School Sports Day

A few photos from the boys school sports day that took place in July.

The participants were split into teams that consisted of children from each year in the school, the idea being that the older children have to help the younger ones. Each team had to compete in a number of events (about 10 I think). Each event has four teams competing, each representing one of the school "houses", Griffyndor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Of course not - they're named after local parks.

Xmas Do's

The work Xmas party was on Friday. We were at the Crowne Plaza hotel again this year - the usual sort of corporate booze-up, meal and Dad-dancing session that these places put on at this time of year. We were mixed in with a few other companies who'd also booked some tables.

As some sort of team-building exercise the manager who'd booked the do had decided who was going to sit at which table - rather than it being a free for all. Managerial 'hosts' rotated tables between each course. This put a few people off, and there were a few last minute no-shows as a result. Personally I found that this arrangement worked OK, since our department has expanded rapidly over the last year - I got to chat to a few people that I've seen around, but wouldn't normally have spoken too.

I managed to get a taxi home, without too much trouble, as I dived out of the hotel just before the music stopped, beating the rush to get a cab.

Saturday was a "meet the Dad's" night out - a first time get together with some of the other Father's from Samwise' year at school. This was a good night out - a few pints out and a lot of natter - "which one is your child?", "what do you do?" and a mutual agreement on who is the hottest teacher at the school.

First Reading Book

Samwise brought his first ever reading book home from school today.

It's fairly basic, but he can read all the words in it already - I was really proud.
He read it to me first, and then to his Mum. He's going to read it to Grandma tomorrow.

Cardboard Guitar

Frodo had a school project to make a musical instrument. We took an old tissue box, some elastic bands, a piece of card, paint and stickers to create this ornate little axe.
Samwise joined in and made a couple of shakers.

Homework

Frodo got his first ever set of homework to do this weekend.

3 tasks to do. Ten spellings to copy and practice for a test next week, a food diary for one day over the weekend and a self addressed envelope to write (and provide a stamp for).

He's only six for goodness sake! What is the world coming to? The first time I did homework was when I was 11 or 12. I think that there's too much emphasis on exams and results and not enough on just learning at your own pace.

Plus with his learning difficulty he can barely write his own name. What has happened to the so-called individual learning plan that they were supposed to be doing for him?

We'll just have to give it a go, and let the teacher know how he gets on.

Frodo - New School?

We had a meeting at Frodo's school yesterday to help determine whether or not Frodo will be going to a new school.

It looks like he might be attending a school that has a Language Unit, but that can also address any social and behavioural problems.

We think that at this stage he needs the intensive help that such a school can provide.

As always the schools with specialised resource units are located in the scummiest areas in the city, because that's how they can get the funding - although the kids attending the units can come from anywhere else in the city.

If we live far enough away from the school then the council will provide daily transport for him - probably a taxi.

It's taken us three months to get the finalised report from his last assessment sorted out i.e. so that it's accurate.

We're still left a bit in the air, since the final decision as to whether this is right for him lies with someone who is in charge of special needs admissions.

If the decision is "No" then he'll stay at his current school and have a further assessment at a later date.

Hopefully we'll find out soon.

Reading Trauma

Frodo got a new reading book from school yesterday, but he was in tears when he came home with it.

It's only his fourth book, but they'd given him one with all new words in, and none that he recognised or knew from his previous books. Poor lad must have gone from thinking that he could read, to realising that he couldn't.

Managed to calm him down, print and cut out the 8 new words and go through the book with him, talking about the pictures and playing word matching games.

By the end of this he was recognising and reading 3 of the words, and having help with the others. He then went upstairs to draw and colour for a bit, so I dropped the new book onto his bed.

I little while later I was writing a note to the school to let them know that he'd lost his confidence because of the sudden jump to the new words. Frodo trotted down the stairs with the new book and read all of it to us - only stumbling over one of the words! I think he'd been reading it to himself upstairs on his own.

I saw his teacher this morning and told her what had happened i.e. that he may need a more gradual introduction to new words so that he isn't put off trying to read.