Tinokla Scribbles and Doodles » Teacher Talk

Is My Being a Teacher Complicating my Pregnancy?

Tinokla — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:37:19 +0000

I’m on my 11th week of pregnancy and I am getting pretty excited about the whole thing. A recent visit to my OB revealed fantastic fetal condition results. My baby is healthy as a horse- so tiny yet so active! As I have mentioned before, I go through my pregnancies like a breeze… That’s why, my life goes on the way it usually is- pregnant or not.
History tells me that being a Teacher won’t hurt my baby. I’ve experience strenuous teaching loads while I was pregnant with my second child, Amber, and I ended up OK. Well, yeah, technically, Amber was not my second. I have had one miscarriage prior. Miscarriages are awful… so much bleeding and all! My unpleasant experience started with a simple ‘spotting’- what we normally call a brownish discharge. Then, the situation escalated- suddenly the discharge turned into a bloody red color and I panicked. An ultrasound revealed no fetal heartbeat. It turned out, it was a blighted ovum. They had to abort before I get infections. It was a sad experience really…. Good thing I got pregnant again after a couple of months- and then finally, Amber arrived.
Well, I was a Teacher already when I had a miscarriage. I am posing this question now because I’ve met plenty of teachers who have had similar misfortunes. I could not help thinking that our demanding profession has a lot to do with the outcome of our pregnancies. But then again, there have been pleasant stories as well. These events may as well remind us to be careful and to stay in pristine health.
The ‘spotting’ that I am having right now is exactly reiterating that important message for us pregnant mommies— be careful and healthy! My OB confirmed that it is definitely stress-related. I need a ton of rest, healthy food, and ‘special’ medicines. As per the doctor, the baby is well and good, the best news so far!… I just need to take it slow and easy… for now.

All About Shapes!

Tinokla — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:44:21 +0000

This school year, I am back to teaching toddlers, yipee! I so love teaching babies and I am now compiling a hefty number of activity sheets that are specifically suited for 2 to 3 year old kids.
However, before I upload my toddler materials, here are a few nursery worksheets that I made last year… this page will specifically contain worksheets about shapes!

Worksheet 1: Cut, stick, and sort the Pictures according to Shapes!

Worksheet 2: Tracing Basic Shapes

Worksheet 3: Find and Color the Shapes

Worksheet 4: Color the Shapes:Heart, Cross, Crescent, Drop, Half-Circle, Star

Worksheet 5: Hearts_worksheets

Worksheet 6: Stars_worksheets

Worksheet 7: Matching Same Shapes

Worksheet 8: Put the Shapes Together by Tracing the Broken Lines

More to come!

Free Printable Preschool Classroom Flashcards

Tinokla — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 06:38:55 +0000

I am aware of how difficult it is to search the internet and local bookstores for instructional materials such as flashcards. Faced with that dilemma, I decided to make my own by sourcing the net for images, doing my own lay-out, printing, and laminating. As I was doing this, I realized that even if there are a thousand images ready to be copied, most are water-marked… I guess not all artists are really willing to share their pictures to us. However, with a few editing, I managed to come up with a decent number of cards for lessons we tackled in class. Flashcards are valuable tools in the classroom, especially when it comes to building vocabulary and comprehension skills. So here below are some flash cards I used in my own class… feel free to print and use them.

Flashcard 1: communityhelpers_flashcards
*images courtesy of philipmartin.info

Flashcard 2: Pictures that begin with the Letter F

Flashcard 3: Pictures that begin with the Letter L

Flashcard 4: Pictures that begin with the Letter M

Flashcard 5: Pictures that begin with the Letter S

Flashcard 6: Pictures that begin with the Letter T

As with my other free resources, this list is also a work in progress… I will be inserting more in the coming days… Please be reminded that these are for classroom use only… tnx and ciao!

First Term Report Card Remarks/Comments (General)

Tinokla — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:00:44 +0000

My stats tell me that there is a growing demand for report card remarks/comments that serve as good references during assessment. I was able to salvage some of these in my laptop and thought of adding them to the list I made before… These are 1st term remarks that I made for my Nursery students…

George easily grasps new ideas presented in class. He listens attentively and participates actively during discussions. He also appears to be inquisitive- often asking questions about things that interest him.

Shiela works on assigned tasks with minimal promptings. Her patience when working with table assignments indicates a sense of maturity for her age. She is encouraged to display the same demeanor when playing and conversing with peers.

