Firstly, a bit about what I do and who I am. For anyone who doesn’t know, I am a single mother. I live with my mother. I teach gymnastics for a living. I also help run a roller skating club.
My daily roster changes from school term to school term and is completely different in school holidays, so to do this properly I’d have to do a new one each time. Suffice to say I’m not going to do that, I'm far too lazy and my attention span wouldn't last that long. I’m going to take a fairly average week and go with that.
Monday
I’m not sure anyone is a fan of Monday mornings. I think they should be banned. Even when I’ve had a quiet weekend I still can’t get motivated for Monday morning. I know it’s just in my head but it’s there and I don’t like getting up on Monday morning.
The one thing I don’t have to worry about, living with my mum, is meals. When I get up, my son is usually already up and started on breakfast. Mum is making hers and mine. Then it’s time to get ready for work. I’m glad we have a uniform otherwise I’d be standing in front of the wardrobe staring at it blankly wondering what to wear, whereas with a uniform I just grab things and throw them on, I really don’t need to be all that awake to do it.
My mum takes my son to school as he doesn’t start until half and hour after I start work. Luckily we live within walking distance because mum doesn’t have a car. Actually, she doesn’t drive at all. Without mum, my son would have to go to before school care and it can get pretty expensive even with government assistance.
I usually start my working week with a Preschool group that comes into the centre. They are aged between 3 and 5 years old and very cute (naturally). They can also be little terrors (also very natural). I quite like preschool age children. They are very raw in their emotions. If they like you, then they’ll give you a hug. If they don’t like you, they will ignore you. Setting up the gym usually takes about 30 minutes. I’m lucky that I don’t have to set up the entire gym, as it is permanently set up, it’s just the Kindergym equipment that needs to go out. The class goes for an hour. We do a game, stretching, 2 circuits and a group activity. The Preschool sends a couple of teachers with the group and they help out with the kids as they go around the circuits.
After the Preschool we have a Kindergym class. Again, the age is 3 to 5 years old. There is parental involment in this class and it’a always nice to see parents and children interacting and having fun together. Of course, you’re always going to get the parents who like to socialise instead of play with their child. You’re also going to have the parents which insist on doing everything for their child, insteading of allowing the child to try (and possibly fail).
The next class (or should I say series of classes) is another Preschool with kids aged between 3 and 5 years which comes into the centre. This preschool brings three separate classes of 20 children each. They do a half hour Kindergym for each class consisting of a game or group activity, stretch and one circuit. They also bring teachers with them who help out with the kids.
Then it’s time for lunch! It’s also time to catch up on emails and things like that. It’s the only time I get without distraction from a little one at home.
In the afternoon and evening we have our school children come in. The first class is our beginner class and goes for an hour. They are generally 5 to 8 years old. They have a bit more personality which can be good and bad. They are also more independent and don’t need their parents to help them on the equipment. The class is also more structured. The second class is an intermediate class and goes for two hours. They are generally 7 to 12 years old. Some of these kids have attitude to burn but they are generally good kids.
After starting my work day at 9am, I’ve finally reached the end at 7pm and it’s time to go home. You might be wondering what’s happened to my son since he’s finished school for the day but I’ve been at work. Well, mum has picked him up and taken him to his swimming lesson and, if it’s not raining, a play in the park. This is also within walking distance of home so easy for mum to do. Again, thank goodness for mum doing this because without her, my son wouldn’t do many of his after school activities.
Tuesday
At the moment I have Tuesday mornings off work Richard is in the school’s junior dance group and they have before school rehearsals. It’s nice to see the boys and girls bopping around and having a great time. They really seem to get a kick out of it.
Over the last few years I have gone back to swimming, not seriously training but just doing laps at the same pool where my son does his swimming class. I’ve been a bit slack this term about getting to the pool, but this is my dedicated time to go to the pool. It’s my “me” time. I can turn off my brain for an hour and just be.
Unfortunately, it’s then back to work. Fortunately, it’s my favourite kids. I know, I know, I’m not meant to have favourites but I do. The two classes I have are both disability groups. They are all reasonably high functioning physically or they would have trouble with the skills. They are lovely kids. Even though many of them have language and/or comprehension difficulties they still enjoy themselves. It’s wonderful seeing their faces light up when they achieve something new, especially if they have been struggling with it previously. It’s so rewarding for me to be able to form bonds with these kids and share in their successes.
After lunch it’s back for more beginner and intermediate classes. In my beginners class I do one-on-one coaching with a special needs child. She is in the mainstream class and does the same activities as the other children but because of her disability she needs a little help with some things and that’s where I come in. Working with special needs kids in a mainstream environment can be quite frustrating as it’s easy to forget that, while they should be treated the same as every other child in the class, there are some things that make them different. This can be a physical aspect, a learning aspect or a personality aspect, depending on the child.
