Starting school: Cerrie's memories

What do you remember about your first day at school? How did you feel on your little one's first day? CBeebies presenter Cerrie blogs about her own memories of school and her experiences as a mum...

What do you remember about starting school?

I couldn't read until I was eight (when my dyslexia was finally diagnosed) so my I spent my first four years of primary school in a lovely imaginative daydream, whereby I remembered everything around me; from the many different colours of my teacher’s shoes, to the taste of apricot yoghurt (the dinner ladies’ favourite flavour). My memories of primary school are of an awakening of senses, the sound of the bell, the smell of the canteen, the mistiness of the windows at wet play...

How do you think your teachers would remember you?

I'm not sure about my first teacher - but the last teacher I had in primary school, had me in her class for two years as I was moved down. During that time I had a haircut I hated, so I insisted on wearing a scarf around my hair for two weeks (and I screamed if any one took it off!) Then my mum bought me the ugliest shoes I'd ever seen, which I had hid in my P.E. bag and wore my plimsolls instead – this time only for five days before I was found out! Then there was the incident with my plastic hand where I was cutting out Christmas decorations and accidentally cut a finger off it - my teacher turned a pale shade of green... I think she might remember me as wilful or a little bit dramatic!

How did you cope with your daughter’s first day at school or nursery?

My daughter’s first day at nursery came when she was nine months old and was emotionally okay for me because, as a working single mum, I'd already been leaving her with my parents during the day from when she was 14 weeks old (which was when I started on CBeebies). The first day apart was one of the hardest days of my life, because I felt sick at leaving her. On my first day in the new CBeebies studio in Salford, I had to leave her at nursery where she was the only child there because it was newly opened. That wasn't easy! So by the time she came to start school, it felt less of a hurdle as it was a much shorter day apart!

Has your child just started school or nursery for the first time? Chat with other parents on the CBeebies Grown-ups Facebook or Twitter pages. 

Explore our interactive guide to surviving your little one's first weeks of reception class.