Amazing! The new magazine for 7+ readers that teaches the curriculum in a Horrible Histories style! Plus Give-away!

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 Kids love disgusting! 

"Uuuurrrrrrggghhhhh!!! That's DISGUSTING!" were the first words from Princess Peppa, my 9 year old. (I may need to rethink her blog pseudonym now she's waaay past loving Peppa Pig). "That's COOL!" was the response from Little Miss George, the 7 year old. 

They couldn't be more different, but they both laughed, giggled, and uurrrggghhhed their way through our sample copies of Amazing! Magazine. From how to make your own edible bogie's; Yes; Really. To a guide to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar; (it's not limiting itself this one); the magazine takes a fresh look at information we want our children to learn and presents it in a fun, clever, humorous and yes, quite frankly often disgusting, way. 

It's designed to link to the primary curriculum. Want to know if you'd survive as a Roman gladiator? Find out in the Ancient Romans edition. Want to learn where and when the first false teeth are made? Check out the Human Body edition.

Is spelling a lost art?

Is spelling a lost art?

Why can't she spell?

Have you ever been shocked by a friend or colleague that you discovered couldn't spell basic English words?  I've been completely shocked by friends and colleagues who can't spell. They are intelligent, capable adults, but when they need to write things down on paper it becomes clear they can't spell words that my 9 year old has already learnt in Year 5.

The words I've seen adults ask for help with include; 'communicate', 'relationship', and 'development'.

I must admit to being shocked. I have always assumed, possibly naively, that everyone that's gone through the school system and is working in a pretty good job can read and write, and when I say write, I also mean spell.

Remember in school when there was a weekly spelling test alongside the weekly times-table test? My daughters now come home with pretty much the same homework as I did 35 years ago... Spellings and Tables.

The theory is presumably that if you know your tables off by heart, other mental arithmetic is invariably easier and you'll find passing tests, counting change (when using cash on those rare occasions these days) and working out how much you'll pay back in interest if you borrow money for a car, an awful lot more manageable. And let's be honest; when someone calculates something in their heads quickly we are all impressed.

They are that little bit sexier as a result. Or is that just me?

Personalised picture books for Christmas

Desperately searching for a different Christmas present for your children, family or friends?

Don't want to bend to peer pressure and just purchase the most popular toy of the year?

Or maybe just fancy something that little more long-lasting than plastic toys or clothes they will grow out of?

Why not try something a bit different and choose a personalised book for your little one?

Over at Egmont your child can be the star of the story with their very own personalised book.

Choose from Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, Mr. Men or Fireman Sam.

Not only have I got a great voucher code for you; you can also win these great books here this week!

10 reassuring and helpful tips for getting organised: for mums whose children are starting school

Little Miss George started in Reception just over a week ago. Already she has brought home two reading books without any words in them; a sponsor form to raise money for the school; 3 separate newsletters with dates for parent evenings, school photo sessions, coffee mornings and encouraging suggestions that I attend the annual general meeting of the "mums and dads" committee; and lots of tales of playing with lots of Lego. If she was my elder daughter I would be wondering what on earth the school was playing at and would be feeling completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information.

If she was our first, I would have diligently attending the welcome meeting for new parents last week in order to be told exactly how important it was to read the reading books "the same night" and return the next day to ensure that the book was available for the next child.

I would be feeling under pressure to attend every meeting, and already panicking about the potential risk of forgetting to dress my daughter in appropriate "dress-up" gear on various fancy dress days to come.

I would be scanning every letter and marking in my diary every single event, without having a clue which pieces of information were more important than others.

As it is, I know better.

This year I am much more relaxed. Here's my list of top tips that will help you work out what information is important, what to prioritise and what to just ignore. I hope it helps.

The post-TV grump

Every time we turn off the TV my daughter, Princess Peppa, will, within one hour, have a major strop, be at best really grumpy and snappy with the family, at worst be an absolute devil-child.

I have noticed this phenomenon develop in her over the last couple of years and get swiftly worse in the last few months as the type of TV she watches has evolved. She is now 7 years old and has recently graduated from CBeebies to CBBC.

At the same time we have started watching more action cartoons in preference to the former Peppa Pig, Dora the Explorer, Disney Princess films or Barbie.

