were into september not long now frantic label sewing, shoe buying and general getting organised and breath!!

[bodenaddict]

hi ladies here is our new thread

Dd was full of beans when I got her from CM today. But apparently, she had to sit in the corner alone for a while because she won't answer to her name at register. It made me feel very sad to think of her sitting in the corner but dh says it's the right thing as she's more stubborn than shy

Acinonyx - I feel sad for her too - hope she can get a bit braver about answering.
Apparently the boy got himself changed for PE and back all on his own - I'm not sure I believe him though as he never does at home (without an enormous fuss). He's also come back with a sticker "for sitting nicely on the carpet"

He tells me he doesn't want school dinners, so we'll stick with packed lunch for now. There isn't a kitchen yet, so school dinners are brought in from elsewhere, not sure how nice they will be in that case....

We have been practising answering to the register with me as the teacher and dd, panda, rabbit and dolphin as the class. Hopefully she will be braver tomorrow.

PE already - i haven't got the kit all named and ready yet!

In the words of Dora -

We did it!

What was really interesting and lovely was that the classroom was filled with many many TAs... basically one per child because also, something I hadn't quite 'got'until when we left was, that only half the class were there. So each child had someone to hold their hands and show them how to do things in their own time.

Very well organised I thought!

I asked dd what school was like she said "Good good good. There is an office and little toilets and Madam ----- has a dog puppet."

This 'half class' thing means she has tomorrow off so the other half can have their 'gentle first day' and then her second day will by Thursday with all her class.

Acinonyx - at your poor dd having to sit in the corner. I'd be really upset by that. I hope your dh is right and it's a helpful way to deal with her. I expect I am disastrously soft (actually I know I am wrt all sorts of things) but it seems awfully soon to be doing that sort of thing.

Am amazed and impressed by the number of TAs you have, tea! DD1's class has one and I thought they were doing OK!

Hi, can I re-join? Was in at the start but have had nothing to report since then. DS doesn't start until friday (1 hr session) and then next week does a week of mornings. So I have been quite relaxed about the whole thing, until I went to a 'profile' meeting with his new teacher yesterday. First of all she said that the TA is pregnant and going on maternity leave in a month. OK, he can cope with that I thought, then she says that she has got a new job and will be leaving at Xmas! So now I am no longer relaxed and in fact worried that DS will have just settled in and then his teacher will leave!

Cor my DD's been cranky this evening,
I guess it can't be easy being good all day.

Aranea - one TA here too, but for various reasons it's a small class (only 16).
LadyIsabella - I'm sure he'll cope with new teacher, I think my boy may be having a change around then too as "proper" teacher is on maternity leave and may well come back. They're knocking down the reception classroom sometime this year, too!
Paisley - we've had the back from school horror here as well. It's going to be awful in our house of an evening, as I get back from school in a foul mood too.

Thanks golgi - as a teacher as well I should be prepared for them to get pregnant! I know what you mean about coming home in a foul mood, especially after what I predict will be a race against time to collect him. Not the most relaxing end to the day however must be positive, I haven't done it yet!

One TA per child is only for the first day!!!

Usually it is 15 children, one teacher and one TA... I think... but I must admit I am still learning here!

28 children, one teacher and one TA here.

acinonyx... how sad for her. dd refused to answer at roll call til a few weeks before the holidays at playschool so i doubt she's doing it now, would hate to think she'd get in trouble for it

teafortwo... it must be a continental thing, we always had class puppets and cuddly toys in germany and holland that the teachers used to 'help' teach... never seen it donw here sadly. When i left my german school i got a mouse just like our class mouse to 'help me remember 1B'... i still have him almost 20 years later, he's one of ds1's favourite toys

20 kids (two classes Junior and Senior infants) and one teacher here... they don't do TA's much over here.

