Sick and off to camp

What do you do when your kid wants to go to camp and she's sick? The responsible thing should probably be to keep her home?

LIfe is a choice, not an excuse

Study course notes

We signed up for a study course, and this past weekend was the weekend that we could fit it in. Grade 4 is a culture shock! More for the parents than the kids, it seems! :-) The extra subjects, tests, exams and projects are a lot more than the previous grades. The parents need to help manage, AND time manage, AND help the kids to learn.

We are so glad we signed up for this! We got a couple of telephone numbers to phone from the Grade 3 teachers last year, and the lady who phoned me back is from a Tina Cowley Reading Centre. The course was from a Friday afternoon, followed up by the Saturday afternoon. It was more than a good six hours of learning how to learn.

Grade 4 is a culture shock, but mostly for the Mom

Grade four is a total different ball game here! The children start changing between classes and they start writing tests and exams. The pace is also much faster than the previous grades. Miss Fine has been taking it all in her stride, but we (the parents) feel a little bit overwhelmed.

We have to make sure that we are abreast of her calendar and her homework, A standard request each day is to immediately take out her homework book so that we could check if there is something new. I am writing this down for future reference. We feel like we are doing grade four for the first time, but our grade four, way back when, surely did not involve as much as this? Even 15 years ago with the eldest it was not so tough!

A locker is a lifesaver

Little Miss got a locker at her new school.

It has been huge fun each day to take necessities such as an umbrella and tissues to put in it. She did not have the opportunity at her previous school, as they only allowed older children to have lockers. We could really have used a locker the previous years, because the guitar and hockey stick always had to be dragged along...

It made me think about the positives of having your own locker:

- She has her own safe space in a new big environment.
- She has a place where she can put her own stamp on things. She has been taking photos and stickers to school to brighten the interior of the locker.
- She has a place to put all the extra stuff, such as sport equipment and an umbrella.
- She has a place where she can keep her heavy books, when necessary. (It seems not as pertinent this year, but in the years to come I am sure it will help a lot!) Their suitcases are already extremely heavy!
- It helps to have a locker at aftercare for backups in clothes, such as an extra jacket, or backup munchies.

I wish we had lockers when we were at school. I still have one shoulder that is hanging because of the heavy suitcases we had to carry.


What is your thoughts around having a locker at school, especially primary school?

Back to a new school

Little Miss started in Grade 3 in a new school today. We have been contemplating the move for a couple of years. We drive past her new school each day, and it just did not make economic sense to continue driving through traffic and for longer hours each day for 5 more years.

It was a bit daunting for her, and she was worried about fitting in and finding new friends...
(Daunting for the parents as well, I must add!)

The parents were encouraged to come along with her, and we appreciated that we could accompany her until she was settled into her new class.

We picked her up earlier today as well from the aftercare as well, and she was her usual talkative self as well! It was a great day. She got lost a couple of times, but there's lots of great stories she told us.

The best! They warned the children not to leave their bags open as the chickens and peacocks scratches for food or lay their eggs in them! How awesome! To have chickens and peacocks and bunnies roaming around on the school yard!

O, and she told us repeatedly she did not have any homework. Until we discovered a couple of books that needed to be covered for tomorrow! The joys! NOT!


How was your first day back at school?

No friends

Lonely

What can the mother and father do to help?

I wish I can help, but don't know what to do except than trying to tell her to be nice to her friends? To be the friend she would like to have in her friends?

Little Miss has been complaining for the past few weeks that she has no friends at school. She does not have friends to play with during break times, or at the aftercare.
She had the fall-out with a best buddy. She will never forget that day. It seems it is escalating. The heartache of girl politics is taking its toll! She is being excluded from the girl cliques.

She told her dad last night that she climbs a jungle gym at school during break times with a sandwich bag in her mouth, and eats her food while watching the playground... She took a file with papers and coloured pencils to school today to help her keep busy during breaks!

Oh, man!

It breaks my heart!