Since Little Miss George is such a Tomboy in her attempt to be individual from her girlie big sister, we now watch Ben10, Scooby Doo, Spider-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Marvel Avengers. I must admit to being proud they are breaking away from the stereotypical 'girl' TV, however it's not without its disadvantages.

Apparently, when a child gets to an age where their concentration span is strong enough to really focus on a half-hour programme and really get into it, they find it difficult, after the programme, to go back to normal social niceties. Jo Frost, in her original book Supernanny, says of television; "what they are getting is mindless stimulation that will wind them up and shorten their attention spans."

Teaching children the value of money

Our children are spoilt. There is no getting away from it. It doesn't matter how many times we try and remind them how lucky they are, they are still spoilt.

I worry about the value, or lack of value, they place on things.

I also worry about how it's possible to teach them the value of money and the relative size of different numbers, when actual physical real money hardly exists any more.

Virtual money vs actual money

My daughters have a shop set up in the playroom. (It's huge, and I blame my mother.) They also have a till. On numerous occasions we have started playing shops only to get to the payment point when, after happily asking me to enter my plastic play credit card into the machine, and happily asking me to put my code in, they confusingly try and give me, the customer, some cash. I think they get confused having witnessed the phenomena that is "cash back".

So how do you explain that usually it's up to the customer to pay the shop? And even more confusingly, how do you explain that the card machine actually mysteriously transfers mummy's money to the shop?

I'm sorry kids, but no; I don't want to play

Yes, that's me.... playing on the beach

Mummy; will you come and play?

I really really hope it isn't just me that gets a little tired of the mantra coming from my two girls far too many (in my opinion) times a day: "Mummy; will you come and play?".

I have always been conscious that I am a parent. Even when the girls were really little and I was playing "Incy Wincy Spider" up their arms, I knew that I wasn't there to just be their playmate.

I am very aware of the burden of responsibility I have as a parent to teach them how to grow up to be kind, considerate, polite, intelligent, knowledgeable, courteous, civil members of society. I know that I can't do that AND be their best mate at the same time.

Or; let me elaborate further; I know I can't always be their best friend. A lot of the time I will have to pull rank to be successful as a parent and I know that my words won't hold as much weight if I spend a lot of my time trying to also be their best bud.

Panic! No school places for 2013 baby boomers!

Are we, in England, so incredibly inept, that we feel the need to panic when a statistician tells us that there won't be enough school places for children starting school in 2 years time?

2 years? That's a long time, right? That's long enough to go out and recruit a few extra reception teachers, or to canvas the supply teachers already on the books, isn't it?

The BBC news website indicates that "a quarter of a million extra school places will be needed in England by autumn next year, with one in five schools already full or near capacity". They talk about the rising birth rate which was higher than expected over the last few years. Really? In a recession there's a high birth rate? Oh you do surprise me. Sarcastic? Moi? Never!

The Phonics Screening Test Debate

The first Phonics Screening Test results have been issued.

When the Department of Education announced the introduction of these tests back in December 2011 we had a debate on this blog about the usefulness of the test.  My concern was, and still is, that the results of the test will be used to measure children's ability rather than the purpose for which the tests are intended, which is to measure what 'method' of reading they are using in order to check if the teachers are teaching in the way the Department of Education would prefer them too.

The difficulties in interpreting this test include the following issues:

1. The teacher may be teaching reading using phonics but a child may be exceptionally good at reading and is reading many words by sight, only to be thrown by the phonics test and score poorly on it.
2. The teacher may not be using phonics as the main method of teaching, but may be having great success with other methods or a combination of methods.  Their class's phonics test results will be poor, but their class may be brilliant at actually reading.
3. Many words cannot be decoded using phonics. Our language isn't 'neat' enough.
4. And my main problem, which is that the Press and Media will use the results of the test to show how well our children are doing or not doing at reading, when actually the test check's method, not success.

The debate was reignited last week, when children came home with slips of paper detailing their results.  This thread on Mumsnet raged for 336 posts, with mums querying when they should worry, what they could do to help if the phonics score was low and asking how the test worked.  Children's author, Micheal Rosen, joined the discussion in his blog post here, and pointed out that phonics alone wouldn't help children read for pleasure.

