Have yourselves a merry little Christmas...

CHIC TEACHER would like to wish you all a beautiful Christmas. May your festive parcels contain everything that you dreamed of and if they didn't, the Boxing Day sales will be upon us in no time!

Don't spend all of your festive break working; us teachers need time to fully recharge too. Chic Teacher will see you in the new year, fresh with more teaching tips and lifestyle ideas.

Look after yourself and yours...

Nailing festive glamour...

So it's Christmas eve and I've taken a break from wrapping presents to share my eye-catching ‘press ons'. After priming my nails, these little gems were simply applied. I've had endless compliments and I think they offer an alternative to festive red or gold nails.

No fuss. No faff.

That leaves you with plenty of time to get back to wrapping.

 Elegant Touch is the brand and Kaleidoscope is the shade/pattern.

Eye-catching embellishments...

   As you know, ChicTeacher loves adding sweet little notes and touches where she can. This pack of Lotta Jansdotter stickers and labels for stationary certainly satisfies my embellishment cravings. I like to add a little something to the tip of an envelope seal  or gift. Lotta's designs are bold, vibrant and vivid - a perfect way to liven things up.

I wish I could take the credit for this lovely little product but that's too caddish. If you're interested, visit the link below:

Buy Lotta Jansdotter stationary labels and stickers here.

Pure magnetism...

   So I nonchalantly glanced over at my fridge this morning and realised even that isn't immune to the teacher touch! I'd like to point out that I have a very busy fridge exterior; drawings, photos, memos and...teacher-ish magnets.

   I bought the Shakespeare quote magnets years ago from the Globe Theatre. For those of you that don't know, the Globe was part owned by Shakespeare himself and is situated in Southwark, London. The magnet fashioned in the image of Fagin from ‘Oliver Twist' is a memento of a school trip. It harks back to a time when I was crazy enough to take 100 students (you heard right) to watch a performance in London. Apart from the timeless story, the big draw was that Rowan Atkinson was playing the villain of the piece. The students' rapturous delight when he walked on for the first time was unforgettable. 

   It's not so much the magnets, but the memories and feelings they invoke that make them a permanent feature on my fridge.

    

Chain reaction...

‘I wear the chain I forged in life'

So uttered the ghost of Jacob Marley. The links in his ponderous chain represented his preoccupations, wrongdoings and sins. To put this idea to my learners in a thought-provoking way, we ‘forged' a class chain. Each student was given a strip of paper and on this they wrote their regrets and wrongdoings. I promised anonymity and received some downright hilarious (and slightly worrying) confessions. The links were put together and stuck up in my classroom.

I can't take credit for this lovely idea; it comes from an equally chic friend and colleague of mine.

Heavenly hair...

I want to share a product that I've been using for a while now. It's a shampoo in bar form and is completely natural. I used to become so disheartened when strands of my beautiful black hair disappeared down the plughole. I made the decision to ditch the chemical-laden supermarket shampoos for something kinder. FUNKY SOAP was the answer to my prayers. Their shampoo bars contain heavenly ingredients like coconut oil, avocado oil, peppermint, lemon, lavender, cedarwood and essential oils. More importantly, their soaps are 100% natural and handmade in their London workshop. This product is gentler on the hair, scalp and pocket (one bar lasts a ridiculously long time). You won't get that foamy lather you've been conditioned to expect from bottled shampoo, but your hair will feel thoroughly cleaned, with its natural oils intact. The ingredients love the hair and nourish the hair - what more could you (or your hair) want?

 http://www.funkysoapshop.co.uk/

Lip service...

T'is the season of bright lipsticks that can be seen from outer space. If the thought of dazzling your students with blazing reds, pinks and oranges is too much, here are two pretty alternatives. On the left we have Plum Rose and on the right is Pink Mauve. They are bright enough to add a pop of colour but not so much that they prove a distraction.

 They are a little on the pricey side (£19.50 each) but what good is a Chic Teacher without a few indulgent items in her handbag? When the colour meets your lips, it's like a marriage made in heaven and the lipstick is long wearing. Well that's what you can tell yourself when scrutinising the monthly bank statement!

Tweet all about it...

I'm all in favour of tapping into students' interests to engage them in the classroom.  Many of them have got Facebook or Twitter accounts so I use this well known format in my lessons when exploring a character.  They love creating profiles for fictional characters and sometimes they post on the character's wall in the wake of a notable development in the story.  Templates are readily available on the internet.  Here is a very realistic example, created by a student who used a template that I provided:

You may need to explain how Twitter/Facebook works to those students who don't use these platforms.  Yes, there are some of them out there...

Put a ring on it...