Meanwhile, mum has picked my son up from school and has taken him to footy training. Actually, I should specify … AFL training. To get there she has to take a train and a bus which takes about 30 minutes when it only takes about 10 minutes in the car. Got to love mums and I certainly love mine.
Wednesday
I also have a later start on Wednesday morning so once again I get to take my son to school and it’s nice to be able to catch up with the other mums and dads who are there. Sometimes it’s just a passing “hello”, other times it’s a whimsical conversation about the silly thing one or other of the children has done over the last few days, sometimes it’s a deep and meaningful discussion. Whatever it is, it’s nice to talk with an adult.
Afterwards I head off to one of the Preschools that I do out of centre. This means I take a crate of equipment to the Preschool and teach either in their playground or in their room. This particular one is quite a small preschool but the children are lovely and the teachers are very helpful in clearing space for me. The only problem I have is when it rains because all the children are inside and it cuts into the space I have available but it’s just one of the challenges of working in a preschool setting.
The second preschool I have is also out of centre. They have a separate room which I use. It is called the music room but it’s a bit of a multi-purpose room. Each week I take half of the students from the class which means, instead of a ten week program, they run a five week alternating program. It’s nice having a dedicated space because it doesn’t matter if it rains or the children have art works spread around their room, the space I have is always clear.
After this I get to pick up my son from school. I then take him to work with me as it’s also his gymnastics class. He started gymnastics when he was 18 months old. He’s been through the Kindergym and Recreational programs. He’s now 6 years old and doing 3 hours of training (1 hour of sports acrobatics and 2 hours of men’s gymnastics). Working where I do, everyone on staff knows everyone else’s children so it can probably be a bit tough for the kids of the staff as they not only have their own parent telling them off if they do something wrong but all the other staff are watching them too and telling them off if need be.
I only have a beginners class on a Wednesday. It’s nice to be able to finish early and either sit with one of the other parents and have a chin-wag or go walk on a treadmill for an hour or so, until my son finishes his class.
Prior to this term I was also doing a hip hop and funk dance class after dropping my son home. Unfortunately, throwing my back out has put paid to that for a little while but hopefully I will be able to get back into it before too long.
Thursday
It’s my big day today. It’s only just over 8 hours of work but it’s exhausting dealing with children for 8 hours. I start off with our Kindergym classes. The first is our Tots class for kids 18 months to 3 years. It’s a free play based program with a few group activites throughout the hour to break it up a bit. It can be quite a challenging class to do as some of the children have separation issues meaning they are permanently attached to their parent’s leg and refuse to do anything without being in physical contact with their parent. Trying to break this bond often results in uncontrolled crying. The other challenge is the daredevil child who will climb anything, jump off anything and generally has no sense of danger either to themselves or others. Thankfully, most grow out of this, though a few are still like this in their teenage years and beyond. The second is a Kinder class which I have already outlined above (see Monday).
After these two classes we quickly rearrange the gym ready for the Preschool to come in. They are the same preschool which came in on Monday after Kindergym, only with different children. Then it’s another quick rearrange ready for the high school kids.
High school kids who have to do gymnastics as part of their PE program can be some of the hardest to teach, mainly because they don’t want to be there. There are two main camps of these kids: the boys who think it’s too girlie to do gymnastics and the girls who think they are too cool to do gymnastics. The girls attitude is hard to change but the boys generally respond well when you show them that you’ve included things which challenge them or that they can show off their manliness doing. I am always amused by the boys who think they are so good because they can do a few push ups more than their mates, only to be smashed by the girls who do gymnastics outside of school. Explaining to them that being flexible and agile will help them with their footy (or whatever other sport they play) is also a good way to get to the boys.
After a late lunch (and, boy, am I starving by the time I get to it, seeing as it’s after 2pm when I finally sit down and eat) it’s back to work doing the beginners and intermediate classes. Then home again to spend an hour or so with my son before he goes to bed. I don’t get a lot of time with him during the week so don’t like to make him do a lot of homesowrk throughout the week. A bit here and a bit there is fine and it soon adds up. What’s more important at his age is having cuddles, playing silly games and having a laugh.
Friday
The weekend is just around the corner but it’s no time to relax. Off to work for Tots and Kindergym followed by the Preschool I started the week with, again with a different bunch of children. I like that this preschool is very relaxed about their parents being involved with their children’s activities. They always ask it’s ok if the parents occassionally come in an watch. I have no problem with it. I don’t treat their kids any differently from how I do when they’re not there, except I might get their child to do the demonstration. I think it’s good to see that even though their child might make a mistake they are still encouraged and if they are naughty or do the wrong thing then they are pulled up for it. There are those parents who think their child can do no wrong but, generally, the parents who come in to watch are supportive and full of praise.