Our daughter got 37/40. The expected level they are aiming for is 32/40, so I was happy.  But then realised I had no need to be 'happy' per se, as it hadn't tested her reading ability, just what method she primarily used to read.

This goes against my management style.  In the office I prefer to ask staff to produce a piece of work and I leave it up to them to decide what 'method' they will use to do it.  If the work is completed effectively and on time, then the 'method' isn't particularly important to me.

Here the powers-that-be are defining the 'method' that the teachers use.  It's one job where they persistently seem to be afraid to let the teachers just 'teach'.  Each teacher is different.  Each will have success with different methods.  Each child is different and will require a teacher who is adaptable and emphatic to best succeed.

Please can we stop testing whether teachers are 'doing what they are told' and simply let them teach?  The results will speak for themselves.*

*Assuming the SATs and GCSEs are appropriately set and test real knowledge and not just the ability to churn out facts the child doesn't understand of course!

School Uniform: Prude or Slut?

Picture the scene; school is letting out.    It's a hot, barmy, unexpected and therefore much talked about random summer's day in England.  The children are all without coats, but clad in the usual black skirts or trousers and white school shirts.  It's a secondary school and a uniform is compulsory for those in Year 7 through to 11. (That's ages 11 to 16)

I pull up in my car at the pelican crossing outside this particular school as they are milling about.  Some cross the road in front of me, but my eyes are drawn to a group of girls on the pavement to my right.  They are all wearing the required black skirts, obviously with bare legs (did I mention the weather?) and I am struck by the shortness of the skirts.

Don't be daft I tell myself, thinking they probably just 'look' short because I'm all old and unfashionable and couldn't get away with that length anymore.  But then I notice that I can see one of the girl's bum cheek peeking out from underneath her skirt.

Yes.  You read that correctly.  Bum cheek.

Go on.  Now tell me I'm a prude.  It's not just that I could see this that bothered me.  It's that every person passing, whether walking or driving, could see this; and not everyone out there is 'safe'.  What do I mean?  You know exactly what I mean.  Let's not be naive.  You can argue all you like that it shouldn't matter what you dress your children in.  Yes, since they are under 16 these are still children we are talking about.  But it does matter.  It really does.

In the 80s the rule was knee-length.  If you could see all your knees the skirt was too short and you got a letter to send home.  I wonder what, if anything, this school did about this particular skirt.  On the evidence of the skirts surrounding her, not one more than about an inch lower in length, probably not a lot.

If there are any teachers out there reading this; I'd be interested to know your thoughts.  What are the rules these days?  If any?  Do you agree with them?  Or not?  Why?

It seems that everyone wants me to know what, if any underwear they are wearing this summer, doesn't it.  Can you avoid VPL this summer?

The Oxford Reading Tree: Chip & Biff & why I hate them

The Oxford Reading Tree Read At Home collection

I really don't like the Chip and Biff books. 

I was at the stage of mild dislike, where I tolerated them because I could see that my daughter was able to read the ones she brought home from school.

And clearly school were using them as part of their reading scheme, so my first reaction was to trust that they have a plan; a strategy; and that Biff and Chip must somehow play a part in that plan.

However, after my 5 year old brought home "The Magic Key" last night I moved on a stage - straight to hatred. 

She might as well have been reading a list of words to practise her reading.  The story "The Magic Key" is less of a story and more of a vague throwing together of scenes where the cast have a limited vocabulary that generally involves some, or all, of them saying "Oh no".  The gist of this 'story' was that Chip and Biff found a magic key.  They picked it up and it made them shrink.  They picked up a few random objects on the floor (pencil, pin) and marvelled at how heavy they were (at this point I was vaguely interested in why, of all the objects them could find, a sharp pin which was now the size of a sword, should be chosen. I needn't have bothered)  Then they saw the dolls house and tried to get inside.  OK, so far there is some promise of adventure.  They have, after all, a weapon.  But no.  They couldn't get in the house and that 'storyline' was abandoned.  Then a dark shadow scared them. Oh, I thought, somewhat foolishly, here we go, here's the action.  But no.  It was a mouse.  A boring mouse that looked at them and went away again.  And that, dear readers, was the end.

