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.

Hello JJ6

Woman does indeed sound like a loon. There was a similar incident at our school when DS was in reception which ended up almost in a full-on fight in the playground (between the mothers ).

Hi JJ6

I agree with Golgi re a word on the QT with the teacher. We have a mum like that who HAS to have her child first in the line. FOrtunately they have a system whereby whoever is star of the week, goes first. Its a nightmare.

I win the 'worst school run' sticker for the day. DS was distraught and clinging on to me for dear life when I left him at school. It was awful. I don't understand why.

And then I carried on to dd's school. Whereupon she vomited violently in the car. Lovely.

JJ6 - Agree she sounds like a loon! What a poor example to set to the other children too.

Moodlum - Sorry to hear you had a bad morning. This week there's been lots of tears from the little ones I've noticed, not my dd although she was hanging on to me wanting me to go in with her but as soon as she saw her teacher she was fine. Think they may all be ready for a week off.
I'm glad I'm not the only one struggling with the playground, hate to think what we will talk about when the weather improves! I have a few mums I chat properly to but they are not there all the time. Manage polite conversation but I end up talking rubbish, am convinced they think I'm a bit odd! Am also paranoid now that everyone is looking at me, am now 23 wks pregnant & a year one mum who I only know by sight came up to me in the supermarket yesterday asking me when I was due. Apparently I have been a topic of conversation since Christmas as to whether I'm getting chunky or am pregnant. This feeds my already existing paranoia somewhat! She was very nice & we chatted but I ended up feeling that I've been hiding the news but it's not the sort of thing I mention to virtual strangers for no reason unless relevant to the conversation.
DD had her first proper reading book last week which she was very excited about, she read it straight away as hardly any words in it & the words in it were ones she's been practising in her word tin & been perfect on since Nov. New book yesterday & she was a bit disappointed that yet again she knows the words. Think I may try the library for some more stimulating reading for her.

Moodlum that sounds a very not good morning. You need an extra big sticker with sparkles on it I think.

There appeared to be a new child in DD's class this morning. She was at the front of the line .

The mum of one of DS's friends started talking to/at me after we had dropped off our children. 30 min later I was starting to lose the will to live..... She has the habit of going on just a little...

Oh poor moodlum, what an awful morning. Do you think ds could be about to come down with whatever dd's got? Could explain his clinginess?

roundabout - I know exactly what you mean about not mentioning pregnancy unless it seems relevant. Especially not when it isn't a first pregnancy and one is able to recall that the world does not revolve around one's pregnancy! I probably would have told people first time round... Anyway, at least people know who you are! That has to be good. And you will have a good topic of conversation for when the weather improves!

What a shame your dd felt disappointed by her reading book. I would definitely find some more fun stuff for her to read. At the suggestion of some other MNers, I took dd1 to the library to pick out some books for her to read, and she's been racing through them.

Roundabout - lol at them trying to work out if you were chunking up or pregnant. Thank goodness it was the latter.

JJ - said mum sound mad as a march hare.

Noah - erm was that me you were talking to this morning .

Mood - hope the rest of the day is better.

Aranea - not sure what stage your dd is at but ds likes The Cat in the Hat - we are using this on (the many) days when he wants to read something different but doesn't have a new book. We do a few pages at a time. Also the Book People have got Read at Home ORT sets really cheap at the moment.

lol grammer - dd has just finished reading Cat in the Hat! Hence my trip to the library. If you haven't already read it, I recommend Flap Your Wings. It's very funny, about an alligator egg that ends up being hatched by some birds. Dd1 loved it. I don't think I want her to read any more ORT stuff really - partly because it isn't all that much fun, but mostly because I think it's better to get away from the formula of it, so she doesn't rely on one particular set of 'pointers' and one way of structuring things iyswim.

Grammer if you were talking to a woman who looked like she was about to go for a run (with wild hair) and you talked and talked and talked while she nodded then it could have been you .

She did say maybe we should catch up properly with a coffee some time which does sound better than me backing into the school hedge so we didn't take up too much room on the pavement .

Definitely not me as we don't have a school hedge. Phew! Actually wild hair and about to go for a run sounds like me some mornings too

I now of course sound like a grumpy person who doesn't like talking. But my hands were starting to freeze and I Needed My Run.

