Yesterday I left Jake in charge while Paul and I were at a conference for the day.
The chids took advantage of the fact and gave me a glimpse of their day with MY camera ;D
You took them chids ~ on your head be it!!
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
A Cheesy Kind of Day!
This week's 'make and bake' theme seems to be going reasonably well and the children have more-or-less embraced their creative sides!
A recap so far
Monday ~
In the morning Paul & I had to take my Nan to an Outpatients appointment 'out of town'. We took the four smallest with us. Taz, Minnie and TP stayed home and played Monopoly City together for the morning (Bugs was away in Cardiff - again).
We didn't get back until lunchtime (long wait!), so that meant a short day to fill :D
Lilo did some sequin art (from last Christmas, still not finished ~ she doesn't have the patience for lots at once) which DD joined in with for a bit.
Then she, DD & TP did some drawing and colouring. They are all particularly enjoying some little ''stained glass' colouring books I have, of birds and baby animals. Today was birds. I believe Minnie was doing some drawing then too.
At some point DD, Lilo and Stitch decided they wanted to paint a 'giant gingerbread man', which Taz drew for them and they duly got busy on, but when Chip decided to join in (with their permission I might add) the littler boys struggled to cope with him not playing by their rules! With a little reassurance that Mr Ginger could be rescued, they carried on nicely for a little while. He had to wait to be dried, and is still waiting for more 'decoration' ~ maybe tomorrow morning's project... DD eventually couldn't cope any longer and removed himself to go and paint his own little gingerbread man, which he did quite nicely, but had failed to stick to my 'rule' about water pots on trays, etc... and you can guess the rest! I was none too happy, but miraculously nothing was actually ruined with the spillage - only my fuse!
Not really quite sure what else the children did tbh! I know there was some computer work/play somewhere along the line..
Tuesday ~
Definitely more drawing was being done by everyone in the morning.
Taz did a great picture of a whale (can't remember what sort of whale, sorry).
I helped DD finish of his 'crazy cat' (that blog will follow some-time soon), which had been waiting a little while. He did a lot of it, but then needed to add a bit more pastel to one part, but lunchtime sprang up on us. He didn't come back to it later and instead had a go at it today (Weds), but he used the wrong colour and rushed it, rather spoiling what, up until then, was an excellent piece of art. I have spent some time 'rescuing' it for him ~ pondering how teachers have the patience for primary art, and wondering how much time they spend rescuing children's art, so as to not have devastated children on their hands!!
TP did some Benderoos ~ and made a Christmas tree. They enjoy these and they've really come down in price ~ might have to get some more!!
Lilo played with the Geomag a bit, but I didn't see what she made.
I'm sure there was some Moshi Monstering and at some point a game of 'Yes/No' going on.
I'm getting old ~ my memory escapes as to what exactly I did all morning, but I know I was busy (like busy enough to not even really go on my phone or computer) and I know it did NOT involve that pile of marking I've still not done!!
After lunch, having given up hope of getting any in the post from OTP ;-), we did some baking and made some Cranberry & Chocolate Snow Cookies. They are absolutely delicious, but might have to be eaten by Minnie & myself, as my ridiculously fussy lot moaned they don't like the cranberries (even Paul!). Just as well we have guest coming on Thursday ~ it was a big batch!
Bugs arrived home in the evening ~ it's nice to have him home and he's had a great time :D
Today ~
Minnie started the day with a bit of craft from a cardboard box ~ she's making this. She got half way through, before she got a phone call from her best friend R, asking her round for the day/night ~ so off she went about 11ish.
The others did yet more drawing, animating, Tux-painting, computer gaming, played Cranium Cadoo, drumming, sleeping (Bugs)...
Then just before lunch TP, & Lilo decided to do some baking. They've never really attempted anything without Minnie before (or me), but they did a fabulous job making Welsh Rarebit Muffins entirely by themselves ~ and they are scrumptions!
