October 08 - New Year, New Thread.

[CantSleepWontSleep]

10th Sept (Due 1st Oct) - loulou33 - Boy - Joe Louis David - 6lbs 12oz
16th Sept (Due 8th Oct) - Ksal - Girl - Emma Rae - 6lbs
21st Sept (Due 5th Oct) - myjobismum - Girl - Naomi Caitlin - 5lbs 10oz
2nd Oct (Due 12th Oct) - star6 - Boy - Quinlan - 5lbs 15oz
4th Oct (Due 30th Sept) - Aubergenie - Boy - Stanley - 7lbs 12oz
8th Oct (Due 6th Oct) - ronshar - Boy - William Dexter - 7lbs 11oz
9th Oct (Due 17th) - 50ft - Girl - Martha - 7lbs 10oz - Elective c-sec
10th Oct (Due 1st Oct) - CantSleepWontSleep - Boy - Duncan Elliot - 8lbs 4oz
12th Oct (Due 4th Oct) - pistachio - Boy - Thomas Fraser - 10lbs 2oz
16th Oct (Due 11th Oct) - heather1980 - Boy - Alexander James - 9lbs 5oz
17th Oct (Due 10th Oct) - pepperrabbit - Girl - Jessica Rose - 7lbs 15.5oz
24th Oct (Due 29th Oct) - Ekka - Boy - Matthew - 7lbs 15oz
26th Oct (Due 20th Oct) - jenwa - Girl - Phoebe Jasmine - 9lbs 2.5oz
28th Oct (Due 23rd Oct) - RachieW - Boy - Jack - 7lbs 4oz
31st Oct (Due 20th Oct) - KnickersOnMaHead - Boy - Samuel Paul - 9lbs 11oz
5th Nov (Due 29th Oct) - Honeymoonmummy - Girl - Poppy Grace - 6lbs 15oz
5th Nov (Due 30th Oct) - MamaG - Boy - Harry James - 10lbs 9oz

Ugh Rachie - The pressure's terrible isn't it. We spent the last two years waiting for OFSTED to come and jumping through all sorts of unecessary hoops just in case. They finally came when I was on mat leave (hurrah!) and coming back, it's amazing how much things have relaxed. Obviously they're still expecting us to have high standards but there does seem to be slightly less ridiculous paperwork. You have my sympathies.

Congratulations on the cake Star! I must make that one soon.

Pistachio- don't panic- they really aren't supposed to be able to do that. They are supposed to be able to learn through play and choose activities that they want to do, possibly some mark making/drawing which might lead to them at some point writing a recognisable form of their name. Sadly though none of this, which is the Early Years Curriculum, sits very well with OFSTED who want to see that every Yr 6 child comes out with at least a level 4 so we are having a bit of pressure applied to us from above. We've basically been told that we need to see more progress in our Nursery chn as OFSTED will expect this which completely goes against the whole Early Years ethos of children learning at their own rate. It's so annoying and stupid and undermines our whole curriculum and approach to Nursery. OFSTED have such power over schools and it's not always a good thing.

We will not be forcing name writing though.

Sorry that was a ranty answer but your dd is doing just right

Don't panic Pistachio. If we were in, say, The Netherlands or Sweden or somewhere nice sensible there'd be none of this ridiculous pressure to read and write early. Apparently there's a fair bit of research suggesting that boys in particular are actually negatively affected by being pushed towards reading and writing too young. (Disclaimer: I've not read this research but was told about it by a colleague who is very knowledgable about these things.)

Rachie - I just remembered, we had an INSET in our nursery on the EYC last week and I thought of you as we were all wedged in on those tiny tables and chairs discussing the strands. It was lovely, seeing all the stuff that they do but the record-keeping is a bit bloody onerous.

Aubergenie- it's horrible all the pressure isn't it. We had our last one three years ago and got Outstanding which was great but we were all a bit skeptical that we really were. I think we were more Good but it was our Head's last year and she was always a persuasive lady so...

Anyway due to our SATS last year we are now very likely to be seen again this year (instead of the 5 years they normally give Outstanding schools) as they were very low and reading between the lines going on SAT scores all we could get is a Satisfactory rating which would of course look terrible. So all stops are being pulled out in the hope of getting a Good. I totally understand why we need to do this as a school but we are all so frustrated by it. All the joy goes out of teaching and freedom.

I've heard about the boys and writing research too. The Netherlands approach is so much better, we have a Forest School area in our School and the children learn so much there.

Oh don't talk to me about those chairs! I am sure I'm getting knee damage from them being round my ears and I'm only 5"2. It is a great phase but the record keeping is equal to the marking in the upper school. I am permanently carrying a clipboard and noting down everything.

Aaaaargh - all this talking about schools. I only have 1 week left to put dd's primary appn in and still don't know where to apply to! Am going to phone some tomorrow and hope that they can meet me and show me around at very short notice!

Hope they can fit you in CSWS. Is this to decide which school you'll be putting as dd's second choice?

Rachie - I know nursery's often perceived as a bit of a soft option, but it's so not is it. Just different pressures.

I gave S a pillow last night and he's been lying in his cot like Lord Muck. So funny! He's been going round for the last few days pressing his head against anything soft, and even pointed to someone's pillow in a story we were reading, so I think he was trying to tell me something.

This is to decide first choice aubergenie! We are not sure about just blindly sending her to the village school any more!

I would choose the village school, csws. What is the name of your village school or could you post a link?

Q loves his pillow, aubergenie. Glad S does, too

Well, I didn't exactly puree the aubergine totally, so there are some "bits" in the cake... going to try again tonight.

