Reposted from Facebook (Send me your moving-freakout tips!)

Hey friends,

This is a note to you U.K. settlers to say that Maggs and I will be your neighbors as of OCTOBER 12TH (6am in the morning, no less)!

As I wrote that, I almost vomited in my mouth. Not from lack of excitement, but too much of it, and too many nerves and things to do.

If you have any advice/tips/anecdotes since you're in the know, and we are so very not, please let me know.

Tell me what area you live in!
What area should we live in? (I haven't told her this, but I'm scoping out the East side, Colin.)
If you're a renter, do you have a particular housing agency you went with that you would recommend?

Should we rent a private car to pick us up from the airport?

Do you have a rad family doctor for me? Homeopath?

What's the theatre scene like--in terms of me getting involved?

Is it stupid that I've packed 10 pairs of pants?

Will you hang out with us when we're tired, lonely and homesick?

Want to go on European adventures on the weekends??

Et Cetera.

xxx

Hope to see and talk to you all soon

Joann and Maggie

sitting, waiting, wishing

So in the last few weeks a bunch of us have arrived in London. We have been to copious amounts of museums, pubs, and gardens. We have walked for miles and taken a million pictures of Big Ben. We have found flats, friends, and Fosters. And now we are sitting, waiting, wishing for that early morning phone call...

In the meantime we are finding ways to keep busy after being all museum-ed out. My list of to-dos for today are as follows:

• Watch as many episodes of How I Met Your Mother as possible before my eyeballs burn. Google Josh Radnor (Ted) and see if he's related to John Cusack (he's not).
• Dye my hair. I'm a wannabe hippie and use Lush's henna so it's a 4-5 hour process from start to finish. A giant pain but so worth it in the end when I can find the time for it.
• Clean the kitchen. Again. And the bathroom. And vacuum. And do laundry. And figure out the perfect mixture of bleach-to-water ratio to get that mysterious stain left over from the last tenant out of the carpet.
• Three words: Extensive Facebook Creeping
• Make banana bread. And chocolate chip cookies. And cinnamon buns. And butter chicken from scratch. Morgan has never been so well-fed in his life!
• Practice morse code with your neighbors who won't stop thumping the walls. Oh wait, that's not what they're doing... (are you picking up what I'm putting down?? yeahhh, the walls are awkwardly thin... :s)
• Groom. My eyebrows have never looked this good.
• Catch up on British day-time tv. Is Jeremy Kyle allergic to chairs or what? 
• Perfect Beyonce's "Single Ladies" dance

Teaching in the UK: Multiple Intelligences & VAK Approach

One of the things I love about teaching in the UK is that the schools are really keen on multiple intelligences and the VAK approach. VAK stands for Visual, Auditory & Kinesthetic and it simply means that you plan for all three teaching methods in your lesson plans.

When I taught in primary schools in London, I had to show in each lesson plan what I intended to do for all three learning styles and then evaluate my lessons later and include notes on how I thought the lessons went. It's a bit more paperwork than you might be used to, but it does help you to focus on what your lessons should include.

It's fairly easy to do this with the Interactive Whiteboards and the manipulatives you will have in your London classroom. The lesson planning is mostly already done for you, so that helps reduce your work load as well. (I explain this further in the Guide to Teaching in London: A Survival Guide for Canadians.)

Here are some more resources to help with Muliple Intelligences & the VAK approach, including one that disagrees & debates the idea.

• TES online forum discussing the dangers of the VAK approach
• Brainboxx - VAK explained
• Multiple Intelligences Test

To become part of the Classroom Canada team, sign up for our newsletters & apply through our website. Be sure to read the Guide to Teaching in London: A Survival Guide for Canadians to help you understand everything you need to know about teaching in London.

RESOURCES RESOURCES RESOURCES!

Moving overseas is NOT EASY, I've said that before. But, luckily in this day and age there are TONS of resources out there that make it that much easier.

Lots of people say to me "aren't you scared, you don't know anyone there, what are you going to do, how are you going to get places, etc.". I am not worried at all. Throughout this process, I have met so many people that have helped me, as well as many online resources. Here are some very helpful resources that are definitely responsible for helping prepare me.

