School days round up for November
This year I’ve decided not to write about school days every week because, let’s face it, not that much happens or not much changes from week to week. So I thought I’d pop in from time to time to share how things are going in Key Stage 2. Hopefully it’ll others an insight into the types of things they do once they move into juniors.
This term there’s been a lot of things going on extracurricular wise.
Extra curricular activities
N has been really enthusiastic about taking part in different clubs and activities this year. The first being the choir which is really enjoyed ever since he joined last year. What he also likes is that the children who join have to be committed. If they miss three weeks then they’re out of the thoir until the next term. He’s determined that he’s not going to get any missed weeks. He has lots of moans and groans about people missing tennis and swimming, those who aren’t focused enough and don’t want to learn. I think he likes it that choir has been strict about this. I think it’s a great way to make sure children realise that joining a group or a team means that there has to be a commitment from everyone otherwise the choir just isn’t going to work as well.
Needless to say he has broken his precious choir badge, so he needs to pay some money to get a new one. When he remembers to ask the choir mistress for a replacement.
The choir had a big performance in the main church in town. Something that N really enjoyed experiencing for the first time. He’s still talking about the different schools when he hears their songs on the radio.
The choir also have several events to sing at over the next month for Christmas, but as there out of school N can only make one of them. We’ll see what he thinks of singing to the old people in the village. It takes me back to the days when my dance school would get weird out at Christmas time to perform for the old people in that town as well.
N has also been enjoying multi sports club after school. I think it’s been really good for him to learn different sports including some really random ones that I’m sure they’ve just made up. He’s certainly looking lighter on his feet at tennis and I think the different movements and ball skills that he’s learning as part of multi sports is really helping.
He did do a few weeks of Cross Country Club but his eagerness seems to have stopped at the moment.
I was amazed when he came home from school one day saying that had been to book club which meant he could choose a book out of library to bring home. He came home with a huge Tom Gates book which needless to say hasn’t been touched since he brought it home. It will be interesting to see whether he continues going to book club every week or whether it’s just when it’s raining and he doesn’t fancy going outside to play at lunch times.
School work
Things seem to be going ok with his school work. N’s writing has really improved and it’s noticeable how much more he’s thinking about his spelling as he writes. There’s still a lot that really shouldn’t be wrong and is, but he’s getting a lot more right for words that I didn’t know he knew how to spell.
N has finally started reading the occasional book at home out of choice. I still struggle to get him read his school books, mainly because he seems to think that by reading quite a bit at school in the daytime means he doesn’t need to read in the evenings. The TA had a word with him about this, although he denies all knowledge of that. Handy things reading diaries, that you can read each other’s notes back and forth.
Luckily N is still quite dedicated when he does the rest of his homework and he’ll be focused when he needs to be. He’s still pretty lazy though and tries to get me to tell him the answers, which is cheeky given it’s his homework and not mine.
It’s a relief to see him still enjoying school, he likes the teacher, the TA and the trainee teachers they’ve had in the class. For someone who’s not really academic, that’s the most important thing for me. That he is dedicated enough to working hard and doing as well as he can.
School trips
They’ve had a couple of school trips this month or so. There’s been a trip to Oxford to the Natural History Museum where he enjoyed seeing the dinosaurs and remembered visiting there a few years ago.
Then as part of a lottery funded schools educational session, his school also went to visit trenches to find out what it was like being a soldier. Over the last 6 months or so N has said that he’s been quite scared and has had nightmares about world wars and soldiers so I was a bit worried how he’d go with that trip. Luckily as Remembrance Day approached he didn’t mention them again and certainly hasn’t been worried before or after the visit to the trenches.
It amazes me how many facts he remembers about things they’re taught, but also what he’s learnt from Horrible Histories and he’s always spouting facts that I have no idea about. Now he just needs to remember that Horrible Histories isn’t the be all and end all, and other people can tell him correct facts too.
So overall, it’s been a good November for his school days. and December involves a lot of Christmas!
How have your children been getting on at school?