Placement, Christmas and Life!

FINALLY!! 

For the stupidest reason ever for the last few months I have been unable to log into blogger which has frustrated me to the high heavens. 

Anyway I'm all logged in now and ready to type away the things running around in my head.

So the last time I posted was in September, which seems to have ran away rather quickly as it is now January...oops.

So since September I have started my 3rd year at Liverpool Hope University and have completed a 7 week placement at Childwall C.E Primary School and it has been the best 7 weeks of my life for many reasons.

Firstly my adorable class <3 Class 7, Year 3, absolutely adorable children!! I love every single child in that class, uhhhhh I cannot express how much they make me smile. I just want to hug and squeeze them all...however that is obviously not aloud. 

The second reason being the school in general and the staff. This school is placed just off Tagart Avenue in Liverpool and is a 2 second walk from my university! This school made me happy, it made me realise and understand exactly WHY I want to teach, why I want to walk through those school gates every single morning and see those 30+ faces in my class, having their company and building a relationship with them all. This school allowed me to become the teacher I want to be, facing the challenges and hurdles it brings, but most importantly, how I love the person it makes me. Being a teacher makes me appreciate the small things in life, it makes me undoubtably independent, it makes me feel every emotion in one day, it makes me have to leap around the classroom in order for those 30+ little people to understand what a verb or an adjective is or how to divide factions or how The Stone Age people lived. It is what I want to be, who I want to be and exactly what I want to do with my life. 

The staff in Childwall Primary were lovely, they made Terri (my placement partner) and myself feel so welcome and comfortable throughout the placement.

Whilst on placement I moved into a flat with my friends! One of my friends moved back home whilst on placement as she has been placed in the Wirral which is closer to home and due to currently living in Formby, a commute to Childwall everyday and aiming to arrive at 8am was something very unappealing, so I moved in. Also, the thought of petrol costs was another area I did not want to think about. For 7 weeks I lived in Childwall in a flat with 4 other girls and I had a ball :) So much so that I'm actually officially moving out next year and in a 6 bedroom house off Smithdown Road in Liverpool from September - June! How exciting!!!!

Looking back I wish I'd had the confidence to move out and into halls in first year because I know i'd have enjoyed it a whole bunch. Nevertheless, I'm were I am today for a reason and I do believe that everything happens for a reason, so there! 

Whilst on placement I was observed by my Hope Placement Tutor, a very scary experience to say the least. I taught dividing factions...how interesting. However...I was graded a 1st!!!!! :D This made me rather happy and once again a feeling of satisfaction and relief as I'd put my heart and soul into planning for this lesson and it effectively made me realise that I'm actually not that bad at doing what I love, which is always a good feeling!

These two pictures were actually taken on the day of my observation (28/11/14), a date thats stuck in my mind! Being observed is a strange feeling, both emotions shown in these pictures actually. Being stressed, nervous and doubting yourself, but also excitement and confidence in your capabilities. At the end of my lesson my Hope observer took me into the staff room, made a cup of tea and went over the lesson with me, evaluating the teaching standards I needed to meet and it felt like an hour went past before I was told my result!! I was sweating like crazy, I had clammy hands and I had this roasting hot cup of tea in front of me whilst staring at this lady like HURRY AND TELL ME PLEASE! Her name was Bernie and she was absolutely lovely to have as a placement tutor and not simply because she gave me a 1st for my lesson, but also because of the feedback that she gave me which was unbelievably helpful! She's actually going to observe me again next year when I have another 4 weeks in Childwall Primary that I'm really excited for. I'm being moved from Year 3 to Year 2 though which originally I was a bit annoyed about because I've become so close to my class and now I will have to build new relationships with an entirely new group of children and understand their abilities and how they learn AND teach 60% of the week! Oh dear... I'm sure I will absolutely love it though. A new adventure, a new year group and a new class! 

These pictures below are from my classroom this year. I cannot wait to have my own classroom and organise and decorate it in my own style!

Placement finished the week before Christmas this year so you can imagine how magical it was! 31 7/8 year olds telling me their lists for Santa and how excited they are! One of the children gave me her Santa hat to wear all day because I had said my ears were cold, how sweet (it was Christmas jumper day so the hat was acceptable).

During this placement, I invited all the girls from the flat to my house. We gave our Secret Santa presents, played Taboo, listened to Christmas music and stuffed ourselves with a roast dinner and I absolutely loved it!! Becoming a bit of a tradition! 

Nothing better than having your friends around when the house is decorated all Christmassy and cosy. Love it, love it.

This Christmas for me was spending time with my family and friends, last minute online shopping, eating too much, working in The Phesant non stop (the tips this year however have been very rewarding) and generally enjoying the life I've been given. 

New Years resolutions? To take advantage of the life I've been given and what it offers me.

I live on the doorstep of the beach and the pinewoods that I rarely visit! Very silly not to make use of it.

I have eaten a little too much over previous months and living in a student accommodation and having to do your own weekly shop is not the healthiest of options, therefore eating healthily and EXERCISING is another resolution! An element of life I've never been custom to...but will become!!

Overall taking care of my body and enjoying what life offers me more often, becoming more positive about the smallest of things and not allowing aspects of life to upset me as much as they do and not to dwell over them.

Below are some pictures from this years Christmas and New Years if you fancied a little nose!

Smile, tomorrow is a new day, make the most of it! :)

 Love J x