Only one more day and one more week until half term!

Will be a bit of a change for the Boy after half term. Reception classroom is being knocked down over the half term as part of building works at the school.

Reception are going to be put in to the nursery classroom to make a combined Early Years class.

Not sure how I feel about this really, a bit like going backwards? Although the nursery-ites are only there for the morning it's going to be a bit of a squash and a squeeze.

I have also warned the teacher about having both my sons in the same room together.....

DD is in a mixed nursery/reception class - it is a large classroom and the reception children do some things separately, some together. It seems to have worked well for DS who had the same system - probably a little early to tell with DD but I am generally happy - the reception children don't seem to be affected negatively at all.

When DS was in reception one of his friends had a sister in nursery and there didn't seem to be any problems, although I am probably quite glad DS and DD weren't in the same class

How many are there in the nursery and reception parts?

I think I have chilblains on my fingers. They are very itchy.

Try some sudocrem on them Noah - I get them a lot!

Not huge numbers, but then it's not a very big classroom! It's more that he left nursery to go to reception but is now back again. Boys will be in combined classes all the way through school - reception used to be in with year 1 until this year.

Boy has very sore hands at the moment - I am suspecting school soap and paper towels as they are not so bad at the weekend. Have told him to try just using water at school, assuming that he's likely to catch any bugs going anyway due to being five.....

my boy has sore hands as well. He said he had to show them to the Headmaster, the Year One teacher and his teacher Do they think I neglect him? I'm a bit naughty and I smear hydrocortisone over them, so maybe that constitutes neglect.

Chilblains - ouch not had them for years thank goodness but they're not nice.
My dd has a huge wart on her toe, it's pretty gross & is freaking her out a bit now. The cream is working but so slowly, think she's a bit worried it's going to be there forever!

I'm on a bit of a downer on school today, dd was saying last night lots of horrible things that had been said to her by other girls in the class. None of it really awful,normal girls stuff really but apparently had all been said that day. She wasn't upset but seemed slightly worried about it all especially that her best friend had said that she wouldn't play with her yesterday but might today if she was lucky. Think combined with the pregnancy hormones it's all getting to me a bit & am worried that she's not really mixing that well although by the sounds of it she does ok when they are in the classroom it seems to be more when she's in the playground.

Oh roundabout, I know just how you feel but try not to let it get to you unless she is upset by it. It's absolutely horrifying what they say to each other, but somehow they do all seem to manage to stay friends mostly. I get very upset when I hear that so-and-so told dd1 that they might play if she is good or whatever. But then I hear dd1 speaking to her friends and I want to curl up and die. I think it all goes both ways mostly, though they probably don't realise that.

'puter still bust! I'll be back.....

I was wondering where you were tree. Hope it is fixed soon.

golgi and moodlum, they are keen on that alcohol evaporating soap in DD's class, especially before fruit time. Just thought I'd mention it, as I think it can be quite severe, especially if you've already got nicks in your skin.
Also, with my DD, I'm not sure how well she rinses her hands after washing them with the normal soap.

Roundabout, your poor DD, I hope that doesn't carry on after the weekend.

Oh I do miss this place. My PC in the junk room is crap, so I can't stop long. I can't read the thread properly as the graphics card is from the 70's or thereabouts. Like me.

Roundabout - maybe have a word with teachers? SO they can keep an eye on the playground?

Can't really see the thread, so I'll be back with news when I can read it!

Paisley - have told the boy not to wash his hands! He isn't very good at washing soap off either.

All on countdown...five days to go until half term - and as someone has already pointed out - halfway through reception!

My chilblains are improving - have been using Sudocrem so many thanks to grammer .

It has been snowing. But not sticking.

Small girl has got her first reading book . She does seem to know lots of letter sounds and has been enjoying the excitement of first Oxford Reading Tree books. I am sure DS had loads of them with no words but DD has one with no words and one with words. I think she is doing mostly sight reading with them and has now learned the book but she is happy. Nearly put the wrong child's book in the wrong book bag this morning though - could have been interesting if either had done any reading .

School I applied to to do invigilating have written back with a date for a training day . And a visitor's car permit. And even better it is from 9am until 11am so will be nicely in time to get DD at 11:30 am

Overuse of smileys there

Three days and then half term

I am cultivating a lovely spot on my chin