Cooking on the barbeque in the summer and having just grilled meat with salad for most of our meals is the best. I know this is true. I am not cut out to be a primary teacher. Spending a couple of hours with some Year One age children (i.e. Austin's age) whilst I chaperoned at… Continue reading I Know This is True
Tag: Teaching
I Want to Remember
I want to remember the smile on Evelina's face when she pulled off an awesome lift in her Acro show today. I want to remember the simple joy of a family barbeque and the sun bathing the garden in golden light. I want to remember how we ate and laughed and hugged. I want to… Continue reading I Want to Remember
Five Things that Made Me Smile Today
Finishing marking a whole set of books;Harper's attempts to scam an extra meal out of Evelina;Rich's return home from London;Having a healthy debate with some Year 9 students about the value of English as a subject (and the meaning of life);Watching Evelina read the opening of one of my favourite books (/ book series) of… Continue reading Five Things that Made Me Smile Today
A Change in the World
How are you changing the world? That is the question that comes with today's Bloganuary prompt. There have been a few questions that I have shied away from this month but as a teacher, I suppose there is an argument to say that I am changing the world by educating young people and teaching them… Continue reading A Change in the World
An ideal day
Today was not an ideal day. But if I was to design an ideal Thursday, it would look like this: 6am I wake naturally and rise before the kids wake. I stretch, read, and write with a cup of tea. The sunrise streams in through the slanted shutters. Harper sits at my feet. She has… Continue reading An ideal day
A Deep Breath
When my kiddos get sad, angry, hurt, or frustrated, the very first thing I tell them to do is to stop and take a breath. Slow and steady. In through the nose then out through the mouth. This calming practice doesn't just work for tearful kiddos. From women in labour to that breath you take… Continue reading A Deep Breath
Stepping back into my comfort zone
We are often told we need to step out of our comfort zone. It is meant to be useful for our growth or a way to keep our brains lively, or something. The problem is that being outside our comfort zones is distinctly, well, uncomfortable. I understand what drives the general advice but the reality… Continue reading Stepping back into my comfort zone
My List of 20 in 2020
My list of 19 things for 2019 was a total success. I allowed it to be a success by changing up some of the items on the list. I didn't see the point of ignoring all the things that I had managed to achieve just so that I could stick doggedly to (and fail at)… Continue reading My List of 20 in 2020
Finishing up my 19 for 2019
I did two things I haven't done before with regard to my yearly list of goals: a) I changed some of the goals mid-year to align with things that became more important to me as the year went one (in the past, I have doggedly stuck to my original list); and b) I completed my… Continue reading Finishing up my 19 for 2019
What next.
At some point last school year - I can't pinpoint it exactly - I decided that I had to make a change to my working life as it was not sustainable as it was. It had been a tough year for a lot of reasons, not all of them to do with my job. Once… Continue reading What next.