The final spring term. What April and May actually need.

The final spring term — April to June — is, in my observation, the most sustained period of the school year. The September term has the energy of the new beginning. The autumn term has the shelter of the cosy months. But the spring-to-summer term requires the children to sustain effort through April's unreliable weather, May's rising heat, and June's awareness that the end is coming but isn't here yet.

My daughter hits a specific low point in mid-May. Every year. The energy that returned in March has been used up by the sustained effort of the term. The summer is visible but not yet available. She is tired but can't rest yet. This is the marathon's difficult middle, and it is worth knowing about.

The May dip is worth naming once, clearly, at the start of May. Not as a warning — as information. 'This time of year is always a bit harder. It lasts about two weeks. Then it gets easier.' That is the accurate prediction. The accurate prediction, delivered in advance, is what makes the dip manageable. This is the specific thing that produces the change. The change comes from the practice. The practice comes from the decision to try it once, this week, in the ordinary