after school garden play
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School days – tennis club and Queen’s birthday

Another week closer to half term and primary school allocation day has passed.  I can’t really believe that was us waiting last year.  But I hope anyone waiting this time got the school choice they wanted.

If your children are starting school this year, check out these posts which may help:

Onto this week’s school days:

Tennis club and more

N’s school have just started an after school tennis club, and N agreed that he wanted to try it.  So he has tennis at school on a Monday afternoon, and then tennis again with a different coach after school as well.  He said he enjoyed the club, but could only remember 1 other person from his class who goes.  It’s a girl he tends to get on well with and she sometimes goes to his normal after school club too, so it’s nice that he’s doing different sports and making better friends with others from his class and not just his best friend.

It’s difficult on logistics, and I have to rely on another parent(s) to drop him off at the nursery for after school club, but it all worked so hopefully it’ll be ok going forward.

Of course, a couple of days later N announced that he wanted to do the same sports club after school as his best friend and cousin which is athletics and multisports.  I had to explain that I’ve now paid for the externally coached tennis so he’ll have to stick with that, but maybe can rethink next year.

The only downside with him playing tennis at school and me not able to pick up, it means I’ve never seen him play and don’t know how he’s getting on.  I might have to do a work from home day one Monday and do the pick up so I can have a nosy.

after school garden play

Forgotten kit

With any change to routine there’s always something that goes wrong, and for us it was forgetting to take his PE kit back into school the next day.  His kit usually stays at school all week, but he’d worn it home on Monday after tennis, and I’d left it in my car when I drove off to work after school drop off on Tuesday. I did have a bit of a panic in case he needed it for dance which they usually do on Tuesdays. So I had a quick phone call check to school but they just remove shoes and socks for that, so I didn’t need to make an emergency drive to school at lunch to drop his kit off.

Phew. So he didn’t have to use lost property and schools now don’t make them exercise in vest and pants like we used to at my first primary school.

Phonics

They’re back into phonics and reading again, and N’s back to where he was before Easter with learning his envelope of words for the year.  28 words down, 20 odd to go.

N’s in a breakaway smaller group for phonics after they split off from working as a full class.  N mentioned that they’re going over the old phonics which he does need to reinforce, while the rest of the class are learning new ones.  I’m not sure how he knows that.  But he’s definitely noticing that his group are doing different work to the others.  Maybe that’s going to encourage him to try harder at his reading because it’s still painful trying to get him to read each evening.

He also asked me ‘how can I move up groups?’.  I thought he was talking swimming, but he was actually asking about moving up phonics group.  I had to explain that I didn’t know how moving around groups worked but that the only way he’d be able to move around to other groups would be by working really hard at learning his phonics, improving his reading and then showing the teacher and TA how he’d improved.  I’m not sure he yearns to move up to be with his friends that much given Sunday’s reading was a real battle…20 minutes of making him sit and not play, eat, or watch tv until he agreed to do it – perfectly well!  Argghhhh. I don’t understand why he wouldn’t just spend 2 minutes reading his book.

Queen’s birthday

This week was the Queen’s 90th birthday so the school did a non-uniform day where the children dressed in red, blue and white. Yay, an easy normal clothes day. We could do all of those colours.

There was also a charity cake sale on the morning at drop off. I was out dancing the night before so had no time to bake and N refused to agree to shop bought cakes.  But he had money to buy a cake for himself the next morning.  He is funny because in shops he’ll happily go and pay for items he wants to buy, but at school at the sale, he wouldn’t go and hand over his money.  It’s like he’s more shy with people he knows than people he doesn’t.

Shorts

While some of the boys have been wearing shorts to school all year round, N only wore his once in September before proclaiming love for school trousers instead. Ok, so the weather’s not the warmest, but there’s definitely been some suitable weather for shorts.  Especially when N comes home just with his t shirt having stripped off his coat and jumper to play outside.

But no, when I’ve put out shorts for him to wear, he’s moaned and dragged trousers out of the wardrobe instead.  Hopefully we’ll see more consistently warm weather and I can get a few more pairs of shorts, and N agreeing to wear them.

School run

The school run’s been interesting.  Although there’s some children walking to school, it’s only a small village so many come from outside and are driven in.  There’s basically a lane up to the school which is a little tight for more than one car, so having electric works up the school lane and at the bottom of the road, it’s made the school run a little time consuming.  Of course, they didn’t start the works until after the Easter holidays, and it’ll be going on into May as well.  So 3 way traffic lights, no space for lorries and tractors to get through the main part of the roadworks.  And I’m glad I’m usually in early to drop off at morning club rather than running the gauntlet along with the rest of the parents.

#Schooldays linky

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14 Comments

  1. It’s been a while seen the last time I visited your blog. I like how you record his activities and it’s good to hear his enjoying Tennis. I love that he is so keen to learn and want to improve in school.

    1. Thanks Ana. Yes I’m pleased the tennis seems to be going well. It’s up and down with his reading, but this week’s definitely seen more interest in it, so I’m hoping it’s starting to click now.

  2. Oh no the school run sounds like a nightmare – we have roadworks everywhere here at the minute and it’s been like it for month – we can’t go anywhere without bumping in to some roadworks. I am glad you didn’t have to go back with the PE kit!

  3. I still don’t understand phonics, we are doing jolly phonics through nursery and it baffles me. Great that he’s enjoying his tennis though – and branching out from his best friend. Hope you get to see him play soon.

  4. Just up to last week, T has been wearing her summer dress to school lately, but insists on still wearing tights. Don’t blame her, in spite the sun, it’s still been a bit cold actually (especially this week). Here’s hoping the temperatures will rise again.

  5. The school run sounds really hectic but it looks like N is enjoying he’s tennis I used to love it when I did as a kid.

  6. It sounds like you are saying all the right things to N about his phonics and reading! Have you seen Mr Thorne Does Phonics on YouTube? I sometimes use his videos in class (I’m a supply teacher) and the children really like them because they are engaging but short. Might be worth asking N’s teacher which sounds he’s focusing on each week and having a little look with him (he might be more amenable to watching a video, too!).

    1. I’ll look out for the videos. He likes YouTube so any video would probably go down well. I’ve got the read write Inc flash cards so can work on the next ones with him. It’s just persuading him to do it.

    1. It’s not the best and dragging on for 8 weeks. The workman were even out this weekend so hopefully they’re trying to get it done quickly. The OH usually goes through with the tractor, but god knows how because I had to go up on the verges to get through today.

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