Book Bag

It goes like this. I buy a cheapo nylon bag from School for £3. I have to take little bear's book to school in it every day and bring it home every night.

Little bear gets a new book every Tuesday. Yesterday it was a lovely shiny new one.

However this book gets further and further battered by being taken to and from school, even with the book bag, and more and more dog eared as little bear does his best to memorise it (he insisted on reading it twice last night) even though he really only needs it at school on the Tuesday as he is using that book as a book to read at home. I suppose it means that they can keep track of stuff, and read with him if he needs it at school.

When I was presented with the book last night I asked if it was homework. Miss explained to me that it was so he could have something to read at home. Currently we have managed to keep the books on his bed down to around half a dozen, but there are three BIG boxes of books next to his bed, 'just in case'. I don't think Miss believed me when I explained that he had a lot of books. I think she may think I am one of 'those' mothers, whose little darlings must be always referred to as a genius. I am a doting mother, and thrilled with little bear, but his current genius involves getting into trouble and then fooling his father into believing his tears are not crocodile but tears of trauma and devastation that can only be assuaged by vast quantities of sweets.

Although, to prove the rule, little bear is now carefully going over books and making the sound for every letter instead of reading very nearly almost close to but not quite all of the words themselves. It is now c-a-t instead of cat and I am not sure I am impressed, but Miss says... I refused to go through a child's picture dictionary saying all the sounds in every single word and he acted like I had tried to amputate an ear, not that he just couldn't be bothered but thought it was an important task that needed to be completed.

It's just another routine to get used to, and it could be worse. At least he gets access to new books, and they can't make assumptions about the children that they have. I am sure that many little ones in his class don't have the same access to books, and I suspect that there are one or two who really don't have books at all.

Just to add - I can get an identical book bag that the school sold for £2.50 (ie 5op less) from my friend ebay - including the p&p! It's only 50p, but I can see these things mounting up.