My baby is starting school!

[baldrick]

God I'm so anxious about it all. It's fucking ridiculous. My other half thinks I'm bonkers. But he hasn't spent most of the last four and a half years with the little fella.

does your son's new school do home visits?

home visits by the class teacher will give parents reassurance, they'll get to know at least one member of staff and the same goes for children - it won't be such a shock to them when they do start and quite often the teacher will bring picture books about the school so they can familiarise themselves with the building and the activities

also, the benefit of doing this in the home instead of the school is that parents feel comfortable asking all the 'silly' questions that they perhaps wouldn't ask on a school visit

There's a lot of research to suggest that a good transition to school can be very beneficial for children. also the same goes for pre-school. if the lack of info concerns you rollem, you should contact the school, they should be more than happy to help.

 

[Rollem]

if the lack of info concerns you rollem, you should contact the school, they should be more than happy to help.

i did call them when i got the confirmation letter and they explained that they prefer to provide all the relevant information face to face when the child enrols, which is fair enough. bit peeved they couldn't tell me who her teacher would be though as it woudl be great if its the woman she knows quite well, perhaps they haven't decided yet

 

[ShiftyBagLady]

hoem visits? it hadnt even ocurred to me thst teacher might do home visits, needless to say ours doesnt. we did have a meeting with the teacher before he started and they usually tell the children and their parents who their teacher will be during the last week of term dont they? well my little one missed the last of week of term so i'll have to call some of the other mums to see if any of them know.
for lunches i always give a portion of fruit(orange cut into moons, berries, pineapple) a portion of veg (cucmber sticks, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes) a snacky treat (nuts, dried fruit, oatcakes with peanut butter and honey are his favourites) and a sandwich or roll (chicken mayonaise, cheese and pickle or sometimes cheese and pickle on a cinamon and raisin bagel, ham salad with sundried tomatoes is his favourite).
every now and then when hes least expecting it i migthput in a slice of cake but his school is quite tough on sweets and they tell you they are not allowed but ive been told that most of his friends have sweets and chocolate every day.
he wants to switch to school meals because all his friends have school meals his school meals are quite good, they are organic and most of it freshly prepared and all that, in fact the school subsidises the organic meals which i think its quite worthy and altruistic of them but htey do also have some stuff that i wouldnt serve him and i remember thinkng that th emenu was quite carb heavy. i havent decided yet if i will let h im have them, it would be easier for me obviously but im not sure about he quality

 

[Edie]

Organic school meals Good god, where do you live?!

The school meals at my sons school are alright, in the pasta and sauce, curry and rice kinda way. All re-heated by outside company. I'd be ok with him having them, but the novelty of packed lunch has swung him

Never heard of home visits by the reception teacher. That must be unusual. We had a new parents evening where they covered most things.

Sewing the name tags into his new duds

 

[wayward bob]

does it make me a Very Bad Mother that i'm marking off the days on the wall until school starts? in my defence i have a 3 month old too and juggling the 2 of them on very little sleep has very nearly done me in over the holidays. to be fair she's going back to the same school where she was at nursery, with good friends, it's a lovely school and only 5 mins away.

i'm hoping that some time apart will help our relationship cos i'm getting increasingly pissed off with her and that can't be good christ and to think i was seriously considering home ed for a while...

i do agree that it's too early for full time. my eldest only went to nursery 4 afternoons a week and if it turns out she's finding full time too much in reception i'll have no hesitation to request a 4 day week or early finishes or something. not sure how the school would take that but it's not compulsory in reception and they were happy for us to do it in nursery (which is one of reasons we picked the school). i don't see why more schools don't offer that as a compromise if parents want it.

hummus and grated carrot sandwiches are really nice

 

[Edie]

Bad Mother my arse. In lots of ways I'm really looking forward to him being in school too. More calm time with my two year old, and even when the little'un is in pre-school for a morning the oppertunity to attack Morrisons on my own

I found it tough the first 9 months of my second being born. It is just bloody hard work.

