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.

What is Thinking Day? Aren't they supposed to think every day?

Boy has come home with a flash new "homework diary" - complete with periodic table and everything.

I think they're just going to use it as a reading record for now though, I can't be doing with Homework at this stage.

periodic table????! Really? That's v funny. Perhaps they have grand plans.

Hope all the lo's have settled back into school. Personally I'm thinking roll on easter hols already! DD was a demon yesterday after school after a week of behaving so nicely when not at school. She just goes completely hyper & was so so cheeky last night I was beginning to think the wrong child had come home! My dd went back to school happily yesterday but wet herself, as usual left it til she was desparate & then the teacher didn't see her with her hand up. My fil picked her up yesterday & was very cross with her for having an accident. As a result I was very cross with my fil, wanted to scream at him that she's only 4 so it's hardly the end of the world. After spending last week mixing with dd's non school friends who are all still at preschool I easily get on my soap box about 4 being too young for full time school. DD is end aug birthday & two of her friends have sept bdays, I'm so envious of their mums having one more year of them at preschool before they turn into proper grown up schoolchildren. Anyway starting to rant now so will go

Well here we go again. I want you all to help be banish this question from passing my lips: 'So who did you play with today?'.

It's just asking for trouble. I can't keep up with the endless saga of it all and dd is just as bad as the other girls. Really I have no sympathy for her as she is just as likely to refuse to play with someone for no particular reason.

Sent PE stuff unironed. Oh well - it will only get crumpled.

Dd still has accidents regularly. We didn't really do preschool so that all passed us by - dd was with her CM and did a few weeks of preschool part-time before school.

Hi all.

So tired today I cried . DD1 is off due to the cough - I think we'll be getting a letter soon

Also has done zero reading for 2 whole weeks. Gawd.

Won't speak of work. It'll get easier.

Oh tree it will get better I am sure.

Poor dd1 and her cough as well, this winter seems to be dragging on and on with bugs and snow.

DS is quite subdued at the moment. I think its dawned on him that school is for life not just for Christmas, and he's not too chuffed.

Aci - ask ye not. I have to physically restrain myself, and if I can you can .

Oh Aci - it's so hard though isn't it? would it be acceptable to reword it and attack from a different angle - what did you play....

Might lead to info? It's like being in MI5 finding out the antics of a school girl!

Thanks moodlum. It'll get easier.

DD is currently watching postman pat with a baloon up her top pretending to be pregnant. Since when did postman pat have helicopter????

Moodlum I think you hit on new thread title - schools for life not just for Christmas.

I don't get much information either. And when I do it doesn't make a lot of sense. This is the story they had in Collective Worship today.....

"It was a sad story. There were three frogs and they were swimming and two of them went under the water and died. But the other one kept on swimming until he turned into butter."

???????

Postman Pat has gone way over the top now.

Roundabout - I understand about the August birthday thing - my younger one will be in reception next year at only-just-four - and he'll be way behind where his brother was when he started.

golgi, your story just made me snort my risotto. Fab.

Boringly, dh has just told me that it is a story about them falling into milk. Eventually the one who keeps kicking churns it into butter and so can walk out. But I like your ds' version better myself.

tree, I don't know what to say really but . I don't care if they're mumsnetty or not but if I could see you I would definitely hug you.

Acinonyx, good luck with the not asking. I certainly can't manage it. (baffled by the very idea of ironing PE stuff though)

Ah, it all makes sense now!

Sort of. Why would frogs fall into milk?

Sorry, dh and I are at the outer limits of our collective knowledge now

Frogs making a big appearance on MN tonight.

.com

I missed all the frogs .

DD is happy to be back at school again and I am happy to have children back at school too . DS also appears happy.

Have had my training for being an invigilator. I get to do some real invigilating next Wednesday. And it fits in nicely with DD's picking up time as I finish invigilating at 11:00 and she finishes at 11:30.

Wish me luck girls, I'm having a g&t before going out on the Reception Parents' night out.

DH is coming with me, so not all alone, phew.

BTW in our house g&t stands for gin and tonic in case you thought it might stand for gifted and talented

Hope you are having fun moodlum .

Did assume g&t was gin and tonic

Moodlum - Hope last night went well.

Noah - The invigilating job sounds perfect for you kidwise, hope it goes ok next week.

