Wednesday Wanderlust: Be led by your dreams...

The only thing standing between my finished degree and I, is a little something called teaching practice. Now, this 'little' something is a crucial part of all teacher training courses. While it provides a great opportunity to 'throw yourself in' to something you are very passionate about and will be doing full time in the future, it is also highly stressful and overwhelming. You need commitment, perseverance and (for various reasons) 'a thick skin'.

My academic career to date has not been straightforward (for personal reasons).

I have always felt there was a wanderlust within me but believed it was not something 'I' could realistically do. However, after a long period of reflection over this past year, I now recognise within me a desire to 'live'. I want to travel and see the world. I have plans to spend summers in coffee shops becoming an expert on everything related to creative thinking. I have plans to explore beaches and buildings and desert thinking altogether, allowing thought to give way to tactile experiences. I want to see and do things that will leave me with a feeling I have experienced life.

However, before I can do all these things, I need to finish my degree. So in honour of life and my future plans, I am going to continually remind myself that working on completing my degree is the final step in achieving my dream, rather than viewing it as something to be anxious about. I feel that this outlook will help me produce better work too : )

I've been busy...

A little bit of crafty customisation and I've fallen back in love with this mini chest of drawers....

That is all! 

Play dough Recipe

This is an excellent (and foolproof!) play dough recipe which is fun to make for adults and children alike, and it can be adapted according to your requirements/imagination.

You will need:

1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour

½ cup salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup water with food colouring added

1 teaspoon vanilla essence*

Instructions:

Put all the ingredients into a large saucepan, and stir over a medium heat until the dough forms into a ball. Allow to cool, and then knead until smooth. Store in an airtight container (a Ziploc bag with the air pressed out is good).

*Optional but it makes the play dough smell lovely. You can also substitute for/include different scents or glitter!

Crafty half-term activities

And here we have Lollipops' finished cardboard playhouse! 

Over the last few months I've found myself pinning various styles of cardboard houses on Pinterest. I've been wanting to make one, and so my lovely boyfriend collected together some cardboard for me. He actually also did practically all of the assembling...I doubt it would have been quite so sturdy if I had done it all myself. He also came up with the marvellous 2 roofs idea! We knew half-term was coming up and thought this the perfect opportunity to get building. The childminder is away on holiday and keeping her entertained for long is always a little tricky. I think the humble cardboard box is always going to be my favourite 'non-toy' for children!

And who is this looking out of the skylight?

Why, it's Stick Man of course!!!

I passed...!

After a horribly stressful journey (due to fallen trees and road diversions), resulting in my being 10 minutes late; I can officially say that I have passed my literacy skills test! I will now focus entirely on the numeracy test. But for today I intend on charging my phone and then heading straight out for a Starbucks, or something equally naughty.

Doe, a deer, a female deer!

Okay, so it's a blustery half term Monday and aside from my Literacy QTS skills test at 11, I have resolved to have a very unproductive day. My room is a complete mess of cardboard and crafty bits (have just finished the erection of a cardboard wendy-house for my 2 year old sister...She absolutely loves it! I will upload some images later) alongside clothes and a combination of teaching magazines and fashion magazines (...no excuse for that really).

So what will this week bring? Aside from the work aspect of things I anticipate I will probably spend the week doing arty-farty things, pinteresting and most probably procrastinating.

In other unrelated news, I am gearing up for Halloween by trying out some new makeup looks. I am all over doing a deer-like look. It will be nice to do something a little unusual and Autumnal, and hey... You gotta doe what you gotta doe...sorry. Enjoy!