We are the festive receptionists' mothers - we bring shepherds, aliens and travelling cribs to a nativity play near you

[mistletoemulledwinemoodlum]

This is our new festive thread ladies.

Well small girl went into school as if she had always been doing it . Four girls started today and all went in like little ducklings following their mummy duck .

I then went and did reading with DS's class and could hear the new ones being taken on a tour of the school. I stayed hidden . Pick up at 11:30 so won't be here too long!

Aaah Noah well done!! Well done dd as well

DS went off happy as larry this morning - they were so few of them in as we had some more snow last night. hideous school run - I nearly went into the back of a bus.

I have to say I feel very excited to not have any children to entertain today! I don't know what to do first - laundry - work - mn - tidying. All exciting choices

Hooray for Noah's dd. Hope she has had a good morning.

I think I need a dog sled team to get us up the hill to school in the mornings. It's the only solution I can think of.... if anyone has any more practical ideas on how to get dds 1&2 up the icy slope, please let me know!

DD had a good morning .

Am hoping the novelty won't have worn off by tomorrow, but her best friend starts so hopefully the novelty will still be there

Well done small Noah.

We had a tricky morning too - the road out of the village was very slushy, no grit, cars stuck everywhere, spinning around, burning clutches - so husband and I gave up, came home, had coffee and tried again later!

Walked boys to school, which was open, as getting into the village was OK, just getting out was a problem!

Hope they grit the road tonight or it'll be more of the same in the morning.

LOL at that unopenned book bag moodlum

Felt like we were coming out of hibernation getting to school this morning.
DD was glad to be back in, but did an half come out tired. I let her skip her swim lesson. The road by the school is still very icy so I didn't especially want to be rushing to the leisure centre anyway.

Well done to your DD Noah. That sounds as good as you could possibly hope for.

That's great Noah. Brilliant.

I escaped the school runs today DD chose nanna this am, then this pm dd2 had just managed to wind down and dooze off, so I rand grandpa and he collected for me. DD was full of beans and seemed to have enjoyed it.

What happened? Maybe last half term was just tiredness. That's good. Will this happen every half term? That's bad!

Got 2 more party invites which meet my needs as anxious mother

Also tried a sausage with skin on One bite - it was spicy so no dice. At least tried though.

We have recieved the info about going in to spend a morning with them. On parent only, no siblings. You have to say when you can't go. I said I could only go before Feb, I'm back at work then and have no idea. So thought that was best.
I really hope we can stay to lunch. It doesn't seem a very 'open' school.

DD2 slep till 5 so we got a lovely hour together this eve. Had chilli and made the mumsneet microwave choc cake in a mug, which takes 3 mins to cook. She looved doing that.

Still constipated......

Moodlum - what threads delights did you fill the day with?

Hi all,
So good to have ds back at school today after the snow. I feel like we didn't really get going with the new term as ds was only in two days last week.

So far so good here - hope I'm not tempting fate by saying that he hasn't started getting upset again like he did at the end of last term.

He is very uncharacteristically full of attitude after school each day though. On the weekends, holidays and snow days (!) he wasn't at all like this. Must be the being good all day at school thing causing it but what the solution is I don't know...

2nd day also gone well . And DD is being happy to have her hair (growing, gradually) in pony tail/bunches instead of the mess it usually is .

She got a sticker today. For Being Good she says

Yay sticker!

I'm glad you have had a good start Noah. Makes it so much nicer.

School run bleurgh, the parking is now a swamp following the big melt. Yak.

DD went in grand. So odd. She has been up since 6.15 so am expecting a tired out girlie. Am going to give her a speedy tea then bed.

I bought her some reading books, the dandelion ones. Shekeeps asking to read stuff and I'm a bit about what to give her. So did some mning research and went for the launcher ones. £20 for 4, and they are so slim I thought the envelope was a brochure. Oh well. I'm sure it's all very research based etc etc.

Tim on the mat.

I could do that. She did the BBC bitesize stuff last night but it was either boring simple, or beyond her. Much as life I find

Still constipated, warned teacher today she may need to make a loo dash. I told her not to worry about the sash [they wear a sash so teachers know when someone is gone]. Happily the teacher agreed as had already said she could

Tired with skid marks. Not glam being 5 is it?

Tree - granny has got the boy a selection of reading books from charity shops - she found some ladybird ones and also Peter and Jane which I remember from when I was little!

Granny is a bit Old School though. Seems to be working, as his reading is coming on - he asked for "lessons" when school was snowed off last week.

Stickers are great. If I'd known last year the boy would do anything for a sticker I'd have got some in myself!

I remember Peter and Jane. The pictures were lovely. Heals and such like sell tins and stuff with them on. These days. Old fogies that we are, stuff from our youth is turning up on trendy retro stuff.

Poo came. Thank f**k for that. Pardon me but it has been soooo stressful. DD is toxic when she has it, my mum says the old folk in homes are the same. It semds you loopy. Makes sense I guess, Maslows hierachy of needs. If you can't poo you can't be happy. Simples!

Tried the books. She could sort of do it. She forgot Tim between one page and the next though. She was up mega early and basically unwell with the constipation so I think it was a truly awful time to try. Silly Mummy.

Sticker policies continue to be tough into the new term. Not a one have we had. They were so plentiful in September.

Perhaps they've run out of stickers! Boy got one last week for "sitting nicely in Collective Worship" - as did the whole of the rest of reception. Someone being a bit free and easy with the stickers there, I think.

I know where you're coming from with the poo, as boy goes through phases of this too, it hangs over everyone's whole day like a big cloud of....well...poo.

