Just two weeks shy of his first birthday I returned to work and the small boy started at nursery. First in woddlers, then toddlers and he’s now in pre-school. Today is his last day, as I type this it’s his last hour there. Next week he’s moving onwards and upwards to the nursery at primary school.

Uniform has been bought, labelled, tried on and modelled. All we talk about is big school and the friends he already has in his class there. He’ll be fine, it’ll be the making of him. We’re all forward looking and we’ve barely looked back at the past (almost) three years.

Looking back, without the stability, input and love he had at nursery he would be much worse off socially and academically. During the year (ish) I was largely unable to parent him, they stepped in educated and entertained him for three days a week. They fed him, looked after him, loved him and took him out to explore the world.

Don’t get me wrong, when he first started I was, as is traditional, utterly heartbroken at leaving my baby with them, but he’s thrived under their care. When his hearing (now fixed) was holding back his development, they worked hard with us to adapt his time there so he wouldn’t fall too far behind, and he didn’t, he’s now running with the pack and you’d not know any different.

I have no regrets about sending him to nursery, other than I’d prefer that I’d had that time with him, but it was absolutely for the best, and for me wanting to keep him at home would’ve been selfish of me. We’re trying to raise a happy, independent chap and he is that. He’s full of spirit, he’s funny, lively, lovely and clever.

I hope that his new big school will recognise his character, understand his strengths, nurture his weaker areas and help him to be the best that he can be. I know that as a family we’ll look back at his time at nursery very fondly, I hope he remembers all the fun he had there, the friends he made and all the clothes he ruined during craft time.

Goodbye nursery, it’s been a blast!