Jobs [Sunday Social]

1. What is your dream job?

If I could do ANYTHING it would be an events planner, it’s partly what I studied at university. But to be honest, I couldn’t give up teaching for a long time cause I love it.

2. If you had just won the lottery and didn't need to work for money, what would you do with your time?

Dog walking. Sounds silly non? But I love dogs and I can’t have one right now so walking for other people is perfect.

3. What piece of career advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field?
Don’t stress and spend all your time planning. I’m at a point at the moment where I love planning so I don’t mind, but I dedicate one day to it and try not to do anything in the week.

4. What would be your ideal "just for fun" job?
I’m not sure, I’ll have to get back to you on that one!


5. What was your first "real" job?
I was a waitress at my local Golf Club. I enjoyed it quite a bit but stopped when I moved to uni.


And that is it for Sunday Social this week. I’m back with blogs posts scheduled for the week! IT feels ages since I’ve written something that’s not for the Social.

I Said I Would Never [52 Weeks of Blogging]

There are two main things that I said I would never do, but have ended up doing. I’ sure there are more but these are the two things that really stuck out in my mind for this prompt.

1. Be a teacher

I always thought that being a teacher was the worst thing I could do. But low and behold, here I am about to go into my second year. I’m not sure what put me off it, I think it was just the thought of having 30 children in my control and I was always in awe of those teacher that could do that and make it look so easy. But now I cannot think of anything else I’d rather be doing and I love my job.

2. Move to London

I’m from a town near Birmingham and I always thought that I’d stay in a town. The question of living in a big city, let alone the capital, was always a no. But then we moved to London, and I absolutely love it. I have friends that moved here from uni so I get to be with them again, I’ve met some new friends, and I always have something to do.

Considering those two things I would never do have actually both happened in the last couple of years, who knows where I could end up next!

Behaviour Boards

Last week I was faced with the mammoth task of transferring my classroom (check out the before here) into my own lovely space for my new class. First stop (because I didn’t want to do any planning) was my behaviour board. There are only 7 children in my new class so behaviour management will be a lot easier than it has been in the past when there are 30 children to manage. I love positive reinforcement; stickers, high-fives and all that malarkey so I was looking forward to making a whole board for the purpose. Don’t worry though, there are strategies in place for the negative but we wont dwell on those.

So here is what I’ve done with my board. It’s right by the SMART board so children will always be able to see it and we can refer to it in lessons.

On the left are rockets which are part of an two-tiered individual reward system. The first part is not visible in the photo (as it will be placed next to the carpet), where they receive a star for good things that they do. Once they have 10 of these stars they put a sticker on their rocket. Once they’ve teacher 10 stickers on their rocket they can  get a prize from the prize box (filled with bubbles, pens, colouring books, crayons etc.).

The big UFO on the right is a class reward chart. Because our behaviour board has a space theme we’ve adapted the typical marbles in the jar, and changed it into aliens in the ship. When the children are collectively behaving, or have done something well, they will get an alien in the ship. Their aim is to get 30 aliens to get a reward. The reward is changeable so we can decide what we want to do. The options are currently things like watch a movie, go to the park, and have a picnic.

In the middle is a poster with our class rules, which the children came up with themselves. They’re there as a reference point so that children can always see them.

So there we have it, it’s the first thing that I have done in this classroom and I’m feeling very proud of it. Let's see what's next...

The Teacher Diaries

Margarita Rambles is still only 4 months old so I’ve not really settled on a direction yet. Plus I like being able to blog about what I want… I’ve been discovering new make up through the blog, I’ve been trying to live a more exciting London lifestyle through the blog, and lots of other things so I’m not quite ready to focus myself yet.

But what I am adding is The Teacher Diaries.

As you’ve probably gathered, I’m a new teacher. I graduated from my teacher training in 2012, and for the last year I have been supplying around London. In January I was very lucky (or so I thought) to get a long term position in a school, which did not go well at all. I ended up leaving for my own benefit as I just couldn’t see myself staying there any longer.

