have no chance at all of reading back, so hope everyone is going good
I am still here, just have a fried brain lately so not really absorbing much i read or it takes me ages, i will get there eventually when the kids are 18 and i kick them out of home
All is good here, went out for dinner friday night and staggered in the door here at 4.30am lol
So still recovering, wasnt sick just really really tired and still am!
Simone, of course he was only joking. It's been a long standing joke with Mark (since I was pg) that Tehya will become a table/poll dancer when she get's older. Make heaps of money and let Daddy retire early. Thankfully I have higher ambitions for my daughter Enjoy your McFlurry hun.
Melinda, I keep forgetting that the groups have merged now. In our original group (march) Tehya wasn't first, but she would be now coz most of the other mums don't post in here anymore.
Aww how cute at Jack liking the trains. It's sweet to see them get so excited, isn't it. I hope you took stacks of pictures.
Hoping that Tom behaves himself for you while DH is away. The first day or so might be hard but then you sort of get used to doing it by yourself, but I bet by the time he's due back you'll be hanging out to see him.
Belinda, sounds like you had a good night out on Friday.. Must have been one big meal How are your boys going ? Like to say it get's easier hun, but....
It takes me atleast a week to get over a big night out. Doesn't help that when I do eventually get home, I have to get up to Tehya still. OH to be able to go out, get piddled, stagger in the door and sleep peacefully and uninterupted until lunchtime the next day. Those were the days. LOL.
Noah ended up staying asleep until around 6.30am. So that was pretty good. Of course he had to come in and wake me up. Teh is still in bed asleep, so I should be too. When will he just go out into the loungeroom and watch tv by himself in the morning.
I am lucky though DH covers me till a certain point during the day but then he has had enough, wouldnt go out if he didnt
I have to go out again this weekend, might aim to at least be home by 3am this time lol
Hope watches tv on his own one of these days for you, Luke was always great like that but Mason not so much, he is not a tv kinda kid
Mason starts daycare two days a week from next week and i am sooo nervous about it, i know he will love it but seems strange him going already! they just get so big way too soon, even Cooper just seems so much older, keep having to remind myself how little in age he still is
Richard my nephew is hardly here lately and i am a bit concerned as he is spending all his time with a 40 year old woman and her family, i know he is searching to fit in somewhere but i worry if he should be spending so much time over there, i dont really know what to do about it, but i feel a 16 year old boy should be hanging out with teenagers not older women
Trish, i know mark was only joking, i make jokes like that too (i was just having a laugh on this end!!) I used to be a skimpy (before i had kids - good money, and i had the body for it!!) so i say anneliese will follow the mummy's line of work (i loved it!! good money and i got to show off!!)
Hey... out of curiosity, what year are you guys gonna start your kids in 3yo or 4 yo kinder?
I was a feb bub and was sent to school when I was still 4 (turning 5 literally days into the start of school). Annnyway, I was always one of the younger ones in my class. I really think that socially and academically I could have done with another year under my belt. I wish Mum had started me the year after (so I would have been turning 6 at the start of Prep).
So,.... I could send Gabby to 3yo kinder next year when she'd turn 3 in the march or the year after when she'd turn 4... or do you reckon they wouldn't let me? That they'd make me send her the year she turned 3? 2008 rather than 2009. I'd like her to go to school in the year she turns 6. I personally think it's better for children to have that extra year at home... just from what I've seen.
What do you guys think?
Deb, in QLD as of this year, they have changed everything to match the rest of Aus (well in this small way anyway LOL!!). Kindy here is now called pre-prep and Jack will start that in 2009, and then prep at Primary School in 2010. Gaby would be the same as she is also born bw 01/07/04 and 30/06/05. Our kids will be in the younger half but not the youngest in the class. I don't think there is much flexibility for changing it.
Before the changes came in this year, Jack would have done kindy in 2009, preschool in 2010 and school in 2011 I think. That worried me as Jack will be better being the youngest rather than the oldest. He is developmentally the same as the older kids so gets along better with them. This causes a problem at day care actually. He wanted to be in the toddler room before he was legally old enough. Now the same thing is happening with his move to the next room. They say he is ready, when he spends time there he is happier than in his usual room, but they are not allowed to move him yet.
I am worried about the school thing too (which must mean we are both normal LOL!), but I am more worried about Jack being ready too early. Given that he can already read every letter of the alphabet, read some words, count to 10 (sometimes leaving out 4 though) and knows his shapes, colors etc, I am worried that he will be bored in prep. But I'm not sure that it would be good socially for him to start a year earlier so I'm not sure what I should be doing.
I am thinking that I will wait and see what happens in a year or so. I had no choice with booking him in for pre-prep (kindy) as you can only book them in for the year that fits the ages, so I guess I've done all I can do for now and will look at all the options down the track. This probably doesn't help you much, but I guess you at least know that you are not the only one worrying already!
Wow Mel... I definitely wouldn't be holding Jack back! How clever he is!
Gabby is nowhere near doing half of those things. I think she's going to be more like me... just a middle-of-the-range type student. So I'd like to keep her back.
I'm pretty sure you can keep them back.... after all, there's that many kids that aren't ready for prep (and parents are told so by the kinder teacher AND by the PS teacher) and the recommendation is to keep them back at home for another year but a lot of parents choose not to... not in the best interest of the child imo.
Ok Deb, that might be right that they can start school later but maybe not earlier. I'm not sure how that would work in Qld though. You have to book in for pre-prep (kindy) when they are born or they don't get in. So I don't think you would have the option for them to do another year at kindy. If they weren't ready for school they would probably have to do nothing for a year.
As you say, that prob won't be an issue for Jack though. He certainly is doing very well, but I do worry that that has its own set of problems as well. He might struggle in other areas and I'm very worried about him being bored at kindy and school. And not to mention the social side of things. But as I said, I guess I just wait and see and try not to worry too early.
