Junior...

Well, after feeling like my right arm was missing on Wednesday and being unable to shake the sick feeling in the pitt of my stomach for most of the day (it's such a wrench after having her with me day in, day out for so many weeks!) Im elated to say Elin's had an amazing first week back at school. We can hardly believe she is Junior-age now (Year 3!). Thankfully she doesn't have to move classes or anything as her class at school is a mixed-age class, but I was still a little worried about the impact of the daily school routine after nearly six weeks off (which must be a lifetime for Elin). I needn't have been concerned- it seems she has settled back in straight away and  her teacher is very proud of her, as are we. I think this demonstrates a maturity in Elin's levels of understanding and more proof that as she grows older, she is able to increasingly make sense of the world around her. It's strange to think that she is in Year 3, since that is the year group I teach in my school. I can't marry the two in my head- the chasm between the children I spend time with at work and Elin is, of course, almost immeasurable. As they pour into my class with their pencil cases and chatter, their brains already wondrously full and inquisitive even at seven years old ("I watch them grow...They'll learn much more, than I'll ever know...") I can hardly believe that my own baby is seven years old herself. I let myself wonder what she would be like if she was in my class right now- the cheeky one no doubt! Of course I will never know. I'm not saying I'm sad about it, it's just an observation really. When I taught Nursery and Elin started Nursery I found it incredibly hard, noticing the differences between her and my four year olds in class. I think there may be a blog post about it somewhere if you go back far enough. But this time it's a easier somehow, maybe time does help to heal a little. I do know what helps is the fact that she has had a wonderful time returning to school as a big Year 3 girl and of course the school itself and staff being so brilliant and expert in dealing with her needs. It's kind of impossible to feel sad, when you have that, because Elin isn't sad. School is her favourite place in the world and if I told my class next week that Elin's timetable consisted of swimming, fun, cuddles, music, stories, sensory based learning, messy play and generally being treated like Royalty they might wonder themselves why going to mainstream school is something to be envious of! In Elin's little life it definitely isn't. She wouldn't change her Year 3 experience for the world and so, neither would I. Time to stop thinking 'What if....?' and continuing to appreciate what we actually have. "You must let go of the life you had planned in order to live the life that is waiting for you". Welcome to the Juniors, Elin. You're going to love it.

First day of Nursery/First day in Juniors :-)