1. Classroom Canada. The blog and website were first what inspired me to make the move, and continuously supported my decision. The blog is unbelievable in terms of resources, ideas and information about moving and teaching in London. Victoria also recently started another blog (her ambition is also incredibly inspiring) for anyone looking to make the move from Canada to the UK.

2. Where is Kirbie? blog. Kirbie is another teacher making the move to London, and I seriously LOVE her blog, especially the UK Visa post.

3. Priceline. This is where we booked out hotel for Edmonton when we went there to get our UK Visas and it was a steal of a deal. If you click on the "Name Your Price", you get to choose your city, the area of the city and how many stars you want your hotel to be. Then, you choose a price (it usually tells you the average hotel cost based on your critera and I recommend bidding about half of that price - you'd be surprised) and it tells you quite quickly if your bid is accepted or rejected. If it's rejected you can just change a few things and try again. Tyson and I booked our hotel for London with this as well, and we are staying for three nights in a SWEET 4-star hotel in Hammersmith.

4. Exclusive Airports. I have yet to rate this service, but after talking to my friend Amy who arrived last week, she recommended taking a car to the hotel from the airport, instead of lugging our bags on the tube. We booked a car to pick us up when we arrive at the airport to take us to our hotel and it costs us around 34 GBP. So I will udpate if this is was a good idea or not...

5. Spring Time in London. Amy Spring has been one of my best friends basically since she was out of the womb (since she was born 4 days after me), and my mom began babysitting her when she was two. We graduated kindergarten together, and more recently were both grads at the U of W with our Education degrees. Amy decided to move to London with Tyson and I and actually left a week prior to us. This has actually worked to our advantage as we can call her and find out what things worked for her, and which things haven't.

6. Facebook. I think Facebook is amazing if used the right way. I have met SO MANY awesome teachers through Facebook who are going through the exact same situations as us. Networking through the Classroom Canada Facebook group was a huge support.

7. Teachers TV. I've watched numerous videos showcasing classrooms in the UK on a variety of topics (classroom management, different levels/subjects, etc.) and found it to be an invaluable resource.

These are just a few of the fabulous tools I've come across that have made this move THAT much more attainable. Please feel free to ask me questions about any of these or any others!

Top 10 Reasons I Can't Wait to Move to London

I'm really starting to get annoyed with people whose first reaction to my move to London is, "it's so expensive/the people are stuck up/the food's lousy/the weather sucks/insert general negativity here." London may not be perfect, but no place is. So to counteract it, I thought I'd write about some of the awesome things London has to offer (12 days, eek!).

Top 10 Reasons I Can't Wait to Move to London

1. The arts scene is amazing. Everywhere you look, there are inexpensive classes and shows of every type imaginable. And if you're an artsy type yourself, there are loads of really cool projects you can get in on.

2. A school system that understands the value of the arts in education, and many other things that the Ontario government considers unnecessary fringe benefits.

3. The Tube: my favourite transportation system in the world. (Bonus: no more car to worry about)

4. The warmer winters, They may be damp, dark, and cool, but nothing compares to how much I loathe the long, snowy, beyond freezing winters we get here. I'm ok with rain!

5. The accents. I can't help it, I'm a sucker for them.

6. The cheap travel opportunities. There's no better place in the world to be based if you're a travel bug.

7. The incredible array of cultures. It's the most multiculural city in the world, with 300 languages spoken, and 40% of its population from overseas. Not to mention subcultures. There's something for everyone.

8. Living in a destination city. I'm probably going to see some of my friends more often than I do now, simply because it's so common for people to visit or pass through London. And lots of people have thanked me for giving them the excuse to travel there.

9. So many new people to meet. The pool will never run dry.

10. It's an adventure. Most people in the world never leave their hometown, much less move across the globe. I can now proudly say that I am not one of them. Cost, people, food, and weather be damned.


What are you looking forward to?

Why being a TA is actually really cool

I'm leaving for London in 19 days and everyone I know is excited for me (if sad to see me go). But when they find out what I'll be doing over there, I can't help but get the sense they think my job title is rather... unimpressive.

I have about a decade of experience teaching and working with kids, but I've yet to pick up a teaching degree. I got into teacher's college for this coming school year and turned it down in favour of going to London to work as a TA. Why?

