Summer Is Coming

Now that the good weather is here I can sense summer is finally coming.

Everybody is wearing summery clothing and the suncream is being applied on a daily basis.

Chipmunk is going to school in just his white polo shirt & trews.No coat.No jumper even!And with his sunglasses and cap on,he looks one cool kid.

We are on countdown to the half term break and boy is that needed,especially for these boys who have been taking plenty of exams recently.

And there is that summer feeling in the air because the end of yet another school year is creeping up on us!

Yes the big school break looms,the time of year I adore.Six whole weeks with the boys at home ~ I love it!

Getting up whenever we like.No homework.No routines (well I will have a few routines as a small chap here likes routines)

And I'm going to appreciate all the little things that I mourn losing at the beginning of September;

Tan marks on little arms & legs,

Playing out in just socks & shorts,

Hair bleached blonder by the sun,

Fresh air,lots of outdoor playing.

Little voices chattering to me wherever I go.

To me this is the good bit.The lead up.Anticipating the happy times ahead.

Also school tends to be a bit more relaxed towards the end of term,not for teachers tho!Too much assessing and updating records.But I can live with that because I know what's in store

six weeks holiday!

Swimming

We had fab news at this weeks swimming lesson... Chipmunk got his 5 metres!

A long time coming and perhaps that makes it all the more special.

He did great breaststroke swimming and really tried hard.

His teacher even said she was thinking about moving him to the next stage class!

This was funny because I had only been saying to my mum and dad earlier that afternoon that it looked like Chipmunk was going to stay in the same class forever!

After the teacher and I discussed the next swimming group I decided I would like Chipmunk to stay where he was for the time being.

I think it will give him time to build his strength up and his friend Annabel is in this class.Also it would only be for 6wks and then he would have a 6wks break so I think it will be better for him to wait until September and then start afresh.

He was very proud to get the 5 metres badge and we are all so pleased with him.

Slowly but surely he is doing this swimming lark!

 Signs Of The Boys

 I have come to the conclusion that I like to see signs of the boys around the house when they are not there.

I'm not sure why as it means it's yet another job to do but it always brings a smile to my face.

Things like

Chipmunks Formula 1 book lying open at the page he left it at.

Sharky and Tigers caps lying around

The breakfast cups left out

Scooters on the patio

Bats & balls on the drive

It never ceases to make me smile even though it means I spend my life tidying up.

I know I will be more upset when there are no signs of the boys around,now that will be horrible!

A tidy home and no boys here or

a untidy home and three noisy boys living here,it's a total no brainer for me and always will be!

Splashy Smiles
Lots and lots making me smile at the moment!
  Chipmunks friendship with J.
This friendship is getting stronger weekly and I love it!
Its such a big thing in Chipmunks life I think I ought to dedicate a whole post to it,
so for now lets say it is good,very good.

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Sharky's attitude during a recent college interview,he was put under some considerable pressure
and stood up well in my opinion.

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The nursery children hunting for ladybirds!They are fascinated by them!This was happening before the Easter break and has continued now the children are back to nursery.They spend ages watching the ladybirds and some children who wouldn't go near them at first are now bravely letting the ladybirds come on the fingers.Its lovely to see children interacting with nature and it always makes me smile.

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The school run ~ just walking,singing,chatting away on our way to school always makes me smile!

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Sitting with Sharky and making plans for his future.

CV's,college stuff,subjects for 6th form,it's nice to see him thinking ahead.
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Splashy Smiles

Wordless Wednesday

Drawing With Mummy

After School Fun

While I was waiting to pick Chipmunk up from school tonight my friend asked if we would like to go on a scooter ride round the comp.

I said yes as I knew Chipmunk would love to be with his friend and there's not been much opportunity to get out after school recently due to all this rain.

So after tea we set out with scooters in toe.

Once on the comp the boys zoomed off and we followed behind at a more leisurely pace.

The boys were soon swinging their scooters round and diving on the grass ( Chipmunk was doing his stunt roll constantly ) and people walking had to give them a wide berth or face the consequences!

Those poor scooters,especially Chipmunks,it was banged down on the floor more times than I care to think about!

I knew it would have bumps but I never envisaged the rough treatment Chipmunk gives it on a daily basis!

We arrived at the footy pitch and off the boys ran and I sat on a bench chatting.

I was impressed!Chipmunk playing footy with a friend all by himself!It was fab to see and I absolutely loved it.

The boys had a great time and they scootered off then to look at the river.

The river was flowing fast due to all the rain.There was a group of boys fishing and they had caught a stickleback.

We talked about how spikey sticklebacks were and said that in the summer we would come fishing. I can't wait for that!

On our way back we stopped to play pooh sticks and the boys met one of their classmates.

