Re the kinder - here in SA kindergarten is free from about 4 years (or just before old) for 4 terms and it's either 4 half-days or 2 long days (depending on the kindy). If you child has special needs you can apply to start them earlier when they're 3. School proper (reception or prep) starts the term they turn 5, but they have to do a minimum of 4 terms and a maximum or 7 terms before they can move up to grade 1. So DD1 whose birthday is in the middle of the year, did 18 months of reception, which gave her a really good grounding in literacy & numeracy etc before moving into grade 1. Works quite well.
3 year old kindy here is usually just long-day-care - it's the big issue I have with sending DD2 to a cc centre, because after she turns 3 and moves up the "kindy room" (ahem!) the ratio changes from 1 in 6 to 1 in 9 (!!) and they're childcare workers not teachers. In real 4 y.o. kindies the staff are trained early childhood teachers. And there's a big difference in my mind from sending a 4 yo to kindy for half a day and sending a 3 yo to a long day care with the same staff ratio for the better part of a long day. For only 1 day of the week I will do it (reluctantly) if I have to but I'm not convinced it is the ideal environment for my child.
BTW start work next Tues, will be working in the section that was my 1st preference which is great - best matched to my skills plus it means they listened to me when I blarped on about how fabulous I am LOL.
i am keeping a lowish profile these days as i have been hit by the snot monster (thanks leila!).
MP: hope you had a lovely day on your birthday xx
the HB plans are powering along now! we have a BIG planning meeting next thursday (DH is cooking for the midwives...we'll have 3 coming along as i want to know the backup as well). so he is making some kind of melanzana bake and nutella pizza for dessert. i am excited as it will be a 2-3 hour meeting where we just go through everything and basically 'get ready'. picking up the birth pool in a couple of weeks too which means POOL PARTY! Leila is excited at that prospect lol. Leila will be 'entertained' by my mum (if she makes it in time this time lol). but no doubt i will labour overnight so hopefully she will snooze through most of it and we can wake her up for the exciting part. her and DH will be cutting the chord (leila is determined to 'make the belly button' lol).
MD: that is sooo cool! new job, good position...and a paycheck at the end!! man, i am jealous lol!! hope it all goes well (i am sure it will!).
sorry to hear that the brain is mush-a-rama still were you guys able to still have a lovely moment to celebrate the auspicious milestone??
G: bahahah I am with JM on this one...the mohawk is then a definite need for J lol!
Arte: i have NO idea of the kinder arrangments here. Leila's cc has a separate kindergarten with separate staff etc etc. that she is automatically enrolled in. actually there are two, one that is at the uni and the other is in abbostford (but i think you need to be related to the VC to get into that one lol!). it is complete madness in the area that we live, and the majority of the kids in my MG have missed out on a place for 3yr old kinder. it's in the papers every second week here about the crapulent services and lack of spaces.
Sherie: the NSW system sounds like how it used to be in QLD. the year you turned 5 you went to preschool and then the following year you went to 'big school' (grade one). i find this whole 3 and 4 year old kinder and prep thing way confusing. or that could be my snot infested mind making it hard to understand lol!
as for free play...we tend to do one big thing in the morning and then a smaller trip (say just down to the playground) in the afternoon after her nap or her quiet time. she generally plays happily for a few hours these days (either sitting reading her books or outside destroying the nastertiums). we are at the opposite ends of the spectrum in that we really need to get better organised and get her along to more theatre etc. we took her to the movies the other day and she loved it. so gotta get more proactive and start some fun booked activities for the occasional weekend fun.
jm and cass- yes i think a mohawk is definitely on the cards for summer LOL i'm just growing the top part a bit longer, then i'll have to find a funky hairdresser whose willing to do it LOL
the kinder/prep/school thing is soooo confusing. basically L is going next year to 3 yo kinder. it is run by the actual 4yo kinder teacher. she has the 4yos there in the mornings 9-12 and then has the 3yos 1-3pm. he will only be going twice a week so it's for a total of 4 hours a week. then the following year i think it is a compulsory 15hrs a week.
the next big decision we have to make is what year to have j start school as he is a late feb baby. i don't really like the idea of him starting proper school when he is still only actually 4 iykwim?
jaz- the duplo sounds great. was that on special in the sale?
cass- where will the pool be set up? in the kitchen?
md- what did you end up doing for the wedding anniversary? don't worry, my dh forgot our last one and it was only one year since we'd been married! LOL i can only imagine what will happen when it's number 18 LOL
trill- A sounds like a little firecracker like my boys LOL i reckon they would get along so well. is he really into tools and fixing things? that is L's latest obsession
arte-i've been looking after my dad's dog while he is o/s so i think that's been helping my ticker move along as i have to walk her everyday. otherwise she just looks at me with sad eyes and makes me feel guilty until i take her out LOL
G: oh gosh those dogs certainly know how to crank up the guilt-o-metre dont they lol?!
the pool is probably going in the dining room. we can move the dining table to the other side (where the hallway is) so that i can tuck myself in below the window and have a bit of privacy (in case someone comes doorknocking lol...gosh imagine that ).
oh and MD: i basically forgot our 9th anniversary this year too...only remembered at like lunchtime. didnt even organise to get DH something nice...and he did!!!
Cass I hope you're feeling better soon sucks not feeling well in late pg.
G, L is a late feb bub and there was no question of sending him the year he turned 5, so he was still only 4 when he started. He was shy, so I did wonder how he would go socially, but academically he was more than ready. But that said, there were about 6 kids who were already 5 (being late Dec and Jan babies) who were held back till the following year for various reasons and 1 who was born the day before L who ended up repeating year 1. It's the kind of thing where you can't make a decision really till a lot closer to it because sometimes you can have a kid who is no where near ready in say October, but come January they are more than ready kwim?
Cass, the homebirth thing in Australia is so much more complicated than here - with A they were happy for me to decide on the day if she would be born at home or the birth center. They carry the birthing pool and all the gear in the back of the work car. I literally decided two hours before she was born when the midwife asked if I wanted her to come to our house or meet at the birth center, but we were out of hot water at home so she stopped by to pick me up and we went to the center. Just shows the difference in Aust vs NZ attitude to homebirth, it is really terrible that it is so hard (and expensive) to access there. I am glad it is all going well for you, it is going to be such a fantastic birth for you this time.
William has gone to bed with no pull-up on tonight after he got dressed in his pajamas and LIED to me that he had put one on, then later I realised that he didn't. He is pretty good, usually he is dry in the morning but I was happy to keep using them because I really can't be bothered changing bedding in the night. I guess it was coming though, he has been talking about wearing undies to be for a while now.
(leila is determined to 'make the belly button' lol).
were you guys able to still have a lovely moment to celebrate the auspicious milestone?? 
).
Bookmarks