Whilst they were busy doing that I took the time to rearrange (and clean) our kitchen food cupboards. I wanted to move the bread products & chocolate snack-bars out of the pantry, because I am sick of throwing away food the mice have found first (sorry ~ we practically live in a field - and it's winter...). So now they will have to try and nibble their way through tin cans! I just hope they don't find where I've put the bread and chocolate! Just need to decide where to put the potatoes now ~ or whether just to resign myself to them feasting on those and leave them to it, whilst keeping a separate stash more 'secure' for our use! I'm sort of of the opinion that if I remove their food source they will find another ~ and removing THEM (which is what I would really dearly love to do) is probably not very realistic in the long term!!
Once I'd finished that major chore, loaded up the dishwasher (2nd load), Bugs and I started on lunch ~ Easy Cheesy Bake ~ more cheese! We doubled the quantities, which of course meant double the cooking time, which I forgot to take into account, and we had a VERY late lunch!! However, it did generally go down well-ish with most of the children. I personally thought it was absolutely delicious ~ but my tastes and my family's are not quite always on a level!!
Pretty much as soon as 'lunch' was swallowed it was time to for Paul to take various kids to gym and dance etc... TP went for a 'trial' in the development group tonight and then on to the cinema with a friend to see Madagascar 3. Both seem to have been a success :D
When Paul came home with DD from gym he was looking rather glum. They were sent with a letter to say there is a competition on Dec 2nd (a Sunday) but fees have to be paid by tomorrow ~ sorry for the short notice! No details of times ~ only that it is in 'Bury' (miles away) and that it is a 'important grading competition'. DD understandably really wants to do it. He loves his gym and works hard at it, but Sundays are really difficult for us. I don't drive, or it would be less of an issue, but for Paul, as a pastor, he can't just 'drop' a Sunday to take the children to places. It's really tough on them. More warning and more details might make it slightly easier to work with, but still not always. I'm not sure how we are going to address this going into the future. Also, gym digs a VERY big hole in our monthly outgoings and adding competition fees into that... It's not that we would WANT to hold them back at all, and we would dearly LOVE to see them reaching their full potential in WHATEVER sport they chose, but sometimes our circumstances hold us back, regardless of our wishes :(. I promised DD I'd ring the gym to find out times and chat to Paul tomorrow lunchtime to see if it is at all doable ~ which I sadly fear it won't be ~ poor DD :(
In case you haven't noticed ~ we don't 'do' Halloween. Today we have nicely avoided it and tomorrow it will all go away and everyone will start talking about Christmas instead :D
If I get chance over the next couple of days I will update this post with the relevant pictures, although I haven't really had my camera out this week much. I so want my portrait lens back now!!
Tomorrow ~ we have friends arriving for a couple of nights, so if I don't blog you'll know why!
A recap so far
Monday ~
In the morning Paul & I had to take my Nan to an Outpatients appointment 'out of town'. We took the four smallest with us. Taz, Minnie and TP stayed home and played Monopoly City together for the morning (Bugs was away in Cardiff - again).
We didn't get back until lunchtime (long wait!), so that meant a short day to fill :D
Lilo did some sequin art (from last Christmas, still not finished ~ she doesn't have the patience for lots at once) which DD joined in with for a bit.
Then she, DD & TP did some drawing and colouring. They are all particularly enjoying some little ''stained glass' colouring books I have, of birds and baby animals. Today was birds. I believe Minnie was doing some drawing then too.
At some point DD, Lilo and Stitch decided they wanted to paint a 'giant gingerbread man', which Taz drew for them and they duly got busy on, but when Chip decided to join in (with their permission I might add) the littler boys struggled to cope with him not playing by their rules! With a little reassurance that Mr Ginger could be rescued, they carried on nicely for a little while. He had to wait to be dried, and is still waiting for more 'decoration' ~ maybe tomorrow morning's project... DD eventually couldn't cope any longer and removed himself to go and paint his own little gingerbread man, which he did quite nicely, but had failed to stick to my 'rule' about water pots on trays, etc... and you can guess the rest! I was none too happy, but miraculously nothing was actually ruined with the spillage - only my fuse!
Taz did some work on a Pivot animation (he's really good at these) and then went off to drum for a bit.
Not really quite sure what else the children did tbh! I know there was some computer work/play somewhere along the line..
Tuesday ~
Definitely more drawing was being done by everyone in the morning.
Taz did a great picture of a whale (can't remember what sort of whale, sorry).
