Quetzalcoatl

I'm writing this when I should be hanging the washing out. Logging on has made me realise that I haven't written since last year. It was on a book about the independent sector of education. I have had a lot of eye opening and life changing moments since that last post.  Firstly, we are expecting our third baby...it still seems surreal to be writing that. I feel so lucky and overwhelmed with how busy our house will be and how much love can be in one home. A total surprise and I now have to navigate another fork in the road of my teaching career. Sometimes, life takes over and you just have to surrender to the family. It reminds me to slow down: how I'm here to love them, our children, and not my job. Yes, we have the most ginormous toddler tantrums with our middle one, but the cuddles she can give are just phenomenal. I wish I could cuddle her at this age forever. Our eldest is getting ready for school in September and is nearly 5. She is just so grown up. I wish I could rem

Thanks to this second edition, this book has two main themes: living in a life post-COVID and dreading the consequences post-VAT. The aftermath of lockdown and the potential fee-riser that the Labour government may bring in. The world changed when the Elementary Education Act in 1870 was established. Education was a way to stop child labour. We've come a long way. The Independent sector isn't just about educating the elite anymore: it's more accessible than ever before. However, 7% pupils attended independent schools in 1960 and 7% still attend in 2020. The reason for this stagnation? Year on year fee increases, but also that the wealthier middle classes tend to chose a new house or a new car over fees. Do people value materialistic items over education? To start, some facts. Internationally, schools are expanding. 2,584 international schools in 2000 compared to 12,459 in 2021. The middle classes are rising. A report by UNESCO estimates we need 24.4m primary teachers and 44

So...it turns out that teaching is absolutely awesome when being a mother. Who knew?! I guess you've got to know when to go back. In between children clearly wasn't the right time for me. Now, is. And it's wonderful. I've got the bug back. I'm constantly thinking about how to make the children's classroom experience more fun. But I'll try and start at the beginning. I'm currently listening to the buzzing bee caught in the skylight of our kitchen. He's trapped. He sounds like I used to feel when I didn't have my teaching outlet to express myself in. It was hard. I craved my old classroom and laughing with colleagues in the SCR. I'm back in the classroom and I've so far included Byron, my family tree on A0 paper going back to William the Conqueror (his illegitimate son is my Great Grandfather 32 times back), and I've been welcomed into my new rural Berkshire school with open arms. It's just idyllic.  My current surroundings is the r

And breathe. I finally have some space. I’ve been going through a phase of taking on too much. I will be attending my last official Parent Village today: I will be at four more between now and July as I have organising important specialists to be there, but for now, it opens up so much more space. Opportunities have come and gone. Some have been taken, some have been taken by others. I’m feeling more me than ever before. It’s glorious. I’m writing. I’m reading. I’ve got book club coming up. It’s 1984 and I might recap some of it but I cannot wait for the discussion when it comes round (I taught it for A-Level at Bradfield so looking forward to getting deep into it with adults). It’s Easter and there’s chocolate everywhere. Spring is apparently here but it’s raining. All. The. Time. We had a lovely sunny day and now back to rain. Bring that sun back! There is a big thing I need to write down though. It was stemmed from a conversation I had with a friend about lifestyle, working, and how

I'm on the sofa with popcorn. It's raining in March and I've got Eat Pray Love on. It's the film I watch when I'm unsettled. It reminds me that people also go through stages of life; through chapters in time.  In life, sometimes we need the sofa, chocolate and a good film on. It seems like life is so hard for everyone right now and there's so much pressure. We need the sun and we need the earth to give us flowers. I've been thinking about what I want from my teaching life. My career has been progressing towards a Housemistress role but how would it work with my two little girls who need me more than ever?! They will always need me and I will always put them first. Another Housemistress told me that I'd be ready to be one when I'm ready to put my children second. Maybe it’s something I have to let go of because I’m not sure I’d ever be able to put them second. I’d love to hear from anyone else about how they work family life with a Housemistress role.

So it’s been quiet on here recently but I wanted to get everything that’s been happening and all things I’ve been feeling down. It’s a way to rid myself of thoughts and helps process and move onto a freer version of myself. So…where to begin…where we left off I guess. Last post was a gushing one about joy. This one, there is always joy, but with that, there will always come hardship so we know what joy is. June head-butted me and my lip turned infected. It got worse and my jaw where my glands are were all swollen. Doctor prescribed antibiotics and told me to visit my dentist. The dentist said wait for more pain or wait for this to work its way out. Thankfully, it was the latter. The pain and swelling went down and I’m now left with a tiny lump. It’s nearly healed. I’m glad my body healed. It was a week of feeling totally run down. Apart from that, half term has been great. Oscar has been trying to finish the hallway off but he’s annoyed he hasn’t finished it. We’ve been on lots of adve