The Verdict

The first week of term is over. I expected a honeymoon period of a few weeks during which school would be great, followed by increasing boredom. I was wrong; there's been no honeymoon unless you count that trial day in July.

"I've decided about school," she said early on. "I guess I can put up with it until the end of term, like we agreed. But I don't think I'll be going any longer than that." Everyone has been very nice to her, she LOVES her main class teacher, school dinners are better than mum's cooking, and there are things she enjoys doing at school. But she doesn't actually learn very much, which she finds frustrating. Most of what she's being taught is not new to her, and when she does get an interesting activity it is over too soon. She likes some of the kids, but they fight with each other and try to make her choose between them.

And there is just no time to pursue her interests. She's done no work on sewing her teddy's new outfit which she wants to enter into an online competition by the end of the month. The fabulous huge cardboard box which we scored outside the shop last week sits forlornly unused in the corner. The pile of library books is untouched. (According to the school, she should read more at home: she isn't filling up her little logbook to show the required 20 minutes of daily reading practice. Before school consumed all of her time, she used to read for several hours a day!)

I've tidied up her room in her absence. At this rate, it might actually stay tidy for a while. I used to think an always-tidy room would be nice. Now it seems barren. While we were tidying, Small Fry fished her big sister's teddy out from under the bed, where it had lain for the last week. "Sista not like bear now?" she asked.