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.

Boy does nothing organised after school, same issue that I don't like to ask granny and grandad to organise playdates or transport to things, and by the time I get home it's too late. Plus Boy doesn't seem up to much more than lying on the sofa when he gets in.

My problem is that I need to lie on the sofa when I get in . This somehow doesn't seem to happen .

That would be nice.
I can lie on the sofa, but boys climb on top of me and it's not exactly relaxing.

Amsleep training, and dd2 is one tomorrow, so baking and general frenzy of party weekend begins.

Will catch up soon.

Sleep training dd2 that is. I myself need to no help to sleep

Happy Birthday to the little sapling!

We have two parties to go to this weekend.

Happy Birthday to small branch .

I think it is wet out there. I rather hope not.

I took my DD to ballet once but she really didn't like it. Shame as I thought the teacher was great and it looked fun.
So just swimming at the moment.

Happy birthday little tree!

Thanks everyone!

Littlest sapling in snoozing, and I should be making dairy free jammy dodgers for her tea party on Sunday. Ah well.

Aci - how's it going? I actually cried when I read your post. I hope you hear of some good positive support at the school end soon.

grammer - good you got sorted, but a bit that they can't be adaptive to his needs. Especially as they have to , every child matters and all that. Even the bright ones! Maybe they have special reading small groups, like they would for those needing help to catch up? Only other way round.

Have done 1 playdate I wasn't at, I was too poorly to stay That was with a friend and dd has been many times.

Don't feel I could just let her go yet, especially if I didn't know the family a bit. That might be for the future, maybe in 10 years or so. Must get less protective!

We have take home reading! Yay. Our 'sounding' book. DD is so proud of it. Bless. It has 6 words, which she can blend no problem, but not recognise on sight iyswim.
It's so interesting that with numbers, shejust needs telling once. We went through counting in 2's once, up to 20. Now it's in, learnt and there when she wants it.

Reading, and she forgets a word from one page to the next. Just hasn't the same memory. She learns just like I do. She understands that 3x2=6 so it is locked into her brain. She has no realy proof an S is a ssss sound, people tell her but she remains doubtful. Therefore it is hard to remember. Crazy eh?

Hate swimming. Don't do changing rooms. We do gymnastics, because dd was 3 and wouldn't even jump off a step. She's getting braver and more confident, doesn't need a risk assesment to run down a hill anymore .

Just got persuaded (nicely ) to help in DD's class this morning so have been sticking letters into home/school diaries, drawing round children and being (hopefully) generally useful.

Although I did make DD cry by doing too much cutting and not realising she wanted to. I think probably the first time she has cried at school and it was due to me. Will try and do better next time .

Went into assembly as well and randomly DS was sitting next to me. Realised the hole in the knee of his trousers that I thought wasn't too bad actually is terrible. Especially when he has his legs crossed .

DD has the smallest, most hilarious plaits in today. Am quite proud of them. I photographed them for posterity as I couldn't quite believe I had managed

Must be the day for it Noah...I was asked if I wanted to stay and help today as well! I wouldn't have minded at all but DS didn't look too impressed so I said no!

Happy Birthday to mini tree as well!

Its funny isn't it how they can all grasp totally different things...DS seems to just be able to look at a word once and then remember it but hasn't a clue about numbers and certainly wouldn't be able to count in 2's or anything like that.

I would still stay at parties with DS as I agree its nice to see them enjoying themselves and can have a chat with other mums then...DS is having a party next month with 10 children in our house (Yes I must be mad!) and I imagine all the parents will stay apart from our neighbours which will account for 4 of the children. They still seem so little to be left...which is daft really as they are left all day at school!

DS came home yesterday with a note saying non uniform day today for Haiti which is a lovely idea but DS had no clean clothes apart from his uniform so had to do a quick wash last night. He has grown so quickly that nothing seems to fit anymore and I haven't got a lot this year because he's wearing uniform all week!

Grammer-Did I read on another thread that your DS seems to be a visual reader as well?
Thats exactly how my DS is. He is fine with sight words and can just look at them and remember them but the mechanics of longer words he just can't seem to get phonetically at all.

Hi girls

Happy birthday little sapling! One already.. Soon you'll be on another first day at Reception thread

Oh Aci, my heart does break for your lo. I really hope it gets better.

Re playdates - we haven't really had many since he started (well we have had them here but thinking about it, no-one has invited us back but I wouldn't leave him with anyone he didn't know well. So I would leave him with dd's friends parents, but not yet with anyone he is at school with atm, I don't think.

Parties, on the other hand, he practically shoos dh out of the door at, but when I'm there, he won't let go of my legs for the first 20 mins. I quite like the opportunity to chat to the mums (sometimes).

DS doesn't do any afterschool activities but he is desperate to do Karate (of all things). He does Rugby and swimming at the weekend. He thinks he can swim. He cannot. Its my saturday battle.

Anyway - he has a half day today so am about to pick him up and take him for lunch at a nice garden centre. Woo.

Acinonyx - Poor you & your dd - hope things get better soon.
I'm feeling a bit down about dd & school at the mo. Yesterday she said that she didn't play with anyone at break times but followed the teachers round. She didn't seem exactly unhappy at this so probably me & my pregnancy hormones reading far too much into it. Hopefully when her friend is back from holiday on monday things will be better, I know I've missed her mum & that's just for the waiting round in the playground not all day like dd.

Tree - sounds like you are busy. Hope you have a super day & it all goes well. Happy birthday little tree.

