So tell me again why I do this?

It's Sunday night (again) and I am trying to watch "Long Way Down" with the rather lovely Ewan and the rather less lovely but still quite sweet Charley, and doing my homework in front of the TV. (To be techincally accurate, it's alongside the TV, but lets not split hairs) I am attempting to force my mind away from Mr McGreagor and his leather outfit and enormous bike and onto the Literacy Strategy/Framework/Renewed Framework/Whatever it is called now.

Exhibit A : The Phase One Objective. :

Children can identify the main text features of a quest myth, including the introduction of the characters, the problem to be overcome, the journey undertaken and the resolution of the problem.

Ha.

The Learning Objectives, which are different to the Phase Objective (I think) and are somehow stuck into the planning in order for me to achieve the Phase Objective are these tomorrow. (I chose these. Don't rely on these being right!)

Use talk to organise roles and actions. Use beginning, middle and end to write narratives in which events are sequenced logically and conflicts resolved.

So now I have to find a way of applying this to my beloved children. I've found a nice "Choose your own adventure" type site, we're going to watch Zzapp and the WordMaster (BBC Look and Read) and then we'll see what's happening with the children after that. What they *need* is to spend more time on sentence structure, word patterns and so on, and I have to wedge that in somewhere.

And this is just the literacy. I still have the numeracy, the other subjects, the IEP's and so on to do.

But in other, less moaning news, a lovely and wonderful thing has happened! I belong to the local Freecycle group, and I've just applied for and been given (and she's going to deliver!) 5-6 lava lamps. I'm hoping that they will be suitable for the Little Room we are trying to set up in school to allow a more chilled out atmosphere. The only trouble with lava lamps is that they get hot. However, I am in talks with the other half about creating some kind of plastic fronted box which will allow the light ect to come out and the glass to be away from fingers and stroking hands. The OH is an inventive chap, I'm sure he'll think of something. It's a sign of the times that I'm scouring Freecycle and eBay for things that should be given to us for these children. But who do we ask? Where does the money come from? The SENCO would love to give it to us - she's not got it. The Head would love to give it to us - the budget is laughable. And once it gets out of school then it all becomes an almighty blame game where the buck gets passed backwards and forwards until the child gets into Secondary School where it all has to start again, and then it takes so long that the child becomes someone elses problem as they progress and in the end the right things doesn't happen.

Whatever that is.

I am such a cheerful child tonight! I'm going to write a pair of IEP's based on the Frog Prince. It's the best I can do.

Laters