After a fantastic long and hot English summer, the morning to go back to school has finally arrived.
For almost 10 weeks James and I have adventured at theme parks, museums, palaces, zoos and parks. We've visited beaches, towns, cities and the countryside. It's been a blast and I'm going to miss his company during the school day.
Today James started Year 5 and this is the point where things start to get a bit more serious as the school and I start preparing him for his 11+ examinations in Year 6.
Normally during the summer holidays we have a complete break from school work, but this time I was keen to keep James' mind active by undertaking one hour of Maths, English and/ or reading every day.
Of course this was met with some dismay and plenty of procrastination at first, but once the routine was established, he ploughed through it.
I'm proud of the way he worked, often going beyond the prescribed one hour period and doing more than required.
Will it make a difference? I hope so. But if nothing else, it's established the habit of working outside of the classroom and under his own steam. And that can only be a good thing.
