Help James practice his writing with Mrs Mactivity

With James being the youngest in his class, he does struggle quite a lot with his writing and also his reading. He likes being read to but if you try and get him to read to you he out rightly refuses, so it is often a battle to get him to do his school reading on a night and even more so on a school holiday.

So when Mrs Mactivity asked us to review their activity site, we jumped at the chance, especially as we are now in a SATs year at school.

One of the main things James struggles with his his writing so the first thing I downloaded for him was the year 2 common exception words handwriting practice sheets.

James tends to do his homework on a Sunday morning so when he finishes we get the sheets out and he does some handwriting practice.

 There are five sheets in the pack 2 full pages of words for the child to read, trace and then copy. There is also a half page and a blank sheet where you can set your own words. 

James will tend to do one sheet each week and we have definitely seen an improvement in his handwriting. He can write so neatly when he puts his mind to it and concentrates. He also has a reward box and when he has finished his homework and his sheet we will award him a set number of stars.

This is the sheet he did after his last lot of homework and I was seriously impressed with how neat his writing has become since he started using these sheets! 

With 2019 being his Key Stage Two SATs we will definitely be using the Mrs Mactivity resources to help prepare him for the up coming tests. 

Access to Mrs Mactivity costs £9.97 per year and can be purchased here

**We were gifted a one year subscription to https://www.mrsmactivity.co.uk/ in exchange of this review**

Back to school and into Year Two!

Its the 4th of September 2018 and James is back to school! Unlike most children though James and his classmates are not getting a new classroom or a new teacher as their year one teacher is moving with them to become their year two teacher.

This year we have decided not ordered any new school branded jumpers as the ones we bought last year still fit. The sizes from our uniform shop go from 5-6 to 7-8 so we won't be buying new jumpers till he actually needs them which will probably be between Christmas and Easter!

We have also decided not to buy the branded polo tops as last year James had three and only one has survived! In fact the one that survived was the one we bought at the start of reception that he didnt start wearing till near the end of the school year! The other two have been covered in paint and marker pen. So we have bought him eight plain white polo tops from Tesco. I have found over the last three years he has been wearing them for school that the Tesco ones have washed much better than any of the others and have actually lasted longer!

We have also bought him 4 pairs of trousers this year as last year there was times I was having to wash them overnight and dry so he had a clean pair for the following day as he was always dropping food on them or getting them muddy!

We have bought a new school bag, new shoes and a new water bottle. 

Its hard to believe that six weeks holiday have passed by so fast! I think for us they go quite quick as we are on the count down to James birthday which is the second last weekend of the holidays then he has his party the last weekend right before they go back to school!

I hope everyone else who has children going back to school this week are as prepared as we are!!

End of School Review!

Its now July 20th 2018 and it is James last day in year one! I cannot believe how fast this school year has gone! I feel like I have blinked and its over!

Compared to Reception, I really think Year One has been the making of James! I remember his old Reception Teacher saying she thought he just needed the structure of year one learning and she was right! James is not one of those children who benefits from the learning through play that reception is based, He needed to have the structured time table of maths at a certain time and phonics at certain time and he has come on in leaps and bounds.

The main bases of learning for James in this last term has all been towards the National phonics test, sometimes I think there has been too much pressure on the kids as before the test James was coming home exhausted after having two hard phonics sessions a day rather than the one he had been used to.

The homework diary they use for years 1-6 have pages in the back for all the stickers the kids get and boy has James had a lot of stickers! Last year he barely got any, this year he has sometimes had two or three a day!

He has also had Star of the week twice, he's been very proud when he has come home with I his sticker which is given out in assembly by the head teacher, the certificate is then posted home. 

James also came home with an academic achievement certificate from his head teacher a few weeks ago! 

I am so proud of how well James has done this year! Year two is going to be even harder as they will be working towards the key stage one SATs!

What does James take to school?

We are pretty lucky that we don’t actually need to provide anything for James for school apart from his school bag and his water bottle. His school even provided every child with a new school pe kit back in September! 

James currently uses his Zip and Zoe multi dinos bag for school. We got this as a review item when James was in reception and he loves it although it is starting to get slightly battered and need to be replaced before he starts year two in September! 

In his bag on a typical school day he will have his water bottle, His home school diary where we record his reading and his homework and his reading book.

I also normally keep a spare pair of socks in his school bag as well as James likes playing in puddles and quite often ends up with wet feet.

On certain Wednesdays James will have forest school so I will put his school shoes into his bag and a carrier bag for him to put his wellie boots and his waterproof trousers into once he has finished the session.

On a Monday James will also have his homework book in his bag, his class are given their homework on a Thursday so they have the whole weekend to complete it and hand in on the Monday.

