[heidih]

Whos looking foward to back to school.??.early mornings and packed lunches..have a good day kids ..

[deepinthewoods]

im looking forward to getting back to work again but i will miss having my little lady with me, im always more upset than she is, shes quite excited about going back into year 8, and not being the youngest at the school.

[in the hills]

   Miss mine.
      Good fun when they are around and some good conversations now that they are getting older.
      Daughter glad to go back in some ways .... enjoys being with her friends but always difficult for my son
      when he has to return to the dreaded routine. He likes to do things his way and feels "trapped" at
      school. Rules seemed to wind him up, especially if there is no real reason for them  and sitting still 
      and quiet is not his thing at all. Oh dear    ...... back to the fireworks.

[heidih]

In the hills.: aww shame for your son..yes school so restricted isnt it!.
I will miss mine too..i had surgery over 5 mths ago so ive been off and im dreading bein back at work and them at school.
The only thing i wont miss is teenagers fighting..

[benkt]

Our eldest is off to school for the first time "in five sleeps". Not at all looking forward to having to get them all dressed and out the house early every morning.

[plumseverywhere]

A new set of challenges for us in some ways     My eldest starts 'middle school' and she's very excited about the tie, blazer, rugby lessons and bunsen burners but a) it means getting her to the meeting point at 8.05am whilst still getting the 3 little ones sorted too but b) she'll be reunited with some of the kids that bullied her and who were one of the reasons we changed first school. She seems cool with it all but mummy's quite worried 
On the plus side, she's back with her best friend EVER (apparently) Jimmy - and he'll stick by her.


Will miss having them around but they are desperate to go back to see their friends and as they had only been at the new school 1 and a 1/2 terms its all still very exciting

[fairhaven]

Once they get settled I'm sure they'll be fine...      Our eldest is nearly 7yrs & I know she's gonna howl when she gets there    I hate it when they do that,  It's so hard to be cheerful about it all when they are upset)  Our 4 yr old will be doing 5 whole days a week, Before the hols he was doing 3 whole days, And he can't wait    Even our almost 3yr old will be doing 3 whole days, but she loves it too & can't wait to be 'a big girl with her packed lunchbag'  bless her... That just leaves me with Alfie, 18mths old - I might even get some fencing repairs done & a shelter or 2 built whilst he is asleep!!      

[plumseverywhere]

My 3 eldest used to howl when they went back and for about the first week - its heart wrenching and I'd always leave the playground sobbing my self, get home and phone to check on them and they were apparently fine before I was!  Its not easy being a parent sometimes, is it?
The 4th started school when she was 4 and a half and just ran in. Didn't look back. I felt really redundant that day so I guess whatever their reaction I felt rotten!!
You'll find the house quiet fairhaven and its amazing how much more you can get done with just the littlest at home. Scarlett and I used to enjoy so much time together, didn't matter what jobs we were doing it was just lovely time  [size=78%]  [/size]

[Lesley Silvester]

FHF, hope your litle one continues to sleep during the day.  My eldest gave up naps at eighteen months when I was heavily pregnant with number two and looking forward to having a rest when she did!     

[Roxy]

Although I was bright, and found the lessons easy enough - I HATED school    The long summer holidays, in fact any holidays, were bliss to me, and the thought of going back in school filled me with dread.  I preferred being outdoors.  I remember sitting on the bus, and gazing over the hills to where the farm I spent my weekends and holdays at,  is, and wishing with all me heart I could go there instead of school!!  I suppose my Mum did not think like that  - with 4 of us, she was probably glad when schools went back!!
That feeling has carried on I think, cos I hate going to work now....and wish I could stay with the animals. Its such a rush in the mornings to feed them all, and then get to work before 9.

[Sylvia]

In the hills, I can empathise with your son. I hated school, every second I was there was a torture, being treated like an idiot almost like a criminal because I didn't "fit in" or comply or conform, or learn much more than I had at Primary School come to think of it.
One of my grandsons is the same. He's going to a school after the holidays where the emphasis is on gardening, animal husbandry etc. rather than on academic success. If he feels so inclined he can do all that when he's older (he's 13) I think he felt pressured when he first went to Secondary school, too much was expected of him.
How many folk remember Grammar School and Secondary Modern. A much better system in my opinion and these days you can do your "levels" as an adult. A friend of my elder daughter never went to school, she hated it so much and was in constant trouble with the authorities. When she was 27 she took A levels and now, after much hard work has her Doctorate.
A niece gained her BA when she was forty. I still have bugger all

[Bionic]

Sylvia I got my law degree at 51 and there were people there older me studing the same thing. There is a time for all of us 
Sally

[in the hills]

Sylvia, I think your first paragraph sums up how my lad feels about school. Its really difficult sometimes and it does make me sad. He is a clever boy and does well academically with very little effort. He wants to be outdoors and working physically and also to think for himself and not to be told exactly how to do things. Alas school doesn't always allow this. Not much room for free thinking. 

[Lesley Silvester]

I passed my 11 plus and went to a grammar school but came out with only four O-levels.  When I was 35 and living in Scotland, I passed Geography O-grade and Higher.  At 44 I passed my maths GCSE, 45 I did two A-levels at evening class, went to uni the following year and gained a BA (Hons) followed by an MA then trained as a teacher.  At 53 I decided I had had enough of being a student and ought to get a job.      I wasn't the oldest at uni either so there's thr option to do the academic thing later.
 
Trouble is it's getting more and more expensive to study these days.  I was in the last lot of students who had grants (£35 a week) and still had a loan but not a huge one.  |When I reached 60, it was wiped out.   

[Sylvia]

 

Sylvia, I think your first paragraph sums up how my lad feels about school. Its really difficult sometimes and it does make me sad. He is a clever boy and does well academically with very little effort. He wants to be outdoors and working physically and also to think for himself and not to be told exactly how to do things. Alas school doesn't always allow this. Not much room for free thinking. 

Go to your education authorities and ask them for details of any schools that have square holes for square pegs!! Such unhappiness now can blight your life for ever. Or consider home education. This will entail work being set for your son and assessed by someone once a week. this will take the pressure off him and let him see things more clearly and if he doesn't get wonderful grades and chooses a life of physical work, so be it. it's his life after all.