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Back to School 2013

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Back to school 2013
After what has been an epic summer the boys went back to school today. I am sure that the summer of 2013 will go down in the anals of history. It couldn’t have been better weather wise and they have experienced the summer I have always wanted for them.

I am a little sad to see them go back to school, but know that they have so much to look forward to this coming year. It is also amazing to see how different they are this year in comparison to this time last year and the year previous. How their likes have changed and developed.

Both of the boys had first day nerves today as not only do they have new teachers, but also new class groups too. Maxi is going into year four and Mini year three. Hard to believe that both my boys are in junior school!

My hope for them this year at school is that they have fun, stay happy and learn to get on with new people. I want them to continue to remain individuals and learn to stand by their morals and opinions. I also want them to remember that learning is not a spectator sport. So get stuck in and enjoy it boys, when I look back at my school life, primary where the happiest and most carefree time of my life.

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Wishlist – Back to school for me

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Alphabet Index Tabs – Papermash. Oh stationery how much do I love thee! I adore index tabs and these are a little bit quirky with their different fonts.

Shoes – Clement Derby from Hobbs. Not your typical court shoes. I adore these for the understated chic. Perfect for girly dresses or with jeans for the autumn and winter. Grey goes with pretty much everything

Journal – Paperblanks. Nothing screams back to school to me more than a blank journal. The potential of a new book, with words to flow and fill the page. I love the decoration on the outside of this journal which is inspired by Buddhist monks.

Faber-Castell UFO Perfect Pencil – The Pen Company. I love pencils and this is a great way of making a standard HB pencil look that little bit more grown up. I love the fact that it extends the size of pencils and it has a built in sharpener.

Now I just need a fairy godmother to look down on me and fulfil my wish list!

What would be on your back to school wish list?

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Back to School with Florence and Fred at Tesco and back to school link up

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I think that good uniform needs to stand the test of time, be a good price point and also fit well and Tesco seem to have hit all these points for us this year.

Plus points:

Adjustable waists – This is essential for my boys, who seem to thin out every time they grow!
Hardwearing – Football every lunchtime on a MUGA really takes it out of the knees of trousers. Tesco’s have survived year on year
Shirts that stay white when washed – Maxi is a shirt boy
Do not shrink – polo shirts and sweatshirts that do not shrink when washed. Mini wears polo shirts
An embroidery service (if your school is registered)
A good selection of styles
Trouser that keep their crease when washed
Shirts that do not need ironing when dried on the line or in the tumble dryer
collars on polo shirts remain white and do not go grey compared to the rest of the shirts
The Mad House give school uniform by Florence and Fred at Tesco a HUGE thumbs up.

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Back to School Blog Linky

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Can you believe that my scottish friends children have already gone back to school? Here in England we have three more weeks, so I thought it might be a good idea to host a blog linky for all things back to school from school uniform reviews to first day photo’s.

I would love you to join in and each week I will do a back to school post along with a round up including my favorite posts from the week before.

I am going to start things off by showing you how I record the boys first day at school:

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I am going to moan about schools and term time holidays

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This holiday has been booked since just after my Mum died and we have been looking forward to the trip for a long time. My Brother and family are self employed and that is why we are travelling at this particular time of the year and I am aware that it could have an impact on my seven and eight year olds school work, but…………

For the last two weeks they have not really done any significant learning at school, in fact for this week they have watched more DVD’s at school that they have at home in about a year. I am not going to justify me taking them out of school by saying they will learn as much with me as at school, however, I will say that it should be my choice as a parent to make this decision.

We are sensible enough to make our own decision and I am disappointed that this is being taken away from me. There has been a lot of noise made about the Lunch box issues this week, but no one has shouted about the fact that the law has changed and that from September Headteacher will not be able to grant time off for holidays.

Currently headteachers are allowed to grant leave of absence for the purpose of a family holiday during term time in “special circumstances” of up to ten school days leave per year. Headteachers can also grant extended leave for more than ten school days in exceptional circumstances. However, Amendments to the 2006 regulations remove references to family holiday and extended leave as well as the statutory threshold of ten school days come into force in September.
Not only are the government taking this out of our hands, but also out of the hands of the school. Yet another example of the government invading my home and my choices.

I wonder if this applies to private schools too? or maybe that would be a bit like a bear pooing in its own backyard.

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