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.

Happy birthday to not so little Golgi! Hope you had a lovely day.

Have just finished baking muffins for cake day tomorrow.

Tree - enjoy your bonus afternoon off, hope appointment goes OK.

Not springy here yet, still bloody freezing.

Moodlum - I'm full of cold too, if the boys don't bring one back from their school I have a whole range to choose from at mine.

We have a party free weekend for the first time in ages. Yay to No Soft Play.

I was a bit premature - it is mostly not springy here - I just got excited about some blue sky.

Golgi - well done for making muffins for cake day. And hurray too for no parties this weekend - nor us, and I am rejoicing. I might even skip swimming.

Well I think I get the sticker for oddest thing brought home by a child. It being Chinese New Year, they had a pretend chinese restaurant set up, and they made (obv under supervision..) egg fried rice, with spring onions, mushrooms etc. And then the teachers kindly put it in plastic bags when it had cooled, and the children were able to bring it home. really? I was suitably grateful but we shall not be having that for our supper thanks .

That is a bit strange moodlum!

Well we're back to the old lack of book changing problem despite the teacher promising it would be more frequent when I spoke to her.

Had the same one for over a week now with no change because she never gets round to it.

I honestly feel like I'm home schooling ds in ten minutes each evening. They are a bit useless. Tis crap.

I am starting too many threads about reading at the moment .

About DS rather than DD but it is interesting how some schools seem to be able to change books daily (parents mostly doing changing) whereas others of us wait for ages for anything new to appear. Am starting to feel DS is getting a little jaded with reading and he is a really good reader. Need to encourage him to realise there is more to life than the Oxford Reading Tree (however many branches it may have) and that it is not a competition to see who can get highest up it.

Bummer grammer. Why is this not happening. Surely it's a fairly major thing. Reading. Very odd.

Having said that we have had the same one all week, but she isn't quite there with it yet.

We got our first school report. Awwwww. It doesn't sound a bit like her, apparently she likes role play and dressing up. I can't get her to put on so much as fairy outfit, so there you go.

Apparently she can count and sort numbers to 10 with confidence. To be hoped as she can also do adding, subtraction and multiplication.

AM torn between mentioning these things at parents eve, or assuming they are looking for other skills she does't have iyswim. Maybe the number bonds and all that jazz. SHe can do most sums on her fingers, but they may not rate that as usefull.

It's a funny business, this school malarky.

Cooking sounds exciting moodlum.

That's spooky Noah as ds has always been really into reading the ORT books but then recently changed to some other (dull) scheme and has lost his enthusiasm .
He said he doesn't like reading today.

I got him to read a nice rhyming book from home ie. not a reading scheme one tonight. He was a bit reluctant at first but seemed to enjoy it so I'm hoping he'll get into it more again. And I'm going to give it a break for a few days now.

Tree - we had the same sort of issue with ds's nursery reports. I think the problem is that they are quite set categories and some teachers stop with what's there so e.g even if they can count to 100, if it says on the form 'count to 10' that's all they report on. Stupid but that seemed to be how it was at his nursery.

If I were you I'd ask them why the report stopped there to see if they are aware that she can do all this other stuff or not.

What is it with counting up to 10?

Seems to be an obsession!

Boy counted up to 1000 in fives the other day, for no apparent reason. I really wished he'd stop by about 150.

Moodlum - I wouldn't eat the egg fried rice either. I've seen my Boy cooking. Lots of sneezing and licked fingers and nose picking. Yuck.

Grammer - I'd go and get some reading books out of the library and carry on with reading yourself. I'm convinced that Boy can only do it because Granny is home-schooling him after 3.30.

Noah - at least I am spared any reading tree competitiveness by not doing drop-offs or pick-ups.

School seems to be about collecting stickers, nagging your mother into making cakes and hanging things on pegs. He's enjoying it though - said this evening "All we do at school is have fun all day".

I shall come and have my "cursive script" moan another day, must go wash up debris from baking!

I don't think I could count up to 1000 in fives

Oh yes. Next term target is to form correct lettters. That sounds very tedious to me.

I think these things must be the assessments for the blessed tables. Ticks all round and there it ends. I had wondered if dd would be a brighter kid, but actually now she is there I see she is just fairly bright, but given to utter la-la daydreams. So I'm not too worried really. It will be nice to talk to the teachers next week and see how they think she is doing.

