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

4 Comments / school / By

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

10 Comments / Back to School, school / By

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

13 Comments / school, travelling with kids / By

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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Back to School 2012: First Day Photos and Memories Meta Description: Relive the excitement of the first day back to school in 2012 with memorable photos and reflections. Discover tips for capturing and cherishing those special moments.

18 Comments / Back to School, school / By

They look so grown up compare to last years back to school post!

Back to School 2012: First Day Photos and Memories Meta Description: Relive the excitement of the first day back to school in 2012 with memorable photos and reflections. Discover tips for capturing and cherishing those special moments. Read More »

The Homework Conversation: Why I Don’t Enforce Homework in Primary School

19 Comments / school / By

Tuesday evening is parents evening for the boys and I am going to have to have THAT conversation about homework again. What conversation are you thinking…. Well at five and six, I just do not see the need for my boys to do homework.
I want my children to learn by play, not to be forced to do homework unwilling. When you look back to your childhood, can you remember doing homework at Primary school? I cannot. Homework was something that happened to me in Senior school and I am keen to keep my boys childhoods just that, childhoods. I do not feel the need to hot house them, or to force them to learn unless they are falling behind their peers.

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