I have been meaning to blog all week, but have been SO busy, that I haven't had the chance until today (Thursday, at work)! To save the rambling, here is the schedule of my week as it appears so far...
Monday
Work 9am- 3pm
Leave the house at 5pm to arrive for babysitting Gabriel @ 5.45-8pm
Arrive home at 8.30pm and have some tea.
BED!
Tuesday
Work 9am-3pm
Leave work, straight to William and Oliver's for babysitting until 6pm
Straight to Ipswich for my first OU Tutorial 7pm-9pm
Arrive home at 9.30pm, eat
BED
Wednesday
Work 9am-3pm
Leave work, straight to William and Oliver's for babysitting until 6pm
Home for half an hour
Meet friends for dinner at 7pm
To my friend's house to organise various weekends we have planned away
Home @ 11.30
BED
Thursday
Work 9am-3pm
Leave work, straight to William and Oliver's for babysitting until 6pm
Straight to Gabriel's again to be there for 6.30pm (Yeah, right!) for stint number 2 of babysitting until 8pm
Home @ 8.30
BED
Friday
Work 9am-3pm
HOME! (Hurrah!)
Study for at least an hour
Out with friends for a much needed drink!
Also, I'm hoping to do some studying on the weekend, as I have done exceptionally badly at it this week!
I have some moer babysitting lined up for Saturday night for a lady called Kerry, who has two daughters (around 8 and 12-ish), who normally go to bed quite early and their parents aren't home until 11.30.
Fingers crossed this means that I can start my essay plan for my first TMA, due in 29th October!
So, as you can see, I had my first ever tutorial for the OU this week, which was exciting! I met some really nice people on my course and it was good to be able to put some faces to names I had been chatting to on Facebook. My tutor is really nice and very reassuring, so I already feel that I can talk to him if I get stuck or have a problem, which may come in handy!
The point that I'm at with the module at this point in time is that I am 2 weeks ahead, as we got our study materials way before the course officially started (Saturday just gone), which I am SO SO SO grateful for, given the distinct lack of studying this week! This means that if I start actually writing my assignment next week (which I don't think will take me a weeks worth of study, as it's only 750 words!) I will be on track, and I may even be able to get slightly ahead for week 4!
I am enjoying the course, and am really getting into the mindset of the Social Scientist again, but I am desperate for week 4 to come along, so that I can move from the Learning Companion and get my teeth stuck into the chunk of textbook that the second part of the course uses. I think this is when the bug will really get me, and I won't be able to keep myself away!
Moving away from the OU, I have been doing a HECK of a lot of babysitting this week, and there have been some changes! Gabriel has changed school! Emma told me before I went on holiday, but didn't go into detail about the reasons why, so when I went over there on Monday, she explained further, and it appears she had something of an epiphany with Gabe's education.
She said that she suddenly realised that the primary school he was previously at was far too small for him (only 4 others in his year group!) and that the method of teaching just wasn't suited to Gabe. I must admit, I did have my reservations about the school, as I had noticed that when he had to learn a list of spellings, for example, all the students would have different lists, so they would not only have to learn the spelling of the word, but also the entire list of words. So, in effect, the teacher would say "Right, now we're having our spelling test!" and just leave them to it! This stressed Gabe out no end! He seems such an easy-going child, but things can really stress him out, and this really did!
I have seen his new folder of work that he has compelted since being at the new school (about 1 week) and the difference is incredible! Everything about his writing has changed- the handwriting, the style, the spelling, EVERYTHING! It was like looking at a different child's work! He also seems happier now to take part in his homework (currently a WW2 project) and actually gets quite excited about it. It is definitely plain to see that Emma has made the right decision moving him again, although I don't think it came lightly, as there was no doubt some upheaval and disruption to his life. In his folder, he wrote a paragraph just about his own thoughts, as Emma often gets him to do just as writing practice and he wrote;
"I've moved school again. I wouldn't recommend it. It's hell!"
As humourous as it is, it obviously reflects some kind of inner upset, but when he talks about his new school his face lights up and he beams proudly, showing me his new uniform and A TIE HE CAN TIE HIMSELF!
I'm off to see Gabe again tonight, so I will check in again on him and see how he's been getting on. I expect he'll have some kind of funny anecdote to make me laugh. :)
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