Thursday

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron
Water like a stone

OK, so maybe we haven't got the moaning wind, but the rest is a perfect description of my world when I peeped out earlier.  Brrrrr - so cold!  I gather it is expected to warm up a bit tomorrow but right now it is cold and bleak and frosty.

The whole Christmas Show thing is now over, all bar ordering and distributing the DVDs of the recording of last night's performance.  In a way, a pity it wasn't Tuesday that was recorded because last night was punctuated by little glitches all the way through.  It started most inauspiciously with me forgetting the narrators' books and, bless them, they boldly and bravely spoke out from memory while I rushed back to my bay to find them.  A king dropped his gift with a loud clatter, one of the stars dried at one point,  but dear me, it was little children doing what comes naturally and they were all absolutely charming.

The singing was OK though apart from the last song where they got a little over-enthusiastic.  I indulged in a little bribery and corruption beforehand - house points for the class that sang the best.  Bad me!  It worked though.

This next bit is for Sarah - here are the words:

It's Christmas time, it's Christmas time
At the closing of the year
It's Christmas time, it's Christmas time
As the merry bells ring loud and clear.
It's getting closer every day
With a star that shines to light the way
It's Christmas time, it's Christmas time
Merry Christmas to you
Merry Christmas to you.

 . . . and hopefully I will get round to notating the accompaniment at some point!  See - very light but the children liked it and it was right for the end of the show.  And a lot better than 'we wishhhhhhhhhhhhh you a Merry Chrissssssssssssstmas . . .' etc

The children are all going to be so tired today after three performances - several were tearful in the bay after the show - but we have the perfect antidote today.  Pantomime!!  For several years now we have booked a travelling theatre group to come in and do a pantomime in the morning for the infants and in the afternoon for the juniors.  They are very good and the children have a wonderful time.  I'm looking forward to it very much.  And thank you to the parents' association for funding it.

And then in the afternoon - well, more Christmas art, I guess.  Baubles, maybe, or stand up angels with doyley wings or perhaps we will start on the Christmas cards.  We will see!  All jolly good fun anyway and an easy ride for them.

Must remember to order a DVD today!

Tuesday

Well, I'm sure you will be glad to know that the first of the three performances of Shine Star, Shine went well.  The costumes stood the strain well, the cast remembered all their words and spoke up really well, the acting was great, the Kings remembered to stand up on time and the only down bit was that some of the singing was lacklustre.  Cue for nags in Infant Singing today!

Just between me and my blog readers, I was really chuffed at how well the children have taken to the song wot I wrote!  The first time through is a duet by two little year two boys with lovely 'childlike' voices and then the second time through everyone joins in.  It was the best singing of the whole show, which, seeing as it's the last song, was great!  I could see several of the audience wiping tears away surreptitiously.  It was beautiful - the five stars standing on the bench behind, the manger scene with Mary, Joseph, the Angel, the Shepherds and the Kings and the two little lads in front singing their hearts out.  Very Christmassy!

The rest of the day passed in a haze of not-a-lot-of-stuff-going-on.  By the time they had got changed and had a playtime, there wasn't an awful lot of time left before lunch.  The afternoon was taken up with swimming and that was that.  The hardest bit was making sure they all took their costumes and their swimming bags home with them!  Some seemed determined to leave one or other behind.

And today - well, it's a full day of work for once.  That will be a relief for us all, I think.  And then the second performance will be at six o'clock.  So a long day, not only for the staff but also for the children, although better than previous years when the first evening performance was at seven o'clock.

And now I'd better go and get ready.

Thursday

One of the cupcakes JustJules made for the Monday meeting - and they tasted as good as they looked, if not better.  Mmmmmmmm

Thursday already!  Only yesterday it was Monday, I could swear!   One day, then SEN day and it's the weekend - and most of the planning is already done and dusted.  Yay!!!

Since we started having two sessions of phonics each day, everything seems so busy.  There's always something to do, always another task, another learning objective to master, another WALT (We Are Learning To) to work on . . . and on . . . and on!  I know things will slow down after the Christmas show and there will be one last week this term where we relax, make Christmas decorations, cards, paperchains and cover the carpet with glitter.  But right now it feels like a sprint the length of a marathon!  Phew.

We've started working on the show songs now.  Shine, Star, Shine is all about a Big Star who found he couldn't shine so when he was REALLY needed, everyone had to help him to learn how to shine again.  Lovely story, lovely songs.  Now we have to put it all together.

Today is the one day I have my class all day - except that while I have my student it won't be as we have an hour last thing in the afternoon for our weekly meeting where I go through the uni-agenda and K fills in one of the many pieces of paperwork.  You should see her file - she's only had four days with us and it's already starting to bulge at the seams!  No wonder teachers end up drowning in paperwork if that's how they are started off.  Incredible. 

Closer to home, I must be a very sad person indeed because I keep glancing proudly at the corner where sits my new toy, my Vax carpet cleaner.  Come Christmas I may have a clean living room carpet, you never know.  Mind you, I won't get very far while it sits in its box but that's a task for the weekend - unpack and assemble.  My very own D&T project!