13 000 steps and counting

I think about this blog all the time. I'm quite proud of it. But as you all know, it stresses me out a little as well. I think about readership, how it compares with other teacher blogs, that I haven't posted anything in awhile...then I feel really guilty and inadequate. These thoughts usually haunt me the most on Sundays. Don't ask why. That's just the way it is. I find it hard to register that this blog is really about me. It's about my life as a teacher. It's not a competition with anyone else. But even after 14 years of teaching, it's still difficult not to read a blog and think "Why didn't I think of that?"

The last two weeks have been quite exciting. WBT is working really well in my classroom. The students love it. It was time to introduce the Super Improvers Squad. My team partner FC, thought it would be a good idea to use the ranks of the Australian Army. This is how the board looks like.

And then this book arrived just in time.

 I also joined Twitter in the last two weeks. Thanks to a blog post by Meg from Fourth Grade Studio. Now, that was very exciting.

I tweeted this picture of me using The Reading Strategies book to fill in my conference card. I will probably write a blog post about the card in greater detail in a future post.

And after different attempts at running my Maths Workshop, I decided to go back to the Daily 3.

I know...it's a little late to launch the Daily 3 when we only have about 14 weeks of school left but I figured better late than never. Thankfully, my students got into it almost immediately.

13 000 steps and counting? That's the number of steps I take in a given day now, thanks to my trusty old pal the Fitbit. He keeps me on track making sure I'm not on the couch for too long. You know writing a post isn't as difficult once you get started. See you next time folks.

Using Padlet in the Classroom

Over the past four years, my school has been part of the '1-to-1 Netbook Program'. Every student from Years 3-12 has access to a student learning device such as a netbook for Years 3-6 and an iPad for Years 7-12. Like all other initiatives, there are pros and cons to having such a program. Parents complain about the amount of time their children spend on their netbooks playing Minecraft and on my part, I have to deal with my students forgetting to bring their netbooks or netbooks that have been damaged. Since there is a cost involved in acquiring these netbooks, some of my students don't have access to a netbook at all. However, when you get over all the issues that come with having such a program, the learning opportunities that this program brings is endless, exciting and engaging.

Thus bringing me to Padlet. I was first introduced to Padlet in a Professional Development session about two years ago.I would compare Padlet to a digital bulletin board which allows for you to tack on it - digital sticky notes.

Creating a padlet is quite easy. Click here to go to the website. You have the option to sign in via Google, Facebook or Sign Up for a padlet. I usually sign in with my Google account. Once you log in, you'll see your Dashboard where you'll be able to create a New Padlet.

By clicking on 'New Padlet' you'll be creating a wall where you can customise the look for your padlet. 

The layout icon also gives you the option of how you want your posts to appear on the wall. Once you've chosen your wall, it's time to post. I click on the Address icon, to get the URL of my wall and send it via email to my students.

To post, you need to double-click on the wall. A 'sticky note' appears where you can type, upload pictures, video and audio clips as well as share links. 

I've also trying to use Padlet as exit slips in the classroom. In a recent lesson, on Factors, I had students record a 30 second clip to share their understanding of the concept. However, we hit a glitch when we were about to upload due to network restrictions. Padlet has its limitations and only allows for clips up to about 25MB to be uploaded. The other option is to upload videos on You Tube and share the link on Padlet. 

Do give Padlet a go. 

August Currently

Oh my. It's August. In 4 months, it will be the end of the year. Time just seems to whoosh by me.
But I'll stop for a bit and link up with Farley from Oh Boy 4th Grade for her August Currently.



Listening: Radio City is a station that broadcasts from different parts of India. I am of Indian origin. My grandfather was from South India and he migrated to Singapore years ago. I am second generation Singaporean but Australia is my home now. Although Australia is similar to Singapore multi-culturally, there isn't an Indian radio station (at least one that I know of). We listen to Radio City via the Internet and listening to the station always makes me feel like I'm home. It's like I can still hold on to my roots which I think is so important.

Loving: We have a Curriculum Day every term. It usually falls on the first day of every term so the students get an extra day off but recently there have been some changes to when we have the Curriculum Day. (I must be completely honest...I hadn't realised we were having one till I drove by and saw the sign outside for parents informing them of important dates!) How do you spend Curriculum Day?  I'd be interested to know. We usually have staff meetings and team meetings.

Thinking: I'm in love with overnight oats at the moment. And I get most of my oatmeal recipes from Chocolate Covered Katie. She has got a fantastic blog with really yummy vegan recipes. They're sweet and healthy! Two in one. It doesn't get any better than that. Trust me.

Wanting: I recently decided I needed a To Do List. I had purchased my beautiful looking Erin Condren planner to use this year. In fact, I had bought one two years ago but gave up using it when I realised it didn't really help me with my lesson planning. However, I decided to give it another go this year and my team partner and I both bought EC planners but both of us gave up using it. We are required to do very detailed lesson planners and upload them on the school portal. It's very difficult trying to write detailed lesson plans in the pages of the EC planners. There's just no space. I was trying to use EC planner as a To Do book instead but that wasn't working and I had these post it notes all over my table. Long story short, I went to Kikki K to look for a To Do List pad and ended up buying a whole lot of other things - The Happiness Project & Happiness Journal being two of them. Many things have happened in my life in the last 5 years. My mum was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and recently I experienced a health scare as well. It's very easy to get down and feel depressed about life but I felt it was important to celebrate this one life that I have. To celebrate everything - the ups, the downs, everything that I've been given. So when I saw these books, I knew I had to have it.

Needing: I've finally linked my blog to Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Bloglovin as well as my TPT store. I'm not very tech savvy but with the help of Professor Google, I was able to create the accounts and Megan from A Bird in Hand Designs helped me with the buttons and the link ups. Now I just need more time to get everything going. Looking forward to meeting all of you and connecting with you through social media.

B2S RAK: Struggling to comment about this because in Australia, we're in the third quarter of the academic year. However, reading other blogs, I have an idea of what I can do next year. I shall get back to you on that.

That's all folks! Till next time...