feeding the sheep and cows

School days – school shorts and assembly

Thanks to the SATs parents and kids protest last week, lots of you wrote posts so we had quite a few linking up to the #schooldays linky.  Otherwise, this week has been quiet on the school front.

New friends

I’ve mentioned a lot about my concern that N only seems to play with one person at school and how he shows disinterest in making friends with the other children.  At after school club he’ll play with them all (from his year and older classes), but in school he’s oblivious and not fussed about having friends.

But this week he actually came home from school saying he’d played with another boy C.  I’m not sure what they got up to, but they were doing ‘busy learning’ inside and out together, and N told me

‘he might be my friend.  C’s a nice boy’.

Hopefully he’ll continue to make friends and be a bit more sociable.

School shorts

This week we’ve had gorgeous weather which meant a discussion about wearing shorts to school.  It’s always a battle with N because he never wants to make the transition (either direction), but once he does all’s fine for the season.

We’d agreed on the bank holiday that he would wear trousers the first day back, then when the weather got warmer he’d wear shorts for the rest of the week.  But Wednesday came and so the moans arrived.

It was too cold, in the kitchen, outside, in the living room, eating breakfast.  I told him that all of his trousers were in the wash, but that still didn’t go down well.  I eventually got him into the car, where he moaned for the 5 minute journey.  When we arrived for morning club, I tried to get him out for 15 minutes.  It wasn’t even cold, just a bit cooler before the sun burnt through the clouds and warmed up everywhere.  I ended up vritually dragging him out in the end, which meant tears.  Although he only really moved once I reminded him that the Class 3 teacher would be arriving at any moment, would probably park next to us and wonder why he was crying.  He shifted.

But there were then more tears because he wanted a tissue which I didn’t have, so I had to ask for one from the TA who runs morning club.  She was amazed that N came in having been crying because it’s highly unusual for him.  A bit of clinginess, and then I was able to make my escape to work, only 20 minutes later than I should have been on my way.

Of course, by the end of the day he was happy in his shorts and has been wearing them for the rest of the week with no problems.

feeding the sheep and cows

Reading Record notes

I have no idea about technical terminology in grammar.  I might have As in english GCSE and A Level and have studied english for a year at uni, but not once have I been taught sentence construction or any other grammar. Spelling yes, grammar no.  Everything I know I’ve learnt from either my mum being a stickler, or from reading a lot.  I also never learnt phonics in the way they do now.  I don’t recall how we learnt to read, but I just picked it up quickly and didn’t seem to struggle.

So when N came home this week announcing that they’d been learning digraphs I had no idea.  Cue a note in N’s reading record – we have to write in how the kids are getting on with reading at home, but I mentioned the conversation about digraphs and how I’d have to look them up.  I then had a note back from either the teacher or TA explaining what digraphs and trigraphs are.  Of course it all makes sense now, but I don’t understand why they need a name.  It’s just 2 or 3 letters that make a sound.  I think this is one of the silly things with grammar and phonics. That when we were children we just learnt them, but nowadays everything has to have a name.

I wonder if other parents converse through the reading record as well?  And whether the teachers have to answer lots of questions twice a week.

Class assembly

This week was N’s class assembly. They’ve been practising for a couple of weeks, with each of them learning 2 lines to say.  N knew his and was even telling me off for getting the lines wrong.

I went to watch.  It was lovely to see the characters coming out.  N’s the last in the line which is sad because it means he’s only got the chance to really know one person who’s next to him instead of one either side.  It also meant I waited a while for his turn to speak.

The whole class did really well, everyone said their lines, some confidently, some quietly.  Some needed prompting, including N on his second line.  It was a really anxious feeling, hoping and praying they’d not only get their lines right but also be heard.  There were some classic young children’s performance comedy moments, but it was sweet the response from the older children in the school.

They acted out the telling of 3 Little Pigs, showed off their building pictures, and sung the ‘rock song’.  It was all very entertaining, and being a small village school it means you know who all the children are and feel much more interested in the whole performance instead of just your own child.

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23 Comments

  1. I get to know those little blue plastic seats well for our schools’ assemblies for the parents to come. We have one once a month. The kids always look up so proud when they see us sitting their watching them. Assembly sounds amazing for you. Love school uniforms not having to fuss about what to put on them every single morning makes for a simple morning routine. B lives in his uniform shorts even in winter it’s hilarious it was a pain trying to get him to wear pants. Usually its the other way around. Soon it will be MM’s turn and tights! lol 🙂 Thanks for linking up to Share WIth Me. I hope you will continue to link up when Mummy Fever takes over SWM on June1st. She is an amazing blogger and great blog supporter too. #sharewithme

    1. Monthly would be hardcore. I don’t think many parents would go to that here. But then they have to do it by class because it’s only a small hall and school so no room for the whole school. Agree on uniform, so much easier. When I was at primary school, uniform was optional but I still chose to wear it. What a swot!

