My home is a mess

YORKSHIRELASS

Thanks Emm and Save Dosh. I am maybe being a bit selfish because DS1 has had such awful problems at school and I dont think I could cope with DS2 not being happy. I have also seen through DS1 how hard it can be to make friends at school, especially if you dont have the right sort of personality, or if like my eldest you are a bit different. I know how horrible kids can be to each other too.

My youngest has already had a tough time in life, having a brother who is so poorly and I just want to get this right for him. I did think about having a chat with the head teacher at our primary school as she knows my son quite well and knows the set up at both schools.

sonastin

PudseyDB wrote: »

Do you reckon all us CBA-ers need to pledge to do better tomorrow?

I would... but I CBA!:rotfl:

PudseyDB wrote: »

On the topic of ironing.........most of the time our iron only sees daylight when there's Hama beads waiting to be ironed.

OH thinks its for ironing the edging onto things like kitchen worktops. Surely that heat ruins your clothes?!

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

I am having a dilemma at the moment with secondary school for DS2. We are right on the catchment boundary for two schools. Our eldest went to one secondary school two years ago. We have now found out that everyone in the current year 6 at DS2s primary is going to the other school. If my youngest wasnt bothered about it it wouldnt be so bad but he is dreading not knowing anyone in year 7 when he goes up.

Can't advise from a parent's perspective but me & my bro ended up at different schools. We were at opposite ends of the academic spectrum and had very different requirements from a school. It didn't do us any harm being separated whereas I think if our parents had sent us both to the same place, one of us would have been worse off. The "events on the same day" thing was never an issue but I'm not sure if that was down to parents being teachers so never able to take time off for events anyway! I'd look at your son as an individual, not in relation to friends or DS1 - do the reasons you chose sch1 for DS1 apply to DS2 or would DS2 be better off in sch2?

Byatt

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

Thanks Emm and Save Dosh. I am maybe being a bit selfish because DS1 has had such awful problems at school and I dont think I could cope with DS2 not being happy. I have also seen through DS1 how hard it can be to make friends at school, especially if you dont have the right sort of personality, or if like my eldest you are a bit different. I know how horrible kids can be to each other too.

My youngest has already had a tough time in life, having a brother who is so poorly and I just want to get this right for him. I did think about having a chat with the head teacher at our primary school as she knows my son quite well and knows the set up at both schools.

As someone who moved around a lot as a child, and I admit I was very shy, but making friends when friends were already established is very hard. I also have friends whose children went to different schools (2 years age difference), because of very different personalities and abilities.

My feeling would be to send your lad to the school with his friends; if that's what he wants as well. Are you able to view the schools prior to admission?

I don't think you are being selfish at all. You want the best for your son, but because of your experience, making the "right" decision is especially hard. I know I wish my mother had let me go to the school I wanted to go to, (felt very comfortable there) rather than the one she had decided was best for me. (it wasn't, I had a terrible time). Of course these are only my experiences and there will be others who say differently.

I wish you the best whatever is decided; I know how hard it is, as a child and as a parent.

FannyAdams_2

I cleaned the kitchen to a bareable standard (mopped the floor twice it was so bad!)
cleaned the bathroom
mopped floors
collected rubbish and took it out
folded and put away clothes
tidied my bedroom a bit

Tomorrow:
Wash and dry bedding/make beds
clean/tidy kids rooms and sort clothes:eek:
finish my bedroom
dust and hoover everywhere

:TGlad I have a reason to get it all done now and a deadline but I had no energy before I started. Will as much as possible when the kids are at school tomorrow and then hopefully i can get back into a routine!

jpscloud

Hi Helen, sorry I didn't get a chance to respond to your post - if it's what I think it is, I think most secondary schools do a similar thing, it's a sort of social skills booster (usually run for a half term or term, not permanently) and just about any child can be offered it - specialist teachers run the sessions. I'm not sure if home is contacted routinely but at our school children aren't taken out of core subjects so I was surprised to hear that your DD is missing maths for it. If it's anything like ours, the sessions are great and I'd be happy for any child I cared for to join them.

