The time has flown by – as it always seems to do, now we are all in the cycle of the school year – and our littlest boy is almost at the end of his Reception year at school. Which made me realise that it’s not just the end for him; it’s the last Reception year we will have in the family.
There are some things that make that first year of school so memorable, and so unlike the others. Here are a few of the things I’ll really miss.
1. The Nativity Play
This is definitely one of the things I’m saddest about. It was touch-and-go whether he would go through with it, but fortunately it had a happy ending (read the tale – or should that be tail – here). No more nativities for us, though. Next year it’s a Christmas Concert, which is lovely, but doesn’t capture that innocent magic – not to mention the hilarious unpredictability of small children performing – in quite the same way. Sniff.
2. The Cafe
As part of their real world play, the classes opened a café for parents one morning, where they served us pizza they’d made earlier in the week. I was greeted very solemnly by my half-pint waiter, shown to my table, and served with the utmost professionalism. Then he ate half of my order, and gave my tummy five kisses when I left. Where else do you get that kind of service?
3. The Junk Modelling
OK, there are some things I won’t miss about this at all. That sinking feeling when he emerges from the classroom with a box as big as he is, which has a couple of small scissor cuts in it but is otherwise in off-the-shelf condition, announcing that it’s his Hotel and must be carried home. Along with the bikes, school bags, bottles and discarded coats. Thanks Mummy!
But some of the creations that he’s junk-modelled have been awesome. The jetpack he started at school, brought home and adapted with the help of his big bro; the ‘bottle carrier’ for his water; the ‘CD worker’ (I think he meant player); and the ‘bug hotel’ that he wanted to install in the garden (it was made of cardboard), all inscribed in adorable five-year-old scrawl with his self-styled nickname, Cool Boy.
So we wave goodbye to that warm, comforting embrace of the earliest schooldays. I’m so relieved to think that I still have two more years of infant school magic to go, and that we can still enjoy the Mother’s Day celebrations, half-termly PE kit changes, and the delights of Biff, Kipper and Chip – but I’ll be a mess at the end of Year 2.