Tree - Poor you, it's bound to be a shock to the system to begin with. My dd has had lots of odd days off with illness, they always seem to fall on the same days though so think it might look a bit suspicious, they are all genuine though. This winter just keeps dragging on, hopefully soon we'll have some spring sunshine to get rid of all the germs - fat chance probably but I can dream!

Acinonyx - I find it hard not to ask my dd that question every day, the answer rarely reassures me because if she has been playing lots with others she will just go on to tell me all the mean things they have said.

I was talking to a classmates mum yesterday, we vaguely know each other from toddler group before school. A boys mum came up & was asking details about her dd's bday party. My dd hasn't been invited, rationally I'm not bothered as I know my dd & this other girl aren't great friends & tbh the other girl can be quite spiteful & pinches other children. Why then was I secretly a bit gutted that my dd hasn't been invited? I was really annoyed at myself for being bothered especially as it's a swimming party & the thought of being in a swimming cossie in front of some other school mums is a very embarassing thought! I know not all the class has been invited but suppose I'd like my dd to be one of the overly popular ones. Please tell me it's not just me who thinks like this!

roundabout, I know exactly how you feel. It's ridiculous isn't it? I know my dd1 doesn't think this way at all, so why should I? In fact, even more embarrassingly, I think part of it is that I want the other mums to like me. Yuck, isn't that awful? But in my defence, like you I do recognise how absurd I am being and try very hard to give myself a good slap whenever I notice.

What's with all these swimming parties?? Well I happened to see invites going out for a girl dd thinks of as her New Friend. Now rationally, I have no truck with fussing over party invites - it's a nightmare for everyone - but I did find myself turning away rather glumly. Not that dd knows or cares, thankfully.

Tree - hope you settle into a bearable routine soon. I like working part-time - but I wouldn't fancy those long shifts (or any shifts, TBH). I really don't have the stamina at my advanced age...

Was parents evening last night. Teacher did not casually sweep dd's social incompetance aside - she does actually think dd has some issues there and it is something she has to be actively taught. We are not disappointed at all with this report - as when dd was 2-3 I wondered if she might have even more serious issues of this kind and I still think she is a touch closer to the Aspergers end of things than most children. So in fact she is managing much better than expected. Just the geeky child of rather geeky parents...

Sounds as though your dd's teacher is helpful, Acinonyx. Great that she is proposing to actively help. Ours is lovely but sometimes looks a bit rabbit-in-headlamp-ish if I ask about dd1's social interactions. I think the business of observing 30 little people's social lives must be well nigh impossible.

Yes I like her - she's quite young (but then everyone under 40 looks young to me!) but very competent and not at all fuzzy or sheepish. She's been talking to the class (and dd in particular) about how to initiate play and so forth.

In the end though, with 30 kids in the class teachers don't really know your dc like you do.

Now pray for me - I'm off to a softplay

Oh I'm so glad it's not just me feeling that way re party invites - thanks for making me feel normal. I'm sick of parties at the moment so am glad to escape one & think dd wouldn't be that keen on a swimming party not with school friends, she's not very good at new things.

Aranea - I think part of it for me is that I want to be liked too. Sounds so sad when it's said out loud/written down doesn't it!

Acinonyx - Your dd's teacher sounds really good & helpful. Good that she has noticed too. Our teacher doesn't seem to take the social side of things that seriously, makes me wonder whether I am obsessing too much about my pfb!

Swimming party sounds like my worst nightmare.

We have another "target" - count to 20 in 2s, and add number pairs up to five.

Anyone else got that one?

Aci - that's great that the teacher didn't overlook the social side of things. I actually think that matters more to get right in the early years than this whole reading/writing malarky.

So far we don't have the party issue as ds is in a small class so they just default to inviting the whole class. But I've been there with dd and it is niggling thing, especially because its tied in with, as you all say, people liking you as well.

My dear children are quite tricky atm, and I am quite at the end of my tether. ds is deffo 'testing the boundaries' atm, and its exhausting.

I am sick of parties as well, and I felt mean today when another invitation arrived and I almost wanted to not tell ds, or make some excuse up as to why we couldn't go. DH and I had a hilarious conversation the other night about wondering exactly what we did with our weekends pre children - remember that - lie ins, lunches, cinema, papers. Now its all soft play, party, swimming, uniform, blah blah blah.

Oh, yes - weekends used to be - not get up until lunchtime, nice pub lunch, reading the paper, watching a film in the afternoon, going for a long walk......

Although they always did get ruined by the Sunday afternoon marking pile.