10 Things You Learn When Your Child Starts School!

Since becoming a parent I feel like I am always learning. Whether that's from other parents, my child or situations that arise since as a result of being a parent. One of the biggest learning curves for me was definitely when my children started school!

The school playground was just as nerve wracking for me as it was for them. The unwritten rules that parents follows, the cliques and the playground etiquette are all worries that start before you even head into the school gates! But there is so much more I have learnt since we started the school run routine a few years ago with James now and now with Evelyn in reception I have two schools to contend with!

Here are 10 things I have learnt since my child started school -

- Your life will now evolve around the school calendar. Whether that be the school run, the assembles, the in service days and school holidays, the parents evenings or the "stay and play" sessions. Everything you do will depend on what the school has going on. Oh and don't forget you will need to remember the homework deadline dates, the spelling test dates and never, that's right never forge the school disco because your child will never forget!

- You will become very well acquainted with your local soft play centres! Evelyn started school in September and we already have had a plethora of party invites mostly for a few local soft plays by us. Which of course Evelyn loves and its lovely seeing her have fun and engage with her school friends outside of the school setting. My advice would be to ensure your phone is charged and you know where you can grab a good cup of coffee or hot chocolate, or if you have a husband like mine who is basically a big child himself bring him along. Im almost certain my husband enjoys running around the soft play as much as the kids! Buying birthday gifts and cards in bulk for these parties is a good idea too so you aren't rushing around last minute trying to buy something and wrap it in the car minutes before the party.

- Despite being at school for 6+ hours a day your child will have no recollection of what they have done all day at school the moment they step outside the classroom door. It doesn't matter how many times you ask, how you reword your questions or when you ask your child will most likely shrug their shoulders and maybe tell you they "played" or "built". You may be lucky though, a few weeks or maybe even months your child will recall a detail from that day all that time ago and tell you ever minute detail about it whilst you try to place when it happened in your mind.

- You will buy more jumpers and cardigans than pants and socks! I'm sure there must be a jumper/cardigan eating black whole within most schools. A fluffy graveyard where jumpers and cardigans (even the labelled ones!) go to live after only a few days/weeks wear. Despite labelling them as instructed the chances of seeing the jumper again is slim. This does seem to improve slightly as they get older but for the first few years expect to be buying jumpers regularly.

-  Prepare for your children to educate you! They will come home with all sorts of words to do with their phonics. Examples are homophones, blending, tricky words and alien words! Then come the maths equations that will have you whipping out the calculator on your phone as quick as you can so you aren't beaten by a question designed for a 6 year old. 

- There is an Alpha mum and a Beta mum in every school playground, the chances are you'll be scared of both - unless you happen to be one of course. Oh and often a very enthusiastic member of the PTA trying to " recruit" as many parents as possible for help. 

- That despite counting down the years until your little ones start school, you will actually quite miss them once they start! You get home on those first few weeks and realise what silence actually sounds like once again, but then realise you miss their cheekiness and seeing them smiling and playing around. You then find yourself earlier than needs be at the gate waiting to collect your child realising your perhaps are a little crazy.

- Its so important to check your child's bag after every day. Just because your child has been given an important letter, doesn't mean your going to be handed it. The amount of times I have discovered an important letter or form festering at the bottom of James bag that he had "forgotten about". All crumpled up which I have to try and rescue and rush to the school office the following morning to ensure I don't miss any deadline dates is unreal.

- You can never get lunch time right! It doesn't matter if you pack their absolute favourites into their lunch box they will want what their friend next to them had instead. If you give them packed lunch they will want hot dinners and when you give them hot dinners they will want packed lunch. Oh and creating a packed lunch that is healthy, nutritious, conforms to the schools rules on lunches and is something your child will eat is a challenge all of its own.

- Lastly but the best bit is that some of the people you meet on the school run will become your best friends! They will be the people who text you at 9pm on a Thursday evening to remind you of a non uniform day or school trip the following morning. They will be the people who will see you more than anyone else and not care about your barely brushed your hair in the morning. These people will become the friends you share your worries about your children with, the people you share your stress and your worries with and as our children grow so will friendships.

( Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash )

Have you learnt anything since starting the school run or do any of these sound familiar to you?

xXx


Thanks to Katie - Mummy's Diary, Debbie - My Boys Club, Catherine - Rock and Roll Pussy Cat, Louise - With Love from Lou, Lynsey - Mum, That's Me and Natalie from Crummy Mummy for your contribution to this post.