After Easter I started at a new school down the road from mine as a TA, focussing on Speech and Language therapy with the younger children. Then I got offered a permanent job at the school as a class teacher in one of the language base classes. This class is a SEN class of 7 children, and they all have language difficulties; though some are more severe than others. I am so excited for this new challenge!

So The Teacher Diaries is my chance to share my experiences with you all. Being new to teaching, I’ll also be sharing things that I’ve learnt and things that I have found useful. Other teachers, feel free to get involved and help me out!

If I Could Be Anything In the World… [52 Weeks…]

This sounds so simple to begin with but the more I thought, the more I struggled to finish the sentence. I feel like going down the career route is a little boring but right now it’s what I want to be.

I want to be an amazing SEN teacher.

From September I’ll have my very own class. I graduated from my teacher training last summer but I’ve been doing supply work for a year. As much as I am glad for this past year, and what a learning curve it has been (!), I am so excited for the year ahead. MY OWN CLASS! I’ll be in charge and they’ll be all mine! The difference is that it is an SEN class meaning I only have 7 children but they are all with special education needs. This is a completely new challenge for me. I’ve had SEN children in my classes before, but I’ve never had a class full. That being said, I am so excited to get started. I’ve been in the class a few times over the past few weeks and the kids are ecstatic too which means a lot because they don’t like change. Even my TA is looking forward to it.

So that brings me to my wish. As I said, it’s a new challenge but I am ready to take it head on. I’ve had a bit of negativity from the current teacher which has put me down a bit, but I am rising above it and I’m ready to become the best I can be. I’ll let you know how it goes!

What would you be if you could be anything?

Who Am I? [52 Weeks of Blogging With a Purpose Week 1]

Who am I? I'm Jean Valjean! Well, I'm not... I'm actually Sarah, but 'who am I' always reminds me of Les Mis.

I'm joining Becky (over at From Mrs. to Mama) and her new challenge; 52 Weeks of Blogging With a Purpose. This is exciting for me as I like having prompts for my blogging when I've hit a bit of a mind block. If you've joined me from Becky's blog then welcome! It's lovely to see you, and why not stick around for a bit.

So, who am I? 

I am a teacher. Finally, after years of studying, I decided that teaching is what I wanted to do with my life. So this year I've been doing supply work at various schools but I've now found a school that I love. I'm currently there as a speech and language therapist, but from September I will be an SEN teacher.

I am a friend. There are friends that I have lost contact with over the years but the people who are still in my life are the people I want there. Since moving to London I am enjoying making new friends and looking forward to the memories I can make with them.

I am a daughter. There are have been ups and downs with parents, but they are family and I love them.

I am an anxiety sufferer. I don't let it rule my life or define me, but it is there and it is part of me. I worry about a lot, it may be small but it may be big, and I work hard to overcome those fears. 

I hope to become many more things in the future. But for now, that's what makes me who I am. Who are you and what makes you you?

Letting Go...

Letting go. I have thought about this topic long and hard over the past few days. I thought about all the times I have had to let go over the years, and what I had to let go. While seeing what the internet had to offer me I came across this quote;

Now, this really stirred a feeling inside and I knew what ‘letting go’ means for me. I’ve had a few tough times in relation to teaching recently and it’s been quite hard. I had started with a class from January this year and I instantly fell in love with them. They were hilarious, loving and just had these great personalities. However, the previous teacher had not left them in a good way and they were all over the place. Whenever I sent them off to do work in a lesson some of them actually looked at me as if to say “What? You mean we’re here to work?” It was terrible. I had a handful of key behaviour children and SEN children too. It was a lot to handle. Mix that with the classroom itself being left in a terrible state (no displays, no tray labels, no behaviour chart) and it was a nightmare. I asked for help but I got very little support. I had a TA three days a week but it meant that I was still on my own for two days. The school was great and the girl who started the same day as me is having a great time, but our experiences are completely different. To cut this very long story short, I struggled with the lack of support. I ended up leaving at Easter. Telling my children and parents that I was leaving was genuinely the worst thing ever. The children were in tears, I was in bits, and some parents even cried! It was awful!

