Returning To Full Time Teaching

My Role Play Area

You may or may not have noticed that my blog has been rather quiet of late, I haven't written a post for almost two months. In September I returned to full time teaching in a reception class, which is a pretty new age to me. I've mainly taught in key stage one (year one & two) so it's taking a bit of getting used to. I actually started my teacher training on the 3-7 years route then swapped to 5-11 in my third year as I didn't think working in the early yeas was for me after all.

Eight weeks and a half term down I'm really enjoying it. Enjoying doing something that is 'just me'.
 

Even though I'm enjoying it, it has been really tough, trying to juggle being a mum, looking after the house whilst teaching has been pretty exhausting. There's the never ending loads washing to do, cleaning, cooking etc at home. At work (which also comes home at times) there's the planning, classroom upkeep, teaching, assessing etc to do.
 I'd love to be a 'pinterest mum', to me that would be perfectly organised with a pristine home and plenty of time to spare. Unfortunately I'm finding there are simply not enough hours in the day and getting the work/life balance right is a challenge. I'm sure all you other working parents can relate!
 

I actually can't believe we are in November! September flew past in a whirlwind of settling children in to my class, getting my head round collecting evidence for the reception baseline assessments and some difficult behaviour from Eliot at home.

Getting my head round how a reception class is set up, utilised and managed during the day has been a learning curve. Having a home corner/role play area in my classroom is also something I'm not used to. In September it started out as being a home which I didn't really do anything to. Over half term I changed it to a classroom which I really enjoyed doing. Some of the children in my class already enjoyed playing 'teachers' so it seemed like a great idea to encourage them to use their imaginations and develop their vocabulary.

 

As you can see in the photos I included the aspects most classrooms have, teachers desk, book corner, children's work table and an ICT area which you can't see but consists of my old commodore amiga 500 keyboard.

After my maternity leave ended in 2014 I went back to teaching part time, meaning I shared a class with another teacher. One of the things I've enjoyed the most since returning full time is that this class are my class. No picking up where someone else left off or leaving work you'd really like to continue with, everything is your sole responsibility (which is where the workload increases).

So I thought I'd share the pros and cons of teaching full time from my own personal experience for anyone else who may be considering it...

 

Pros

• Behaviour expectations are established by you
• You know what has been taught and how well the children have understood because you have delivered the lessons
• Work does not have to be rushed to be completed
• Rules & classroom routine are what you have set up
• You take the class through their week of learning
• You make more of the weekends & evenings with your family

 

Cons

• workload is immense & YOU are completely responsible for keeping on top of it
• Less time with your own children
• You don't have someone to share the big jobs with (like reports at the end of the year),
• You are at work five days of the week

 

So there you have it, a quick update on how I've found returning to teaching full time. It of course is the main reason my blog has been so quiet!

 

I'd really love to hear your experiences of returning to work full time whether in teaching or another job!

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A story By Dummy..

You were around two weeks old when I first gave you a dummy, from the start you were pretty keen and your journey with dummies began....

They were a huge comfort and helped you get through your short stay in hospital when you were admitted for pyloric stenosis at six weeks old.

 

They of course were one of the things that helped you drift off to sleep and calm you down when you were tired or cranky...

Keeping you happy when out to lunch!

Keeping you calm after dinner at Bluestone

Yep, for almost two years, dummies were a very good friend of yours (and mummy & daddy!)



You made them look cool in your own kinda way!



They helped your patience when mummy made you do a blogging related craft activity!

And kept you company whilst walking on our first family holiday

Even the dummy was chosen over chocolate on  your first Easter!



 

 

 And again this year, your dummy helped comfort you when you spent the night in hospital after a febrile convulsion.

 

For almost two years, dummies were a big part of your life but one day mummy decided it was time for the dummies to go. I knew you would be ok without your dummy, the time was just right. I was aware there might have been difficult times and times I would be tempted to give you a dummy but you were a star!

Its been three months since you had a dummy, you really are a grown up boy!

 

xxx

 

If anyone one would like to hear how and why I got rid of Eliot's dummy be sure to check out my video :)



I'm a DEMON...When Driving That Is!

Today my post is different from my usual, I hope you see the humorous side! 

 



My beloved Mini...pre baby of course!