5 Reasons why school holidays are the best even though we did not go away!

We have three weeks of school holidays during winter in South Africa!
It was back-to-school yesterday already, and we are back to reality!

Although we did not go away this year, it felt like a break for us as well!
We continued working and Little Miss had to go to Holiday School, but it was a break from the daily rat race!


Five reasons why school holidays give everybody a break

1. The traffic is tolerable and we get a break with regards the volume of the traffic and the time we need to get out of the house! Especially in winter where it is still dark at 6 am.
This alone gets all the marks for school holidays! My daily commute is a lot less stressful and shorter!

2. We can sleep in for a bit longer! I had 30 minutes more in bed each morning, and Little Miss could also get at least an hour more!

3. We don't have to rush home to do homework, and we can be more relaxed with bed-times.

4. We don't have to rush from one extra-mural activity to another!

5. At work it is also a more relaxed as many people are on holiday, and we have to give them time to get back in the office again. My calender was not as full as always!


I can have more of these, and you?
How was the holidays?

The short break is already forgotten and a few thoughts

I had a lovely break of ten days, and I have been back for the second day at work.
Of course it was way too short, and I would have liked to be with Little Miss this week as well.
We did not go away as the budgets are too tight! But we did make the most of it!
(Slumping on the coach and catching up with comedies are not that bad...)

Little Miss also played mornings (I can't say sunrise, because she is such a late riser! Bonus!) until past sunset with the friends in the complex. (Definitely a perk of complex living!)

We also did a breakfast here and there, which is lovely if you want to get out of the house! (And cheaper than lunch or dinner eating out!)

Some thoughts from the break

1. How I wish I could spend more time with Little Miss. We don't see her when she is most alive and active for most part of the week. She is such an interesting little being, and getting more interesting each day!

2. I woke up the previous night with both her hands around my neck. I asked her what she was doing, and she said that she was trying to cool down. She had a bit of a fever. That was precious, and I know I will miss these bed-ventures! (Because we still stay with her in her bed until she falls asleep or when she calls to us at night!) (This is passing way too quickly!)

3. Little Miss brought back a stunning report card, and when we saw the teacher just before the break she had only good things to say! Her being small and young does not impact on her abilities and learning capabilities in class. I am sure the OT sessions from the previous year really helped!

4. I did not have a computer at work the previous week, and when I came back after another week, it was still down. I was interested in how much it bothered me. (Even during the break!) I was feeling demotivated, questioning my existence and wondering if the Universe is trying to tell me something! It is not nice not to be able to work, and I am loving being up and working again! (Can you believe it?!!)

5. It is strange having an Eldest going off to work and having to work around her schedules as well! I also love the fact that she is starting to earn her own living and also her enjoyment of driving around in her own car!

6. We still have Easter eggs left, and that did not help weighing in this morning... *sigh*


Back to work!

Did you have a nice break, and what did you do? (You can even tell me about your beach or bush adventures! ;-) Next time it will be us!)


Photo at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens on Monday. It was a lovely day for a short hike!

Meet Jessie from Toy Story

The school has a Book Buddy Day today, and they are allowed to dress as their favourite book characters.

Little Miss first wanted me to buy her a Princess Sophia outfit, but I told her that it is too expensive! We should think of something that we can put together at home. (I also believe it is much more fun if you are able to put something together with what you have already!)

Yesterday she threw a fit in the car, and I told her that if she continues to cry about an outfit, I would not help her in any way any more. She immediately stopped her crying, and went to sleep in the car.

When she woke up she had the idea of a cowgirl!
She's growing up! (Yes! It happens!)

She told me this morning she wanted to be Princess Sophia, and then she wanted to be Tinkerbell, but now she is Jessie, and that's okay. She likes it!

Dad had to help with folding the rope into a cowboy's lasso.
(Thank you YouTube! AND Dad!)

Wordless Wednesday #295 - My family

Wordless Wednesday #291 - Back to school

Little Miss - update

Grade 1 has flown by. We are only left with a few more days!

