Summet or other

Last year around this time Woody finished her first year of teaching and was very sad about losing her babies. I sympathised but thought she was maybe being a bit soppy.

For the past month and a bit I've been doing voluntary work mainly with Woodys reception class, gradually changing from two days a week to pretty much full time, and today was our last day and I feel like I've lost all my babies and I'm really sad and wish I could carry on teaching them throughout the summer holidays, so god alone knows how somebody who's taught the kids for a full year feels.

I have never experienced the emotion of enjoying work before but I have absolutely adored the past month seeing the kids develop through my help and having secret soft spots for particular kids (one of whom gave me a tearful hug when she left which has absolutely killed me!)

Woody has noted that certain kids responded very well to me because it's nice for the kids to have a male influence as they're surrounded by females at school all day and often at home as well as there seem to be a lot of workaholic dads in the village.

My sister is now claiming victory as for years she has told me that I'd love teaching and she saw me as a teacher, but as a naturally shy person I always thought the performing in front of kids part would be like giving a speech every day, but it doesn't bother me at all and seems extremely natural to me. You would stand out more by not taking part than in taking part, so I've been singing, dancing and all the rest of it as well as reading to the class and seeing their spelling and reading develop on the one to one readers I've been in charge of.

Anyway, I'm still applying for library positions but am also now applying for learning support assistant roles. I would most like to work with younger kids (Key Stage One) as I've always had a very good connection with that age range, and apparently they are crying out for male learning support assistants as men don't tend to like working in that age bracket. I won't count my chickens yet though.

I also will have to hope that if I do get a school job that the school will be as welcoming and friendly as Woodys school. The contrast between the nurturing, caring atmosphere there and the cut-throat one-up-manship of my old job is astounding. It is only now that I am beginning to realise that I lived my old job in a permanent state of heightened terror and tenseness (especially in the last five years of it.)

Anyway that was the past and now hopefully I have a future.