Back to School

I love September and always have. I’ve never really lost that ‘brand new shoes and freshly sharpened pencils for the new term’ excitement and even after I left school I’ve always felt that the turning of the year from the excess of summer towards the cosiness and festivities of winter was the real start of a new year. Actual New Year I’ve always been able to take or leave.

Of course, these days, back to school actually means back to school as I’ve just started a new term of part-time teaching, with a classroom set up and running my way for the first time in years (I’ve done a lot of taking over from others, which has it’s challenges, but this time it’s my own domain, mwah-ha-ha!). In addition to this, my little boy has just started his first term at primary school, adding a new layer of complication to our busy little lives.

In case the flurry of name-tape sewing, packed lunch making and curriculum planning wasn’t enough to keep me occupied, I’ve also embarked on a bit of studying of my own. Having decided recently that I needed to add proper, sized sweater design to my repertoire, I signed up for the brilliant Rock & Purl’s online Grading Class. Given that I’ve got all the real-life school stuff and a slightly scary number of commissions (not that I’m complaining!) on the to-do list at the moment, I’m probably crazy. However, so far the quality of materials and support has been brilliant and I even get excited about getting homework- what can I say,  I always was a bit of a swot.