Finally in!

What a hectic few weeks I've had, what with starting the course and moving house I feel really unsettled.  Hopefully everything will come together shortly and I can get myself organised properly.

I am really enjoying the course and have met some really lovely people who I enjoy spending time with.  Now that I've moved hopefully I can make a good start on all of the assignments.  I think I know what I'm doing for each one now, just really hope that I am heading in the right direction!

A big thank you to Claire for cakes on Friday, they were gorgeous! just glad my birthday is during the summer holidays as I wouldn't wish my cakes on anyone.

That's all from me for now, must go and unpack some more boxes. x

Hand in Dates.

Module	Marker	Back to me By	Comments
Study Skills	Lin Armstrong – 8/10/10	5/11/10	e-Mail & Paper Copy
Introduction to Child Development	Fiona Casserley 8/12/10 Presentation	12/01/11	Observations, e-Mail & Paper Copy  to Fiona
Introduction to Child Development	Fiona Casserley 13/04/11	18/05/11	Assignment 2800 Words, e-Mail & Paper Copy to Fiona
The Social & Cultural Context of Childhood (ICT and the Child)	Lin Armstrong 14/01/11	18/02/11	e-Mail & Paper Copy Report 3000 Words
Children & Family Policy & Practice	Rachel Strisino 13/12/10	10/01/11	Power Point Presentation Leaflet & Video – Paper
Children & Family Policy & Practice	Rachel Strissino 11/04/11	09/05/11	Assignment e-Mail & Paper

A day at Warwick

Well what a day! Met up with Lisa, Angela and Lauren at 8.30am to drive to Warwick Uni, didn't take as long as expected so we sat and had a nice Costa Coffee! We then met Rachel who guided us to a room where we were supposedly being introduced to all sorts. If I'm totally honest I was very disappointed with the whole day, we had someone talk to us about Study Skills, all if which had been covered in the past few weeks at college. Then speakers didn't turn up and we had an early lunch.

We decided to use the early lunch to collect our NUS cards thus proved a waste of time as the queue was so long we would have waited for an hour or more so we gave up. The afternoon sessions were about the library and the learning grid. I thought we would have been taken to each place but instead they decided to confine us to the room and show us on the Internet, which wasn't working! easily something we could have done from home.

After a non productive day I think I will do some research on the web sites for Lin and have a look into Language ready for Fiona's lecture on Wednesday. :-)

Where has this week gone?

Well a nice finish to the week, I've handed my study skills folder in and what a relief it is not to worry about it any more.  I can't believe how quickly time is passing at the moment, really wish it would slow down a bit as Santa will be here before we know it.

I enjoyed Lin's lecture today a bit of light hearted fun painting T-Shirts, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, it was almost like being back at school again!

Well Friday night is wine night, so am looking forward to a nice bottle later....have a nice weekend all :-) x

Getting my Brain into Gear!

Well I think I've completed my study skills folder, yipppeeee! now onto the next thing!

I carried out my observation for Fiona's lesson now is all I have to do is link it to theory, something I think I'm going to find hard as the more I read the more confused I get.

Rachel's lecture was very deep yesterday and I am struggling to get my brain to function properly, although Im sure that like everything else all will become clear if I do some reading myself.

Whilst I am trying to study, I am also getting ready to move into our new house which we have been renovating since January, it's all very exciting and I can't wait for us to have our own space after living with the in-laws for 6 months.

Right then time to get up, my munchkins have woken! x

Making my mind up!

Well I can't actually believe it's Friday again.... I've had a lovely evening with wine, food & friends! 

I have had a good day today in Lin's lecture, a very interesting module, although I have to admit that I'm still having difficulty choosing a topic to write my report on.  My initial thoughts were to write my report about children and the media at home, specifically whether a child should have a TV in their room or not?  I was then advised to write about something that would interest me and would be more related to the work I want to do when I finish the course, I then had thoughts about early years and robots and the pro's and con's, then I thought about children, ICT and obesity.  I think I can safely say that I'm very confused and I really need to get my act together to write an essay plan for my study skills folder!

It is now way past my bedtime so over & out, I hope everyone has a great weekend! x

Notes from Children & Families Policies & Procedures 27.09.10

Please see below my notes taken during Rachel's lecture on Monday.

