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This week was as crazy and festive as I had predicted.  It’s taken me until now, Sunday evening to be able to have the energy to write up my post and it’s a little shorter than normal. There’s been a lot of lovely festive moments this week and here are my seasonal #littleloves

I’ve really enjoyed reading the family updates my friends have been writing in their Christmas cards. I have friends who I don’t see as much as I would like as we’re all dotted over the country but these little catch ups in Christmas cards are great.

I’ve also been reading aloud The Christmasaurus to the children and am taking great delight in the voices, especially the singing elves. I love reading stories aloud, I do it at work and home and my ultimate dream would be to read a CBBC bedtime tale.

This week I have watched three Christmas concerts and have loved every one for different reasons. The Beavers was original and fun, the school concert heart warming and uplifting with a beautiful choice of music and my SEN school’s concert inspiring. There is nothing quite like children singing carols to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Christmas jumpers, Santa hats and tinsel. I also wore more make up to try to disguise how tired I looked, too many late nights and early starts this week.

I’ve not made much this week, as for the first time in years I worked full time at work, it was definitely a one week Christmas special only. I did make some short videos for our Christmas concert, they were tearjerkers. Thanks to Wiki How I was able to learn a few new tricks on editing and how to do a few fancy tricks too.

As I was getting ready to go away to my parents this weekend I was thinking about my own happy childhood Christmases and remembered the music we always played. It was mainly from Jim Reeves’ Christmas album before my brother and I got some say in the music choices. I had a little browse on Spotify and the Jim Reeves album is on it. I’ve saved it for Sunday as we’ll be having a special Christmas meal and I look forward to seeing my Dad’s reaction to the Christmas Polka and Silver Bells. I felt quite emotional listening to the tunes, such strong happy feelings of childhood.

We are on school holidays now and looking forward to a few Christmas treats with my parents with whom we’ll be staying with for a few days before heading home for the final preparations, Christmas food shopping, going through the Radio Times with a highlighter, making gingerbread decorations to name just a few of the things we’ll be doing.  All of course to be accompanied by a festive soundtrack.

I’m linking up with Morgana at #littleloves

http://www.carrieanddavidgrant.co.uk/blog.aspx?id=2635

Last night I read this post by Carrie Grant and I cried a few tears. I’m sad to say that I can relate to this post, the fear and ignorance shown by some parents towards adopted children is simply heartbreaking. I cannot explain how awful it is to watch a child desperately want to be invited to tea or to a birthday party and to be ignored each time. Every year my children have a birthday party and invite friends, one of my children is always invited to parties and play dates, the other none and it hurts.  On Halloween many of the class tricked and treated together, it was a big deal and the talk of class. It was sad for my child not to be invited but even worse was that they came around to our house. I can’t believe parents would be so hurtful to a young child, however I’ve come to realise that they are sob focused on their own child not mine. I also to have remind myself it’s not just me there’s lots of internal rifts too! 

My children go to the same school, one class of parents are warm, friendly and so encouraging to all children, I couldn’t ask for my child to be in a kinder or more supportive class.  The other class of parents is very different. My child is bright and talented ( this is not a boastful claim ) and I’m beginning to think that in a class where competitive parenting rules this simply doesn’t fit into the poor adopted child stereotype they would feel comfortable with. There are some parents who appear to expect the worse in adopted children.  A few weeks ago my child was accused of stealing by a supply teacher (a parent of another child in the same class) Whilst nothing had been reported as being stolen, the teacher suggested that my child had acted suspiciously by another’s desk and had their bag searched. I raised this with the Head but the damage has been done, other parents watched in the playground as my child had to open their bag and prove they hadn’t any stolen items in it. My pertinent question to the Head was would the teacher have done that to any other child in the class? 

I was quite emotional today after Carrie’s post and the comments posted back and spoke about it to a good and wise friend. She reassured me and I’m hoping that secondary school will allow my child to find their ‘tribe’ and experience true friendships not based on parental vetting. 

I agree with Carrie that it does take a village to raise a child and though there are a small minority of parents who are ignorant and unkind, we do have the support of many wonderful people, friends, neighbours and fellow parents to help support our children. I am proud to have these people in our lives and know that our children’s lives will be enriched by their kindness. 

Today is the end of my two week half term. This is something my school has had long before I started in 2005 but this year it seems that more schools are adopting the idea too. Our school has always had the additional week to reduce the long summer holiday. We are a specialist special needs school and for our students and families the long summer holiday can be challenging with changes in routine, respite care etc.. and our shorter holiday does help.

I have always liked this two week holiday, before children we often went on sunny holidays or visited family and then I would have time to potter and relax. Now the first week of the holiday is spent en famille and the second week gives me some very rare me time as the children return to school. It is a week I really look forward to, I start my Christmas planning, do any little jobs I’ve been meaning to do in the house, meet friends, do a few trail runs if the weather allows and enjoy simple pleasures, a trip to the cinema, reading etc.. It is lovely to have that me time and although the week in summer takes a little organising, it’s workable in our family, particularly with my part time hours.

However, I was thinking what if my children had a two week holiday in October and less in the summer? Whilst it works for me, I’m not too sure it would work for the children. The summer holiday should be sunny and warm and it is easy and cheap to keep the children amused on the beach or in the park. There are long days and evenings, lots of time to be outside, to play, to swim, to relax. At the end of October, there are fewer opportunities for outdoor activities, days are shorter and it would be costly to fill a two week holiday with trips to the cinema, indoor skate park, swimming and other sports. More school in July would mean hot and stuffy classrooms, lots of distractions and very tired children. Our school’s curriculum in the summer is specifically designed for our students, with lots of outdoor activities, enrichment and project work to compensate for the later finish, generally our formal learning finishes at the start of July.

Whilst I like my two week holiday, I would prefer that my children have a week half term and continue to have the traditional long summer holiday with time for summer adventures at the beach and to enjoy the warmer weather outside. It’s an interesting debate on how to distribute the thirteen weeks school holidays to best suit pupils, staff and families.

I have two celebrity crushes which have lasted for many years, one I think is quite mainstream in the gorgeous Jon Bon Jovi but my admiration of the comedian Alan Davies always raises a smile.  There is a connection between the two,  I loved their long hair in their younger years ( I had a passing crush on the comedian Rob Newman for the same reason)  Both men have a little twinkle in their eye too.

I have been fortunate enough to see Bon Jovi live at Wembley in 1995 (best concert ever) and Jonnie, as I like to call him, was amazing. Around this time I went to Madame Tussaud and had a photo taken with Jonnie’s wax work, I’m gutted I lost it in a house move.

My crush on Alan Davies has been more through the medium of tv, I watch him and imagine that he would be a funny and relaxed companion.  I don’t need the magic of Jonathon Creek but the wit and conversation of qi.

I’m joining in with day 21 of #blogtober17