Our Day

9:10 After arriving by car, foot, or bus, the children play until the big brass bell is rung by the teacher on duty. At that time they line up in lines, boys and girls, by class. They sit in their lines while we have a morning assembly right there on the patio. It is a sight as they sit with their sun hats on and blue polos all matching.

There are morning announcements and birthday recognitions. We then take our classes down the way to our rooms. I shake hands as they enter the room, just like I always have, and the children begin book choosing. They read from their books until I begin a guided reading lesson. Parents come to exchange the Home Readers that the children have borrowed for the night. Some stay to help with small groups. Hooray!

10:00 Fruit Break. All children get their fresh fruit from their backpacks to enjoy at their desk while we hear News from each child (Sharing, Communication, Show and Tell).

10:15 Maths. Yes, maths. This includes numeracy, patterns, measure, space, shapes, and mentals. We would say number sense, algebra, measurement, geometry, and skill practice, along with the other familiar fractions and problem solving. First graders are introduced to multiplication and Second graders are expected to begin memorizing facts. Space includes learning specific directions; under, over, through, etc. Otherwise, it looks very much like Oregon. Small groups, whole class lessons, parent volunteers, dice, stations, math workbooks.

11:10 Recess. This looks very different from the states. Here the childen go out on to the large patio with their backpacks and eat a snack. Really they can eat as much from their bag as they want, and many eat a full lunch. Lunch proper doesn't come till 1:20, so they are clever to fuel up now! This lasts for 25 minutes with no play, just a break for chatting, using the restroom and getting a drink ("Use the toilets and get a drink from the bubbler"). I wish there was a play component to it for them to get out their wiggles, but I try to do that in other ways.

11:35 This next chunk of time until lunch at 1:20 is used for writing and science or social studies. Some days include Scripture or Language, art or sport.

Yes, Scripture. A group of ladies from the local church come in for 25 minutes and teach a lesson to the children that includes songs, stories, writing and coloring activities. Language is taught by a local Gumbayngiir tribe member. He teaches them the language of the local Aboriginal tribe, including numbers and phrases. They play word games, and he tells them stories. By local, I mean the actual town. Not very far away is the next tribe with a separate language. I'm learning right with the children!

I am the Art Teacher. And the P.E. Teacher. And the Music Teacher. Every week. Whew.

Yes, I do get a prep time, or RFF (Release From Face to Face). This occurs two hours together one morning when the children go to the Computer Lab and then the Library. Each is staffed by a certified teacher who teaches a full hour of lesson and practice or book choosing.

We get the wiggles out by breaking for a Morning Jog before the 11:10 Recess. We also earn Free Time which means a bag of jump ropes, hand balls, and assorted items are taken out to the patio for playtime.

1:20 Lunch. Again, the chilren go out to the patio and sit on the ground in groups with their friends, all Kinders, 1's and 2's. They eat whatever might be left and wait to play at 1:40 "down at the bottom."

Children who have ordered lunch have it delivered to the classroom in packages much like fast food might look, individual wrapped sandwiches, wraps, fruits, jellos (jellies), fruit drinks, milks, etc.

The school is built on a hillside, so the children descend the stairs to play in the open field for playtime. There is a shed with some equipment, mostly Cricket equipment and some frisbees. There is a climbing structure and maybe two other pieces of equipment like monkey bars or climbing ropes.

No hat, no play. If a child forgets a hat, they are to stay in the shade under the tree. The kids know this very well and take it seriously. The sun is taken very seriously here. All the teachers wear a hat when we're on duty.

We collect again with the big brass bell and mount the stairs for drinks and toilets. The kids line up in their lines again, sitting to wait until their teacher collects them for class.

2:10 We walk back to class, usually very very hot and tired by now. We spend the next hour in a variety of ways. Mondays is a school assembly for awards, songs, and the pledge to the Australian flag and the national anthem (played from a CD that features a didgereedoo intro and students playing rhythm sticks). Incidentally, the assembly, or any teacher training, is begun with an acknowledgement of the indigeonous peoples and the "elders present and who came before us." I blink back tears when the children are singing the anthem.

Tuesday - Friday we might use the time for spelling practice, my sterling music lessons, more science or social science or Social Skills (playing games, dances and individual projects).

We finish the day with a read aloud. I brought My Father's Dragon with me which is always a winner for the beginning of the year. Now I'm reading Bottersnikes and Gumbles. This is marvelous! I asked the librarian to feed me any Australian literature that he loves since a) I would like to read it and b) I couldn't find many of my American standbys. This book is great fun with nasty, lazy, selfish Bottersnikes with red-hot horns cuz they're always mad and who live in rubbish heaps, and giggly, helpful Gumbles who just love a paddle in the river. Unfortunately the Bottersnikes like to capture the Gumbles to do their work for them. The story goes on and in and out. The moral to the story is don't throw your rubbish into the bush!

3:10 The children head out the door to meet folks or their buses. I, of course, fall in a heap! Thanks to all the teacher and admin. support throughout the day and the jolly teachers on either side of my room who share hilarious stories and frustrations which usually include peels of giddy laughter by then, I actually get up off the floor and come back the next day!