To let my nerves about Gaelic school play out in ridiculous worries about snacks!

[MaryQueenOfSnot]

My little'un is starting Primary 1 in about 4 hours' time. He's going to a Gaelic medium school and we are excited and nervous in equal measure. My question is probably pretty dim, and this time next year I'll be potentially doing the eye-roll when I read something similar!! But please bear with me for now! He is supposed to take a snack to school....and I'm having trouble getting my head around exactly what that means (yeah...I know!) So what kinds of thing/amount of thing constitutes a snack....presumably a piece of fruit isn't enough, but he's also having school lunch, so I'm guessing a sandwich is overkill? What kinds of thing do you give your little ones for their snack? My second (stupid) question is about drinks. He doesn't like water, and that is completely my fault as I've always allowed him to have very weak diluting juice. Now the school letter said all kids are to bring a water bottle, and he is freaking out about it. We've been trying to encourage him to drink water in the recent lead-up to today, but he gets really tearful about it, and seeing as he has trouble with constipation anyway, I really worry about him not drinking. I don't want stress in his head about not being allowed diluting juice to take over from the excitement of his first day. Is it absolutely anathema to give him very weak diluting juice in his water bottle? I really don't want to be the mum who breaks rules on the very first day....

I should add when he went to nursery, he took a packed lunch and so he ate part of that as a snack and part for lunch....

Ah Gaelic medium is great, mine went in and now one is training to be a Gaelic teacher herself. Mine generally had either a piece of fruit or a caramel rice cake.

A snack would be something along the lines of fruit, crackers, cheese, cut up veg, a small bread roll, yoghurt etc. Basically anything that he can nibble on while chatting to friends but that he can manage himself. As for the water - just give him the week dilute in a non-clear bottle and say nothing ;)
I hope your boy has a good first day at school.

I would just send a bit of what my kids would call "big fruit" - apple, pear, banana etc.

As for the water issue some schools are really strict about it, if what your sending doesn't have colour or smell to it you might get away with it, or send flavoured water. What you may find is that "pack mentality" helps - everyone else is drinking water so he may copy. Good luck, don't stress!

Re the drink, every school is different. Could you have two bottles with you and quickly ask the teacher? Or if you can’t, do weak squash today but check this afternoon? They do soon get in to new habits, I promise.

UnLunDun ah that's excellent - best of luck to her! The teachers I saw on the video they sent of the school looked so enthusiastic and fun :-) We are all trying to learn Gaelic at home here to support him :-)

Good advice from all - thank you :-)

They pick up the language amazingly fast, and mine found my attempts at pronouncing things hilarious…they went back to school and told all their friends and teachers after the night I meant to tell them in Gaelic to “eat your soup” and accidentally said “eat your sick”. 🤣🤣

@UnLunDun

They pick up the language amazingly fast, and mine found my attempts at pronouncing things hilarious…they went back to school and told all their friends and teachers after the night I meant to tell them in Gaelic to “eat your soup” and accidentally said “eat your sick”. 🤣🤣

🤣🤣🤣 Yeah, I have a feeling we'll come up with some howlers over the next few years in our earnest attempts to try and support him! Still, if it gives him and his pals a good laugh....

Ooo flavoured water is a great idea!!

Send him with water but make his snack fruit and juice?

One of the reasons children are allowed water is that if it is spilled it can easily be mopped up.