Back to school

[Ruby Slippers]

Here in the UK sees the start of the week when the new school year begins. Today, the weather is bright sunshine with blue skies here in the South-East, and I remarked to DH that it is just this kind of day that I can remember going back to school. As my children grew older, I really missed them after the long Summer holiday, and for a day or two I felt absolutely lost! However, the weeks marched on and we soon became embroiled in preparations for the Christmas activities at home and school. It's a long time ago now but on a day like today, the memories come flooding back.

[LovelyLadyLux]

For me the START of the year is September. It has never been January other than to note January 1st is technically the start. I much love the first Tuesday in September. Now "I" am back to life in that the activities I'm doing start again, life seems to be in more of an on-going pattern with activities and things of interest happening.

The crew has all their new pencils, pencil crayons, note books and are ready to roll back to school. The Granddaughter is super hyped that she is now into grade 1 and 'not' with the little kids in Kindergarten. The twins are keen to know who their teacher is. There is only 1 man teacher for their grade level and the problem is going to happen if only one of them gets this teacher. None of us want the teacher they had last year who took sick leave for more than half the year which left the twins with an on-going stream of substitutes. Sometimes they had 2 different teachers in the same week and needless to me they were not really learning much of anything. They didn't like it either and often complained they wanted to know more. They were then directed to 'study' & write about things of their own interest so they both opted to study the big ships of the World Wars. This did nothing for math and I'm not skilled enough to know where they'd even be in their studies in this area but I figured so long as the brain was thinking about something life would be good.

As for me and this September - the weather here is definitely Fall. I'll be back at pottery this week and Probus and any time now the Fall calendar of Community Policing Events will be coming out.

[Horus]

I like children although I couldn't eat a whole one But I love it when they are all back to school I can go all my favourite places without lots of screaming kids While I was away for a few days I thought of extending my stay over the Bank Holiday weekend, but then I visited a nearby holiday town and you could not move for manic kids running everywhere, I soon changed my mind.

[Horus]

I made the mistake yesterday of thinking our lot went back to school on Monday so off we went to our local country park for a walk around the lake and a coffee later, I pulled up and all I could hear was kids screaming and shouting everywhere.

[Ruby Slippers]

I found out just this morning that a lot of the kids didn't go back until today, Horus! Sorry for being so optimistic yesterday!

[Grandad]

September 3rd when Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, 80 years ago. I was 4 years and 9 months old. My father was a reservist so was called up immediately. Fortunately the infants school was just yards from our house in the same lane so no school run in those days.
In this picture our 2 up 2 down house was the one to the right with dark blue door, the school gate is at the end of the lane. Memories

20140322 St Johns Lane.JPG

[/size].

[Horus]

No skipping off school for you then Grandad, I bet you also went home for your dinner after your mum gave you a shout.

[Grandad]

No skipping off school for you then Grandad, I bet you also went home for your dinner after your mum gave you a shout.

HaHaHa, you are so correct H
When we moved across town in 1940 to a slightly larger house (a horse and cart did the removal ) my new school was just a few minutes walk along a passageway so, once again, I went home for my 'dinner'. I remember that we did usually have a joint of meat on Sundays, mostly lamb but occasionally beef. There would be potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and some veg.
Monday was wash day so 'Dinner' was a simple meal of cold sliced meat from Sundays joint with 'Bubble and Squeak'. Even any leftover Yorkshire was chopped up and went in the pan with the potatoes and veg.
Tuesday was a real leftovers day with whatever was left of the joint minced in the old Spong mincer. This was served in a Bisto gravy with mashed potato, and that was it.
I wish you guys would stop triggering all these memories. I can remember all that as if it was yesterday but have to check what day of the week it is today

[LovelyLadyLux]

There was no Kindergarten for me as a child. We lived way in the country and the school was too small to have one. I had to walk probably close to a mile on the side of the road (no sidewalks) to a bus stop where all the kids collected and then the bus arrived to get us to the school which was probably another 10 miles down the road. School started at 8:30am so I was 'on the road' walking by 7:30am and didn't get hoe 'til closer to 4:30pm. School days were long days in those days.

Now the Crew start at 8:35am. On Mondays they're released at 1:35pm and Tuesday through Friday release is at 2:25pm. Teachers get umpteens Pro-D days off. Almost seems like the kids only go 4 days a week for more than half the year.

Today they only go from 11am to noon and even tomorrow they don't get assigned classes until the School figures out who all they have and where they should go. WHY that isn't done prior to school start is beyond me. Am sure they know the majority of the kids so they should be easily placed vs this waiting 'til every kid in the country manages to show up at some point.

@Horus I'm kinda like yourself in that I really don't GO anywhere on holidays during summer or holiday times when the kids are out of school. I tend to plan my times away when the kids are IN school so there isn't the hype that is characterized by all the screaming.

I have to say when I was a child I do believe I ran about screaming full voice. Nor do I recall my friends doing that but today - OMG - even the Crew have this tendency to scream full voice when they're playing. Course they do not do that at Grandma's house but today lots of kids do just scream or so it seems to me that they're way louder than I ever was ..... course I was a little angel as a child

[Horus]

And the other one is 'Kids in supermarkets' my shopping day is a Thursday and last week the place was like a kindergarten with unruly kids everywhere. There was one child who could scream so shrilly that it was cracking the wax in my ears and I am sure the little turd was following me up and down in the adjacent aisle.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Day 1 of Back to School was a 1 hour day. Day 2 was a 'group day' or some such. Day 3 is also some sort of 'group day' and nobody even has an assigned classroom yet and tomorrow isn't holding out much promise to be any different.

I swear when I was going to school I came home from Day 1 fully knowing which class I was in, who my teacher was and when the assigned homework was due!!

Schools here are so lax. I swear they're not really teaching anybody anything as the kids are hardly ever in school and it seems the school year is rules via Pro D days.

[Horus]

I know what you mean LLL, in the UK they call them 'inset' days or some sort of teacher training days and are often on weird days like in the middle of the week. Like yourself we never had odd or short days when we started school, it was straight in at the deep end and the first job was for us all to make up a timetable which we would copy from the blackboard and then make up our own cardboard copy with a bit of (usually) old wallpaper as a cover, that 'timetable' would stay with you all term and a quick glance at the filled in squares would show you the time, subject and room you needed to be in at any given point of that day.

[Ruby Slippers]

Same here, Horus. Although not in junior school, as I remember. In junior school, you stayed in the same classroom all year, with usually the same teacher.

[Grandad]

Just learned that Grandson Louis will take the Kent Test for Grammar school selection, next Thursday. He is 10 years and 8 months old so will be 11 years and 8 months when he goes to secondary school next September. Because my birthday is in December, I started at grammar school at the age of 10 years and 9 months and, to be honest, did not really feel ready for the more academic style of grammar education. So much so that after 2 years of acceptable performance, I discussed with my paraents and changed to the Technical School which suited me so much better. (The plus side was that my grammar school experience well placed me for the technical school where I did much better than average. )
SO, in my opinion Louis will benefit from his birthday being in January and will be just a bit older than other classmates when he changes school. I expect his parents have hopes that he will eventually go to university but, with more than 50% of school leavers going to uni, and a lack of jobs to support their expectations, I believe that there are other career avenues to explore which ultimately give a better life.
To start with, most graduates start their working lives with debts of around £40,000 to repay loans for their fees. Bit of a millstone really.

[Ruby Slippers]

My Grandaughter is 11 next week, and she should be taking her 11+ too, but from comments from my son, I don't think she wants to. A shame really, because she's a very bright little girl - but I already have my grandson at Grammar School so........!