Things I have NOT achieved this #halfterm:
-put all the laundry away
-clean the oven
-remove the elderly dishwasher
-spend qt with my partner
-read a book
-done marking or planning
Things I HAVE achieved:
-qt with my kids
-more than one lengthy lie in
#TeacherLife
#OneLife
#MyHouseIsFallingApart
Fancy coming back to your old school to do a workshop some time? 😊
@sensewords.bsky.social #sensewrds178 I envisioned a wall-less back of the library that edged a sunset over a dusty, dusky landscape.
8yo’s made up joke of the day:
Why did the author have to go to hospital?
They had fiction burn.
💕
Jan 1st 2026 and into my 40s: I learned that childproof caps on bottles can be flicked off so you can open it easily. Mind blown.
A poem: The Pet House The dog goes moo! The cow goes quack! They all swapped voices, There’s no turning back… The duck goes roar! The horses go woof! Sadly looking down, At their muddy little hooves. ©️MNN-B 2025
My 8yo wrote a brilliant poem using #JosephCoelho’s #PoetryPrompts book. I wanted to share it with the world! Bit of a Julia Donaldson vibe to it 🥰
#KidsWriting
#OnomatopoeiaPoetry
#FutureWriter
#Poetry
It’s been a brutal term. I’ve barely read half a book. I’ve written nothing. I gave up on the hope of being in a play I would’ve liked to at least audition for. My #creative output is nil. The impact on my #wellbeing is huge. Hols will be a welcome break but so busy! #TeacherLife #CreativeDrought
Poetry Pop: "Poetry is a Verb: Let’s Move from Thinking to Doing" kennn.com/GLRCh1 #ChildrensPoetry #Poetry4kids
Disappointing #GirlGuidingUK
#TransRightsAreHumanRights
#Inclusivity #YouthTransAlly
🐝 👻
On a different note, we played Articulate last night and the six yo had to guess ‘wasp’.
‘It’s like a bee but not a bee.’ I said.
She replied:
‘Bee ghosts?’
🥰
Every time my kids discover another “empowered” show like Winx, I feel a little pang. It looks progressive on the surface, but it’s still equating power with beauty, size, and sex appeal. Just another glossy Charlie’s Angels reboot in disguise. #Parenting #MediaRepresentation #BodyImage
#TheInfantilisationOfWomen is perpetuated by cartoons that have developed women in part sexually suggestive, part children’s clothing, behaving like naive teenagers, in a school, whilst fawning over puppies and boys. They’re clearly sexualised but they’re behaving like and treated like children. 🤮
#RiotWomen is the best thing I think I’ve watched all year. A celebration of bold voices, fearless creativity, and women who refused to sit quietly. 🔥
If you need a shot of inspiration and rebellion, this is it. 💪
#BBCiPlayer
#FeministTV
#PowerfulVoices
#HerStory
#Trailblazers
First night of the kid’s dance show last night. Exhaustion all round so all bundled into one bed this morning and watched #MichaelRosen’s poetry and the new #Twits film with toast and tea. Crawled to half term and so thankful I can turn the alarm off for a few weeks
#TeacherBurnout
#FamilyTime
(2/2) Schools can already identify who can read fluently, who needs support, who has poor attitude to reading… But funding to have specialist teachers, a dedicated reading department, big ole lovely libraries, author visits, free books for students, and CPD for teachers is what is really needed.
(1) The Gov’s belief that more testing will lead to a miraculous change in attitudes to reading among young people is just…odd. I’m not averse to checking in on Yr8 reading skills but it needs to be part of a much wider plan for funding reading support and development.
The 8yo discovered Google Translate app. A wholesome, educational tool for expanding her linguistic knowledge and vocabulary.
Now every time she parps 💨 she says ‘enjoy my butt breath’ in Indonesian.
A picture of the cover of How to Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside. It’s a lovely yellowy-gold colour and has an illustration (by Joe Berger) of a man who is looking at a horse who appears to have a giant egg inside it.
A poem from inside the book: MISSED CALLING Geoff was a poet but he didn’t know it and so he spent his life working as a heating engineer in the Dagenham area.
A picture of the cover of How to Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside. It’s a lovely yellowy-gold colour and has an illustration (by Joe Berger) of a man who is looking at a horse who appears to have a giant egg inside it. This picture plugs the exclusive indie bookshop edition.
Some news! I have a new book coming in April: ‘How to Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside’.
It has 100+ new poems, and also serves as a guide to reading, writing & enjoying poetry.
An EXCLUSIVE signed edition is available through indie bookshops, with a bonus poem. Pre-order at bio.to/howtolayaneg...
White paper with a child’s drawing of a woodlouse character in a top hat, tucked into the corner of a small bathroom mirror hung on a blue wall.
Only made it to two author talks at the #BathChildrensLitFestival this year, but they’ve both been so wonderful. Youngest (5yo) has been so inspired by @nadiashireen.bsky.social I keep finding little Eric Dynamites around the house 🥰👒
#RaisingReaders #AuthorInspo #MiniIllustrator
Burnout
The house was burning.
I got the kids out.
Saved the most precious items.
‘Did you get a bucket of water?!’
I called from the upstairs window,
my lungs filling with smoke.
‘No!’ He called back from the street.
‘I was sleeping!’
#Burnout #MentalLoad #LonelyParenting #ShiftWork
Three weeks in to the academic year and I’m already feeling burnt out. #TeacherLife #EnglishMarking
This has struck a chord this morning.
Just discovered Noel Streatfeild was not a man. This misunderstanding is as baffling as discovering Tennessee Williams and the Child Catcher weren’t female 🤣 How have I not realised these things until I’m an advanced adult?!
This has been a golden find for my 5yo. It has enough decodable words for her to join in reading aloud, although she knows the whole thing off by heart now. She did a Rainbows badge all about it whilst dressed as a cat 💕 #VivianeSchwartz #RaisingReaders #GirlGuidingBookLover #SummerReads
So depressing having the emails I sent myself in July with the Sept prep rolling in and unfurling like flea ridden stray dogs wandering into my home and wanting me to give them tummy rubs. #TeacherLife #JealousOfMyPastSelf #SummerHolidays #SeptemberAmnesia
My five year old has discovered the Spice Girls #GirlPower #90sFeminism #Wannabe ✌🏻
Beyond excited to surprise my 8yo with seeing #PamelaButchart in the flesh: she’s a HUGE fan. Got an email today that the session is cancelled. She doesn’t know and I understand fully why it’s cancelled but I’m still so disappointed for her. #FirstWorldProblems #RaisingReaders #ThenWeGasped
Nighttime view of a colourfully lit tent with the sea and trees beyond and city lights on the horizon
What a view! 😍 #CampingWithKids #OutdoorsAdventures #FairWeatherCamper