I can't work out where the drama is in that.  I can't work out where there is consideration of plot.  Of a beginning, a middle and an end.  Of conflict and resolution.  Of character development. 

I refuse to accept the answer that "there doesn't need to be any".  Of course there does.  You wouldn't try and teach a child to read by making them read the dictionary.  The reason to learn to read is to be able to experience other worlds, to jump into stories and enjoy them.  And of course, to be able to learn things from non-fiction books, to read newspapers, to read road signs, to communicate.

Children will not get a love of books (actual books, made of paper) or even a love of reading, if this is what they are subjected to.  You wouldn't produce a film with this plot, so why is it acceptable in a book?

I understand that when writing for a reading scheme you are supposed to use a certain batch of words.  What I am less sure on is why?  Why not just read stories; any stories.  The common words, by their very nature, will appear more often and will be picked up quicker due to their repetition.  There will be tricky words, but then again, I'm in my late 30s and still have to occasionally ask what a word means.  

There are hundreds of stories out there that are good stories.  With all the Roald Dahls, Julia Donaldsons, Enid Blytons, A A Milnes, Roger Hargreaves' out there, why oh why oh why do we need this rubbish?

I have a set of these at home gifted from a neighbour who is also a teacher.  Of all the books my girls have these Chip and Biff stories are NEVER selected by them when it's bedtime story time.

I don't know what frustrates me more.  The fact that my daughter has to read this stuff to tick the box in her Reading Record, or that I could write the stories so much better!

What do you think?  Why do teachers use these 'schemes'? Do you use them at home? What are the advantages of this kind of book? I presume there must be some, otherwise someone, somewhere, is making money out of a con.

I'd appreciate your thoughts.  Biscuits at the ready as ever.

Read my thoughts on the teaching of phonetics and the new phonetics test here.

How many after school activities are too many?

Gymnastics, Karate, Horse riding, Football, Rugby, Dancing, Swimming, Piano, Violin, Rainbows, Brownies, Scouts......the list goes on.

These are just some of the activities that mums ferry their children to on a weekly basis.  In the case of some of them, like dancing, it can actually mean three or four trips, as the basic repertoire of dance morphs into Tap, Ballet, Street and Acro (-batics), all on different days.

And it's expensive.  £40 for a batch of 10 Swimming lessons at the local leisure centre.  Similar amount for Gymnastics.  You are talking roughly £4 per class minimum.

2 children with 3 activities a week.  That's £24 per week.  And that's before the paraphernalia that comes with it.  For dancing it's £50 if your darling is going to perform one dance in the annual show; £100 if she's in two dances.  It covers the costume costs; which is funny because I distinctly remember the 80s when mums found a needle and thread themselves and rustled up the costumes for a few pounds.  And not only do you pay for the classes, and now the costume; you also pay for the privilege of coming to the show, 3 nights on the trot, not just to see darling perform, but to conduct your role of stagehand, getting them dressed and ready at the right time for the right dance piece.

Whatever the activity, be it football (boots, the latest kit (the 'right' kit), transport to tournaments and trips to watch the professionals), horse riding (riding boots, protective helmets and body armour, and... if you are not careful... an actual pony!?) or whatever takes your fancy; it's an incredibly expensive exercise to give our children the opportunity of discovering where their talents lie.  And I wonder where the limit is?

3 nights a week of activities after school?  4 nights?  When they are only 6 years old?  Are our children going to burn out before they hit secondary school?


What do you think?  How many activities are too many?  And at what age?

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Che-re-is-te-me-as: Why Phonetics can only take you so far.....

"Two-thirds fail new primary phonics reading check" announced the BBC yesterday in response to the publication of the results of the pilots of the new phonetics screening check for 6 year olds that the Department of Education officially announced the introduction of yesterday.

The BBC pointed out that 32% of pupils taking the test failed it, and went on to express the view of the General Secretary of the National Society of Headteachers, Russell Hobby, who said that "large numbers of teachers who used the test during the pilot found it...less useful than their existing means of diagnosing early reading ability."

I was upset by my initial reading of the story, as I couldn't make sense of the statistics as the BBC went on to say that the test results were inconsistent with the results of national curriculum tests which show that 8 out of 10 children in England routinely meet the levels expected of them at age seven and eleven.