They spent ages collecting sticks and throwing them into the river,whilst the grown ups talked about schools,teachers,homework etc.

It was so nice down there,fresh air and kids playing,getting mucky and grubbing around in bushes,taking a few risks down by the river.

This is what I want for Chipmunk,this to me symbolizes childhood and I suppose this is why I hold it do dear.

Good old fashioned play!

Muddy,dirty,grubby kids with bits of grass and sticks stuck to their jumpers.

Boys with pink faces and sticky sweaty hair,all tired out and needing a bath because they are really dirty,not just because it's bath time.
Kids talking and chattering together,having adventures.

Kids being kids :-)

Close

Iam very lucky to have been on the same school campus as the boys

 for most of their school life.

I was reminded of this fact this morning when I went outside 

for playground duty.

The sun was shining and the nursery children were dashing and darting about as usual,little flashes of colour running around the nusrey garden.

I was watching the children play when I heard some other voices in the distance and as I glanced over I could see the junior children playing on their playground.

From the nursery garden you cannot see too much of the juniors yard but you can hear the children playing and every now and then you can see flashes of them running around.

Sometimes you can hear a whistle being blown and sometimes you can hear a teacher shouting!

Not a lot of contact for me but some.

And Im grateful for this chance to stay close to my boys.

I like to have a quick glance over to the junior school building and know that I can be there in a flash if needed.

I like hearing the voices of the childen playing and to see them running around,little glimpses through the hedge,it makes me smile and feel connected even though Im not.

When Iam working Iam closer to my Chipmunk than when Iam at home!

I finish working at 12 noon and as Iam going home up the school drive I can hear the childrens voices again,at dinner play and I always smile.

I also wonder just what Chipmunk is getting up to in that playground but I do always smile.

I love to be close.

Weekend Splashes & Dashes

The weather has been ok this weekend,not as hot as predicted but no rain,which cant be a bad thing

.

So we have got out.

On Saturday we went to the park and played a great game of catch.

Instead of our usual big ball we took a tennis ball and i was so surprised at how well Chipmunk could catch it.

We must have played for at least 40mins and Chipmunk could catch from a fair old distance.

I think he will be good at school sports like cricket,lets watch this space!

Then today it was his beloved #F1

This is becoming more important to Chipmunk as the days pass!

He pours over his #F1 manual and loves all the statistics and placings.

I do not love it as much!

Absolutely too much time spent infront of a tv screen for my liking.

And this morning he spoke to me for a hour about F1,

until I had to say please change the subject and i don't like doing this because no matter how kindly you say it Chipmunk looks so hurt.

But sometimes not even I can take any more F1 talk!

Anyway Chipmunk loved the race and his man won,so he was over the moon.

I cant spell his mans name,its too long and confusing!

We then went out for a walk with my mum and dad.

We walked right round a lake,which pleased me because I thought a least Chipmunk had used a bit of energy up after the F1 slouching.

At the lake we saw baby geese and lots of Mallards,which pleased Chipmunk.

It makes us smile to see the male and female Mallards swimming together.

Mr and Mrs Mallard as we all say now.

Chipmunk took the lead on the walk and marched off in

front until my dad got in on the act and took the lead.

Men always have to win,don't they!

My dad tried to take a photo of us and completely failed,several times,and this made Chipmunk go into peals of laughter and that's a memory I want to keep as he really chuckled away as we sat on a bench being blown to pieces by the wind.

 

When we got back home Man City had just snatched the Premier Title and so Chipmunk loved seeing all the celebrations on the tv.

Chipmunk went to bed happy and now Sharky is sat completing his maths homework,so I'm going to make him a cuppa and then toddle off to bed.

Tomorrow is Chipmunks SATS and he is more bothered bout them than I would like him to be,so my aim this week is to keep him as stress free as possible.

Not set myself a hard task there then!!!

 Friday Fun

Yesterday was a good day for Chipmunk.

He got a new reading record book,so we can start to fill that up with all those many,many books Chipmunk reads on a daily basis.

He also got sent to the head teacher for a sticker because of his good literacy work.

He said he had wrote a good piece of work about 

Goldilocks I got a text home saying:

"Chipmunk has done some EXCELLENT work in literacy today - I'm really proud of him!" Mrs A.

I was so proud about this!And when I picked Chipmunk up from school the head teacher came and had a word with me just to say how proud she was of Chipmunk!

That is brilliant to hear!

And to top the good school day off,Chipmunks class won 

Eco Class of the week.

Chipmunk has been bursting to win this award and so he was extremely happy to tell me that they had won.

They keep the trophy for a week in their classroom.

We then went to karate which he enjoyed and then went to watch his friend swim.

