Phew!

I phoned the school this morning. They don't have a place available in Jade's year. What a relief! She didn't seem too bothered when I told her.

One thing that was very strange is that the school secretary said that Jade (who age-wise would go into Year 3 in September) would not be able to because 'she has not completed the Key Stage 1 curriculum' and therefore would have to stay down in Year 2. I am very slow in responding appropriately to comments, and of course should have said "How do you know?", but in fact she is correct especially as far as maths is concerned. I thought it was very odd, though - presumably they wouldn't say the same thing if she wanted to join at age 8 or 9 or 10 - that she'd have to go into Year 2 to do KS1 before she could do KS2 stuff!!! I think she might have been talking off the top of her head because they do have another ex-home-edder of Jade's age who is staying down in Year 2 but that's because she can't read yet. Hardly the same kettle of fish, really! Anyway it's all academic (har, har) because she's not going and I'm very glad! I still reserve the right to moan and complain heartily at the fighting, arguing and general demandingness of 2 girls at home though!

I did give Jade a sheet of simple adding-up and subtraction sums this morning - she completed them adequately (though still using fingers and sometimes borrowing mine!) and then ripped up the sheet when she'd finished to show what she thought of it. While she was doing those I was playing with some magnetic Letterland letters with Shannon, spelling her name and talking about the other letters. Then she wandered off to play a Dora computer game, and Jade made yet another horse out of the back of the sofa, a hobby-horse and some cushions, so while she was there I offered to read to her. She said yes as long as it was interesting, so I rejected Story of the World as not being quite scintillating enough and chose "Twenty and Ten", a Sonlight read-aloud story which since we are no longer following the schedule might otherwise have got missed. She was pretty gripped by that and of course it is very educational, covering Nazism, the occupation of France, the persecution of the Jews and orphan Jewish children having to go into hiding, none of which we have covered before so that was good. I got through about half the book before stopping for lunch.

After lunch I finished my half-hearted menu-planning and shopping list, took the dog for a lovely walk in the woods and then went to Tesco for a major food shop. We got home around 4pm so had just under an hour before taking Shannon to a friend's so that I could take Jade to her final Rainbows. It was billed as a 'party' but, as Jade said to me when she was in bed this evening, it wasn't really a party. They had milkshakes instead of squash to drink and as an activity they put icing and sprinkles on some little cakes, but that was about it. Still, a month on from her Rainbows Promise Party she has now left and has the badges to prove it.