JonJon is seen to be more confident to express his thoughts in school. He is now observed to initiate and sustain conversations with a few of his classmates and is starting to build relationships with them. He has also become quite participative in class as he readily answers simple questions.

Janey is starting to be more lax and comfortable in class. She now seeks other children during playtime activities and seems to enjoy mingling with them. Her growing confidence is also manifested in her willingness to participate in classroom discussions.

Marge enjoys being given duties and responsibilities. She often volunteers to do particular tasks but sometimes, gets upset if other children are called. She is, however, learning to be more patient.

Trish is gradually becoming independent- she now works on tasks by herself even with her caregiver around. She is encouraged to be on time when she comes to school so she can be fully adjusted to the classroom setting.

Rose is gradually building a good number of vocabulary presented in class. She can name familiar pictures and can associate them to their functions. She is, however, still urged to be more participative in many classroom tasks.

Preschool Worksheets/Activity Sheets/Table Activities: General Readiness

Tinokla — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:23:43 +0000

This post has attachments to worksheets covering various general readiness skills. I placed them all here and probably, as my collection grows, I will be breaking them down into specific categories.

General Readiness

Worksheet 1: Circle and Color the Things Used in School (School Theme)

Worksheet 2: Match the Same Pictures (School Theme)

Worksheet 3: Circle the Same Pictures (Health Theme)

Worksheet 4: Comparing Long and Short Objects

Worksheet 5: Matching Same Pictures (Halloween Theme)

Worksheet 6: Color, Match, and Count the Stars (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Theme)

Worksheet 7: Things_to_Wear (Clothing/Self Theme)

Worksheet 8: Matching Same Shapes

Worksheet 9: School Things Coloring Worksheets

Preschool Worksheets/Activity Sheets/Table Activities: Pre-Writing

Tinokla — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:46:14 +0000

This entry has links to a few pre-writing worksheets I made, mostly tracing and dot-to-dot. As with the rest of my teacher resources compilation, it will also be a work in progress- will try my best to upload a few sheets in the coming days.

Pre-Writing

Worksheet 1: Tracing Basic Shapes

Worksheet 2: Tracing Numerals 1 to 5

Worksheet 3: Connect the Dots

Worksheet 4: Park the Cars! (Tracing Broken Lines)

Worksheet 5: Copying Simple Lines (Grids)

Worksheet 6: Put the Shapes Together by Tracing the Broken Lines

Preschool Worksheets/Activity Sheets/Table Activities: Transportation

Tinokla — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 06:08:08 +0000

Our theme for the month of January is “Ways to Travel”. I am now in the process of coming up with some worksheets related to the topic. Will be adding more in the coming days.

Transportation

Worksheet 1: Counting Things that Go (1 to 5)

Worksheet 2: Color the Cars (Reading color words)

Worksheet 3: Big and Small Transportation

Worksheet 4: Park the Cars! (Tracing Broken Lines)

Worksheet 5: Circle the Same Pictures (Transportation)

Worksheet 6: Land, Water, and Air Transportation (Color and Sort)

Worksheet 7: Matching Colors to Colorwords (Trucks)

Worksheet 8: Trucks and Letters( M,S,L,F,T,H)

Worksheet 9: Cars and Numbers (Matching)

Preschool Worksheets/Activity Sheets/Table Activities: Shapes and Colors

Tinokla — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 06:09:54 +0000

One of the perks of my current job is that I get to design my own worksheets in class. I love tinkering with my computer and conceptualizing my own activity sheets that are in sync with our current theme… And for all teachers out there, I have decided to post some of these in my blog page, feel free to use them in your classrooms… I will be attaching some for starters… and maybe as we go along, I will be putting in more…
I have made initial categorizations for some of the worksheets. For this entry, I am attaching activity sheets related to Colors and Shapes.

Shapes and Colors
Worksheet 1: Color the Pictures Red

Worksheet 2: Color the Pictures Yellow

Worksheet 3: Color the Pictures Blue

Worksheet 4: Color the Pictures Violet

Worksheet 5: Color the Pictures Orange

Worksheet 6: Color the Pictures Green

Worksheet 7: Color the Pictures Brown

Worksheet 8: Color the Balloons (Color words)

Worksheet 9: Match the Same Shapes and Same Colors

Worksheet 10: Color the Shapes:Heart, Cross, Crescent, Drop, Half-Circle, Star

Worksheet 11: Find and Color the Shapes

Watch out for more soon!

