First week at school

We've survived Xander's first week at school.  It's been a shock to the system for all of us, but it's getting better and better.

Shock number one is how tired the school run makes me... but then I'm still recovering from a fairly inactive pregnancy, and it's a 20-minute walk there and then 20 minutes back, twice a day.

Well, I say 20 minutes back, but the slowest trip back has been nearly an hour.  That's what happens when you end up sitting under a tree by the side of the road, feeding a baby who has decided she's ZOMG HUNGRY FEED ME NOW, despite being fed just before leaving the house.  The hordes of schoolkids found it rather interesting; it's one of the few times I've opted to use a blanket to cover up.  Once we had her fed and settled I was rather hot and flustered, so we stopped at the dairy to buy iceblocks.  We got halfway down the block when she decided the world was again ENDING RIGHT NOW so I ended up carrying a baby and an iceblock while pushing a double pushchair.  Being a mother of twins is sometimes like being an eel juggler.

Shock number two is how tired Xander has been, especially by the time Friday rolled around.  When he was going to daycare he coped fine with an 8.30 bedtime and getting up at 6.30, but he's still tired now with an 8pm bedtime and getting up at 7.  We've tried putting him to bed earlier, but he rebelled because it was still light outside and ended up going to sleep even later than usual.  Have I mentioned that he's stubborn?

Speaking of stubborn, it's been interesting to hear that his teacher (who is wonderful about keeping us up-to-date) has hit the same problem that we have.  He's very reluctant to try something new that he might fail at; he just declares "I can't!" and won't even try.  It's unfortunately a trait he's got from me, and I still struggle with that fear of failure now.  We've all been working to encourage him that it's okay to try, and it's okay to get things wrong, and that's how we all learn.  It seems to be working both in class and for his homework.

We had massive homework tantrums the first night, but that was entirely my fault.  I'd underestimated how tired he was and hadn't given him enough time to process the day.  He's learning to read "I", "am", "can", "see", "the" and "mum".  It's interesting to me.  I have no memory of learning to read (do you?) but that may be because I was the sort of kid who read The Hobbit at four. 

Xander's strength is maths.  He's been happily doing addition for a while now, and at age three discovered multiplication all by himself.  ("Two... and two more... and two more makes six.  Three twos make six!")  We haven't mentioned this to his teacher; school is more about the process and routines at the moment. 

He's obviously less stressed by the reality of school than the thought.  Since he started, we've had none of the night-time accidents which were commonplace leading up to it.  That said, the poor thing had a nightmare that my sister-in-law's mother's guide dog, Chloe, was eating him.  (The same night I woke up sweating from a nightmare in which (gasp! shock! horror!) someone had switched the labels on the hot and cold taps in our shower.  The subconscious is a wonderful thing.)

He's making his first friends in the area, and I'm starting to recognise a few faces at the dropoff and pickup.  It's a good way to help us settle in.  I'm hoping we can set up a few playdates over Christmas.  I think he'll be ready for a break by then! 

* "The rocket is on fire because it got shot by the aliens. It's almost going to explode! There's someone still on it and all the escape pods have launched off already! The needle is an escape pod but he can't find the way to it. And it's locked and his friend has the key in his escape pod."

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gbsmama   #1   09:51 am Nov 16 2009

Welcome to the school days!!! School is hugely tiring for them, and even though they may have been used to doing long hours at daycare etc, it takes a lot out of them. The general consensus between my group of 'parent-friends' is that it takes about a term for them to settle down and adjust to their new environment/routine. We've all had the three T's - Tired, Tears, Tantrums - but by the next term, it magically disappeared. Good luck!

Clare   #2   10:09 am Nov 16 2009

I found the same thing with my kids when they started school, that they were shattered by the end of the day. I found the answer was to feed them immediately and let them veg out reading or playing quietly for a while. Sometimes they would have a nap. That recharged their batteries and then they were back to normal.

I strongly believe in not pushing homework in the early school years. We read the reading books together but only did other work if they wanted to. Fighting a tired, grumpy child to do homework is counter-productive and puts them off schoolwork.

Xander sounds like he's made a great start. I wish him well!

Lukan   #3   10:10 am Nov 16 2009

How does one pronounce "Xander"? You should have gone with Apple or Tiger-Lily.

Captain Spanky   #4   10:28 am Nov 16 2009

@ Lukan #3

Its Alexander, without the Ale. And seriously, Lukan, making fun of names? Pot kettle much?

Charlie   #5   11:14 am Nov 16 2009

I love the way the first two years of school are structured in Ireland, the kids finish school at 1pm instead of 3pm, they have 6 words to learn to spell (really simple ones), some colour by numbers and a book to read. Makes for much happier kids.

And Lukan,....Xander = Zander. It's not that hard. Or do you pronounce xylophone in some weird way?

Des   #6   11:50 am Nov 16 2009

What still amazes me to this day, is how our kids have a built in clock for the school terms, come the end of the term, boy oh boy do they need it, and then after the break - they SO need to go back! :)

@ Lukan - you should have gone with not commenting love!

peter pan   #7   12:52 pm Nov 16 2009

Lukan - ha ha! At least its not 'Sparrow'. Why do parents choose the names they do? That would make a good blog. There are some real shockers out there - well worth a laugh.

paul   #8   12:19 pm Nov 17 2009

Sounds like he is off to a good start. If he has a math brain give him lots of encouragement on his reading and writing too - so he doesn't get discouraged with that. Though the art and story seems like he's not short on creativity.

Kelvin2   #9   02:17 pm Nov 17 2009

My boy came home with an arranged marriage. A girl in his class told her mummy that she knew what her surname was going to be when she grew up! This was after a discussion on family names in class.

Donnelle   #10   02:23 pm Nov 17 2009

@paul: He's very creative with his stories... in a very narrow genre I guess you could describe as "space explosion disaster stories". ;) His Lego-construction monologues are often hilarious.

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