I studied statistics at school, at university, and as part of my chartered accountancy qualification.  I know how statistics work and how easy they are to manipulate.  But because I am particularly interested in teaching my children to read well, I thought I'd delve deeper in to this story to understand the discrepancy.

It turns out that it's pretty simple.  The new test only tests the 'method' the child is using to decode words.  It tests whether the prescribed 'phonetics' system is being used.  It includes non-words, to ensure that the children  literally read sound-by-sound the word in front of them regardless of whether the result is a word they recognise or not.

Of course you will get inconsistencies in results.  Because straight away you could have children that will 'fail' to decode non-words using this system.  That can read perfectly fluently and enjoy stories, but are confused and thrown by these words that they have never seen being presented out of context.

So as a tool to check if the 'system' is being used, then it will probably give correct results.  But to use the new screening test as a tool to present children's ability to 'read', that would be a mistake and would provide unhelpful results.

All children learn in different ways*.  Learning in context is really important.  My daughter will get stuck on a word, and her method for decoding it is to continue reading the sentence.  She'll get to the end of the sentence, and based on the context of the story and the letters she can see in the problematic word, she can 'work it out'.

Assuming that 'just' phonetics will create better readings is a blinkered, naive, potentially dangerous view.  People are not all the same.  People do not learn the same.  One 'method' will work for some and not for all.  Learning methods should be tailored to the individual child, not enforced on all.

Besides, using phonetics alone, without context, would give a very strange version of the word "Christmas" now wouldn't it?

The BBC News report can be found here.
The Department of Education website detailing the introduction of the new test and the associated materials are here. 

*I learn through visualisation, meaning that even now, in my late thirties, I still picture a chocolate cake in my head when I'm doing fractions so I can 'see' the fractions and percentages involved.  (Being an accountant, that probably explains my almost constant chocolate cravings at work!)  My husband tends to learn 'rote', that is, you tell him something and it sticks.  He doesn't necessarily need to work it out again in future instances, he just 'knows' it.  A big difference between us is memory function.  My visualisation technique works fine and enables me to work out things through logical steps, seeing the results.  That is until I am asked to do mental arithmetic that requires breaking down the workings in to more than say five chunks, because my short term memory is so shockingly bad, I will have forgotten what answer I got to the first chunk by the time I get to the last chunk.  And so I have to write a lot of things down.  Step by step.  That's me. 

Christmas Assembly Confusion! You need to take 'what?' to school?

My eldest girl (5 yrs) came home with instructions yesterday.  
 

“Mummy…..” she said in that slightly irritating whiny way that 5 year olds have perfected and which you know will precede a question that involves you doing something, or that presents you with a new complicated job to do.

“Mummy…….. I need a costume for school for the Christmas assembly”

“OK luv, what do you need?” I say overly cheerily to suppress the groan that is threatening.

“I need a quilt, mummy”

“A quilt?”  I frown.

“Yes” she says seeing the doubt in my eyes and nodding her little head furiously.   “A quilt”.  Obviously I am doubtful.  I have an image in my head of a small child swamped with her winter quilt, over her head, wrapped around her like Mary’s shawl in the nativity, a large belt strapping it all together.  Ahhhh... I think I may be on to something.

“Is it to dress up as Mary?  Or a Shepherd?”  I ask thinking I’ve worked it out.  But she’s not at all happy with that suggestion and I can see very quickly that she is disgusted with my apparent stupidity.

“NO Mummy”   At one point I think she’s going to tut at me and she says very slowly and slightly loudly..  “We have to dress up like the Countries.” 

“Countries?”

“Yes Mummy.” I can tell she’s getting exasperated now.  “So I need a quilt.  Like they wear in bonny Scotland…………”

And so it transpires that the children have been learning about the Olympics and are doing a Christmas assembly on this subject, in which my daughter is supporting Scotland.  I am not sure which made my laugh more in the next 10 minutes until I finally came up for air, the ‘quilt’ or the fact that my daughter had used the word ‘bonny’.  A word we have never used in any context previously before!

Thinking about it though; it’ll be harder to get hold of a kilt for this assembly than it would be to supply a quilt, so maybe she’s on to something!