Getting Sorted!

Well I think that day by day I'm slowly starting to get myself sorted...I have now done most of the work for my study skills file although I do still need to get my head around the essay side of things?!  

It has also become apparent just how much reading and back up work has to be involved to get a good degree.  Having been set a task to observe children by Fiona, all sounds very simple but actually, there are specific ways of observing and then linking to theorists.  However, it is something I am very interested in so already I'm enjoying reading & learning which is great.

I am looking forward to Friday's lecture with Lin, it sounds strange but I'm kind of missing everyone this week after spending the whole week together last week! :-)

My Summary of an Article for Study Skills

This is a task which I found particularly enjoyable.  After time spent in the college library listening to the librarian voice his opinions about libraries in colleges and schools, I stumbled across an article on the TES (Times Educational Supplement) web site regarding schools and libraries, it was published on 17 September 2010.  The article was factual and very interesting so I decided that I would summarise and blog it.  My skim reading, note taking and research skills were particularly useful during this task.  

Could this be the end of School Libraries?

All schools have been responsible for their own libraries since 2000 after the government decided to pass the funding directly to schools instead of the local authorities being responsible, giving schools the choice not to buy library services and use funding elsewhere within the school.  Many schools however, do prefer to use the local School Library Service (SLS) rather than attempt to keep their own library. 

The SLS is run by local authorities and currently provides books, artefacts and other resources to 70% of primary schools in the UK.   As a whole they currently have available 12.5 million items made accessible to 3.4 million pupils covering 106 authorities.  At an annual cost of two to three thousand pounds per annum they are able to loan a full up to date library and loan a wide range of artefacts, this avoids redundant material lingering on shelves.

However, with schools now having to evaluate their budgets, the library is one area where cuts are being made. The decline began in 2000 when schools became accountable for their own library service.  There is great apprehension about the future of the school library and the future of the SLS, especially within the current climate, three services have closed so far this year and with funding possibly being reduced further this may cause many more authorities to close their services.  A few SLS’s are requesting that the government provide the library funding directly to the SLS instead of schools to ensure the survival of the school library and not let them just slip away.

Michael Morpurgo, children's author and patron of the School Library Association believes that “Libraries are the heart and soul of any school.  They are browsing places, finding places and dreaming places, so much education takes place when children make choices of their own”.

“It's a shame on our country, the country of Shakespeare and Dickens, that we are denying those children their heritage”

That Friday Feeling!

Thank crunchie it's Friday!  Am feeling relieved that this week is over! I haven't looked forward to a Friday quite so much in a long time!! I just need to concentrate on getting my Study Skills folder completed and out of the way! I'm hoping that I now understand exactly what needs to be included.  

The first part of today was nice as we were introduced to the child development module which I'm sure I will enjoy as it's something I'm really interested in, I was pleased to get a taste of things to come.  However this afternoon was awful, the diagnostics test was really hard and I couldn't get my brain to function properly, it didn't help with the computers turning themselves off every so often.

Anyway It's definitely wine o'clock now, so over and out from me :-) 

Reflection, refelection, reflection!

I have spent much of today reflecting on the past few days! Also putting into words what we have done, how and why and what I feel I have learnt from it.  This is a hard task as life usually whizzes by for me without having chance to think about anything.  I have to say I'm actually enjoying spending time doing this and I feel far more relaxed today than I have done all week.  I definitely feel more positive and that this is not going to be as daunting as I first thought, I still realise there are going to be times when it gets tough but I just have to keep picturing myself in cap & gown. 

My First Few Days

Wow information overload! I can't actually believe how much I've had to take in during the past 3 days.  Trying to get the balance between becoming a student and my family life has been a real strain this week.  My usual support network for help with my children has not been available so I've had to ask friends for lots of help.  Im overwhelmed by the support I've had from my family & friends so far.

I have enjoyed meeting all my fellow students who I will spend the next two years with. I have already learnt so much and am really looking forward to learning more!  At first I was extremely confused at what we are being asked to do but I feel as though I understand things much more clearly today.

I went to the stationers last night to buy myself a shiny new pencil case and some folders etc.. very exciting when I got to the till and realised I could have a 10% discount! am looking forward to more student discounts!

Must just remember to keep smiling and that we all feel the same!