So it may seem a little late to some of you but Baby bear had his first full day in Reception yesterday. So I feel like I can finally give you an update on how he is doing and settling in. I also wanna share how Daddy bear and I are adjusting to our new routine as this is a big change for us to (well mainly me).

I know its strange to think that after nearly a month after the children started school again that Baby bear and his friends have only just started full days. But with COVID-19 and everything that has come with it our school decided to delay the children starting full days to give them time to adjust to 1. going back to school as most children had been off since March but to also help them settle into their new classroom and teachers. The children didn’t get to go through the normal transition so the school created a different plan to give somewhat of a transition to the children. If you read my post about Baby bear leaving nursery you would have seen I said there was a rough plan in place for him starting Reception back in July.

Not much changed in that plan really. We had a Zoom meeting with his teacher so we could meet each other and for her to ask some questions about Baby bear to get to know him. We then had a short meeting at school with 2 other families for Baby bear to play and see the setting but also for me to talk to his teachers some more and filling in some paperwork. Baby bear then had 2 days 3 hours each with half his class to get used to being there with his friends without me. We then had a week of 3 hour days with all his class to get him use to going into school in the morning and again being there with his teachers and being away from us. Well if you know Baby bear we had no problems with this, he has never been a crier when we leave him. He wasn’t a fan of coming home he would have quite happily stayed all day playing and having fun.

The next week he got to also stay for lunchtime which as you may know KS1 gets free school dinners so that was very exciting for him. We got a lunch menu sent home for him to pick from 2 options which took a little explaining as there was a couple of days he didn’t like either option. I explained I would make him a packed lunch that day but he asked if he could just have something from the other days instead, “I’ll just have Vegetable soup and bread again”. I always made him packed lunch for him while he was at nursery so having a cooked lunch at school with his friends was a big change for him and so far every dinner has been a hit so fingers crossed…

That takes us to this week, our first week of him being at school full days. I know it was only the first day yesterday but he loved it. He came out of school very excited that he got to play with all his friends after lunch. The nursery he went to is kinda a feeder for the school so most of Baby bears friends from nursery have moved into Reception with him. Which was important for me when picking his school as I wanted him to already have friends there with him when he started. I think it defiantly helped with the transition as he was excited to see them again after so long.

Now for how I’m coping with my baby becoming a ‘big boy’. Being completely honest I’m doing better than I thought I would do. Of course, I cried the first day we dropped him off which he looked at me very confused to why I was crying. But other than that we have both been handling drop off like champs. I thought we would struggle with mornings more than we are really, our family aren’t morning people at all and like to take our time waking up, eating and all the things but we have found a good rhythm that is working and making the morning a little easier on us. Baby bear is going into Reception happy and I’ve been dressed, teeth brushed and hair did so that’s a win in my books. If you know us, you will know what an accomplishment that is for us. I’ve really been trying to make sure I’m ready for the day before we leave the house so I could set our routine up ready for when I need to be up and ready for work as well as Baby bear.

The only things we are struggling with really are:

1. How tired Baby bear is when he gets home. He stopped taking naps during the day routinely around 1 and a half and now really don’t like taking naps during the day. Which of course means I have a super ratty tired boy until bedtime. To help this though I have brought bedtime forward 45 minutes to 6.45-7 pm now which is helping a little. I also do his reading with him after he has gotten changed (we change out of his uniform as soon as his home) to make it easier for us both.

2. I have noticed him regressing a little with certain things. I have emailed his teacher about my concerns to see if its just a home thing or an overall thing so we can put a plan in place to help him. Children can regress a little when starting reception as it is a big change for them but I just wanted to share my concerns early before they become something bigger.

But other than them 2 things his smashing Reception and we couldn’t be prouder of him. I hope all your little ones are settling into their new classes well and we all have happy, healthy little people. And if they aren’t I’m sorry mumma, but you and your little person have this and it will get easier.

Heres some cute first-day pictures I took of Baby bear to brighten your day x