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Classroom Pet Peeves

One of my biggest pet peeves in class has always been tardiness. Sometimes that gets to  me even more than the noise the kids make, especially since the noise in class is often a sign of them just having fun in my class. But coming in late??? Grrr. Gets to  me all the time.

However lately there is a new pet peeve that gets to me: taking photos in class. No, I’m not just talking about photos of my power points taken with their phone cameras, but in one of my classes, during group activities, they even take out their canon slr cameras to take photos of themselves while working. GRRRR. And yes, I have given A LOT of warnings about it.

But yeah, the taking photos of my notes, that gets me too. Hay. Teacher rants. Bow.

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Seasons Change

It’s just about that time of the year again that the seasons change and as always, as the rains come in, school days are once again compromised. We may not need to drag out tire chains and shovels because there is no snow here in the Philippines, but the change of the weather does bring so much disruption to classes and work alike. Just last week we found ourselves caught in a lot of weather disturbances and classes were canceled quite a bit. While there really isn’t much we can do about the weather, there are some things we can do to keep up pace with the changes. For one, in my class I have set up yahoogroups so we can disseminate information better. I also try to give readings in advance so even if classes get suspended, we can have our materials ready.

What strategies do you use to maximize class time given the potential for suspensions? Do share

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Teacher Says Thank You…

To all the teachers who have come my way, both inside and outside of the four walls of the classroom.

To all the teachers who, at one point or another, picked me up by my boots and helped me get back on my feet

To all the teachers who patiently waited until I got it right, and those who, when the need arose, pushed me to the limit just to prove I can do it after all

To all the teachers who taught me what life is all about

Thank you.

Thank you for teaching me more than just my ABC’s

Thank you for showing me that what really counts goes beyond just 123

Thank you for being patient with me when I make mistakes

Thank you for not just bearing with but also accepting the difficulties and flaws I came with

Thank you for loving your job even when it was unlovable,

more so thank you for loving the things that came with the job, even when it was hard

Thank you too, for loving students like me, who may not always be easy to love, nor deserve it for that matter

Thank you for inspiring me to also teach

and not just that, thank you for inspiring me to teach with heart and not just mind.

And yes, like I said last year, I teach because you taught me well

For all you’ve done, I will always be thankful.

Happy, happy teachers day

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Today’s Random Snappy: My Crazy Joe

Don’t be fooled by this innocent face, I tell ya!!!

I do love this crazy, kooky little boy of mine but unlike his older brother, it has been very difficult to train him. He still isn’t completely housebroken (okay, okay, I will admit, he barely is!!!). He loves chewing on everything…my shoes, my clothes, the furniture, and even the Table top displays in our living room. Oh noes. I buy him chew toys, mind you, but he doesn’t like them. But like I said, despite the difficulty I am having training him, I love him to bits He makes me smile

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Something to Look Forward To!

Yesterday I was just saying that I miss being a preschool teacher…

Today I saw a post on Facebook from a friend of mine asking if anyone had an early childhood education background and I so I said I did and asked why…maybe this is the project I was praying for Let’s see

Then I checked my email and I was reminded of an invitation I received from a local foundation to be their plenary speaker for a preschool teacher training this coming October. It dawned on me that’s just about a month away Apparently I still have my toes in the preschool waters, so to speak! That realization suddenly brought so much lightness in my heart and I was reminded that I may have changed classrooms, but yes, Teacher Ria is still in there somewhere

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Today’s Random Snappy: It’s Missing!!!

I was cleaning my room today and for some reason, I had this urge to take a random snapshot of this giant bar of natural/organic mango-melon soap I had received some time ago. So I got my camera ready and headed off to the closet where I knew it was kept and surprise, surprise….it wasn’t there anymore!!!

Anyway, I found a photo of it from my friend’s Facebook page and so here it is:

photo by Iris Acosta of www.pinayads.com

Talk about a big bar of soap right? This was a prize courtesy of Body Flavors, a local organic soap company in the Philippines. I never got to use this bar of soap (haha!) mainly because I was too lazy to cut it up and then I forgot all about it I did try their other variants though, such as the one with tea tree oil and it was nice I don’t know what other kinds they make since I never really had a chance to go and get some and whether or not they carry those african black soaps I’ve heard about.

Anyway, like I said, today this giant bar of soap came to mind and I really wish I can figure out what I did to it!!! Hehe. I can’t have misplaced something this huge, right????

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Teacher, Teacher…

These past few weeks have been, to say the least, quite rough and rocky. It’s hard being all grown up after all. Haha. Seriously though, last week a friend and I were talking and I said that since I gave up the preschool, I suddenly feel like I’m a million years older. Yes, I kinda feel like since March, it’s been a million years and so I feel tired and all worn out.

Maybe I need to figure out how to work with kids again, yes? There’s really something magical that happens around them. I guess it’s their wide-eyed innocence. Or perhaps their ability to just be. And I guess it’s also because with them, what you see is what you get, no complications and whatnot.

I do know, however, I cannot go back to the preschool classroom. I feel to old for the routine of it all. Perhaps I should explore projects that allow me to work with kids instead…hmmmm….let’s see where this takes me.

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The Downside to Hi-Tech Classrooms

Today technology failed me terribly….hehe. I love how my classrooms have become all hi-tech and stuff but on occasion, things happen and my classes get derailed. Today for example, the LCD projector wouldn’t work and the speakers connection was broken so I had to run all the way down to the library to get another projector and the portable speakers. I ended up wasting a good chunk of the class period. Sigh. That definitely is the downside to my hi-tech classroom

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Last Stretch…

I’ve been so remiss in working on my blogs (and even on those commissioned articles that I so love doing ) mainly because of this thing called a THESIS. Sigh. I love being in the academe and I swear I do not wanna give it up for anything but this is such a challenge that sometimes I just think of throwing in the towel and (not that their job is any easier, mind you, it’s just the fact that a graduate or doctorate degree is not expected!) becoming a nanny abroad, going into the call center industry, or being a full-time blogger. Sigh. Like I said, I know their jobs post their own difficulties and challenges, and so I know it won’t be a walk in the park. But at least there’s no need to read those journal articles. Haha.

Yes, this is Teacher Ria attempting to release some of the pressure from writing the thesis. Teehee. I will get it done, though. Like I said, much as I never expected to fall into the academe, I love it to bits. When I first set off into college, I had wanted to either become a writer or get one of those Healthcare Aides Jobs (no, I didn’t want to be a doctor, but a nurse, or a midwife or a nursing aide! I wanted the caring part of the job and not the “difficult” serious job of healing) and so when I fell into teaching, I found that it was a merger of the things I liked best.

Until I met THESIS! ARRRRGHHH!!! Okay, talking in circles now. Back to thesis-ing. Wish me luck.  Home stretch….it’s due on Monday. Haha.

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Tie Dye My World!

In my yoga class, we have this long running joke about having a tie-dye party where we can just get together and splash some color into our otherwise plain and boring yoga towels. This was inspired by one of those Yogitoes towels that my friend and I were talking about one day before class started. We were like, it would be so much more fun to go on your down dogs and look into something pretty like that, right? Thing is, those towels are not available here in the Philippines, plus it costs sooooo much

Being a whole bunch of preschoolers, we were like, hmmm….maybe we can tie dye our towels!!! Teeeheee. Then it went on to maybe we can customize towels and other stuff…it wasn’t long when carpets, blankets, seat covers  and even someone’s toyota prius custom floor mats got into the mix! Suffice it to say we haven’t done it but wouldn’t it be cute to walk into a yoga class full of tie dyed towels???

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