BACK TO SCHOOL (AD)

It’s that time. The nights are already drawing in a little earlier and the back to school vibes are well and truly kicking in. Last year at this time I was a mess. How was my baby boy who was only four years old starting school? We’d got his shoes, his uniform and prepped him as much as we could. And BAM… day one came. Just like that.

You’re suddenly handing over your child to someone else. With 20+ other kids. It’s an odd feeling. School is an experience I really wanted Kai to love and enjoy, and he does now. But to begin with he really found settling in hard. I’d say it was a good three to four weeks of gripping onto our hands at the door at drop off. Of him saying each morning “I’m not going school today, am I daddy?”. It was painful.

We worked with the teachers and really did everything we could to make the transition into reception as easy as possible. In time, he adjusted. And that’s all you need sometimes, the time. 

This summer is different. He’s got a year of school under his belt where he learnt so, so much. Made friends. Played. And had his first nativity show where his daddy almost certainly didn’t cry… promise.

He’s had an amazing summer and he’s so much more aware of the fact he’ll be returning to school next week. But he’s still saying “Not yet, daddy!” as we’re all just loving taking it easy, laying in and generally have no routine. So the past week I have started to drip feed a little more ‘school’ into our lives. I’ve been setting the alarm, helping him with his summer diary and having him help pick out his new shoes and going uniform shopping.

There’s also this lovely little personalised card with detachable token from Not On The High Street. This little thing means a lot. Not only has it got such a powerful message I want to instil in him not just on his first day of school but his whole life, it also has a token he can sneak into his schoolbag on day one, reminding him to be big, be bold and to be YOU. I love it.  

When I gave it to him I explained this is for him. To remember not to forget who he is. And I think it went in. I told him he can be himself. Ask questions (that he so loves to do!) and be loud. That is who he is. And it’ll serve him so well when he’s older, I just know it.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll try anything to get Kai more adjusted to the thought of school. I’m now thinking about having a walk around the village his school is in, ust to walk past the gate! Too much?! ;-)

Not On The High Street have so many lovely personalised goodies and essentials for kids as they return to school. You can see them all here, happy shopping!