West London Chat Summer/Autumn

[vbus]

ooh the excitement of starting a new thread

Hi, i hope you don't mind me posting here :)
We moved to kew 2 months ago but still feel pretty new. I have dd who will turn 3 in November.
Just wanted to get to know/meet other mums in the area and also find things to do with dd locally too.
Do far, I have taken dd to soft play, kew gardens and swimming.

HI Lilo welcome I have a dd 6 and I am in Kew
I am sure those with children with ages closer to yours will have up to date info
on playgroups and interesting things to do
We actually have an evening meet up for grown up dinner coming up this Saturday
otherwise there are plenty of ad hoc day time meet ups

in other news machine delivered old one taken but new one still in middle of kitchen as they don't fit it, blardy heck must do it myself as well as putting it into place

Sfx...how exiting! i had the same problem back home...they brought new machine and left on the ground floor in the middle of the room. Said "bye" and were going to leave . But probably saw, that i was coming to tears and panic, then took it upstairs and even plugged it in!!!

Lilo08, i am in Kew too. My dd2 just turned 2 in august. I do go to the gardens and playgrounds too :)

I am pretty sure I can do it, they told me how, initially they said 'your husband will be able to connect it easily' well darling if not that hard tell me what to do and I will do it, surely I am not too thick female to understand it

is pretty simple sfx - sure you will be able to work it out - plumbing is just a screw fix and waste normally just hook onto the waste pipe from memory.

Hi Lilo - I have a 6yr old boy and have totally forgotten the relevant playgroup but Kew Gardens is good also Palewell park pretty good but perhaps more for the summer.

Thank you for replying ladies.
I'd love to join you all on sat but wont be able to but will definitely keep an eye on the next meet up especially the the ones during the day :)

Sfxmum- Its funny when they say 'your husband' dont they realise it's the modern times and we women can do these things too :)

Islandhaze- dd loves the playground in kew gardens especially loves feeding the ducks. Have you found anything else local like toddler groups etc?

Hello!

Internet down since last night and back up now! Yeah!

Washing machine - it's not so much the connecting as the moving it about ... The thing is heavy. At least ours was.

Playground dynamics - I think it helps to have some guidance, even for the most "sociable" kids. Like "do not hug people if they do not want to be hugged", and the usual ones, like no fighting, name-calling, etc. Like in Ice Age 3: No you do NOT eat other people's kids. And stuff like just because so-and-so thinks it's funny to trip people up does NOT mean you should to the same. etc etc ad nauseum. Tips on joining in? Err.. haven't found that one out yet... but clearly not approaching the nasty kids is a good start, but it's perhaps sometimes not obvious who are the nasty ones that day. It's all too difficult.

sfx - I was always considered an awkward child/teenager/grown-up, but of course the truth was and still is that it's the world that's awkward, not me. I am perfectly fine.

Lilo it is worth having a look at notice boards in your neighbourhood, particularly in libraries and churches there are so many groups about

copper he said to put some detergent on the floor for it to glide presumably it will be gunky too

amused at assumption of husband

trying to convince self to go out running, but it is ever so frustrating with a cold pant pant sniff sniff

about approaching people, dd has the unsophisticated approach of shouting loudly at them or otherwise just standing outside the group looking in and starting to feel sad, she just will not approach a group at all and if a group forms around her she will retreat

DS2 will not approach groups either, but he doesn't seem to be bothered by it. In that aspect he is like me. But in my old age I find it easier to talk to people, and have astounded myself (and no doubt the people I talk to too) by the number of random strangers I have conversations with.

Washing machines are heavy because they have to be weighted down so they don't jump about while spinning. These people should put them where they belong, not ask customers to do it. Honestly. This detergent on the floor (what if you use powder detergent? ) business reminds me of ancient Egyptians manouvering blocks of stones by water and logs. Or was it the Incas? Mayans? Druids? Somebody old anyway.

Hello Lilo!

I expect some sort of grease was involved in construction in those day, imagine the H&S issues no wonder slavery was common place

Just got a visit from police. DD2 was playing with BT phone...and dialed 999 i guess . Anyway they have got a called, as they said "kid "talking" ", and came to check if everything was ok...Phone is off now, and hidden :D

Lilo, we go to feed duck 1-2 times a week. i am planing to go to swimming from next week, as i only now getting back on some kind of schedule since dd1 started school :) ive been invited by some mums from playgrounds, and maybe ill go sometime. for now i just like a peace that i get for couple of hours :)

Island - bet that was a surprise!

