Painted Palms

It's that time of year at school for the year six play, which means I get to paint lots of scenery and make props instead of doing comprehension reading with the children. It's so much fun to spend the day painting!

And Now For The Other Two

Today the alarm woke me at 7.30am and I stepped out of my room to find Rosie and Noah were both up and dressed, eager to start school.  I know this organisation won't last long but it was rather sweet that they were so excited to go back!  Noah has started year two (I can't quite believe he is beginning his third full year at school) and Rosie is in year five.  It was strange for me to only collect two children from school today, I'm not used to it!

That Time Of Year Again

Today was back to school for Ben and Ethan.  It was Ethan's first day at Secondary school and his big brother dutifully walked him to school and showed him the ropes!  (By the way, Ethan isn't really tiny, it seems Ben is turning into a giant!)  Noah and Rosie were a little sad they didn't start today too (but only a little!).

Moving On

Today was Ethan's last day at primary school and I attended the Leavers Assembly at the village church along with the other year six parents.  The great thing about living in a village with a school close to the church is that we get to sit in a beautiful chapel with vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows!  The assembly is an opportunity for the school children and teachers to celebrate the achievements of the year six pupils and to wish them well in their secondary school.  Here is a bad shot between the heads of many parents of Ethan collecting his dictionary and mug from his teacher:

A big part of the assembly is for each year group in the school to sing a special goodbye song to the year six children.  Now, I am not known for being a teary person but that all goes out of the window when I listen to a piece of music that hits the right spot.  Today that was when the year four children (including Rosie!) sang 'Greatest Day' by Take That.  These lines were the ones that set me off:

Today this could be the greatest day of our lives

Let's make a new start, the future is ours to find

Can you see it?  Can you see in in my eyes?

Can you feel it now?  Can you hold it in your arms?

Oh, stay close to me, stay close to me

Watch the world come alive tonight

Stay close to me

Hold your head high, arms open wide

And the world starts to come alive

When you stay close to me

For me it summed up the children moving on, growing up and embracing the world, but wanting to stay close to watch their journey.  I don't think there was a dry eye in the church, teachers included!  Here's the band's video of the song:

I thought I was safe after that incident, but the assembly concluded with the school song 'World In Union'.... you should check those lyrics out too, it was a total blubfest!

From now on I only have two children left at St Michael's, Ethan will be joining his big brother at Teign School in September.  When did they get so grown up?

Cross Dressing And Facial Hair

Today was the performance of the year six's play 'Oink!' for their parents.  It is a tradition that marks the end of their time at St. Michael's as they leave to start secondary school in September.  I have been busy these last few weeks helping with props and costumes and it was great to finally see everything put together.  Ethan had volunteered for a role in the play that no one else would take... the Bearded Lady in the circus scene!  (He had lots of extra house points for that.)

I think Ethan rather enjoyed the wig and dress, he was subconsciously twirling his 'hair' and swishing his skirts!  It was a fun play and the singing was fantastic.  The children were told they could go home in their costumes and return in them a couple of hours later for the evening performance.  I said to Ethan that he could change before leaving school, but he chose instead to go home on his scooter looking like this:

Colanders And Pipe Cleaners

This year I have been helping out at our school by listening to the year 6 pupils read but these last couple of weeks I have been painting scenery and making props for the end of term play the year 6 classes are putting on.  My stable doors, home interiors and landscape designs have all been met with approval by the children, but by far the most outstanding thing I have made (in their expert opinion) is this hat:

I can't even begin to tell you how excited they were to see this and try it on.  I have had so much fun spending these last few weeks painting and making things, I could quite happily to it all day, every day.

Hooligans

It was our primary school fete today and despite all the fun stalls and games, the most entertaining thing for Noah, Rosie and Ethan were the police officers taking their fingerprints:

...and a spell in the back of the police van:

Hmm, innocent or guilty?

Wednesday's Smile Lines

Would you trust this face?

