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 ?!

Aw love him, he really is doing well (fruitsalad and pencil case notwithstanding)

O came out of school happy - first thing this morning Mrs T moved him. She swapped him with boy A, so O is now with his friend B (the one he fell out with on the school trip but that all seems to be fine now), girl F who is very quiet adn just wants to get on with her work, and girl E who is F's friend and with whom O has been pals since Y2. E is also a quiet hard worker.
Typical me though, I am now fretting that B, E and F preferred A sitting with them, and I am fretting that A is fed up because he has been moved. Argh, will there ever be a day I don't fret???

O is still tired from camping and apparently nearly fell asleep during literacy today. And E nearly fell asleep on the sofa after school, only moving when I asked her if she wanted to go to Rainbows...

Right, better go and get dinner looked at.

oh hippi - you are not to fret about that !! you'll tie yourself in loops - trust me, I do exactly the same !!

Morning

Well, I am now guilty of true helicopter parenting, could you both slap me please.

I read one of O's emails to a girl from school (I was looking for something in teh emails and curiosity won and I do feel bad about it now) and I read her reply. And then proceeded to feel the need to give him friendship advice. Argh, when will I let him just get on with it??
I am twisting myself into a state of anxiety about O, O at school, O's friends, O's behaviour aaarrrggghhh. I am not at all like that with E. She is allowed to just get on with it!!

Should have gone swimming with my friend K this morning, but am looking after my friend's little girl L this afternoon and felt it was just too much. I am still sooo tired, my foot hurts, my back hurts and I moan too much

How is the adorable axolotl? He would make a great cuddely toy, especially with that cute little smile

hippi - am sure it's normal - O is your first born, you are bound to stress more over him,for some reason - am the same about T - really don't worry but try to step back and let him get on with things - I'm only just learning this with T myself.. for example, he hasn't written down the date and time of his next singing lesson so needs to check it in music dept. and write it in his singing book - am fretting because he might forget, then we won't know when it is and he might miss it etc etc etc.. and really I must just let him sort it out himself...
Axolotl is done ( he would be a very cute soft toy !) and I'm working my way through the book, coming towards the end poems which are general nature ones . trees,animals,plants...will do a bit today, but must also do some shopping.

I hope it is normal , I don't see any of the other parents in the playground tying themselves into knots like that..... But then again, it is not something you voice to other parent's when you are only meeting for 5 minutes at teh start and end of the school day is it??

I wasn't this bad in Y3 adn Y4, but this year for some reason I have gone insane...
Poor boy. He needs to be allowed to make his own mistakes. Gah!

Anyroad, he is happy to be away from littlemissstroppyknickers, so that is a good thing. He was his cheeky self when he came out of school yesterday, much much happier!

I can fully understand how tempting it must be to remind T of singing lessons etc. I chatted to my friend W this morning. Her ds has just gone into Y7. She said they are giving them so much homework, and instead of at primary school when they give you a due date, at secondary you have to look at your planner for when your next lessons are and plan your homework accordingly. She said her ds just does his homework in the order he is given them or his fave subjects first and then get to school, finds he has say Maths and has not yet done the Maths homework, yet he has done the Science which is not due for another two days.... She said it is so tempting to go through the planner with him and arrange the order of the homework, but her dh tells her their ds needs to learn to work this out for himself...
I am going to be dreadful when O is at secondary, I will probably cover his belongings in post-it notes full of reminders!!

I have come to the conclusion that this growing up thing is harder on the parents than the children!!

! I have written a note to T in his planner saying to check the timetable in the music block today..he will be there anyway for a music lesson. Next task is to bring home PE kit tomorrow so I can retrieve any things requiring a wash.

Why can't they just stay babies???? At least we make the decisions and have to live with the results. Trying to let ours be independent is soooooo hard

Hippi try not to worry, O is doing really well and handled the stroppy pants thing really well too. He is a lovely boy and I'm sure his new table will be happy to have him there. I'm sure the teacher wouldn't have moved him there if she'd thought it might cause problems... She'll want to make her life easier, not harder.

About the other parents not getting stressed - they're probably the ones who have been waving their kiddies off to nursery 5 days a week since tiny and aren't so 'hands on' as you. It probably wouldn't cross their minds to be stressed

O and E are lucky to have a caring mummy who wants the very best for them. That doesn't mean though that you should have a nervous breakdown worrying about them. They are both doing fine

Well done T! I think you are allowed to remind them about appointments and things, just not take them there and wait outside It's still very early days...