Lilo - welcome! My DS2 will be 3 in Nov too, will keep you posted on daytime meet. Little Fishes and Cheeky Monkeys are great if you can travel

Sfx - good luck with washer. After a few niggles mine is now back in business good job as have backog to now clear

kew - we have the same social awkwardness with DS1 and I have to try and do role play so he has some ideas what to do in playground along the line of how to make friends and what to do if they say no when he asks to play. I sadly don't get to see what it's like at school, sometimes he says he has no friends and kids don't let him play I've no idea if he's exaggerating or understating the issue. Teacher seems to think socially he's ok

Copper - don't mock the Egyptians, this is how we moved the fridge from kitchen to garage at wkend, using their ancient techniques

Started pilates, it was lovely and relaxing came home to building work which is the opposite

oh dear island

vbus did you find muscles you were not aware of? Pilates sis that for me , glad you enjoyed it

machine plugged in but seems no water coming in can't find the problem thought I had switched the valve back on tried in both positions still zilch water bugger!

Thanks kewcumber and vbus, will try those places once dd gets bored of what we have and then will just rotate.
Islandhaze- what a surprise that must have been. I understand what you mean when you say you want coupke hrs of peace, i cant wait for dd to start preschool so i can do nothing for a couple hrs :)

good morning people
week somehow flew by, looking forward to tomorrow and seeing most of you

Hi Lilo - welcome! I live in kew and have two DDs, one 1 year-old and one 4-year old, so I'm kind of between playgroup stages (one finished, the other not yet started). I seem to recall netmums (are we allowed to mention them?) had a really good local kew page with lots of playgroups listed at the Barn Church and other local halls - not religious just hosted there. I'd call the contact names to check they are still happening though, as some of the listings are a bit old.

Almost reached end of first week at school. Hugs for those dealing with playground issues. I'm beginning to realise what this is all about! But need some advice about teacher please!

I spoke to DD1's teacher this morning as she'd told me at the home visit a few days ago that they staggered the start of reception class so they could "assess" my DD1 socially and academically with a smaller group. All very impressive. So I expected to hear about the assessment. But it turns out she's hardly spoken to DD1 ("it's been so busy"), she thinks "she's a bit shy but seems happy" and she'll "try to make an effort to speak to her" today!! It was very hectic with lots of people around at drop-off so her comments didn't really sink in til I got home, but this seems to be doubly annoying. First, no sign of any "assessment", I don't mind if they've decided to do it differently but don't tell me one thing then do another! And also, I thought it was an unprofessional way of talking about it - it's her job to get to know the pupils, I shouldn't be ever so grateful that she'll try to make the effort... Second, despite not having spoken to DD1, she's quite prepared to make assumptions and put labels on her about her character and wellbeing! Annoying as her nursery seemed to make a real effort to get to know her in comparison (but much higher ratio of teacher:pupils)

Should I be peeved? I know she's new teacher, but I'm not persuaded that she's quite on the ball yet and to be honest she's supposed to be ready to teach now - she's in charge! Am I expecting too much? Must have a cup of

Kora I think the teacher might have upped the expectations a bit too much, in my experience they compare notes with TA at the end of the week and have a much cleared picture then, I can't comment on the teacher but the TA is very good at assessing children and I trust her judgement having known her for 2 years
I can understand how it is annoying to be told one thing then have the expectations broken, how do you feel dd has been getting on?

"using their ancient techniques" - what - slavery?

KewC the new edition of the R&T times has a more balanced letters page this week as well as an article discussing or side of the argument, unlike last weeks disgrace

Kora - the requirement is for teachers to assess in the first few weeks in order to give a benchmark for progress later in the year but IME isn't really an assessment of personality so much as a straightforward assessment of current ability based on the EYFS 13 areas (reading and writing and numeracy but in poncier words). And we weren't informed of what that assessment was until the end of year report. First feedback I got on DS was first parents evening and it was quite formulaic according to the EYFS guidelines. And this was with a very very good experienced reception teacher who I rated very highly.

I have learnt that school reports are significantly less individual than pre-school, being much more about meeting standards and expectations and tick box exercises. It was a surprise to me having been used to a very touchy feely report from Montessori with lots of time to discuss. School parents evening is a production line and if you get more than 15 minutes then theres a problem! At least half the 15 minutes is spent reviewing aperwork and signing forms and being given more paperwork.

glad to hear sfx - thought the letters page last week was a joke!

agree with KewC I booked to speak to TA or grabbed her in playground on available days usually got a clearer picture as she is keen to give individual feedback and seems to know the children

Thanks sfx and kew. Yes, I'm not that bothered on the social assessment side, as I've seen DD1 all week, and I know it takes time to assess a four-year old academically because it's quite rightly done through play etc at that age. But I think the thing that annoyed me most was that she has not even spoken to DD1 let alone seen what level she is at workwise, and this was supposed to be the week the teacher focused on the six pupils who joined on Monday. It just makes me wonder what I can expect when all 30 children are there.

I think I have to get used to the fact that school is going to be much less personalised and responsive than nursery. TA does seem lovely, so that is keeping me calm... And I've loved lots of other touches from school - like little welcome card for DD1, very sweet. (even if they did spell her surname wrong - see I can be forgiving on some things)

Kora I get the feeling the teacher panicked and blurted out stuff without thinking I find it hard to believe she has not spoken to dd at all as they do work in small groups and swap regularly, the previous teacher was not big with the warm ans fuzzies but was quite competent