After a lovely Summer, the kids went back to school last Thursday looking very smart with big smiles on their faces although they had no intention of smiling for our annual back to school photo – I think I’ll be lucky to get them to even pose for one next year!
We talked about what they wanted to achieve this year at school and it surprises me (although it really shouldn’t) that the things they want to achieve are completely different to the things I want for them this school year.
Miss Frugal
My beautiful almost-teenager would like to get a level 7 grade in maths, skydive and have an amazing Birthday party!
If you’d have asked me last year what I wanted for her I would have said that I wanted her to make some friends and settle in at her new school as she didn’t know a single person there and I worried she’d be a loner as she was quite shy. She did so much more than that and ended the school year as a very confident and well liked young lady with glowing reports from all of her teachers and so many friends that I can’t keep up.
Which is why, this year I want so much more for her – I want EVERYTHING!
I realise that sounds silly but she turns 13 next week and she is genuinely a happy child who really needs to understand that for someone like her, the sky really is the limit. She has great friends, a lovely personality and she’s extremely bright so I want her to continue to push herself to try new things and get out of her comfort zone a little more.
I’m not a pushy parent and I always say that if she tries her hardest then I’m happy but this year I will try and push myself to push her a little harder. We’ve made an agreement that she will take extra music lessons for a few months to see how she gets on with them as her music teacher last year said she could be very good if she put her mind to it.
And as for the amazing Birthday party, I’m working on that as we speak!
Master Frugal
My gorgeous boy has started year 6 now and he wants to get a level 6 on his SATS (or the equivalent tests that they’ll be doing this year) and to get through the year with no sickness or time off school.
I want a lot for my boy this year but the things I want for him are completely different to the things I want for his sister!
For starters, I most definitely DON’T want him to feel the need be be such a high achiever in his end of year exams although his school report tells me that he’s definitely capable of doing that well. He’s a worrier by nature and I saw the pressure that the school put on the children in Miss Frugal’s year who were predicted to do well. I just think he would feel the pressure so much more than she ever did and I don’t want him worrying about it.
The only other thing I want for him this year is to be happy and just enjoy his last year of Primary school – not as easy as it sounds when you’re a worrier like he is who takes everything to heart. He’s bright and very well liked so it’s sometimes hard for me to understand why he worries about things like he does but I’m trying different things to help him to worry less and I think we’ve found something that works for us but it’s early days so I won’t share it just yet.
What do you want for your children to achieve this year at school?
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