To be longing for four year olds DS to start school?

[ijustcantwaitforit]

I’m sure it’s not all roses then either.

No childcare fees; this is a biggie. DS currently attends nursery for three days a week and I am still paying around £400 a month for this. I’m longing for more money.

Then the two days he has with me seem quite costly in so many ways - yesterday all we did was go to a park but it was still £4 parking and £7 (!) for ice creams. I know - I can say no but I suppose the point is when he’s at school that isn’t as much of a consideration.

It is Hard Work on those two days (I also have another child who is twenty months) and it will be so much calmer with just one, although still hard work of course.

I guess I’m just looking to September and I shouldn’t be, I should be enjoying the time we have left together and I am trying to, honestly, but I just want him to start school!

I hear you. I'm ready for DD3 to start school in September. She is so over pre-school, it's a fight to get her there. We don't have the luxury of time off with her - we both work FT from necessity. It's expensive, even with the 'hours'. She wants to be like her sisters and go to school. She is ready. We are ready. September feels like a loooooong way away.

I get you OP. I celebrated with coffee and cake straight after dropping off DC1 on their first day of school.

Nonetheless, try and make the most of the spring and summer ahead with your DCs and think of ways to make it easier, more fun and hopefully cheaper too. Have you got friends you can do stuff with? What about free activities in your local area - library, local museums for example.

Pretty much all my friends work FT. Only one doesn’t and her day off doesn’t match either of mine 😭

Life is tough just now; I won’t apologise for looking to the future when it just might get a bit easier.

Totally agree.
Mine are teens now. Their preschool days were sometime straightforward in comparison. And not even that expensive compared to adult size 14 shoes, school trips and music lessons.

My twins started school and the bill for before/after school is still £1k a month (I work full time) so not much of a saving. Yes they'll get free school meals for a couple of years but my eldest doesn't now she is past year 1/2 and that's also £3 per day plus school milk £50 per term plus all the school trips and constant school fundraising and don't get me started on school shoe and uniform costs....so you don't actually save much if I'm honest

(Sorry to be the voice of gloom!! )

Well, I’ll have three years of free school lunch. Plus one year where both children will eat for free. I am a teacher so don’t need holiday care and I’ll only need after school once a week, so I will have more money for a short period anyway!

You and me are the same!

I'm also finding that my 4yo is totally bored at preschool. They don't seem to know what to do with them when they reach the top of the age bracket there. And then they're seeming bored on our 2 days together too. It's hard to find a balance of activities for the eldest and the youngest that keeps everyone happy, when all the eldest asks to do is watch TV! 🥴 (And no, that's not what we do on our 2 days together before anyone says it)!

I used to feel the same as you but some things are harder I'm afraid. Less time to do what you want even on your days off work because you have to factor in the school runs. Less free time with dc to fit in everything and school demands increase as they get older. Money wise depending on how much wraparound and holiday care you need, childcare can still be fairly expensive.

Totally; it isn’t too bad when the weather is nice but it’ll start raining again before too long!

I think DS quite enjoys nursery but he’s ready for the next step, I would say. Although I probably will shed a tear at the last day of nursery (but not the bill!)

Btw there was a thread on here not so long ago with someone saying that due to the funded hours and working part time, she wasn't really saving any money when her dc started school, after taking after school club into account.

Like I say I’ll only need one after school club once a week, for an hour … hopefully it won’t cost. £100 a week!

I feel like mine would have been ready to start this academic year (September baby), they've been asking since then what school will they go to so I'm at least looking forward to not hearing that every 5 minutes 😆

Wouldn’t it help if we knew for sure which school they were going to! I’m on tenterhooks and will be more so in April!

No judgment from me OP. But school = school holidays = holiday club ££££ ime.

One of the perks of being a teacher

OP is a teacher and doesn't work in the holidays