Counting down to the end of term

The end of the term is nearly here already! It's been a long term, but it has really flown by. These last weeks before Christmas are always so manic at school with all their festive events. The children are so tired, and it's much worse with the dark mornings, miserable weather and a string of colds. We all definitely need a break!

Even though school holidays are full on when I have the children all day, I do love having them at home. I'm glad to have a break from the stressful school run, from making packed lunches, and from trying to get everyone to bed at a reasonable time. I find it so much easier even if it does come at a cost - by January I'll be ready for some of the peace and quiet and uninterrupted time that I normally enjoy during the week!

I always spend the last week or so of term preparing myself and the house - making sure that the housework is all caught up, we have plenty of food in, and I have a few blog posts written and scheduled - I won't have much time for my own hobbies and ongoing projects!

It's been a good term for the children. Harry had a bit of a shaky start as he entered year six, and he felt a bit overwhelmed with a new timetable and new responsibilities. He is completely settled now but it did make me realise that we'll need to think ahead and plan for when he starts senior school next year. We definitely need some planning and coping strategies that we can put in place to help him.

Mia is feeling much happier and settled in her friendships which is wonderful, she's always felt a bit on the outside when it came to the girls in her class so it's been really nice to see her form some new friendships this term.

We had a bit of a wobble a few weeks ago when the children told us that we didn't spent enough time together as a family. We do spend lots of time together (this was just after we came back from holiday!) but Ram does work away from home a fair bit and I must admit that I'm often distracted by housework, cooking dinner, or just my phone. So I've been making a big effort to try and save those things for when the children are at school. We've begun playing a daily board game after dinner, much easier now that they can stay up a little bit later and much more fun now that they are old enough to play some proper games!

Here's to a fun last few days at school, and lots of family memories to be made over the next few weeks!