One thing I do know is that she is incapable of remembering the ch sound from one day to the next. Why? She can rememeber that the house for sale on the way to school has 3 sloors and a blue roof line, so why not the ch sound? [hmmm]

Caught myself thinking about a cursive script white board practising thingie. Then slapped myself and bought her a gingerbread biscuit instead. They must be boring. Is anyone doing this/going there?

That counting in 5s to 1000 sounds like one of those methods insomniacs use to send themselves to sleep Golgi

Absolutely have gone and bought a set of ORT read at home and some other books to fill the rather long gaps between reading book changes.

grammerjunior says any questions they do at school are easy and although he hasn't said he's bored, he says he wants harder questions. Not sure if he's making that up though as he thinks it's what I want to hear.

Even I'm bored of complaining about all this to myself and dh has banned me from talking about it too much!

Can only apologise for my typos Only just getting dinner in my [poor] defence.

Tree - this is my cursive script moan. They are expecting them to learn to write in it without teaching them how to form the letters. None of the reading books or any of the signs on the wall in reception are in cursive, so they probably think it's a different alphabet altogether! I struggle to decipher some of the letters in his sound book. But then my own handwriting is only semi joined up at best.

Boy is left handed and not very good at pen control - he didn't pick one up before September - so think cursive may well be beyond him. He can write his name, after Granny spent ages teaching him how to do the 'e' the right way round.

The "ch" sound on its own probably isn't interesting enough to bother with remembering. Does it come with an action? I got lost after the ants crawling up the arm.

ch ch ch ch ch...ch ch ch ch ch

C'mon everyone, lets be steamtrains......

Really, who can blame them? I bet they just sit there and think bugger this for a lark, I'm having a day dream about a t-rex. You look like a numpty if you like.

I just get uppity at the idea we all have to write the same. Why?

Is this the writing they are going to teach them?

If I buy my child this will she leave me?

I'm sure ch has an action. DD did o today. She knows it is to do with turning things on and off but has forgotten the song.

DS probably knows the action for ch but feel waking up one's 6 year old at 11:30pm just to find it out is a little daft .

We get parents' evening in March. Must remember to leave the requisite at least 10 minutes between children's appointments.

the steam train! You have to be the wheels with your arms.

Tree - might be a waste of £9.99.

Practise the letters on scrap paper instead and put the money towards the purchase of one of these:

www.brightminds.co.uk/young-engineer/remote-control/remote-control-tarantula.htm

That's what Boy would do, anyway.

Ddon't buy a cursive White board thingy tree. And definitely not a family fun board which I see further down that page.

DS has started doing some joining of letters in year 1 but they don't do cursive, which I did at school; their writing style is less loopy. Except for a little loop on a letter k.

I am hiding in bed with my iPod touch. I have to get up and Face the Day. But it is comfy here...

ch ch ch ch

we had tears here this morning. DS really didn't want to go to school. Or, iyswim, he didn't want to not be at home. I asked why and he looked all sad and said "because I get more hugs at home" and then "and there's more snacks at home and I can play the wii". I suspect the main reason is the latter, not the former...

This has felt like such a long week - has it for anyone else?

Writing wise, DS is ok-ish - his pen grip isn't great. I saw a pencil that looks like a pen that has a special grip, for them to practise with, but it was £8.00 , and given that I would have to buy two, one for each child, I can't spend £16.00 on two pencils. So on that basis I'm condemning poor mini moodlums to terrible handwriting like their father

Another week done for the smaller one. She is doing her homework (colouring in letter sound cards).

I found the week has gone quite quickly. But may be due to all the time I have been in school this week.

Did check that DS knew the ch sound. He chuffed around the kitchen before we went to school .

Only two weeks until half term. This is nice

Lol Grammer I feel like that as well! I had to go to a phonics morning at school today...oh great I thought thought they'll actually tell us exactly how it all works but all they had was loads of stuff out and we (us and the children) got to play around with it. Was quite fun I suppose but Im no further forward in finding out what Im supposed to be doing with him...did mention to 1 of the Y2 teachers about him just sight reading and she said its good but to encourage the phonetics as well but no suggestions of how to do it. Im not a teacher and I don't want to spend my time with him doing stuff he should be doing at school!!

