Last month, our two middle girls changed schools as the school they were at, was failing to meet Daisy's needs. I'm not going to go into details on here about how the old school let Daisy down, as I have let that go and moved on. I will say though, I was so nervous about moving them, and taking them away from all of their friends and the surroundings that they have known for several years. I was also worried as Daisy doesn't always cope with change very well. What a waste of time all of that worrying turned out to be!
Daisy and Ella are both so happy and settled in their new school and are both doing really well. Daisy is so much happier. She's so much more confident and a lot calmer. She used to be terribly stressed before school in the mornings, and would come home equally as stressed in the evenings, leading to a lot of upset and conflict in the house. All of that has gone, and she has even started sleeping a lot better. I'm completely amazed by the changes in Daisy since moving her, and thrilled that Ella has also handled the transition really well. It makes for a long day, as their new school isn't anywhere near as close as their old one, but the extra time I spend in my car each day, is really worth it.
We leave home at 7:50am each day, and arrive at school for about 8:05am. Daisy and Ella's new school is right next door to Roo's, so she hops out of the car and walks down to her school. Daisy and Ella don't start school until 8:40am, however, we have to leave home before the traffic mounts up, so that I can secure a parking space outside school.
Once we get to school, Daisy and Ella will take it in turns in reading their school reading books to me. This usually takes about half an hour (with all the chatting we do in between). Ella will then have her inhalers and the girls will put their coats on, gather up their book bags and water bottles, and walk into school together at 8:40am. The great thing about getting to school so early, is that I always end up with the same parking space, where I can watch them walk to their classrooms from my car, without having to get the baby out.Having sat and read in the car, the girls go into school with their minds already focused on learning and ready to get cracking on the day's activities. I think that really helps them to settle down quickly when they get into school. They have breakfast at home now (they went to breakfast club at their old school, which Daisy really struggled with), and it helps me to see that they are having a proper meal before school. Not only that, but there is no rushing. Once we're outside school, the girls have over half an hour where they are relaxed and getting my attention in a calm atmosphere.
In the afternoon, I leave home at 1:45pm - an hour and a half before the girls come out of school. Again, this is to secure a good parking space outside school. I'll read or study or write in the car, or I'll sneak in an episode of Castle on my iPad. At times, it gets a bit uncomfortable or a little boring, and occasionally, Autumn will get restless and fed up with being stuck in the car. She has to sit in the back with the child lock on these days, as she has mastered the art of opening the car doors. However, it is worth it to ensure I can park where Roo can find me.
She comes out of school at 3pm and walks down to my car and we have ten minutes together to talk about her day, before I leave Roo and Autumn to collect Daisy and Ella from their classrooms. Every day, the girls come out of school really happy and excited to talk about their day. There are no more tales of Daisy having had a red card for fidgeting and no more tales of her teacher being unjust in her treatment of Daisy. She comes out and chats to her teacher before we leave, and it is obvious that she and Daisy have a good relationship. She listens to Daisy, makes eye contact and talks to her calmly, and Daisy responds really well to this. As a result of this interaction at the end of the day, Daisy leaves school happy and looks forward to going back the next day.
Ella comes bouncing out of school each day with a big smile and is desperate to tell me about the new reading book she's picked. She doesn't hang around, wanting to talk to her teacher though, as she is excited about seeing Daisy and then seeing Roo and Autumn. Yet, you can see that she has enjoyed her day and is happy.
Overall, the difference in both girls is amazing. They both love going to school in the morning, there are no longer battles to get them out of bed, and they both leave the car each morning looking happy to be going to school - Something I never thought I'd see!
They aren't the only ones to be enjoying their new school. I have had two tours that left me feeling happy and confident, a meeting with the head, just before the girls started, which I found to be very reassuring, and the school have been really supportive of Ella's medical needs. Aside from a small blip with regard to school uniforms, that irritated me (in my defence, I was PMS and so extra irritable), I have found the school to be really helpful and supportive.I'm so glad I made this choice for my children. I'm so happy to see how well they've settled into their new school, and to have that extra time with them in the mornings. I'm really pleased that I faced my fears about moving them and just did it. It really was the best thing I have done for them to date, and seeing how much they are already thriving and growing at their new school, brings me such joy. I'm happy, knowing that my children are happy.
