Pay Day!

Right, important news first – I have just received my first pay from England!  Gotta love pay day!  The bad news is that, due to a mix-up with my debit card ordering, I’m still unable to use ATM machines to access my account.  Let this be a lesson to people – when setting up a bank account, make sure the bank orders you a debit card!

Anyways, today I went on a horoscope website for kicks and found mine to be quite appropriate:

“The struggles of life make you strong. Without opposition, you would be weak and flavourless. Sometimes the struggle feels like it is overwhelming, but you need to get past that and embrace it. When you look back you may realize that getting there is the best part of the race.”

So even though things are a little choppy on the job front, there are always silver linings and I should be enjoying the journey, taking as much opportunity to learn all I can.  When I do get constant work, I’ll likely look back on this period of indolence with envy.  Right now, I have all the time I want to relax, settle in and see some sights – since the weather has improved the last can be outdoors again.

One of the things I like about London are all of the sights there are to see and plenty of walking trails.  At this time of year, these will be particularly nice as the leaves are changing colour and it’s not too warm or too cold.  The other day, I was down in Crystal Palace Park (quite lovely and large)... dating from the 1800s it was apparently the world’s first “theme park” (a collection of dinosaur statues and archaeological theme).  This weekend I may try parts of the Jubilee Walkway by the Tower and Bridge.

Speaking of this weekend, I know that Sunday will be Thanksgiving over in Canada.  Unfortunately, the English don’t celebrate it :( so I don’t really have any plans.  I’ll be sure to call back home!  On the other hand, there is a week break coming up at the end of October and "Guy Fawkes Day" early Novemeber...

Aside from sight-seeing, I’ve been busy shopping around for resources for my supply classes (whenever they come up)... seeing as I left nearly all my resources back in Canada.  Some examples are:
- “The Dot” by Peter Reynolds
- “The Paper Bag Princess” by Robert Munsch (Can't believe he's out of print in the UK)
- Primary Resources - good for all around lesson ideas
- Teaching Ideas- good for all around lesson ideas
- Teachers' TV - videos on a variety of topics

As well, I’ve been to my first CPD session (Continuing Professional Development) put on by one of my recruiters.  It was on how to use an Interactive Whiteboard in your lessons.  The session was quite informative, starting out at a very basic level before moving on to lesson tips and a good refresher from my B.Ed degree.  Best of all – it was free! :)