Little Miss has done very well in Grade 1. Of course I was worried about her doing Grade 1 while still very young, but given how well she has done and how well she has adjusted, I think we did the right thing!

She loves school!
She loves her friends!
We actually want to move her to a nearby school, but she does not want to budge! (It would make it much easier on us in the traffic!) I hope we can persuade her next year!

She has made new friends! That's a big one for us! She had the one friend that she loves, but who was always putting her down, and who influenced her moods. She is playing with new friends that are good to her, and she enjoys their company. She is even playing with friends in our complex where we stay, and can't wait to get home at night!

She does her own thing when friends are around, and disappears at playgrounds and parties! We are finally at the stage that we can drop her off at a party! (Yay!!)

I am still reading articles about the strong-willed child in trying to understand our Little Miss a bit better! She has very strong ideas, and she will defend it for dear life! There are some things to disagree about, but some things we have to examine our own thoughts about it.

(Sometimes we have outdated parental mechanisms that kicks in when confronted with a very opinionated little girl!)

She has done well in most of her extra-curricular activities as well this year! We will be continuing with the ballet and gymnastics, as well as tennis next year!

The CMaths has been a challenge, and maybe we can let it go... It's a struggle to get her to do the extra maths homework each week...


We love the Girl that is emerging, and the Personality that she is.
I am so glad that she is in our lives!

It is especially great to get little love notes from her, writing that she loves her Mom and Dad!


It is passing too fast!!

Would you tell the mom if their kid steals?

The hockey season has just started at school, and Little Miss had her first official hockey lesson yesterday. We had to go and buy the mouth guard as well, as they are not allowed to play if they don't have one.

When I went to fetch her yesterday, she told me that her mouth guard was missing when she had to get dressed for her hockey practice. She saw that a friend of hers was running around with one that looks exactly the same as hers. She told her different stories about where she got it from. Since she don't have hockey, it is strange that she had the same one yesterday.

I asked the friend about where she got it. She first told me it was from Pick 'n Pay. I then asked if I could phone her mother. She then said now she got it from her father. (They are divorced) I then said could I phone the father. She then changed the story that it comes from her aunt (or lady that is married to the father). I had to leave it at that...

I went and bought another mouth guard as it is already ruined. It is one of those mouth guards you have to heat up and fit exactly to the teeth.

My question is: Do I phone the mother to tell her about a potential issue? It seems the girl is already using the divorce to scapegoat between the two parents. I am sure she told the mother she got it from the father.
Or do I just leave it? (If I am the parent, I would like to know.)

Wordless Wednesday #276 - Hockey Season

Third week starting good

She told her dad yesterday that he can leave her at the gate, and that she would go in by herself.

Which she did today!

Her dad had to compose himself, and let her go...


(How quickly the dynamics change.
And how quickly they are independent little beings!)


I hope I won't be hearing "It's not a lekker day!" this afternoon.
But it seems the third week started on a good note!


Related post:

First week of school - still getting into it!

Not a lekker day!

"Lekker" = not exact translation, but "Nice"


This is the standard reply that we have been getting for the past two weeks.

Little Miss has an issue each day. And as soon as there is an "issue", the day is spoilt!

Melancholic personality? Hope not!
(Even writing this makes me feel that putting it out there will label it for her and us.)
But how do you teach a little one not to see the dark in everything? That the glass is half full, and not empty?

Is it possible to teach them to see the bright side, when they are constantly in drama mode and having some sort of crisis which ruins the whole day?


Some of the issues this past week:

- Her best friend did not want to play with her!

- Her best friend was mean to her.

- She had a bee sting in her hand.

- She hurt her toe.

- Mom forgot to put in her homework book. (No, I did not! It was in her bag.)

- I did not put in her dress for after-care and she could not put on her school dress again. Her friends teased her, and ran away. She had to make do with her jersey and stretch pants. (Unfortunately I did! Feeling very bad!)