Back to school! Aaaaagggghhhh!

I always thought that my children would go to school to learn how to read, write, count, solve problems and generally become more intelligent than me. I never quite realised how much homework is code for mumswork.

Cheeky Monkey number 1 is starting her second year at school. This bizarrely puts her in year 1 (I thought they taught them how to count?) We've had to buy a homework book off the school for £3.50 which you can't do the homework without (so someone can count). She now has a weekly spelling test of words that it's up to me to teach her. And I thought that I paid taxes to fund teachers to do the teaching for me?

So now I have mumswork. Hopefully it'll make friends with mumschores and mumscleaning and they'll all sod off to the pub and leave me in peace?

Worried your child isn't doing well at school?

Seriously, don't fret!

Particularly if they are in Reception and are young for their year.

My daughter is now 5 years old, as of last week; and she is writing well even if the teacher continues to criticise her method of writing (she likes to start at the bottom of letters, not the top.  I'm a big believer in results, not method, so can't see why this is a problem), and she is reading well, struggling only with naughty words like "was" and "here" which don't sound like themselves at all when you try and sound them out a letter at a time.

She's been at school now since September 2010.  8 months.  Her sister won't start school until a week before she turns 5 years old, and therefore, in order for her to be anywhere near the same stage as her sister as at her 5th birthday I will have to have taught her all the stuff that school have been teaching my eldest for the last 8 months.

And so, when the teachers compare my eldest's performance (one of the youngest children in her year) with the oldest children, I am frustrated, as the developmental differences between children of 4 and 5 years old is vast, and yet the teachers seem insistent on them all being the same.

Don't worry.  Don't fret.  Reading and writing are important.   But they are only young, and have plenty of time to work it out.  Plenty of time.

Convinced yet?

Reading books for pre-schoolers.....

My eldest is currently reading a series of children's books at school about Biff and Chip.  It's an Oxford learning tree series and I'd never come across it before, because I obviously haven't read children's books for a good 30 years.

And so I've purchased the first six Peter and Jane books by Ladybird.  These are the books I remember fondly, and despite being a member of a family of hoarders, haven't managed to save.  I had to order them of course.  Books that are 30 years old don't tend to be regularly stocked on the high street!  But they are as good as I remember them, and seemingly completely unchanged and no worse off for it.  The eldest is enjoying them.

The process of thinking about learning to read though bought with it a strong, and sudden, memory out of seemingly nowhere.  A name popped into my head.  Billy Blue Hat.  And another.  Roger Red Hat.

To start with I didn't understand the memory.  The words came with a feeling of fondness, and a memory of bright colours.  So I did some quick research.  It turns out I'm remembering a series of 1970/80s books commonly known as the Roger Red Hat Books, but actually called the One Two Three and Away series.  More pictures on Childofthe80s.

Anyone else remember these!?  I'm wondering where I could now find a copy!

Starting school.....Aaagghh!

It's a nasty, rainy morning in the Midlands.  Standing in the rain, huddled together with matching book bags and water bottles are three parents.  Waiting for the bell to ring, they are trying to keep dry, catch up with friends, keep an eye on their children, and stop the bottom of their trousers soaking up any more water but subtlety hitching them up to Simon Cowell heights every 3 minutes.  They are carrying all the school paraphernalia required.  Their children, 4 years old, are too busy running amok to hold said paraphernalia, and will, if unprompted, probably run into school without required book bag, water bottle, a photograph of themselves as babies (this week's homework for the parents), and a signed letter saying that, yes, they are allowed to have their eyes tested by the school nurse.

The mums all have the look of a frightened rabbit about them.  It's only week two.  They thought school would mean; drop off at 9am, pick up at 3.30pm.  But no.  Their children are all 'Rising Fives', which essentially means that they are not five at all, in fact they are nowhere near five, having only turned four a few measly weeks ago, and are so young that the smallest size of school uniform looks massive on them.  They are, as a result, starting school in September for 'mornings only'.  Which means, by the time you've dropped them off at 8.55am, and returned to pick them up at 11.55, you've barely had time to boil the kettle.  They have spent the first two weeks of school coming home with letters to their 'frightened rabbit looking mums' almost daily, inviting said parents to sign various forms, attend a school meeting (week one), attend a PTA meeting (week 2), become a school governor (week 2), obtain a minimum of £25 sponsorship for an event all children are participating in in week 4, sign their children up for football classes, dance classes, and remember to take in a copy of their child's birth certificate so that their identity can be confirmed.