Deb - I've been told I wont get Jenna into 3yokinder next year as the waiting lists will be too long for kids born that late in the year. Scary that April is alte!!! So we are going down other avenues - ie Steiner school which should be a little less mainstream and hopefully more uplifting for her. She wouldn't start til 4 anyway, but would be in playgroup at 3. I guess I'll try and get her name on the books around here, but I dont like my chances.
Dunno if I'll have the same issues here, Fi The good ole country, hey?
However, I reckon Jenna would cope just fine going along to school the year she turns 5... but I guess it's a wait-and-see game all the same, hey?
Our friend's little boy will be going to 3yo kinder next year... he turns 3 in October this year. The age difference between he and Gabby seems SO huge so I can't imagine them going through kinder and school together (tho it'd be nice!).
Our 3yo kinder here only goes for 2 hours a week anyway (hardly seems worth it!) and the 4yo kinder only runs for 2 days. I don't think they can get the funding for more than that. On Thursdays the playgroup runs out of the kinder because it's not open on that day. I guess at least Gab will still have playgroup until she goes to school. All socialisation for her... and for me.
LOL... so funny. I got a late invite to a linen party on Friday night and you should have seen me jump! YES! I'LL BE THERE! Adult conversation (apart from Neil) and a chance to make friends!! LOL Desperate or what?
So funny tho... everyone was there. The lady from the milkbar, the lady from the post office... small town hey? Everyone knows everyone!
I got chatting to one of the ladies that runs family day care from her house. Asked her how long she had been in Dunkeld and she said she'd been here since she was 5. "Well and truly a local then!" I said. Um... no... apparently not. You're not considered a "local" here unless you have ancestors buried in the cemetary!! LOL
Debbie - you should know its the same in Geelong. Shane is almost a local in Portarlington, but not really..... He was only based there for 18-20years or so, and his parents only lived there for 40y!!
I just thought about the preschool thing - Melanie - I would use preschool as a chance to just work on the socail and physical side of being a kid. After all, they aren't concentrating too much on the other stuff at that age, so if your son is already pretty sharp, he would maybe enjoy the social element. Just a thought.
We have it totally different in NSW again. Pre school is pretty much the same as day care. Just a different name.
Then we have Kindergaten which is the first year of Primary School (big school) they go to the infants department from Kindy to year 2. Then Primary is year 3 til 6.
They can start school provided they turn 5 by the end of July. Or if you don't feel they are ready you can hold them back. Not sure if there is a legal age they have to had started school by.
Eg, Brandon was born 22.7.04. So he could have started school the year he turned 5, he would have be 4 for 6 months of schooling, I chose to hold him back though as I didnt feel he was ready. He started at 5 and a half.
Noah could start school this year, his birthday is May 10th 2002. Again I didn't feel he was ready, (damn it) and have held him back. He will be 5 and 9 months, so one of the older kids but I think more socially and emotionally ready then.
Oh yeah, thought of something else. In our pre schools - daycare. The year before they go to school they begin a school readiness progam. I thik the idea is to get them to recognise their own name, wrok independantly, numbers and all that stuff.
Before then it's pretty much play and have fun. Learning how to socialise and other stuff
Last edited by Trish; January 15th, 2007 at 01:38 PM.
: added more
Hmmm I always felt like a local in Geelong... guess it's a matter of perspective, hey?
The socialisation stuff is definitely important. I can tell you what... you can just TELL the kids that didn't have any pre-schooling of any description. They don't cope well with the first year at school at all!
Then, of course, there's kids that are never gonna cope. School ain't for everyone, hey?
Yes, I think the socialisation and school readiness would be the best benefit of pre-school. Jack has been going to day care since 7 months but its not the same really. I just hope he gets in to pre-school. I didn't grow up in Brissy so I didn't know I had to put his name down at birth. By the time I found out he is a long way down the list. But he might get in, people put their kids name down at several centres so apparently he does still have a chance. He is on 3 lists.
I just think it's so hard to know the right thing to do sometimes.
I have a colleague who's daughter just started at a Steiner school up here but I don't know a lot about it. What are the main benefits of that Fi? I don't know if they do pre-school here or just start at primary but possibly it could be an option for Jack later.
Woo hoo - Tom slept through last night for the first time. He went down at about 7pm, woke for a feed at 8:30, then slept through until after 6am this morning! Let's hope this is the start of it!!
DH left this morning for his 8 days away. Poor Jack cried and cried when we said goodbye to DH at the airport. He keeps saying 'daddy coming back, daddy coming back" but seems to be ok now.
Xander was born 1st july, and cannot start 4yo kinder until next year. He can count to 50, write his on name, i very articulate and socially ready.He has to wait until next year. My nephew on the other hand was born late april, so is going this year. He has speech probs, cant count, write,and socially is a bully, but his mum doesnt care, she just want him out of the house. So she's sending him. I've talked t the MCHN about what i can do to put Xander in (i cant afford 3yo programs, and from the sounds of it, they would just bore him anyway) And its doesnt matter about how smart they are, they have to go in their age groups.
Declan i will see when he comes along, From memory he will start in 2010 (4yo's) and i will see how he is then, as to whether or not i will keep him home. Anneliese will go the year after (i think... oo ho to think properly right now!!)
I just had to post Declan did his first wee in the potty!! Both boys are walking around naked (its too hot for anything else) and i saw him about to start peeing, so i sat him on the potty, and he did a wee!! i made such a good fuss about it, he wont get off the potty now LOL
Enjoy your McFlurry hun.
How are your boys going ? Like to say it get's easier hun, but....
(i loved it!! good money and i got to show off!!)
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