It has been a month since the boys went back to school and three weeks since Eliza started full-time we have had our fair share of ups and downs already.
She loves school and thankfully wants to go everyday, but she is finding it exhausting. It used to be only Sebby who fell foul of the witching hour(s), but now it is back with a vengeance with Eliza too and by the time 4.30pm arrives so does my wailing banshee.
Of course being this tired does make her fall asleep fairly quickly, but the knock on effect is that she is so exhausted that she doesn’t register she needs the toilet so we have had a few wet beds or wet floors since the start of school.
Having an extra child at school has also affected my school run as I now need to remember to make 3 lunch boxes instead of two and remember which child has which music / swimming / PE lesson / club on which day. Last week I sent Isaac in with his hockey kit instead of his swimming gear and had to make the journey back to school with the correct one.
Then there is the curse if the missing uniform. Eliza is the Queen of the lost shoes. I have no idea how she manages to lose her shoes on a regular basis. I have started making her take them off at the front door and leaving them in the porch, but either they have grown legs and walked into random places or she goes back and hides them somewhere else as they are rarely where we left them. I even found them on the trampoline outside one morning!
Isaac’s most lost item is his PE kit……… he always loses one item of it and I have no idea how. This morning it was his plimsolls and despite turning the house upside down this morning they are nowhere to be seen.
Thankfully Kian is able to organise himself to a certain degree, the issue with him is getting him out of bed! He managed to set his alarm for 6.00am and then let it go off every ten minutes until I snapped and dragged him out of bed at 7.30am. We have now reset his alarm for 7am but getting him out of bed every morning is a real challenge.
We have completed one school project, although my top tip is not to leave it until the last-minute *whistles nonchalantly*
Mostly our mornings are fairly organised though with more good ones than bad and we are always on time. My top tips for a stress free school run are:
- Routine – get up in plenty of time to make lunchboxes, get dressed and have breakfast
- Get PE Kits / Club / Swimming gear ready the night before and leave by the front door
- Get them ready to go out the door ten minutes before you need to that way you have time to find that missing shoes / keys / homework
- Write clubs on the calendar so you know which one is on what day – I have a clear laminate sheet that sits on top of my calendar
- Aim to arrive at school for when the first bell rings and the doors open – not just before they are about to close
How has your first month been?
We are just getting in to the swing of things and pow it will be half term before I know it. I try and be as organised as i can be, but evenb with two they lose stuff and I forget to sign things!
I have to be super organised otherwise I’d never get to work on time on a morning so I have everything laid out the night before, packed lunches in the fridge ready to go and a list on the fridge of who’s at what and when. It all falls apart when I’m off work though for some reason x
Starting school is so tiring isn’t it? For the kids as well as the mums! It’ll all settle in soon then we will be at half term! 🙂
I think we are only just getting into a routine now and they break up again in a couple of weeks; will have to start all over again. Mine are a bit older now and can take some responsibility for their school items, but sometimes we still never make it out of the door on time! H x
My son started school this term. Both my children’s school have it so you take PE kit at the beginning of term and then it comes home at half term to be washed. My son is quite happy having his free school lunch as there’s a choice of two cooked main dishes, jacket potato with filling or a sandwich each day.
We aim to get there before the doors open too and we almost always make it. H lives in fear of being late despite having 100% punctuality.
We are very much in the category of running before the door closes at the very last minute, it’s actually a skill. It doesn’t matter how prepared I am, how early we get up, or how co-operative they are at getting ready, you can just guarantee that something goes belly up at the last minute every single day…today it was a traffic jam in the school car park!
Well done for surviving the first month back – has quickly has it flown by 🙂 x
Due to a large age gap, I never had more than one child at Primary School at the same time. It sounds exhausting, I can see why you would have to be very organised!
My kids have settled in well but Peanut is also suffering from an afternoon meltdown due to tiredness. There seems to be so much more homework than ever before. We have 1 pair of shoes already ruined and 1 tie and a coat lost. How is it only a month in?!!!
Our first month of the school year has been easier than last year for me as my daughter now has a lift to school from a friend who can drive. But my son needs a lot of support to help him to organise himself and keep up with his homework.
Tiredness has been a huge issue here too, they turn into monsters by 5pm.
We’ve also got a shoe monster.
Glad to hear they are enjoying school lovely
As I don’t have small people, I do notice when it is half term given I travel by tube to work and they are much quieter during the daytime!