  2. I studied German for a few years and dear god you learn the importance of grammar and sentence construction with that language. I was learning a new language and a new discpline at the same time! I wish I knew now half of what I did then. Last time I went to an assembly we had to sit on really small plastic blue seats. It was hilarious watching the parents being in discomfort whilst still trying to smile re-assuringly at their child. Hope that wasn’t you this week 🙂 #sharewithme

  3. We almost made it into school shorts but not quite. My daughter (9) refuses to wear the school summer dresses – they haven’t been cool for at least 3 years! Thanks for linking to #sharewithme

    1. Ah the school dresses are gorgeous, but not when they get to that age. A colleague tells me that at her daughter’s school, her 9yo and her friends will only wear the dresses from one shop because of the non-frilly, non-puffy cap sleeves, no belt and button style! Boys are so much easier!

  4. Sounds like a busy week! I secretly wish our kids got to wear school uniforms, but they don’t – which means constant fussing about what they are going to wear.

    1. Yes uniforms are so much easier, plus it keeps their clothes nicer. Although you do need a lot of uniform if you’ve got a scruffy child. It’s rare we get 2 days of wear out of a t shirt, jumper or shorts!

  5. At least N wore his shorts in the end and did very well to wait all that time in assembly. Glad that the Three Little Pigs went well, well done N!

  6. Amused about the shorts as currently having a battle with my 3 year old about tights – she won’t accept that wearing tights is for cold weather and not a vital element of all outfits at all times! Yes, funny about the grammar, isn’t it? We weren’t taught it with terminology. I know the rules, but not the names for them. I went to school in the US for a year, & they used all the terms. I was really panicked to start with, as I thought I didn’t know any of it. I soon realised I did know it. Like clauses: I knew where the clauses were, I structured them correctly automatically, but I didn’t know what they were called. I’m not convinced that so much work needs to be put into learning complex names. It is not what makes good readers or writers. Good readers and writers are the ones who read a lot and therefore pick it up instinctively, whether they know what all these things are called is irrelevant if they are using them correctly. & knowing what they are called, but still being incapable of correctly applying that to your own writing, is pretty pointless.

    1. I so agree about the reading. I have to admit I don’t even know what a clause is. We were just never taught any terminology or sentence construction. I wasn’t even taught verbs or anything like that at school, primary or secondary despite me being top set. The only grammar in terms of tenses etc I know, is down to either reading tonnes as a child, or learning french!

  7. Aw bless him getting upset about wearing the shorts, I remember when my daughter was able to wear her summer dresses in the summer and she loved them. I have no idea about phonics or the way they teach children now either as so much has changed since my eldest was in primary school xx

    1. It seems to change every year. No wonder teachers are leaving and not happy, and kids/parents are concerned. My mum would have said that they should never have changed to GCSEs and stuck with the old system which worked, but just brought it a bit up to date and even though I was a GCSE person, I agree. Ever since they changed it things have gone downhill and got more confusing and now they’re going ridiculously to the other extreme.

  8. Ahhh it is lovely that you got to go and watch! Plus making new friends is always such a bonus at school. My little one is very singular in his friendships too – it comes 🙂

    1. That’s what I’m hoping. Although it’s so strange because outside of school he’ll quite happily play with others, he just doesn’t tend to instigate them. At after school club he’s really friendly with a couple of the children, even though one of them is no longer at the same school and both are older than him.

  9. I’m not sure if I’ve ever linked up to your linky before but OMG! It fits perfectly with my blog.
    My eldest was EXACTLY the same and now he’s a very social kid, he has lots of friends since he’s started high school (I know it seems so far away but trust me, it goes so fast). Bless him making a new friend. Aww the assembly sounds so cute. xx

    1. I sure it does go quickly. It certainly has done for this year. Nice to know the social thing improves. Feel free to come and link up any time – it goes live on Sundays (random times, but usually around late afternoon).

  10. oh the assembly sounds great. I love watching my daughters ones when i can go and yes they always have classic funny moments too! Angela from Daysinbed x

  11. Glad he was persuaded to wear his shorts in the end! It was always a bit stressful making my younger son make the switch too. The assembly sounds lovely.
    Everything in grammar has a name these days! I think part of the reason adults can’t pass the Y6 SATs is simply because they don’t know the terminology. I’m not going to argue the rights and wrongs of it, but kids learn it and they understand it, so we just have to keep up with them so we can help when they need us to.

    1. You’re probably right – let’s hope so. All seems like overkill rather than them just learning it in a much more natural manner. I’m hoping N will just enjoy reading books a lot and will learn a lot from that…I do remember nephew number 3 being sent over to me with homework on similes because his mum wasn’t sure, and even I had to double check I knew what I was telling him! It’s so long since I was in education…even though I spend all my time writing in and out of work.

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