Monday, January 25, 2010

Introducing Distance Education

In Queensland school starts this week.  In a mainstream school students go back on Wednesday but for Distance Education it is different.  We have started today.  8.00am this morning we listened to the school principal read out our classes and find out who our teacher is for the year.  This is done via the telephone just like a conference call.  Then we started work.  My daughter is in Year 2 this year.  I also have  the pleasure of having Sienna join us in the school room.  She will start Prep next year.
I never thought in a million years that I would be teaching my own kids.

Our curriculum is set out in two week units so having a day off for Australia Day is out of the question because we have one days work to complete.

Anyway I thought I would share some photos of our first day and our school room.  Our school room is a demountable building away from our home.  I l;ike to have it out of the house because I can shut the door and leave school behind when I go home.  Now when I say it is away from the house I am only talking a few steps out of our yard.



Here is Miss S in our reading area.  We have a few audio books that she likes to listen to.



Here is Miss M at her desk.  She is doing English.



This is our craft table that we do all those messy activities at.  Sienna also like to do her 'school work' at this desk.



This is where Mikaela does her daily telephone lessons with her teacher.  A lot of our curriculum is done on the computer so we alternate from here and the desk.


So this is where I will spend about 5 hours (most times more) a day, five days a week for the rest of the school year.

I will update you with how our first day went.  At the moment it is going very slowly, that 5 hours might have been wishfull thinking...

Good luck to all the parents who are starting there distance education papers today and for all the little first timers to school.

Angie

EDIT:  Who am I kidding!  5 hours is far too optimistic.  Still here at 2:45 pm and we have only had short smoko and lunch breaks.  I hope it's not like this all year.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gosh, what an amazing commitment you have made.
When we send our kids off to school, we never think of isolated families and challenges in their kids education. Good on you!
(i have the say though, the thought of teaching my kids makes me feel quite ill!!)

Little Eve said...

You're classroom looks very inviting and well organised. Good luck with the first term, hope it goes well for you.

AnK Bowtique said...

Thanks for you well wishes. Our day finished off very slowly yesterday. Today is going much better.