Out of the Cocoon

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I feel a bit like a caterpillar who has been in a cocoon for a few weeks and have finally emerged!

I realised, this morning, that I've been in blogging hibernation for quite a long time.  Not for any difficulty going on.  Quite the opposite.  My days have been completely filled in good and beautiful ways.

Teaching rounds.


Five weeks of working full time.
Five weeks of getting to know, and operating in, a new environment.
Three of those weeks, teaching full time.
Lots of planning (that's an understatement, by the way).
Lots of late nights searching the interwebs for activities and ideas (how did people teach without the internet anyway?).

I have had a complete and utter blast.  As well as the class I was invited to teach in, I got to teach across the senior primary classes with a streamed maths program and a three-week rotating program on Friday mornings.  All of the kids were completely delightful.  Of course every class has their 'characters' and those that find classrooms difficult when they'd rather be outside doing stuff.  But those kids seem to be the ones who endear themselves the most!  I've learnt a lot about managing a class when they hit the mid-term, end-of-year feral week.  We overcame that challenge and the kids went back to being their amazingly wonderful selves again.  It was a bit like someone took over their bodies for a day or two.  Yesterday one of the girls said "oh yeah, we were just helping you learn".  We all laughed, and I thanked her for caring enough about me to want me to learn everything I could.

The staff were incredibly affirming and encouraging.  Such a beautiful working environment!

There is always the bittersweet return to normal life that comes next.  I can't wait to see my school babies.  I can't wait to catch up with my colleagues.  I can't for life to get back to normal.  But it means I don't get to be the teacher.

In this past week I have had all my final grades released.  I have passed everything.

I am now a teacher.