We’re a few weeks back into the new school year and all three kids seem to be doing well. Youngest has settled into nursery without so much as a drop-off tantrum and the six-year-old is doing brilliantly at everything. I always worry about oldest, simply because he’s been there that much longer than his siblings …
I’ve been to not one but two sports days this week. It was nice to spend a bit of time away from my desk and see how my sons did. I like the way their school approaches it too. Although it was competitive in that they were earning points for their respective ‘houses’, the events …
The older my kids get, the less often I experience parenting firsts. Yet this week I encountered one of the most daunting so far. My first proper school trip! I had helped out on one short and very local excursion a year or two ago, but this was a completely different proposition. That one was …
I was interested to read about a school banning pupils from dressing up as YouTubers and sports stars for its World of Work Day recently. I wrote about the amount of homework young children get earlier this week and it links to the same theme. Namely that we should let kids be kids. The rationale …
I found myself in an unusual situation the other day. I laughed at something on Peppa Pig. The episode, School Project, sees the children set a homework assignment to make castles. Of course, the parents end up doing the majority of the work and looking frazzled by the end. I say I laughed; it was …
I never used to enjoy going back to work after holidays, but am raring to go this year. Well, sort of. Although we haven’t been anywhere and I’ve actually been working all summer, it hasn’t really felt like it. In truth, I’m anything but energised at the moment. But that doesn’t affect the desire to …
The start of the new school year may be a month away, but time has a habit of flying by. Particularly when it comes to getting everything organised for that all-important first day. It’s natural that all of this creates worries for all concerned. As part of its Trust Me, I’m a Teacher campaign, M&S …
Dylan experienced the dreaded Sats last week. He loves school and throws himself into each new topic with great enthusiasm. His English is excellent and his maths isn’t bad, so we weren’t worried about how he would do. Academically, at least. There was something noticeably different about him though. Without warning, he seemed bothered. He was quite …
Dylan seems to enjoy every subject at school but there’s one that is his clear favourite at the moment. History. He can’t get enough of it. He’s forever telling me things I ought to have known about the past. His ability to retain facts is amazing. As I was the same until parental sleep deprivation kicked …
Education has changed greatly since I was at school. The curriculum is much more structured and my sons know a hell of a lot more than I did at both their ages. It’s not all progress though. There is something that has become ‘a thing’ in recent years that’s driving me round the bend. Mud kitchens. They …