Back To School!

What a week!

I have started the new job and have had to attend two meetings this week to iron out what we'll be doing in the run-up to Christmas. I will be working in Reception class (ages 4-5) for this year and it looks like a busy time. I have been loaded down with books, pieces of paper, courses and meetings and all I can say is I'm glad that I'm only doing 11 and a half hours a week because you have no idea how much work goes into those six hours when your kids are at school.

I have a renewed respect for teachers. They have a hard job. I can't talk about the specifics of my job because of confidentiality issues but I can say that it looks like it's going to be both challenging and rewarding and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in.

The people I work with seem like a really friendly bunch. Today was officially my first day and they gave me a little welcome present of a mug, sweeties, a pen with Eeyore on it and a sheep puppet. (This is where I remind you again that I am working with 4-5 year olds). I thought it was lovely. Small son is currently murdering all his little Lego men with the sheep puppet, the kids have polished off the sweeties and I am about to christen the mug with its first Cuppa.

Having spent the last 6 weeks getting up mid morning and spending half the day in my jimjams, the 7am wake-up call of the last couple of days been a bit of a shock to the system. I'm not naturally a morning person - although strangely enough, neither am I a night person. If there were no such thing as a schedule I'd probably wake naturally around 9am and fancy going to bed by 10.30 in the evening. How dull am I? Like any new regime it's just going to be a case of getting into the swing of things. I expect to stop yawning sometime mid-October.

Tomorrow is a really BIG day for the family. Daughter starts in secondary school. I thought it'd be a total breeze for her as she'd be able to just go along with Big Son who could show her the ropes but, of course, just to make things difficult, he starts back on Friday so the poor love has to go to the Huge Big School on her own on the first day. Further complications have arisen as her bus pass has not arrived. I am assured that the bus driver is obliged to take her on the bus regardless (as long as she is wearing the right uniform) as they are not allowed to leave a child at a bus stop. However the same driver is NOT obliged to take her home as s/he will be picking her up from the school and that is considered a secure environment. The transportation people have told me that the school should be able to issue her with a temporary bus pass once she's there so, fingers crossed that she'll actually get back home tomorrow too. Sheesh!

The other big thing is that Small Son is starting primary school. He has never done more than a four-day week before and as of tomorrow he is expected to go to school from 8.50 - 3.10, five days a week. He's only four! OK so he's five in a couple of weeks - but he seems so young to be at school for such a long day. The rest of Europe starts kids full time the year they turn 7. He's excited about it and his teacher is divinely wonderful and lovely (the perfect Reception teacher) so I know that once the exhaustion of the first few weeks has passed he'll be just fine.

So tonight I'm labelling all the uniforms, writing notes and filling in forms. There will be an early dinner, then bath, then bedtime by 8.

I have no idea what the kids will be doing!