Tea Room the Nineteenth

[amberlight]

All in need of a restful break and a chat are more than welcome to the nineteenth Tea Room.

We find ourselves in the South of France, where the warm sunshine is just the thing for those who are missing the summer. The tea room has its aga and its distressed chintz sofa...and its potted plants. The usual fictional tea room inhabitants are here, as ever: Mellors, the gardener/handyperson with the handy ways with massage; the collection of tea room animals including the horses, camel, bison, guineapigs and sundry others; the Bishops and other faith leaders who joined us a while back and potter in for the occasional cuppa. It may not make sense, but that's not important. What matters is the lovely people here and the chance to just relax.

I don't think that was Donki - I think that was someone who reads what Donki posts - not sure.

Knowing that I can and usually do laundry at my parents' house, I'm struggling with how much/how little to pack for BabyScout. We do also tend to buy clothes when we're there, but for BabyScout I stock him up on the next one to two sizes, not things he'd wear immediately.... ARGH!

ohhhh, ok. In which case I might have embarrassed myself a touch by sending her a message - hopefully she'll let me know. I didn't reveal the reason for the message, just asked if she was the real Donki!

LOL at the idea of confusing Evita and rugby! Could get very amusing very quickly

Re babyscout - take enough changes for a week. That's what I do when I go to the UK (exactly same position as you re. buying new stuff).

Well, I have had a reply and amber of course you are right and the lady in question is not Donki. She was very nice about it though! Silly me.

She is indeed a very nice lady

Thank you for those kind comments

Hello nice lady! We seem to have some pumpkin soup and more lewd rolls - can I tempt you to one whilst you're in the tearoom?

MC - 'is' Just William. Down to a T. Complete with twinkle in eye, slightly unruley hair, muddy knees and general attitude towards things - especially in terms of oblique approach to lots of things. UniS perhaps can confirm how apt!

Thanks for the insight into the teachers' common room. I already know about d) - as I've had it asked whether he is an only-child. I have also had it suggested that we make sure that we meet up with other children and arrange play-dates for him out of school . So, there's a new thing to beat oneself up about - only being able to have one, I've 'spoilt' him by engaging with him, talking to him and giving him one-to-one attention . They can't get me on the discipline one though as we've been careful not to let him get away with things - he's one to be given an inch and take a mile - so its just not worth it. I have even told my MiL that she has to be a bit firmer with him as his behaviour was getting awful when he was with her - this has now improved since she has taken a firmer approach . In terms of special treatment - I agree that all the children should really be treated equally. However, if, by not giving one a bit of special treatment, the whole class are disturbed, I'm not sure what the benefit is there.

JBM - keep those feet up and do as little as possible!

Gah....! Arrghhh! Soddit!!!!!

Here's a cup of tea Amber - and a slice of something - I think that there's some treacle tart (still warm) (and lemony) with clotted cream or a sticky ginger cake - there are not too many small sticky footprints leading away from the plate....

Oh dear, not a good chat with the sw then Amber ?

ds had his first school swimming lesson today. Am amazed at their wish to have 15 4 year olds in the pool at once, let alone the changing bit. He was delighted to have ballet shoes to take today - all the girls who do ballet have them, but I had just sent plimsoles before expending 99p on ebay

Rofl at the shoes CMot - I persuaded MC that possibly ballet might not be 'his' thing as he normally has as much grace as a charging elephant.... He giggled at that one, and still does

Not exactly - she was fine, and we'll get a chance to meet again tomorrow, but I think it's all the pent-up stress of trying to work out which set of advocates we need. There are two sets, which do different things, neither of which do exactly what I need. And one of them turns out to be on holiday and hasn't told anyone what to do

Just ignore me - I'll be fine.

I'm not sure if ds has grace, but does have balance and flexibility. He wanted to do it so that 'he'll be able to be really good at Jive Pony'. Jive Pony do equestrian vaulting . He has his heart set on doing it

Good morning (here) all my lovelies. The report from the couch: JM has been, and will continue to be, a very good girl and has been resting. Really, that's all I have been doing and that's all I'm going to continue to do. My lovely mum will be here until Friday morning and then I'm on my own again (DH has to work Friday). I might see if G-ma will take JB for the day on Friday. I think the knee thing taught me a lasting lesson re overdoing. And my mum gave me a stern lecture when she was here in June. That was when I had that horrible cold which turned into a sinus infection and I just kept going until the fever knocked me down completely. My reasoning was, it was only a cold, and my mum was here to visit me and have a break from endlessly taking care of DSD. So I wanted her to have some down-time. She was not impressed :o So when she asked if I wanted her to come out this time and I said yes, she said she would, but only if I promised to let her take care of me and at the first sign of me doing anything out of line, she was either going to duct-tape me to the couch or take the next plMe home. And I don't think she was joking :o
So no worries, JM is being a couch princess.

