#Nurture 1415

It is that time of year again when we review and look forward. As in the past, this is a post I wrote on The Head’s Office blog. What would your 5/5 be?

This will be my third year of taking part in the Nurture posts. As @chocoTzar says, in twitter terms that is a LONG time! I’m quite proud to still be in there and certainly social media has given me some great moments. The ‘rules’ for this year have been set to make posts a little less like War and Peace and more like a review and some hopes. If you have the time and inclination have a look at my past posts HERE.

Some of the many positives from 2014:

1. 100 Word Challenge has exploded! It has an average of 1500 entries each week from across the globe and the interaction between classes has been wonderful to see. This has given me quite a high profile across social media and in real terms with me visiting schools to share my passion for creative writing.
2. This high profile, through 100wc, has given me the chance to meet some wonderful people and have some amazing experiences. We went to Ireland ( see Irish Odyssey series), Sheffield, Durham, Hampshire and Wales among other places and worked with staff and children. I discovered that I quite like it! Having the chance to keynote at conferences was also great fun and it was great to meet up with so many amazing educators.
3. My blogging profile has also got me noticed. This brought me the chance to meet Gok Wan and also to appear in Woman and Home. Who would have thought that little old me would be in such company! To meet up again with Alexander McCall Smith was a great delight especially as he is now supporting 100 WC.
4. My confidence is slowly growing. There have been lots of wobbly times but they don’t seem to last as long and I’m learning to listen to Nick and my body to get myself into a better place sooner.
5. The year has shown me that being a pensioner is no barrier to doing anything. It may take a bit longer or more planning but it is doable if you want it!

Hopes for 2015:

1. Continue building my confidence so that my tummy ‘dropping in fear’ does not happen so often.
2. Visit more schools to share 100 WC and show how children can really fly with an extended audience (Working with Julia)
3. Continue to provide support  whether that is in person through my governance work or school visits or virtually through social media. It is a wonderful feeling that I can still make a difference!
4. Learn how to have ’empty head’ days when I can devote myself to Nick and our life together. He is a very considerate chap and knows that 100WC or the blogs are still there in my head when I’m supposed to be relaxing!
5. Properly enjoy the opportunities life offers me and develop the strategies that we have already started to avoid me carrying everything around in my hear all the time.

Whether you are in education or not, I do hope your 2015 will bring lots of learning and great experiences!