We will also sometimes have a woolly hat in his bag as well sometimes too.

So this is what James takes to school on a daily basis. I'm expecting once he goes into year two in September he will be taking a lot more stuff with him!

End of Spring Term

So it's the end of the spring term at school and it's so hard to believe that James only has one term left in year one before the summer holidays and he goes into year two! It really does not seem like five minutes since he started the school nursery and now he has almost finished year one!

This term he has gone up a level in his reading books, Started a group with two of his friends to help with speech and language and made a new friend when a new boy started in his class! He comes home full of beans and actually likes doing his reading and his homework! 

He has done another block of forest school which he absolutely adores! I really hope the school can keep up the forest school for when Freddie starts as I think he will love it just as much as James does! He loves being outdoors and Forest School gets him outside and learning lots of new skills! 

He has come on so much since he first started at his school in the nursery back in 2015 that in part to the wonderful staff and family atmosphere at his school!

Next term we have the year one national phonics test coming up eek! Fingers crossed for James passing it!

Spring Term First Half Term Over!

How fast is this term going!! It only feels like five minutes since we went back after Christmas and now James is on holiday again!

He went back on 8th January so this half term has literally only been five weeks long and he's already had two school trips! 

The first trip was on the second day back after the Christmas holidays and they went to Thornley Woods! James couldn't stop talking about all the carvings on the trees!

The second trip was to Washington Wetlands Centre and again he had a brilliant time!! James thrives on being outdoors! We sent James into school with his school trousers and socks and shoes in a bag but they didn't actually get back to school till just after three o'clock ready for us parents to collect them at quarter past three! He never stopped talking about the trip the whole way home and for the rest of the night!!

Each class does an online blog and James loves sitting down with mummy and looking at all the photographs of the things he has done with his friends!

We are still doing his school reading every night after school and we have only missed a couple of nights when James has been totally exhausted!! Now that Freddie has stopped having a nap, he is in bed much earlier which means mummy gets some quality time with James to do his reading!

His school gives each year group an essential question at the start of term that they have to answer in their project outcome at the end of term! This term the question that Year One has is "What Makes The Earth Special". Last term it was "Fire: Friend or Foe".

When he got his first homework after the Christmas holidays it was a piece of writing and he was struggling quite a bit to start with, but once we put a pencil grip onto his pencil he seemed to do a little bit better. 

This last week of half term has been quite a hard one for James as mummy and daddy have been away for a few days for the funeral of the boys great nanny who we lost at Christmas. So Nana and Gaga have been on school duty with James.


James really seems to have come on in leaps and bounds since he went into year one! Roll on the next half term to see how he goes and of course the outcome of "What Makes The Earth Special"

Living Arrows 2018 5/53

Welcome to week five of Living Arrows 2018!
This week as been a pretty boring week as James has been in school all five days, Freddie had his two playgroup sessions and then his normal Sure Start group. 

These photos of James were taken after school one night. We had some toys to review and he was so thrilled to get them!! Most of the things we have done via here lately have all been aimed at Freddie, So to get an opportunity that is aimed at James, then it is brilliant!

Freddie has been so full of beans this week, but he does like his down time when he snuggles up with his blanket and watches Peppa Pig via Netflix on the sofa! This week at Sure Start Freddie has had to say goodbye to two of his best pals who he has known since he was a few weeks old as they were moving house. He's really going to miss them at our group! Freddie has been playing with some of James old toys this week. He has taking a real liking to the playtime bus with phonics! He loves putting it onto the music setting and dancing to all the nursery rhymes!

 

First Term of Year One!

So today is the last day of the Autumn Term at school for James and its also the end of the first term in Year One!

I'm going to be honest and admit James didn't have the easiest time in Reception last year, He found it very challenging and I was terrified at how he was going to deal with going into Year One where they have a much more structured time table of lessons, where as Reception it was very much learning through play. In Year One they only get one hour a week of free play and that is last thing on a Friday afternoon. 

I have been so surprised at how well James has adapted. He has a new found love for reading and has had over thirty books this term alone where as in Reception he had about ten in the whole year! 

He also loves drawing pictures and writing his numbers! They have been learning about the Great Fire of London this term and James is totally fascinated by it and he is so excited that we are going to spend a day in London in February half term!

He says his favourite things to do in school are reading, number work and playtime! I don't know where he gets his love of maths from as mummy has always hated it and not been very good at it!! He has also had his forest school sessions this term which he has absolutely adored! One day a week they would spend the morning in the school secret garden learning fantastic skills ie cooking on a campfire and building the fire. They even made nettle pancakes which James loved!

