Yellow Wood

Privileged to be invited to this conference as an alumni of SUSS. Had the chance to hit the pause button today from the usual routine. This conference was a much needed break, a spark, a reminder of the community I serve — why I do what I do. Key Takeaways! First: Sirene’s Keynote — Growing up in a ludicrous century: Strengthening children’s mind-body connections through play Food for thought by Sirene’s:  When we tell parents to not use screens, what alternatives can I suggest to replace screen-time? How do we use AI creatively in our work w children? What makes us human? How can we nurture children to be ‘more human’ esp in the unpredictable future? Sense of purpose? Morality? Make-meaning out of every experience we have in life? Help them feel fulfilled in the task that they do?  Before we knew it, we are singing and moving along to Sirene’s invitation to a brain break, “She will be wearing pink pyjamas when she comes”, as we tap the person on the side knee back of hand....

"How do we want to see our children grow?" was not just a prompt extended to us by Jittamet, but a mirror held up to my own practice, my values, and the hopes I carry for the children I journey with each day. To me, the image of the child is more than who they are at the present moment. It is about who they are becoming. If I could put words to that vision, I would wish for them to be lifelong learners, curious and unafraid of not knowing. I also wish for them to be critical thinkers who question and wonder rather than accept/follow blindly. And above all, to be compassionate; gentle with themselves, kind to others, and attentive to the world that holds them. As I observed the interactions and the environment, I found seeds I could plant in my own practice. While a few seeds are already to be planted, the rest are still in the germination phase. I’ll need to sit with them before they find their space in my classroom/practice. These seeds reminded me that teaching is not about...

Here to reflect on life after two years of work & my progress on the year’s resolutions :) Every time I reset my password at work symbolise the start of a new year of being at work. I've just reset it for the third time earlier this year!!!! How is it 50% Already? I’m still on track at feeling peaceful at work! This year has been a blessing, I had a functioning English partner to share the load with, I’ve come to make peace with myself when I have to work with people whom I have clashing working styles & beliefs in. I continue to feel fulfilled & take pride in what I do. Work is still draining & tiring, and I haven’t been able to do work after work on the weekdays — blessings in disguise? Nonetheless, I continued to be powered by deadline adrenaline so all is well & good! Delulu(?) self-talk: Time is can be made TT_TT. The balance will shift next year though, as I would highly likely follow this group of children up to a different curriculum and work with a diff...

I had the opportunity to attend and present at the International Conference for Research in Early Childhood Education and Development, organised by the Early Childhood Education Department (EdUHK) . I left the conference feeling inspired, reflective, and hopeful about the future of ECE. Here are some of my learnings from two refreshing keynote sessions: //Supporting Teacher Leadership & Growth — Dr Jessie Pui Ching Lam// Dr Lam’s keynote affirmed a vision of leadership that is not about hierarchy, but about empowering each teacher to lead from where they are. Her idea of “no-boundary talk for 5 minutes” struck me — how might we create a culture where educators feel psychologically safe to speak their minds, without fear of repercussion? I want to be in a community where teacher-leadership is not only encouraged, but embedded into the everyday. I am inspired to: - Practice active listening and adaptability - Be mindful of the “language” of my partners (children, families, colleagues...

 

One of my new year resolutions of the year is to make peace with the people at my workplace by acknowledging that I can't please/ find peace in every relationship. I think I have been on track! I find myself less fixated on mulling over "why are people like this" and instead focusing on "so this is what I am going to do". I can feel my treshold increasing together with my sassiness B) The other resolution is to find ways to maximise my energy. I haven't gain much insight on this though. The increase in the number of children to the current cap of 16 has definitely brought about mental and physical fatigue. It is to the extent whereby I couldn't even focus on work after work. Pre-trip low is real too, i haven't have much bandwidth to think about what to bring/pack in my luggage when my trip is this coming Saturday. The worry is that I might not feel rested even when I am immersed in the beauty of melbourne and tasmania due to the stimulation and sense...