You have all made me so much better re leaving at parties & playdates etc. My dd hasn't been left at a party yet. She almost wanted me to leave her at the last one but changed her mind at the last minute. I was glad as normally she's quite clingy & while I'm not encouraging this behaviour I didn't want to leave her there & then her be upset at me not being there iykwim. She's invited to one in feb at a new venue & is stressing a little bit as to what it will be like. My dd's ideal party is one at someone's house but there seems to be a serious shortage of such invites. Many at noisy venues & soft play places etc which my dd often finds too noisy & rough.

Hello rounabout1. Sorry you have this nigle too. I thought this would be our niggle, but actually we seem ok on this front. So far.....
will you speak to someone or see how it goes?

So we have 2 bits of news. I can go for an hour to see how the classroom works, in a couple of weeks. DH is hopefully going in to do an hour each Friday [he gets home at 1.45] too, listening to children read or whatever. So that's all nice.

I wouldn't leave Boy at soft play type party because he almost always falls over and hurts himself (not badly!) at some point and would need me there for cuddles.

He'd probably be alright at someone's house, but as you say nobody seems to do that sort of party at the moment.

They have a dressing up day next Wednesday, as notified in letter home this evening. Boy hates these occasions, he is a creature of habit and would much prefer to just wear his school uniform.

Wow what a busy thread.

A belated happy birthday to little tree.

Am the same with parties - I enjoy watching ds enjoying himself and chatting to the other mums (and some dads). In fact dh and I are practically arguing over who gets to do each one as he wants to go too. Maybe he likes chatting with the mums

Roundabout - I bet she does play with people more than she's saying. What does the teacher say?

Yes why don't people ever have parties in their houses these days? Pretty much all of the ones I remember from my childhood were small and at people's homes.

Iheart - yes very much the same with the visual learning and I am like that too, as was my mum who was said to have a photographic memory at school! He can do some really quite complex sight words, like because and other but couldn't do decodable words of more than one syllable as he can't add the syllables together well.
I hope he doesn't have the downside of this I have - I might be able to remember things I read very, very well but if someone tells me something verbally it barely registers!

So - are we all ironed and ready for the morning?

No

Need to make lunch for the boy. And probably should write something or other in DD's home school diary.

Nope, ds' trousers are sitting very creased on the ironing board. Better get on with it hadn't I.

I wish we had a home school diary. Such a good, simple idea. We have a reading one but that's it. What kind of thing do you put in it?

I waffle . The school puts a weekly letter in saying what the children have done this week and what they will do the next week. They are also handwritten in about once a week - there will probably be a response to my witterings about DD trying to write words and count Yorkshire puddings

The school started doing them some time in the last year - if you have done interesting things you can say, and/or they can be positive behaviour management ie you say how well small child has been eating breakfast/getting dressed/not killing sibling etc and school can build on that. Also gives an idea of what the children do out of school. Is overall a Good Thing.

We also have house shapes we can make observations on - they go in their folder of eyfs stuff (they do lots of observations on sticky labels which are then stuck in. When we got DS's at the end of reception it was massive).

Made lunch. Am goi g to bed soon and hoping that as DH is away I will get the bed to myself

Almost Its an unusual feeling, knowing where every single piece of uniform is. Even if it is the tumble drier.

I may pull him a sickie tomorrow though as he was suffering with a really bad cough and complaining of a sore ear.

Nearly half term. And then... they are half way through reception

Falling tree at thought of being half way through reception. Oh noooooo She needs to be special and cosseted for years and years yet!

Also nearly half term. That means work. Sob. I so so so so sos ososososoosoos wnat to be a sahm.

Uniform - check
Dinner money - check
Drinks money - check
Letter - check

Fab!

Been a manic weekend, dd1 had a party, then dd2 had her birthday tea party. It was today, in our house. We planned statues and pass parcel etc etc. Actually they wanted nothing to do with any of that and just wanted to wander about and open toy boxes. 5 4-5 year olds and 5 1-3 year olds. Crazy manic stuff. Shame dd1 decided to keep bursting into tears, she couldn't cope with the noise, lack of order and lack of being the boss. Bless.

We have a sheet, that works a bit like a home diary. We are invited to tell about events that sort of tie into the curriculum. So I have written that dd1 cried many times during todays party, because she didn't like it when the children didn't play how she wanted them too, or didn't let her be in charge. Not very positive, so I felt a bit tight, but then it is a real personality trait in dd. So best they know asap!

Tree - poor dd1 - that's how I feel most days. Did you have a large glass of wine after that particularly full on day?

I must learn that an extra five/ten minutes in bed is simply not worth it the stress further down the line.

grammer-yes thats exactly what ds does as well...he learnt children,because and other over the weekend by looking at them but can't sound out Shop-very strange!!

Yike-can't believe its nearly half term already and then they'll be nearly half way through Reception...doesn't seem possible.

I mentioned to the TA this morning that I wondered if I could come in and help one day cause she said they were struggling as the teacher is away so they've only got 2 teachers and 1 TA betweeen 60 children...and she said yes but I apparently won't be able to go in DS's class which sort of misses the point a bit. I didn't want to be in the class with him but I thought I could listen to some reading or something in the library with some of the others. Might go and have a word with the head later but seems a bit daft to me!

Back from trip one of the day - listening to reading in DS's class.

I do not recommend waking up in a panic at 7:54am . Although we were there on time .

I think different schools have different rules on where parents can help and quite a few only let you help with another class. I suppose the idea is that someone with children in another class will help in your child's class, but I am glad that I am able to help in both DS and DD's classes.

Right time to do admin stuff for the next 45 min then get small one.