Blogging along

10 days until May holidays.

60 days until the end of Term.

68 days until I get to spend 32 days in Europe.

129 days since I left Australia.

Finally I am beginning to see the brighter parts of England, the sun is shining, the leaves are green, the squirrels, the bees, the snails and the neighbourhood cats are all enjoying the school garden and everyone is in brighter spirits. Well..... Mostly everyone. And warm weather means that it's the perfect season for ice cream..... Conveniently a new shop has just opened outside the hovercraft terminal, might have to 'accidentally' trip over and have a hazelnut/brownie and white chocolate cone just fall into my mouth every once in a while. Whoops, however did that happen??!

The sunshine also means that the hour I spend walking around the playground with the girls each day is positively glorious, the scooters are in action, the skipping still being practiced and the tennis nets now in full use. Causing a few more injuries than one would like, patting girls on the shoulders, sitting them on stools, wiping knees/arms/fingers/heads with an antiseptic wipe and applying a 'plaster' FYI it's called a BANDAID, has become so much of a routine that I'm confident I could do it with my eyes closed. It's reassuring them that they will not wake up with a limb missing or bleed to death in their sleep that is the challenging part. 

This week has been fairly quiet so far, just the standard junior school routine. Today was p.e day for the reception girls which involved lots of running, skipping, jumping, hopping, throwing, stiggy scarecrow (stuck in the mud) and beans.... My favourite game of all!!! Basically, it involves the teacher yelling out various types of beans and the girls have to do the actions.... 

Baked bean- the girls crouch down in a ball

Running bean- the girls run around 

String bean- the girls stretch right up with their arms above their heads

French bean- the girls say 'ooouuuuh lala' whilst waving their hands in that 'French' way

Mexican bean- the girls do the Mexican wave whilst saying arrrrrrrriiiiiiiibaaaaaa

Chilli bean- the girls pretend they are freezing to death 

This game is guaranteed to make me giggle every single time, the expressions on their faces during French bean are HILARIOUS. These girls have attitude at 4-5 years old. 

P.e usually involves re-doing a lot of ponytails, plaits, buns and clips, who knew I would aquire skills in hairdressing??

I also got to listen to the girls read today which was seriously impressive, they are so clever, but also, it has made me realise just how far ahead the education system is over here..... That kindergarten girls who are younger than the average kindergarten child in Australia can already pick up a simple book and read it. It proves just how important it is for parents to read to their children, as it truly plays such a crucial role in their development. 

As a new week begins and ends I tick off another section of time that separates me from the ones that I love. Although I have longer to wait to be reunited with some, it's getting closer and closer until I'm finally with the one. It takes an incredibly special person to follow you to the other side of the world, the kind of person that I know I will be more than happy to follow for the rest of my life. 

68 days. Xx.