childrens’ ... I've written about this before - how its important to save copies of your written work ... I am constantly amazed as I look back at my work from 2009 and compare it to what I am doing now ... There is an obvious distance travelled there! And through reflection, I've been able to grow and evolve and demonstrate to my team as well - which makes me more human and accessible rather than just  the "manager" or "educational leader" who is telling them what to do ...
So... go take some photos!  

Monday, August 6, 2012

Starting From Scratch ...

I'm starting from scratch ... and I'm ruffling feathers ... I might write about this for publishing at a later date ... But I will focus on my work as a teacher and educational leader for this blog!

What I have been working on is a planning cycle ... The NQS says (and correct me if I'm wrong, or something somewhere says, but I'm too tired and weary to look it up, so just pretend we both know what I'm talking about, and that I'm right!) we need to have a cycle ... so I'm drawing up a cycle ... and in that cycle I have arrows that indicate link from one aspect to another  ... A cycle that is clear to understand and can be easily seen on a bulletin board ... I won't put up a "program" so to speak, but I can have a cycle with a link to possibilities!

I'm working in supporting staff to link the daily reflections to the children's portfolios (or journals) ... and then I'm trying to support staff in writing the links from yesterday's events with today's events and then think about where we might go for tomorrow. I'm also encouraging instead of saying LOC 1.2.3 or some such secret code, that we use the words and terminology of the EYLF without being arrogant and elitist about it ... We need to be understood by parents and the community!

I mean it's well and good to know in my head how everything will look ... but how will it look to others?

Being an educational leader is challenging especially when you are trying to not only lead a preschool team, but a whole service as well! What was I thinking??!?!?! I know the challenges will pay off eventually ... its just so exhausting!

Speaking of exhausting, I have a new awesome padded mattress overlay that I really must go and reaquaint myself with quicksmart!

Been lovely seeing you again!

XoXo

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Taking A Pause ...

 
New Camera

+

New Job

=

Crazy Hectic Busy Time!

I've got a new job which is going to draw my atteniton away for a wee while ... I have so much on my plate with this new position and I have to focus on this in order to get the ball rolling in the direction I want it to go! On the Bright-Side I'm doing heaps of reflecting and practice honing!

 I also have a shiny new awesome camera and I am totally going to be using it to create stuff for this blog!

So MANY ideas! I just lack time right now ...

I will be hovering and pondering and I shall return!




Saturday, June 30, 2012

Portfolio Ponderings ...


I was flipping through some portfolios at a service I was working in and I made some observations:

Firstly, the portfolios looked the same. There were a few differences, but for the most part, they were copies of group observations all put into the children’s individual books. And by differences I mean, there might have been one or two entries that I could see that were individual – and they were something that the family did, not the services. The other aspects that I noticed were individual were the art works – but they themselves were novelty art (splatter painting etc) which are fun, but really not, in my opinion, a truly artistic practice.  There were no detailed paintings like what my old kids used to create, as the children only had those short fat brushes with only 2 or 3 colour choices.

I read parts of a few of the observations, but they were describing what all the children had done, and there was little or no focus on the individual. I remember years ago working at a service and that was one of the criticisms of some of the educator’s portfolios – little focus on the child/ren, more focus on the larger group or the experience. I believe in a happy medium.

I didn’t bother reading what was written because it was just a narrative. I didn’t even see the educational point of the observation in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, the staff put a great deal of energy and thought into what they were writing, I just didn’t enjoy reading it.
The photos were not very inspiring either – they were photocopies of a print out or the child from a distance. I think that the photos should be really thoughtful – there should be intent behind the image chosen and the child should feature, or the child’s work.  Also, there were so many different boarders themed to whatever the observation was about. It was so visually busy and really detracted from the work of the children.
I know I’m being critical. I’m not questioning their motives or their dedication, merely their focus. It’s easy to make judgements as an outsider, I know this. But I like reflecting upon my own work, as well as others as it encourages me to think and be creative and evolve as a professional. I have also seen some awesome things that have made me feel at a professional loss! I’ve seen some wonderful observations! But this experience of sitting down with the has really led me to think about what I am going to be including in portfolios in the future. I see value in some old practices that I was pushed into doing at a previous service. I can utilise these ideas and weave in more of the EYLF into them...
What do parents and children want to see in the portfolios? The children and their engagement and their relationships!
The children should be a prominent feature in their own portfolio/journal/learning story ...
T.ink
(c) Teacher's Ink. 2012