Day 6 - Field time!

1030

This morning is beautiful and I have a chat with the head at the entrance.  Get talking to two brothers whose dad is ill so they have to switch between their granny and aunt's houses - they are not enjoying it.

I was asked to help a child with his maths test in order to release another teacher for other work.  As a result I can’t do the cricket and by the time the test finishes break time has started so I get even less time to be with other children.  Though I had a great time with the test boy I’m not sure it has helped me.

A few boys keep gravitating toward me to talk or show me card tricks – including one of the brothers with an ill dad.

Since I missed cricket they now don’t need my help.

I go to the staffroom to type up my diary.

I wander the corridor (something I’ve not done for a couple of weeks) and eventually head out to PE with Yr4 – the blindfold team games are hilarious!

I have to tell a boy off for throwing stones, his grumpy response rubs me up the wrong way so he gets the stepped-up-telling-off from me – the first time I’ve had to do it.

1230

Lunchtime in the field is a delight!  Yr 5 and 6 are first and I’m invited to play cricket, whilst trying to fend children off my sunglasses.  By the time it’s the switch over and year 3/4  are out I’m doing a  round of the field finding out the imaginative world of children’s play – its truly a model of how the world should work :-)

Some girls have taken to calling me "Daddy" which is pretty much my worst nightmare – There are so many connotations with that label, plus the risk of being seen to develop inaapropiate relationships.  It is of course just child’s play but it freaks me out – I’d rather they call me their boyfriend!, i it would definitely just be silliness then!

1330

After lunch I head to the staff room and enjoy my own lunch, and quiz a teacher about how they arrange learning sets

1400

Go to find the girls for a spot of reading – we settle on a play from the year 6 shelf and have a good time reading out the character parts.

1445

All of year 4 go to one room for story time, it is again a wonderful sight, about 50 children all sitting higgledy-piggledy listening for 30 min to one teacher.  The room was so full I had to sit with a couple of children with our legs dangling outside the door.

I still lack a particular confidence about what i'm actually doing, which is making me shy.  a trainee teacher is leaving this week and i literally wished her (and i quote) "a lovely lovely love…ely …lovely…love…)"  What an IDIOT!

1515

Eco club is a good opptunity to catch up with the two brothers earlier in the morning to chat about their Dad.  I tell them that I’ll pray for their Dad, they say thank you.

I may have hit my first point of antagonism, - the leader of eco club complained to me that the children are spending too much time chatting and not enough time working – and that its my fault!  I take the point, but I distinctly remember the leader complaining about lack of work  on my first arrival – maybe they just like to complain.

Talking to one girl at eco club, her mother turned up and I introduced myself as the school chaplain.  She straight away starts telling me about her daughter's struggles.  I listen and I’m pleased but I’m not sure what to do with the information.

Likewise another boy tells me he doesn’t want to go home because he is fed up with his brother’s incessant talking.  Again, I don’t know how to respond to this.