PMS in the Classroom

Tinokla — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:02:18 +0000

As preschool teachers, we often hear comments about how patient we are when it comes to handling children. In fact, a lot of people are well aware of how challenging our job is… I mean, I have seen mothers on the brink of losing their sanity, to think that they are only taking care of one or two children… what more for teachers who are tasked to look after a group of at least 10 kids!
But, admittedly, even with the passion and commitment I put into my profession, I am still human- hence, like many, I also lose my temper.
These past few weeks have been particularly difficult for me. Given the entry of the newest addition in my class, a boy with boundless energy and a first-timer, things in the classroom have been pretty chaotic.
I have been appropriately briefed as to what I should be expecting from this child. With enough background knowledge I braced myself for what was to come. And, he did not fail me. Honestly, the kid was really a handful.
The new student was easy. What caught me off guard was the ripple effect of misbehavior that pervaded in my class. My old students, who have been well trained and fully aware of classroom rules and regulations, started to suddenly act like newcomers. Being a teacher of 7 years, I tried to act as composed as I can… laughing it off and regarding it as an isolated case… It would have been easier for me… except that I was in a state of emotional instability, which regularly happens to me prior to my period.
As expected, my children saw the other… and darker… side of their teacher. I was furious! I talked to them like they were like teenagers or something. After that, I felt guilty and embarrassed. I thought, this was not to be expected from an experienced teacher! What the hell was I thinking?
With awareness comes effort to change. Good thing children are easy to forgive and forget. So after a few games, songs, and dancing, they, thankfully got distracted and were again fully attentive… Dang, why didn’t I think of that earlier…
Well, anyways, as a teacher, I plan my lessons carefully and set daily objectives that I want to be attained. But with this thinking, I am only focusing on what I want… which should not be the case. Even with the years that I have had behind me, I still forget to be relaxed sometimes… to be flexible enough to bend the rules and trash my plan in response to what my students’ current conditions are… Well, thankfully, I do not claim to be the best and most patient educator in the world. On the contrary, I am fully aware that like many, I am still in the process of learning and continuous discovery. Children are such wondrous beings that they are virtually unpredictable! And now… minus the PMS… I believe I can start anew…

Teacher Mommy

Tinokla — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:13:58 +0000

When asked who her teacher is, my daughter, Amber, would immediately reply, ” Titsa Mami…!” Yup… I get to be the teacher of my daughter in her first ever school experience.

Since we are just starting our Early Years Program in NIS, Amber does not have any other choice but me for her teacher. We have only one class open for her age this summer (It’s still summer in NIS… the SY officially starts in September) and the teacher in that class is none other than me…
Well… having her in my class has its ups and downs. As regards to the downside, She is still relatively young, and thus, capable of throwing one hell of a tantrum… She is overly possessive and highly territorial- often wrestling her way into my arms every time one of her classmates embrace me. Overall, she honestly makes me feel like a novice teacher, given my surprising lapses in classroom management…
On the other hand, her 2 month-school experience has been rewarding in many respects. I have seen her happiness as she sings and dances with her classmates… I have witnessed the gradual unfolding of her speaking and vocabulary skills… I have observed that no matter how she fights incessantly with other children over toys and puzzles, she is slowly becoming socially mature as she now shares her food during snacktime…In fact, regardless of how hard headed and hot tempered she is at times, she is well-loved and adored by many.
I myself cannot exactly deny that she lifts my spirits up every time she steps inside the classroom. I miss her when she cannot make it to school (mostly because she wants to sleep more or because she is sick)… I enjoy our ride back home during lunch hours… I like the challenge of teaching her numbers, colors, and shapes… I marvel and celebrate with her in her daily achievements… Thus, over and above all, I would still opt to have her in school and provide her with as many learning experiences as possible…
Yes… I am willing to endure her whining and complaining… I am ready to tolerate her tendency to initiate chaos in class… I am taking on the challenge of giving all my students equal treatment, attention, affection, love, and patience (being my daughter, I seem to be less patient with her…)
Because… beyond the many day-to-day challenges that she brings in the classroom, I have realized that her presence means more to me…. I would not throw away the opportunity of spending 2 out of my 8 working hours to be with her…and of course, I would not disregard the fact that she is undoubtedly improving and learning a lot! Given all of these wonderful advantages, who am I to still complain? Thus, I decide to share these glorious moments with her… to embrace this rare opportunity to bond and be together…
(However, given an option, a different teacher for her would of course be more preferable…:-) )