Just another day in my fight against apathy, poverty, racial hatred and for positive educational experiences.

6.30 Cup of tea in bed ( lovely R gets up earlier than me)
7.45 drop girls at breakfast club, cycle to school
8.10 arrive at school, run around switching on computers and moving bits of paper from one surface to another, usually the photocopier/trimmer. Ask another teacher for lollysticks and sequins.
8.45 children arrive. PE, thankfully with a specialist so I get to observe the children and help the ones struggling with rules of the simple games. Marie (LSA) is drawing a big pumpkin and some big rats and asks me if it looks ok. It looks awesome, and I could never have done it!
10.00 get changed for assembly ( children, not me, I wear the same)
10.10 my turn to lead assembly, which normally I like but today frustrated by trying to get the right tracks on a CD that has dialogue on it when we want the songs to learn. Lots of wriggly bums and I fed up too.
10.40 remember what we are doing in Maths and panic!
10.45 Maths starts. I have to get through 2 groups making gingerbread people. LSA got two groups tipping water all over the place while learning about capacity. Scales broken, so measuring feature of lesson tricky. Find more scales that work, but measure up to 5kg so tricky to show them the scale for 150g. ' It's the 6th little tincy black line along'.
11.45 Lunch time. Lovely Marie ( LSA) goes to Coop and buys me lunch - I told her I was veggie but she thought I ate fish, so bought me a tuna sandwich. I ended up having a bagle and half of her lovely Tescos cous cous and a packet of crisps and a cup of tea. By time I eat I have a red bum and face, as got out the powder paints and equipment at lunch time and somehow sat on some red powder paint. Also got ready for reading group.
12.55 Children in. Lost one, found him in loo. Another one got huge thick lip as had a fall at lunch time. Almost all of my Thursday reading group do other things at 1.00, so next week am changing reading time so they don't drift off to other intervention activities during the precious reading time!
1.20 finish reading early to get on with ridiculous afternoon activities, which include history independent writing ( still on Guy Fawkes and King James) colour mixing orange and painting a rectangle of orangeness, and finishing off the gingerbread men. Can you imagine a job with more multi tasking than overseeing 30 people who are cooking, painting and writing, plus wanting to go to the toilet/feeling sick/changing their books and a myriad of other possibilities. No? Well, next came playtime.
2.10 playtime. Phew. Went to toilet. Nice to have a sit down.
2.25 Took all 4 classes with another teacher to practise singing our Christmas production songs in the dining room. After 20 minutes she took the Year Rs who had had enough, so I had the Year 1s and 2s and played a game which was loud and I was already hoarse from singing my loudest 'hallelujah Mary had a baby' and doing the actions. So I very quiet and waited for an age for peace to reign. Still waiting.
3.20 Merciful sound of the bell for hometime. Shovelled them all out the door and had a cup of tea and grovelled to caretaker and cleaner about the mess from cooking.
3.30 did varous tasks of adminstrative style, like uploading planning, writing evaluations, moving piles of paper around, etc etc
4.40 chat to friend on the phone who had just reported an incident of racial abuse against her to the police. After speaking to the person who denied making the remarks, the police are going to do nothing. One person's word against another, one speaking in her native tongue, one in her 4th language and in a foreign land. Hmm.
5.15 R comes in car to get me on his way home, it is pouring with rain and I don't fancy the ride.
5.30 Get home to house full and stressed, sweaty Amanda cooking roast chicken for 9 people. AJ and kids have been invited for tea, by Amanda, and she did a good job - roast potatoes great. She made a chicken of dubious origin go around 8 people and it was all right.
6.00 Children run amok while Amanda confesses that once again she messed up with her money and gave £35 away: 'lent' to her mum and her old 'mate' for drugs. What can I say that hasn't already been said? Meanwhile, she walks around in flip flops as the money was planned to buy shoes for the winter. Don't get angry as its her life, her feet and her lessons to learn.
6.20 H goes to Brownies
7.00 drop AJ etc off at their flat, after a detour to look at their new house which is brand new and lovely and in Thornhill. She is moving in 2 weeks! I am full of joy for her, she has been in the two bedroom flat with 3 kids for too long and she is an asset to the community and its fantastic for her and for us that she is going to be here long term. Absolutely thrilled and delighted to watch her video clip tour.
7.10 Wee. Great, another sit down!
7.20 washing up, laundry chores, tidying and cleaning. Make leftover dough into more gingerbread people and bears.
7.30 read A her bedtime story
then as above, til
8.00 pick up H from Brownies, more faffing about in kitchen etc doing housework things.
And so here I am. Its now 9pm and I am about to embark on some English and Maths planning.


I love teaching, luckily.