B went into the classroom entirely on her own this morning But it took forever for her to put her things away and choose a new book, before she'd come back out to give me a hug. No doubt it'll all get faster and more of a routine. We have J coming home for tea tonight before B goes to Rainbows. She's new to the school and I thought it was lovely of B to choose her

We had an exciting day yesterday. B won the trophy at tennis for 'most improved player'. She was soooo proud and thrilled(as was I!!) I've never won a trophy in my life.... We take it back next week for another child to win. I think it's a nice idea, although B's little friend was a bit miffed.

We did the manic Monday of tennis then music and it was fine. B had her tea in the car after tennis, which was great because she was really hungry and ate masses, and she really enjoyed being back at music. Phew. I still feel like a pushy parent though We'll see how the rest of the week goes.

Hurray for B and her tennis tropy - what a star!! And how lovely of her to choose the new girl for tea, what a sweetpea

E had two new boys in her class and she has spoken of them a lot

Thanks for the kind words - feel a bit better now
I sometimes think the umbilical cord between O and I was never really cut, just massively stretched. I have to learn to let go a bit, but argh it is so hard!
Mind you, I think you can let go too much. There is a lovely boy in O's class, whose parents are far more 'hands off' in their approach, including obviously homework. At the weekend they had to research Winston Churchill and his involvement in WWII. The instructions clearly stated that they had to think about how they presented their information and not to hand in just a few sheets printed straight off the internet.
This boy's homwork was ripped up by Mrs T in front of the whole class yesterday because he had just printed off 3 sheets from the internet and stapled them together. He even told the teacher it had taken him 35 minutes
I can't help but feel that if his mum or dad had just looked over his shoulder during the homework that they could have guided him and avoided this humiliation in front of the class.
And I do think the teacher was too harsh, but as they all keep telling us - they are in Y5 now!

hooray for tennis ace B !!! !!
and sweet that she has asked new girl to tea.
The other parents might be secretly stressed hippi - you never know ! I can usually appear very calm and in control when underneath I'm wobbly mess !

gosh we've written the same !
That does seem a bit harsh -the teacher ripping up the homework, but it's too easy these days to just copy a load of stuff from the internet - and yes, a bit of parental overseeing would encourage children to think beyond just what they can retrieve on google. There must be a balance somewhere

Ah well, great minds think alike

O came out of school very happy today. His only tale of woe was that the poster about Micheal Morpugo, which he had made in literacy class last week was left on the side by the teacher and thus thrown in the bin by the caretaker So he had to do it again!

E is due to go to dance class this afternoon, but has decided not to go. She has not really been that keen to go for a while now. Apparently the disco dancing class is too 'busy and noisy' From a purely selfish pov I am pleased because at £48 per term it is not cheap, and if it means we can have a lazy afternoon at home then I am all for not going

poor O and his poster
Have just been filling in medical form for T to go on his bonding trip to Marchant's Hill next month - must buy him a sleeping bag ! It's only an overnight stay but he has never been away from home before,without us I mean. We are planning what to do with our night and day on our own
He had chicken in black bean sauce for lunch - hooray, but didn't get to note his singing lesson time down though he went specifically to music block after school but someone was using the room...

Poor O Why do things like that always happen? Was he pleased with the second poster?

Am about your afternoon at home Hippi! I'm amazed B still wants to do some of her activities tbh, and would gladly swap one to spend more time together.

Can't believe poor T managed to remember to check his lesson but was thwarted. It's typical But hooray for good lunch - he must be more confident about how it all works. An overnight trip - how exciting. Where is Marchant's Hill???

We survived J coming to play after school tonight. She is very nice, but very confident and direct and a bit exhausting B had a great time though - she played with J in a completely different way to how she is with her other friends. Much louder, bit of backchat to me etc. Fascinating!

Oh hotcross, the afternoon off was lovely but I feel a bit bad because E's little pal L is her dancing partner, so she will now have to find a new parner. And of course I am fretting about letting her down...

Interesting about how B played with J. I sometimes see E be more assertive with some friends than with others.

T's lunch sounded tasty!!

O is not fussed about the poster thing. Typical O - he just shrugs these things off. Apparently he did the poster with two girls, R and V, and they are all quite happy to re-do it. (strange children, twice the work??)

