Pre-School

 With only a few weeks until the toddler is 3, we have been sussing out where we will send the boy to pre-school. Evan’s birthday is in October which means he will be one of the oldest kids in his year. This pleases me no end. I was a November child and by the time I went to school I could read and write my own name. My brother on the other hand who was a late august baby could barely say his name. We start our kids too early in this country. The burden of education on these poor kids heads. Still that’s a whole other post so let’s get back to talking about pre-school.

We will soon receive 15 hours of assisted child care for Evan, which can be used either in a state pre-school or at a private nursery. He will start main stream school in September 2015 which means we have another 2 years at home together *yay*.

This coming year we have decided to keep him at his private nursery, at aged 3 the kids go up to the preschool room and start with some basic preschool activities. Next September he’ll start at a state preschool, we’ve decided to send him to the one that is associated with the infant school he will eventually go to.

The musical garden

It’s in the strangest of settings, bang slap in the middle of an industrial estate but it is wonderful. The school has a frog theme, and the kids are called froglets. What I love about the school is that it is an old fashioned Victorian building with beautiful tall windows that let in loads of natural light. It’s very cosy and inviting and the staff are so kind and warm. We aren’t due to start until September 2014 but we have very kindly been invited to stay and play sessions which allow Evan to get used to the school, it’s setting, rules and all the other children. We have a great time together on Monday mornings exploring in the family room and in the giant garden!

The stimulating scenery

It is full lots of stimulating activities. The garden is sectioned into different areas, it has a wibbly wobbly walkway – great for playing “we’re going on a bear hunt”. A shed for construction play. A shed for reading and a shed for playing house. It has a music section, with lots of instruments made from old bits of tubing and pipes. A pond full of fish and frogs. Lots of activity to stimulate small minds.



A bridge for playing Fe, Fi, Fo





Playhouses



The one & only child.

I wanna talk to you today about a topic that lingers in the background and haunts me like a group of scary clowns about to do their worst and freak the hell out of me. That topic is being an only child. You see, our dear little miracle child will be an only child for us. It's just the card that God has dealt us & we have made peace with this fact of life. What we struggle with daily is everyone else's perception of being a single child. Sure, it would be lovely for him to have a little play mate to grow up with, someone to fight with about toys, sweets & getting his own way, but it just wasn't meant to be.

I have a brother, Craig has 2 one of which is his identical twin so he knows all too well about how amazing it is to have that sibling bond throughout childhood and taking into adulthood. But me, I have a different experience to being a sibling for you see, I am practically an only child. My parents waited 10 years to have my brother, so by the time my 'baby' brother was able to exercise his right in the sport of sibling rivalry I was out the door and on my way to university. We had the briefest of times growing up together, but where he was obsessed with teenage mutant ninja turtles, I was growing my impressive music collection and collecting GCSE's and A-Levels to start a new life, the first step towards adulthood.

When I look back at my childhood I think about life pre brother. Summers spent in Jersey with my cousin who also was an only child. Summers longing for a sister to play with. Summers waiting for my mum to say "you going to have a brother or sister". I was nine when that summer came and to be frank, although I was beyond excited I knew in my heart that we would have a different relationship to that of normal siblings who are separated by a few years. My brother was, & still is completely an ace kid and I love him to bits but we may as well not be siblings as we were brought up as only children.

I'm getting really apprehensive about all the negative cogitation that is associated with only children. I don't want my son to be influenced by his peers or any other adult about being an only child. It's not negative, there is nothing abnormal about being an only child. Like everything in life it's about balance. Evan will not be 'missing out' because he doesn't have a brother or sister, he will just have a different childhood. Has anyone ever said that children from families with more than 1 child are missing out? missing out on one to one time with both parents, either individually or together as a team.

Are you an only child? Do you have only one child .. how does it work in your family? I'd love to hear what you have to say.

We do all we can to positively promote the idea of being an only child & when he's old enough to understand I will explain to him why he doesn't have any siblings and I hope because he's such a great kid already he'll brush it off and say ... "it's cool mum" - I can but pray.

Our friends from down under.

Look who came to stay ... our friend Ella. She lives in Oz, her mum Jane is my cousin in law - Craig's cousin. Here is the boy with his cousins, Aunty Maz & Ella.

L-R: Matilda, Aunty Maz, Tomi, Evan, Ed & Ella

4 months - wow!

It's been 4 months since I posted to this blog ... that's a bit crazy! I could tell you that I have been really busy but the truth is, I've just been enjoying my summer with the boy.
Haven't we been lucky this year? So many lovely sunny days and so much fun has been had. We've been up to loads at  home, baking, imaginative play, swimming, painting, BBQ-ing but mostly enjoying each others company and absorbing every single minute of this sweet life with our little man.