What’s your point Sarah? Well my point is thus. I suffered. For a whole term, I suffered. It’s where my anxiety really started to take a hold; I cried all the time, I couldn’t sleep, I was ill. I even felt awful after I left because I was guilty for abandoning them. But as much as I was suffering, I love those kids with all my heart. I am truly grateful for the memories that I have with them. Sometimes I was so fed up with them, but mostly they made me smile. I’ve let go of the guilt, I’ve let go of the sadness, but I will never let go of the memories.

What does ‘letting go’ mean to you?

Only Pictures…

BuzzFeed Love

Now for Day 26 (something I read online) I will be directing your attention to something I found very funny. If you're not a teacher then it may not tickle you so much. In fact I was giggling as soon as I started reading. And so here is...

31 Signs You've Been a Teacher Too Long

Daily Challenges in Life

We're on Day 16 of the challenge already - half way through! Today we're on the topic of something difficult  about our "lot in life" and how we try to overcome it.

I think I've mentioned my anxiety in passing in blog posts - I do find it hard to talk about it as it is something that does affect me. If I feel everything is on top of me, I start to panic and it can overtake things and make me think of bad things. I can get stressed too, which leads to the anxiety coming to play - it might be something big that sets me off, but sometimes it might be quite a small thing. Quite recently I had an anxiety attack when I couldn't find an outfit for a few drinks out and ended up staying in. While at my old school, there were mornings where I would sit on the floor and cry until the children arrived because everything had got on top of me. 

I eventually plucked up the courage to leave the school and started somewhere else, easing myself back into teaching. Since then, I have not suffered as many attacks and things are getting brighter for me. I also have been trying to have a positive outlook on life and see the sunny side where I can.

One day I will be able to share my full anxiety story, but that's not today. Trust me, I am working on it though.

Public Apology

Today for the challenge, it's time to issue a public apology.

Dear kiddies that I have taught. 

I'm sorry for all those times you have been bored on the carpet while I figure out what's wrong with the whiteboard, or while I try and remember what I was about to say. 
I'm sorry for all those times that I raised my voice at you when I thought you were talking. But it was actually the person next to you.
I'm sorry for the times that I had to keep you in at break time to finish your work (but remember - this is my break too).
I'm sorry for all the teacher things that I say - "Would YOU like to come to the front and teach?"; "I've worked hard to get a good job so now it's your turn"; "I only push you because I know you can do it". You know what I'm talking about...
I'm sorry for all the work that you have to do that you think is pointless (in some cases I agree).

But I do it all with the best interests and I really want you all to do well.

Love, you dedicated (but exhausted) teacher

P.S. To any children that I may have told a little fib to about dinosaurs - they are not extinct because their arms were too short and they couldn't scratch their bellies...

Day 6: What Do You Do?

I have realised I missed Day 5 out. I'm sure I'll make it back to that at some point. Unfortunately I was too busy releasing my inner Diva to Beyonce. Here's a picture to encourage your inner Diva...

Oh Beyonce,  why so wonderful?

Back to today. Day 6 of the challenge asks 'what do you do?' without answering with our actual job. This is tricky for me cause I am so focussed on my job (making the right impression at the school cause I want to stay after this year) that I feel it's all I do!

Right now I am assisting children (mainly the little ones) to develop their speech and language skills. I actually start properly tomorrow but I've been planning/training over the last week. I absolutely love being in a school every day. Children are just wonderful to be around and I adore watching them grow over the days. It's unbelievable how one child can make your whole day brighter, whether it's because they have achieved something they've been struggling with, made an effort with their behaviour, or just because they are so darn nice. 

I apologise, I've made that about my job without meaning too... In general life I experience London as a newbie. I listen to music. I see musicals. I have fun with my friends. I read books. I write blogs. I'm (trying!) to take photographs. There, that's less about work!

You know the drill, come and get involved and Blog Every Day in May.