DD's teacher has 2 class puppets. So now I'm waiting to hear whether she answered at register. She never ever did it at preschool - or put up her hand to ask or answer a question. If it happens again and dd seems very upset I may Have Words with her teacher

Well my DS had a lovely day yesterday and ate all his packed lunch...so thats definitely the way forward! He said he liked it in the afternoons best cause its much quieter-more than half the children go home at 12.10 because they are only part time until after christmas! He has made a new friend and they sat together at lunch and he is "really nice" apparently...am very pleased about that because although he has got some friends at the school they are all girls so its nice for him to have a little boy to play with as well!

Went in fine again today...am really expecting to go wrong soon cause it seems like its just been too easy at the moment!

Poor DD's finding school pretty relentless I think. They're more than halfway through the week now though.

I was filling in the term dates on the calendar (I can't believe it...I still feel that calendar is new, and I'm writing on the final pages)! Anyway, nothing longer than a weekend off until end of october.
Crikey, it is feeling like a lot of school. I guess we get used to it.

I hope your DD did okay today Acinonyx. (that corner thing doesn't sound very nice). I know mine can't get her head around the putting your hand up to ask or answer questions - so she just doesn't, so far. I think she thinks it's a bit of a wierd thing to have to do....imagine if I suddenly told her she had to do that at home!

Golgi, I did notice a few grumpy faces coming out. DD not so bad today.

My dd is absolutely exhuasted after just 2 mornings. I dread to think how she'll be when she starts doing full days. She has huge bags under her eyes.

Aranea - I know exactly what you mean. My dd had one afternoon at school with only half her class then so the other half of her class can have their 'gentle first day' she had the next day off.

The day she had off (yesterday) she didn't want to do anything but listen to Cbeebies on the radio laying on our bed which really isn't like her at all. When I took her to the park for some air she asked to come home.

Apparently teacher didn't call her name yesterday but I mentioned to teacher this morning that we ahd been practising at home.

Dd gets a bit floppy after school but ever since we went away in August she's been up until 9-10 at night. So I took her to the park yesterday before tea and she ended up lying in my lap on the park bench! Did get to sleep a bit earlier - about 8.10. Looking forward to getting bedtime back to 8 after full days.

She did seem surprised that there were even more school days left this week. Practically every other house around here has dc going to the infants school - it's quite a train walking along in the morning.

8.30 not 8.10

Good luck to your dd this morning, Acinonyx. And I'm glad to hear they backed off it a bit yesterday.

I'm really taken aback by how tired dd is. After 2 days of going 9-12, she was absolutely shattered. She'd been pestering for ages to start ballet, and I was planning for her to go to her first class yesterday afternoon, but she said she was too tired and didn't want to. So she must have been really tired.

And she is sleeping in so late that it's a real scramble getting her ready in time in the morning.

I hope she will cope as her days get longer and more children join the class [nibbles fingernails]

On the plus side, she seems to be hopelessly in love with her teacher

I have another very tired one as well! He is on full days and was very upset this morning cause he said he just wanted to stay in bed...which is most unlike him! I honestly think they should just let them start gradually cause it's all new to them and they are going to be very tired.

He had a bit of a wobble going in and he looked like he was going to cry (which he hasn't done yet) and the teacher gave him a big hug and asked him to help her...which he did so am very pleased with that!

All he wants to do at the moment is watch c-beebies and lie on the sofa...please tell me it does get better?

I just dropped ds off and I was very sad. By the time I had legged it to the car they were big snotty hiccuping cries, so its safe to say that I have completely embarrassed myself (as I know hardly anyone at this new school)

But the important thing is that ds was completely fine - bit wobbly and subdued but fine. And there are only five of them in this afternoon.

I've also realised I am going to ahve to get up at the crack of dawn to get him ready. SLOOOOOWWWWLLLLYYYY.

Oh bother, wrote a post and then my connection died and it disappeared. Gah.

norfolklass, your teacher sounds lovely. How nice. I keep hearing that it is normal for them to collapse in front of cbeebies... I presume it can't go on forever?!

Big un-MN [hugs] to moodlum. I'm sure you weren't the only one to cry, even though you may have done it the most publicly!

Aranea - thanks

DS had a good afternoon. They said he was 'beautifully mannered' and so lovely they wanted to take him home . And he said it was 'fabylus'.

Phew.