Thread for summer term Receptionists - nearly done now!

[mitochondria]

The last thread seems to have disappeared so I thought I'd start a new one and see if anyone is still about!

Boy went back to school today, seemed to enjoy himself. Only one teacher missing due to the volcanic ash!

Aranea - LOL!!!! That really is sooo funny!!! What di dyou do in the end?

di d did - ooops

Oh Lord tea that is a toughie!

Are there really all these undercurrents? Is it a small school, cos in our class of 30 I don't know if anyone would notice!

I suggest doing what you like , and maybe have dd bring in lovely extra special buns to share with the class on her birthday. Ours are let hand out sweets etc at the end of class, and once one child brought cake which everyone had at snack time. WOuld that appease these mummies?

On the subject of dd being sidelined, I think our kids will be friends with however plays a good game of and their mummies can do bugger all about it! But that may be different in a very small or tight knit community so I dunno really.

Fwiw, dd only invited 12 to her party [it was the first in the year] and since then nearly all the parties have been full class parties and she has been invited - so maybe the politics won't be as bad as you think?

God, it's ridiculous isn't it?? I think if I were you I would just invite the 3 friends and their parents, and I wouldn't call it a 'party'. I'd be telling all the other mums that I was sooo relieved that I'd managed to get dd to agree to not having a party this year, and that we were just having an outing with a couple of friends instead. I can't see how anyone could object to that.

For my dd's birthday, we went to the theatre and then had family round for tea. It was a lovely day actually, and I think all of us had a much better time than we would have done if we'd hosted a proper kids' party. Dd1 was very happy with it, as she had planned the whole thing.

Yes. I agree. Call it a trip to the park. Then say you are 'sure it will pour and you'll wish you had a magician in a church hall but hey ho'.

I, on the other hand, am sure the sun will shine and there will be no wind to blow the picninc rug and it will look like this

OOOOOOOOOoooooooh

WOW WOW WOW

Aranea - I REALLY love your theatre idea .

Well... I thought I would go ahead with plan A and hope all I get is whispers of "the English woman" tut tut tut! As according to the two eeerrrrmmm 'different thinking Mums' most of the bits of who I am and what I do with my life that they so violently dislike are completely on account of my poor English upbringing and tbh I really can't imagine anyone-else being that bothered by it.

Actually the cake idea is nice and very much the done thing at dd's school. You've convinced me - I will do it!

It is soooo good to get a second opinion!!!

I will also change the little invites I have made to say "birthday treat" - great idea there too!

Thanks x

Hooray, I'm glad you're not going to be pressurised into doing something you don't want to.

I hope you all have a lovely day and that the horrible other mums are so outraged that they are rendered speechless for the rest of the school year.

Thanks...

Tea - I'm not doing parties at all. Boys still get invites.

I might be brave enough to do something when he's 6, I think as they get older the "whole class party" is less expected.

Boy got an invite from one of the girls in his class - he handed it to me gingerly by one corner with the words "You'd better open this, mummy, it's rather pink!"

He lost his first baby tooth today......

Noah - I marked my place on next year's thread too. Son 2 will be the youngest in his year - he's 28th August.

Hi Mito - thanks! I finished the invites last night and am going to GO FOR IT!!!

Hi everyone, had weeks of no internet connection so late finding this thread.

Noah - Sounds like things are moving quickly with the move - good luck there must be so much to sort out.

My dd was quite happy to go back to school after easter although if anyone asked her if she was looking forward to it she said no because school was boring & gross! After first day back though she was full of it saying she'd had the best day ever. I too love the gingham dresses, so cute, they are optional uniform at our school but have bought some as I love them. To be honest dd has only worn one as it has been so cold & windy I'd think she'd have been frozen in them.

Tea - the birthday party decision sounds a tough one, birthday treat instead of a party sounds agood way to get round the problem. Luckily dd's bday is in aug so think will avoid the whole classmates problem. Think we are just going to have a very small party with friends & their kids & no one from school invited. At least that way no one gets offended & I know all the mums will get on. Hopefully all the children from school that dd has been inviting to her party since sept will have forgotten! I know dd would hate a big party with lots of kids anyway, at least in her own group of proper friends I know she will have fun.

Am off to have lunch at school with dd today at a special parents lunchtime. Will finally be able to judge the school meals, as dd hasn't been very complimentary of them of late, mind you she's not over my cooking either!

Hello people.

Summer dress weather here agan today, fantastic. With a pair of tights to protect my pfb from chills

Mum has made dd a cute gingham bag to hand on her peg for her emergency uniform, in case of soiling. It has her name sewn on and everything, very retro.

Our teacher is back form her extended holiday due to volcano. Yay!

