Thursday

Good morning, everyone.  It feels jolly cold right now, just before the day starts, and the weather forecast is not wonderful as it's likely to be cold and a bit damp, but never mind, wishes won't change anything, will they.  I'm on playground duty this afternoon so I am preparing to shiver and put up with it!

Yesterday went as well as Wednesdays usually go.  Amazingly, everyone had finished their work by the end of the day, even Rather Lazy Little Person.  That is very encouraging!  Perhaps my mini-clampdown is working.

Also amazingly, staff meeting was also encouraging.  As anyone in education will know, the whole curriculum is changing in September and it's down to the schools to make sure they are ready and prepared.  We started the process a while ago, and yesterday we looked at the History, Geography and Science curriculums and suggestions for topics and themes and worked out how we could fit the different literacy text types into each half term.  It was very helpful in beginning to get a broad overview and in seeing how much of our current planning can be recycled and what will need to be newly planned.

I will be sorry to say goodbye to some things I have been teaching in Y1 for quite a time and it's a shame about the big bank of resources I have built up over the years.  Our trip to Braintree Museum for an experience day after half term will be the last one, for example, as we will not longer be doing that history theme.  Very sad but things don't stay in the same place for ever.

Today is another full day with my class.  Three cheers.  It's all planned out and ready to go!  Next year will be much harder work, of course.  New themes, new objectives, etc, mean new planning and new resources to make and no longer will I be able to fell back on years and years of knowledge of teaching content, differentiation and banks of resources.  Ho hum!