Unlocking Ireland - an unprecedented thread no. 6

[CherryValanc]

A sixth thread in Craicnet!!

Who thought that would ever happen!!? Has there even been a sixth page before?

Cat will decide when they make their entrance, no respect for the working hours of their humans

Yup. At the beginning of WFH, I was getting tons of kudos for helping my colleagues get set up with their computers and webcams.

Come the first big Teams meeting with all of us and management involved, my tub of guts of a tom decided he wanted in on the action and launched himself across my desk and took my mouse with him as he clattered into view and out of it again.

At least it broke the ice if nothing else.

In vaccine news, my mother is due her first jab on Friday as part of the over-80 contingent.

I was on some of the previous threads but haven't posted for a while, thrilled to see this still going. I originally arrived here in 2013, when the penis beaker thread went viral, i think i saw it mentioned on facebook. I was on rollercoaster too but don't bother with it now.
My mum is in her 90s and just received her vaccine last week, she is grand though, no side affects which is brilliant. The slow roll out is fruastrating when we have been in lockdown for so long. I can't wait to go the pub for a pint and some grub when this is over, and i am never going to turn down any invitation i receive, ever again.

[quote Emeraldshamrock]@HaHaVeryBunny That's awful. Can you contact Hiqa?
The rollout is shocking.
MIL FIL and BIL 30 with asthma in NI all had their first last week.[/quote]
Thanks for that, will look into it 👍.

I

I saw a graphic today about the vaccine roll out (1st dose) and lots of European countries are much worse than Ireland -of course it’s not a race to the bottom and it’s much more difficult for us when we share an island with the UK and see them powering ahead.
In my job I work with other Europeans every day who look down on us Irish contingent with barely disguised contempt ( looking at you France and Germany!) so it gave me some smug satisfaction for a second

@Mayzee
Why do they look down on us ?

[quote LadyEloise]**@Mayzee
Why do they look down on us ?[/quote]
They just don’t rate the work we do (we are all regulators not colleagues) and feel we are falling short - which is absolute bs - we just do things differently for many reasons.

Ah! I found you. Was wondering why I hadn’t had any notifications on the last thread. I joined mumsnet the day I found out I was pregnant but was living in the UK at the time. Back in Ireland now ans not as addicted as I once was.

The weather is dreadful today! Managed to get soaked down to my bra and knickers on my walk this morning 😭

Can I ask a school q? For a Feb baby would you say 4 or 5 to start Juniors?

Personally I'd wait until they're five Ballygowenwater.

Tricky question, Ballygowan as opinions differ on this. I have two children with March birthdays and they started at 5. Their preschool teachers recommended it and it has worked out well for them.

Can I ask a school q? For a Feb baby would you say 4 or 5 to start Juniors?
it depends on their personality.
DD was 4 in February started in September she was fine, it is a lovely environment.
DS was 5 in March he started September he has lots of attachment issues and issues with emotional regulation.
He is the oldest in his class but couldn't have managed earlier.

Can I ask a school q? For a Feb baby would you say 4 or 5 to start Juniors?

Hello, I'm a primary teacher I would always, always say that if in doubt it's better to start them older. I've seen plenty of kids who weren't ready for school but I've yet to see one be overly ready.

Absolutely agree with @SionnachRua

I'm not a teacher, but have friends and family who are and we've discussed this topic previously - they strongly agree with SionnachRua too.

I would check in with the school, to see what the age range is in the class. April was the cut off in our primary. The old principal reckoned that the junior infant syllabus was aimed at 4 to 5,and the older kids found it baby ish.
Any opinions?

I think things have changed a bit maybe? When I was a child it was typical to start at 4, but having 2 years of playschool funded now means the average school starting age is that bit older.

I don't think that's been the case for many years, egg.

From talking to several schools, current JI teachers tend to be strongly in favour of starting at an average of 5.5 or so. By Xmas of JI, most (like around 3/4) of the kids are aged 5 in the schools around me.

Whatever you do, a child with a Feb birthday will either be amongst the oldest or the youngest in the class. Unless they're exceptionally precocious, it's better to be amongst the oldest. It's not about whether a child can cope with starting age 4.5, but whether that child will thrive more easily if they start age 5.5. Almost all children flourish better in school with that extra time to mature.

I think old principal had taught the old syllabus, which my older kids were on, my youngest was on the new books, and they did seem easier. My dd2 was happy enough though! She was born in autumn, so middle of the age range.

Yes with most children having 2 years of preschool 5 is now pretty average ime. Every child is different of course but personally i think older is better than younger in general.

I'd say start at 5 too. Sil is a secondary teacher and says while it might not be an issue in primary she can always spot the younger ones in secondary, and it's very noticeable if they don't do TY and are leaving school at barely 17.

Interesting. The other group in in is mostly English mums and they all said send her in Sept. All her friends (including slightly younger and slightly older - 3 kids born within a month of her) are moving up and the school is teeny. Only 5 in the JI class for next year and 11 in the classroom including SI and 1st.

My concerns are that if we end up moving back to a city where I think 5 would be more the norm then she will be younger than her peers when it comes to secondary.

I'd talk to the school @Ballygowenwater , they could do either but see if the school is telling the other parents to wait or not.

A friend has a Jan baby and had her booked to start at 5 years 8 months but the school is saying for her to start at 4 years 8 months, have others that age starting too. Small class and they will be similar ages.

My elder daughter was born in August, and began school just after her fifth birthday. We moved to England when she was 10, and was put into the class a year ahead of her Irish class as they are strictly September to August year groups. When we came back she moved back to her old class.
I quite liked the 12 month spread in the class.

@Barmbraic

I'd say start at 5 too. Sil is a secondary teacher and says while it might not be an issue in primary she can always spot the younger ones in secondary, and it's very noticeable if they don't do TY and are leaving school at barely 17.

We can spot them in primary too, trust me 😂 Going back to the principal thing, I'd say they were probably not taking the Aistear curriculum into account as well? That's huge in junior classes. I do agree that elements of the JI curriculum are too easy but if I'm thinking about an 'ideal' junior infant in September, give me a kid with strong social and play skills over a kid who knows all their phonic sounds any day.

It would be rare now for our incoming JIs not to have two years of preschool under their belt. You can really see the difference it makes to them.

My son has a January birthday and I really regret not holding him back until 5 plus as he was borderline ready and I think another year would have been better for him - esp now that he’s just started secondary and he’s struggling a little.

That's reassuring that many of them are 5 starting, my DS was 5 1/2 he is really tall too, he stands out from his class I felt guilty he wasn't ready at 4 1/2 starting.