I helped DD finish of his 'crazy cat' (that blog will follow some-time soon), which had been waiting a little while. He did a lot of it, but then needed to add a bit more pastel to one part, but lunchtime sprang up on us. He didn't come back to it later and instead had a go at it today (Weds), but he used the wrong colour and rushed it, rather spoiling what, up until then, was an excellent piece of art. I have spent some time 'rescuing' it for him ~ pondering how teachers have the patience for primary art, and wondering how much time they spend rescuing children's art, so as to not have devastated children on their hands!!
TP did some Benderoos ~ and made a Christmas tree. They enjoy these and they've really come down in price ~ might have to get some more!!
Lilo played with the Geomag a bit, but I didn't see what she made.
I'm sure there was some Moshi Monstering and at some point a game of 'Yes/No' going on.
I'm getting old ~ my memory escapes as to what exactly I did all morning, but I know I was busy (like busy enough to not even really go on my phone or computer) and I know it did NOT involve that pile of marking I've still not done!!
After lunch, having given up hope of getting any in the post from OTP ;-), we did some baking and made some Cranberry & Chocolate Snow Cookies. They are absolutely delicious, but might have to be eaten by Minnie & myself, as my ridiculously fussy lot moaned they don't like the cranberries (even Paul!). Just as well we have guest coming on Thursday ~ it was a big batch!
Bugs arrived home in the evening ~ it's nice to have him home and he's had a great time :D
Today ~
Minnie started the day with a bit of craft from a cardboard box ~ she's making this. She got half way through, before she got a phone call from her best friend R, asking her round for the day/night ~ so off she went about 11ish.The others did yet more drawing, animating, Tux-painting, computer gaming, played Cranium Cadoo, drumming, sleeping (Bugs)...
Then just before lunch TP, & Lilo decided to do some baking. They've never really attempted anything without Minnie before (or me), but they did a fabulous job making Welsh Rarebit Muffins entirely by themselves ~ and they are scrumptions!
Whilst they were busy doing that I took the time to rearrange (and clean) our kitchen food cupboards. I wanted to move the bread products & chocolate snack-bars out of the pantry, because I am sick of throwing away food the mice have found first (sorry ~ we practically live in a field - and it's winter...). So now they will have to try and nibble their way through tin cans! I just hope they don't find where I've put the bread and chocolate! Just need to decide where to put the potatoes now ~ or whether just to resign myself to them feasting on those and leave them to it, whilst keeping a separate stash more 'secure' for our use! I'm sort of of the opinion that if I remove their food source they will find another ~ and removing THEM (which is what I would really dearly love to do) is probably not very realistic in the long term!!
Once I'd finished that major chore, loaded up the dishwasher (2nd load), Bugs and I started on lunch ~ Easy Cheesy Bake ~ more cheese! We doubled the quantities, which of course meant double the cooking time, which I forgot to take into account, and we had a VERY late lunch!! However, it did generally go down well-ish with most of the children. I personally thought it was absolutely delicious ~ but my tastes and my family's are not quite always on a level!!
Pretty much as soon as 'lunch' was swallowed it was time to for Paul to take various kids to gym and dance etc... TP went for a 'trial' in the development group tonight and then on to the cinema with a friend to see Madagascar 3. Both seem to have been a success :D
When Paul came home with DD from gym he was looking rather glum. They were sent with a letter to say there is a competition on Dec 2nd (a Sunday) but fees have to be paid by tomorrow ~ sorry for the short notice! No details of times ~ only that it is in 'Bury' (miles away) and that it is a 'important grading competition'. DD understandably really wants to do it. He loves his gym and works hard at it, but Sundays are really difficult for us. I don't drive, or it would be less of an issue, but for Paul, as a pastor, he can't just 'drop' a Sunday to take the children to places. It's really tough on them. More warning and more details might make it slightly easier to work with, but still not always. I'm not sure how we are going to address this going into the future. Also, gym digs a VERY big hole in our monthly outgoings and adding competition fees into that... It's not that we would WANT to hold them back at all, and we would dearly LOVE to see them reaching their full potential in WHATEVER sport they chose, but sometimes our circumstances hold us back, regardless of our wishes :(. I promised DD I'd ring the gym to find out times and chat to Paul tomorrow lunchtime to see if it is at all doable ~ which I sadly fear it won't be ~ poor DD :(
In case you haven't noticed ~ we don't 'do' Halloween. Today we have nicely avoided it and tomorrow it will all go away and everyone will start talking about Christmas instead :D
If I get chance over the next couple of days I will update this post with the relevant pictures, although I haven't really had my camera out this week much. I so want my portrait lens back now!!
