How are we already at the end of another school year?!

On Friday, Sam will finish for the summer hols; in September he moves into key stage 2.

I’m pretty sure this shouldn’t be allowed – after all he was only a baby a few months ago… wasn’t he?

As always, I am looking forward to the holidays almost as much as he is.

I’m not entirely sure why, as a Uni lecturer I don’t get the school holidays off work (in fairness, the poor school teachers don’t really either as they have to prep everything for the next term!).

But even so, I am really looking forward to seeing my little man before I go off to work, possibly meeting up with him and Daddy for lunch once or twice, and so on.

The reality is that for me, the six weeks of the summer holidays will pass very much the same way as any other six weeks pass… but for Daddy, life is about to get a whole lot trickier to juggle.

Just like any child, Sam wants to play.

Lots.

He wants his Daddies full attention, he wants to go out for walks with our dog, go swimming, play Lego, read stories and have adventures.

Unlike other children however, Sam cannot verbalise these wants.

Nor can be physically walk up to me or Daddy and nag us to play with him, reminding us that work/housework/dishes/bills can wait for just a little bit longer.

So, it’s up to US to ensure that Sam has all his needs and wants met.

And that, dear reader, is not always an easy task.

Sam is very good at letting us know when we’re doing something he DOESN’T want (i.e. physio) but isn’t so good at indicating when it is something he likes or DOES want.

This presents us with a challenge (and that’s being polite!).

So, this summer we have a project.

We will be working on getting the little chap to learn how to conclusively let us know that he’s happy/enjoying himself.

We’re going to be working on making choices and encouraging him to tell us when he’s had enough or when he wants to continue.

As we speak I am making some very colourful laminated sheets to supplement his school communication (POD) book… fingers crossed this works.

If anyone has any ideas they’d like to share, I would be more than grateful to hear them! x