"next PLANE home", even
Foggy head from pain meds. Fingers are foggy, too :o

AMber, while I might have to grab a bit of the treacle tart, I will leave you sitting on mellors chewing handyman weekly in peace. Ihope you get some resolution

CMOT love the idea of Jive Pony. Oxboy also loves his ballet and is on his third pair of ballet shoes. His first, chosen by him and oxbloke, were white satin . He is keen to have a tutu

JM glad you are ok and on sofa - look here come the NMBs with teeny tiny ropes to throw over you a la Gulliver's Travels

Mistle don't let the "ooh he's an only child" things get you - there is always something for those who want to lable - middle child/ bumptious child/ aggressive child/ nervy first born/ feckless last born etc etc

Thumb, yes, a we bit of chalk time - after we knew each other, before present job ....

What does "chalk time" mean?

Mistle, of course all children should be treated equally. That does not mean that they should be treated the same. They have different strengths and weaknesses and different needs. The 'equally' bit, imo, means 'an equal mount of effort and thought should be expended on each child'. Today while I was teaching y1, a small boy shouted out comments before I had finished every single question I asked. I visualised him as MC and was polite and patient every time.

That's exactly what I struggle with, UnSerpent. Based on my experience as a governor and as a reading volunteer, it seems to me that some children will have such needs - and require so much of the teacher's effort and thought in meeting those needs - that there then just isn't enough to go round and the less obviously needful children are overlooked. Maybe this is an inner London, 30-in-a-class thing. I have no idea what the answer is.

Amber, I think you might have to move now. Mellors is turning blue.

Sherry, anyone?

Sorry about that, old chap!

Chalk time means being a teacher, I think.

Off out with an old friend for a glass or two in quiet local pub. Might start with that sherry - thanks!

Mistlechick IS just William to a tee. Boy has just William moments, but is more of a Jennings* and occasionally a fotherington thomas. Its not the mouth open thats a problem, its the non stop chatter stream of consciousness .

All that said, we had a lovely afternoon out on the moor today. A sunny cold day, we took a picnic and went hunting for letterboxes. Had lunch under a lonely tree and clambered about on lots of boulders. I'll miss his company for days like that once hes at school.

• Jennings- good ideas, but doesn't always know how to follow them through with out making a mess or getting into trouble.

LOL at how keen on performing arts our various boys are. BIG lol at jive pony, I guess I should go and look it up. but I think I may have seen something similar from the dartmoor pony display team in teh summer.
Boy is only on 2nd pair of ballet shoes, but did borrow for a term to start with before we bought any. Does Tiddler have to wear a uniform for his classes? boy doesn't, just PE type clothing.

Exactly the problem, Small. If you have, say, a 60 minute RE lesson and a class of 36, and you need 10 minutes to tell them a story, and 5 minutes to explain the task, that leaves 45 minutes to share between 36 children, but in reality you have lst another 5 minutes at least coming to sit on the carpet, and maybe 5 minutes in handing out books, so that's less than 1 minute per child, then someone has a tittle temper tantrum and that's 5 minutes, and another child must have a special visual timetable and every task written out on his special task board in easy steps; another 5 minutes, and then you have to return to him at frequent intervals to keep him on task, but there are half a dozen other SEN children who need you to sir next to them and talk to them and possibly scribe their responses .... time left to interact with middling/able group of well-behaved girls: 1.5 seconds per child. Then you have to write meaningful comments about each of these little girls on their reports, about how they are learning from the religious story or whether they can identify what influences them, making links between aspects of their own and others' experiences. Without resorting to worksheets, which are ghastly and destroy all creativity and fun.

Rant over, I think.

I am the mother of one of those little girls. I feel your pain.

Would some Bolly help? Or a session on the massage table while Mellors rubs your shoulders or feet, according to preference?