When the Internet goes down...

Today, well actually for the last week or so, our internet connection has been atrocious! Mostly we have soldiered on, but today it just went down ~ completely dead! As about 50% of the kids schooling involves computers for one thing or another, and a large portion of that requires an internet connection (strange how different things are for us now than when I first started out with Jake), this basically meant I had to give the children an impromptu games day!
They did what work they could, that didn't need internet, and then they spent a large part of the rest of the day play Monopoly city together ~ starting at 12.15 and finishing at almost 3pm!! 

Most stayed the course, but the little boys ended up going off to play after a while - I think they went and played lego upstairs. Minnie won ~ although she looks cheesed off here, she was thrashing them all!

I wasn't feeling like playing the game, so I had some luxury 'free' time to get my latest little crochet project finished. I only needed to do the breast overlay, the tail and sew everything together. I loved making this ~ especially working with the thread for the eyes ~ so fine, so rewarding!

A certain little man was more than a little chuffed with him (he'd asked me to make him a doggy with a tail) ~ and named him "Puppy" (of course!).

So today was quite a productive day, despite the lack of internet, and then just about the time we were packing up for the day, it came back on again, but VERY slowly! It seems to have picked up again now (thank goodness) ~ here's hoping it lasts!

So while I have a decent connection, I'll share some snap shots from over the last couple of weeks. There seems to have been a LOT of reading going on, which makes me very happy :D

Minnie has read Pride & Prejudice (devoured it to be fair!), dipped into Emma and given up and moved onto Sense & Sensibility ~ I think she's having a Jane Austin phase ;-)

TP recently finished reading Black Beauty - I'm proud of her for that - and is now reading 'Go Well, Stay well' ~ a book I read as a child about her age and absolutely loved . It has some deep and challenging content and she is gripped by it! I don't think I've ever seen her so engrossed in a book ~ even when she read 'Shadow the Sheepdog' (that Lilo is currently enjoying), which was probably her favourite book - until now!

Lilo, as I said, is reading Shadow the Sheepdog. This is a real step up for her, but I felt it was time to challenge her a little. She is still not great with texts that contain a lot of conversation, but as this story does not have quite so much as other Enid book, but it's also the KIND of story she would enjoy, I thought it would be a nice introduction to next-level reading. She is definitely enjoying it  and I hope it will give her the confidence and inspiration to continue in her reading journey. It's amazing for me to think though, that this time two years ago she was still almost completely illiterate. It's been a slow but steady journey for her, but she is certainly doing well on it now :D

DD is ripping his way through Five on Treasure Island and enjoying as much as I remember doing at his age. I think this was my favourite Famous Five book of all ~ and I read lots! They may not be perfectly 'politically correct', they may not even be brilliantly written, but the stories are perfect for inspiring the adventurous spirit in us! I just knew DD would be ripe for these and I was right ~ he can't wait to turn over the next page :D

Stitch is reading an abridged version of Robin Hood. It's actually quite a stretch for him, and he tends to rush himself a little (as he does in all things!), but he's doing pretty well. I feel perhaps he does better when he reads to himself than when he reads aloud to me, but that's rather hard to gauge!

Chip is enjoying some interactive Bible reading on their Hudl, amongst all the other many stories he loves to read and have read to him! He also has loved playing with these really cheap pegs that I bought for the chids to make 'dens' with (to hold up all the blankets).

There's been some experimenting... DD instisted on trying to get this Knex windmill to turn. I did try to explain that the design was not really going to work due to flat sails and general instability, but he had to try :D

And we have continued on making our Art Journal. I thought this weeks (which was a colour wheel) would be too simple for most of the children, but surprisingly they were all happy to do it and enjoyed it :D Nothing like going back to basics for a little reinforcement! This week will be on shading ~ I'm expecting that to be a bit more stretching for all of them!
   The week before last I was particularly pleased with Stitches work this week ~ love his cars! His pencil control and patience for these little projects has come on in leaps and bounds this year. I am so grateful for a few years of experience that has taught me not to panic, or push a child beyond points they are not yet ready to go. I may not always get it right, but I do more often than I ever did before. Stitch enjoys a little bit of writing and drawing, and is even beginning to enjoy colouring. His dexterity for these fine motor things is still a little challenged, but it's coming, slowly but surely and at his own pace.