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Work and School Holidays

30th Mar 2018
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These are the first school holidays that I have had to deal with while working. I was so worried at the start but even though there is no real plan and I feel like I'm winging it, its not been so bad.

The one thing about them being older is that they are less clingy and letting them go to places is a little easier. Which is useful as this is the first time I've had to look into school holiday clubs. I did have their grandparents as back up before they fly off to India just in case either of them were ill or if anything happened that I couldn't be there for them. Although this new place I work at do seem quite flexible and family friendly. They also allow working from home (which I will be doing soon!) so I don't think it would be too much of a problem if for any reason I had to leave early as long as I attempt to make up the hours.

This week for 2 days the girls went to a football and fitness club. I was a little unsure about whether they would like football but the fitness part included lots of different activities like tennis, dancing and what seemed like rounders but they convinced me it wasn't called that. Either way it sounded like fun, especially when my younger daughter came back proudly showing off her certificate for her effort in tennis.

It seems a bit pricey but at least I have something for the summer holiday if  need it or even if I don’t need it it might be something good for them to do once or twice a week in the holidays. I'm hoping, over the summer holidays that I might get some more flexibility with working from home because otherwise, I think I’m going to run out of holidays.

Being employed is nice but it feels really strange working for someone at set hours with set amount of holidays rather than doing your hours as and when you feel like it. There are a few benefits though.  Rather than having to pay and do all my own CPD, I can now do it through work and possibly during work hours which feels like such a privilege and a relief. No more waking up at 4am and cramming in some online CPD.  I’ll need to find something else to do if I wake up so early!

Also, it’s nice to go into an office so close to home and talk and meet other people. Finally, once work is finished there is no (current) expectation to do more than your set hours which feels strange. Since I started working for myself, so that I could have the work/life balance I so crave for, I ended up working at any odd time. The boundaries of stopping work at a set time never really happened because I had the flexibility to do what I want when I want. Once I’m in a routine and with working from home, I think it will get easier. The only thing I might miss is going to the girls shows and sports day and other stuff at school. I’m not too fussed about missing it to be honest but I think the girls might be disappointed. I’ll worry about that when it happens.

In other news, my daughter will be doing her SATs in May. Her reading and writing I'm not so worried about as long as she doesn't rush. However, as a daughter of an accountant and an IT bod who both loved maths at school, we are a little disappointed that she doesn't seem to have the maths gene and share the same enthusiasm for Maths. She is only 7 and so maybe we are expecting too much, too soon.

She says herself that she finds it a bit difficult and so this might be the one thing we will need to sit down and work with her. Although trying to get her to sit down and work is another thing entirely. Bribes with the iPad might come into play. I've only used it once so far but it worked out quite well and peacefully for a change! The alternative would be some sort of tutoring. Another perspective might help.

I don’t know how people do home tutoring.  It is something I randomly think about occasionally and I would love, in principle, to be able to do it but I don’t think I would have the patience to do so especially considering how hard it is to get them to do homework is. I’m so glad there are schools, even though some days I feel like I spend more time in school events and meetings than I do anything else!

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By Matrix
15th Apr 2018 17:04

The school probably has login details for Mathletics or My Maths or similar programs so then she can practice on the iPad. However I wouldn't worry about it at 7.

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