The last day is here and I am kinda sad, well actually I am very sad! What am I going to do next term? I will miss the professionalism of this group and all the knowledge, fun, challenges and new stuff. Although I can now see time on my hands to go back and re visit all the stuff, treasure, valuable goodness that has been shared....I wonder if I could still get a day off every three weeks to just explore and continue to learn?! Have a feeling there will have to be wine involved in that one!
I enjoyed today's morning focus and the share element of our world. I do enjoy sharing or watching the kids share. There is something special about watching engaged children chatting about an idea you have just given them. The way you can see the cogs in their brains turning over and connections being made, possible one of the true joys in teaching. I have enjoyed watching my confident maths goers share their learnings, especially when their learnings were not what they thought they were going to be. It has been great to watch the less confident mathematician share ideas that have surprised themselves, and the confident ones. One of the biggest wins for me has been the doing the maths talk as a warm up and then getting the children to share their thinking on a slide show. This allowed my to front load, do a bit of explicit teaching, maths discussion and then see the children understanding through their reflections...oh and it ticked the blog box! My kids are very fast at blogging now too! Here are some examples...I will work on embedding!
No I have lost my chain of thought! been a bad day for technology - I was late arriving due to having to talk to boys about using a toilet - they are like ten - what is that about?! And I couldn't get into the breakout spaces, then my mic for the google vids won't work and now I can't work out how to embed a couple of my maths talk slide shows. Must be go drink a gin time.
I have taken away a lot of great things from this time, (planning, maths talk, digital activities, AI games that I created, TIP charts, curriculum knowledge, sharing, misconceptions, maths is everywhere all the time) and am sad to see it come to an end. I am looking forward to continuing to grow as a teacher, especially when it comes to maths and feel an passion not to give it up next year. I am bidding farewell to some of my other responsibilities - I haven't told my boss that yet so let's keep that between ourselves - so I can make maths, my class programme and the team I look after my priority. I think there is too much here to just let go of and move on, I want to keep the momentum in my mind set going. Maybe I will even keep blogging....
Thank you ladies!
Kia ora Libby,
ReplyDeleteYou have been an absolute star when it comes to maths and you've taken on the mantra of maths for you kura. I have loved every conversation we've had about maths, even if it wasn't as consistent as we would have liked.
I promise I won't share your secret. I think if it means you can give more to something you are passionate about then it should be all good. Unless you are leaving, and then I'll be super sad.
You are an amazing kaiako Libby and I know this 9 weeks has sparked a renewed love of teaching and maths. Your passion really comes through in everything you do.
Don't lose this and try and find some moments next term to reflect on the things you've gained. Make sure wine or gin are involved!
:) Sharon
Kia ora Libby,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful, heartfelt reflection! I’m also sad that our fantastic MPI group won’t be meeting next term... We missed you at the sharing time at the start, so it was fantastic to have you join for the day. Your passion for maths and your tamariki was evident throughout the programme. I loved reading about how much you enjoy seeing your students think, share and even surprise themselves - I can almost see the sparks in their eyes and their growing confidence as mathematicians:) Your students’ successes, big and small, are all credit to you!
We’re so proud of you for sharing great practice and your MPI learning with the wider community - ka pai for presenting at the symposium! Keep learning, creating and sharing, making maths engaging and exciting for your akonga and other teachers. And remember, we’re always here if you want to chat ideas, celebrate more wins, or have any questions about maths.
Ngā mihi nui,
Elena