‘Deeds not words’ is of course takes from Emmeline Pankhurst and the Suffragettes. Being a History teacher, these are some of my utter heroines and after watching the film Suffragette at the cinema last week I was inspired by their strength and determination in the face of great adversity. They lost so greatly and sacrificed so much to make life better for the generations to come which includes me. Through their actions they lost family and friends, their dignity was taken from them and Emily Davison even lost her life for the cause. They wanted women to be equal to men, they wanted fairness and most simply they wanted to be able to vote. How would they feel about how women find themselves now?
Am I making the most of it of the world that they created for me?!
I feel stuck ‘in limbo’ and have done for some time. I love being Mama and being able to watch Sprog grow and learn. I am so lucky to be able to spend time with him, even if it is only a few days every couple of months. (I did also work at least 25 hours during my half term week off!)
I love teaching. The 6 hours days that I spend with the girls I teach are wonderful. I enjoy so much the time where I support, challenge and help them to learn new things and overcome difficulties. Just this week along with teaching history, I’ve also taught my year 9s the saying “the straw that broke the camel’s back“… Life changing stuff! Seriously, I am in a position to make a difference and that is a privilege.
However, it also takes so much from me. “Deeds not words” is why I haven’t written on this blog much recently. I have been surviving at work by ensuring that every little thing I do professionally is good. I need to be beyond reproach and show that I am worth it. “Deeds not words” leaves me feeling further from the profession that I loved because I find elements of my work environment a challenge follow my change of school. I have however, recently found someone who inspires and supports me and she gives me get strength to move forward.
“Deeds not words” inspires me to make positive changes in my life to be brave enough to create some of the adaptations that I wish to see. I still can’t express them here as I don’t know what form they’ll take, if they ever do. As of a discussion at the end of the week at work, I’m not sure what shape that future holds at all. For the first time in 3 years someone spoke to me like a professional who still has career options in front of them and not as someone who’s had a baby and now has few options.
I’m not sure that I’m brave enough to make changes happen as chances are they would be radical changes. I don’t remember ever taking a real ‘risk’ with the course of my life. It’s always been meticulously planned out, by me. I’ve never taken a risk that I don’t know whether it will pay off.
Can I be brave enough? Can I find it in myself to take that risk like the Suffragettes did?
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Monthly Melfie November
I was utterly gutted and disappointed when I realised that this month, and forevermore, there was no Monthly Monday Melfie from CalifornianmuminLondon to link up to.
I thought I’d continue sharing my monthly snap of the pair of us anyway. If this blog is a record of the positive ways that we spend our family time to balance out the work stress then this embodies that ethos.
This is from Saturday and our, now annual, trip to the pumpkin festival in Slindon. It’s very quaint and British and I LOVE it! Sprog loved it because he’s had a bit of an obsession with pumpkins in the last few week’s and he was so excited to see all of the pumpkins!
Sensory firework paintings
Sprog is always a fan of getting the paints out and splashing around. This activity was planned to give him a few new sensory experiences as well as introducing him to fireworks for the first time.
We began by watching a YouTube clip of fireworks and Sprog learnt that they go “BOOM” very loudly indeed.
He recognised that they spring into the air, fizzle and blast. He pointed out the different colours and was amazed at the shapes they made.
We then attacked the paint using different materials. Sprog really took to using forks to make the streaks of the fireworks and using a half cut up toilet roll to make the big explosions. We also tried using pipe cleaners to make different shapes but this toddler did not want his share of the pipe cleaners twisted or bent in any way preferring instead to use them as an airplane. You can’t win them all when you’re raising a determined little man!
My highlights of doing this we’re seeing Sprog embrace a concept that was totally new to him and he’s been talking about the fireworks going boom ever since. I loved watching him experiment, particularly with the forks! But I also genuinely love the work that he produced. It’s on in fireplace on proud display. The toilet roll got some of the best results for the full explosion of a firework and we sprinkled some glitter into it to really give it something special!
We have also used some of the cards he made to make birthday cards by cutting out small sections of the artwork and they looked fab!
I’ll admit to this one… my child is not an artist whizz at just 2 years old… this is my masterpiece!
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Imagination Matters Fireworks
Every week we share our ideas for imaginative, creative and free play with our babies and toddlers. This linky is the place where we share them.
As a full time working Mama, I have limited time with Sprog. I get the expected Mama guilt’s about not being around all of the time and not making always making the most of our time together for Sprog’s developmental benefit but I have a plan to change all of that and I want your help.
I have a prompt or theme for each week and I want your inspiration when it comes to free play, creative activities and imaginative play. We must be a creative bunch if we able to write wonderful posts and maintain blogs but how are we sharing this with our kids? Show me your ideas?
The Linky will launch every Monday and I will keep it open all week for link ups so that you have loads of opportunity to be inspired by other posts and record your amazing activities.
This week the theme is “Fireworks”. We’ve done some awesome paintings which I will get uploaded a.s.a.p
Here are the rules:
1. Link up any posts that are relevant to the week’s theme… old or new, I don’t mind.
2. Attach the Imagination Matters badge to your post. I am not technological competent, it took me a while to create this so please use it!