Tomorrow ~ we have friends arriving for a couple of nights, so if I don't blog you'll know why!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Half Term Holidays
October Half Term always includes Taz's birthday, which I have already blogged, so I won't do that again! I had planned to make really good use of the week 'catching' up on things I just can't do when an education demands to be had in the house! I have achieved some of my goals, but I have also quite successfully procrastinated enough over other things to mean that we may just have to have a 'Make & Bake' week next week :) ...which is in fact another way of saying another week off!! In all fairness though, many of the children's friends are off until Wednesday, and some don't have half/term until this week, so I anticipate a few 'phone calls that will take them out of home, or mean extras around anyway - I may as well just embrace it ;)
Achieved:
Failed:
I REALLY MUST put the marking FIRST next week. It's important to me, but more than that, it is important to the CHILDREN. Taz is desperate for me to read a certain piece of work he's done!
BUT... tomorrow morning is already planned out as I need to accompany my Nanna to a hospital appointment. She hasn't been well for about three months now. She is in constant 'pain/discomfort', is gradually losing weight and her appetite is definitely not what it was. Her toilet habits have recently changed too ~ and that is worrying her possibly the most.
She is happy in her new home, settled in and making friends, but right now she doesn't feel well enough to join in with many of the activities and is staying in her flat more than either she or I are happy with. She admits she is feeling quite 'down' but says that it's because she is fed up with feeling unwell.
She's had all sorts of blood tests since she's been up here (so in the last year), which have all been fine. But my/her GP is not happy with her symptoms, and I am glad about that, because upping pain-killers does not get to the root of the problem, plus Nan avoids taking them because they upset her tummy even more! So she's been referred to the gastroenterologist, and we have her first O.P. appointment in the morning.
The rest of the week I think we are going to, as I said, do lots of making and baking! I fancy having some kitchen sessions with the children and getting some goodies in the cupboard! Any kid-friendly recipes to recommend anyone? :) I quite fancy trying some of OTP's Cranberry and Chocolate Cookies ~ they sound mouthwatering! This baking plan does also serves a dual purpose - we have a cake-sale on Saturday to cook for, so we might do some double, double batches!!
The making will consist of some of those craft-kits we have lying around in drawers, lego, Knex, etc... Might even suggest a lego project or two ~ that tends to keep them busy for a few hours when I do!
OK ~ I'm posting now ~ it's time for Downton!!!!
To see a little extra fun/learning we did this week see here;
http://www.frog-photoblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/autumn-on-farm.html
Achieved:
- Cleared out my wardrobe & chest-of-drawers ~ two big bin bags of clothes taken out. One went to charity shops and rag bags, the other to the loft just-in-case I ever do succeed in losing some of my excess weight. I won't be able to afford a new wardrobe then, so I have a few 'favourites' in reserve :). I also realised that Minnie was now big enough to inherit some special things I'd hung on to for rather a long time ~ namely the tops from my 'going away' outfit! They haven't dated (being bought on the Indian street stalls outside The London hospital) and she looks gorgeous in it :D. I'll post a pic next time she wears them.
- I wanted to take the children out for a walk and a 'fungus hunt' one day, so we achieved that Wednesday afternoon (Taz's birthday) by having a jaunt in Delamere forest. Taz loves it there ~ it's brilliant for biking :D
- Getting the children's clothes washed and put away ~ until the tumble dryer packed up on Friday, and now I'm behind again!
