Ding Dong Merrily On High..it's December in the pushchair shed!

[maxybrown]

24 DAYS TO GO YIPPEE YIPPEE YIPPEE!!! [GRIN][GRIN][GRIN]

Happy December everyone!

maxy, lets meet after xmas
i never done photobook, my friend done her holiday pics,a nd it was soooo lovely. i missed the offer, but i already uploaded my pictures, waiting for the next good offer.

nicola How come you didn't like it?

5in Have you got a major too? I am getting this lady on ebay to make me a cow print cover and blanket for it!! Yay don't have to give up my buggy obsession just yet - will just have to make do with accessories Snunkie are going to start doing stuff for them too soon. (BTW did you buy the canopy, raincover and shopping basket for it?)

I forgot to ask 5in Is your DS at nursery yet and if so does he have a 1:1 there?

Getting Christmas tree tonight now! Very excted I just hope my JL decorations get here soon... blooming Home Delivery Netwrok are seriously crap.

Ordered the last couple of bits for DH's stocking. I'm now so poor it's actually feeling a bit stressful. I need to still get part of the present for DS's little friend who bought him the Thomas Dinosaur wooden trainset

Can't believe Dis has had 120 buggies! That had me laughing for a while...

Hi all.
Lovely morning seeing both younger DD's christmas shows. Could hardly see DD2 when she was on stage and when she was off she was at the furthest corner from me but it was still very sweet. DD3's show was fabulous and she was right at the front the whole time. Funny loud singers and children shouting 'mummy look, MUMMY!'
Am very tired now and need to go to sainsbury's

i just didn't get the 'feeling' iykwim?

also the year groups are combined, im not keen on that and they re-shuffle classes every year. don't like that either. it is an excellent school with a v.good reputation and results but not sure if its right one for my boys. Was pleased they do staggered intake tho. As luka will be due to start Sept 2012 when he is only 4yr 2m.

Nicola go with the feeling!
Haven't managed to drag myself to sainsburys yet obviously.

Afternoon - hope you are all well. I am sat at home nursing a lemsip - feeling pretty rubbish. The last couple of days have not been great. Luka's birthday did not go quite to plan - Rob (dp) was so ill he literally couldn't get out of bed - so we had to cancel my family coming over. It was raining a bit - but by 10am I had to get some fresh air - so dressed them up and went out to jump in puddles and then went to a cafe for brunch, where Luka had the mother of all tantrums and this snotty couple kept looking at me as I was forcing my boy into a buggy. In the afternoon I mananged to take Frida to the winter fayre - leaving the boys at home asleep. We managed to have a little tea party - just us and Luka's face when we turned off the lights and lit the candle was a picture.
Monday I get to work after a huge row the dp (not like us) and I just burst into tears in the office - just exhausted after a week of ill children and ill partner and lack of sleep. Anyway people shuffled around me looking dead embarrased and I went home and here I am - bunged up with cold. The kids are back in sch and nursery and dp and me have some talking to do as I don't think he is telling me stuff about work and worries he has about his job

oh hunnie, crap w/end eh? i've been there myself several times, its always seems to happen around a special occasion doesn't it. This time of year is always crap for us. everyone so busy terry always manic at work with it being xmas. he's a grumpy sod and i get left to sort xmas and kids by myself. same old! anyways im used to it and quite happy atm!!!!

Janx your luka sounds so like mine. He went mental at nursery this morning getting into buggy but i insists he goes as we have to cross busy main road and he just won't hold hands. He then proceeded to have huge tantrum at home as wanted picnic eggs for lunch and thought i hadn't put any on his plat he's nuts that boy!!!!

nicola you can defer your reception place without reapplying as long as they start by the summer term.

if you defer they have to go straight into yr.1 though and i don't want to do that. i wouldn't want him to go once he is five but 4yr 2m does seem young to me. Tate will be starting at 4yr 8m which seems better, they used to do staggered intake so those with summer bdays would start in the January but they don't do this now. I know its a long way off anyway!!

