Wall displays

Last week I decided update one of my wall displays. I had a brilliant idea at about 5 o'clock (which soon turned into 6:30). We are making connections with New Zealand by looking at the New Zealand natural environment. I decided to make an interactive display for the children to go up to, touch and explore. Here is what I came up with:

So far the response from the children has been good.  They enjoyed reading the books, solving the Weka mazes and the New Zealand map puzzle. I am wondering though how long this will last. How often should we update our walls and displays to keep our classrooms fresh and exciting? How do we balance that with the time we have left?

Blink and it's gone

I haven't taken the time to write for a while. You forget how busy this time of year is.  I first thought that I would have time to do loads of professional reading in the holidays and take time to sort the paperwork that was accumulating arounds me. The holidays didn't proceed as planned and after a very busy Term 3 with production my head was swimming.
I finally reached some clarity when I attended uLearn13.  Once again uLearn had delivered inspiration and innovative ideas that made me eager to get back to my class.
I had been meaning to sit down and write for a while, I blinked and before I knew it... three weeks of the term had passed. All the ideas that I had planned to reflect on have changed.
In the three weeks that we have been at school I have had the pleasure of being an associate teacher. Our classroom had welcomed a nervous student who shadowed me for the first few days, watching my every move. I really enjoy this experience and not just because I get to mentor another educator but also because it makes me think about what I do.
You start to think about your every move in more detail. Why did I say that? How do I show differentiation? Do I actually practice what I preach? The need for absolute transparency has made me realise that there are some things I need to make sure I keep on top of and with others I could give myself a pat on the back for.
Once again though, I though that the time I would have with my student would be enough for me to cover everything that I wanted to cover with her. Four weeks just doesn't seem long again.
Where does the time go?

Blink... and it's gone!