If EldestGirl has inherited anything from me, it is her winning combination of extreme, insane competitiveness around anything she’s good at – and her complete refusal to engage in competition at anything she won’t win. At school, I would have to come top in any English homework, spelling tests and so on. Sports’ Day, however, you … [Read more…]
EldestGirl took part in her first school play this week. It was a nativity, which our budding atheist was not delighted by. However, the lure of the spotlight proved too much; after the nine millionth time that she moaned about the vicar’s assembly, we asked her if she wanted to be withdrawn from religious activities, … [Read more…]
Halloween is big where we live. Not the sort of big where you lackadaisically put out a half-hearted pumpkin and bung a few sweets in the direction of trick-or-treaters, but the sort of big where people have robot butlers, smoke machines, ten-foot inflatable pumpkins and giant projections onto the sides of their house. Of course, … [Read more…]
Faith has been on our minds a lot this month. Firstly, EldestGirl’s (non-faith) school celebrated harvest festival, with lots of wholesome, earthy songs about the food chain, and hard work of non-gender-specific farmers, and then went and spoiled my atheistic enjoyment with a chat from the vicar and a song thanking God (who presumably could … [Read more…]
One of my favourite things about EldestGirl starting school has been her interpretation of new information. Generally her attention to detail and memory is annoyingly infallible, so I have really been enjoying some of her slips-of-the-ear. Last week we had harvest songs. “Onions, peas and carrots, sweetcorn, beans and marrows and white bread to my … [Read more…]
You know that nightmare you have where you’re back at primary school and you have to dance in front of the class, and everyone else knows the dance moves and you don’t, and the teacher is dancing too and you don’t want to but you still have to dance, dance, dance, and also you’re naked? … [Read more…]
So EldestGirl turned five years old today. Right now, this instant actually, as I have set this post to publish at exactly the time of day she was born: 9.30 a.m. Every birthday, every milestone feels like a landmark: the first solids, the first word, the first steps, the first shoes, the first day at … [Read more…]
I had such good intentions for the school run. I would be – of course – on time, looking stylish and groomed. I didn’t just think I could pull this out of my arse, as “stylish” is absolutely not my usual mode of operation. I did my preparation. I bought some new outfits because it … [Read more…]
EldestGirl started primary school this week. She has had a period of “settling in”, with half-days, and today marks her first full day at school. I think she will be fine. I didn’t really understand the whole “sobbing at the classroom door” thing, either for her or for me. She looked a bit apprehensive but … [Read more…]