TW: Friends, my posts in this employment era are likely bleak and depressing for some time. Do stop reading if you think this energy is going to affect you ya. I'm only using this space to process my experiences, and organise some thoughts and feelings for myself --- think of me talking to a soft toy ok! The last thing I want is to spread any form of negativity or make y'all feel worried. Trust me, I am currently trying to do my best to manage and navigate life ___ "Do you miss school?"  "No, but I'm missing a less-employed life" ___ Three months in, yet it feels as though I've only started yesterday. Not going to mask my official working life with any rainbow or butterfly; it's challenging, emotionally, mentally, mentally, physically, creatively, and spiritually. I believe my greatest struggle rn is in establishing my teacher identity. I never knew a mismatch of teaching practices and working styles could be so suffocating. Of course, I went in ...

 

I have a lot of thoughts that I want to share on my close friends' list but I feel conscious of spreading negativitea so I shall process a lil here since there is lesser traffic here I don't want to turn this blog into a rant though haiz (I don't even remember when was the last time I felt the need to rant) so my goals for this post (and perhaps the next of its kind) is to clarify, seek possibilities, and stay accountable 4 days in and every time I think or talk about my work-life my tears just come out, this is the part where I worry for my mental health HAHA I am hesitant to the excited question "hows your work" even when my friends show interest and curiosity. Now I'm guessing subconsciously I might have been trying to avoid confronting this side of myself  Ok I started this article thinking that I am finally ready to talk about it But it seems that Im not yet ready ahhh Nevertheless, here is my attempt: Worklife is threatening my faith in humanity and trus...

Not sure if this reflection came too early but here's a quick reflection about the past 3 days of navigating the vast ocean before I go to bed (aka end my day) because I tried to process some big feelings with Cai Wei who is also in the industry. I'm so grateful to her wisdom, through this convo I emerged more hopeful and assured and ready to slay and eat and leave no crumbs. Ok, maybe not the eating part cuz my appetite has been bipolar the last 3 days and I think it's highly likely gonna swing to the 'lack of appetite' pole. On the first day, I felt super hungry and I had to infiltrate the pantry for more food. This was like me eating more as a practicum student at LSH where I always scoop a full lunch box + snacks. And then on day 2 it dawned on me that I have to do a lot of work as an official teacher and that I am accountable for the interests of 24 lives. The sample size of 2 days might not be representative but indeed concerning; I lost more and more appetite...

Some of my friends shared that they would never enjoy solo travelling because they feel lonely being by themselves they do not feel safe being alone in a place away from home they'd rather share common experiences with people they know  While this made me wonder if I'm less sociable hehehe :x convos with people about my travels made me think more deeply about what I find attractive about them. Currently, I believe it's the places themselves! They called out to me and I merely responded with a 'yes' :) I jotted down some thoughts on my calendar, and I'm here to document those revelations digitally!  I have both positive thoughts and less positive ones! And some remind me of my revelations in this post where I shared some thoughts to conclude Solo 1.0. I'm still discovering so they are definitely prone to evolution hehe. For now, I'm gonna type what I have and organise them as I go along. First  The greatest thing about travelling solo is spontaneity - us...

Week 1: Surabaya - With Vivin and her family and friends I have been wanting to visit Mount Bromo (it's a volcano!) but I wasn't very sure about having Indonesia as a solo trip. However, when I found out that Bromo is in vv's hometown [ok, not exactly the town but the same province(?) - East Java] and that vv happened to be back home, I made the decision to visit Surabaya :)  I asked vv if she would like to visit Bromo together or meet up anytime during my stay there, and offered her to stay in my hotel if she wanted. Lo and behold, vv (and her fam) ended up tagging along throughout my time there hehehe (they didn't feel safe letting me roam-free) #adopted It wasn't my intention - I was looking forward to a solo trip but vv's presence gave me a lot of confidence and was truly a blessing (processes were made super safe & efficient HEHE) For example, I didn't need to partake in language barriers with strangers or figure out how to travel to different place...