Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 42 seconds
Hey
Powering up the hill with babe no.2 after dropping off his sister yesterday morning, we turned onto the road of my local Primary school. I used to be on the inside, receiving the excitable five-year-olds on that first day of term. This time, I got to observe the big return from the outside.
Things I noticed:
Serious springs in the steps of some parents
Laughter
Big smiles as they handed over their children
I get it.
Six weeks is a long time to entertain your child. Schools have timetables and routines. Six weeks with no routine but constant child responsibility? That’s hard. No wonder you might be feeling relieved to hand your child over.
But I've also heard another side of these feelings about returning to school.
‘I'm feeling so emotional about her going into Year 2’.
‘I hope he's going to keep up in Year 5’.
Naturally, as parents, we care and worry about our children. It's kind of our job. And the transition back into school is a big one.
So today I've been thinking about the joy and elation I saw outside the school gates, and also some of the worries parents have shared with me about the return to school.
Joy and worry are not mutually exclusive. You can be relieved that 6 weeks of 24/7 parenting is over, while also having anxieties about how your child is going to get on at school.
And now they are back, the settling-in period might also be not so black and white either. The transition can be grey: a mix of easy and hard.
This week I'm talking about:
Noisy: It's Not Either/Or
Book: You Choose
Club: Slow Down
'The return to school was a nightmare'.
'The return to school was amazing'.
I'd bet that in a couple of weeks, most people will not agree 100 per cent with either of these statements.
It's a big transition starting in a new school or class. Summer is over, there are new routines for everyone. Suddenly the alarm is going off every morning and everyone's in a rush.
Remember that this is a transition period. Don't expect everything to be fine by Friday... Teachers basically see all of September as a settling-in period.
So your child might seem great this week but have a meltdown or two next week. Or maybe there are tears and refusals every morning for the next two weeks. But they will get there.
The essential strategy: take it easy on yourselves. Maybe they'll have tough times during the transition, but maybe they will also have great times. It can be a mix!
You can ride it out. So can they.
Good luck.
It's a big week. You probably have a million questions, but you may find your child is not so chatty about school, especially as they learn all the new rules and routines.
This is great book to snuggle up with for a good, light-hearted time. You get to choose where you want to live, what you want to wear, how you want to travel…. The chats this book facilitates are FUN. And fun is what you and your child need after a busy week of new starts. :-)
Club
Being thrown back into the busy pace of school life is exhausting. I am never more tired than that first Friday back after the holidays. I'm sure it's the same for children, and perhaps for you too.
Factor in some major chill time this weekend. Having a bit of quiet time together to breathe and relax will set all of you up for next week.
Wishing you some calm, peaceful time this weekend.
Becca
PS How has the start of term been for you? I'd love to hear. Hit reply and let me know.
NBC and Stone Soup have another workshop coming up! This time it's all about Growth Mindset. If your child is in primary school, come and join us on the 21st September. Details here!
