School

If you are 1 of the 4 people that may read this, I am fairly confident that you will have had a child go to school.

You may remember that feeling of visiting the grounds, of meeting the couple of people who will become so heavily involved in your little persons development over the next 6 years. How your child may be completely ready for this next stage of learning, or worrying that he or she could struggle a little with the step up in what they have to do.

Fortunately to this point, 2 and a bit months away from Josh starting at Barnham Primary School, he is (personally) incredibly excited about this new adventure.  Rosie and I are all too aware that he is ready for school.  For some time he seems to have been challenging ideas, thoughts I give him, questioning why and wanting to know reasons.  I have never dumbed too much down for him, giving him answers that explain what he wants to know in a pretty forthright manner, and listening to a recent introductory meeting and ‘things we can be doing to help’, there is not a lot Josh is falling down on.

That said, there may well be a whole host of problems that raise their heads.  The most poignant for me was bullying; being bullied.  My entire school life was awful and I do not miss it – primary in particular was the worst.  I regularly; individually, let Rosie and Josh know just how glad I am for Rosie’s nature and how she has been bringing him up.  Those foundations are already laid down for him now, and carrying this through to school shouldn’t be much of a problem – he is pretty confident, self-assured and outgoing; entirely opposite to myself.  I don’t think it is something that will be an issue, Rosie is always quick to shoot it down, but my experience leads me to be ever so mindful of potential behavioural/emotional changes.

The fact that almost all of his friends from nursery are going to the same school is brilliant for them all.  The transition must be difficult at the best of times, so to have these familiar faces around, relationships already forged over the past 2 or 3 years and knowing they will all start this new era together will probably be an unappreciated feeling to Josh, but is a great feeling for us as parents.

He has another visit to school again today for a few hours, and his feedback from his first visit makes me feel brilliant about how he will hopefully get on there.