Anyone a teacher? Advice please!

[JessynJ]

Hi, I'm a co-parent with ds age 5 years.

I've been working in a school for a year and hope to start my PGCE secondary Maths next year.

I'm wondering how people cope with the holidays, re-charging, marking, preparing classes and looking after a lone child who hasn't siblings to play with.
Any strategies please?? Thank you. :)

Holiday club for a couple of days. Friends or family. Sometimes swap childcare with another mum so we both get some time to ourselves.

I'm not a teacher but I work from home 9.30 - 12.30. Luckily, say in the summer holidays, i'm not too busy with my work, so I prioritise my time. I get up at normal time - say 8am (well it is the holidays), get dressed etc and start work - this gets me ahead of time by about an hour and a half as I don't usually start until about 9.30 when DS is at school. DS has breakfast and watches a bit of TV, then by about 11ish i'm finished for the day and we go out, either to friends houses, beach, or invite friends round. Other days, if we stay in, he makes things, colours in, plays in the garden on his trampoline and maybe invites a friend round to keep him company. I think its just a case of being organised and not feeling guilty expecting them to make their own entertainment for a few hours. DS is 7, so I appreciate that those couple of extra years means he is able to entertain himself quite well, although it hasn't always been like that. I'm sure you'll be fine.

I am a teacher, currently PT with a 16 month DD.

It's hard but remember that your PGCE year is ithe hardest of them all, NQT year is tough but you can focus on a class/es 100% without extra essays etc.

My strategies include working til 5 on my school days (DD in nursery which is easier than school age children) tominimise the work I bring home. I do the rest in evenings when she is in bed.

I also try to prioritise tasks, you will never get EVERYTHING done in teaching so work out what needs doing first and stick to it.

Peer assesment/marking is a god send if your subject is suitable.

Anything else feel free to PM me