Nice People Thread No. 14, all Nice and Proper

vivatifosi

Hopefully she'll have fun michaels. Places like Cuffley Camp and Phasels Wood and the newer one in Lee Valley are well set up for children her age. They are also something of a rite of passage for Herts school children. My brother and I went when we were about 10 and my nephews have been more recently.

They are very safe and enclosed environments where kids get to explore. I'm sure she'll be fine and they are well.versed in dealing with any home sickness.

vivatifosi

Do you remember me saying about phone bird?

S/he hasn't been back this year. My neighbour cut the trees down at the bottom of the garden where phone bird nested.

Last year though, I became aware of another bird that also did the same calls, and also did strange urban noises. I've now seen that bird, and think that phone bird was a blackboard. Apparently they do migrate within the UK.

This year the robins are still around and still plucky little things. I was gardening on Sunday and they followed me around the garden. They came up so close that I could even see slight differences in their facial features as one has a slightly mohican plume in black.

lostinrates

michaels wrote: »

We have a very quiet house, DD1 has never been away before but has been on her 4 night school trip since Monday and there seems to be no provision for parent contact. I am sure she is fine but it is the first time for her she has not been put to bed and woken up by her parents so 4 days is going to be quite a change.

It's parent contact that makes stays away harder. Not no parent contact. . Its like when parents call at boarding school you cry, not when they don't call. When you speak you focus on the loss, not on the fun, or getting through the loss.

Were she not fine there would have been contact.

lostinrates

I'm falling into sleep again.......the more I resist the harder it seems to pull. I slept really well last night, have been awake less than three hours and am already struggling to keep my eyes open and my face had that heavy feeling........

Its too cold to sleep outside today I think. Yesterday was cold...the wind.

SingleSue

On my first school trip away I reversed charge called my parents every day...yes me, the most independent one of their children!

I didn't bother on my next one but then calling from Holland was a little more difficult (and expensive) than calling from Torbay.

Not sure how Josh will react when he goes on his first school trip away next month (Barcelona), it is the first non day school trip he has ever been allowed to go on but with it being a music tour related one, hopefully that should help to calm any nerves he has. James did loads of away trips but like Josh, youngest never got the chance due to his support needs.

michaels

lostinrates wrote: »

It's parent contact that makes stays away harder. Not no parent contact. . Its like when parents call at boarding school you cry, not when they don't call. When you speak you focus on the loss, not on the fun, or getting through the loss.

Were she not fine there would have been contact.

I am sure she will e fine and I agree with you re the parent contact but going from 6 hours of school being the longest apart to 5 days in one step at age 10 seems like a big leap rather than a gradual thing....

lostinrates

michaels wrote: »

I am sure she will e fine and I agree with you re the parent contact but going from 6 hours of school being the longest apart to 5 days in one step at age 10 seems like a big leap rather than a gradual thing....

Well, too late for her, but you can prep the other two if you are worried. Get them staying overnight alone with grandparents, sleepovers and going out in the evening leaving them with babysitters.

Doozergirl

michaels wrote: »

I am sure she will e fine and I agree with you re the parent contact but going from 6 hours of school being the longest apart to 5 days in one step at age 10 seems like a big leap rather than a gradual thing....

My kids had been to sleepovers by the time they came to do a residential.

They're with their best friends anyway, it's a rite of passage. My school journey was the Isle of Wight for the week in 1989.

My children did two nights, three days in Year 4 and then it increases from there. DD didn't want to go on her recent Year 6 trip (she wanted to see what happens at school) but that was five days. I sent DS on a PGL taster alone when he was 8, maybe?

Just enjoy the quiet. They'll be having a whale of a time. LIR is right, they don't do parent contact because it makes things harder for the kids if they're speaking to parents.

Time to start unravelling one of the seams on the apron This is your problem, not DD's.

lemonjelly

vivatifosi wrote: »

Do you remember me saying about phone bird?

S/he hasn't been back this year. My neighbour cut the trees down at the bottom of the garden where phone bird nested.

Last year though, I became aware of another bird that also did the same calls, and also did strange urban noises. I've now seen that bird, and think that phone bird was a blackboard. Apparently they do migrate within the UK.

This year the robins are still around and still plucky little things. I was gardening on Sunday and they followed me around the garden. They came up so close that I could even see slight differences in their facial features as one has a slightly mohican plume in black.

There are robins in the garden here. Indeed, there's a robin nest in the ivy on one side of the garden.
The robins did start building a nest in ivy the other side of the garden, & I have held off pruning the ivy on both sides, as I don't want to disturb the younglings. I am having to repeatedly chase off a very fat looking cat most evenings that appears to know there are chicks in there.
I don't want to disturb, as I assume messing about might make the parents not return. But how long do I have to wait? At what point will the little uns be able to leave the nest?

vivatifosi

Bloomin' spell check. I do of course mean that phone bird was probably a blackbird, not a blackboard. I really shouldn't use my tablet to type things, it will get me into trouble sooner or later and I really won't be any the wiser until someone blasts me for something I've said without knowing.

Sorry jelly, don't know how long before they (robins) leave the nest.