Theo's School Days
We are three (or is it four?) weeks into the school term. My big boy is doing very well, he enjoys school, we haven't any problems getting him there. He is even walking at a normal pace. This is a Big Thing. We are actually getting to school about 5 minutes earlier than I expect to every morning as I'm not having to yell at him to keep up every 10 paces. (Well we do when I get the time right - I realised today that my watch is 10 minutes slow, which explains why the last two mornings we've arrived after the bell.)
But he is tired and hungry by the end of the day. We have had some rather extreme emotional outbursts. Today, while getting him ready for his after school football club, he reacted rather strongly to the discovery that he had packed someone elses t-shirt in his PE bag. He spent a good half hour refusing to get dressed or to eat (which I knew would help his mood) until the threat of not going persuaded him to scoff down a sandwich and a muffin which, of course, miraculously transformed his mood - at least for long enough for us to get to football. (He loves football. I am amazed that he seems to know what to do, despite never having played any kind of group sport before. He runs with the ball and chases after it).
It has come as some surprise to me that Theo is as much of a stickler for the rules as his big sister. The PE t-shirt outburst turned out to be because he wanted to wear his white school PE t-shirt for football. He doesn't actually have to wear school PE kit for football, but as far as he's concerned, it's at school, so he must wear his school kit. We settled on him wearing his white polo shirt in the end. And we had a similar meltdown when he managed to get both his jumpers dirty in the time it took him to eat a bowl of Cheerios and I said he'd have to go to school without wearing one. He was convinced he would get told off for turning up without a jumper and the only way to stop him crying was to sponge down one of the jumpers as best I could and let him wear it.
Of course, he tells me nothing about his day, other than who has been naughty (luckily, not him so far). He has school dinners, but what he tells me he eats does not tend to correspond to what I know to be on the menu that day. He is singing a lot. One night he got some flash cards out and wanted to 'read' them, upon which I nearly fell over myself to get over to him , so keen was I to encourage him with this sudden interest in 'learning'. Sometimes he comes home with his trousers on backwards so I assume it's been PE that day. He seems to have just merged into school life as if it's what he has always done.
He hasn't had any reading books yet, just story books for me to read to him. I'd have been up in arms if Freyja had yet to be given a reading book by this stage, but I feel differently this time. I don't think Theo is quite ready to read. He is interested in words and letters but he's still learning his letter sounds. And with Theo I'm much prouder of the fact that he was added to the 'kindness chart' for helping a little girl do her buttons up after PE than that he has learned the letter 'M'. And he loves his books, probably more than Freyja - he will not go to bed without his stories, whereas she will often choose something else, like her sticker books, or a game of cards. He is interested in listening to chapter books as well as his usual picture books - at the moment we are reading George's Marvellous Medicine at bedtime.
He has had some homework, to write the letter 'a' and practice the sound. His writing is still very shaky, he can just about manage his name, but not much else and while he holds his pencil correctly he has trouble pressing hard enough to make a decent mark and his letters are gigantic! Again, I am very happy for him to get there at his own pace. Enjoying school, and knowing how to behave there, is what I want for him right now.
But he is tired and hungry by the end of the day. We have had some rather extreme emotional outbursts. Today, while getting him ready for his after school football club, he reacted rather strongly to the discovery that he had packed someone elses t-shirt in his PE bag. He spent a good half hour refusing to get dressed or to eat (which I knew would help his mood) until the threat of not going persuaded him to scoff down a sandwich and a muffin which, of course, miraculously transformed his mood - at least for long enough for us to get to football. (He loves football. I am amazed that he seems to know what to do, despite never having played any kind of group sport before. He runs with the ball and chases after it).
It has come as some surprise to me that Theo is as much of a stickler for the rules as his big sister. The PE t-shirt outburst turned out to be because he wanted to wear his white school PE t-shirt for football. He doesn't actually have to wear school PE kit for football, but as far as he's concerned, it's at school, so he must wear his school kit. We settled on him wearing his white polo shirt in the end. And we had a similar meltdown when he managed to get both his jumpers dirty in the time it took him to eat a bowl of Cheerios and I said he'd have to go to school without wearing one. He was convinced he would get told off for turning up without a jumper and the only way to stop him crying was to sponge down one of the jumpers as best I could and let him wear it.
Of course, he tells me nothing about his day, other than who has been naughty (luckily, not him so far). He has school dinners, but what he tells me he eats does not tend to correspond to what I know to be on the menu that day. He is singing a lot. One night he got some flash cards out and wanted to 'read' them, upon which I nearly fell over myself to get over to him , so keen was I to encourage him with this sudden interest in 'learning'. Sometimes he comes home with his trousers on backwards so I assume it's been PE that day. He seems to have just merged into school life as if it's what he has always done.
He hasn't had any reading books yet, just story books for me to read to him. I'd have been up in arms if Freyja had yet to be given a reading book by this stage, but I feel differently this time. I don't think Theo is quite ready to read. He is interested in words and letters but he's still learning his letter sounds. And with Theo I'm much prouder of the fact that he was added to the 'kindness chart' for helping a little girl do her buttons up after PE than that he has learned the letter 'M'. And he loves his books, probably more than Freyja - he will not go to bed without his stories, whereas she will often choose something else, like her sticker books, or a game of cards. He is interested in listening to chapter books as well as his usual picture books - at the moment we are reading George's Marvellous Medicine at bedtime.
He has had some homework, to write the letter 'a' and practice the sound. His writing is still very shaky, he can just about manage his name, but not much else and while he holds his pencil correctly he has trouble pressing hard enough to make a decent mark and his letters are gigantic! Again, I am very happy for him to get there at his own pace. Enjoying school, and knowing how to behave there, is what I want for him right now.
posted by solveig at
12:24 pm
3 Comments:
Jacob didn't come home with a reader until almost the end of Reception - it's v much when they think the child is up to doing it. They might send him home with one of the Pink Band books that has only has pictures in and they have to tell you what's happening and make up their own story.
I love reading about your children as they are all so different. It really does show that each child does things their own way even living in the same environment! It's so lovely that he is enjoying school, it must be such a relief.
@Rowan - he'd probably like books with just pictures, so that would be be a good start for him.
@Jennifer - they are very different! I keep wondering who Noah will be more like, but of course he will be his own little person.
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