Weekends Mean Work

It's the weekend, so the mental list of tasks which must be completed has begun to build in my head. It is very rare to have a weekend without the to do list these days and I long for the times when I can simply ask C 'what shall we do this weekend?' But it hardly ever happens.

So far the to do list for this weekend consists of:

• Mark two sets of books - English (extended piece of writing, so in depth marking of 27 books) and Science (and intensive week's work in all 30 books). I reckon this is a solid five hours work, or longer since it will almost certain only happen once C is asleep, I am tired and not terribly efficient.
• Remove and replace the marking symbols sheet in the front of my English books
• Laundry
• Change the three blown light bulbs around the house. I've been putting this off for a few weeks now because of painful shoulders, but the house is starting to get dark.
• Book a groom for Wicket. He can't see properly!
• Grocery shopping. This is actually getting a bit urgent!
• File household paperwork and tidy the dining table so we can actually dine at it
• Take C's 4th birthday photo
• Empty the bins (yes, I know this is a small task but it all adds up)

This is all before I add in time for cooking and clearing away meals and other general bits of housework (thank goodness for my brilliant cleaner!).

Obviously the most glaring omission in the list is spending quality time with C, which is the most important item on the to do list. It means that a lot of the rest of the to dos are shoved into the post 7:30pm slot, when C is in bed and hopefully asleep. It means a lot of pressure to get the jobs done in limited time, and it usually means some of that time comes from sleep time.

When I write it all out like this I can understand why I start most weekends feeling like they have already gone!

Friday night, on the way home I am always full of great intentions of knocking several items off the list. In reality, with a small child in the mix, it never quite happens. Perhaps I should just post this, do the bedtime routine and then pop on a wash load.

To Do List 2

In 2008 I made a To Do list of things in London I wanted to get around to doing. I thought it was time to revisit my list, especially as my life is about to change so dramatically.

This is my list from 2008.

• See a play (or two) at the Globe
• Join an orchestra - done, see www.rodingplayers.co.uk
• Go to the open air Shakespeare at Regent's Park
• Go on the London Eye - done (twice, but always worth a go, and never without a camera)
• Go on a Jack the Ripper tour
• Visit Spitalfields Market
• Find a good, and not extortionate, Sushi restaurant

My mum brought up a couple more:

• Visit Columbia Road Flower Market
• Visit Petticoat Lane

To my shame I have only got around to completing three of those goals, and I had already joined the orchestra. To my further shame, a lovely sushi restaurant opened up in Barking, virtually on my door step, but I only went twice, and now it has closed down. Not my fault entirely, I know. Perhaps Barking is just not ready to swap chicken and chips for sushi, but I could have patronised it more regularly. I have been to Spitalfields a couple of times now and think it is wonderful. Definitely somewhere I'll go again especially since they are dog friendly.

So my new list goes like this:

• See a play (or two) at the Globe
• Go to the open air Shakespeare at Regent's Park
• Go on the London Eye with my daughter and a camera
• Go on a Jack the Ripper tour
• Visit Columbia Road Flower Market
• Visit Petticoat Lane
• See WestSide Story at Sadler's Wells
• See War Horse

I am sure that there are more things I can add, but at and average of 3 met goals in 5 years and the hopeful addition of a daughter next month, I think it will do for now!

Busy Start

It has been the most interesting and busy of beginnings. Dropping into a year 6 class, the term before their SATs, was never going to be easy. But despite being 'tested', having 2-3 lots of marking every day and being in a new school, in a new borough and working with systems I'm not used to, I'm having a ball!

There is a lot to get my head around just teaching in year 6 for the first time, but there is also stacks to do with the ICT.

I arrived at the school with an ICT action plan in my hand, and just 4 weeks in I can start ticking things off. My first discovery was that the ICT policy is 9 years old - ancient for any school policy, never mind in a subject area in which your equipment is out of date in 18 months! So I am in the process of writing a new one (although it might have to wait until the half term).

So far I have:

• written an action plan
  
• begun developing a strong ICT team with Robert, our fabulous IT technician
• bought photo editing software and 6 digital cameras for pupil use
• invested in a data logger which is already being used by year 5
• unearthed a 6 year subscription to EducationCity.com. 2 years gone and no one knew about it! It's being used now!
• started blogging with year 6
• introduced a cross curricular ICT and art topic for year 6
• worked with Robert to research a server for the school - watch this space.
• started to re-write the ICT policy
  

I feel quite proud of what we have achieved so far but there is still a lot to be done and it is going to need to be carefully prioritised. Next on the agenda is a big cupboard sort and resources purge. But that is for 2 days in the holiday. Will keep you posted!

To Do Lists

I am a list maker to the core. I have lists for everything. I have even been known to add things I have already done to new lists, just so that I can cross them off! I find list making incredibly cathartic, in fact I don't think I could function properly without them. So here is my latest list (and I might keep adding to it, but you can also be sure I'll get things crossed off); things I want to do/ see in London.

• See a play (or two) at the Globe
• Join an orchestra - done, see www.rodingplayers.co.uk
• Go to the open air Shakespeare at Regent's Park
• Go on the London Eye - done (twice, but always worth a go, and never without a camera)
  
• Go on a Jack the Ripper tour
• Visit Spitalfields Market
• Find a good, and not extortionate, Sushi restaurant

Hmm, the more I add, the more I feel is missing...