Holidays!
The word 'holiday' instantly conjures up a mental image of a hotel with pool, sun, sea, and an obligatory palm tree in shot.
When you work in education the word needs defining. Christmas Holiday - that time where you exhaust yourself getting to the end of term with parties and treats and extra activities on top of a normal schedule, then dash around manically trying to organise friends and family for seasonal catch ups. Hopefully before you succumb to the virus you've managed to avoid at school for weeks.
Half Term Holidays are when you book your doctor, dental, optician, hairdresser, etc. appointments, and arrange for plumbers, builders, electricians etc. topically sort out those household niggles. In between you sort out planning for the next half term ans catch up on anything you left rill the break. Once housework and shopping is thrown in, you might manage a day out somewhere...
Easter is pretty much the same, but as it's a fortnight you might get to squeeze in an actual vacation. This is mainly because it's cheaper then than in the Summer (but obviously not as cheap as term Time prices!).
Summer is the only proper wind down of the year. Time to find in visits to medical professionals, visits from all the people rhat keep your household running, spend time with friends and family, and properly relax...
Of course some of it will be spent in school, tidying, dismantling, creating, or moving your work space, AND prepping for a new school year, new children, new job, new year group...
And it is also focused on just the person who works, add in the wants and needs of partners, children, or other family commitments, and school 'holidays' are rarely vacations!
This is why everyone in education values the six weeks holidays we have scheduled off in the UK Summer, even though it is unpaid!
Now those of you working in schools know all this, those who work all year round probably understand it too. Independent Forest Schools often get even busier out of term time, taking the place of school provision sometimes temporarily, sometimes starting regular extra curricular participation that will run alongside school. Pop-up Forest Schools appear, weekly drop ins, all kinds of opportunities for children to explore blossom.
As usual, my time away from work involves some time put aside for going onto site to check on it and maintain it and time spent all over the country seeing old college friends, ex colleagues, and family.
All of it seems to involve being outdoors with a distinct lack of chambermaids, chefs, cocktails, and collapsing on a sunbed. Even the weather isn't always onside!
But now the real fun of the summer commences, I'm off for 2 weeks, back to further explore the Isles of Scilly and join in a few days of Forest School voluntarily.
...and the journey starts here, 350 miles away!
Wish me luck!
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