Happy Monday to you, near and far!!!
I am happy that it is Monday- I like them- they're a good day. And it's amazing how perspectives change, based on circumstances and people. Last year at school, I used to DREAD Mondays!!! We had a dreadful set of Year 6 children. On their own, each of them was likable and had good qualities and you would enjoy speaking to them or helping them. BUT, the collective was SUCH a bad mix! They egged each other on and really wanted to be the comedian, to the detriment of their work. In 2 words, they were HARD. WORK. It took so long to get them settled and then they were always messing around as soon as they got a moment. In music, a lot is dependent on self-discipline, which was something many lacked. They were always a tiny bit difficult but they got progressively worse the higher up they got. There were some lovely kids in there who WERE self-motivated and hard-workers and I felt for them on many occasions I miss those. But I don't miss the collective. This year's lot, once upon a time in Year 1, were the classes I DREADED the most. They were so annoying and bickery but somehow, they've matured and each and everyone of them seems to really enjoy and get on well in music. They are INTERESTED in what I teach them and want to know more, they are self-motivated and you can have a joke with them and know it makes them enjoy the lesson more but they won't take it too far. Indeed, I was observed teaching one of these classes last term and one of the positives she cited was the humorous rapport I had with them (incidently, I did get a 1!!!). So alot can change in a year! Tomorrow, they are starting a unit of work about 'The Market and the Shrove tide fair' with a focus on street cries and then Petrouska. I love this unit and hope they enjoy it too!
I like my reception classes too and then we have swing dancing in the evening, so I am looking forward to Monday all the more!
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Monday is also incidently, Inspiration Monday with the Twobirds. We were treated to this sweet outfit worn by a girlfriend of Jake Gyllenhal (not exactly sure who he is either but I don't have TV or go to films much!). I'm not really a fan of leather jackets (on me) but I do like floral dresses and boots. So here's my take on it.
![IM Monday 17-3-14 collage]()
![IM Monday 17-3-14 blue]()
The dress is from Mango via ASOS, jacket is New Look, necklace- Blogswap gift from Helen at Positive Fridays, Boots- Ralph Lauren via TK Maxx. The brightness has totally washed out the true colours- the jacket and dress are much darker than they appear.
Of course, I had to add a hat! It's sunny and bright and thus the straw hats want to come out to play! Believe it or not, this hat is the ONLY non-food/drink, travel, accommodation sightseeing purchase I made during my 16 day honeymoon!!! I found it in C&A in Visp for 5 euros whilst waiting for a train and since mine had gone decidedly floppy and lank after being caught in the rain, I decided to splurge!
FYI, don't think I've ever worn knee-high boots with bare legs before. It felt quite weird but I quite liked it!
![Noisy birds!]()
After church today (Sunday), I headed over to CBC's old housemate's house and he drove us to Finchingfield to meet CBC who had cycled there (a long way!) at the Blue Egg, a really nice cafe/restaurant there. They do amazing quiches, cake and lunches and everything is homemade!!! I had a very nice slice of Vegetarian quiche with red coleslaw and salad and a slice of lemon drizzle. It was SO windy outside that the salad leaves were flying away! Right by where we were sitting was fern with all these little birds in (chaffinches???) chirruping away and swooping down to catch flying crumbs. They were very plump so have obviously found a good location to live. On the return journey, CBC and his bike snuck into the car and we made our way home. Back there, we went to investigate the table parasol for our patio table and I got a horrid shock when the most enormous black and yellow spider crawled out- it was enormous!!! CBC, who took the outfit shots above for me after Spider-Gate asked if he could take the shots at that point when I was squealing and shaking the umbrella, trying to persuade the big arachnid to nick off into the lawn!
Finally, we sat down and drank Lady Grey tea whilst eating a fairy cake (Alex- proper name, I remember!) each from the Guides at church! I read a little Harry Potter whilst enjoying the combination of tea, cake and sunshine. Just as I sat down, a very noisy Chaffinch entered the garden and began a very merry and long song!