- The sun did not come out yesterday. It was raining!

- Her friend broke her toy.

- She was tired. (We really stick to the 8 op'clock rule to get her into bed, but she struggles to go to sleep, and can't get up in the mornings.)

- She lost some of her stationary at school.

- She lost her socks / water bottle / clothes at school...


And it does not help to tell her to see things differently... It's not so bad! Never!


I saw this on Kidspot this month, and will definitely try some of these to help brighten her spirits! It seems like good advice!
11 questions that teach kids to be happy

Will let you know...


Related post:

First week of school - still getting into it!

First week of school - still getting into it!

First day of school - homework

The first few days of school have passed already. It has been hectic with sorting the after-care, extra-murals, parent meetings and helping with the homework. (And we only have the one child! "Phew!*)

Little Miss has been very tired after each day.

Her first feedback on her first day was that she very surprised that she did not learn to read on the first day!

Little Hoots - First day in Grade 1

Dad had been struggling with her being very clingy in the mornings when he goes to drop her off.
She doesn't want to play with the other friends. Only off course the one friend who does not always reciprocate!
How do you tell/learn a six year old that you can have and play with more than one friend?

We hope it's only because of the new year with new things and that Little Miss will become more relaxed as she gets used to everything.

-------

I had to make an unexpected visit to the dentist yesterday. Little Miss had been complaining about a toothache, but we put it down to all the milk teeth being lost in recent months.

Dr Wayne

It was with a new dentist, but Dr Wayne turned out to be a gem as well. He can speak good Afrikaans! (It was awesome!)

Little Miss cooperated and her tooth was fixed! (The previous time it was a whole hoo-ha! and we had to give her a mild sedative and we had to prepare her before the time...)

I am very proud of her for staying in the chair and sticking it out!

----

How is the New Year school year treating you?

Wordless Wednesday #255 - Grade 1 #firstday

 

Grade 1 - Here we come!

Grade One learner

There is big excitement in our midst. Tomorrow is the Big Day! Tomorrow is the start of a new chapter in the life of Little Miss.

She is going to Grade 1.

We walked this morning past her new class. She could already check it out because the after-care at school had organised two days of holiday care at school this week. It was a good idea to get her familiar with the new after-care, before everything is a new blur tomorrow.

Hubby seems to be more apprehensive about this huge stepping stone. He loves her going into the new phase, but also mourns the end of her being a toddler and a preschooler. His little girl is not as little ...

I do not have the same apprehension, because I love each new phase of her. Maybe also because I went through these stages previously, I am not that upset any more...

But The Student told me I would pinch a tear tomorrow. She says: "You always do!" (I won't! I won't!)

As expected, Little Miss got the go-ahead from the occupational therapist as well as the vision therapist. Not that we would have kept her behind, but we feel more at ease that she will cope this year! I am glad that we took her for the sessions!

She is also going to school without any front teeth. She lost two more teeth and the count is now up to six! She is a true "haasbek", an Afrikaans word for all the front teeth missing!

She practised the whole day on Sunday to jump rope, and by yesterday she was jumping ten counts in a row. She could not understand her sore legs, and told me we had to go to the doctor... (Another accomplishment ticked off!)

The whole family is going with her tomorrow for the first day! We can't wait to see her in full school attire! (Expect a photo!)

 The bag, the clothes, the stationary... everything is ready!

You go, Little Miss! We are sharing your excitement!


Picture taken by Dad yesterday at the OT

Gr R speech practise

Speech preps

The preschooler decided on Sunday evening to practise a random topic for speech for the next day at school.
It is in Afrikaans about the earth, dinosaurs, meteorites and humans.
They are allowed to do a speech any time they feel like it! Mom just needs to send an IM to the teacher in the morning.


I would never have done this when I was her age. Even much older!


One more thing that makes me think she is definitely ready for school next year!


Related post:

- Two wheels' milestone and a report card