Felt tip rules and printed csv file blues

Madge has a funky new haircut :)

Tells Hina to wait until name taken in register before she can have a wee...poor judge of bladder!  Hina walks back into room with wet trou & knickers around ankles!

Teacher wants me to take register but... but I do not have any data - as I've previously hinted at, a print out of a spreadsheet when all I need is a csv copy of their file - would take 20 seconds per class to import to Teacher Assistant Pro (if they ever gave me internet access). Instead takes me about 30 seconds per child, of my own time. Cannot organise names the way I want to thereafter - alphabetical by name (surname or given, fair enough) but their lists are by date of birth girls/boys split, or by age group split, or by hiragana...Obviously very US-centric.

(Note - some of the children some of the time have names on their clothes or nametags, but in hiragana. Children respond to family name first = even with very good listening skills, hard to pick out one from 30 in an alphabetised list of first names. When asked names, always respond with family name first too, so anyone unfamiliar with Japanese names inevitably finds the blend impossible to discern. Even with my experience, a shy/mumbling kid mumbles even more when asked to repeat their name - and that is when they want to give it/are standing right in front of you...I have a good memory names/faces, but need to know at least one part of the equation. Can't yell across a playground at a kid  x about to do something dangerous, or tell a colleague about a conflict between y & a, or warn of imminent bowel eruptions from q!)

Madge asks for felt tip pen rules, including don't put in mouth or rub too hard & make holes in the paper!

Took time out to teach Boss about Edmodo, Flickr, Stupeflix, Fotobabble. Think blew his socks off!

Missed a colouring job; miso mackerel. Mums in the hall eating likewise, ushered away from windows when tried to sneak peaks! Did grace etc too; found Minii's mum to get email address for Ohanami pics (sent)

Quick review of lesson plan in quiet room but Ts found me & nicely complemented. Nervous again.

Went over time again: need more structure to art activity, pre-label & put names on things; iLeader says give prints away to take home a better idea - totally agree.

Nozomi popped by.

We've a Santa down, and other crises

Remembered to try & use Class Dojo app on my phone with the funky red class. It is useful to manage attendance (take a roll call). Unfortunately, it assigns each child an avatar (monsters) so it is impossible to look up and spot a shy responder or reinforce that name on your memory. I would like to take snapshot portraits and import those. It also alphabetises a class list by first names...the teachers take attendance in a few different ways here! By gender, by age group, by 'team'...and always family name first - and that according to hiragana order, not alphabetical. Of course students always know when their name is coming up next, but try flicking through thirty odd names in a hurry as the teacher is trying to make it fun or fast! Looking around for alternatives.

Got hit on knob for the third time already this morning, and although the snow is gone and the football clique back in action, I'm not in the mood for it.

Cleaning up detail by the looks of it today. 

Breaking news...fucking Santa just bailed out on me for the Xmas party. What is the date today? How many shopping days left for Father Christmases is that? Thanks a fucking heap Gary. You only promised, a cast iron guarantee, in September...now what do I do?

I found out that M-sensei is a big fan of (big) readers, so will try & do something to satisfy her, and in the meantime showed her group the Wheels on the Bus song - loads of actions. Would be more useful if my activities were not tagged on to filling in at home time.

Meanwhile, across the hall, I-sensei bollocked her naughty boys - strongly. Loads of tears as they really want her love. Devastating loss of favouritism for them! Meantime, I did something painful to my shoulder picking up kids = let's try not to do that anymore!? At least my stiff neck finally cleared up - spent whole of September feeling like I had a hunch!

Elsewhere, R-chan laid the smack down on A's attention deficient miscreants - various boys in tears and about time too. A-sensei forever goes walkabout for a gossip & just does not notice what her lot are up to. But, beautiful piano playing to get them singing & a personal note about her own kids recovered the feelgood factor


. Clever.