- A catch-up with my online photography course ~ which obviously means taking and editing lots of pictures ;)
- Took Minnie charity shop shopping for a stash of winter tops. She doesn't get hand-me-downs any more, as she's taller than all her friends! And she was lacking in a winter wardrobe, so charity shops it had to be. But we did really well and she got some gorgeous clothes for a tiny fraction of what I'd have paid new. And as an added bonus we found here a great winter coat, that is trendy and she looks amazing in ~ for £6!! :D
- Enjoy having some lay-ins and easy mornings :)
Failed:
- I have a stack of marking to get through, but I have only managed to work through one and a half boy's worth! Admittedly this was the older boys work, which takes longer to mark and requires a lot more brain-power, but it is nowhere near as prolific as the girls! This leaves me with a mountain still to climb! I'm not sure why I put it off so much. I actually don't mind it and I quite enjoy reading their work ~ it often brings a smile to my face! I need to find a way of motivating myself to do little and often, instead of letting it mount up so much. One child a night should do it, but most nights I just can't face it at the end of the day. I love teaching my kids, but I like to stop teaching them too (in a formal sense). 'School' is brought to an abrupt end three days of the week when someone has to be out and about somewhere, be it gym, swimming, prayer group, dance... Chip is often napping at this time too, so I usually take the opportunity to breath a little (usually I hit the study and catch up on the virtual world!!) ~ marking is not at the top of my 'wish list' of things to do!!
- To sort out DD's Leapfrog Explorer and try to get it synching with SOMETHING! It's a major headache ~ great toy, rubbish software ~ same old!
- To do any gardening ~ I'm woos when it comes to the cold! Paul & a friend have chopped up a lot of wood (mostly for kindling so far) and have another pile to do & he has also taken down the old trampoline frame at last, so despite no actual gardening it does look a little bit better out the back anyway. All the same ~ the overgrown shrubs at the front need hacking back for winter and I must do it soon!
- Finding the bottom of the wash-bin (for reasons already explained).
I REALLY MUST put the marking FIRST next week. It's important to me, but more than that, it is important to the CHILDREN. Taz is desperate for me to read a certain piece of work he's done!
BUT... tomorrow morning is already planned out as I need to accompany my Nanna to a hospital appointment. She hasn't been well for about three months now. She is in constant 'pain/discomfort', is gradually losing weight and her appetite is definitely not what it was. Her toilet habits have recently changed too ~ and that is worrying her possibly the most.
She is happy in her new home, settled in and making friends, but right now she doesn't feel well enough to join in with many of the activities and is staying in her flat more than either she or I are happy with. She admits she is feeling quite 'down' but says that it's because she is fed up with feeling unwell.
She's had all sorts of blood tests since she's been up here (so in the last year), which have all been fine. But my/her GP is not happy with her symptoms, and I am glad about that, because upping pain-killers does not get to the root of the problem, plus Nan avoids taking them because they upset her tummy even more! So she's been referred to the gastroenterologist, and we have her first O.P. appointment in the morning.
The rest of the week I think we are going to, as I said, do lots of making and baking! I fancy having some kitchen sessions with the children and getting some goodies in the cupboard! Any kid-friendly recipes to recommend anyone? :) I quite fancy trying some of OTP's Cranberry and Chocolate Cookies ~ they sound mouthwatering! This baking plan does also serves a dual purpose - we have a cake-sale on Saturday to cook for, so we might do some double, double batches!!
The making will consist of some of those craft-kits we have lying around in drawers, lego, Knex, etc... Might even suggest a lego project or two ~ that tends to keep them busy for a few hours when I do!
OK ~ I'm posting now ~ it's time for Downton!!!!
To see a little extra fun/learning we did this week see here;
http://www.frog-photoblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/autumn-on-farm.html
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Missing the Mark.
Today I tried to take some of the children to the 'Easter Family Fun Day' that was being held on the reserve, but I'd failed to book and wasn't sure where to meet up. We set out a bit past start time in hopes of finding a crowd, but it all fell flat and we found no-one :( Turns out it all started in the Village Hall, but we didn't quite walk that far. Still never mind, we got some fresh air before the day got too hot, we listened to the birds (and the bees) and I took some nice pictures (despite having Baby in the sling in front of me). Next time, I'll know...
We are loving the sunshine and the smiles it brings, so I'm just sharing some of the pictures from Baby's 17wk 'shoot' ~ which turned into a little mini-free-for-all-shoot! Enjoy :-) This is how we roll in the holidays (well, most of the time really, but even more in the hols) !!