I typed a post yesterday before going to bed and the pesky thing went down and it got lost !!
What I wanted to say was - yes, it is v interesting to see how children interact with different friends, I suppose we as grown ups must do that too - I am definitely less assertive and much quieter with some people than others
Marchant's Hill is nr Hindhead, so not too far away. It's a PGL place so there'll be much climbing and activity type things- things which T is not that keen on, but as it is a bonding trip then I think it's important that he goes - I'm sure they won't push him to do anything he's really not happy with and it might just tempt him to stretch himself and attempt something new - he might surprise himself !
Am waiting for roof man - hope it doesn't rain - maybe he's waiting to see if it'll stay dry.
Do you remember my telling you about the house round the corner, with the almost continuous improvements going on ? well today there is a big van parked in their driveway with more stuff on it - looks as though they are having something done to a conservatory/shed ... the woman got the police to come as someone had parked on the edge of their dropped kerb leading to garage !! (there was room for whoever to park elsewhere)- so they've got a ticket.

well there's a thing - the roof man has forgotten !! I've wasted 2 hours waiting (though I did the ironing - can't settle to work if I'm waiting,or indeed if people are working in/on the house)

Oh no MAS When can he come? I can't concentrate if I'm expecting someone either. In fact, the dog senses it too and barks at everyone who walks past, but stops the second our visitor arrives. Bizarre! What a pain though.

Marchants Hill sounds great - I hope T enjoys it. These things are always nervewracking, but hopefully there will be something he fancies trying.

at your neighbour. Some people....

I should be doing things today, but am feeling really dizzy, so I'm going to have a sleep instead. B has ballet later, so need to sort out some tea for her, something easy and fast to prepare.

poor hotcross - do have a lie down while you can.
Oh well, no point getting cross about roof - it seems a genuine mistake and lady on phone v apologetic ( my philosophy is that if you are always polite and courteous and charming to people you get what you want and there's no crossness ! I'm not one for being angry really - that's not to say that I don't feel p**d off sometimes)) - the man will call me back when he has returned to the office to rearrange next week. Bit pesky as I have stuff to do next week - work to deliver and dh's car to take to it's service. Roof isn't leaking or anything,unless we get the very severe rain we had a few weeks ago,normal rain seems ok,touch wood.
Am hoping T will remember PE kit and music lesson timetable today !

Bummer about the roof man - but I completely agree with your stay polite theory
I hope you feel better soon hotcross, is there anything you can take?

When is T going to Marchants Hill? O is going there with his Y5 trip from 20 to 22 April, so two nights. He cannot wait. In fact when he was finishing Y4 he loudly announced to a gaggle of mothers that he could not wait to get into Y5 so he could go on the LSD trip
Wouldn't it be fab if they were there at teh same time??

I need ideas from both of you for E's birthday party. I desperately need to keep the cost down, and want unique / original ideas. Can't have it at home, house is just too small. And the garden will be too cold and potentially wet...

Ah, have just read, T goes next month. They won't meet then... shame.

note to self - must read properly!

@ LSD trip !!!! yes, what a shame it's not at same time..
For T's 7th birthday we did a ceramics party at local paint your own pottery place - was surprisingly not too expensive and the children had beautiful plates to take away (well not all beautiful- it coincided with I think European cup finals and several boys just boringly painted the flag of St George on their plates !) I still have T's with a truck and a snake on it. ) Actually I had to collect the plates after firing later. I made up little boxes of birthday tea - sandwiches, biscuits,fruit juice and crisps etc..was a great success.
Have you thought of a jewellery making party or some other kind of craft thing,obviously at a venue. Swimming party ?
Pizza Express do pizza making parties I think.

oh that has made me think of ceramics party with nostalgia - have just emailed you both a picture of T looking little with my mum helping him paint his plate,with his friend Sebastian next to him and my friend D in the background !
Hippi - can't now remember which is your efficient email address !!

I like the idea of the ceramics party and have that one filed away for when she is 7 or 8. Some of her friends are only just 5 adn I feel it is a bit of a waste. When they are that bit older they can draw/paint that little bit better...

She wants a swimming party, but there have been 4 of those in the last year. Am looking at trampolining, but it is £££....

Jewellery making could be good, especially if we do chunky beads not fiddely small stuff. But she wants to invite boys too so need to think about what they can make - will investigate.
Thanks

I am sure T will ahve a fab time. O had his first residential school trip half way through Y3. He was only 7 and a half but had a fab time. They were away for two nights and apparently it was brilliant

the efficient one is the toucansurf one

Have received email - freeserve worked fine