I’ve observed lots of Rivers and Woodlands courses and some holiday activities, which I should start teaching over Easter.  I’m teaching Rivers next week!  And today and tomorrow I get to go and play with newts.  Laurence is running British Amphibians and Advanced British Amphibians courses, and I’m going to both, the first to learn how to back up an adult course and the second for my own interest.

I have also learned three important things about the Forest.  Firstly, that it gets a capital F, secondly, that a Forest doesn’t have to contain any trees, and thirdly that a Forest is an area of land set aside for use by the Crown.  So there.

The job is still Awesomeness Incarnate, and I feel so so lucky to have landed a job I love, and where I get on so well with everyone I work with. There’s my Head of Centre Jackie, Tutor Jenny, Fellow Trainee Tutor Teresa, and Daisy, of course, Jackie’s dog. I live in a little house with Jenny and Teresa and Jenny’s cat Squish in a village about 3 miles from the centre. I’m helping with a local Brownie pack, and have joined the WI. (“What, the Women’s Institute? Aren’t you a bit young?” “Aren’t they the ones with the naked calendar?” and “I didn’t know you could make jam” are all apparently valid responses to this comment.) Life is good.

Anyway, back to the job, which I’m sure you’re all itching to hear about. I’m teaching so much earlier and with so much more confidence than I ever imagined possible. Even visiting teachers say I’m authoritative, and one even said that if I’d told her to jump in the pond she probably would have, although in hindsight that may not have been a compliment. We teach Reception (age 5) up to A-level, over the range of Geography/Biology topics. For example, urban studies in High Wycombe, downstream changes in the River Chess, Rocks and Soils, Energy and Electricity (the substation, see. One of our volunteers dresses up as Michael Faraday and tries to put knives in toasters and so forth. Cue thirty seven-year-olds crying “No, Michael, no!” in unison. I have yet to see this in action, but I’m looking forward to it.) Also A-level projects, Freshwater and Woodland Ecology and Barnaby Bear (awww! 5-year-olds walking round the woods is so Sweet!). Half term was fun, and I planned and ran a day rather grandly entitled “The adventures of Isaac the Newt.” We did a little treasure hunt (all the clues were in rhyme, of course) and a bit of pond dipping, and we made sock-newts (hooray! They worked really well, too) and as it had snowed rather heavily the night before, we had a bit of a run around in the snow and made a snow-newt too. What other job lets you do that?

If you think of anything else I haven’t mentioned, any questions I haven’t answered, please do comment, I like talking about work.

In other news, I turned 24 this week, and had a lovely weekend full of tasty food and wonderful people, all of whom gave me such perfect, thoughtful presents, so thank you all. Fabric bunting! A slow cooker! It’s all so exciting!

I should really go.  It’s gone midnight and I’m teaching a birthday party tomorrow, more’s the pity. We’re doing a Pirate’s Treasure day with a bit of pond dipping thrown in for good measure.  Assuming it doesn’t snow too hard in the night, that is.

Love to you all

S xxx