Oh ~ and on an educational note... our swallows arrived home yesterday and are busy repairing their nest for this year clutches ~ "WELCOME HOME" little birds, we are all pleased to see you, and the sunshine months you herald in :-)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(L-R: Bugs (13), Lilo (7), TP (9), Taz (12), Stitch (3) & DD (5) )
We are loving the sunshine and the smiles it brings, so I'm just sharing some of the pictures from Baby's 17wk 'shoot' ~ which turned into a little mini-free-for-all-shoot! Enjoy :-) This is how we roll in the holidays (well, most of the time really, but even more in the hols) !!
Oh ~ and on an educational note... our swallows arrived home yesterday and are busy repairing their nest for this year clutches ~ "WELCOME HOME" little birds, we are all pleased to see you, and the sunshine months you herald in :-)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And during our non-book week last week, my fabulous, arty, x-teacher friend (and her daughter) came and gave us a Hundertwasser art lesson;
I also signed the three youngest 'schoolies' up for 'Explode The Code Online'. I think Lilo will whizz through it, but it will help firm things up for her, hopefully help her 'hear' things better and set her on the road to writing more and spelling better. DD loves it (and the games he gets to play as reward) and seems to understand it really well. I think he will progress quickly with it. But what shocked me most was how amazing Stitch was with it. He tested in only a little behind DD and although his concentration span is not as good as DD's just yet, he did really well and made good progress in just one session. I was surprised to see that he actually can read a little ~ not only understanding beginning sounds, but sounding out and blending too! He is adding new letters (sounds and names) to his repertoire daily it seems and it wouldn't surprise me if he and DD are both reading a bit before the end of the summer!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Pumpkin Fun!
So, here she is ~ our biggest, most beautiful, home-grown pumpkin!
Getting ready for her destiny...
Such FUN!!
We don't celebrate Halloween as such, but that doesn't stop us having fun!!
A pumpkin carving session is a perfect opportunity to illustrate & explain to my children how God loves us so much He is willing to get Himself really mucky, cleaning and scraping out all the gunk in our hearts and lives, so that He can put HIS light inside our hearts and make us shine for Him, for all the world to see!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Back-to-School (or not)...
Obviously for home-educated children there is no such things as 'back to school' in the traditional sense, but as we DO take traditional holidays there is a definite change when term starts up. Suddenly the idleness and non-routine of summer is gone and thinking caps go back on! If it were sunny, which it isn't, I'm sure learning would be happening in the garden and lanes, but as it is wet (no change there then) we are pretty much confined to the house and more formal learning, but that's OK ~ it gets us back in the swing of things, and away from excess square screen time..!
It's been an up and down kind of week. Being now almost 28 weeks pregnant I am finding it a struggle to keep going all day, but I am also acutely aware of having had 8 weeks off and the children really needing to get back to some kind of routine ~ if only to make sure they get up and dressed in the mornings!! ;)
So, at the end of last week I sat down and went through resources with them and talked through my expectations for them for the year. Nothing as heavy as it seems, except that I did make it clear to both older boys that they needed to be working a bit harder than they had been. They agreed - in theory!! Then this week we 'started up' again. Monday was a nightmare, but I think that was just settling in/down to the idea of using a pencil again. There was far too many 'Muuuummmmeeeeeeeeeee'-s in that day to be bearable!! Tuesday and Wednesday were loads better, but Thursday had some pretty awful patches again. Even though I decided at the beginning of the week that all the 'group' activities could start up next week to give me chance to get back in the swing too, it still seemed to a big stretch. Wednesday night Stitch joined us in our bed from the small hours onwards and I know my sleep was erratically broken, not because he was a pain, but just because he was there. I woke up still tired and far too early, which really did not help my mood for the day. So when the Bugs had a wobbly over something little and continued yelling at me after several warnings to stop - well I kind of lost the plot! That was right at the start of the day ~ good start! When we'd both calmed down (and talked) things were better for a while and he was certainly good as gold for the rest of the day! The girls were angels, but I didn't have enough patience with Lilo and her reading (or lack of it) today. We did have fun writing an opposite poem though: we read 'Bed in Summer' and reversed everything in it ~ which ended up, of course, like a poem written by someone who works a night shift and talked about how that might feel, so not a completely lost day!
