A cheeky grin

I've been neglectful of this blog, I know. My second last post was about half-term break and already we've arrived at end of term. All I can say is that life has been hectic (in a good way) and I just haven't had the time. I'm looking forward to these two weeks off to get some stuff done.

I finally met my mentee yesterday. R is an 11 year old boy with a cheeky grin and a sharp sense of humour. His confidence is low but he's sweet and full of energy, and likes a lot of the same things I do (like acting and art and sailing and rock climbing). I met mum too; a single mother with 6 kids. I can't even imagine how difficult it must be, but it's clear they have a good relationship.

This has been such a long time coming, I don't fully believe it's actually happening.

Catching up

Most of you who blog are familiar with having so much to write about, it's difficult to write anything at all. That's where I am right now.

In a few minutes, I'm off to my second and last mentor training session with Kids Company. I first mentioned them in this blog in September. The process has been long, but after this training, I just have to send in a match up form and hopefully I'll have my very own mentee in no time. I'm a bit apprehensive... this is definitely going to be an experience that will challenge and stretch me. But for that same reason, I am incredibly excited.

In a very quick nutshell (because I have to run off to catch my bus in 5 minutes), I'll be matched up with a child who, for whatever reason, has a challenging home life. My role will be to hang out with them on a regular basis, be their friend, and be the reliable adult figure they may not have at home. Kind of like Big Brother/Big Sister. Kids Company is so much more than that too, though. They provide a complete wrap-around service for these children and their families. On Thursday, I'll be going to paint murals for one of their centres.

Alright, off I run.

Things you'll already know if you follow me on Facebook...

I finally have work! Well, sort of. I'm working half days in a Nursery (3 year olds) until next Friday (though I wound up staying a full day yesterday). It's a really lovely school and the staff have been extremely friendly to me (quite unusual!) and the kids are actually well-behaved (even more unusual!).

I remember last year when I was doing supply, I always felt as though I was fumbling through the day. Every school/teacher was different and I never knew exactly what was expected of me, much less where to find things or what the kids' individual needs were. But I guess a year of experience has done me some good, because I haven't felt that way at all this time. It was actually shocking to me, how confident I felt. And the other teachers seem to have noticed it too, because they made it abundantly clear they wanted me to apply for their permanent position. Of course, the application deadline was yesterday and I didn't find this out until after lunch, so I had to stay after school and write as quickly as I could in the half hour between the end of school and the deadline. (It meant missing capoeira too, grrr!)

There are a few cons to taking this job (the long, boring bus ride and the lack of challenge being two) and I don't even know whether I'll get it... but it feels really good to be appreciated and to have it confirmed that I can do this work. Sometimes I doubt myself. Being an agency employee in London can be pretty rough. Often the permanent staff will treat you like you're disposable and not a real human being.

It's also grad school application season. I'm applying for PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) programmes at both the Institute of Education and Roehampton University, but I also found a sweet MA in Special and Inclusive Education programme (about as ideal as it gets, seeing as I want to conduct my research on how children with Autism respond to creative education) at Roehampton that doesn't necessarily require me to get my PGCE first, so I'm applying for that too. The only way I'll be able to afford school is to go part-time, so heading straight into my MA would cut 2 years off my completion time. But it might also limit my career options when I'm finished. I'm not sure which option is better.

Other things:
- I'm continuing to stay busy and meet new people. I'm having a blast, but I'm also exhausted now that I'm back at work (I'd forgotten how tiring teaching can be).
- I'm in the process of becoming a Mentor for Kids Company. I can't even tell you how excited I am about that.
- I'm now in charge of planning workshops for Blues Revolution (which I have finally officially joined), and I have two coming up... a brand new one that I'll be teaching in October and our usual Beginner Intensive that my lovely friend Kavita will be teaching in November. Carter will of course be teaching both, because he's awesome like that.
- I have used parentheses excessively in this entry, and I will not apologise for it.