Day 5

Got to school in time to wash the tables down, having run the hoover round yesterday afternoon - but good news, we have a new cleaner starting next week - about bloody time!

Got a range of activities sorted for the day and  grabbed my coffee - came back down and was met by Katie's mum - she's better this morning, but was poorly in the night, so won't be in again.    Opened the door and let the children in, one of the other mums caught me for a quick word, and then Heather's mum asked me if she'd gone in yet - " I don't think so" I replied.  Mum looked a little concerned, until I spotted her - "There she is look, lining up with the big children!" Mum went to get her, and I mentally weighed up how soon all the children would be ready to line up.  Decided to wait until Monday, see how they are after the weekend, and then maybe go for the middle of next week - lining up in the morning is another step into the grown up world of ' big school'! 

All the children were soon in, names on the register board and sitting on the carpet.  We did a few rhymes and read the last Big Book in the series - the children are gaining in confidence all the time and beginning to make more and more comments about things they have seen and done.

Work done the children went off to play with the various activities set out, until tidy up and play time.  Out on to the playground and all the children went off to play happily, but before long Mandy's big sister in Year 2 (seems like she was just in my Reception class five minutes ago!) brought her to me saying that her ear was bleeding.  I left the other teacher and TA out and went to take her in.  Just as the secretary was getting her washed up and sorted, I heard, "I think your teacher is in here somewhere" accomponied by some very loud sobbing - and then a TA appeared with Catherine, blood pouring from her knee all down her lovely white sock.  She came to sit on my lap and soon stopped crying - it seemed that she and Heather had been playing a game - tying each other up with their skipping ropes! Not a good plan! The secretary soon had the wound cleaned up, but we then established that Catherine couldn't have a plaster on her knee, so we did the best we could with melonin and micropore, but it didn't want to stick , we decided that she had non-stick knees and they would make good frying pans!   By this time playtime was over and we went back to class with Catherine doing the classic stiff legged 'look I've hurt my knee' walk all the way.  On getting back to class I found that it was somebody's birthday, so my TA had brought me a piece of Thornton's chocolate cake down from the staff room - yummy - sod the diet! So there were the children with their healthy fruit and water, and me with a slab of gooey chocolate cake - so much for healthy eating!   The rest of the morning passed without incident, except for a renewal of the dressing on the non stick knee!

The end of week one, and not a tear shed by a child about coming to school - the first time ever!  Perhaps Monday would be the crunch!