Holiday
I have booked our holiday! First of all there is the huge sense of relief that I have finally made a decision (of course Andy helped, but I was still dithering) and now there is the holiday countdown to enjoy.
For the last three years we have been to Dawlish Warren in Devon which is an ideal place for families with small children, but this year we thought it was time for a change. We decided to explore another part of the south coast and look for something in the area around Weymouth. We prefer to stay on holiday parks so there is lots for the girls to do, but usually choose a chalet or a bungalow in preference to a caravan. I really didn't want to choose a caravan (my blood runs cold at the thought of it shaking as the girls thunder up and down it, and they are always packed so close together) but surprisingly most of the parks in the area seemed to be almost exclusively caravans only...very nice caravans some of them, but caravans nonetheless.
So, this time we have chosen something a little bit different. We have opted for a park which is about 8 miles inland, in the countryside. It's in a woodland setting so there should be plenty of interesting things for the girls to spot and places to explore. Our accomodation is a lodge (wow, sounds posh, although probably not THAT posh) and as we have both been working very hard in the last few months we decided to pay a bit extra for it to have a few mod cons like a DVD player and a dishwasher. There is an indoor pool as well as a soft play area so the girls won't be bored if the weather is bad. Oooh, the excitement is building!
Tags
I should do my other two tags but I feel inordinately guilty about tagging other people. But then I feel guilty because I haven't done my tags. Sam, you are to blame for this dilemma! (but I still love you)
Non musician
I am still recovering from my attempt to play the piano at Mass this afternoon. In my defence a) I have played the piano properly twice in the last 5 years (maybe more, but that's how long I can be certain about) and b) I got the music at 4:30 pm yesterday and had my first opportunity to practice it an hour and a quarter before Mass started. Considering my mitigating circumstances, it was not a disaster...there were a few 'interesting' harmonies, but I managed to keep going. It was all a bit stressful though, and I think the moral of the story is that I need to get my piano moved here (although I did request a little more notice of future occasions!) My piano dwells at my Dad's, as it has since I moved out nearly 10 years ago - and of course for quite a few years before that. My first house was too small for it, and moving it here is one of those things I have never really got round to.
My Girls
Friday, April 11, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Tagged part one
I am making a concerted effort to catch up with Sam's tags. I have a backlog of three to do, so here is installment one. For this one I have to tell you 6 random things about myself and then tag 3 more people.
1. I love watching Formula One racing but sadly that pastime has been killed off somewhat since I became a mother. It's hard to keep up with tyre and fuel strategies and who is where and doing what with a constant little voice piping up "Is that Michael Schumacher?". The stock answer has of course changed from "in that red car with a number one on it, miles in front of everyone else" to "Michael Schumacher isn't in it any more". I did get around the problem by videoing the race and making painstaking efforts not to inadvertently find out the result before watching it, but I have failed to learn how to record on the new video.
This is difficult...I am really not that interesting a person....
2. I have always lived in odd numbered houses. I find this interesting even if no one else does.
3. I have never been on an aeroplane. This is not through fear but just because I haven't got round to it! I have been abroad three times but always by land/sea.
4. This year it will be 14 years since I met Andy and 10 years since we got married.
5. I have busked outside Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford. A group of us from my A-level music course (ok, it was a few years ago) went along one sunny spring day and sang English Madrigals which went down a storm with the tourists and earned us enough money for a couple of pints in the pub for us all afterwards :)
6. I have been photographed for a newspaper on a miniature railway with Cheggers!
Right, now I have to find three people to tag....(please don't hate me!)
Elly
Liz
Amanda
1. I love watching Formula One racing but sadly that pastime has been killed off somewhat since I became a mother. It's hard to keep up with tyre and fuel strategies and who is where and doing what with a constant little voice piping up "Is that Michael Schumacher?". The stock answer has of course changed from "in that red car with a number one on it, miles in front of everyone else" to "Michael Schumacher isn't in it any more". I did get around the problem by videoing the race and making painstaking efforts not to inadvertently find out the result before watching it, but I have failed to learn how to record on the new video.