Apparently he got told off yesterday because he told this supply teacher that he was bored and that his proper teacher does more stuff with him so don't think that went down too well!!

We haven't had to do any cursive writing here yet but they must be doing something at school because DS has finally worked out how to do an a properly...used to do a circle with a line through it so looked like a Q!!

I confess to buying a set of ORT books as well from e-bay!! For some bizarre reason he loves them and actually wants to read them but school haven't got hardly any so thought we'd bulk up the school books with our own stuff! Can I also recommend the ladybird Read it Yourself books...only £2.50 and are really good!

Golgi-am very impressed with him counting in 5's to 1000...will try that next time I can't get to sleep!

Hi everyone - very impressed my the number skills of your lo's. My dd isn't so good at numbers, can do the basics up to & down from 1-10 & putting them in order etc but no more than that. I fear she has inherited that from me.
I must be a very bad mum as reading this I've just realised why my dd's writing has gone all messy, think they must be starting to do cursive writing. She used to be very neat the other way but now has gone all loopy & it looks illegible. I think I did actually make a comment that it wasn't as neat as usual - feel bad now
My dd had her first friend home after school on wed, she's been to said friends house before but not played here. All was going well until my dd decided she didn't want to share any of her toys, very unlike my dd tbh. Think she was overtired & there were a few tears (my dd's) but on the whole they had a good time. Yesterday my dd decided to throw a sickie, she regularly complains of tummyache but at predictable times, time for school, time for bed & if she's been naughty. Yesterday morning she was complaining again, although had had a good breakfast & still wanted more food, dp was taking her to school & mentioned it to the teacher, in front of dd. Personally I wouldn't have done this as I know dd can be quite manipulative & can do a very good dying swan act - bad mother again! I got a phone call from school at 1.30 saying dd was complaining of a sore stomach & was struggling a bit, dutifully went to get her feeling very guilty for sending her in. She did look pale & tired but had eaten all her lunch. On the way home dd said if she was feeling better would she have to go back, I said yes tomorrow & then she said that she wasn't poor;y at all but was tired & it was too noisy in class. Came home she spent the rest of the day completely hyperactive & playing & occasionally saying I tricked my teacher - ha ha! Her normal teacher was off today but think I will have to have a word & warn them of her crafty nature!

roundabout- how maddening! very sweet that she doesn't think she needs to trick you too, though.

What is this cursive writing of which you speak? I had to look it up as I had no idea. I hope they're not going to make dd1 do that, as I've only just got her forming nice letters in the way they do them in all the writing books I've seen. Is it a national curriculum thing, or do schools choose?

I took both girls to the library to pick out some reading books for dd1. We came home with a very random selection, as my best efforts to make careful choices were thwarted by dd2's determination to trash the entire library. I was frazzled by the whole experience. She is completely uncontrollable. I hope she's not going to turn into an awful child... please tell me it's normal to have no control over your 15 month old!

Dd1 was sweet today. She's been a bit worried about mortality and ageing lately. Today she was talking about having children and how if I hadn't been born before her she would have had to have been in someone else's tummy. I explained that she would have been a different person in that case, because she is made from a bit of me and a bit of Daddy. She thought for a moment and then said, 'So if you and Daddy died, you would still go on living in a way because a bit of you is still in me.'

• Oh - and I have to share my favourite dd1 mistake of the week. We were in a newsagents and she was looking at the sweets and said, 'Mummy, these sweeties are called Horrible Kids Suppermix!' I had a look... it was Haribo Kids Supermix

at the Horrible Kids Suppermix. I think that should be put forward as a quote of the week

I'm about to go away for a while - I have a weekend do on, and the laptop charger just broke Mn killed it! It couldn't take the power surged from manic typing on the AIBUs

Love the suppermix. Someone tip of Morning Paper

Aranea - that is lovely isn't it? Children see clear and simple truth.

Impressed by your dd's skills roundabout. Both at getting what she needed, and being able to say school was too much. It is too much sometimes isn't it, she is clear sighted to know that the noise etc was getting to her. The upside of being crafty, she knows how she feels and what she wants. And how to get it