She's also continued with Orange Miquon this week and has done some Headsprout. I decided it was time to challenge her though and get her to prove to herself that she is actually better at reading than she believes, so I set her THIS book to read over the weekend. There is nothing in it she can't sound out, so with a little concentration and determination I know she can read it! I've asked Paul to read it with her though ~ he has more patience than me atm!! I meant to do some Science with her too, but that didn't happen :( ~ next week..!
The little ones enjoyed games of Dotty Dinosaurs (big favourite with Stitch atm, and he knows all the shapes too) and played with shape pictures for quite a while.
DD also did some colouring by numbers & some other number work (basically quickly revising concepts I know he already understands, ready to step up the game a little ~ he is good with numbers now). We also set up a little science experiment and talked about what 'science' actually is. He is BIG on asking questions at the moment, so this really appealed! Other stuff I have done with him this week; read Three Billy Goats Gruff and did 'language arts' stuff related to that ~ talking about concepts & words in the story, re-enacting the story with finger puppets & playing with playdough mats (I even made the playdough!). A friend put me onto THIS website and actually it's looking like it might be a really great resource for Lilo and DD this year. I've also put Minnie and TP on Science & Language Arts streams too, but they can work through them more at their leisure than my instruction (although I will get involved where I need to of course) ~ it's just another resource for them to access to make life interesting :D ~ This is the Science page that Minnie made a start on, in case you are interested.
At the end of Thursday Taz was doing a crossword based on collective nouns. It WAS challenging and tbh I couldn't have answered all of it without doing a bit of 'looking up'. His problem is that he approaches all of school (and life) like a test ~ he assumes, as I guess all 11 year old do, that he KNOWS everything he needs to know already and therefore he can answer anything worthwhile with the knowledge he already has. Problem is, of course, that he doesn't know that much really, so when he comes up against things he cannot answer easily he has a tantrum!! Despite having well stocked shelves of books and the internet readily at hand he thinks sucking answers out of me, or getting me to do the research is a much better thing to do than look anything up himself. He is approaching 12 ~ this is no longer an acceptable solution in my eyes and so I told him he had to find the answers for himself (especially as I would have had to have done the same) ~ cue major wobble, huffing, puffing, crying, slamming of the computer mouse when the first website he visited didn't have the answers he wanted... cue me getting rather annoyed with him... cue more tears and anger... (does this sound familiar to ANYONE, please tell me it does!!). Eventually he found all but two of the answers he needed, but was FURIOUS that it had taken so long! Welcome to life son ~ things do not always arrive on your plate so easily as the snap of your fingers!!
There have been a few other issues with Taz this week too, but I am hoping that things will settle down as he gets used to this years work load..!
Bugs on the other hand ~ who used to give me SO much grief, has worked like a dream. Long may it continue! :D But we are beginning to think about the future for him too. He is worried (although I am not) about not taking any GCSE's (which quite simply we cannot afford to put him through, and in all honestly I am not sure would benefit him really for HIS future). He is NOT an academic ~ not stupid at all, really quite bright, but not 'sparked' by academic subjects. I cannot see him flying into a career where he is required to use Science, Maths, or English much beyond the normal everyday level that most of us use. I want him to be well grounded and 'up to standard' in those subjects of course, but I do not think an exam in them is necessary for where he is likely heading. He is creative and I want him to be able to enjoy his learning in a creative way. I think that school would stifle him and in reality, IF he went in next year with a view to doing GCSE's, he would hate it more than he realises. SO, what instead..? We like the look of this; http://www.s-cheshire.ac.uk/newcamp/14-19/course14.htm
He would look at doing the 'creative and media' higher diploma (equivalent to 7 A-C GCSE's), with a view to then going on to do the Photography AS/A2 course, but of course that would be optional, he could do pretty much anything else if he chose to at that point and of course he could do additional studies too. SO, here's hoping that this course is open to him (need to make some enquiries), because it looks absolutely up his street and I think college will be a healthier environment for him than school, especially as it is quite likely that some of his church friends are to be going there next year too.
Monday week I have my annual visit from out LEA lady ~ it doesn't worry me as she is very nice and has been consistently visiting us for a number of years now, but still, it's in the back of my mind with recent events and all...