We had parents evening a couple of weeks ago and his teacher said how proud she was of him and how well he has adapted. We go to look at his books and we saw such a difference in his handwriting in just a few weeks. 

I really hope this attitude he has towards his school work continues into the rest of the year! Well Done James we are all so proud of you!

End Of Reception - First Year at School!

So it's James last day of school today and I really can't believe my baby boy has finished his first year in school.

This time last year he was finishing nursery and I was all i cant believe he's finishing nursery for big boy school and now he's finished his first year in school. Year one in September sounds so grown up.

I know James is really going to miss the TA they have in the afternoon as she was his TA in nursery so he has had her for the last two years.

So it's not been an easy year for James. He has had his struggles, mostly with his stubbornness. You ask him to do his keywords or his reading and he just mucks about.

He has some lovely friends most are from his class at nursery, but he has made friends with some of the kids that were new in the school.

I have loved going up to pick him up and hearing all about his day. I have been going up that little bit earlier so I can see him play outside with his friends. Its so cute hearing his little friends shouting "James there's your mummy and baby!"

Since James started school, his relationship with Freddie has got so much better. He comes out of school telling him he's missed him.

We had the end of term project outcome last week and mummy, daddy, nana, gaga and Freddie went into have school dinner with James and to collect our cook books that the kids had made this term.

Although it's the end of school, James is still not yet five and wont be five till the second last weekend of the summer holidays.

I'm so proud of everything James has achieved in reception and I'm looking forward to him continuing to flourish in year one.

 

Improving Fine Motor Skills.

Fine motor skills is something we have found this year James has struggled with, This is why he seems to hate writing so much! 

Mummy is on a mission this summer holiday to improve James fine motor skills so when he goes back to school come September he will hopefully not struggle to hold his pencil!

Pintrest has a lot of posts on fine motor skills and how to improve them. I have started spending free time on an evening searching for little things that will help James and so far I have made him two little games.

The first game is threading straw beads onto pipe cleaners. The bits of straws have been cut into beads of different sizes to be threaded onto pipe cleaners. 

The second game is similar but instead of using pipe cleaners, its a piece of wool. I'm hoping that these games will help James.

I'm also looking into making him some threading games, where he has to thread a piece of wool through holes to make patterns on shapes.

I have also made him some writing practice sheets, I'm really hoping to get him wanting to write over the summer but I'm literally not holding my breath due to his stubbornness!

This is a link to my board on Pintrest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/victoriahockley/fine-motor-skills/ so if you have any more ideas of ways I can help James leave a comment below!

Living Arrows 6/52

It's been a busy week for James and Freddie, even with a poorly mummy. Nana and Gaga had to come look after Freddie on Friday afternoon so mummy could rest. James had a busy week at school but was thrilled that Gaga came to collect him!

James successfully filled his reward box again, so was rewarded with a hot chocolate at Starbucks and then his happy meal at McDonald's. The week ended with James getting his new highback booster car seat, meaning Freddie could move into his old one! 

Freddie 'graduated' from his maxi cosi cabriofix into James old maxi cosi rubi. His first trip facing forwards was eventful! He loved being able to see out the windows, but he's still not a fan of traffic lights! As normal he winged and whined when the car stopped at traffic lights!

Summer Born

So most of you know I have a summer boy and a winter boy. I have been thinking about things you are not told about having a summer baby!

The most important for me is they could be youngest in their class, especially if they are late! James was due August 18th, but didn't arrive till eight days later on 26th August. This makes him the youngest in his class at school, and not by a few days, it's a month between James and the next youngest child in his class. There's actually kids in the school nursery with closer birthdays to his!

Another thing is their birthday will always be in the school holidays, but that also means friends and family are on holiday so having a party is a bit hit/miss. Last year there was only ten including James and Freddie at James party!!

Hand me down clothes can be wrong season! Freddie is into James old 12-18 clothes but I have a pile of 12-18 shorts that I don't think will fit Freddie come summer! 

Toilet training can be hit/miss. James didn't potty train till he was 3, that was literally two weeks before he started nursery. We had issues with James refusing to go to the toilet at nursery. So for the first few weeks we had to pick him up early or would get a phone call to pick him up early. Now a year on he will happily use the school toilets.

James is a reluctant writer and does struggle a bit with fine motor skills, this is also down to how young he is compared to the rest of the class.

If anyone has anything to add about summer born babies then leave a comment below! 

School Week Two

So week two at school is over! The first day of the half one pick up was so odd and I did find myself clock watching a little bit to see what time it was for pick up as I was so used to the 1200 pick up from nursery last year! I have had to remind myself after my groups to go home as I would normally have just waited around till pick up time. 