And apparently someone with 2 siblings at school didn't get in to Septembers intake! Imagine Gives me wibblies for dd2, but as there are 3 years to go I won't start a thread yet

Tree - not sure how siblings in different schools is logistically possible!

I found out the other day that our smaller sibling has got in.

Parties, which have been in a bit of a lull here recently, are now starting up again with a vengeance. We have one for the next four weekends for one boy or another.

Any suggestions for suitable gifts for five year old girls? The boys, I can do. But have little experience of "pink". Got some Aqua Beads for the next one - will her mum be cursing me?

Are aqua beads like bindeez? (you have to put tiny beads into a grid to make shapes and then spray with water to make them stick together) If so I'm afraid you're in for some juicy curses... I have hidden our bindeez.

I recommend those kits where you decorate things like musical boxes or fairy wands. Or craft/collage kits or stationery sets.

I'm resorting to waterstones vouchers and a bag of sweeties from now on!

Aranea - yes. I thought they looked a bit annoying - like the girl equivalent of picking up millions of bits of Lego.

Craft kits a good idea.

Hello

Did my brief but intensive trip to York and the enivrons on Monday and Tuesday. Spent quite a bit of it going round the ring road in one direction or another .

But appear to have found a combination of school and house in the same village and with spaces for both children. Won't quite believe it until it is all properly sorted.

Have remembered that school places here get allocated tomorrow I think. Although doesn't really matter too much now, although I know there is a girl in DD's current nursery class who is out of catchment and so our not going may help her to get in. But won't actually decline the place here until everything is sorted.

At the moment here there is no sibling rule - they are considering a siblings within catchment having higher priority than ordinary catchment but if you got in out of catchment another year your sibling is at no advantage. One child in DS's class has a sibling in reception who didn't initially get in but then did.

mitochondria is it you in the York sort of area? I was looking at schools in City of York, East Yorkshire and North Yorkshire which were all nearish, but with completely different allocation dates. Meant some schools knew whether they had places whereas the North Yorkshire didn't, although they will now I think.

DD still v happy at school . Is going to be odd for her to be at pre-school again depending on whether move does happen between now and July, but the school I am hoping for has a pre-school on the same site so that will help a little bit.

DD got two spoon fairy kits for her birthday. They came from ELC and drove me mad lol .

I quite like hama beads - you iron them once the picture is made.

Hi all.

I'm North Yorks and the school placements came out on Friday so they will know now

Had an awful school run. Dd1 has refused to settle and sleep at sensible hours since last Frday and is now on her knees with tiredness. Couple that with a nasty bout of constipation and the result today was screaming fits and being carried in to school under a teachers arm This is the child who never had a tantrum as a toddler!

I've just been very grumpy with her as she was out of bed again and told her I felt sad and worried about her all day, and the tears were because of her not sleeping and being tired, and that it isn't fair. So now she's got a face and is lying staring at the wall.

Oh tree, how horrible. Have you tried story CDs or music at bedtime? It helped when dd1 was going through a patch of not settling recently.

Congratulations on finding house/school, Noah!

Noah - I'm in North Yorkshire and we got our letter for smaller boy this week (he has got in, which is unsurprising as small village school and not oversubscribed - but also a relief!)

Hope you find a nice one with some space.

Tree - sorry to hear DD is struggling.

This is Not Your Fault, no need to eat worms. It'll be the poo.

More party invitations keep arriving. We have one this weekend, two next weekend, one the weekend after....not quite sure that I'll be able to deliver the correct child to the right place with the right present!

Also not quite sure about the one that is 4.30-6.30 after school on Friday. Think that might be asking for meltdowns.

Yes congratulations Noah. It's a really lovely bit of the world. The North Yorks railway at Pckering, Flamingo Park and Lightwater Vally, Dalby Forest, Pickering and Malton, a kck ass farmers market, lovely farm shops, Betty's tea rooms, railway museum...loads of good family friendly stuff on. Also Jolly Days camp site....I#ll shut up now

I wonder if music would help. Mght try that! I think she'd stay up lstening to a story, but music may help.

Ooooh it's nce to be back in the thread

Apologies for broken keyboard!

Hello .

Have found house and school near to York. This is good . DH has started his job and at the moment is in university bed and breakfast but as they are paying him to be up there for a while is going to start living in the house we are going to be renting. It is only a few miles away which will be lovely as we have got used to him working about 45 miles away.

School places have come out here and there are some very not happy people . Seems that even people living in the village haven't got in which hasn't happened before. I am in the position of knowing we will be leaving and so releasing a space but until everything has gone through won't be officially leaving IYSWIM. Am keeping away from discussions about places at the moment .

Lots of us in North Yorkshire then

Glad you are all sorted Noah.