This is difficult...I am really not that interesting a person....
2. I have always lived in odd numbered houses. I find this interesting even if no one else does.
3. I have never been on an aeroplane. This is not through fear but just because I haven't got round to it! I have been abroad three times but always by land/sea.
4. This year it will be 14 years since I met Andy and 10 years since we got married.
5. I have busked outside Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford. A group of us from my A-level music course (ok, it was a few years ago) went along one sunny spring day and sang English Madrigals which went down a storm with the tourists and earned us enough money for a couple of pints in the pub for us all afterwards :)
6. I have been photographed for a newspaper on a miniature railway with Cheggers!
Right, now I have to find three people to tag....(please don't hate me!)
Elly
Liz
Amanda
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Mostly work
I am having a great deal of trouble keeping up with life in general, mainly because I am trying to get my head round the fact that as of September I will be expected to jump through the government hoops like everyone else working in the public sector does. I know I can teach maths to children, plan lessons, create resources (see me moving into educational jargon in a pre-emption of future form filling), stand in the rain with a cup of coffee (break duty), write reports, talk to parents, mark exams, find something to say in staff meetings, and all the million and one other things that teachers do. The bit I have trouble with is filling in forms and providing EVIDENCE for it. This is vaguely titled 'Performance Management' and means that I don't just have to do my job, I have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that I am doing it.
So, sadly I spent two hours reviewing the Key Stage 3 (11-14 year olds, for those blissfully unaware of Key Stages) National Strategy for Maths last night. What is more worrying is that I found it interesting, but I digress. It's a good document - it clearly lays out the pedagogy of the subject (in other words how one bit builds on another bit) across that age range and provides lots of helpful examples and snappy targets. There are lots of ideas for structuring well paced lessons. It's a great resource. I'm sure you can sense a 'but' coming and I won't disappoint. The fact the the framework is a mandatory requirement rather than a recommended aid to teaching spoils it for me. And it just doesn't ever seem to mention having fun............
Apologies to Sam; she has sent me two things where I have been tigged (Is that the word? We used to say that at school, but maybe I mean tagged?) to respond and I still haven't. Keep nagging though Sam, you can see it does work eventually;)
So, sadly I spent two hours reviewing the Key Stage 3 (11-14 year olds, for those blissfully unaware of Key Stages) National Strategy for Maths last night. What is more worrying is that I found it interesting, but I digress. It's a good document - it clearly lays out the pedagogy of the subject (in other words how one bit builds on another bit) across that age range and provides lots of helpful examples and snappy targets. There are lots of ideas for structuring well paced lessons. It's a great resource. I'm sure you can sense a 'but' coming and I won't disappoint. The fact the the framework is a mandatory requirement rather than a recommended aid to teaching spoils it for me. And it just doesn't ever seem to mention having fun............
Apologies to Sam; she has sent me two things where I have been tigged (Is that the word? We used to say that at school, but maybe I mean tagged?) to respond and I still haven't. Keep nagging though Sam, you can see it does work eventually;)
Thursday, February 21, 2008
New Job!
My main excuse for yet another long gap before updating is that, rather excitingly, I managed to get a new job without having to apply for one! It's very nice to be recommended. :)
For this academic year I am working from 9am to 11am, which is while Hannah is at nursery. I'm taking out small groups of pupils from their regular class, either for support or for extension work depending on their ability. I'm also teaching a module of A-level General Studies which is interesting, although a little scary as it is mostly science.
The best part is that I am being taken on permanently at the school in September with my choice of hours! I'm so happy at how everything has fallen into place. The school has a nice atmosphere; it has its fair share of characters as all comprehensives do, but that is part of what makes the job interesting. I have opted to do the equivalent hours to working for four full days, but to spread it out over five days.
For this academic year I am working from 9am to 11am, which is while Hannah is at nursery. I'm taking out small groups of pupils from their regular class, either for support or for extension work depending on their ability. I'm also teaching a module of A-level General Studies which is interesting, although a little scary as it is mostly science.
