But I Smile Anyway…

Well, hello all!

I’m sitting here with an iced drink as it is rather warm, but have you got whtaever you want? Right, let’s get on!

• If we were having chai I’d start with my school update. The days ahve been pretty similar, with my 13 children, except I am now down to 12 as one has chicken pox (let’s see if any others go down with it!) It’s been calm, leaving me with time to get a lot of paperwork done in the afternoons, when another teacher takes my class, to give me time to get ready for September… because… DRUM ROLL…
• If we were having chai I’d tell you we might need bubbles because, as of September, I am the new Early Years Phase Leader! This is my first foray into management, and I have to say, I have never actually thought about this ide of teaching. My real passion is to be the best teacher I can be. But my head offered me the position, because of my experience, and she thinks I can handle it… So, this means I will be responsible for all the Reception and Nursery classes, their curriculum, and needs, managing the staff (I will have 3 teaches and 5 teaching assistants in my team) and up to 100 children! I will still have my own class of 30, but I will oversee the rest. I have been busy getting plans up for the return to school, ad working out a way for our new children to start in the least stressful waay for them, and us, after all, they will be teeny, and many won’t have even met us. Oh, and we are also bringing in a new EYFS curriculum too, as Early Adopters for the Government… not much to stress about, eh! Still, it’s a new professional challenge, and my own personal one will be to make sure I keep my work/life balance manageable!

• If we were having chai I would tell you that in order to stay organised with my life, I ordered a proper planner for everything, and I am looking forward to filling it up! I aalso have a teacher diary on order which won’t arrive until next month, but that will get filled with specific school info!

• If we were having chai I’d tell you that we took Lil Princess to the orthodontist, and she hasa had some separator bands put in. The next appointment is on Tuesday, but we already had to go back once, as one band decided to ping out! And she picked up her new specs, too. It’s all change for her!
• If we were having chai I’d mention that the kids are now officially on their holiday now, but I still have another week to go. I can’t wait to enjoy at least 3 weeks of not thinking about school, because the building will be closed, to allow everyone to have a proper break.
• If we were having chai I’d proudly mention that we had a lovely day on Saturday, at Lil Man’s cricket match. It was his first game with one of the Mens teams and he did so well! the weather waas glorious. So hot, infact that I managed to get a sunburned chest! (The one place I forgot to put cream!)

• If we were having chai I’d put on a sad face, and tell you that I didn’t manage words this week, but what with everything at school, my brain had no space. I did read though. And the running seems to have ground to a halt, because I am so tired by the evening… But I will start up doing something in the holidays, promise!

This week we finally break up! Thank goodness! The kids last day is Wednesday, but we are still in on Thursday, and possibly Friday, to finish up our setting up for September, tentatively, at least, because things may change in the holidays again!

There are more appointments for Lil Princess, and a bike that needs fixing, and I need to schedule some relaxation time in as well, this week!

Oh, and while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!

Well, hello all!

I hope you are all well, and have your cuppa ready!

• Monday, and back to school for me! My class was up to 13 this week, with an addition to my ‘bubble’. We had great fun, writing letters to aliens! In my downtime, I spent hours and hours calling the parents of my new children, due to start in my class in September. It is very strange, you know. For most teachers, they are welcoming back chilren who have suffered a broken year of learning, but they have been to school before. For our Reception children, it is a WHOLE other scenario. Some of these children have never left their parents side, let alone been to nursery… And in less than two months we are going to be separating them from their carers, and plopping them into a new bubble, consisting of 29 other children, like them, shell-shocked, possibly crying, with no previous experience. Usually, we have transition days, where the children can come in for an hour to meet us a few times, and we also do home visits. With the pandemic, however, we can’t do any of this… So, the phonecalls were made, and I managed to get through to most of them. I can’t comment aas yet, but I am sure next academic year will prove to be interesting in many ways! The parents I spoke to were all lovely, and there was only one who couldn’t communicate, as she had little English! So… September… bring it on!
• Something lovely also happened… one of my TAs (Teaching Assistant) gave me a gift. I was not expecting it, but it was so touched. It is a personalised necklace for me!

• Something HUGE… I managed to write some new WIP words for Book two! I have been stuck in such a rut recently. The last couple of months have not been conducive to me writing, but I found my writing mojo! Here’s to me getting back into it!

• I even completed week 3 of Couch To 5K and for the first time, I ran a whole lap of our running track, without stopping! Granted, I am not running fast, because I don’t think my knee would forgive me, but I did it!

• On Sunday, we spent the afternoon watching Lil Man play his first match of the season. It was a friendly one, but such a lovely day!

This week is the last full week we are in school (half week next week) before the school holidays kick in. So, there will be more getting ready for the September. By then I hope we have more guidance from our Academy about how things are going to work, timetable wise, in September.

Lil Princess has her orthodontist appointment too, on Tuesday, so I’ll be juggling my timings at work, to fit things in. It is important to get started for her, preferably before term starts, so she can get used to everything before starting back at school.

Oh, and while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!

What have you been up to?

Stay safe, my dear friends!

Well, hello there, my dear Peeps!

Fifteen weeks, and still counting!

Got your drink?

• Another week passed at school. I had my special Beaut back in class, this week (He’s my special needs child) I have been worried about him being at home, but equally, was worried about him being back in and adapting to the new routines and systems, but you knw what? He did really well! The rest of the week has been filled with paperwork, as we reaad new policies that have been sent to us by the government, regarding reopening to all pupils in September, including our brand new starters in Reception class. Such woolly advice! I’m just glad our head and the Senior Leadership Team is sensible enough, for the most part, the help organise things for us in the best way possible. I have some new responsibilities going forward, so am trying to prepare for them too!
• We had our two birthdays on the Monday, as you all know, so a socially distanced birthday cake was cut in the garden with a candle on a cupcake so he could blow it out, and not worry about blowing on the cake everyone was going to eat! Except it was blowing up a gale, so I had to hold the cake through the kitchen window, for him to blow the candle out! And we video called Mum and sang to her! We will have to meet to celebrate that 70th at a later stage.
• Fitness-wise, I have carried on with my Flat Tummy challenge, and the Plank Challenge ( I can hold a plank for 1 minute and 10 seconds!) and I completed week two of the CouchTo5K runs as well!

• The rest of the week flew by in a blur. I’m getting up early, but falling asleep fast too. The weekend was a mix of the boys visiting barber shops, and us girls attempting to get to the hair dresser too! Pubs and restaurants opened on Saturday, and as Lil Man and I went on our walk, on Saturday evening, I was slightly alarmed at how many people were out, and crammed in to certain venues! Don’t they get that the virus hasn’t gone away yet?

• I am also still trying to eat a Keto-style diet, and this weekend, I experimented with Keto bread… I’ll let you know what it tastes like next week… it’s cooling as I type!

This week, we are still at school, preparing for the grand reopening in September, as well as teaching our mini class that we have.

I also have the 2nd birthday of my Finndian nephew #2 on Wednesday. Can’t believe time is flying so fast!

Also, Lil Man is playing his first cricket match of the season, on Sunday, so fingers crossed for better, less windy weather!

Oh, and while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!

What have you been up to?

Stay safe, my dear friends!