So, many of you at home are probably wondering to yourselves: "What is it like in London for a 5 year old?" I thought it might be nice to be able to give you a little overview of how she spends her days in the UK.
She attends a private school in an area adjacent to ours. I would have loved to get her into one of two schools that are in walking distance from our house but there just aren't any spots open. As selfish and screwed up as this sounds, the desire was merely because I wanted to check out Jude Law or Ewan McGregor drop off their girls at either each day. Can you imagine? Excuse me...Jude...do you think your daughter would like to have a play date...like every day of the week? Then again, I don't have a nanny so I'd probably be turned down. Damn. That's all right, there's something not quite right about men in skinny jeans with pointy shoes. Eck!!
She attends a private school in an area adjacent to ours. I would have loved to get her into one of two schools that are in walking distance from our house but there just aren't any spots open. As selfish and screwed up as this sounds, the desire was merely because I wanted to check out Jude Law or Ewan McGregor drop off their girls at either each day. Can you imagine? Excuse me...Jude...do you think your daughter would like to have a play date...like every day of the week? Then again, I don't have a nanny so I'd probably be turned down. Damn. That's all right, there's something not quite right about men in skinny jeans with pointy shoes. Eck!!
Her school is very small but she's blended in really well with the other children. Maybe blended isn't the right word since she is one of the few non-ethnic Caucasian children there. Her classroom is chock full of different nationalities, cultures and backgrounds. When you walk into her class, it's as if you stepped foot in the UN. Her teachers are from South Africa, India, France and of course all over the UK. A few months ago, she was allowed to dress up in a "National Costume" to support UNICEF's Day for a Change campaign. Unfortunately, the only thing I could come up with for Avery was a cowgirl, and that wasn't even my idea.
So back to her day. In school they are incredibly busy. They do reading, writing and maths in the morning. The afternoons are reserved for more of a "play" atmosphere (if you could call drama, swimming lessons, french and art, "play"). To offer some perspective, if Avery was at home in New Jersey right now, she'd be attending a pre-school for 4 hours a day, Monday-Friday. Then in September she'd attend kindergarten...half days. Here...Avery goes to school from 8:30 until 3:15pm, 5 days a week. She's already reading books and has picked that up so quickly it constantly shocks me. They've already started working on addition, subtraction and are in the early stages of fractions.
In the UK they focus the children very very early. For instance, Sloane will start attending a nursery program this September for 3 days a week and then in April she'll attend full day nursery. Crazy huh? They begin learning letter sounds and other things that get them ready to start reading. They do not learn letter names here. Instead they learn what the letter says: A says 'ah', C says 'ca'. It's very irritating for the UK teachers when the American children arrive writing in all capital letters. It was a small hurdle for us at first, but Av jumped it quicker than we imagined she would.
Currently, Avery has 5 workbooks at school. One for maths, another for 'Topic' which is where they write their sentences, a third for art, a fourth for more letters and a fifth with handouts consisting of maths and writing. On top of that she has two homework workbooks that must be done each evening. They have also started with spelling tests on Fridays. They get 10 words and are quizzed on how well they spell them as well as how well it's written. Quite a lot for one so young. Thankfully Avery doesn't stress about it and enjoys doing her work. She's very studious and has won two Head Teachers Awards already. Talk about a proud mommy!
In the UK they focus the children very very early. For instance, Sloane will start attending a nursery program this September for 3 days a week and then in April she'll attend full day nursery. Crazy huh? They begin learning letter sounds and other things that get them ready to start reading. They do not learn letter names here. Instead they learn what the letter says: A says 'ah', C says 'ca'. It's very irritating for the UK teachers when the American children arrive writing in all capital letters. It was a small hurdle for us at first, but Av jumped it quicker than we imagined she would.
Currently, Avery has 5 workbooks at school. One for maths, another for 'Topic' which is where they write their sentences, a third for art, a fourth for more letters and a fifth with handouts consisting of maths and writing. On top of that she has two homework workbooks that must be done each evening. They have also started with spelling tests on Fridays. They get 10 words and are quizzed on how well they spell them as well as how well it's written. Quite a lot for one so young. Thankfully Avery doesn't stress about it and enjoys doing her work. She's very studious and has won two Head Teachers Awards already. Talk about a proud mommy!
It's not all work and no play for Avery and her classmates. They have PE twice a week and on one of those days they all get on a bus and head to a pool for swimming lessons. Often they can be found playing on the local playground. We also have jazz and gymnastics during the week as well. It's quite busy around here to say the least.
We'll be at the current school for two more years at which time, Avery will be given standardized UK tests. Those will evaluate her abilities and are mandatory in order to get her into another school. We have our eye on one school not far from our house that is supposedly really good. Already we've had to put her on the waiting list to be put on a waiting list for 2009. Yes, that's right...a waiting list to be put on another waiting list. If she performs well enough on the standardized tests, we'll receive a formal application in late 2008 at which time we'll have to immediately fill it out and return it the same day. That's so that we secure one place of 250 for this particular school. Then if her application makes it on the list of 250 applicants, she'll be brought in for more assessments. Depending on how that goes, she may or may not get a place in that school. Here's the kicker...there are only 24 spots available. It's ridiculous isn't it? Applications for school equals college in my mind...NOT GRAMMAR SCHOOL!!! It's a good thing they don't test the parents!!
We'll be at the current school for two more years at which time, Avery will be given standardized UK tests. Those will evaluate her abilities and are mandatory in order to get her into another school. We have our eye on one school not far from our house that is supposedly really good. Already we've had to put her on the waiting list to be put on a waiting list for 2009. Yes, that's right...a waiting list to be put on another waiting list. If she performs well enough on the standardized tests, we'll receive a formal application in late 2008 at which time we'll have to immediately fill it out and return it the same day. That's so that we secure one place of 250 for this particular school. Then if her application makes it on the list of 250 applicants, she'll be brought in for more assessments. Depending on how that goes, she may or may not get a place in that school. Here's the kicker...there are only 24 spots available. It's ridiculous isn't it? Applications for school equals college in my mind...NOT GRAMMAR SCHOOL!!! It's a good thing they don't test the parents!!
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