just another morning here

Why is it always such an anticlimax to complete a computer game? We completed DK Jungle Beat this afternoon, (well, I did, but the children were cheering me on), but other than a couple more gold medals, a really terrible looking but easy to defeat baddy, and some amusing animations during the credits, it was a let-down. Don’t know what I expected, really. Anyway, that game is on the swap list now, for anyone with a bongo controller

Education … erm, well, Josiah went to Start Right where he had the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, with appropriate number seven related activities. He pulled the ‘I want to come home with you’ stunt when I dropped him off again today, which he never does for Steve … hmmm. Came home saying he’d enjoyed it despite all the fiasco.

Anna and Abbie both did some workbook stuff (maths and handwriting for Abbie, maths and english for Anna) this morning, while I typed up some minutes from a meeting I went to last week – oh, the luxury of a laptop! I sent Anna off to google for vowels and consonants when she declared that she didn’t know what they were – I’m sure she did really, but anyway, she managed to find out, finish her workbook page, and get involved in an online game of chess with another home educated friend all at the same time! She went off to school for lunch and the afternoon’s dance and drama lesson, Steve brought Josiah home and stayed for lunch, and the rest of the afternoon has been spent on games of one sort or another.

Now, I have a confession to make. Not quite sure how my number got passed along, but last week I was contacted by a journalist, and we agreed to have a reporter round tomorrow who is doing an article on home education for one of the national papers. A photographer is coming too … argh. Anyway, they’ve said they want pictures of the children ‘working’ so the kids and I have been thinking about ways we can portray ‘work’ without having to agree to the preconception that learning = sitting down and writing. Anna suggested the computer (surprise surprise!), and other ideas so far have included science kit activities, geomags and hama – possibly geomag platonic solids are more visually impressive than hama bead designs … any other ideas, anyone? I don’t have any more details than that at the moment so don’t ask, I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything else about the article.

Off out for dinner at a friend’s house tonight which should be lovely, so I’m off to do bathtime and bedtime with my lovely children

We spent the vast majority of yesterday at Crealy, with friends from our local home ed circuit. It was lovely. The girls did some maths and handwriting before we went; Josiah went to Start Right too, so I had to pop out and pick him up at lunchtime, but could leave the girls there, so it was no hassle. Came home and cleaned downstairs, while the kids were having tea, I’ve managed to whip through the whole house this week (makes me wonder why I don’t manage it every week – no comment, please ) in honour of my birthday.

Steve’s parents came for dinner later on; they’re having a new kitchen fitted this week so their house is in chaos. Only the third new kitchen I’ve seen them install in the ten years we’ve been married (not all in the same house, I hasten to add), they are quite good at the whole thing – don’t know how they do it, myself, I just couldn’t stand all the mess … when our house needs redecorating any more than the basics we’ll move, I expect!

The children were playing an elaborate rpg with the wooden castle, princes, princesses, kings, queens and dragons (very Shrek-esque in style ) during the evening, which we didn’t have the heart to break up. Once Steve’s parents had left Steve & I had to go and be the audience to a replay of the game, and after that it was bedtime for everyone.

Today we’re planning a low-key day at home, I’ve promised to play Monopoly with the kids once they’ve done a little bit of something workwise, so I guess I’d better go and get them working towards it, otherwise it won’t happen!

Well, I succeeded in giving what was left of yesterday’s chocolate cake away to the friend whose birthday it was, so didn’t eat too much myself

Joe went off to nursery this morning and the girls & I did some handwriting – Anna chose to copy a psalm from here, while Abbie is continuing to work her way through a Schofield & Sims book. They are both really improving, and it’s quite nice to see them take pleasure in watching their own progress. I think they did a couple of pages of maths each as well – nothing too strenuous though. They spent the rest of the morning together on the computer playing here – which makes me cringe, but they like it.

After picking up Joe and some lunch and a bit of housework we went to the park to a home ed meet … which was nice, although I can’t believe we ended up discussing the other group again (the one with the exorbitant prices, lol!) and still not really getting to an answer – our best bet at the moment seems to be to try and talk our way into concessions on the rent. Either that or find somewhere else to go. Not that I’m at all sure we’d go wherever it was or however cheap it was, well, not regularly anyway. I guess I just find that the week is usually full enough anyway … then again having said that I do think we maybe ought to give it a try again, because I feel like the kids are missing out and the reason we don’t go (other than the cost) is more because *I* wasn’t enjoying it than anything else. I dunno! Turns out both Jules and I had been paying over the odds without realising in any case … I still think it’s all too confusing!

Anyway, the children had a nice time playing, we took scooters which I think got used by everyone … and then we had to leave to get home for Steve’s Aunty Jacky who came round for another Ancient Greeks project session with the girls … they did some work on alphabets and numbers which complemented what we’d done the other day, and she read stories to them from Story of the World while they coloured, all very nice and laid back today.

Discovered I’d left Joe’s hat at the park when Jules called round to return it (thanks Jules!!), just as I was on the phone to Stuart telling me they’ve been approved at the adoption board – great news, and now I’ve stolen his blogpost for tomorrow

The highlight of our day though, came after tea when we (well, Anna, Abbie and I – we left Steve at home with Joe who was crying because he wasn’t coming) called for Mollie & Emma from up the road, and went off together to see Wild One at the school round the corner – a Theatre Alibi production. It was absolutely brilliant, we all really enjoyed it – highly recommended if they ever tour near you!!

No snow here, just wind and drizzle. Typical!

I escaped the house first thing this morning to take Josiah to Start Right and then go on to the supermarket on my own – which was lovely Steve had offered to clear up after last night’s bash which did incur some room rearrangements, so I left him to it. Got home to find both girls doing DWN again … and Anna went on to do some maths pages too before we had to go and get Joe.

We dropped Anna off at school for dance & drama then came home for lunch, after which Josiah decided to play pairs with his Start Right reading cards (high frequency sight words), while Abbie worked on a bit of tens/units stuff in a maths book. She then decided to start a handwriting book because she wants to learn the joins for joined up writing. I think this is a result of the Draw Write Now stuff … she really does find writing quite difficult and wants to be able to do it more easily. Part of the problem, though, is not being able to spell all the words, it’s the ‘looking up to see what the next letter is’ thing that ends up putting her off – so I may try and teach her some strategies for remembering the whole word that she’s writing. She really enjoyed the handwriting book, anyway, and after four pages I was telling her to stop! Abbie has spent the rest of the afternoon so far wobbling her ‘very wobbly and really needs to fall out’ tooth … I won’t be at all surprised if it comes out today I’ll endeavour to update with a photo when she succeeds in pulling it out!