Wednesday 25 April 2012

Log your Memory: Week 17 & ANZAC day

Hi everyone :)

It’s ANZAC day here in New Zealand which means no school but I’ve also been thinking about the men and women who went to war all those years ago and shaped our history.  It’s impossible to imagine what they went through and the hardships they faced… but it isn’t hard to remember that without them and the sacrifices they made we wouldn’t have the life that we do now.

At school yesterday I read a story by Jennifer Becks that was absolutely beautiful… the illustrations are gorgeous!large_9781869437398

A young girl is reluctantly waiting at the airport for a distant aunt to arrive. She discovers that the aunt is carrying a special gift from the past. During the First World War, soldiers and nurses were given a very special Christmas present from the Princess Mary - a precious box containing sweets or tobacco as the Royal Family's thanks for the hardships they were undertaking.

Here’s a photo of what the box looked like:356256_Large

Unfortunately the book is now out of print but if you’re able to get it out of the library I highly recommend it!

Now for Week 17 of Log your Memory.  This is the final prompt from the ‘Occupation’ section of this project.  This week it’s all about your work environment. 

Of course many of you know that I’m a school teacher… but classrooms these days are so different from when I went to school.  Thankfully there’s no chalk dust any more LOL

Here’s my layout:Week 17

I spend a LOT of time in my classroom each week and up until this year it’s always been about the kids and their learning… as it should be!  This year though I’ve made a couple of subtle changes that have had a bigger impact than I thought they would.

I’ve always talked about my girls in the classroom but often the kids don’t really take it in.  This year I have a ‘Toby wall’ near my desk and I’ve got photos there with my girls and Toby.  There’s even a couple of photos with nieces and nephews. 

When the kids bring their parents in they always want to show them their work… but they’re also keen to show them the ‘Toby wall’ and share a bit about my life with their parents.  It’s not something that I was expecting but it’s made the parents think of me differently realising that I have a life outside of school.DSCF0113

I also have fresh flowers on my desk this year… and in fact I’ve had the odd flower brought to me be the kids.  Quite often they’ll come up to smell the flowers when they want to talk to me.  The boys actually take more notice of the flowers than the girls… that’s another surprise for me! 

So that’s it from me… I’m actually heading into school soon to get some work done LOL

Enjoy the rest of your week xx

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