Every other day

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Today is the last school day of the year. Harper finishes preschool this afternoon, and Daisy year 2. When did that happen? I can’t say that I will miss making lunch in the morning (no matter how hard I try I can NEVER get organised and make anything before 7.30am) I can say I will miss the sweet golden hour of 9.30-10.30am when the day of full of peace and quiet and possibility.

Yesterday (sure I was extra emotional) I found myself tearing up as I picked Harps up. She loves school (now) but there have been many a tearful drop off (from both of us). There has been screaming, and chasing from her, peeling off world’s saddest child from me. But through all of this has been one teacher who she would go to. The one person we would both search out with our eyes when we arrived, and when she wasn’t there we would both feel a little lost. One person that I could completely trust her with. One person who has loved her and looked after her every other day that I haven’t been there. I’ll be giving her a hug today, and extra hug and no doubts a few tears as well.

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Daisy is finishing off her 3 year stint in the infants classroom of our small country Public school of just 40 kids. Last week she came home from school telling us that they were having a Talent Quest and just exactly “what IS my talent Mum?”. After much discussion, I went to check in on her a while after she went to bed when she told me “I’ve GOT IT MUM. Accents! My talent is accents!” So we worked on a script, spent much of Sunday and all Monday morning practising and I spent most of Monday wondering if it was happening now? Or now? With my pulse racing a little. I picked her up Monday afternoon and she came bounding out the door, SECOND PLACE. Never been so proud! Rob and I high fived ourselves that night.

Next year she moves into the 3.4.5.6 classroom. Things get bigger. Harder. She has lost all the girls in her actual year to bigger schools next year, and I know that the year ahead will bring challenges for her. I am so grateful for her teachers and the hard work that they put in every other day. Under budget constraints and numbers and reporting tightenings. I am extraordinarily grateful for the public education system and the hard working people that work in it every day. How lucky we are to be able to send our children every day.

So to all the teachers out there. THANK YOU. What an amazing job you do. To all of you out there, NO MORE LUNCH BOXES. And to my girls, how proud I am. Bring on the holidays!

Are you on holidays yet?
Had a big school year?
Starting for the first time next year?

Comments

  1. Our eldest just finished her first year of big school. I volunteered in her classroom every Wednesday afternoon and it was the hardest thing I had to do each week. Teachers are saints! Enjoy not making lunches – school finished here two weeks ago and I feel like a short order cook!

  2. Yes we are on holidays. We have been since Friday last week. Everything has changed here this year. My eldest daughter just finished her Diploma in Early Childhood Education, whom has also started working everyday part time.My youngest has just completed year 10, ready to complete her last 2 years of schooling. Both my daughters have succeeded in so many ways this year. I am super proud. I wish your gorgeous Daisy and Harper a happy time as they move into the next phase. Happy Holidays to you all. V x

  3. I am a teacher at an independent school so I finished last week and my girls finish grade 3 and kinder today. Ahhhh, blessed holidays!!!!!!! I have visions of slow mornings, happy, get-along-with-your-sister children and peaceful days…..Hmmmm, can’t hurt to dream right??!! Merry Christmas to you, rob and the girls xx

  4. I just think how blessed we are to send our children to school and have them come home to us safe each day compared to the horror and atrocity of news across the world involving children and teachers being shot at school or children denied simple education. I was dreading the whinging that would ensue the school holidays of I’m bored but after watching the news I’m feeling thankful for those very words.
    Thank you to each and every one of our teachers in both the public and private system. Merry Christmas Xx

  5. And a big high-five to all the other staff in schools too – like office staff and school librarians. This school librarian walked away last week with 1000 lost books as teachers had not looked (teachers are mostly saints) and I’ve still work to do, which is unpaid (teachers get paid in hols – support staff do not…). Anyhow I’m glad for another year being over and now will cry my way through a year 6 prize giving and leave another school after 11 years of being there as a parent.

  6. always an emotional time of the year beth!
    my niece”s daughter starts school next year and she is sooo excited about it!
    my first day at school saw me putting my case in the wrong place, so I caught the bus home!
    so my tyrant of a mother marched me right back and by that time it was home time!
    that set me up really well! ;0 … through tears! … lol now love m:)X

  7. School days now finished in our house. We attended our youngest’s Year 12 graduation yesterday at the National Convention Centre in Canberra. A very big deal! Felt a little bit teary however extremely proud. We had to stand while all of the students left the hall and I could see him looking for us. No chance of finding us as the crowd was huge however even at 18 he had to double check we were there. I know, sappy Mother moment.

  8. No more lunch boxes deserves the biggest high five ever!

  9. Yay for school holidays and no lunch boxes! Enjoy the holidays Beth ๐Ÿ™‚
    I am about to head back to teaching (just 2 days a week at this stage) at a tiny little school in the grades 3-6 classroom too! I am really looking forward to the calm, peaceful and intimate atmosphere of a small school…the perfect way to ease myself back into teaching me thinks!

  10. YES! Go Daisy! I’d love to see a video of your accents one day. Good going, chicky. Enjoy your holidays. x

  11. amen to that!

  12. My kids school days are long gone but my Mum often reminds me of my first few weeks of school. Miss independent 5 year old I insisted on catching the bus with my 6 year old brother (this was in 1979 when nobody was given a lift to school in our country town), we lived on the out skirts of town, approx 15 km from our school. Anyway week 3 of school we make our way down our dirt road to the bus stop, the bus must have been running late and I was able to convince my brother we were far better off walking to school rather than returning home, we hit the main shopping district around 10:30 which was about 500m from our school only to find Evil Knieval was set up in the Woolworths parking lot, of course we had to go check out his car and motor bike and eventually arrived at school at lunchtime, cue phone call to our Mum and a nice little wait in the office until she came and collected us – it wasn’t a good afternoon.

  13. Must have been a big decision to keep Daisy in the small country school when the other girls were changing to a bigger Primary School. She will shine – she will be aware of the work of the other grades and will be so well prepared. Plenty of time before she steps into the world of a large school. I admire your decision. This is what country living is all about. I made the same decision many, many years ago. I believe the kids from small country schools go into High School as better adjusted students and they mostly have the same opportunities through Primary as the kids in bigger schools.

    • Thanks so much Rosie…I hope we have made the right decision. There are enough older girls in the bigger classroom for now that she can socialise with and the amazing thing about small schools is the way kids all play together from K-6 regardless of which year they are in. The school has so many great resources available – music and Japanese lessons, tennis etc, we are very lucky ๐Ÿ™‚

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