Month: January 2017

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LISTENING TO THE LAND

Lush Australia landscape with tree and water

I listened to a radio program today (a repeat) about Aussies trying to understand the concept of COUNTRY and an Anglican Priest talked about how she is trying to “listen to the land.”

That got me thinking. She emphasised, “Don’t grasp at it! Just let it talk to you.”

http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2016/07/sot_20160731.mp3

Could this become a common practice for us and for children? Could we walk mindfully on this ancient land and learn deep listening of the land? Are we still capable?

Sarah (the priest) describes staring at a tree for a long time to really KNOW that tree. What might that feel like? Imagine slowing down like that every day. How might that change us? How might that affect children?

If we could walk like this without phones or noise or headphones, might we come to understand just a tiny bit of what COUNTRY really means to Indigenous Australians.

Probably won’t happen- but what a wonderful thing for all Aussies to do today, this week or soon- walk lightly on this great land and listen with our whole being. It might teach us to go forward with more understanding of what it could really mean to be an Australian. It might also help us understand and gain a new respect for the traditional owners of this land.

I have occasionally encouraged children to stare at and carefully copy real plants, looking closely at every detail and as the concentration deepened you could have heard a pin drop. These relatively young kids slowed down, focused and were so easy to teach after this 10 minute exercise. I wonder if mindful walking or even just mindful gazing at a tree might have the same effect?

I’ll find out tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

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Teach only with love

Kindergarten teacher reading to children in library, girl lookinI decided to leave our Christmas decorations up until January 28th as I LOVE them and I figure I was away for a bit of December and this month so deserve a bit more!

I have not had enough of my “dreaming under the Christmas tree” time and my looking into the lit tree and imagining other worlds.

I want this year to be a year of going slowly enough to really notice what is happening- really deeply in all ways.

I have been kid-watching and teacher-watching this month and reflecting deeply on the REAL needs of kids. (And teachers!)

As I watched our teachers run EQ4KIDZ, BOOST, ART FROM THE HEART and YOUNG SCIENTISTS I noticed common threads.

It was all about CONNECTIONS and RELATIONSHIPS. As the kids bonded with teachers work improved. As teachers got to know their students their teaching methods became more precise, levels of humour increased and lesson enjoyment for both pupils and teachers increased!

As we begin our academic year and have our first staff meeting I want to posit that RELATIONSHIPS and love of children must come first.

TEACH ONLY WITH LOVE will be our mantra this year.

Love comes before the worksheets, teaching techniques, expensive resources. Teaching delivered with love is the way.

Teachers will never be replaced by machines. Teachers can love and love will always lead to higher results.

I declare this to be a year of unhurried, deep, effective teaching and lots of extended celebrations!

 

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KIDS LOVE SCIENCE!

A schoolboy in a science classI am busy choosing our themes and experiments for SUPER SCIENCE SATURDAYS and enjoying imagining the enjoyment of children as they engage in the curiosity raising activities planned.

I was sad to note that Aussie kids are said to be behind in the global science scales. Really?

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/wakeup-call-australian-students-fall-behind-kazakhstan-in-maths-and-science-rankings-20161129-gszvt1.html

I have taught science for many years as part of our primary curriculum and rarely met a child who does not enjoy it. All children are curious about the natural world and naturally generate intelligent questions. So why would this be happening?

Is this measurement system really measuring science attainment and understanding or is it just measuring the ability to regurgitate formulae and facts?

We harness this huge interest in our Super Science Saturday programs by using science as a driver for all literacy and numeracy. E.g. A plan for a unit might start messy like this and gradually move science-blogto a more formal plan with details of the experiments, resources needed etc. I like the kids to suggest future learning activities. They LOVE to have some input!

The thing is- kids have an intrinsic interest in this area so any maths/literacy lessons with science themes are bound to be winners!

 

 

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The A-Z of Child Whispering: P is for PANIC

anxious-child

At this time of year most children in Australia are relaxed and enjoying sun-filled holidays but of course in only a few weeks the big, dark questions begin to emerge-

Who will my teacher be?

