A poem for Tabitha at the end of Reception

When you first started school last September,

It was ever so scary and new,

To begin with there were lots of tears,

(From me as well as you).

But with the help of a knitted bear up your sleeve,

And some reading of ‘Starting School’,

You began to enjoy going in every day,

And thought Miss Roberts was pretty cool.

You really embraced learning phonics,

Thanks to a jolly giraffe, Geraldine,

You came home reciting the catchy tunes,

Of clicking castanets and buzzy bees.

Very soon you were actually reading,

Writing words, then sentences too,

You learnt to count to ten in Spanish,

Went to a Temple and Battersea Zoo.

When you performed at your first Harvest Festival,

My heart was bursting with pride,

You stood up with all your classmates,

Sang ‘Mr Scarecrow’ with all of your might.

The dress-up days were endless,

With Spanish Day, Pirates and Space,

For World Book Day you were Miffy,

And you chose Greece as your favourite place.

You wore red, white and blue for the wedding,

An Easter bonnet to parade down the street,

You loved taking in toys for ‘show and tell’,

And having ‘golden time’ to finish the week.

Your nativity was so special to me,

You sang Away in a Manger so sweetly,

And then for your assembly at Vernon Road,

Your class owned the stage completely.

You’ve really enjoyed doing Lego club,

And you did a ‘learn to cycle’ course too,

You’re so proud when you’re on Lion Learner

Although a Star of the Week’s still due.

You’ve made some new friends at school this year,

(Although Jamie has remained your best pal),

There are two Julias, Claudia, Yassina…

…And Monty and Glen as well.

And now that Sports Day is over,

The summer holidays have almost begun,

You’re no longer a little Ladybird,

You’re a Caterpillar starting Year One!

From a mother to a mum-to-be

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a poem to enter into a Mother’s Day poetry competition. I didn’t win, so thought I’d share it on here:

 

Have you felt your baby kick?

It’s a feeling like no other

The moment when a bond is formed

Between a child and his mother

 

Straight after birth the cord is cut

Which separates you physically

But that bond will always be there

Like a thread attached invisibly

 

Sleepless nights and endless tears

May have you asking why

But those feelings all but disappear

When you see your baby smile

 

The world and his wife will have advice

An opinion of what to do

Just trust your maternal instinct

You’ll know what’s right for you

 

It may sound like a cliché

But the time will really fly

So treasure every moment

It’ll pass in the blink of an eye

 

In no time at all she’ll be off to school

And that thread will stretch much longer

But it doesn’t ever disappear

In fact, it just gets stronger

 

 

When I am ready

(Author not known)

When I am ready, I will smile.

You’ll have to wait a little while.

It’s one of the first things I learn to do,

I want it to be just right for you.

When I am ready, I’ll sleep through.

There may be small things you can do,

to help me do it, but you’ll soon see,

that in the end, it’s down to me.

When I am ready, I will crawl.

And then you’ll have no peace at all.

Into everything I’ll be,

No time for your nice cup of tea!

When I am ready I will walk.

And when I’m ready, I will talk.

Then that’s it, big milestones done.

(Though you will still cherish ones to come.)

And when you’re old and up I’ve grown,

and maybe perhaps have children of my own,

you’ll look at them and you will sigh –

How fast the time has passed you by!

Was I really as small as that,

helpless and tiny, in booties and hat?

And much as you tried to enjoy each part,

there was that wish inside your heart;

Will you ever get there? You used to say,

as you wished my babyhood away.

The others are doing it, why aren’t you?

Because it’s not my time – if only you knew

that all the worry was a waste of time,

the decision of when, was always mine.

I did it all in the end, nice and steady.

I told you I’d do it when I was ready!

When you thought I wasn’t looking

Tabitha and I attended our first baby massage session this morning. I don’t think she appreciated it in the slightest – wriggling and rolling through the whole thing – but, it’s a great chance to get out and meet some new people and we even met another baby Tabitha! At the end of the session the teacher read out a lovely poem, which I thought I’d share below. Before that though, a quick update on the daytime sleep situation: I’ve given up on the cot now for naps; it causes me too much stress and inevitably ends up with me rocking Tabitha in my arms, which she’s getting far too heavy for. So, I now put her straight in the pram, walk her round the living room for a few minutes and she nods off fairly quickly. She’s strapped in so can’t roll over, and the movement of the pram helps lull her to sleep. Yay! I will keep trying the cot every now and then, but at least this works for now, even though it’s not a perfect solution.

Here’s the poem, entitled ‘When you thought I wasn’t looking’:

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,
and I wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you feed a stray cat,
and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you make my favourite cake for me,
and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I heard you say a prayer,
and I believed that there was a God to talk to.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I felt you kiss me goodnight,
and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw tears come from your eyes,
and I learned that sometimes things hurt,
but it’s alright to cry.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw that you cared,
and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I looked….
and I wanted to say thanks for all the things
I saw when you thought I wasn’t looking.

Author: Mary Rita Schilke Korazan