Our Kent Family: on starting school and coming to the end of that first year

It doesn't actually seem possible, but we are almost - give or take a day or two - one half term away from our first whole year at school.

And I say ‘our’ because while the most change (and most fun!) has definitely been had by Oscar, I don’t think any of us could have imagined what starting school was really going to mean for our family.

And where to start in even trying to explain?

Particularly to parents, preparing for their own's child's reception adventure, who now find themselves in the same position as we were at this point last year, focussed entirely on school uniform lists, first visits to the classroom, learning the names of staff, home visits, term dates…the list was endless.

All while being concerned about how they’ll cope, will they like it, will they make friends, will we make friends?

All I can say is if you have a year anything like ours, which has gone past so quickly, it will be a yes to all of the above.

Don’t get me wrong we’ve had our wobbly days and our teary days – and that’s just us as his parents – but for the most part our now-five-year-old has embraced everything about his first year at school despite not always being the bravest child in our tribe.

And from talking to other parents we know, with children the same age, very similar things can be said about their love of school.

Our offspring (for now!) and for the most part, want to go to school. They want to go during the week, over a weekend and during the holidays.

In fact 'a stampede for the door’, as described by someone watching our class this week, isn’t far off what actually often happens at 8.45am as small children rush to tell their teacher, who they utterly adore, about their latest toy, adventure or achievement.

There have been surprises - some good, some bad, some unusual.

A dad, who shall remain nameless, says realising his son has more ‘girl-friends’ in reception than he had during his entire time in school may have to go down as an eventual proud moment come the end of term in July.

And let loose with a set of chalks on a friend’s gorgeous patio during an Easter play-date, our toilet-humour obsessed son managed to scrawl ‘do cats ever fart?’ in bright green letters across the stones.

Not knowing whether to be embarrassed at his choice of phrase or exceptionally proud of the accurate spelling and use of a question mark in the right place, it turns out, is an extremely tough call.

During a conversation with a fellow mum at the weekend she revealed watching her child's class mates simply greet him in the morning, proving that he's forged his own friendships, is exceptionally special.

And I definitely think it's the people we've met, and experiences we've shared, which will form our lasting memories of this first year.

People who will run your child to school when the other is sick, pick them up if you're running late, stop and wait with them when they think they’ve got too far down the road ahead of you, offer to feed them when they see you’re pushed for time or work is taking over, help with school projects, hand down school uniform others have outgrown, or in our case most recently, helping you keep calm, locate one little lost toddler while keeping an eye on the other child during a rather busy class play-date at Leeds Castle.

For people like us, who don't live and therefore send their children to school in a hometown or city where family may be nearby, this everyday run-of-the-mill stuff matters.

This doesn't even include the play-dates, birthday parties, barbecues, beach trips and coffee mornings which have allowed us to get to know other parents.

Alongside an extremely large number of people we now say hello to every morning – and in itself how nice is that - are good friends, close friends and friends we can’t now imagine our lives without.

Every family’s first year with a child in reception will be different so I’m not about to offer up any real advice but instead, in the style of Baz Luhrmann, say only this: buy tissues.

A fellow mum confessed last week to not realising how much of an emotional wreck she would become on seeing her child at school. She is absolutely right.

Every merit star, certificate, performance, handmade mother's day card, piece of writing, well-read reading book or passing nice word said about your son or daughter will leave you destined to be an emotional wreck until the summer of 2017.

Invest in a box - maybe five.