Teacher Profile - Siobhan

We are back this month with our feature teacher profiles and do I have a good one to share!

I would love to introduce you to our featured teacher, Siobhan. I personally follow her on the gram @littlerainbowteacher and love the vibe she gives off, her awesome classroom and her creative arts. Siobhan is on TikTok as well and if you are a teacher, she is one you will want to follow.

The Little Rainbow Teacher hails from Sydney, Australia, is currently teaching a Year One class and has a passion for all things creative! Siobhan is only in her second year of full-time teaching but you wouldn’t know it, she is a real inspiration.

Read on and enjoy.

Why did you become a teacher?
I became a teacher because I wanted to work with children. I always knew whatever I ended up doing in life, it was going to involve kids and what better job than one that teaches them skills that they will carry throughout life. I really wanted to be happy in whatever I chose, and can truly say, I am SO happy with my decision. Everyday is a new adventure, with new things to learn and new ways to grow. 

Tell us your favourite; year to teach, subject to teach and platform for resources
My favourite year to teach has to be Year One. Not because it is the only grade I have taught, it is just so fun! During placements and casual days teaching, I have experienced working with all K-6 grades. After teaching kindergarten, I was sure that I would be a kindy teacher forever, that was until I got put on Year One. Teaching Year One students is truly the best. They’ve completed one year of school so they know how to hold pencils properly, open their lunchboxes and make friends but they are still tiny, innocent and full of magic! Year One is the year of losing teeth and making new friends. I love that I get to experience all the tiny joys with them.

My favourite subject to teach has to be Art. It gives the student the opportunity to express their creativity and show their uniqueness. My class is always SO excited for Wednesdays, because that means it's art time! Children spend so much time writing, reading and thinking mathematically that I believe it's really nice for them to be given some time to slow down and get creative. People are always beyond impressed by the art that my 6 year olds produce and I like to remind them that they are capable of so much more than some may think. I always set the bar high, because they will always surprise you!

Instagram and TikTok are both amazing platforms to learn new ideas you can use in the classroom. The fact that the ideas and resources are trialled by actual classroom teachers makes it so much better! I also love that I can share things that work in my classroom, especially our artworks. Seeing other teachers that often avoid art, feel inspired by my artworks brings me pure joy. 

What is one of your favourite teaching memories?
It has to be the day I was given my very first class. I had already been given my list of students, so I knew who was going to be in my class. I had been talking to students whilst on duty and so many of them had told me that they wished they were in my class and I secretly already knew that they were. We got all the Year One kids into a large area and had the Year One teachers standing around, waiting to be called. My AP had started calling names, asking the kids to stand up when they heard theirs. As soon as she said those first few names, I knew it was my class. It took everything in me to keep my feelings inside. Once she got to the end of the list, she announced ‘If you are standing up, your teacher for Year One is… Miss Fink!!”. The joy that filled the room was like no other. The largest smiles stretched across those kids' faces, it is a memory I will never forget. I then had to line them up and walk them up to my room and used all of my might to not cry because I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I had just been given 21 of the most beautiful, clever students in the whole wide world.  

What is the most important thing you have learnt while teaching?
Finding a good balance between work and personal life. It’s becoming much more prevalent in the teaching world at the moment, that teachers are burnt out and leaving their job. I truly love my job and cannot see that happening to myself, but I totally understand why many feel that way. I make a point of arriving at school around 8-8:15am and always leave between 3:30-4:00pm. I work through my breaks and if I have more work I need to prepare, I would rather do it whilst sitting on my lounge at home with my partner than alone in my classroom. When it’s the school holidays, I allocate a small portion to planning and programming and rest is for me. I catch up with friends, get a massage, paint a picture and bake some cookies. All the things I wouldn't usually have time for, I make time for in the holidays or on the weekend so I still feel like me. 

If you could invite one guest speaker into the classroom who would it be?
I’d love to invite my mum! She came into my room on my birthday last year and read the kids books and played games as we held a little classroom birthday party for my 22nd birthday and it was just the best day! I would really love another day like that with my mum and my current class of kids. 

What is your best teaching tip for beginning teachers?
Ask questions! Observe! I can’t tell you the number of things I learnt the hard way, like how the printer actually staples booklets for you. I used to count out the 12 worksheets and staple them and repeat that step 24 times so each child had their own booklets!? I also asked multiple teachers for copies of their timetables, guided reading group activities and literacy rotations. I found it really helpful to see how each person taught things differently. It really helped me figure out how I wanted to do things in my own classroom. There are so many things that they don’t teach you at uni, so it's important to ask loads of questions so you don't feel lost!

Teaching can be very demanding. How do you achieve a work/life balance?
As I mentioned earlier, I do as much work as I can at school and as little as I can at home. It really helps that I am so passionate about my career because it means that when I do have to bring work home, it doesn’t feel like a huge, mundane chore. Make sure you are always making time for yourself to do things that you love. If you feel swamped, ask for help. Schools are filled with huge support systems!

What is one thing you like to do every day with your students?
Dance! Whenever the kids need a brain break, we dance. It is such a great way for them to get those wrigglys out of their bodies and have fun. My class has grown a real love for dancing; it is what I use as a reward at the end of the day as I just love seeing them bouncing around, and having fun with their friends. 

How do you minimise your environmental footprint in the classroom?
The school that I currently work at runs an amazing waste system where we have allocated bins for allocated rubbish. We have Wombat Wally that we collect all 10c bottles and cans in, Recycling Ralph for hard plastics and paper, Squishy Plastic Sam that we pop all of our sandwich bags in and of course, our general waste. Colour-coordinated bins in the classroom that match our playground bins help the kids make conscious decisions about where their rubbish goes!

Imagine you have a free day to plan and teach what you would like, what would you do?
I LOVE this question! The day would definitely start with a dance party, and then we would play a round of circle champion, it's a maths game that my class adores. After recess, I’d plan a super, fun art lesson and then definitely a science lesson that involves a STEM challenge as I love seeing the kids work together. Lunch time would be inside play so we can get out the dress ups and play together. After lunch, I’d run a super fun creative writing lesson and then head outside for sport! There’s an invasion game my class just love and it always makes me laugh seeing how serious they get. SUCH a fun day!!

Thank you so much Siobhan for sharing your sweet stories and great teaching advice. How fortunate your students are to have you. We can’t wait to see what your future holds.

To read past teacher profiles; click here.

If you are a teacher and are interested in being featured in the blog, we would love to hear from you. Flick me an email at laurathexplaura@gmail.com or comment below.