ELEVENSES HERE *****************************************************************************************

[MaryAnnSingleton]

think we've been deleted,so shall we put ourselves here in other subjects ?
Sleepless night fretting about T and loos and lunches at big school - how neurotic am I ?!

morning hotcross ! am just going up to my desk,in time for Woman's Hour - hoping to get as much of my roughs done as possible. Happy hoovering !

Hi guys, well I survived teh cycle ride
I cycled the long way round to my destination, I still had to get off my bike at one point and walk as it was too hilly for my liking...
And then I walked up the steep hill back home. Even teh long way round would have been an almost constant slight incline adn I was out of puff already
Got back home bright red and out of breath

Enjoy Womans hour adn I hope your roughs go well MAS.
Hotcross, I am dusting and hoovering today too, well as soon as I get over my cycle ride...

I fear I shall have no exercise today as I am desk bound and no school pick up either ! if I finish my roughs today I can nip out tomorrow to post them and get some fresh air !

Well done hippi!

MAS. No school pick up? Is T fully on his own now?

I've got a nice long day. B has started tennis after school, so I don't pick up til 4.30. Was a bit of an impulse thing, we'll see if she likes it, and can cope with the long day right at the beginning of the week.

Haven't got much done yet - been on the phone to mum for ages. Have hung out the washing, but big black cloud on its wayand tidied the front room. Why does our house always look such a tip?? I blame it on dh tbh.

T is walking all the way home on his own..tbh I was feeling a bit silly waiting at the old school - besides which he's very nearly home by the time he gets there !
Am just researching oyster shells now..this book is poems about wild life from insects to mammals and birds and fish and reptiles next ! Well done for cycling hippi too !

Well done T{smile] It's all good growing up stuff, isn't it? How are you feeling about it? Will be thinking of you this afternoon!

I've managed to clean through downstairs, so I just want to ban everyone from setting foot inside Even the dog is lying outside while the floor dries

Am off to watch Neighbours haven't seen it for months, but will have a bit of a catch up. I think I deserve it

Well done hotcross ! just come down to look up Adders...you think you know what things look like but they're often quite different ! Am quite anxious about T and have thought of him a lot during the day..he has so much to remember and organising isn't his strong point - he does things fairly slowly and is intimidated by large crowds so I do fret about the hustle and bustle of school,esp in the canteen, but I must let go and allow him to find his way. I managed these things at his age and I'm sure you two did but I was much more streetwise in a way, if that's the right word..I was used to being out and about on my own, on buses and bikes, handling money, and have always been incredibly organised.
Anyway, I expect him home by about 3.20...

yup, home on time,safe and fine...carrying entire PE kit which I said to leave in his locker - but never mind. He apparently had pizza for lunch - was a rush and that's all he had time for,so I've suggested trying the grab bag which is a bag of sandwiches or a baguette with a drink,fruit and piece of cake all for £1.70 - much quicker and reasonably balanced meal..will make sure he gets his fruit /veg etc at supper time I think.. now doing DT homework which is a kitchen safety poster. He is making oat crunchies next Monday - have to supply all the ingredients.
Hope you have had jolly days and dcs are all happy and well.
Hippi - how did E's new hair cut go down ?

Hello again

Wow, you have both done loads... I have done two loads of washing to take advantage of the dry day, given the bathroom a quick clean and then set about clearing out the toy trunk in the living room. Managed to hoover but did not get time to start tidying the dining room. That will ahve to wait till tomorrow.

E is at rainbows this afternoon, O is at the breakfast bar in the kitchen munching an apple and writing a character profile for his literacy homework. I need to test him on his spellings too later.
Apparently school was awful today - the teacher shouted at teh class, and O is already fed up of sitting next to little miss grumpyknickers

Oh well...

E's haircut went down well, my friend K was a bit and joked that it was in response to the mass of bobbed haircuts in teh school....
I really like it now. It suits her to have her hair shorter. It really does. She still has a hairclip at the front to keep her fringe to one side, so it still looks girly
Will upload picture if I can ever get her to stand still long enough!

How are the drawings coming along MAS? The book sounds great!

I think T is doing brilliantly btw!

Hotcross, I lock DillyDog outside when I am mopping, and he stands at teh back door whining and howling as if the world is coming to an end Am sure the neighbours thing he is being abused....

Well done T Oat crunchies sound yummy and the grab bag sounds a good plan until he's worked out the system. At least then you know he's had something reasonable. All these new things to learn, and to think we worry about them at primary when at least things are sort of under our control!

B loved tennis and the coach said she had good hand/eye coordination, so I guess we'll be continuing with it. There were only 6 children, so great value for money too!

Must go and sort the rest of B's tea. Will pop back later!

I bet E looks gorgeous ! Well done with all the domestic stuff - it's dull though,isn't it ! I always feel so relueved when I have done my chores,they just hang over me miserably.
The book is nice but it's hard work to think of amusing drawings for all these creatures. I've drawn an axolotl too..weird prehistoric-looking critter. Must go back and do a bit more before MasterChef !! Poor O - tell him to hang in there

hello hotcross - that's great that B enjoyed tennis - will be good fun for her !

If you two are about, could you have a quick look at my thread in chat called 'is this bullying?
Thanks

hippi, hope you are feeling less stressed by the thing with O - poor boy, it's rotten.

I am feeling quite stressed still...
Daft really because in teh grand scheme of things it is so minor, and O is not desperately upset, just a little fed up.