Chipmunk has been wanting to do this for ages and we were well impressed with his friends swimming.

So a lovely day and a great start to the weekend.

 School Days

Very soon my Sharky leaves school.

How can this be!

A whole chapter of his life gone!

It only seems such a short time ago that he was starting school and now his school days are coming to a close.

Iam quite shocked by this.How did time go so quickly!

I obviously have noticed that he is in his last school year but as the day approaches it just seems so final

And I've been remembering just how far Sharky has come.

So here are my Sharky school memories.

*  Your start to school was traumatic ,truly it was.

You cried & cried & we felt terrible leaving you.

You carried on screaming for 4 weeks and 2 days,it was horrid.

You started on the last half term of summer and you was the only one out of the whole morning nursery to leave,so you didn't go with any friends,this did not help at all.

You went into a year 1/reception class.It was a boisterous class,they had been together for a year,I think you didn't know what had hit you.

You had 6 weeks of reception class and then it was the summer break and next was year 1.

You always say now that you thought all school years went so quick,after just doing 6 weeks in reception!

*****

When you started junior school you got in such mischief!

'Ink pen splats on the new library wall.

Stink spray sprayed in class'

You was a high spirited youngster for sure!

I remember how worried I was when you went on the five day stay to Ambleside.

You came back home with a chipped tooth but otherwise safe and sound

You were one of the first kids in juniors to have long hair,

I remember you saying that you were the only 'mophead' in the school.

Think you startd a trend there!

I remember you diving out of school and jumping in puddles,massive puddles,

remember that one on the horses field that you literally rolled in?!

You always were a mucky kid!

And this post describes you to a tee  The Pole

*****

And then it was on to comp where you settled really well.

All your school reports say how hard you try at school and I'm always impressed at your parents evenings by your teachers comments.

You went to Disneyland Paris with school last year

You are planning to go to 6th form so you are not entirely finished with school and I'm quite pleased about that.

No more school uniform tho!I must remember to get a photo of you in that!

End of a era!"

 2 Minute Memories

 Today after breakfast Chipmunk went outside to play football.

It was 8am,a busy time,but I thought he could have a bit of a play.

And he so loved it!

As I was bustling around in the kitchen I was smiling as I heard him shouting to himself.

When I called him in I couldn't stop smirking.

He was dressed in a pyjama top,his faithful cap,boxers and trainers!

He did look a sight!

I saw a little boy who was happy on a school day tho and that nice memory has stayed with me all day!

And it wasn't even raining!!!

2 minute memories

 Mousie Brown

Ever heard the nursery poem Mousie Brown?

Well at the moment I hear it a lot,a very lot!

It started ages ago at nursery when my friend swapped the words to the rhyme and chose a different place for grandma to go.

This is the original rhyme

"Up the tall white candle stick crept little Mousie Brown.

Right to the top but he couldn't get back down.

So he called for his grandma

"Grandma!Grandma!"

But grandma was in town

So he curled himself into a ball

And rolled himself right down."

My friend used to say Tesco instead of town and then it went to Asda and Morrisons.

And then we started to let the children chose where grandma was going.

Their ideas were fantastic!We have had

Rapunzels Tower

Pinochios House

Peppa Pigs House

Ariel's House

And it has become my groups absolutely favourite song.

I have to limit it to two goes everyday or we would never sing anything different!

And the children rack their brains to come up with different ideas,just to see the concentration on their faces as they think of new ideas is great.

So I introduced the rhyme to Chipmunk and hey presto he too loves it!

Every day when we walk to school we have to say it all the way there!

And the places Chipmunk makes grandma go are very predictable!

She has visited all the MotoGp tracks ( of course )

I make grandma visit fanciful places like on top of a cloud or on spring flowers

This is something that goes from strength to strength and shows no signs of stopping.

So where would you make grandma go....

Baking Fun.

This afternoon after school Chipmunk had some happy news to tell me!His next lot of ELSA lessons were going to be focused on... wait for it.... baking!

Oh how we have waited for this news!!

Probably ever since we have known about ELSA we have wanted baking.

Me and Chipmunk!

Baking = fun! No stress,just mainly fun and you can even bring the finished articles home and that means yum!

We have endured intricate cutting,sewing,risk watch and the 

latest one is yoga.

Yes very good for core stability and flexibility but horrendously hard for Chipmunk and this has placed stress on him and therefore me.

So you can imagine our joy to find out that next half term it will be his turn to bake!

He is already planning what he will need.

His words were;

"Better get shopping!I will need a apron and a tub"

And his smile was a mile wide and you know what,so was mine!

So now there will be no more dread on a ELSA day,just a happy smiley boy and a happy smiley mum!

Chipmunk,this is going to be great!