Wooohooo!!!!!!!

I have been HANGING for this moment! I do love my job, BUT, the last five weeks of the year are just impossible!! So much to do, so little time.

Well the children finished today, so now we just have tomorrow, which involves a quick clean up, a morning tea to farewell staff moving on, and a staff luncheon that will go all afternoon.

All I can say is, Thank Goodness, because I am SHATTERED!!! When I've had a good sleep, I'll get back to you with pics of everything we've been doing lately!

I think I may have created a monster...

With all this spare time on my hands (yeah, right) after completing reports (yahoo!) I have done the silliest thing and started yet ANOTHER blog! What with this general news blog, and my book and film review blogs, and even my half finished art journal blog from last year, AND my voyage into book journalling I didn't really need to create another place to write things. But I am a sucker for creating and writing, and I had a little inspiration from a few blogs around the place, especially Excuse Me Mrs C.

Soooooo, to cut a short story long, I've started a teaching blog. Because really, when it comes down to it, teaching is my career and it is my true talent. And, I have been creating, with the help of the wonderful Shabby Blogs, a groovy looking blog, with a great plan to make it into the ultimate Kindy teaching resource (always reaching for the stars, I know)!

I'll add to it when I can, and maybe, just maybe, it will reach some of the teachers out there who need new ideas and inspiration for the classroom! You will find my infant blog at Happy Little Kids. Come on over!
And then pop over to kootoyoo for more creative spaces!

Madly Working Away...

I know I've been missing in action the last few days, (and I was so proud of myself for posting every day for a moment there) but now I am absolutely swamped in typing up checklists, assessments and comments for school reports.

You won't see much of me for a couple of weeks, I might just lurk around your blogs when I get a few moments for a break!

I quite like the room we have set up as an office (although I wish it was MUCH bigger), but this picture caught my eye when I was looking around for writing inspiration. Mmm, wouldn't mind being cuddled up here, writing my reports (gotta love the beams!)

(image from michaelpollan.com)

See you when I can!
Wendy xxx

Easter Fun at School

The children at Kindy always make an Easter gift for their families, and this year the inspiration for the crafts came from Clever Patch They have an extensive range of craft supplies, and they were quick to send my order. Their site and catalogues have heaps of easy craft ideas too.

The children made these cute chick-in-the-egg cards (with a variety of pastel colours for the spots and card), and they made chick containers to hold chocolates (Cleverpatch use foam for the feet, but I thought these pipecleaner feet were even cuter!) The children made one chocolate for each person in their family. I always love hearing the kids exclaim "Happy Easter!" to their parents, as they run out of the classroom at the end of the term, and hand them their gift.

The kids also made some Easter hats for our end-of-term Easter party. They cut out a pre-drawn cone shape, glued four strips of bright coloured glossy paper on a slant, taped three matching tissue paper streamers at the top, stuck one big sticker in the middle and three at the bottom, and attached some hat elastic with masking tape. Easy and colourful!

We had a game of Duck, Duck, Goose too, but as it is Easter time, we called it Egg, Egg, Easter Bunny! What a barrel of laughs! Hope your Easter preparations are going well!

Christmas Reflections

Oh, it's been a busy time in the Sice house this Christmas season, and there has been no time to blog! So, while I haven't kept you up to date on a daily basis, here is a look back on the Christmas that was...

Jack's class performed a fantastic version of "I've got a feeling" by the Blackeyed Peas, at the school's annual Night with the Stars. I wish I'd managed to video it, because it really was spectacular!

I was so proud of my Kindy class when they danced to ABC by the Jackson Five. That song can go through my head for hours if I think of it! I didn't get a video myself, but one of the parents is going to give me a copy next year.

Gorgeous things - I will miss them!

The Pre-Primary kids went to the Annual North Pole Cafe Breakfast, which is organised by the Education Assistants at our school. It is a huge affair and a pleasure to attend. I take absolutely no credit for it! The rooms looked gorgeous, and the children made their own placemats.

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The Parsons Family sent us some lovely handmade pressies for Christmas! A pretty wall calendar for 2010, some soap, and an adorable advent calendar (which we weren't very good at following, but loved reading through!)

Jack got us up at 5am, Christmas morning. Completely expected that! There was an excited unwrapping of presents and we were all very happy with what we got. There was many a Nerf gun through the house that day, and much vibrating of neck massagers, blenders and electric toothbrushes! I got a great stack of books, and some stunning jewellery and clothes. Can't wait to wear them!
Jonathon prepared a BEAUTIFUL Christmas lunch, that we had with his mum and sister. Thanks for the yummy pavlova Lorraine!

Then we went to Kristie and Dave's house for dinner, and got to cuddle the lovely Lily. Yummy salads and trifle provided by our Mum! Thanks!

Loved this pretty arrangement at Kristie's!

We had our annual Boxing Day barbecue lunch with our friend Richard and his Mum. Thanks for the trifle Betty! (Gotta love trifle!)

And Dad and Jane are coming to visit us today, now that we've all had a chance to recover from the Christmas rush!

Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful pressies and Christmas cards! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Happy Halloween!!

Halloween was pretty low key for us this year; there are not many kids in our street, and Jack didn't feel like getting dressed up.

Here is a shot of Jack dressed as Hellboy from last year. (Blurry I know, but actually it makes the costume look better!)

Hope you all had a Happy Halloweeeeeeeen!

Wizard of Oz drawings

Aaah, tricked you! You thought they were going to be my drawings, but actually I couldn't resist showing you the Wizard of Oz drawings that my Pre-Primary kids made. We watched some of the DVD one day when it was raining, and then I asked them to draw pictures of each of the four main characters, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the Lion. Here are some of their beautiful creations:

Just adorable!

Pinwheels

The Pre-Primary kids made HUGE pinwheels at school. 

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

I just read a great book that has some timeless ideas to help your family, friends, those you work with, or children in your care to work together in harmony.

Steven Covey names the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. They are:

Be Proactive - Take initiative. Don't blame others for your actions. Be good, even when no one is looking.

Begin with the end in mind - Plan ahead and set goals. Do things that make a difference. Be a good citizen.

Put first things first - Do the have-tos, then the want-tos. Be disciplined and organised.

Think win-win - Balance getting what you want with what others want. Look for a third alternative.

Seek first to understand, then to be understood - Listen to other people's ideas and feelings without interrupting. Look people in the eyes when talking.

Synergise - Value other people's strengths and learn from them. Team with others to create better solutions for problems. Be humble.

Sharpen the Saw - Take care of your body by eating right, exercising, and getting sleep. Spend time with family and friends. Find meaningful ways to help others.


Most of us, probably do most of these things. Just reading it a different way can remind us to keep these things happening in our day to day lives. Food for thought!