The full class of thirty have been in this week and James has made a lot of new friends! I was worried about how he would cope with the noise and his ears. He seems to be doing ok, but both his teacher and the TAs know the signs to look for if they causing him problems. He has started leaving me in either at classroom door or even one day left me in cloakroom! I'm hoping this will progress to him leaving me in the yard as the school are wanting reception to do independent entry from after October half term holiday. 

We are still struggling to get an interest in his reading book or his key words. I know he is the youngest, but it's such a struggle to even get him to look at his school stuff.

I think it's been a pretty successful week on a school meals point. He has not been coming home at half one wanting food. I think because Newcastle City Council have the rolling menu online I can tell him what there is so he knows what to expect. 

He has been absolutely exhausted with the half one finish so I am fully expecting lots of tears from tiredness on the full days pick ups. I will be attaching the buggy board back onto the pram to get him home quicker. Poor boy has been asleep by half seven at the latest and slept till at least half six every morning although Thursday it was after seven when he woke up! It was after half seven again on Friday morning, but I think that was more due to the disturbed night he had had with a massive thunderstorm waking us all up and keeping us up for a good couple of hours.

We have had a lot of tears after school due to pure exhaustion! Its been an extra two hours from the first week. Next week will be a full day with a three fifteen finish. So I am fully prepared for an exhausted little boy!

I am really stumped for ideas for an after school snack though for next week as we normally don't have our tea till about five o'clock and reception are taken to have their school lunch at twelve. James does like apples, but not the skin! So any ideas please let me know! 

The first week of school

So the first week of reception class is over, James has been in half days this week 9-1130 and he's really surprised me, we have had no tears on drop off, he's been going in happy and smiling! He was a little clingy on the first day but as soon as he got into his classroom and saw his friends he soon cheered up and went and sat down!

Day two he came home with his first reading book, his reading record and his first set of words to learn. I was pretty shocked at these coming home on day two! I thought they would maybe give them a couple of weeks to settle down, but I can see they want to get the kids started on their learning straight away.

Day three and we got our first accident form! Yep James and one of his little friends managed to run into each other outside and bang heads! They had also baked some biscuits which they then decorated and brought home on Friday! 

There has only been half a class in each morning, with the other half in on the afternoons. Week two however all the children will be in each morning till half past one, meaning James will get his first experience of school meals. Last year in nursery, they stayed and had a Christmas lunch at school, which James seemed to like, so I'm hoping seeing his friends having school meals might help his fussy eating.

James has been coming home shattered every afternoon and he's been in bed and asleep by half seven most nights. I know this week he will be exhausted due to the extra time hey are in.

He has not been very interested in his reading book or looking at his words, I'm putting this down to him being so young compared to rest of the class. Some of his friends were the age he is now when they started nursery last year. So if anyone has any tips on helping him learn to read please share them! I have already picked up some fab advice from fellow bloggers! 

The night before school

As I'm writing this, both my boys are tucked up in their beds, but it's a different feeling tonight, the clothes are all laid out for tomorrow and the alarm is set!

It's been six weeks since I needed to set an alarm, but tomorrow we will do the familiar walk to the local school and go through the same door but instead of entering nursery we will go next door to reception.

Four years ago you were a tiny baby sleeping in your carrycot, now you are four a bright and intelligent, friendly little boy. And you do know your own mind. If your not happy you let everyone know about it.

This is the start of your full time education James. We are so lucky you are in a school system where you will only change once. So two schools between now and you leaving at eighteen! 

Work hard my little dude, but remember mummy, daddy and Freddie are proud of you know matter what xxx

This mummy is feeling very emotional tonight. It's hard to believe my first born starts school tomorrow not even two weeks after he turned four! 

All about James

The last update I did on my big boy was his third birthday last August. He's now three years & nine months old, so we are edging towards the big fourth birthday in three months time! I can't believe in a few short weeks my first born baby is going to be four years old!

So what does James like?

He loves: 

* playing outside

* his nursery

* the park

* his kindle fire

* Man United

We got his primary school place confirmed nearly two months ago & I'm thrilled he's going to be at the school where he is currently at nursery! It's a lovely school right on our doorstep where the head teacher makes it her job to know every child in the school. It's a nursery to year six school so goes from age three to eleven. I'm so glad James won't have to change school till he's in secondary school and again the local one is a short walk from us. I have the reception class parents meeting in a couple of weeks! 

Our local park is just across from his nursery, so if the weather is nice we will sometimes go straight from nursery to the park for a little bit then go home for lunch or we will come home for lunch then go back to the park, Freddie will nap in his pram so I can play with James on the swings! 