3. Comment on the post before yours and another one. It’s only fair that we share some imaginative love around.
4. If you tweet me @mamavsteacher and use the hashtag #imaginationmatters, I will retweet them and share the creativity.
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MySundayPhoto – a year on
5 minute Halloween outfit
I have a quick and easy solution to any Halloween woes for all the Mama’s and Daddy’s without much time on their hands. This witches or wizards hat genuinely took me 5 minutes to make as that’s all the time I had! Thank goodness for a stocked up craft box!
In truth, I’d forgotten about Halloween when we went to meet up with our Mummy friends this week until one mentioned a costume.
Oops…parenting fail. So in the 5 minutes that were left of Sprog’s nap, I ran like a crazy person and crafted. Let’s use that term loosely though!
All you need is a piece of card, sellotape and either a party hat (left over from New Year… I knew there was a reason I hold on to tat!) or another piece of card that you make into a cone first.
Step 1
Simply trace the outline of the cone/hat onto card and draw another circle about an inch further out.
Step 2
Cut the shape out, then go for the centre but leave a little space on the inside of the circle so that you can leave tabs.
Step 3
Stick the tabs to the inside of your hat/cone. I also rolled up the leftover piece of card to make a magic wand (which was quickly converted into a telescope by Sprog)
Step 4
Try and get your small person to wear it! As I alluded to above, Sprog had decided that he rather be a pirate so some of the best wear came from the Mummy’s when we all got together.
Imagination Matters – Witches and Wizards
Every week we share our ideas for imaginative, creative and free play with our babies and toddlers. This linky is the place where we share them.
As a full time working Mama, I have limited time with Sprog. I get the expected Mama guilt’s about not being around all of the time and not making always making the most of our time together for Sprog’s developmental benefit but I have a plan to change all of that and I want your help.
I have a prompt or theme for each week and I want your inspiration when it comes to free play, creative activities and imaginative play. We must be a creative bunch if we able to write wonderful posts and maintain blogs but how are we sharing this with our kids? Show me your ideas?
The Linky will launch every Monday and I will keep it open all week for link ups so that you have loads of opportunity to be inspired by other posts and record your amazing activities.
This week the theme is “Witches and Wizards”. So far this week, we’ve had a chance to play with some leaves but haven’t quite got to witches or wizards yet… it’s my mission!
Here are the rules:
1. Link up any posts that are relevant to the week’s theme… old or new, I don’t mind.
2. Attach the Imagination Matters badge to your post. I am not technological competent, it took me a while to create this so please use it!
3. Comment on the post before yours and another one. It’s only fair that we share some imaginative love around.
4. If you tweet me @mamavsteacher and use the hashtag #imaginationmatters, I will retweet them and share the creativity.
I can’t wait to see what you’ve all been upto!
Playing with leaves!
I’m back! Well kind of. I’ve had to take a bit of a break recently from blogging just to be able to survive at work, the first half term at a new school saw me having to let something else slip so that I could get through…and with only a few bumps.
We’ve been slowly easing ourselves back into a craftier world again with a bit of autumnal leaf play!
We haven’t been groundbreaking in our use of the leaves but here’s how we’ve been using them after we collected them at the park and pressed them.
1) We did/ I did some leave rubbings whilst Sprog watched me in earnest
2) Sprog had a bit of free play time and ended up with a free style leave arrangement in a loo roll
3) We made some obligatory leaf crowns. I loved that Sprog took a much more active role in the gluing than he normally does and that it also led into him doing a 15 minute march around the lounge with a reluctant Daddy!
What do you get upto with all the lovely crunchy leaves around?!
6 weeks in to Thinking Slimmer
I have been Thinking Slimmer now for the last 6 weeks and just wanted to log a few of the big lessons that I’ve learnt.
1) The other people who listen are a lovely supportive bunch and are great inspirations.
2) When my head is in the zone I am totally in control.
3) If I don’t listen, I’m back off track within a couple of days.
4) This is the most recent lesson… When I know that I want to achieve something, I sabotage myself. Probably so that I don’t end up trying and still failing. Crazy… That’s what I spend my days teaching teens and yet I’ve just realised that I do it to myself.
So I’m not going to tomorrow’s wedding in the dress I’d been focusing on. But I’m reasonably content with that because I have been learning how my head works and trying to figure things out.
Next goal…be wearing that dress to the work Christmas Do!
Struggling with the positives
This blog was meant for me to record the positive moments in our family life as we grew and developed when I returned to work.
Today I cannot feel the positives.
Today Sprog cried for 15 minutes when we left the house.
Today he wanted to “stay home Mummy”.
Today he ended up playing happily at the park and making cakes…with my mum.
Today I spent the day at work feeling awful for leaving him.
Today I battled teenage girls who talk over me, ignore me and make me miss my happy smiley boy.
Today I worked my backside off at school to mark a whole set of assessments.
Today I worked my backside off after Sprog had gone to bed to mark a second set of assessments.
Today I have not had time to do the food shopping, washing up, unload the washing machine, make our lunches for tomorrow.
Today I was 3 hours late feeding the cat because all I could think about was work.
Today I cried… A lot.
Today…was pretty sh*t
I'd rather be playing dinosaur hide and seek!
mamavsteacher 