This year both Izzie and Ollie started back to school and preschool on the same day – Monday 5th September 2016.
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Ollie was starting his new preschool. His previous one shut at the end of the summer, and we were devastated – both Izzie and Ollie loved it there, I had been on the committee for three years and it was so unfair it had to close – unfortunately, like many rural preschools, it had been running at a loss for a while and there was no way of saving it. It has been very much a free flow preschool, and the kids enjoyed a lot of outdoor and messy play and Ollie loved this.
It was a panic to find him another preschool place for his final year at preschool, and we ended up choosing his new one mainly because it was where the majority of his friends were going. it is definitely a more structured setting, and Montessori based. We have had a few issues with him not wanting to go in the mornings, and also every morning is quite stressful as I need to get both kids in the same place at the same time, which logistically is impossible as their school and preschool are in different villages. It took us a while to get in a routine, and we seem to be getting there now.
Izzie started back to school in Year 2 – her final year of Key Stage 1. All of a sudden she seems very grown up, compared to the reception children. She is now very happy to go in the in the mornings and has settled well into the new routines and responsibilities of Year 2. The homework side has been a huge struggle. After 6 weeks of summer, trying to get her to settle down in the evenings has been hard, and at half term, we have finally got her to realise she has to do it, regardless of how much she protests. Every night she has reading and spellings to practice, plus handwriting and Mathletics weekly, and two pieces of topic homework fortnightly. It seems a lot for a 6 year old but she is taking pride in her work and trying hard and I couldn’t be prouder.
As i’m so behind, i’m writing this during half term – which means we have had her first Year 2 parents evening, and got nothing but a glowing report from her teacher. As a mum, you can’t really ask anymore.
Ollie’s teachers have mentioned he needs to work on his number recognition, and so we are planning ways of doing this – I think the thunderbirds will definitely come in handy!
I love taking these back to school photos as its lovely to compare them to previous years and see how much they have grown!
Fun on the first morning back – a whole cup of spilt milk….no use crying over it though – especially when you have a dustbin like Harley to clean it up.
We had to involve the little one too – the kids back to school coats are from Joules – and they fold into their own pockets.
Loving my new jumper from Parent Apparel – got some smiles on the school run!
Comparison photos….
