Backflips and Breakthroughs

Easter holidays are here!!

Drove home in the sunshine, pile of books/tests/mocks on the passenger seat beside me, singing along to the radio and feeling *good*. But Skinny Love comes on the radio and the next thing I'm wondering why I can taste salt. I hadn't realised I'd begun to cry.

I've heard that song a few times since Tom's funeral and whilst it takes me back it doesn't always make me cry. It's never caught me so unexpectedly though. Maybe it's because I'm tired. Scrap that - I'm exhausted. Never in my life before yesterday have I gone to bed at 6pm (admittedly I got up again at 7.30 to eat/do work, but I just couldn't carry on without sleep first!). I am so ready for this holiday.

The kids were WILD today! And I do mean, wild.* For a moment I knew how nursery teachers feel. And monkey-trainers, although my apes didn't appear to be even remotely trained. Where is the 'dislike' button?



(Weird, huh? I hate monkeys.)

*Having said that they were wild, today we had no backflips, which meant that my heart rate remained largely normal for the entire hour with that class. (Seriously, Monday's lesson - I discovered I have most of the school gymnastic team in my class. And they decided to showcase their routine for me. Their ordinary teacher LOVED it. I was panicking like a... crazy, panicky thing... "No no no don't do it! [Oh, can't watch!]" The lighting in that room is LOW. Their backflips were HIGH. (They tried to do them off the desks, initially, but I managed to override the class teacher on that one). So they settled for doing them on the floor - safer, right? Well, maybe, but everytime their hair brushed the carpet I felt a little more sick. It was the kind of routine you would pay to see. But I would willingly have paid them to NOT do it during my lesson...).



But, today everyone remained in their seats - bonus! AND I made a major breakthrough with one child who is surrounded by C.P. issues: he spoke to me. He arrived early to my lesson - presumably trying to avoid being in the crowded corridors. I smiled, said 'morning' - cue awkward silence whilst he stared blankly at me and I carried on setting up my laptop, trying to look busy and hoping other kids would arrive soon. After a while, I heard "It's nearly the holidays, miss." Didn't recognise the voice. Turned round - still only him in the room. He doesn't sound at all how I imagined he would. Still - A.Mazing. On the way out, a quiet "have a good birthday miss". My word C, I could have hugged you.


But anyway, who decided it would actually be a good idea to put the end of term assessments (in exam conditions) on the last day of term??
When I am fully qualified, the last day of term shall be reserved solely for DVDs. I shall choose a few of my then-favourite films, whack them onto the projector at 8.30am and allow kids to file in and out every hour until it reaches 3pm. I may even share my popcorn with the lucky ones.