Work your socks off

Just for fun really but i've used this before and pupils like it. They are rewarded by writing in the white stripes of the socks - decide as a class how/what you are going to write about - manners, behaviour, effort, thoughtfulness.... and then everytime this is achieved they get to write it on a white stripe until the socks are full and they have 'worked their socks off' - there could then be a 'reward...extra reading time, pencils whatever you choose.

Haiku Deck

Haiku Deck is the best application for creating presentations on iPad Haiku Deck is the best application for creating presentations on iPad I've been looking at the app Haiku deck and think it has real potential!

Florabella Collection

I have bought and experimented with 'Florabella' Classic workflow collection, I love the soft effects. This image was from a studio shoot on Sunday.

Targets, ambitions and goals

As January arrives we all make new targets and set out our hopes for the year. Life is looking good for me at the minute so I can laugh at some of the things that maybe a few months ago would have reduced me to a quivering wreck. I've always worried about what other people think of me and suffer from what my friend @hywel_roberts calls 'imposter syndrome'. I worry that I'm not good enough and who am I to be advising other people, surely I will be 'found out'. Well I've managed 30 years teaching and 4 months freelance without being exposed as an imposter - so far so good.

Ok, so January arrives and I set some 'goals' - Obvious one - to lose weight. I lost nearly 3 stone in 2011 as my son was getting married and it gave me a real incentive (I just did not want to be fatter than his step mother - not honourable I know but it worked!) since then my weight has increased a little and I've put a few pounds back on. I went back to my weight loss app (there is now an app for everything) put in my current weight and it rudely said 'At this rate you will NEVER reach your target weight' - now as I said a few months ago I would have been wailing but I just giggled and thought 'How rude'. Undeterred I continued, having realised the problem was the app had taken into account my prior performance and was starting from my lowest weight ever, it was not impressed...I have lost weigh but it thinks I've put it on and as all teachers know you can't argue with data. I continued to input data each day and on Friday - real progress - it said 'At this rate you will reach your target weight on 2/4/2029' Hilarious! That's worse than being told I'll never do it, at least then I could work hard in order to 'show you!' Yes I know having a discussion with an inanimate app isn't an adult thing to do - it has no heart, it can't take circumstances into the equation, it can't offer me encouragement - just data, black and white - demoralising and no help - reminded me of other forms of data really!!!

Second goal - a 365 project (see shuttercal link at the side of the page) taking a photo a day for a year. I've got sloppy recently and done work for others, studio work, work for school but not enough for me, I have now reverted to having a camera in my bag at all times and looking at the world critically again. A bonus from this was when @mobo40 asked if I wanted to join in their #photochallenge30 project 

#photochallenge30 blog

This has been great, it's given me clear focus, allowed me to work alongside like minded people and learn from them by sharing ideas, commenting on one another's work, taking risks, having fun...what a novel idea?!

This has led to me writing a #photochallenge30pupils challenge - which is allowing whole classes of children to get involved and try this too.

#photochallenge30pupils

My big project this year is my book. I am beside myself that I have a book contract! I am scared stiff that it has to be written by September, but looking forward to the challenge.

As for January - it's great, routine and normality return - Saturday morning coffee at Costa - people watching (that's the posh term for nosiness), bit of shopping then home to take photos. Am off out now with @elaronndy to take today's photo challenge - see you on twitter later x