Be Thankful, Be Hopeful, Be Happy - The kids are going back to school!

3 September 2018

BACK TO SCHOOL – AN EMOTIONAL TIME!

Hi everyone! Welcome back, I hope you enjoyed reading my last post about the summer holiday activities and I hope you had fun doing some.

I'm A Mini

So, I’ve decided to give my blog a name which is Be Thankful, Be Hopeful, Be Happy. The reason I thought I would give it this name is because it’s a good mantra to live by, but mainly because these are the meanings of my children’s names, they are my life, part of my business and the reason I do what I do, so I thought it felt appropriate. What do you think?

Well, here we are, we have survived the school holidays!!!! YAYYYY!

How did it go for you? What did you get up to?

We managed to have a week away in the Lake District which was lovely because I had no signal on my phone, so I was able to completely switch off for the first time in about two years, which was amazing! Can you survive without your phone? The Lake District is my happy place – we all need one don’t we?!

We met up with family and friends and had a few days out here and there, so it’s not been too bad actually! I’ve had some of THOSE days too – as I’m sure you have – and that’s when in the evening my survival kit, the wine and the sweet chilli crisps, made an appearance! What was your survival kit?

So this month, as it’s September I thought I would talk about back to school and the emotions that go with the start of a new school year. Which camp do you fall into? – kids returning to school, kids starting school or both?

Well for me this year, I fall into to both camps. My eldest is returning to school and going into Year 3 – can’t believe she’s going into the juniors!! (School terms go sooo fast! It’s like someone keeps pressing the “next chapter” button on the DVD to skip all the trailers!) My second daughter is starting school in September – so I’m of very mixed emotions!

I’ve enjoyed the summer holidays, but I am looking forward to getting back into the routine and having structure because trying to work from home over the holidays is not easy as I’m sure many of you will know! My eldest is looking forward to going back and seeing her friends every day, she really enjoys school, but I know it will take her a couple of weeks to settle with a new teacher, but I’m used to that with my eldest now – so I’m prepared.

However, with my other daughter it’s totally different, I don’t quite know what to expect. At the moment she is so excited, she keeps asking me every day if she can wear her uniform – she just wants to start school! She was fine when she had her settling in sessions before the holidays, which surprised me because I felt as though she just wasn’t quite ready for school, but she proved me wrong! I think she will be fine when she starts, but to be honest I don’t know if I will be.

Her starting school brings so many emotions to the surface, I even cried when applied for school place last year. We didn’t have an easy start when she born and so now to see her as a little girl growing up and starting school is hugely emotional for me. I know she will be fine, but I am really going to miss her. I’m even getting emotional writing this. I know it’s the next step and she is going to do amazing just like she has done at nursery, but that next stage certainly makes you reflect on what you have been through but also excited for what is to come.

So as well as the emotional side of it all, you then have to remember all the practical things:

School uniform – have you ordered it? Is it the right size? How many do I need of each item? Do I need navy or black tights, white or grey socks?
Form filling – all about me form, privacy forms, milk or no milk form, school meals, arrgghhh the paperwork!!
Meeting the teacher and teaching assistants, understanding what happens in their first year. Finding your way around the school (if its your first child starting school)
Getting to grips with the online payment systems, setting up accounts etc
School holiday dates form - Finding out the are only in school for about 5-6 weeks before they are off for half-term haha!
School meals or packed lunches?

And many other things, that I can’t remember!

How are you getting on with all these things?

I’ve managed to get most of the uniform, leaving the shoes till last minute, obviously! The only problem with that is Wynsors is packed the last week of August with everyone searching for the ‘right’ school shoes, you end up tripping over the kids lay all over the floor – parents getting stressed out because they just want their child to CHOOSE A BLOODY PAIR OF SHOES!! You finally get the shoes, and 1 week into the school term they are all scuffed!! Bloody brilliant! Or do you got to Clarks and pay that bit more but only for them to have a growth spurt and they no longer fit after 6 weeks!! The dilemmas of choosing school shoes – who’d have thought?!!

As for the paperwork, the forms have all been filled, the online account is set up, I’ve met her teacher and I know the holidays, but I’ve done this before, so I know what to expect. For those of you that is your first time, don’t panic it will be fine – give it a couple of weeks and you’ll be an expert at all the admin!

So, the day is finally arriving! For those of you that are happy because the kids are back at school, have you booked the day off work, so you can go out for lunch and celebrate? haha!! Me and my husband did this last year! We had earned it!

For those of you whose child is their first day at school, I’m with you also. It will be an emotional day, I know I’m going to be a wreck! I can promise you though they will be fine. They may cry, they may not, you will probably cry – it’s a huge change for you all. It may take a few days, a few weeks for them settle but all will be okay. There will be that one day when they come home, and they’ll be so excited to tell what they have done and you will know that all is well. Remember, they are ready for this because you have made them ready for school, everything they know and can do is because of you and you are just helping onto the next stage!

I just thought I’d leave with this: