I cannot believe that summer is almost over

Our great big summer of play has not happened

I feel like I have not done much at all with my children these past few weeks

I feel like I have not really done much of anything

I had high hopes of lots of play and creativity at home

I had grand plans for creating an amazing classroom in school

Instead summer seems to have drifted past without much of anything happening

And now we are a week away from term starting

I still do not have the amazing classroom

And only days left to create it

The school is being repaired and refurbished

It is very frustrating not being able to get organised

Not being able to get in

David and I have worked hard on the outside learning space

So we have made some progress

Now with just a few days until September

I need to get myself ready for the new school year

But more importantly I need to make sure Esther and William are ready

As they start their school adventure over again

Esther and William are starting reception year aged 5

They are beginning school at Compulsory School Age

CSA

They will be the oldest in their year

By birth date

But by due date they will not be

There are children with September birthdays in their class

Where the twins were not due until the end of October

I am still confident that we made the right decision to delay

I have purposefully not pushed Esther and William these last few months

I have read to them but not made an effort to get them reading

I have made sure that they can both write their name

But unless they have asked I have not made them write anything else

They are incredibly bright for their age

It was the physical and emotional development that they lacked last year

This year I think they are ready

If you too are counting the sleeps until your child starts school

There are some little things you can be doing to make the days easier when they come

Practise your journey to school
We are very lucky that our lovely village school is quite literally opposite our house. Three days a week Daddy will be doing the school run as I will be teaching at the school. Once we are all settled in to the school Esther and William may come in with me early some mornings but while we are all new, Daddy will take charge of the school runs while I am teaching. I will be Mummy on Thursday and Friday and will be looking forward to our very short walk to school. If your school journey is more complicated than ours do it a few times so it feels familiar and so your little recognises the school entrance and buildings and you know roughly how long your journey takes and when you will need to leave by.

Get into your new morning routine
We are about to start waking Esther and William in the mornings. They go to bed about 7 at the moment and wake around 8. The last few mornings though it has been past nine o’clock when they have woken and come downstairs. We are going to start bring bedtime forward and waking them earlier in the morning so that we all start to get a feel for the school morning routine.

Try on your uniform
Esther and William love their school uniform. We bought it at the start of the summer so this week we will try it all on and hope that it still all fits. We will try it on, practice getting it on and off and take some photos too, just in case there is not time on that all important first morning. Once the uniform has been tried on, we will put it somewhere safe. I have bought enough uniform so that we can get through three days without needing to wash. Last year I seemed to be washing uniform every night so I have bought more this year.

Wear in your new school shoes
Esther and William have lovely smart new school shoes. This week they will be very excited to know that they are allowed to wear those shiny new shoes around the house. I want them to wear them in so that they will not get sore feet when school begins.

Plan what you are going to do after school
It is good to be prepared when the children come home from school. Have some food ready and a drink. Change out of their school uniform and give their hands a good wash. Have some quiet activities ready for them to do if they choose or snuggle on the sofa with TV or a book. They are going to need time and space to process school and to unwind. You will know how best to facilitate this for your child. Last year we had special lunches and small world play before long lazy cuddles on the sofa and something soothing on TV.

Read books about starting school and being at school
I have a lovely collection of books for starting school that I am going to share with you this week. Some are about what happens at school, some are about self esteem and building your children up ready for school and some are about the love between a parent and their child. There are lots of books I think are important to read in the run up to school and I am looking forward to sharing a few this week.

Look at letters and numbers with your child
As you go about the last few days of the holidays point out letters and numbers to your child. Excite your child about the world of letters and sounds, start to talk with them about numbers and counting, explore basic shapes in the environment around you. Knowing some numbers and letters will be an advantage to your child in reception but is not expected. Children go to school to learn. It is better that children arrive fresh and keen to learn than having been forced to recite numbers and write letters every day for the weeks preceding the beginning of their school journey. Curiosity and an eagerness to learn are more important at this early stage.

Help them to recognise, read and write their name
Having said that it is tremendously helpful for children to be able to recognise their name. Last year Esther could write her name, she still can, but she does not independently write anything else. William could not write his name aged 4, now aged 5 he can but only when forced to and his letters are all over the place. I could have forced him to sit and practice writing his name but I have not. He can spell his name verbally and pretty much any other word you ask him to spell he can. His phonic ability is excellent, he knows how to build a sentence and can type short story but he will not willingly write. We have done lots of gross and fine motor skills development work and I think once he is at school the writing will come, when he is ready. Esther I think will love writing once she finds the confidence to start. I am excited to see how their teachers will nurture them and how they will meet their very different needs and teach their very different personalities.

(If you did want your child to have a confidence boost before school, if you wanted them to experience some letter and number work, learn how to read and write their name, on a one to one basis, before experiencing the buzzy business of a classroom, you could book a session with a teacher from Fleet Tutors, who would be only too happy to help.)

Talk about the adventure of school
It is important to talk to children about school in a positive way. I loved school and so can talk happily about school to Esther and William. I hope that they will grow to love school as much as I did. I talk to them about all the things they might do, the friends they will find, the wonderful opportunities that will come their way. Esther loves dancing and putting on shows so I talk to her about the possibility of getting a part in the nativity play. William loves computers and so I tell him how he will be learning all about them at school and how he will be able to use different kinds of technology in his learning. We also talk about play times and what to do if they feel sad or alone. We talk about everything to do with school prompted often by questions they ask or worries that they have. We just talk.

Life Skills
Make sure your children can get their own coat on and off, make sure they can dress and undress in readiness for PE, talk to them about going to the loo and hygiene and hand washing. Try to give them some organisational skills, instill good table manners and practice tidying up! There is a lot of tidying up to be done in the early years!

Getting ready for school is an emotional time but it should be positive, it should be fun

It is the start of an enormous adventure

Your children will need you to be there, to guide them through

They will need you literally to hold their hand on that very first day

As they take their first step on the incredible journey that is school education

For their true education has already begun

With you

And you will continue to be their most important teacher

Their favourite co-learner

You will carry on sticking together through thick and thin, old and new

This is simply the next chapter for all of you

Embrace it

Be part of it

Enjoy it

And your children will too

This is a collaborative post