Back to school / Caitlin's first day

That time of year has rolled around again, yes, it's the start of the school term.

Around the country kids and parents everywhere feel a mixture of emotions, and intense mix of anxiety and excitement. It feels like only yesterday we were feeling those emotions for the first time, when Neil had his first day at school, it's hard to believe that it was a whole year ago. His first year whizzed by so fast, and here we are in September ready to start the school routine again.

Only this year, things are a bit different. This year, Caitlin is starting school, which makes me emotional as she's the youngest, and now our house will be child free during the day, which is scary as hell! The past few days have been a blur, trying to enjoy as much time together as possible before the big day.

Neil started back on Monday. A new term brings a lot of anxieties for a him, and he hasn't been in good form over the last week. You can really tell when something is bothering him, because he starts to stim a lot more. There has been lots of rocking, spinning, swaying and loud noises recently. He's been very vocal about the fact that he hates school, and going back has been really stressful for him.


He was very anxious in the morning, a lot of swaying from side to side and vocal tics. As you can see here, he's not in the best of moods.


We managed to calm him down by letting him watch minecraft videos on Daddy's phone until it was time to go, and I did manage to capture a rare smile.

It was an emotional time for all of us, I hate seeing him in such a state, and first day nerves are intensified when you have a child with SEN, as I'm wondering what the school year will bring and how he will cope.

Once we'd waved Neil off on the school bus, Caitlin and I went home to try and enjoy her last day before school. As a wee treat, we went to the local bakery and got Caitlin's favourite lunch, Pancakes, with a little strawberry cupcake for after. We spent the rest of the day chilling out, before going to collect Neil from the school bus in the afternoon. Neil was in good spirits when he arrived home, and seemed to have had a good day, well, as much of a good day as you can have when you are stuck at school!

This morning it was Caitlin's turn to start. She has been telling me repeatedly over the last few days how excited she is to start, but I could tell she was nervous this morning.


She looks so grown up in her uniform, it actually brought me to tears. My little baby off to school!




Taking her in to her classroom this morning was tough. The excitement had soon turned to fear, and I found it hard to leave, looking at my frightened little girl standing in the big classroom. The school encourage parents not to linger around too much, so I had no choice but to scarper out of the class room. What else can you do? It's not like I can keep her at home forever. I didn't find it as hard this year as I did last year with Neil, I guess that is because I knew what to expect and had prepared myself for it.

So I'm sitting her writing as I wait for 12.30 so I can go and pick her up. I'm excited to see how her day has been and can't wait to hear all of her stories.

Have your children gone back to school this week? I hope the back to school goes smoothly for everyone!



Share this:

I love reading all of your comments and getting to interact with all my readers so pop a comment in the section below and lets chit chat.

6 comments:

  1. Awww my son will start school Friday. I am so scared and nervous as I am a foriegner here and I dont know the system quite well. Hopefully we will all have a nice first day. Lovely photos of your children too =) #magicmoments

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hope things went well - first days are always hard, aren't they? (Sometimes I think they're harder on parents than they are on the kids themselves!) My oldest started Year 2 today, while my middle one doesn't make the step up from preschool to 'proper' school until next week.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sorry to hear about your son's struggles and hope you get good support from the school. Big milestone for both you and your little girl. What will you do with your days? Lovely photos

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh bless them both. It sounds like Neil is settling back into school well. And how gorgeous does Caitlin look in her school uniform. I have to say that she does look a little nervous in her photos. I hope that they have both enjoyed the first week back and Caitlin has settled in well. Thank you for linking to PoCoLo :) x

    ReplyDelete
  5. My son has autism and the change from school to holiday and back again is always extremely stressful. #PoCoLo

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hope Neil manages to settle in well this school year, it must be really hard on you both when he is worried. Caitlin looks so cute in her uniform I hope she enjoyed being at school #PoCoLo

    ReplyDelete