Joshua, where has the last four years gone?! You've gone from my 6 pound 3 ounce little boy to a big boy starting reception in September! It can't be a year since I was trying to convince you how you would have so much fun at nursery. It took you a good few weeks to settle in to a nursery routine of monday-friday 9am-1130am, and now I have to ease you in to full time!! Full time, I can't believe it. You're my little baby. How am I going to survive without you stuck to my side all day?
To say you don't feel ready is an understatement. You tell me every day how you're not ready for big school and want to stay in 'little school' for a little while longer. Im not ready for you to start either but the law is the law boy so i'm afraid we will have to deal with it. I do think give it a few weeks and you will love it. I mean what kid doesn't want to play with toys all day and see their friends? You're favourite friend is in your class which you are very happy about. You make me laugh daily 'Mummy it's not time for big school yet is it? I mean I am still really little, shall we wait for me to grow?'
You are very little Josh but I don't think they will take that as a valid reason for you not to start but maybe we could try! I went to the induction and met his new teacher and listened to the head teacher talk us through the process of them starting. It all sounds really good and that they really care about the wellbeing of your children. They stagger them in a few at a time throughout the week. They start the most confident children first so they can focus their attention on the children who need that little extra support later on in the week. Josh starts on the last day which I am glad about as it means I get him to myself that little while longer.
We had a tour of his new class room and it was lovely. A really big area with lots of toys and role play activities. They had a giant pirate ship to play in which looked like a lot of fun. We pick them and drop them off at a different playground to where his nursery was. It is a lot bigger with a slide that all the kids love. The head teacher spoke a lot about their play as you learn scheme which sounded fantastic. They do a lot of their learning through playing and outdoor activities. They have chickens on site that they can visit and look after which I think Josh will love. They also said they like to take them on little trips to the shops or to places in walking distance of the school.
They have already had one induction morning where they visited the class room and met their new teacher. Josh didn't really tell me much about it, he was just excited by the fact he got given a red balloon as he's in the red house to take home. He did tell me they had a massive car garage with lots of cars and he loves cars so thats a bonus. He has another induction today which is after his morning nursery session so he will have his first taste of all day which I am worried about. I know he will get upset which I am not looking forward to but I know he will be better off having another feel to what its going to be like come September.
When they start, we were told they are to line up on the playground by themselves and walk down the stairs into the school one by one. The thought of that makes me so emotional as I know Josh and how he will react. You are meant to go into the nursery block and hang your coat and bag up by yourself, but he gets far too upset if he's asked to do that. I always end up hanging his things up for him, and cuddling him goodbye before he happily walks in. So the thought of him having to walk down those big steps (big in a four year old's eyes) scares me very much.
I do think 'big school' will be amazing for him and he will enjoy it after a while. I'm just dreading the settling in period and how he will react to it. You never know he might surprise me and I really hope he does. He is growing up so fast and he changes every single day and is a complete joy to be around. Please slow down? You will always be my little boy regardless of how big you get.
I feel exactly the same! I think the girls will be ok as they have each other so that's reassuring for them. They start the second day and seem pretty ok with going to big school. R said that she thought big school was great after the first induction, which is fab, but I know come September when the realisation of having to go all day, 5 days a week, will come as a shock, and will be very tiring. It's a big change from just two and a half hours a day x
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