The best part is that I am being taken on permanently at the school in September with my choice of hours! I'm so happy at how everything has fallen into place. The school has a nice atmosphere; it has its fair share of characters as all comprehensives do, but that is part of what makes the job interesting. I have opted to do the equivalent hours to working for four full days, but to spread it out over five days.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Back to the chalkface?
Maybe the phrase should be updated? Back to the interactive whiteboard?
This school year is already going by far too quickly, and come next September both girls will be in full time school. That means I need to rethink my employment arrangements and aim to be at work when they are at school rather than when they are not. So it looks like I will be heading back to the classroom in the not too distant future. I am excited and nervous about this at the same time. It's already been almost three and a half years since I last stood in front of a class, and over five years since I last taught a GCSE or A level class.
I've been doing a good deal of thinking about what hours I would like to try and aim for. I think the most suitable would be close to, but not quite, full time. When Caitlin was little I worked the equivalent of two days per week, and I loathed almost every minute of it. Being there so little meant I didn't feel completely part of the school community. Full time work, especially from the outset, may be more of a challenge than I can cope with unless I miraculously turn into someone super organised in the next couple of months.
I feel a long way from someone with a career at the moment. I was going through some old work files on my computer the other evening and I came across a memo I had written to other staff about their A-level classes. I couldn't believe it was me who wrote that! I sounded like I knew what I was talking about! The maths bit I'm not rusty on because of my tutoring, but in every other aspect of the job I am seriously out of practise. There will be a lot of work to do between now and when I start teaching. I am already looking around for good ideas, resources and other useful bits, and remembering the things I struggled with when I was working before and trying to put them right before I start. Then there is also the question of organising my home as well....I think I need to have a better starting point with that too. I will need to write a CV and a detailed job application letter, and consider any before and after school child care the girls might need.
I do feel enthusiastic about the whole thing. I know I would be bored to tears pottering around the house when the girls are at school, and I do enjoy my job. It is varied, challenging, often frustrating but at other times oh so rewarding. I like the thought of having more money, and can spend it several times over, and especially like the thought of earning enough to pay someone else to do some of my housework.
It will be wierd to be 'Miss' again.....
This school year is already going by far too quickly, and come next September both girls will be in full time school. That means I need to rethink my employment arrangements and aim to be at work when they are at school rather than when they are not. So it looks like I will be heading back to the classroom in the not too distant future. I am excited and nervous about this at the same time. It's already been almost three and a half years since I last stood in front of a class, and over five years since I last taught a GCSE or A level class.
I've been doing a good deal of thinking about what hours I would like to try and aim for. I think the most suitable would be close to, but not quite, full time. When Caitlin was little I worked the equivalent of two days per week, and I loathed almost every minute of it. Being there so little meant I didn't feel completely part of the school community. Full time work, especially from the outset, may be more of a challenge than I can cope with unless I miraculously turn into someone super organised in the next couple of months.
I feel a long way from someone with a career at the moment. I was going through some old work files on my computer the other evening and I came across a memo I had written to other staff about their A-level classes. I couldn't believe it was me who wrote that! I sounded like I knew what I was talking about! The maths bit I'm not rusty on because of my tutoring, but in every other aspect of the job I am seriously out of practise. There will be a lot of work to do between now and when I start teaching. I am already looking around for good ideas, resources and other useful bits, and remembering the things I struggled with when I was working before and trying to put them right before I start. Then there is also the question of organising my home as well....I think I need to have a better starting point with that too. I will need to write a CV and a detailed job application letter, and consider any before and after school child care the girls might need.
I do feel enthusiastic about the whole thing. I know I would be bored to tears pottering around the house when the girls are at school, and I do enjoy my job. It is varied, challenging, often frustrating but at other times oh so rewarding. I like the thought of having more money, and can spend it several times over, and especially like the thought of earning enough to pay someone else to do some of my housework.
It will be wierd to be 'Miss' again.....
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