Argh, someone warned me taht in Y5 the bullying started, I had no idea it would start within teh first 4 days of the new school year....

Never mind, deep breath.

Dh said to stop talking to O about it. I ahve a habit of going on and on, and in teh end ds may just stop talking to me about it. He reckons I should not even remind O about speaking to the teacher tomorrow. But I reckon I should...

Right, will go to bed and toss and turn for 8 hours adn then get up looking like death warmed up.

See you tomorrow

By the way, have just noticed you started Elevenses in 'other subjects' - good move!

By the way, have just noticed you started Elevenses in 'other subjects' - good move!

yes, we'll be here for 1000 posts - yay !
Am so sorry to hear that you are feeling so stressed by this - I can understand, it just gnaws away in your head. I do go on a T about things, largely voicing my own worries - he gets fed up with me and probably doesn't listen after a bit. I think we need to relax a bit and trust our children - I know we do really, but to allow them to find their own way a bit more - as I';ve said before, I'm sure that T is much more capable than I give him credit for. xxx

Hello. Have posted in your own thread Hippi, got a bit confused, thought I was here But at least it keeps it bumped for more opinions!

I really hope O does talk to the teacher and get it sorted. When I was teaching I always wanted people to talk to me about things before they turned into bigger issues. Fingers crossed he has tried (That's my fingers crossed btw!)

I think we'd be strange mummies if we didn't stress about things. Imagine if our dc's thought we didn't care because we didn't take an interest and worry about them But I do know what you mean about keeping on talking about it. MAS and your dh are right, O is old enough to begin taking control, and may well surprise you by dealing with it himself. But you're there if he needs a bit of help. I'm sending a big !

Thanks you two. He told me he will try to tell teh teacher today. But he is adamant she will just tell him to 'stop telling tales'
I have told him that if he wants me to he just has to say adn I will pop in to see the teacher.
O was happy going into school. I think things like this largely wash over him, but I just don't want him to ignore it and let it go on.

Argh, stressed already!

Spoke to my friend A this morning (her ds is in O's class, he is the boy O fell out with on the school trip but that is all okay again now) and she said taht a lot of the parents were not happy at how the children had all been placed next to children they are not friendly with. She also said that her friend M is very upset. M is the best friend of teh nice teacher. M's dd is painfully shy and relies on her 3 friends to give her confidence adn help her come out of herself. You would think nice teacher would be aware of this. Anyroad, she has placed M's dd away from all her friends. Because she wants M's dd to not be so reliant on them. Sounds sensible, but in M's dd's case that is not going to work. M's dd once did not speak in class for a whole year because she was out of her comfort zone (okay she was in Y1 then, but it illustrates just how painfully shy she is)
So it sounds like lots of children are unhappy and nice teacher is not taking any of it into account. Which makes me think O will get nowhere and may just have to put up with this....
Gah!

Oh Hippi It all sounds a bit of a mess, doesn't it?

How long have these teachers been teaching at the school? Have they always organised their classes like this? It may be that they have experience of it working, and that the children eventually do well etc etc, but I would want to know that the class hadn't been mixed up unnecessarily. Well, I guess you may have to wait and see for a bit, but if you still have concerns, and so do other parents, then possibly a visit to the Head may help? It's good that O isn't too too upset about it. It may be that he'll be able to hold his own and the horrible girl might not 'win'. Am thinking of you though. it's not nice

hippi,I think you are maybe looking a little too hard at this and the classroom placements - I think sometimes we may need to trust the teacher to use his or her judgement and sometimes it can be a good thing to pluck the children out of their usual groups and let them interact with children they may not get on so well with- T has sat next to a variety of children in his time, some he hasn't liked but it doesn't seem to have done any harm..he was moved once because he found one boy difficult but the teacher recognised that and I',m sure O's teacher will take thant into account, if being next to pesky girl is interfering with his work. The shy girl might need jogging out of her comfort zone thoug... she might need to interact with chil;dren she isn't so comfortable with out of necessity and that could help her conquer her shyness..sometimes it's hard but I think toughening up in yr 5 is all part of it !

Well teh teacher who is going on mat leave in 5 weeks has been there for years I believe.
The other teacher has been there I think 3 or 4 years? Not sure.... I think she did supply teaching for a while there first though..
Both are reputed to be phenomenal teachers. And I readily believe that.
But as a parent I cannot help but worry that if my child is unhappy at where he is sitting in class it will have a negative impact on his concentration/performance. I am sure they know what they are doing, I just wish I could understand it ....

Yes, maybe you are right MAS. I agree with toughening up, and I fully understand they should not sit with their friends. But to sit with children who will have a negative impact on their performance seems a bit too far the other way...
I cannot stress just how shy M's dd is though. It has taken her years to start speaking at all. It is NOT a simple case of shyness.

But shall step back and let them get on with it. As long as O is okay.

yes, your priority is O of course, and if he hasn't managed to speak to the teacher or it wasn't a satisfactory answer then you must have a word..O might well let it wash over him and she may get bored if he doesn't react. She sounds thoroughly nasty and will get her come uppance in time. I was shy to the point of never speaking in class too, though I did talk to my friends, but adults were a different thing..I was quite afraid of speaking out and being heard b ut one day it just clicked (I knew the answer to a science thing and my enthusiasm for the subject got the better of me - the teacher was astounded and pleased !!) Maybe very shy child needs some professional help if it carries on, but don't think of her now !