   If your digits need a makeover, beautiful and bold rings are the way forward. They add another dimension to your look and show the world that you're a ‘blingy' kind of gyal. I've even used them in the classroom as a teaching resource. On a basic level, learners can describe the ring(s) by selecting adjectives and thinking about the texture. Students could also introduce themselves using jewellery (and other random objects). For example: Like this ring, I am solid and sturdy. I am also quite flamboyant like the eye-catching flower. Unlike this ring, I am full of warmth. The youngsters may also be encouraged to build a narrative/drama around the ring.

Or, you could simply wear rings to accentuate your fashionista credentials.
Here is a selection of my favourites:

Review it, Post It...

  This post follows on from ‘Rest, relaxation, reading' (July 15th). I set most of my classes the challenge of reading at least 3 new books over the summer break. This was mainly to ensure that their literacy levels didn't regress, as can sometimes be the case. They picked up the gauntlet and bounced back into my classroom brandishing their Post It reviews. The students simply stuck them onto the designated board and the result is something rather special. I am especially pleased by the number of students reading their peers' recommendations. It's a masterpiece of a collage that I want to keep up as long as possible (although errant Post It notes float down regularly and keep us all on our toes!).

Snippets from an Indian adventure...

   Chic Teacher is back from her jaunt in the sun and very happy to be blogging again. I experienced temperatures that I didn't think humans could withstand; was charmed and captivated by a wedding that spanned 5 days; experienced the philosophy of ‘your guest is god';  did NOT pick up ‘delhi belly' or any variant of the tricky tummy and absorbed the fascinating and eccentric customs of the Indian people.

   The new academic year is looming but I'm not quite ready to remove the post-holiday glow. Here are tiny morsels from a most fulfilling Indian adventure:

Rest, relaxation, reading...

‘We're all going on a summer holiday,

No more working for a week or two (or six),

Fun and laughter on our summer holiday,

No more worries for me or you,

For a week or two...'

~ ‘Summer Holiday' by Cliff Richard

Special thanks to crooner Cliff for these timeless and apt lyrics. I am throwing items into suitcases as we speak and in the midst of packing chaos, I have taken a breather to share my holiday reading with you. The selection comprises a mixture of school-related books and books for simple reading pleasure (not to say the two don't overlap!).

The ‘simple reading pleasures' include ‘The Fault in Our Stars' (John Green), ‘Divergent' (Veronica Roth), ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy' (Helen Fielding).

The school-related books are ones that I am reviewing in terms of how well they suit the new English Curriculum that has been introduced. These are: ‘Two Weeks with the Queen' - play script, ‘Animal Farm' (George Orwell), ‘Forty short plays' (Ann Cartwright), ‘Brave New World' (Aldous Huxley) and ‘Whispers in the Graveyard' - the play.

I set all of my classes the task of reading at least three new books over the summer break. They have to write mini-reviews of each one on a Post-It note. They will stick these onto our Summer Reading board as soon as they return to school. I, of course, need to lead by example!

On that note, I must bid you a fond holiday farewell as I will be out of the country for a few weeks. The unreliability of internet connections abroad means there'll be a little blogging hiatus.

I wish you a happy holiday, however you choose to spend it.

Looking on the sunny side...

  This is my favourite kind of post because it involves, you guessed it, FOOD. I had two eggs (sunny side up) on toast this morning. The eggs were given a sprinkling of black pepper and the bread is wheat free and contains sunflower, linseed and poppy seeds. The whole ensemble was washed down with organic green tea. It's the breakfast of champions because, as you know, eggs are a good source of protein and potassium. Green tea is reported to contain lots of antioxidants and in Chinese medicine it is used to treat an array of ailments and illnesses. As well as that, it just tastes darn good! 

      I'm up at 5:30am every morning and have breakfast at 6:45am. Starting the day with something like this keeps those tell-tale tummy rumbles at bay until break (10:35am).

A flowery flourish...

This pretty arrangement of artificial flowers is perched on the end of my desk. Sanity tells me that a vase containing real flowers and WATER would eventually be the victim of a student's elbow. I would like to introduce real green plants in my classroom as there is research to suggest that this can increase productivity in the workplace. I'll let you know if I become that brave but for now, you can feast your eyes on these:

Letter to an Unknown Soldier...

Today I wanted to share a lovely activity that I did with my year 8 class. They contributed to a war memorial with a difference; one made purely of words. It centres on the statue of an unknown soldier in London's Paddington Station. Here is a screenshot from the website:

 I thought it was a very creative way of honouring and remembering fallen soldiers. The letters will be archived digitally soon but this is an activity that could be embedded in any schemes of work that touch on war. For example, I will be delivering a unit of work on conflict (classic and contemporary war poetry, articles, prose extracts, etc.) and this is an activity I will definitely incorporate.