Hope your Sunday was enjoyable too!
xx
Linking to
What I wore to church, Sunday with Carolyn
and Inspiration Monday with the Two Birds
I am happy that it is Monday- I like them- they're a good day. And it's amazing how perspectives change, based on circumstances and people. Last year at school, I used to DREAD Mondays!!! We had a dreadful set of Year 6 children. On their own, each of them was likable and had good qualities and you would enjoy speaking to them or helping them. BUT, the collective was SUCH a bad mix! They egged each other on and really wanted to be the comedian, to the detriment of their work. In 2 words, they were HARD. WORK. It took so long to get them settled and then they were always messing around as soon as they got a moment. In music, a lot is dependent on self-discipline, which was something many lacked. They were always a tiny bit difficult but they got progressively worse the higher up they got. There were some lovely kids in there who WERE self-motivated and hard-workers and I felt for them on many occasions I miss those. But I don't miss the collective. This year's lot, once upon a time in Year 1, were the classes I DREADED the most. They were so annoying and bickery but somehow, they've matured and each and everyone of them seems to really enjoy and get on well in music. They are INTERESTED in what I teach them and want to know more, they are self-motivated and you can have a joke with them and know it makes them enjoy the lesson more but they won't take it too far. Indeed, I was observed teaching one of these classes last term and one of the positives she cited was the humorous rapport I had with them (incidently, I did get a 1!!!). So alot can change in a year! Tomorrow, they are starting a unit of work about 'The Market and the Shrove tide fair' with a focus on street cries and then Petrouska. I love this unit and hope they enjoy it too!
I like my reception classes too and then we have swing dancing in the evening, so I am looking forward to Monday all the more!
Monday is also incidently, Inspiration Monday with the Twobirds. We were treated to this sweet outfit worn by a girlfriend of Jake Gyllenhal (not exactly sure who he is either but I don't have TV or go to films much!). I'm not really a fan of leather jackets (on me) but I do like floral dresses and boots. So here's my take on it.
The dress is from Mango via ASOS, jacket is New Look, necklace- Blogswap gift from Helen at Positive Fridays, Boots- Ralph Lauren via TK Maxx. The brightness has totally washed out the true colours- the jacket and dress are much darker than they appear.
Of course, I had to add a hat! It's sunny and bright and thus the straw hats want to come out to play! Believe it or not, this hat is the ONLY non-food/drink, travel, accommodation sightseeing purchase I made during my 16 day honeymoon!!! I found it in C&A in Visp for 5 euros whilst waiting for a train and since mine had gone decidedly floppy and lank after being caught in the rain, I decided to splurge!
FYI, don't think I've ever worn knee-high boots with bare legs before. It felt quite weird but I quite liked it!
After church today (Sunday), I headed over to CBC's old housemate's house and he drove us to Finchingfield to meet CBC who had cycled there (a long way!) at the Blue Egg, a really nice cafe/restaurant there. They do amazing quiches, cake and lunches and everything is homemade!!! I had a very nice slice of Vegetarian quiche with red coleslaw and salad and a slice of lemon drizzle. It was SO windy outside that the salad leaves were flying away! Right by where we were sitting was fern with all these little birds in (chaffinches???) chirruping away and swooping down to catch flying crumbs. They were very plump so have obviously found a good location to live. On the return journey, CBC and his bike snuck into the car and we made our way home. Back there, we went to investigate the table parasol for our patio table and I got a horrid shock when the most enormous black and yellow spider crawled out- it was enormous!!! CBC, who took the outfit shots above for me after Spider-Gate asked if he could take the shots at that point when I was squealing and shaking the umbrella, trying to persuade the big arachnid to nick off into the lawn!
Finally, we sat down and drank Lady Grey tea whilst eating a fairy cake (Alex- proper name, I remember!) each from the Guides at church! I read a little Harry Potter whilst enjoying the combination of tea, cake and sunshine. Just as I sat down, a very noisy Chaffinch entered the garden and began a very merry and long song!
Hope your Sunday was enjoyable too!
xx
Linking to
What I wore to church, Sunday with Carolyn
and Inspiration Monday with the Two Birds