to think that you cannot work full time and support your children's education?

[IslandGirlie]

I've tried to juggle FT work and 2 DCs, they are in Reception & Y1 and failing miserably!
This month I've missed a few school request/ preps for events & kids are having to rush to get things ready for said events. Teachers sending notes to remind things..
I feel like I'm not supporting them in their school work / not spending quality time with them.
Is it possible to be on top this and work full time? School sends at lest 1 email a day! Most days it's two!! There's is always a leaflet in the bag..
DH works full time too and he is helpful as much as he can do. I can't stop wondering that it's not possible to work FT and support children.
How do you do it?

Oh come on, they didn't actually perform the whole Lion King. They were 8.

Er... I didn't have to source a costume for my daughter's Y5 performance in the Lion King. School sorted it.

My point is, I don't see the causal link between LeggingGate many years ago and his (hopeful) success at his current science A levels, really.

A little accommodation would reduce stress considerably. I sent DD in with navy leggings for her non-speaking part in the xmas play as we didn't have black ones. The message came back - no they need to be black.

So do that, give plenty of notice, cut down the low value craft project based homework, reduce participation in nonsense events that require dressing up or dressing up your bicycle.....

Doing that would fix my problem. I agree I wouldn't want them to cut down on all the lovely extra things they do with the children but it could be made much easier for parents.

mother I found tan leggings on Amazon in approx 1.5 minutes. If you have 1-click settings setup, you add less than 5 seconds for ordering

I really think the parents moaning about it, would be the exact same parents moaning about lack of extra curricular activities, if they didn't take place

Personally.. as someone who has finally finished with 4 childrens' education... I felt that as long as they read, and were read to, homework done with the minimum amount of support for THEM to be successful (ie not doing it for them but being there to explain, asssist if necessary) and that I didn't forget non uniform days... anything else was a bonus!

I never baked a cake for the PTA ever and costumes were very simple...I did keep a stash of fabric that could be hemmed into shapes at the last moment tho.

I attended what I could, apologised if I couldn't come, and as DD1 is now a doctor, DD2 a nurse, DS1 working in Social Care... I don't think I trashed their education by not being able to make a super duper costume or a model of the Taj Mahal at a moment's notice !

As they got older I DID however , have a policy of 'if you don't empty your bag and bring me any letters, don't blame me if you miss out'! It worked!

Yes but (a) this was nine years ago; and (b) I'm pointing out that X doesn't necessarily cause Y.

I am aware of Amazon Prime in 2015.

I'd have been impressed if they could deliver some tan leggings to me down a cave (my place of work) in 2006.

"My point is, I don't see the causal link between LeggingGate many years ago and his (hopeful) success at his current science A levels, really"

There isn't one.

You do have to pay extra for the Tardis option, Liney. They call it Amazon Timey Primey.

liney but we have Amazon Prime now. It is an option now. Surely that's what we are discussing; not how difficult it has been historically.

I also work somewhere I cannot receive post; but most people can. I use a 'safe place' for deliveries

I still want to know exactly what people want done about it. Accepting that homework that parents do and stuff that's really expensive should definitely be stopped.

What else?

Many years ago our school got parents to volunteer to make costumes for all the children in the lower school for the Nativity..they had a grant for material, they would have them forever - a great idea - less burden on the parents...
Although at the start quite a few parents were helping it dwindled to about 5 of us to make 75 costumes. Some people didn't have sewing machines (fair enough) they just helped with the cutting out/pinning ...but if you did have a machine they were really simple to make t-shaped smock things (there were some more complicated that one skilled seamstress did a fantastic job of doing), they took about 10 min a 'costume'. Some parents did one or two and said they didn't have time to do any more (one (THAT parent) turned up having made 4 - 2 for their DCs, adapted to fit, ironed, named on hangers -the other 2 badly done, screwed up in a carrier bag - if I was the school I would have swapped them !) Someone's gran made 25. I was up at midnight to get them finished in time ... but they were done for ever...no more costume hassle.
Except the next year they didn't do a nativity, the year after they did a slightly different version so only had costumes for some of the children (the year I struggled to find my DD all brown clothes )
Then it was DD2's turn - heard which version of the nativity they were doing - great - the same as DD1 - no costume. Got a letter home saying she had to have a big white tshirt etc ...what? Asked at the school - a couple of teachers had left and they had been forgotten. They dug them out -new notes went out telling most of parents they in fact didn't need a costume ...but DD2 did still need a big white tshirt because they didn't have enough 'costumes' for them all and it wasn't fair to have some of them in tshirts ...
What wasn't fair was that countless children benefited from the fact I had had some time off and was keen...and out of three possible times I could have benefited I only did once...

I was responding to a previous post suggesting a causal relationship between running round doing shit, and outcomes.

Loving Amazon Timey Primey

I do buy costumes on eBay and would happily donate outgrown costumes to school (we have a cow, a sheep and a soldier) but I don't think they have storage space.

Amazon prime is expensive as are new costumes on amazon. Not everyone who works FT can afford it or have parcels delivered to work. More notice is far and away the best thing, costume storage at school and fewer costume things anyway (or something simple like wear blue). As said upthread, I think world book day would be better spent bringing in a favourite book than dressing up.

I know the grass has moved on but if you are still there op:

• calendar everything goes on it. Everything.
• every morning go through school bag and deal with letters and *put it on calendar.
• consult calendar
• gym kit - always kept in bags hanging in hall. Washed at weekend. Replaced in bag in hall.
• ditto swimming and whatever else.
• homework - children take responsibility most of the time.
• early mornings before school are quite a good time for spellings/reading through.
• if your child has a project and you cannot support the recreation of the coliseum/space station/Sistine chapel or whatever the fuck teachers expect our children to do these days, then a polite email asking for time to complete it at the weekend (in between shoving in the washing and hoovering.)
• don't sweat the small stuff.

I work full time with three in primary school and just about manage.

Sorry thread has moved on...

Itonically it's parents who want homework. You only have to read the education boards -people are always quoting lack of homework as one of the reasons for leaving the state system. Teachers hate it. Kids hate it.50% of parents hate it. But the other 50% love it and the government can make it look as if they're listening by making policies
about it!

I suppose it depends what you mean by homework. It's all about quality of setting and marking.

I'd rather have had less, but clear and accessible for the child.

The amount of semi-literate rubbish that came home was dispiriting. It took me ages to try to work out the inherent errors.

I am glad we have a FB group, luckily everyone posts the HW typos before we start so save a lot of time!

(Incidentally I don't want Amazon Prime. I try to boycott Amazon.)

Oh but MI, I have bought your Christmas present from Amazon...

I lie it's from AbeBooks

I can now envisage a world where the admissions criteria for a popular school include ownership of an Amazon Prime account.

I think so only if you are very organised, plan for the week, read the emails and make a note of what needs doing. I work full time and out the house 12 hours a day. It's frigging hard being on top of it all but I think we support their education. What kind of childcare do you have in place, can they assist?

And a Needlework exam for parents.