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!