In general I like to think that I am a calm, placid and patient individual. As a teacher I have to incorporate all those things! Those that know me well (very well) may say slightly different things but overall I believe I'm pretty chilled.

That is until I sit behind the wheel of my car. All starts off well but the smallest thing can trigger rage, fury and bad language. Living in London, a city you have to be an 'assertive' driver.
So here's a few examples of what provokes my anger...

Cyclists
Yes you are wonderful for doing your bit for the environment and helping yourself stay healthy on your commute or general jaunt. BUT why is it ok for you to cycle through red lights, chat on your phone and ride next to your pal side by side?
Of course I'm not referring to every single cyclist but I have seen MANY do the above.
Aside from the above you always seem to be in front of me when I'm in a hurry!

Vans
I'm sure all you van drivers think that us in our smaller cars should/will give way when squeezing down tight roads. Nope not me, I'm not bothered by your larger, white (usually) monstrosity. So next time don't attempt to intimidate me and look on in disbelief when I drive towards/past you. Oh and give me some lip or the finger, don't expect a pretty response!

Taxis
Ah the iconic black cab of London so well known to the world. Taxi drivers share similar traits (in my opinion) to van drivers. You appear to believe you own the road. You pull over abruptly, sometimes without indicating to pick up a fare, causing those behind you to stop unnecessarily/brake hard/swerve. You literally force yourself into busy traffic as soon as you arrive at a junction, and will cut the rest of us up in various road situations.

Pedestrians
Need I remind some of you that the safest place to be is on the pavement? Why oh why do you look so confused/annoyed when you step in to the road and then have to step back because cars are approaching? The road is for cars, don't attempt to cross when you see one approaching (if you're at a crossing that's a different story of course). The worst thing that you do is cross the road without looking, in particular I'm talking about not looking behind you when cars may be taking a left turn (Ok, I admit I've done this myself as a pedestrian). Keep yourselves safe, remember the green cross code? STOP, LOOK & LISTEN.

Drivers in the wrong
Nobody is perfect and I'm certainly not a perfect driver but I don't like being verbally abused by other drivers who made an error. When I was pregnant I remember one incident vividly. I was on the way home from work, queuing at a mini roundabout. I could see a car trying to edge it's way out of the position where they were required to give way. The car in front of me drove on, I began to follow when the driver who had been edging out pulled out right in front of me. Needless to say my horn was blasted and I uttered a few unpleasant words. When the male driver had the audacity to grind to a halt and mouth back at me I was probably the most infuriated I have ever been whilst driving. Some more.
I don't condone this sort of reaction whatsoever. Behind the wheel its almost like I have no control over it.

Breaking The Speed Limit
Ok it's something that the majority of drivers have done at some point but when it's five, ten, fifteen miles an hour or more over the speed limit, it's just not cool. Speed limits are there to keep us all safe!
 To the drivers that do this, no I won't speed up because you are up my backside. Remember if you bump in to the back of my car it will be YOUR fault. We all have somewhere to get to, it's your fault you're running late, not mine!

There we are, a few examples of what gets my goat when driving. It's funny how I wouldn't dream of being confrontational in any other situation, it must be because I'm behind metal and glass! I have become calmer since having Eliot as having an irate mummy shouting when your enjoying the scenery wouldn't be nice!

 

Do you change in to a different person when driving? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences!



Guest Post, A rod for my own back? By Toby Goes Bananas

My guest post today is by the lovely Sarah who blogs over at Toby Goes Bananas

Now, before we start, I’m really not being ungrateful and I know just how lucky we are to have a baby who sleeps but I wanted to write this post to show that there are downsides to every up.

Toby has been a good sleeper since he was about 10 weeks old (which also coincided with us getting his reflux properly medicated and under control). When he was a newborn getting him to sleep was quite an effort and involved a lot of going out for walks in the pram, or sitting with him sleeping on either me or my husband because if we dared to put him down, or even move, then he would be wide awake and crying again. Anyway, from about six weeks old we started putting him upstairs in bed at about 6pm. Quite often he would wake up again several times during the evening but we would usually try and settle him in his cot rather than bring him back downstairs. We also didn’t use a mobile or any comforters in the hope that Toby would learn how to settle himself. He soon started sleeping longer at night and by about 12 weeks he was regularly sleeping from 6pm to 8am without waking up at all! After his four month immunisations (which he got at 18 weeks) he caught a cold and we had a bit of a regression where he went back to waking up a couple of times a night, and now I would say Toby sleeps through about 75% of the time and if he does wake up it’s only once for a quick feed and back to sleep.