I sat down to think about the answer to that today. When I had my interview with Victoria, her one concern was that (lack of teaching degree aside) I have more in common with your average teacher than I do with your average TA (whom, I gather, are largely stay-at-home moms who decide to become more involved in the school system), and that I might not feel satisfied in that kind of role. I know that concern is probably going to come up again when I interview with schools in London, so I decided to write down my response. Surprisingly, in doing so, I learned something.

The most obvious reason I chose London is because it is... well... London. I've reached a point in my life where I know it's important for me to go on this kind of life-altering adventure now or else forever regret not having done it. But the more I think about it, the more I'm specifically looking forward to being a TA.

Here's why:

- Stability. Teaching Assistant jobs can be part time or sporadic if you want them to be, but long-term placements are more common. This means that, unlike supply teachers, I won't need to wake up wondering if/where I'll be working each day.
- Less pressure and no lesson planning, which means I'll have time to continue teaching (and learning) on the side.
- Awesome learning opportunity. I've learned a lot from running my own classrooms, but I'm really looking forward to learning through observing and aiding someone else for a change. I know I'm really going to expand the breadth of my expertise this way.

Now here's the kicker... the part I wasn't really expecting:

- TAs can have a remarkable impact on the success of their students.

I've always believed that most behavioural issues stem from reasons that have nothing to do with a desire to misbehave. Most often, kids simply have pent up energy (physical or creative) that requires an outlet. Or they desire recognition. Or they're struggling with something. There are no blanket techniques that resolve all these issues. But teachers have the challenge of managing a big, diverse classroom and they don't have time to offer constant, individualized attention to all their students. That's what TAs are there for. Brilliant.

So while the teacher runs their lesson, the TA is working closely with students and ensuring that their needs are met so each can perform at their best. And when all the students' needs are met and they're performing at their best, the whole class is better off because now there is a positive, productive vibe in the air and the effect is compounded.

I experienced this first-hand a few weeks ago while I was teaching at a drama camp. I had one camper who was really difficult to deal with: constantly running around the room climbing on things, asking to leave the room, and refusing to follow instruction. I tried to handle it as best I could, but I had 15 other 5-7 year olds to teach and could only do so much. One day, while he was throwing a tantrum, one of my counsellors took it upon herself to bond with him in the corner while the rest of us continued with the lesson. The transformation was immediate and profound. I was grateful, of course, but also a little envious.

Soon, that will be me. I'm so excited!

Pre-Homesickness

Six more weeks until Morgan (my husband) and I are off to London!

Boxes on our checklist are getting ticked off:

- bank account, check

- apply for our visas, check

- update resumes, check

- find cheap flights, check

- find a place to live (awesome roomies included!), check

- deal with homesickness, kind of checked...

That's right. I am homesick and I haven't even left.

Up until last week, this whole "moving to London" thing has seemed totally unreal. A fun idea but so far in the future that I hadn't really thought about it, like really thought about it. And then last week we decided to move into a flat with two other Classroom teachers and it hit me: omgwearemovingtolondonin6weeksthatisnotalotoftimeIAMSCAREDIWANTMYMOM!!

Morgan was super excited, telling me that "it finally feels real! I can't wait, I'm ready to leave now!" But all I could think was "I don't want to goooooooo!"

Signs of "Leaving Canada Pre-Homesickness":

- your mom tells you to stop calling home every day because she's getting sick of hearing from you

- your fridge only has a bottle of hot sauce and a sad-looking apple because you go to your in-laws for breakfast, lunch, and supper every day

- your cat is gaining weight at an alarming rate because you feel guilty knowing you're leaving her for at least a year so you give her extra treats

- you drink 12 double-doubles a day and you don't even like Tim Hortons

- you contemplate getting a huge tattoo of a maple leaf on your back and you are terrified of needles

- you have never been so on top of Canadian politics because you refuse to listen to or watch anything other than CBC

Leaving Canada is going to be hard. London doesn't have my family, my friends, my fat cat,or A&W (no Teen Burgers for a year!?! I obviously did not think this plan through). But London does have people to meet, kids to teach, weird food to eat (spotted dick anyone?) and a really big ferris wheel. So I'm getting over my homesickness and getting excited again. I'm not lying when I say I can't wait to get on that plane.

But I'm really going to miss my fat cat:

ps. we have a blog! there's nothing on it! but there will be soon! www.getaneyepatchman.blogspot.com