After a quick lunch it’s time for school sport, this time with a primary school. We have two that come in on a staggered start time and juggling them has become a fine art form. The kids are really good though and, mostly, they haven’t yet developed the attitude of their high school counterparts.
I have just enough time to go to pick up my boy from school then take him with me to work again. Our Friday beginners class has been turned into a special needs class. A few of the kids in it are from my school groups that I have on Tuesday. The parents and carers of these kids are really good and very supportive. We have other special needs kids who come throughout the week but this dedicated class gives the coaches an opportunity to work together to help the kids, where they might not always get that when working one-on-one with a special needs child in a mainstream class. It’s not unusual for the kids who do the dedicated class to be more severe than the special needs kids who do the mainstream classes. It’s also not unusal to come away from the class having had hair pulled or been kicked, hit, bitten or scratched. It’s one of the aspects of working with more severe special needs kids but I’d rather deal with that than when they are sick or soil themselves.
My son is a helper in this class, he demonstrates the circuits and goes around with one of the less severe kids as a buddy. He enjoys the interaction and learns a lot from the experience about being compassionate and respectful and not treating people with special needs differently from other people.
Immediately after this class my son and I do the dash to one of the venues where my skating club holds it’s training. As club president and co-ordinator for this particular venue, it’s my job to collect the weekly fees, mark the rolls and pay the court hire fees. I also communicate with the venue staff about upcoming club events. We have a really good relationship with the venue staff and management. They help us with advertising for our school holiday programs and facilitate bookings for birthday parties for us, even though we operate it as a private function.
It’s also take away dinner night. It varies from week to week, but it’s the one night of indulgence for my son. Every other night we choose what he eats. Friday nights he gets to choose what he gets, though there are a few rules. He has to choose a main and he can have a desert if he wants one, though if he doesn’t eat all his main then desert gets put in the fridge or cupboard.
Every weeknight ends pretty much the same way … my son goes to bed, he reads his home reader from school, I read a story to him if he’s in bed early enough and we do questions. I started questions when he was in Kindergarten. He gets to ask me three questions and I get to ask him three questions. They can be about anything, from what the other’s favourite colour is, to what the other did that day, to religion and science questions. It was my way of getting him to tell me what he did at school because the only rule was that you had to answer truthfully (therefore, if I asked him what he did at school and he said, “nothing” it would break the rules and he would forfeit his next question).
After my son is tucked up in bed I am free to settle in to watch some TV … can’t miss my daily dose of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (see my post on why I love Craig for further details) … and catch up on Facebook, blogging and everything else that isn’t work.
Saturday and Sunday … The Weekend !!!
It’s coming up to the end of the footy season so it’s an ealy start to Saturday with 8am games every weekend (depend, of course, on the weather … half the season got washed out with rain this year). If I don’t have to do canteen duty then I’m on the field helping the kids out, being a combination of goal umpire and crowd control (not for the parents who are really well behaved but for the kids as they tend to be easily distracted). My son loves it, he is so competitive, and this is his third season as he played his first year when he was four. He loves getting there are kicking a goal or helping his team to score. It makes me proud, as a parent, watch him improve and to succeed and to enjoy himself.
We always have a bit of a break between his footy finishing and his dancing starting so we usually head to a park where he can run around, kick his footy around and generally burn off some energy. If you think that an hour of footy then another hour and half at the park would make him tired for dancing, you’ve never met my son. Even another hour later, after he’s done his dancing class, he’s still full of beans.
My son loves to dance. He is the only boy in his class and he is the eldest boy in the studio (he’s only 6 years old remember). His dance teacher calls the rest of his class his harem. He has his little girlfriend who follows him around and it’s very cute. My son keeps her in line and makes sure she does the right steps. How long this ability to boss her around will last is anyone’s guess but he’s enjoying it while it does.
Depending on when and where the Sydney Swans are playing, we ar either having a very relaxing weekend or out cheering on our team. My son has been a member since before he was born and went to his first game at 3 months old. He cheers and gets carried away with the game just like everyone else. And he has his other girlfriend who sits behind us (he seems to have one wherever he goes). I love spending time with my son and this is something we can enjoy together, not me watching him or him following me to work but both us enjoying the same thing.
Weekends can be interrupted by work though, either gymanstics or skating birthday parties. Though I don’t mind doing them occassionally, I like to have the weekends to spend with my son and to relax, to turn off the brain as much as possible and just be me.
So …
There you have an insight into my world. It’s not all that exciting. It’s not all that adventurous. It’s probably not all that interesting to anyone but me. That doesn’t bother me at all. It’s not my ambition to be exciting, adventurous or interesting. It’s my ambition to have a family I love and a job I enjoy. What more can I ask for than that?
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