I just cannot believe how much power ofsted and the government have over education in this country. It's really unbelievable and allows for no variance depending on culture, part of the country, individual needs... I always feel really sad when I hear DH's stories

Schooling in this country is a crock of shite. Too many crap teachers, too many rules and regulations, too much health and safety.
The government have lost sight of what education is for. They are so busy trying to use it as a tool of social mobility they have forgotten that educationis supposed to actually teach children things that are uaefull to them.
My DD1 is learning about St Lucia? WTF for? The best bit of it is that they dont even seem to be touching on the whole colonialism issue etc.
Obviously you ladies on this thread are all very good teachers

Sorry, dont get me started about this shitty government and its education failures. We are turning out children who will only be able to compete with third world countries. The Sunday times had a big article yesterday, which had some tables showing that we have dropped to 24th in the world for maths. Poland are 25th!!!

GGRRRRR

Pistachio happy Burns day by the way. Get your butt down to the GP. Get a letter telling the CPS to politely stick jury service for a year. Forget about it. Done, as Gordon Ramsey would say. Another scot there for you

I guess I just don't get why the government has so much say and sway in education.
Ronshar - I usually think your words are cast in gold, but I must respond to your sta lucia comment and it not being useful to your DD in her life.
I can argue that learning about sta lucia and traditions from around the world is actually very valuable, though. I do think that one thing that used to be and still is in many places lacking in social studies/history is the knowledge and understanding of other cultures. I guess it's not as big of an issue here as people are more tolerant, understanding, and worldly aware (weird phrase I just made up!) but very essential and horribly lacking in America - where everyone seems to think America is the centre of the universe and the only cultures and traditions...etc that matter are those that are mainstream from the middle and upper class america. It is incredibly important for children to learn about the world around them (and cultural traditions is a good way into that for young minds) as in the real world we now often work and communicate with people from all over the globe very often.

However, having gone on about all of that and not edited and probably repeated myself a billion times I do not know the circumstances of your DD's sta lucia study and it could well be ludicrous, who knows. Just defending why from an outside pov it might look unnecessary, when really, it is quite.

I'll fb you the names of the schools under consideration star.

Sorry I always forget that MN is accessible to the www

Star I agree with you completely, what I meant was that the topic work about St lucia hardly touches on the biggest issues, slavery and colonialism!
In my experience of DDs school they do cover a very wide range of different cultures and religions but it is all skimmed over the surface. No real depth to anything. Surely if you are going to teach about the Carribean Islands then slavery has to be a integral part of that teaching?
Also it isnt the Americans fault. They truely believe they are the most important people in the world. As you are almost Canandian, I dont think of you as American

CSWS what is making you change your mind about DDs school? Does P start this September?
Remember you will be having another baby, try not to make your life any harder than it has to be. A 2 hour round journey to school could be a tipping point for you all! Even if it is in a lovely Discovery

does anyone here make home made baked beans? How? Are the ones in the can healthy? Really? I thought of this as a treat for Q as they are quite sweet but people on our group here have said they are ok before. I get the ones with low sugar low salt and no yucky sweeteners.

Oh and Star. I find it laughable that the schools dont touch on Europe or Ireland or Scotland or Wales or the middle east. But the Caribbean is obviously of far more relevance to our history. Maybe the teachers are trying to get a school trip organised. I would rather go there than Cardiff to be honest

Healthy as part of a balanced diet, which I think Q qualifies for.
Not made my own as I love the tinned ones. Especially on hot toast with the spread just melted. Yummy. W doesnt like beans. Strange boy!
I gave the DC chickpeas on Friday. Not much success. I threw them in with a stir fry veg, noodle ensemble. They were ok but a bit dry. So I shall have to try again and think a little harder this time!

I think W is dropping his daytime nap. Not interested at all. He is currently smashing up his room and trying to pull down his blinds. I shall have to give up my MNing to actually look after my child in the daytime

Eek at dropping daytime nap already!

I've made home made baked beans once. Weren't nice enough to bother again. Heinz meanz beanz.

Top likely contender for school is about 8 or 9 mins drive away ronshar, compared to about 4 for the village one, so there's not a huge diff in the grand scheme of things. Concerned about village one because highly regarded reception teacher is leaving, recently found out that they don't have any ICT stuff up and running yet, and ofsted makes no mention of capabilities for dealing with bright children.

Ronshar - no touch on ireland scotland or wales or europe?? weird. That's really not good at all!

Q is a misery without a nap and in fact if he sleeps for less than 2 hours he finds it difficult to make it to 7pm regardless of what time he wakes from the nap. We're trying to get him to go down for his nap between 12-1 and sometimes he literally can't keep his eyes open until 1pm.

I love love love chickpeas in anything.

Does anyone who has the book want to do me a massive favour? Please tell me if there's anything I need to make the choc pistachio cake? So I can get at the shop before I go home today instead of going home and looking at the recipe and then going back out (I forgot this morning)? I have eggs, flour...etc. Does it need honey or regular sugar? I know I"ll need pistachios - do they sell ground ones and do I even need to grind them? anything weird I'd need? And which veg?

The choc heartache cake went down a big hit at school! I got bored pureeing so there are bits, but no one seems to mind!

csws I wouldn't place too much emphasis on ofsted reports. ANd I'm not bitter toward ofsted - they always rank our school outstanding, they just don't know what they are doing, look for all the wrong things and the reports are quite frankly, useless.

No ICT stuff sounds really strange, though, imo.

Thank you! Oh no, I don't have a food processor. Will I not be able to make them? I just have a regular blender.
I have the rest of the stuff I think. Yeah! so excited to make it!

Do you all have a scale in your kitchens. I was on an online conversion calculator hting last night converting grams to cups.

They have apparently been fund raising for the IT stuff, and have enough for 'stage 1', but I want somewhere that is used to using it and incorporating it appropriately into every day school life.