JustPickOneUK

 Another holiday, another National Trust property to write about!  The Killerton Estate is near to Exeter in Devon, a 6500 acre expanse of land which is also the site of an extinct volcano, an Iron Age hill fort, a bears house and best of all a cafe and toilets.  From parking the car (make sure you pay and display, where we parked our car we managed to completely miss the machines). You walk through passed a couple of barns with toilets in and through to pay or, like me, use your annual pass.  You'll be at the stables where there is a small cafe, a bookshop selling second hand books and a shop selling local produce and on site wares plus the usual National Trust fare.  It is a beautiful mixture of formal gardens, fancy house and wild forest areas. When we arrived we noticed signs for an archaeological dig going on by the University of Exeter. We followed the trail down the south side of the estate towards Colombjohn which was the site of a grand house owned by t...

 Well what can I say, in terms of weight loss nothing has changed.  I stepped on to the Wii balance board this morning and I haven't lost any weight what so ever. But I have in fact not put anything on either, so that is a blessing. I haven't been paying too close attention to food this month, but I do have a smart watch and it is keeping track of my step count etc. I regularly achieve 10k steps during the course of the day which is probably why I haven't put anything on. I do need to increase my water intake though. I have found it difficult to focus on myself during the day at school and I need to break this habit and actually take comfort breaks at appropriate times. I am sure this will help somewhat to making a difference.  In other news, some things have changed. Not loads as I am still learning, but I now have a YouTube channel (find it here https://www.youtube.com/@JustPickOneUK) which I am excited about. I intend to make video content about travel and anything els...

 Things are getting organised for the new school year already. May and June are the months when schools look towards the new academic year and decide which staff members are needed, where the requirements are to meet demand and any additional requirements that may exist with the new cohort of children.  I've been a TA for less than a year and I have been surprised by the role. I've written a post about the different demands on a TA during the working day, check that out. I have walked more than usual which is excellent. I have felt every emotion there is on the spectrum between happy and angry. I have been struggling with whether or not to continue as a TA. I love to see children do well and encouraging them to learn is lovely. Seeing them develop and grow in front of your eyes is a special thing.  However, I have come to realise that I do not want to be angry and frustrated with children most of the time. I have one of my own and the tiredness I feel at the end of each d...

Teaching Assistants (TAs) are in important part of the machine that is the modern day education system. Teachers are trained in providing the academic side of the learning and the TA supports the Teacher in many different ways. When I applied for the role I had no idea there would be so much more to it then assisting the teacher in the classroom and helping pupils with their learning. In a primary school like mine the children are aged between 4 and 11. This is a massive age gap when thinking developmentally. 4 year old are still prone to tantrums like toddlers and are not all proficient in using the toilet. 8 year olds are in a middling stage where they feel more grown up, they are developing more as a person with their own feelings and emotions but are still aware of rules and tend to follow them for the most part. 11 year olds feel like they are in charge of the world. Pre-teens are growing quickly, developing emotionally and beginning puberty with all of the hormone, emotional and ...

 I am not a stranger to being overweight. I am fat. There is no two ways about it. I have more fat on me than I should to be healthy. I am not trying to body shame anyone or to suggest that people can't do their own thing. You do you. I am not healthy and in getting there I now have too much fat getting in my way.  I have tried Slimming World which did work for me. I did lose weight, even during my pregnancy I was losing weight. It was about half a pound a week and I was being checked by medical professionals and I had more scans of my child because I was considered to be a high risk pregnancy. I felt safe losing weight while pregnant. I actually wanted to lose weight in order to get pregnant. Its actually the first piece of advice I read when trying. If you are overweight then try to lose some and things may change. When I got my 10% certificate (the award at Slimming World for losing 10% of your starting body weight) I concieved my son. So I can attest to that piece of advic...

Do you have comfort TV? You know the kind of TV that you like to watch on Sunday afternoon to pass time if the weather is shocking or if you are sick. Something to make you feel comfortable and so you can be entertained but your brain has almost no work to do?  One of my colleagues just sent us a WhatsApp message saying she won't be in because she's caught the sickness bug that's going around at the moment. Then another of my team members replied with the best phrase ever. "Find Your Columbo". This is the exact phrase for comfort TV.   For her Columbo the fictional detective TV series from the 1960s and 70s starring Peter Falk is her show. It's easy watching, from a time fairly long since past and everything is explained in the end and so you don't have to work hard to get to the crux of any issues.  For me Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) is one of these. We've watched and re-watched this show so many times. It doesn't take us long to hear the...

 The Easter holidays are an opportunity for adventure. With a young family foreign holidays are very expensive during the school holidays so many are choosing to stay home. We did the same during the last 3 days this year. It has been so wet recently but the forecast for the weekend was due to be lovely and so we packed up the car and took a punt. I'm so glad we did.  We chose to stay in Ashurst in the New Forest at the Ashurst campsite. Here is a link to the booking page if you are interested yourself.  https://www.campinginthenewforest.com/campsites/ashurst/  I like the idea of wild camping but I am not ready yet. So I do require sites with showers and toilets as a minimum. There is no WiFi, no electric hookups and no charging points at this site. But as our stay was a short one our power packs were just fine for our phones etc. The site has pitches for tents and hard standing ones for caravans and campervans alike and they also offer seasonal pitches too.  I ...