Buzzing Bee!

I'm one excited little Bee today! I received a text earlier this morning from my new headteacher confirming that I will be teaching the Primary 2/3/4 composite next year. This means the children in my class will be between the ages of six and eight - just about the age group I like working with J

Hopefully when I attend the Probationer Welcome Day on Monday I will get a little more information from the school about the topics to be covered this year and the abilities of the children, which means I can really get my teeth into some planning!

As promised, I have uploaded the worksheets designed to help me (or other teachers!) on stressful days. This first document, the To Do List, was explained to me by a university professor. I didn't think much of it at the time, but through my counselling sessions, I've come to realise that I have a bad habit of leaving the things I really need to do until last, and spending lots of time on the things I enjoy instead. This meant that the few weeks I did spend teaching last August were quite muddled and I seemed to be constantly chasing my tail! This teaching-specific To Do organiser should help me to work through what I need to do in the most efficient manner. 

Because I have a tendency to let my thoughts run away with themselves, and end up very down-in-the-dumps, I have found it useful to use this Thought Record to bring myself back into a more positive way of thinking. Asking "What's the evidence for this thought...?" is an amazing way of making you realise you are actually blowing things way out of proportion. If the Thought Record is a little confusing, feel free to comment and I'll try to explain it in more detail, or you could give the more simple Action Plan a go. 

My plan at the moment is to print all three of these documents off and keep some photocopies stashed in the back of my planning folder for when they are needed. I'll let you know how they work out!