He still loves his trains and vehicles, but has developed a love of space and dinosaurs since starting nursery! He forever telling me that we live on the planet earth!

He's still very much a daddy's boy, so mummy does not get a look in when daddy is home. But he still loves a mummy cuddle but only on his terms! 

He has taken am interest in cooking, so he likes to help mummy to bake cakes and biscuits and make jelly! 

He has a habit of getting out of bed on a night and falling asleep in silly places! In the last few weeks he's been on his chair a couple of times, but the oddest has to have been in his wardrobe!

His favourite tv shows are Bob the builder, Thomas and friends, Noddy toyland detective, Ben and Holly the list goes on, but his big favourite is Paw Patrol! His favourite character is Marshal the fire pup! He can sit for hours and watch Paw Patrol over and over on Netflix! 

Like most kids his age he still likes the videos on YouTube of people opening kinder eggs. He also is always finding new shows on YouTube to watch like Tayo the little bus or Robo Car Poli.

This year was the first year James has shown a real interest in the FA Cup I'm guessing because our team, Man Utd, were in the final! He got so excited when we won! He was waving his arms around shouting nited won! 

I can't believe in a few weeks time my big boy will be a four year old and getting ready to start on his educational life at full time school! Where has the time gone! 

The school waiting game

Now it's April, the stress has finally started kicking in. A week on Monday, April 18th, we find out which primary school James will be attending. It's hard to think about our little boy starting primary school when he's not even four yet and won't be four until a few weeks before he is due to go into reception class.

His application was put in at the beginning September, so I had managed to put it out of my head till April started. Am I nervous? Yes I'm actually terrified about it. 

Our first choice school is where James currently attends nursery. It's a five minute walk from our house and we love it. The foundation unit is separate to the rest of the school, it has its own entrance and it's own playground. It's like it's in its own little bubble away from the hustler and bustle of years one to six. It's a small school with one class per year group and the head teacher knows every child and parent. The best bit is the school goes from nursery to year six, so James wouldn't have to change school again till he's eleven.

Our second choice school is still quite close to us but it's a nursery till year four school, so James would have to change schools at nine and then again at thirteen. 

How would I feel if James didn't get his first choice? To be honest I would be heartbroken. Over the last few months I have grown to love the school. James hasn't had the easiest start in nursery. He's the youngest in the class by over six weeks. Plus most of the other children have been in some sort of nursery or playgroup before coming to nursery, so they were used to being away from their parents on a daily basis. James however hadn't, he had been with me or my parents everyday since he was born. Sure we had been to stay and play groups but he had never been away from me till he started nursery. 

Check back on 18th April to see which choice we get!

Nursery induction- The Home Visit.

Yesterday morning we had our home visit from James new nursery teacher and nursery nurse. James being typical James decided he was going to spend the whole visit hiding under daddy's desk. This is pretty normal when someone comes to our house.

There was lots of questions on things he likes doing, what he likes to eat, what he's scared of etc. 

We also went through his routine ie bed times what time he wakes up. His favourite things to do ie trains, diggers, cranes etc. the teacher was telling us about a construction are they have this term. I think James is going to love it as he loves nothing more than building towers & bridges. His favourite toys are his digger, his trains & his crane! 

Even though he spent the whole time hiding he is very excited about going to the nursery on Wednesday for his hour, the big test though will be next week when he goes in for two hours, which will build up to the full three hours for a full start on Monday 5th October! 

I'm really excited for this new chapter that is starting in our lives. I think once James gets used to the new routine for mornings where he will have to be up,fed & dressed then put the door by half past eight I'm hoping he with start to thrive! 

The week before the madness starts

So this coming week marks my last full week at home with James before the madness of the nursery induction starts. I can't believe how fast the time has come for my little boy to start the journey of education. 

We have his home visit from his teacher on September 14th, then madness kicks in from the 16th when we spend our first hour in the nursery setting. Then we are back in on 24th, but this time we there for two hours. Then parents gradually withdraw and the time gets longer. So by October 5th, James will be in nursery full time 0855 till 1155 Monday till Friday! 

We have virtually cracked potty training this last week. Well number ones we have. Still having issues with getting to potty in time for a number two.

Mummy is feeling very emotional at the thought of James being away from me for three hours a day, but it will do us both good, especially as I enter the last few weeks of pregnancy. 

I feel lucky that the way Andy's work shifts work out he can share the induction process with me, giving me time to relax and rest at home before going to meet him & James at the end of nursery.

Then once James is in full time daddy can do some of the drop offs, especially as it gets closer to baby arriving. 

I'm hoping James settles in quickly so we don't have to be in with him for too long.