Back to Work

This was the first week of Summer vacation for the children in England.  While the parks and beaches were full of families enjoying time together, teachers (and some of their children) were in school decorating their classrooms and preparing lessons for September.  This week and the last week of August were the only opportunities for me to go into the school so I got to practise my driving skills and see what it will be like to take Jackson with me in the car for the 45-minute journey to Preston every day.

I used to have a set of keys to the school so it was very easy for me to go in and stay until my job was done.  Due to a break-in and fear that one of the teachers would be in the school by herself, thus encountering a burglar, all of the teachers had to hand-in their keys.  Now we are bound to the hours that the site supervisor is present which, for this week, was from 9 A.M. to 1 P.M.  I set-up Jackson's toys and travel cot (playpen) in my classroom and he turned into the school mascot by the end of the week.  The restricted hours and watching Jackson proved to be quite the challenge, but with the help of my incredibly generous friend Karen and her daughter who came in two days this week, my classroom is miraculously ready for the students' arrival on September 6th.

At home for the next few weeks, I will be planning lessons and preparing work for my class for the first days of school.  I am returning to a much different school than I left last year:  a new head teacher, a new deputy head teacher, five new class teachers, and many of my friends who will not be there because they have moved on to new schools or careers.  With all of the changes, I am really looking forward to going back to work though because I get to teach the age group that I prefer (year 3) and I get to work with a teaching assistant who is my friend and someone I really respect.  There is a lot to learn over the Summer because of new policies in place and planning formats, but I am ready for the challenge and to get back into the routine of work.

The first thing he does now in his rocking chair is turn himself around and rock backwards

Crawling around the yard and pulling off leaves (and pulling the grass out of the ground)

Rocking and enjoying the view out of our back yard

Developmental updates:  Jackson is crawling very quickly now and he weaves in and out of chairs, behind the sofa, and under the table.  He also shut the door on me twice this week.  Once, he shut me out of his room and then sat on the floor, blocking me from opening it up.  When he heard my voice, then he kept leaning on the door trying to get to me, but I was afraid of pushing the door and hurting his head, so it took awhile for us to meet again.  Jackson tried raspberries this week and really loves squishing them in his mouth.  He is escaping his diaper changes since he can move away on his own now.  Usually we have to pin him down or distract him with a song or video because he screams in protest mid-diaper change and kicks and pushes us away.  Jackson is dictating his day when he's at home because he can crawl to his toy box to choose a toy or to his blanket to rest for a nap.  His new bedtime routine combines all of the following:  blanket, Sleep Sheep, mobile, lullaby CD, and pacifier.  When all of these things are in place, then Jackson falls asleep in less than a minute.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.