PudseyDB

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

Helen, glad you got it sorted out with your daughter and school. I am having a dilemma at the moment with secondary school for DS2. We are right on the catchment boundary for two schools. Our eldest went to one secondary school two years ago. We have now found out that everyone in the current year 6 at DS2s primary is going to the other school. If my youngest wasnt bothered about it it wouldnt be so bad but he is dreading not knowing anyone in year 7 when he goes up.

Academically there is no difference between the two schools. Its just the social side and I think DS2 is going to struggle. DS1 isnt attending school anyway because of his health and we dont know if and when he will ever go back. At the moment I am leaning towards sending DS2 to the same school as his friends. But is it a mad idea to possibly end up having my two kids at different schools? If anyone has managed to follow all this I would love your thoughts. OH and I are going round in circles with it.

The way I look at it is...would it be much different to having one child at high school and one at juniors? There was always the very slight risk of events happening on the same day, but rarely. Mostly the only inconvenience is that one school may have a training day when the other hasnt.

I'd be inclined to send ds2 with his friends for 2 reasons......
1 even when he's well enough your eldest wont always be at that school, at some point he's going to leave and go elsewhere - so you may then end up taking them to different places anyway

2 even though kids are split into different classes, its always nice to see some familiar faces - and even now some of my 2 daughters closest friends are those that they knew in high school - which comes in handy when theres homework dilemmas (like tonight my eldest has gone to her friends to help her with some homework she doesnt "get")

Admitedly, I did tell dd2 that I didnt think it was a good idea to go to a different school to her sister - but thats because it wouldve meant I had kids in 3 different schools! Luckily all her mates decided to go to this one too.



PS. I do solemnly pledge to do better tomorrow Should be easier as OH is off to visit a friend in the morning, so he'll be out of my way. I never seem to get much done when he's on the afternoon shift and at home till 2pm.

Emm-in-a-pickle

Gilly - and anyone else not familiar with the term - `snappins` is the packed lunch (or in this case midnight feast!) that you take to work. Tonight it`s remains of cola ham done in slow cooker, plus some cold un-curried remains of the chicken we had curried last night, with some salady bits. (I was going to do a HM leek & potato soup, put him some in a flask, and some ham in a little tub to eat with it, but I didn`t get around to it. Not CBA, just got bogged down with a bit more kitchen de-gibbling.)

PudseyDB

Emm-in-a-pickle wrote: »

Gilly - and anyone else not familiar with the term - `snappins` is the packed lunch (or in this case midnight feast!) that you take to work. Tonight it`s remains of cola ham done in slow cooker, plus some cold un-curried remains of the chicken we had curried last night, with some salady bits. (I was going to do a HM leek & potato soup, put him some in a flask, and some ham in a little tub to eat with it, but I didn`t get around to it. Not CBA, just got bogged down with a bit more kitchen de-gibbling.)

Thought it might be....Mum (in Derbyshire) always called it "snap" - no idea why though!!

gilly1964

I am learning a new language today

snappins - packed lunch

now kitchen de-gibbling - sounds painful :eek:

I am supposed to be doing some paperwork for badminton but CBA and no that does not stand for County Badminton Association

I am actually shattered - is it too early to go to bed??

YORKSHIRELASS

Thanks everyone for taking the trouble to reply to my school dilemma, I am touched by your kindness and helpful comments. Especially as this is really a messy home thread!

DS2 has a best friend who he has been close to since playgroup. They were on a sleepover last week and I laid in bed reading my book listening to them chattering in the next room. DS2 was saying to his mate how much he was going to miss him at school and I had a lump in my throat. I know you cant make decisions about secondary school education based on friendships and they will probably go their separate ways in the end anyway. I just know from my experiences with DS1 that no matter how bright your kid and how good the school you dont learn if you are not happy.

Ok decision time - and back to the point of this thread! Do I put the ironing away or dump it on the landing and deal with it tomorrow. Going to need a couple of post-Christmas chocolates before I decide I think!