Rosie: 'I was voted onto the school council.'

Me: 'What does a school councillor do?'

Rosie: 'Councillors look after the school and talk to the teachers about what the students want.  We put up the Christmas tree and we get to do the toast trolley and have free toast!  We do the gardening and we are Eco-warriors too.'

Me: 'What are Eco-warriors?'

Rosie: 'Eco-warriors keep the school green by recycling, re-using and growing things.'

Ethan: 'It's so unfair, I wanted to be a councillor too.'

Me: 'How do you get voted to be a councillor?'

Ethan: 'You put your name forward and the class votes.'

Me: 'Do you do any campaigning?'

Ethan: 'No, you just put your name forward.'

Ben: 'I wanted to be one too, but no-one ever voted for me either when I was at that school.'

Me: 'So basically it's a popularity contest.'

Ben: 'Yeah.'

Me: 'So what you're saying is that your little sister is popular and you two aren't?'

Ben: 'No.... (sigh) yeah!'

Environmental Day

Yesterday I spent the morning at school with Noah for their Environmental Day.  We took a walk around the school grounds to see the orchard, the secret garden, the pond and the vegetable patch.  Noah decided to draw the trees and hill in the school field:

We planted some sunflower seeds:

And watered it:

Then we sarted a collage using plenty of glue:

We finished off the morning making bird seed holders in the secret garden:

I enjoyed seeing the things Noah does at school... and I also have renewed admiration for anyone who teaches 30+ five year olds!

Apples

Would you like to hear a song about shiny apples? Here's Noah singing the song he sang in his first school assembly:

Need an interpretation? "I can see apples high up in the tree, shiny and red they look juicy to me. Come, let's see apples, 1,2,3,4, shake the tree, shake the tree, I would like some more!"

My Last, My Everything

This morning I dragged myself out of bed at 7:30 to find Noah dressed ready for school and very excited! He had put his sandwiches I made the night before into his lunch box with his frozen yoghurt and fruit and gathered his PE bag and book bag together. (I wonder how long this organisation will last?) He went into his new classroom without a care in the world, put his coat and bags away, gave me a kiss goodbye and got on with his puzzle! The house is now strangely quiet and I am talking to myself. I'm not sure how I feel about all this, I may have to steal a friend's child to fill the hours of 9:00 - 3:15, Monday to Friday!

Three Out Of Four...

...return to school:

Ben really enjoyed his first day at high school (sigh of relief) and Ethan and Rosie love their new teachers, so a great start to the new term. Noah was a little disappointed he couldn't wear his uniform today, he can't wait to start on Monday!

Pride (In The Name Of Love)

The Year 6's always do an end of year production before they leave school, and Ben wasn't looking forward to it as he doesn't enjoy acting or singing at all. To his delight he managed to avoid this humiliation (in his opinion) by having the job of sitting at the back of the hall with a laptop making sure the script was shown correctly on the smart screen for the cast to see. This was his favourite production to date! I didn't take my camera with me as I knew he would be hidden at the back, but I wish I had now. At the end of the show the headteacher was thanking staff and teaching assistants for the efforts made to make the play happen, and all of a sudden he singled out Ben for his work and had him come to the front to receive his own applause and take a bow. Oh my, I really had to blink back the tears (I'm not known for my weeping!) He looked so proud and had an embarrassed smile, but he had enjoyed himself and felt an important part of the play. There have been lots of moments like this lately, Ben coming out of his shell a little more in public and doing things he would never have done a couple of years ago.

This morning Ben walked to school with me today instead of cycling as he usually does. He was lugging behind him a small suitcase for his 4 day residential trip with his class and walking slightly in front of me. He looked older all of a sudden... and very independent. After this trip Ben has one more day at school on Tuesday when they will have the Leavers Assembly. I've been dreading this, the end of Primary School and the start of Secondary, but this morning as I followed him to school I realised he was ready and I had to be too. He even let me discreetly kiss him goodbye in the playground!