Friday Freebie - Better Late Than Never...!

Howdy Folks!

Like many of you, I'm still getting to grips with my classes for this year. But I don't use the word "classes" loosely. I teach around 150 children every week - that's about 5 full classes in normal teaching terms...

Phew!

My Weird and Wonderful Job

You may have gathered that mine is not a "normal" teaching job. For example, tomorrow I will go into two different schools, teaching around 40 children in the first and 11 in the second. Tuesday is busier as I am in a High School. On Wednesday I visit three schools. Thursday is just as busy - two schools with around 40 children. On Friday I have three schools just in the morning! But at least by then it's Friday... I have to travel in between all of these schools, so much of my time is spent rushing to make the next lesson, and if I'm very lucky, grabbing a quick bite of a sandwich on the way.

 

Weekend..? What Weekend...?

I spent yesterday drawing up individual targets for all the sweeties I teach - that took some time, I can tell you... But at least my mind is now fully focused on what each child needs to achieve in order to make progress with their English language. I thought I might have had time for a cheeky glass of Chardonnay in the evening, but that wasn't to be.

Today came and went... The planning process began in earnest. I started at 10am and am still hard at it - it's 9pm here (OK, so I'm  taking a small break to talk to you - a girl needs a coffee break from time to time...). Every child is different, each one is at a different stage in acquiring the language and all have very individual needs. I'm frazzled..! They are all grouped according to their language ability (so I often have Reception (G1) children grouped with Year 6 (G5) children. This is not as problematic as it might sound, as it is usually children who are new to English language who fall into this category.

So far, I have only managed to complete plans for the children I will teach tomorrow... ooh Er! Next thing on my list is to pull together the huge variety of resources I will need. And this is where the Powell Planning Machine has slowly ground to a halt. See, I just haven't got it in me. So here's the dilemma: do I give it one final push now, or do I leave it until the morning and run around like a headless chicken..? No contest really.. But however much I try to convince myself that it's the wise and sensible thing to do, I just can't seem to haul myself out of my chair - I am well and truly super glued in place...!

A Treat - Just For You

So, for any of you who are feeling the same way as me tonight, here's a little treat you can use in class over the next week or two. It's a set of apple bookmarks - a colour version that you can laminate and give out to your kiddos (attach a bright tassel through the holes to make them really colourful), and a black and white set that the kiddos can colour themselves. You choose.

As I missed the weekend - and Freebie Friday - I'm doing it now. Better late than never, as the saying goes. The bookmarks are free to download in my Tn and TPT stores so make sure you bag yours now.

Whatever you're doing today, enjoy the end of the weekend..