Will I do well this year?

What about NAPLAN?

Mum is broke and stressing- will I be able to get my books and uniform?

What if I don’t have any friends in my class?

This is my first year of high-school. I don’t even know where the toilets are and I get lost easily. How will I cope?

I am starting school. I am so scared. Why can’t Mum stay?

The fears build and many parents also begin to stress about school fees, books, shoes etc.

What should be a joyful school year beginning – a clean page of life – a chance to improve, grow and transform, is often turned into a gut-wrenching, anxious and even panic filled time.

Children (and adults) do not concentrate or do well academically when panicked and so it is important to apply a few measures to calm and reassure children.

  • Try not to share too many worries with children. They don’t understand and often become anxious and panicky. Of course, it’s fine to tell them the family has overspent and needs to cut back but if they see you really anxious every day they pick that up and make that part of their personality. They start to mirror your anxiety and cannot function well in the important first term.
  • Start to cut back on late nights and too much digital media in the last 10 days before school goes back and get the kids reading again! Maybe establish a family reading time for 20-25 mins each day. Just play quiet music in the background and everyone grabs a cushion and book. The rule is NO TALKING but at end you might have some brief discussions about what was read. Very young children may only be able to cope with 10-15 mins.
  • Encourage your children to draw or write about their feelings as they prepare to go back to school. Talk to them about their worries and share some of the concerns you used to have as a child.
  • Reassure them they will make friends and learn to find their way around quickly if they are entering a new environment.
  • Ask them to help you plan lunches, get their organisers/diaries ready and help them choose after school activities carefully. Make sure they will have time for rest and play so that they can have down-time.

This can be a joyous and enriching time. Relax, take a deep breath and enjoy the last days of fun and preparation for a great school year.

I wish you and your children a wonderful year, filled with learning, fun, beauty and love!

If you have any questions relating to beginning the school year, please do email me at victoriacarlton@iinet.net.au and I promise to answer!

We have special classes to help children settle in to grade 1 as well as targeted tuition for all age groups – group, individual and skype. Call 92714200 for more info.

 

 

 

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A safety net of love and understanding

130514_dkidgirlwallclimbing

At Church today the Pastor talked to us about how God’s love provides a safety net for us and enables us to move forward with confidence knowing we are loved and cared for so fully.

Alison told us that when the Golden Gate Bridge was built, a safety net was put in place, allowing the workers to move about more confidently and safely while incidentally increasing productivity.

This made me think about children in our classes. When children know they are loved and safe to take risks, try new learning techniques and learn from mistakes, test scores and academic performances improve. To put it simply: Happy, supported children learn more.

The safety net that can be built in all educational environments needs to emulate a healthy home environment. Children must know they are loved and safe and not all expected to achieve at the same rates. Without this safety net children will just take the safe path and not take any risks with learning and this means they will not be giving of their best.

A truly high quality system will always encourage students to “stretch” their intellects and go for gold- even if they fall down sometimes. The safety net of love and encouragement will help students stand up quickly, improve their “bounce factor” and learn from their mistakes.

So how do we weave such a safety net? To my mind these factors are crucial:

  • Teachers need to LOVE their students- not in a soppy meaningless way but in a way that respects children and understands that kids make mistakes- they are after all LEARNERS!
  • Teachers with challenging students need real assistance to be able to provide that loving safety net as there are always kids who try the patience of even the most loving and understanding educator.
  • Teachers themselves need a loving safety net of respect and understanding from their admin teams who in turn need it from their departments. Teachers who are not free to try our new techniques and whose only concern is to get kids to pass tests will NEVER get the best academic results from their students. Fear is a very poor teacher.

A loving safety net to help all students feel cared for, respected and affirmed could absolutely transform all education environments- and lift education standards without the pressure and cajoling that occurs so often.

We notice how often children who do our EQ4KIDZ course surprisingly get higher academic results. We really should not have been surprised, given the strong correlation between self esteem and successful learning.

Thanks Alison Gilchrist for your sermon today! I’m going to check our safety net for International Centre for Excellence and make sure there are no weak spots!

 

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