A Typical Day

5:00am Awake to the sound of call to prayer (the Mosque is approximately 100m away from our bedroom window. Fall back to sleep briefly before dragging myself out of bed at 5:15ish.

5:20 Have breakfast by myself (usually porridge - how typical). Enjoy the peace of the day.

5:40 Shower - must run water briefly first as it comes out orange initially. The water quality is rumoured to have our hair falling out in clumps eventually, however I am happy to report at this stage that I still have a full set of hair. Kids will usually wake up and start dressing themselves.

5:55 Dress in appropriate clothes for school etc. Do Bronte's hair if time is kind - this prevents her from looking like a witch when I get home, although Tony's pig-tails are starting lasting longer.

6:15 Say goodbyes and walk down stairs (actually this has been the lift, however given we are only on the first floor I have just started using the stairs!) to Patty's car.

6:15 - 6:55 Either chat or daydream (or a mix of both) for duration of drive to school, depending on how awake everyone is feeling.

6:55 - 7:45 Sign in, get things ready for day, e.g. photocopies, manipulatives. Greet teachers in English and/or Arabic.

7:45 - 8:00 Assembly in a large hall, where all classes sit around the perimeter of the hall in a 'u' shape facing towards the middle. Chn perform a range of fitness movements and sing national song. Three children are chosen to say certain phrases into a microphone and all of school responds verbally with a phrase - these of which I have not yet worked out.

8:00 - 8:15 Greet children, select a leader who counts the number of boys and girls present. Go through days of the week in English and Arabic. Collect money for zartar or cheese sandwiches and juice. Show sight words etc.

8:15 - 8:45 Chn usually go to a 'special'; either PE, Music, Art or Library. Madly prepare some more for day.

8:45-9:15 Literacy - usually introduce/ reinforce letter of the week, sing jingle, form letter, read story, model activities, show sight words etc. Chn engage in activities around the room.

9:15 - 9:45 Leave class (Arabic teacher teachers Arabic and Islamic studies) and go to KG1 - a room with 25 3-4year olds...yikes! Introduce letter sound and jingle briefly, model activity and get chn engaged at desk as quickly as possible.

9:45 - 10:10 Break for 'breakfast' which is a lovely feast with sweet tea whilst Arabic teacher is handing out breakfast to children and sitting with them whilst they eat.

10:10-10:30 Take class to hall for a run around, ball throwing and catching type break. I am pleased to say that the children no longer climb on the cubby houses or scale the doors, so my presence is slowly being accepted. Getting all the chn to line up when they finish still remains a challenge. My 'Yela Atfarley - wahad, itharn, thalatha' (excuse poor spelling) is slowly starting to work. This roughly translates to 'Quick my children - one, two, three' and is used by the Arabic teachers very effectively.

10:30 - 11:30 Numeracy - a range of number songs and a lot of counting. Introduction of shapes, number recognition - usually one a week. The chn all sit in a 'u' shape around the edge of a large carpet for the initial instruction. Introduction of activities - I am hoping to introduce centres soon, but am finding I need to address class management first. The children are usually engaged, which I find absolutely wonderful, as I find it very hard to engage when I am trying to listen in Arabic, so they are doing very well.

11:30 - 12:00 Science - we have looked at Ourselves, Colours, Eid Al Adhar and we will be looking at Our Family next.

12:00 - 12:15 Closing time - giving out notes, messages, packing up, story etc.

12:15ish Bell rings and chn get bags and line up in two lines (boys and girls) for the bus. If the Arabic teacher is in the room, this is done very sensibly. If it is just me, the chn scream when they hear the bell and then line up. We walk the chn to the buses and they climb on, usually saying 'goodbye' in English.

12:15-12:30 Go to staffroom, sip teach and chat.

12:30-1:30 Attend professional development.

1:30 - 2ish Tidy classroom and get resources, lesson plans etc ready.

2ish - 2:40 Drive back home.

2:40 Wake Tyler and Bronte, help them get dressed, chat etc.

3:20 Walk downstairs to pick Finlay up from bus. Have a snack.

3:20- 5:00 Play (either at playground downstairs with bike riding, or some kind of Art and Craft)

5:00 Heat dinner up (thanks Tony!) and we all eat together.

5:30 - 6:30 Bath, books, bed routine (with a bit of homework thrown in for Finlay)

6:30 Chn in bed. Chat with Tony, read, watch t.v. series, write blog :) etc.

9:30ish Sleep (very quickly as so tired - have been known to watch one movie in three separate sittings - sorry Tony!)

The weekends of course are very different.

Stay tuned for the next blog/s which will feature our upcoming trip to the zoo and Oman.