Tree, we're enjoying reading the Beginner Books. I feel very old-school, as some of them are my old Dr Seuss books. Currently reading 'Flap Your Wings' by PD Eastman, who also did the lovely 'Go, Dog, Go!' (another of my old faves from childhood). Anyway, they just feel a bit more fun to me than the doubtless impeccably researched phonics reading scheme books.

I might search out some of those Aranea.

Sit Tim

Tim sat.

That is what dd read. Hardly sells the skill

Would buying teacher a pack of stickers with 'dd is a star' on be considered pushy ?

Blimey. Thrilling stuff.

Loving your sticker plan

Hi ladies. Seriously snowy here, and I have to admit to battling through it to get dd & ds to school - I have things to do!!

After the first good couple of days, he was a bit wobbly this morning, because we were late and he had to go in a different entrance. When we left home he was outraged that a)he had to go to school and b) he had to go in.... shorts. But he perked up when we walked through the hall and they were setting up Dangermouse on the screen for breaktime.

I did reading with DS last night. He's on the same level books as dd, which is completely bonkers. He looked at the word "now" and looked at me knowingly and said "that says surprise" err, no it doesn't. I think I'm going to have to say something and get him downgraded a couple of levels - what's the point of having books he cannot even vaguely read. I fully expect him to come home with The Hobbit or something equally inappropriate before the week is out.

Tree - I am sorry that poo is ruling your life. Poor DD.
Noah - well done on another few good mornings it all helps.

Right. Another busy day. Ironing or cleaning kitchen?

We didn't do any proper reading practice over Xmas and I am now reaping the consequences as dd went back to being reluctant to read her school books with me. I think we have cracked it again though.

She will play no end of workd games and likes to pick out words in the books I read to her - but the one thing she just isn't at all motivated to do is read her own appropriate level reading book

So I'm certainly not investing in buying any more. The school is pretty good and she gets 2, changed twice a week, which given her enthusiasm and my patience - is quite sufficient!

Oh the poos sagas. Touch wood we are though that now - but I still twitch nerviously at the mention of the 'p' word.

Sorry to break into your thread - at DD's school they can have lip balm but it is treated the same way as medicine would be so you need to sign a permission form and it is held centrally and not by the child.

haven't been on for ages but thought Id say hello again-DS wnet back last tuesday and then had thurs/friday off because of snow as school was shut.

Went back monday only to be told that his teacher is leaving on tuesday for several weeks as has to go into hospital for a major operation...no idea what though! Feel a bit cross that they couldn't have given a bit more notice but obviously very sorry that she has to go through this...she looked awful monday afternoon when all the children were saying goodbye to her and I honestly thought she was going to cry.

So they've now got a supply teacher who seems lovely but obviously doesn't know the children or even the school so get the impression the TA'a are going to be a doing a lot over the next couple of weeks.

Can completely sympathise with the book situation as we're having struggles here as well. DS got moved onto the blue level books last week as they did some reading assessment with them all but there is such a wide variety in the books in that level its untrue. They seem to have some really really old ones which have 2 words on a page and then some newer ones which are probably about the right level for him...a sentence or 2 a page with mostly words he knows and the odd harder word stuck in-he had to read petticoat last night in the book which was a little odd! I ended up reading a Topsy and Tim book with him and letting him read the words he knew and I read the rest which was quite good.

Moodlum-how old is your dd if theyve put ds on the same level books as her? That does seems completely barmy!

Tree/Acinonyx-am glad the poo situation is sorting its self out-that must be really uncomfortable for them. DS wet himself at school last week and was completely mortified...his TA said he kept saying "how on earth did that happen!!" like a little old man! Think he just got a bit engrossed in what they were doing and forgot to go...don't know what he thought was worse wetting himself or having to wear white girls socks cause they couldn't find any boys ones?!!

Another successful morning here .

And it would appear from untucked polo shirt that DD has used the toilet at school (worrying how these details are so important ).

There is a bit of snow (still falling) but not enough to stop anything, apart from bin lorries of course .

Spent my child free time this morning going to the dentist having root canal treatment .

DD got another sticker today (seems like they replenished their supplies here over Christmas ). This one was for "doing the movements to Going on a Bear Hunt".

Still getting used to my little girl in her schooliform

CaurnieBred - welcome!

and Ihearttc - welcome back!

I am personally addicted to lip balm and have little blue tins stashed all over the place.

Noah - boo to the dentist. Hope it wasnt' too scary.

We have a bit of snow coming down now, but the main problem today was the ice, roads were so bad in Yorkshire that four grit lorries crashed!

So will be listening to local radio again in the morning, to see if school is on or not. They've been combining nursery and reception this week, I have a boy in each, but no reports of major fights yet. Perhaps they only do that at home.

Noah - glad all is well.

Moodlum - you are the first poster I've ever seen on MN who actually thinks their dc's reading book level is too high . Seems mad that the teachers have put him on that level as it might damage his confidence or turn him off reading.

So can you all tell me what your teachers do with your dcs for reading apart from letter sounds as a class? Do they read individually and how often?

The majority of our class haven't even had their first reading books . Ds has some because he could read before school but they aren't changed often enough imho. I think I'd be pretty miffed if I were one of the other dc's parents with no books still.

grammerpolice - boy started getting books just before Christmas, they seem to get 2 books a week home. I think teacher or TA must listen to him a couple of times a week as he has a little book where they write a comment.

I am completely laid back about the whole thing, but this may be because Granny is an ex primary teacher and she reads with him every day after school.