So that was night time sleeping which we got sorted fairly early on. Naps were a different matter. I didn’t worry about daytime naps until Toby was sleeping through the night. He used to fight sleep during the day – he would clearly be tired but cry as soon as we tried to put him to bed. He would sleep in the car or in the pram but that wasn’t really convenient - sometimes you just want to stay in the house! So, we started trying to introduce a routine during the day too, doing the same things at the same time every day…and it started to work! From about five months Toby would have a morning nap for between an hour and a half and two hours, another nap from around 1pm to 3pm and then sometimes a short nap in the car when we went to pick his dad up from the train station at 5pm and then it was still bed time at 6pm.

At some point Toby started staying up a bit longer in the morning before going back to bed, he also stays up for a bit longer between his naps, so his afternoon nap is later and he dropped the very late cat nap altogether. So now, on a normal day Toby sleeps for up to two hours in the morning (occasionally longer) and the same in the afternoon. He naps in his cot upstairs. We have a blackout blind so I put the night light on, offer him a bottle, put him in his sleeping bag, say ‘na’night Toby, sleepy time now’ and leave the room. And that’s it. Almost without fail he will go to sleep on his own. Sometimes it takes ten minutes of him bumping around and chatting to himself, sometimes it’s within seconds.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this is fantastic and I love that we have a baby who sleeps but we have trained him so well that he will now only sleep in his cot (or occasionally in the car) and if he misses his naps he gets grumpy and whiney, he goes off his food and he often then wakes up in the night. So, with a baby who, at nine months, sleeps for 14 hours a night and then between three and five hours during the day, and is also in the process of weaning so spends another two to three hours eating, it doesn’t leave us an awful lot of time to do anything else! We do manage to do some activities during the week but they have to fit in with our routine. There are so many mother and baby groups, meetings with friends and weekend days out that we have to turn down because they don’t fit in with Toby’s naps. We are trying to do things at the weekends which mean missed or delayed naps to try and get Toby to be a bit more adaptable but sometimes it’s just easier to stick to the routine to have a quiet life.

So what do you think? Have we made a rod for our own backs by having such a strict routine or should we just be thankful that we have a baby who sleeps so well? Do you follow a routine with your baby or do you just go with the flow? I would love to hear your thoughts!

And lastly big thanks to Lucinda for letting me post this on her blog!

I've previously expressed my envy at how long Toby sleeps on Twitter! It does sound tricky that he's not sleeping elsewhere. I have a routine but sometimes I go with the flow. Luckily Eliot sleeps pretty much anywhere, although he fights it if we're out and about, which can lead to him being cranky.

Thank you Sarah for being a guest on my blog! If you haven't already be sure to pop over to Toby Goes Bananas for more fantastic posts.

The Ordinary Moments #9 Emotional & Baby Brain

First of all apologies for the not so great photo! I took it whilst checking on Eliot asleep. This week I have been feeling emotional and my 'baby brain' is well and truly frazzled!

On Wednesday I had a meeting at work with the other teachers I will be working with/taking over from when returning to work next Friday. I took Eliot along as it was an informal get together.
On route I became slightly overwhelmed with emotion. I was thinking about a few things, going back to work and being with out him, the workload and how I haven't taught since last June. That familiar lump began to rise in my throat and I actually shed a few tears but pulled myself together before I got to school. After all returning to work after maternity leave is an ordinary moment for many mums.

There have been many significant changes at work since I went on maternity leave and as I listened to some of the new things my brain began to frazzle. I was/am worried about how I will juggle it all but I feel somewhat reassured that it's only for three days a week.

On Thursday I experienced more joyful emotions when I met my friends new baby boy. We got on to the topic of baby brain. I've decided baby brain is a 'real' problem that affects mothers. I have a 'to do' list as long as my arm but always miss bits. I walk into a room to get/do something but forget why I went in there in the first place. If I manage to get myself more organised I'm hoping it will help the 'baby brain'!

Today I am excited to be celebrating my first mothers day, so on that note I wish you all a very happy mothers day whether it's your first or one of many!