I’ve got a splinter. It really hurts - got it off the edge of one of our IKEA bits that Tim fetched up tonight. We’re thinking about building one just now, but really what I want to do is go to bed - I didn’t get in til 10.30 last night, so by the time I’d unwound it was way past midnight, so I didn’t get a decent night’s sleep at all. I’m still waiting to get acclimatised to this more physical way of life as well, I’m really physically tired every night just now.
Tim went and fetched some more stuff, and he’d been back about an hour when my parents rang to say they’d stopped in to check the house and there wasn’t any post, and by the way, how do you stop the burglar alarm chiming? (I didn’t know that it could chime, so I had no idea how to switch it off. They pushed buttons randomly until it stopped 
)
Last night was the second of our parent workshops - I’m really rather enjoying them from the other side of the fence as it were. We’ve not that many parents on this one, but the ones who have turned up seem to be really enjoying it and it’s giving us staff plenty of time to get to grips with the materials as well. Made for a very long day though, and given that we’d done a fire drill in the middle of the day (we do them very regularly as the children have to be used enough to the noise to just deal with it rather than panicking) and one member of staff fell on the slippy wet pavement and another had an asthma attack it had been quite a traumatic day all round. Apparently I’m going over well with the parents though - as you’ll know, I quite enjoy enthusing about education, and that’s pretty much what I’m expected to do now.
More parents touring today, and a visit tomorrow from the new girl who is starting on Monday, and a call from a local children’s centre to ask if they can tour to get some ideas and would we like some reciprocal training? But of course 
and wouldn’t it be fab if we could montessori-ise a sure start centre 
Small is still having a tough time of it though. The tantrums are his, and he is really very cross with the world during them. We’ve brought a couple of sand timers home as he finds watching the sand trickle through very calming - I’m considering getting a set for home to help him out with a consistent approach. Big seems to have largely settled - think she’d rather not be attending school every day, but she seems to accept it’s the way it is at the moment.
Right, think the oven has warmed up, must go put pizza in. How did it get to be nearly 10 o’clock? (Mind, earlier, Tim was telling me that it was Thursday tomorrow, think he’s wondering how it got to be today iyswim )
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fire drills: apparently the last one at my school was about 2 yrs ago. Someone set the alarm off the other day making toast in a classroom and we *all* panicked. Can you imagine how hard it will be to organise special needs kids in case of fire, and how long it would take us to get all the wheelchairs out? The school is mainly on the first floor as well, and there’s only one lift. What a nightmare! So anyway, yes, fire drills being regular is probably a good idea, given a more normal situation!
As I used to work in a residential centre for adults with learning disabilities, I know how hard it was to evacuate that and there weren’t any major physical disabilities involved. The babies and toddlers at school are upstairs, and it’s a listed building with twisty staircases - it’s amazing how fast the staff can evacuate, but it is down to practice.
I can understand the temptation to not bother with fire drills because it’s awkward - but all the more reason to do it, IYSWIM.
Tantrums can be so tough on everyone. You might be interested in book I co-authored with Jennifer Brown through Parenting Press called, “What Angry Kids Need: Parenting Your Angry Child Without Going Mad”. You don’t have to have a child with a particular anger “problem” to benefit from the book, which has help on how to help your child build his feelings vocabulary, self-soothe, and problem-solve. There is also support for parents on how to use time out or holding positively and safely, and how to deal with a child when they become physically out of control. There is also a chapter on self-care for parents, and one to help parents decide when to reach out for more help. Good luck! Your issues sounds very normal, but your positive responses will certainly help your child become emotionally mature over time.
Thanks for dropping by and the book recommendation Pam, I’ll certainly look into that.