So, school’s back, Girl Lacer is now in Year 1, her classroom located in the hub bub of the main part of the infant’s side of the school. I caught a glimpse of her new class teacher, she’s a new teacher to the school and I suspect from how young she looks (argh I feel old), new to teaching to, but she looks human, that’s what counts!
Boy Lacer isn’t starting nursery for another two weeks, we walked past nursery though on the way to Girl Lacer’s class (we were soooo early today, that’s not going to last), they have majorly improved the playground outside the nursery classroom, lots of purpose built climbing stuff, hopefully as long as Boy Lacer has the confidence to try it, the climbing equipment will really help improve his mobility skills.
So, that was summer, it was a good one, we saw lots of things but didn’t totally overdo it; the bird centre, both Tates plus a bit of the V&A, a trip on the river, the museums, London Transport Museum, Kew and Wales, twice. The kids had lots of chances to relax and it was great to see Girl Lacer unwind and play more imaginatively, not that she doesn’t relax and play imaginatively normally but school can be hard work, even in reception (it’s all that playing you see) plus she does lots of stuff with her dance. It was great seeing her put the knowledge she’d learnt in reception into action away from the classroom, she was doing lots of maths with things like working out in her head how much it would cost for us all to get into an attraction and she was reading words on signs, plus after a particularly heavy bout of playing a certain game on Nick Jr. where the score was in figures, she learnt how to read three digit numbers. She’s also learnt to identify Cabbage White butterflies, something she’s rather proud of.
I’m going to miss her now she’s at school (and I’ll miss Boy Lacer when he starts nursery), she really is a pleasure (most of the time) to be around. She’s not flawless, but who is? She’s been getting a bit too eager on passing the buck and she’s still not adverse to using the old waterworks when she’s not getting what she wants, but she’s growing into a really lovely girl.
So, now it’s autumn, in two weeks time I am going to have a lot more free time to myself (a grand total of 12 1/2 hours!), as I’ve always said, this is the year where I have to concentrate and try and prove that I can make an income without having to return to the ‘proper’ working world. I’m not after a ginormous income (although that would be nice), I just need to replicate the sort of income I’d get if I went out and got a part time job locally working school hours and preferably school term time, which to be honest would not be that much money. Even if I got a job like that we would still end up having to probably pay some child care, so I need to bring in an income that would match that part time job minus the cost of child care, because obviously working for myself I don’t have to pay for childcare as I can work around the kids. Obviously with just 12 1/2 hours a week, I’m not going to make that but if I can do well enough to say that yes, once Boy Lacer is going to school full time and I therefore have more time, I will be able to work more and bring in more money, then that saves me having to go and get a job in January 2011 (my deadline). So, I’m trying to think of myself as a ‘corporation’, with three businesses incorporated into this corporation, at various stages of success, currently my most ‘profitable’ business is tutoring (I already have for this academic year a new student, he’s starting tonight, which is a very good sign, I don’t normally get business this early and the client was from word of mouth recommendation), five tutoring students would mean comfortable, ten tutoring students (about the maximum I could take) would be doing very well for myself. So I’m planning on advertising earlier than normal this year. Tutoring is not my first love, by far, but it brings in money and it keeps me in touch with my scientific side, so I’m not complaining. Business number two, my Etsy shop, which will be opening this Autumn, I have spent the summer thinking up designs and studying the market, I am realistic, a lot of Etsy shops very obviously, make very little money, if at all, but some do and well, I’m not going to know if my shop will make that group unless I try. I’m also planning on doing one, possibly two Christmas craft fairs, there my stock will be fairly different from my Etsy shop, noticeably in that it will be cheaper items, there I will be using my experience from doing Christmas fairs for the last two years with my books, expensive does not sell at Christmas fairs, small items, popular with kids, do. Finally, the third ‘business’, my writing, currently my work in progress has not been touched for weeks and weeks and weeks, I was really good at the start of the holidays, but then I just couldn’t find the time or the space and I don’t see the point of trying to force it now until Boy Lacer starts nursery. I’m about two thirds the way through my first draft, I know what’s going to happen and I know how it’s going to end, I just have to sit down and write the thing. My plan is once my first draft is in editing stage, to start a new project, so that I have more than one writing egg in my basket, I’ve read recently on a number of the writing blogs I follow, down there on my blog roll, that it is not a good idea to concentrate all your writing energy on just one project, what if that project sucks? So I’m going to try and increase the number of writing projects I have on the go at any one time, in an ideal world I’d be editing one story, writing another and doing the research on a third, but like I say, I only have 12 1/2 hours. Of all my three ‘businesses’, I am realistic, the writing is the least likely (very least likely) to bring in any money at all, I have to believe in it and keep going at it, but the tutoring and the Etsy shop have to have a certain amount of priority.