 

[wayward bob]

oh god, what has my life come to that the opportunity to visit tescos on my own is something i look forward to. i still can't get over the feeling of ease and lightness when you of shopping without children, i positively skip out of the place, with exactly what i came for (no essential ingredients forgotten, no emergency gingerbread men added...).

but thanks for the solidarity, it turns out that the second best kept secret of parenting (no. 1 being sleep deprivation sucks) is that having two is twice as much work as having one

 

[phildwyer]

I remember my first day at school, sitting down for the first time at my little desk with some lego, feeling the tension of all these new faces, it was like a gunslinger walking into a saloon bar wating for the fight to happen...

My first free milk, my first tantrum cos tommy stole my sticklebricks....oh the tension, the fear, the anger.

On my first day I was traumatized before I even got through the gates, because they wouldn't let me bring my toy gun in with me. Had to check it at the door. Some things never change.

 

[Edie]

oh god, what has my life come to that the opportunity to visit tescos on my own is something i look forward to. i still can't get over the feeling of ease and lightness when you of shopping without children, i positively skip out of the place, with exactly what i came for (no essential ingredients forgotten, no emergency gingerbread men added...).

but thanks for the solidarity, it turns out that the second best kept secret of parenting (no. 1 being sleep deprivation sucks) is that having two is twice as much work as having one

Babes it feels like this now, but honestly it gets soooo much easier

Laughed out loud in my open plan office about you looking forward to shopping on your own. Mate, I used to envy my other half his trip home on the bus. No shit, I used to think, lucky bastard getting to sit there listenning to his iPod and dreaming out the window. When it's tough with the kids, any chink of time out becomes sacred.

Now mine are 2 and 4 and they play together, it's great. They honestly run off up stairs for anything up to an hour, leaving me to cook (or even post on urban occasionnally ). I only go up if I hear a thump on the floor, crying or screaming (especially muffled ). Let 'em get on with it They also fight a fair bit, but I wont depress you with that.

Remember: the first year is tough, after that you get your life back a bit. Even with two x

 

[Looby]

does your son's new school do home visits?

home visits by the class teacher will give parents reassurance, they'll get to know at least one member of staff and the same goes for children - it won't be such a shock to them when they do start and quite often the teacher will bring picture books about the school so they can familiarise themselves with the building and the activities

also, the benefit of doing this in the home instead of the school is that parents feel comfortable asking all the 'silly' questions that they perhaps wouldn't ask on a school visit

There's a lot of research to suggest that a good transition to school can be very beneficial for children. also the same goes for pre-school. if the lack of info concerns you rollem, you should contact the school, they should be more than happy to help.

My infant school used to do home visits. We all had a visit from the headmistress who was lovely. She had a chat with my mum and sat down and did some reading with me, she said it helped her and the child to meet first and I know my mum was re-assured.

This was 24 years ago though, I doubt that happens much now.

Good luck all you parents, I'll be rooting for you. Madamv's little one is starting too, I think her and some friends are meeting for a coffee and a sob after they drop them off at their various schools.

 

[Edie]

So... hows the first week going new-school- parents?

George trotted in excitedly on his first afternoon, despite the pressure of his little hand in mine increasing as we neared the classroom. This dear little lad Omar ran up and said 'Do you want to be my friend?' and George looked him straight in the eye and answered with a clear 'No thank you'. So it's just me that wants him to have mates then, he obviously isn't bothered.

Second full day today. He had an almighty temper tantrum last night, the like of which hasn't been seen for years. Just really tired and stressed I think. He finally settled on my lap (after I dashed home from work to rescue my other half who finds childcare a bit touch and go sometimes) and went out like a light at 6.30pm after the first day.

I want to hear how it's all going for all you!

 

[_angel_]

Went to meet Jude's new teacher and the class he'll be in. We do another one on Thursday. She seems really nice.

 

[Edie]

That's good angel. It's good that he gets to meet people before being plunged into the situation.