Another new start.

 It is October... how is it October?!  I am sat in my bed typing this and feeling good that I am finally picking up my blog again.  The last few months have been a little bit manic to say the least. 

We have now entered our third year of our adventure in the land of sand.  Posey is in year one and Lochlann is in FS2 (reception).  My husband and I had settled well into teaching out here and spent last year leading our year groups; responsible for the curriculum and progress of eight classes each.  Fast forward to now and we are in another new apartment, in a different area of Abu Dhabi and have changed schools too! Like I said the last few months have been somewhat challenging!

Although it had many ups and downs we did enjoy our time at our last school and we learned a lot but we felt it was time for a new challenge and hoped that this new school would be the school we stick at.  We have moved homes 5 times in the past 4 years - I would like to stay put for a while now (I have a serious distaste for packing).  I want our children to continue to grow their friendships and have a chance to feel settled.

We now live on Al Reem island which is much closer to the city than we previously were. A delayed apartment meant we spent a few weeks living in a hotel in the city which was far from ideal but these things tend to happen as an expat teacher (everyone seems to have a similar story).  Although I am not in love with the new apartment, we finally have a home again, we have three bedrooms now and we do have amazing views over the water.  It is taking time for us to get used to being in a new part of Abu Dhabi however now the weather is finally cooling down we are getting the chance to explore a little more.  Al Reem has a great communal park with a skate park which my husband and our two littles were very excited about when we decided to move.  We brought two skateboards back home from the UK with us so the children are eager to get out on those.


Changing schools has brought with it lots of positives but I am not going to sit here and say it was easy. I really dislike being the 'new girl' and have struggled to relinquish control.  My confidence was definitely hit as year group leader last year but in many ways I did really enjoy it and I believed in what we were trying to achieve.  It was always going to be a challenge to come to a new school and learn their approaches.
Posey and Lochlann however continue to astound me.  Yes we had tears and talks about missing their old school but overall they have coped amazingly well with the change. They are making friends, they talk to us about their day and their teachers are pleased with their progress.  For a while I was worried that we had made the wrong decision and that they needed the security of staying put in one school but our littles are tough and they've proven me wrong! :) I am honestly so proud of them both.

We are now coming to the end of October half term but it has been amazing to slow down and not think about school for a while.  To just be mama and daddy.  I won't say I am excited to return to work (who ever is?!) but I am feeling more ready to tackle this new half term.  I am not new anymore, I know my little class and I know my own children are thriving.

Look at how grown up they are now ... Holly and the not so littles should perhaps be the new name for my blog! :) 

If you're still here, thank you for reading my waffly post... I am definitely a little out of practice but it is good to be back!