On top of this they are required to remember to send their children with a clear (not coloured) bottle of water at the beginning of each week (presumably schools don't use their own cups for drinks anymore?), ensure name labels are in every item of clothing and dress them in 'easy' clothes on PE days (as the teachers presumably don't have the time to help them get dressed or undressed, regardless of their young age).  I can imagine a bunch of school children running around a school hall half-dressed.  A young boy still in his school shirt because he can't quite do the buttons yet.  A young girl still in her coat for the same reason.  Shorts on back to front.  Plimsolls on the wrong feet.  Oh dear.

And all of this on top of the added strain of having to get the child to school on time.  Not just to a relaxing play group once a week.  But to school.  Everyday.  Where I'm sure they do detention for parents that are stupid enough to be late.

It turns out that school now runs our lives.  We can't go on holiday anymore without consulting the school timetable.  Though looking at the prices is an easy way of spotting when the holidays are.  When the prices hike.

Am I stressed?  Ever so slightly.

Can I still be yummy doing all this?  Goodness knows.  I will try my best.

Spanking new? Or second hand?

Cheeky Monkey No. 2 is still taking roughly an hour to settle down to sleep after initially putting her in her cot bed and saying goodnight.

Showing her that Cheeky Monkey No. 1 is also in bed helped.  But didn't solve the problem by any means. 

I get the feeling, from the way she is crying, that she is still a little unsure about the move to a cot bed (which we did 11 days ago now) and is finding it all too new and strange.  So my approach has been to return to her room no more than 1 minute after she's started crying, and to calmly give her a hug, kiss and place her back in the cot.  The firm, but understanding, approach. 

Finally I got her in bed and asleep, and was able to start on the 'iron-on' labels that I still hadn't managed to get into CM1's school clothes yet, as I hadn't been able to find them, stored as they were, in a 'safe' place. It turns out that the 'safe' place for 'iron-on' labels is, quite obviously, a sewing box.  Female logic is a powerful thing.

So we are prepared for the first day at school tomorrow.  But I am having pangs of guilt for getting her a second hand school cardigan and jumper (with school logo).  Why I should feel that they should be new I don't know.  CM1 certainly couldn't care less.  But I do.  I feel that they should be spanking new.  Untouched.  But in the spirit of being a contradictory female, I also want to re-use, recycle, let old school uniform items meet their school destiny once more.  Especially as I have now discovered charity stores and markets and second-hand baby wear stores (try Lilypads in Chesterfield ) for top fashions for less than £5.

Clearly I am freaking out, in the manner of a occasionally yummy mummy, about completely pointless issues, that I absolutely need not freak out about. 

Unfortunately, being a mum does that to you.  So the tip for today is simple.  Take a breath.  Breathe.  Pause; if only for a few seconds.  And try Micheal Buble for some feel good music. 

Back to School Mayhem!

I haven't had two minutes spare in the last week!  This week Cheeky Monkey No.1 starts school for the first time, Cheeky Monkey No.2 starts a new nursery and I start back at work.

I still haven't managed to find some PE shorts for CM1.  And her name labels haven't yet arrived from Marks & Spencer.  I might be more stressed as a result, but luckily CM2 was more than happy to start nursery today, was absolutely shattered on her return home, and went to bed fairly easily, bearing in mind the nightmare of a week we have had trying to get her to calmly go to sleep in her new cot bed (see previous posts).

It's late.  And I don't suppose the girls will sleep through the night, if the rest of this week is anything to go by, so I'm afraid I only have brief words of wisdom today.

1.  Don't convert a child's cot into a cotbed days before you start back to work after a summer break.
2.  Don't leave school uniform purchases, including name labels,  until the last minute.
3.  Do get your school shoes from M&S.  They are apparently "scuff resistant".  I'm looking forward to testing that claim!
4.  Do enjoy time off with toddlers.... How quickly time flies and before you know it they are at school!