My Background

Me as a Mum:

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a Mum.  The eldest of four girls, I have always been around younger children.  My Mum also looked after children as a child minder and I remember going upstairs and waking the babies up so I could hold them! How naughty!! I waited until I was nearly 30 before we started a family though and being the child of young parents, I feel quite old! Or maybe that’s sleep deprivation!

After years of teaching, I was lucky enough to get my wish! Our son was born in 2010.  He is and always has been a breath of fresh air. I’m obviously totally biased but he genuinely brightened up my life when he was born.  Nothing would ever be the same again! For this site I call him’ J.’  Then in 2013, we were blessed with a beautiful daughter.  She too is just incredible and I cannot believe we made something so perfect.   On this site I call her ‘G.’ Finally (and I do mean finally) our little princess Baby M was born in 2014.  WE ARE TRULY BLESSED! My children are everything to me and my ultimate aim in life is to let them know, every second of every day, that I love them more than words can even describe.

Me as a Teacher:

Given my love of children, it was no surprise that I went into teaching.  I remember announcing to my Dad at the age of seven that I wanted a job where I could help people! I meant it too! I’ve always wanted to make a difference to children’s lives! I think that’s what they call a vocation!  I genuinely knew when leaving primary school what my educational path was and how long it would take me! Strange but very true.

I taught for nearly ten years in a variety of primary schools in Birmingham and gained Advanced Skills Teacher status in 2008.   The day of my AST assessment was the HARDEST thing I have ever done professionally and to this day, I not ashamed to say, I am so proud that I tried and succeeded.  Here is a snippet of what the National Assessment Agency said:

“Natasha’s excellent teaching demonstrates a variety of motivating techniques that actively involve children and give them the confidence to become independent learners. She has exceptional personal qualities such as the ability to empathise, listen, motivate and lead.”

The title of AST meant I was lucky enough to support many teachers across the city. I led courses, modelled teaching and led INSET’s!  To say that this was a challenge was an understatement as most of the teachers I supported were older than me and way more experienced. It was so rewarding though to see the difference it made to SO many children and in fact I always had a good relationship with teachers I supported.

I think I became addicted to the feeling of helping, sharing ideas and therefore ensuring more and more children had an enjoyable, fun and creative learning journey.  As a result, I started writing this blog whilst taking a career break to have my children. I’m now back in the classroom. Although I work full time, I try to continue to share my passion for play.

About the Blog:

The aim of this Blog, is to give other parents, education practitioners, child minders etc. one or two ideas to try at home, school or nursery,  providing children with an enjoyable, educational experience through play and creativity.

Please feel free to browse the archives, make a comment, sign up to follow the posts and come back again. I hope you will be inspired to play, create and learn with your children and see how easy it can be.

If you are new here and like what you see, please tell your friends and pass on my aim …

Learn To Play and Play To Learn!

NEW! NEW! NEW!

I now have a new ‘baby’ called, ‘The Phonics Queen!’ The aim is to share my passion, ideas and unique strategies in teaching children to learn to read and write using phonics.  Please find me on Instagram (@thephonicsqueen), Facebook (The Phonics Queen) and Youtube (The Phonics Queen).

Thank You!

Find me on Facebook  and Instagram @preciousplay

You can contact me at preciousplay123@googlemail.com