June 2013 - the terrible twos aren't so terrible

[Biscuitswithtea]

Here goes with a new thread!

Joe has said, not specifically for Xmas, that he wants slippers. He's already elderly. Slippers it shall be!

Last year DD requested a hug and some paints...that was cute! Nothing asked for yet this year. Hopefully there won't be any requests as I think I'm done! It's all bits and bobs; we are also doing a bike for her birthday.

So far I've got a massive penguin (Melissa and Doug), a cleaning set (Melissa and Doug), a talking Ubercorn, a Sarah and Duck DVD and also a t-shirt, some books and a bead kit (Melissa and Doug).

I think there's more too, but I need to dig it out and assess it all! Oh yeah, Play Doh hairdresser kit. I loved that one as a kid!

I love that penguin! DS likes penguins, will remember that for the future! I have got a few bits, though I also need to get them out to see what I've got. From memory, DD's got a couple of Playdoh sets, including the Crazy Cuts one, a little projector torch and some dressing up clothes. I've got a cleaning set for DS (as he enjoys wiping and sweeping - they both do but he's particularly obsessed with the sweeping brush and wiping with any cloth-like material he finds!).

I enjoy reading what others have got.

DS has got some wooden cutting vegetables as he loves watching the videos of them on You Tube! 😂 He has quite a few puzzles as he's obsessed with them. He also has a talking Ubercorn, a Dino Jojo hoody and some Hey Duggee bits.

Haha, I will have to look up those videos out of interest! I've also got a couple of Melissa and Doug boards (hide and seek and and another) for DS which say for 3+ but should hopefully be ok for him according to reviews. Not that it makes any difference as he has access to most of DD's toys anyway! He loves books and I've managed to find some that we don't already have but other than that we're stuck for him. I'm considering the M&D doorbell house if it comes down in price as I think he'd like it but reviews are mixed and I'm not sure I want to encourage him to use keys!

I have a very specific request for a green water tank here. Huh?

Green water tank?! Hmmmm! 🤔

He says he saw it in the toy shop?

Ha, what's that about?!

DD is serious about going into space. I've given her a brief outline of what it'll take to become an astronaut but apparently it doesn't matter because I'll be going with her.

Lucky you, cup!

I'm stumped about the green water tank, sorry!

I asked what she wants for Christmas yesterday (bit late). I think she wants something like a Baby Born type thing from her description. Have to see what deals there are as I think they're overpriced.

Polly just wants dolls. Elsa dolls and Anna dolls and a mermaid doll! Loathed to buy Juno anything as what is there left when you already have everything from your older sister.

I had a moment of panic even though I know it'll never happen!

That's the problem. We're getting stuff for the sake of it, DS needs nothing! But DD is aware that he should be getting presents too. And then the inlaws ask what they can get!

DS loves DD's Ariel dolls (particularly the soft one) and also her baby doll. He feeds it a (pretend) cup of milk every morning! Are the baby born dolls the ones that wee?

Yeah, BBs seem to be this century's Tiny Tears. I think DD's preschool has one.

I noticed recently (with a bit if nostalgic glee) that Sylvanian Families are still A Thing. I think they were just getting going when I was in primary school. But I can envisage many a pre-schooler now would be enchanted by them.

We have the Sylvanian families caravan and car - it's fantastic!

My younger sister was into Sylvanian families. I think they're cute. I pointed them out when we were in a toy shop earlier in the year but DD raced past, eager to look at the Thomas section. Could be an idea for the great-grandparents (to get DD!).

So finally went to look around our local school. The one we bought this house to be close to. Am very relieved it's fine. Would have been quite the disaster otherwise! In this area if you live more than half a mile from a school you won't be going there. This is completely clear from the information given by the LA. It is therefore beyond me why lots of parents turned up from all over and then started questioning the head on their chances. Don't people do their research?!

Was pleased to see that despite classes of thirty it didn't feel like a farm. Reception looked like an extension of nursery. Everyone seemed pretty happy. All good!

Though saying that; I've been selling off stuff on eBay recently. Bloke came round to collect and my two were sat playing together beautifully. He was all 'wow this is great, I'm really looking forward to it!' To which I was thinking 'fool'. Predictably as soon as he left the sharing stopped and the mauling started, they had to be separated and Polly ended up on the naughty step. Maybe this was the state of play in the classroom after we left?!?

I'd love to be a fly on the wall for a full day! Glad the school is ok!

Have just submitted our primary application. It was quicker than the nursery application! I've been brave and have only applied for our first choice (where she's at nursery) despite having been told that a number of children didn't get places this year. The only other option (much further away) is a Welsh school and I'd rather home school than have her attend there! I've said before, but we live so close we've got to be near the top of the list for distance (no way of knowing what the sibling situation is like though).

You can ask? Our school knows of 26 siblings this coming year

I didn't think they'd have noted that in advance!

I think our school generally knows about siblings in advance, in the main.

What's the intake at your local primary, Bean? Ours is 120 for our first choice and 60 for 2nd and 3rd choices. Weirdly the first choice didn't feel too big, which it had the potential to, I think.

I wouldn't dream of only applying for one school; it's quite risky where we live to do that! Two of our 3 choices are oversubscribed, but we are well within the distance criteria for our first choice.

We'd struggle with your distance criteria, Bean, as we don't have a school that near to us. I think 0.6 miles is the closest.

Goodness applying for schools sounds so stressful in England. In Scotland you still apply but the demand is much more manageable for now

Intake here was 52 for the past couple of years (I can't find figures for this year) and that's double what it used to be before they extended a few years back - it's a small school! It is risky but I'd be happy to home school and there's no way I'd want them having to speak Welsh all day (they get told off if they're caught speaking English. We're English!).

I didn't realise they actually had schools that only spoke Welsh?!

First choice is two form entry. Didn't feel that big. Most people do struggle with distance. You basically have to live on top of it to be guaranteed entry. There's one school in Barnet town which literally only takes from two streets in which the house prices are 50k more than surrounding streets.

I don't find the idea of home schooling mad like many do, if I had the time and money and resources to do it maybe I would. I think it would be quite hard to explain why everyone else was going to school and she wasn't though; homeschoolers generally don't do nursery. Presumably it would just be until a place opened up though?

Yes, they've been quite a big thing for the past ten years or so, there are a few here now! Normally secondary schools though. A (non-Welsh speaking) friend sent her son to a secondary one here as they tend to have good reputations, however as they're very strict on the no speaking English thing she said that his English suffered a bit and he'd often forget the English words for things! She and her husband ended up learning Welsh.

Learning Welsh is now compulsory in all schools here. Lots of jobs ask for it at G.C.S.E. level (or did at least - I haven't looked for a long time!). Our first choice encourages it outside of the classroom too, with awards for using it around school, which I'm not sure about personally.

Primary teaching was one career that appealed many years back so if I wasn't with my husband (who isn't keen on the idea) I think I might have gone down the home schooling route anyway. You might remember that I wasn't keen on the idea of sending DD to nursery, it was my husband that wanted to send her. Now she's been to nursery she'd wonder what was happening if she suddenly stopped going, and I think she would miss it. Plus we live so close that we see the children out playing regularly so there would be no chance of her forgetting about it!