Do you have other hobbies/interests that you bring into your classroom teaching? Explain.

Day 21 of the 30 Day TeachThought Reflective Teacher Blog Challenge!

This collage shows some of the things that I'm passionate about. These are all things I bring to school in some form whether in my role as a teacher or as a mentor or in a leadership position.

• Flowers and Gardening and Appreciation - class gardens, plants and flowers in the classroom. Gifts of flowers to staff.  Cards dropped into pigeon holes or on desks to show that I value what they do - students and staff.

• Cooking / Baking - sharing food with students and staff.  Shared lunches, dinners for staff...

• Running - love being able to run again.  It's a great challenge and I've shared this with the students and staff.

• CanTeen - important to do something for others, to give a little.  CanTeen is a New Zealand organisation that supports young people with cancer and their families.  I've run the Round the Bays for them and will run the Auckland Half-Marathon for them in November.  Raising as much money as I can.  As much of my learning and teaching as possible encourages students and teachers to make a difference.

• Photography - another passion and one that students always seem to love.  We tell stories through photos and digital storytelling - great way to grab your reluctant writers and readers.

• Fun - having fun when you're learning - even when it's hard work - is so important.  Keeping a sense of humour helps you cope with anything.  It's a Habit of Mind - Finding Humour!

• Summer - favourite time of year when we can learn and teach outside.

• Art, Art History and Cardmaking - in these days of a very full curriculum and assessment requirements, it's important to value and foster the arts so that we don't lose creativity.

• Reading and Writing - lifelong passions and I love sharing this with others.  We share books throughout the day and I write when the students are writing.

• Kayaking - sometimes it's nice to be able to escape and take time to get lost in your thoughts.  The school day is so busy and full-on.  It's important to take time out for students too.

• Travel - experience new things and not being scared to do so - important skill for all of us.

• Challenges - face them head on.  I've learned this in the past year and my students shared a lot of the journey with me - they were a huge strength.  I hope I showed them that you don't give up and you find humour in any situation.

#reflectiveteacher