No if you defer until they go into year 1 they don't hold the place they have offered you open. You have to reapply so would only get a place at schools that aren't full already. If you just defer until the summer term (or earlier if you want) they have to hold the place they have offered you open until then and they just start reception in the same academic year but later on.

really? i will ask about that then? they seemed adamant only one intake when i asked. but i will check again thanks.

Nicola, not sure where you fall under - but as far as I am aware it is the same nationally. This is from Medway council pages - obviously year dates will be diff for you!!

If you are offered a place for your child to start at any school in September 2009, you may defer that place until the start of the third term in January 2010 and your place will be held for you. If your child has a birthday that falls between 1 April and 31 August, you can opt to miss the reception year entirely and ask for a place in Year 1 at the start of September 2010. A place cannot be guaranteed for your child, however. Please speak to the Admissions Team to find out more about this option.

Oh Jan hope you are ok. never rains but it pours eh? Sending you a hug x

Hello.
to janx.
What is it with men and the pent up work worries eh.
When I was working I never pent up my feelings about work. Oh no out they all came.
But seriously hope it all improves for you honey.

nicola Although a school may officially only have 1 intake in September they can't actually stop any reception child from starting later than this. Even the oldest child in the year group wouldn't legally have to start until the spring term.

If they have a birthday between 1st September and 31st December they can start in the spring term, if their birthday is between 1st Janaury and 30th April they can start in the summer term. With both of these options you would not have to reapply for their place, they would just take up the reception place that was offered for September.

If they have a birthday 1st May to 31st August then legally they don't have to start until the following autumn term. However as you know this means leaping straight into year 1 and also reapplying for a school place. If you want them to use the place you were offered the previous September for reception then they must start by the beginning of the summer term.

Hope I haven't confused you too much!!

Ah apparently some LAs will only reserve a place until the start of the spring term. Ours is summer but yours may not be so you'd need to check with your LA.

i'd be quite happy him starting in spring term ie January i wouldn't want him to miss too much tho, i'd be concerned that he wasn't learning with his peers thats the only thing? it would be interesting to find out if any others would be starting later. Something i will have to look into later i expect. Once Tate is settled in then we can start on luka, i can't believe theres only going to be one school year between them. I can't believe im preparing both my babies for school already

I think that is the thing Nicola, most people worry about them missing out with their peers and so start in the September anyway. James will be one of the oldest, but has the advantage of starting at the school nursery when he is 3 so will already be in the same place so he will have 2 years in nursery!

IME sometimes children seem so very young to be starting when they have just turned 4, others of same age are more than ready for it. Generally schools make allowances for this. I can't believe that 1 year from now I will be putting a little uniform on James

In all fairness from what I can see (DS is in mixed nursery and reception) they don't really do much anyway in the first term apart from learn some of the letters and their sounds.

It just depends on the school generally, at my last school the nursery was fantastic and they did loads - it was a full time nursery. By time they got to reception they were fab! However, the reception teacher was terrible and they all well...went dowhill. My school in Devon has no nursery attached so are teaching them mostly what they learn in the nursery at the one up here. But one in Devon is a fab school! if that makes any sense??

we don't have any nurseries around here attached to schools as far as i know.

oh bless James, he has to wear a uniform to Nursery? he will look gorgeous!!

They do alot in prep for school at Tates nursery thats why they split them up and do afternoon sessions from 3yr/3.5yr.

Well they encourage it anyway plus it'll save his clothes won't it? Some cheapy asda/tesco specials and voila!

Yes, I bet he will be ready in terms of what he's done - only you can be the judge of when he's ready emotionally etc. It's such a big change isn't it? All day in school.

the boys nursery have sweatshirts you can buy but tbh they haven't trashed anything yet, they have too many nice things to wear and too many years in uniform so i don't bother