My students had some stunning responses and with initiatives like this, we don't have to worry about youngsters forgetting the heroism of soldiers 100 years ago.

So give it a go and pen something for Unknown Soldier.

Here's the link to the website.

Creative collars...

Why not add a point of interest to a plain shirt? A chunky necklace that sits under the collar is a fantastic way to beautify a formal shirt:

Many of my colleagues also know how to put the ‘chic into teach'. I cornered one of them today because she is no stranger to getting creative with her collars:

A right bunch...

These are my school keys. This jingly, jangly bunch are never far from my side, in fact, they could be an additional limb. If you're thinking the bunch of keys is quite sizeable, when we were in our old school building (we recently moved into our brand new school) my set of keys was even bigger! This was for several reasons:

1. When students bought me key rings as presents, I added them to the bunch.

2. The fact that I had so many key rings inspired students to be buy me even MORE. I had no choice but to add those as well.

3. I frequently lost my keys and the size of the bunch made them much easier to find.

4. When the above happened, students would bring me my keys as they were so distinctive and recognisable. I knew they'd always make it back to me.  

Believe it or not, I have downsized since then!

The teddy bear aodrned with a ‘P' was a gift from a student, the personalised keyring and fabric owl are from Etsy.com and the silver witch's hat was bought when we took students to watch ‘Wicked' in the West End.

And people think our keys are just thrown together!

The wonder of the wedge...

I find wedges a great alternative to heels and surprisingly comfortable for work. Us teachers clock up quite a distance, running between various locations in school (yes, we do actually venture out from behind the desk) and wedge heels don't slow me down! I have a slight arch so heels have never been a problem for me. An added bonus is that they give me some extra height as I do seem to be placed with some ludicrously tall students.

Here are a couple of my favourite pairs. They look far more intimidating than they are:

Be brave - get some wedges in that classroom!

Go forth and be bold...

It takes the bold and the brave to wear an eye-catching trouser, or just the extrovert. Either way, printed trousers are a huge trend at the moment and I don't see why this can't make it to the classroom. 

   They can be dressed up to look smart-casual so that they're more fitting for a professional environment. I team mine with a pair of court shoes and a simple vest and cardigan.

   I did wonder if they'd prove too distracting for my students but so far they've been a hit. Apologies in advance for the terrible ‘clothes selfies'.

From Warehouse

From Dorothy Perkins

When literature and cupcakes collide...

I recently went to an English conference with some friends and colleagues. However, this is not a post about teaching ideas and resources, it's a post about food (suppress your shock).

We literally passed out when we came across these delectable delights during the break. Scrummy cupcakes adorned with literary greats? Someone sure knew how to keep a gathering of English teachers happy! They looked far too good to eat but the teachers stoically managed.

Please don't ask about the company behind these cakes. I was too busy salivating to be that practical.

Border hoarder...

I like to add some pizzazz to my classroom displays by encasing them in these eye-catching borders. Why not showcase the students' hard work using something so fabulous?

A wavy border containing newspaper style text.

Multi coloured magic!

I purchased mine from Amazon but this style of border is quite widely available.

Bananas about bunting!

I have recently gone bananas for bunting; it's such a simple way of brightening up a space. Being an English Teacher, I literally squealed in delight when I came across literary bunting on Etsy (a brilliant webite where people can buy and sell handmade or vintage items).  I also purchased comic bunting because I am a bit of a closet DC/Marvel fan. The book bunting contains pages from Harry Potter, The Hobbit and Dracula.  The comic bunting is adorned with Spider-Man and Superman. 

The super talented lady who makes them sells through ‘Rosalind Ashberry's'. The link for the seller is here:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/156693287/made-to-order-book-bunting?ref=related-0

Dear diary...

Since I started teaching, my love of sketching and drawing had to take a back seat and did so for many years. As a child, I sketched endlessly and my works of ‘art' were strewn everywhere.  In a bid to reignite this passion my younger sister bought me this incredible visual journal as a present:

You are required to draw one sketch a day, for a whole year.  I recently completed this and the process of looking back at the year's drawings brings me such childish delight.  Many of my pictorial representations of the day are related to my teaching but here is a sample of all sorts of daily visual gems:

Why not try something like this?  You could even ask a different student a day to create a sketch; imagine a whole wall filled with a year's worth of their creations.  Now that would be masterpiece!

Accessorising my pasta...

So this is my third food post in a row which perfectly highlights my preoccupation with food. I mean, you'd think us teachers spent the morning's lessons daydreaming about our lunches (ahem). I accessorised another pasta dish (I had already mixed in a tomato and olive stir-in sauce) with green olives, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and quorn fajita strips.  The end result was a humble dish that had been ‘blinged' and elevated in the taste stakes.  Yum.