I think that's about all I can think to write just now; pretty 'schooly' I know, but life itself just ticks along, with me getting fatter and the kids getting bigger ~ that's just us!! I still struggle to envisage our family with another little addition in around about 12 weeks time... I am SO not ready for that!
It's been an up and down kind of week. Being now almost 28 weeks pregnant I am finding it a struggle to keep going all day, but I am also acutely aware of having had 8 weeks off and the children really needing to get back to some kind of routine ~ if only to make sure they get up and dressed in the mornings!! ;)
So, at the end of last week I sat down and went through resources with them and talked through my expectations for them for the year. Nothing as heavy as it seems, except that I did make it clear to both older boys that they needed to be working a bit harder than they had been. They agreed - in theory!! Then this week we 'started up' again. Monday was a nightmare, but I think that was just settling in/down to the idea of using a pencil again. There was far too many 'Muuuummmmeeeeeeeeeee'-s in that day to be bearable!! Tuesday and Wednesday were loads better, but Thursday had some pretty awful patches again. Even though I decided at the beginning of the week that all the 'group' activities could start up next week to give me chance to get back in the swing too, it still seemed to a big stretch. Wednesday night Stitch joined us in our bed from the small hours onwards and I know my sleep was erratically broken, not because he was a pain, but just because he was there. I woke up still tired and far too early, which really did not help my mood for the day. So when the Bugs had a wobbly over something little and continued yelling at me after several warnings to stop - well I kind of lost the plot! That was right at the start of the day ~ good start! When we'd both calmed down (and talked) things were better for a while and he was certainly good as gold for the rest of the day! The girls were angels, but I didn't have enough patience with Lilo and her reading (or lack of it) today. We did have fun writing an opposite poem though: we read 'Bed in Summer' and reversed everything in it ~ which ended up, of course, like a poem written by someone who works a night shift and talked about how that might feel, so not a completely lost day!
She's also continued with Orange Miquon this week and has done some Headsprout. I decided it was time to challenge her though and get her to prove to herself that she is actually better at reading than she believes, so I set her THIS book to read over the weekend. There is nothing in it she can't sound out, so with a little concentration and determination I know she can read it! I've asked Paul to read it with her though ~ he has more patience than me atm!! I meant to do some Science with her too, but that didn't happen :( ~ next week..!
The little ones enjoyed games of Dotty Dinosaurs (big favourite with Stitch atm, and he knows all the shapes too) and played with shape pictures for quite a while.
DD also did some colouring by numbers & some other number work (basically quickly revising concepts I know he already understands, ready to step up the game a little ~ he is good with numbers now). We also set up a little science experiment and talked about what 'science' actually is. He is BIG on asking questions at the moment, so this really appealed! Other stuff I have done with him this week; read Three Billy Goats Gruff and did 'language arts' stuff related to that ~ talking about concepts & words in the story, re-enacting the story with finger puppets & playing with playdough mats (I even made the playdough!). A friend put me onto THIS website and actually it's looking like it might be a really great resource for Lilo and DD this year. I've also put Minnie and TP on Science & Language Arts streams too, but they can work through them more at their leisure than my instruction (although I will get involved where I need to of course) ~ it's just another resource for them to access to make life interesting :D ~ This is the Science page that Minnie made a start on, in case you are interested.
At the end of Thursday Taz was doing a crossword based on collective nouns. It WAS challenging and tbh I couldn't have answered all of it without doing a bit of 'looking up'. His problem is that he approaches all of school (and life) like a test ~ he assumes, as I guess all 11 year old do, that he KNOWS everything he needs to know already and therefore he can answer anything worthwhile with the knowledge he already has. Problem is, of course, that he doesn't know that much really, so when he comes up against things he cannot answer easily he has a tantrum!! Despite having well stocked shelves of books and the internet readily at hand he thinks sucking answers out of me, or getting me to do the research is a much better thing to do than look anything up himself. He is approaching 12 ~ this is no longer an acceptable solution in my eyes and so I told him he had to find the answers for himself (especially as I would have had to have done the same) ~ cue major wobble, huffing, puffing, crying, slamming of the computer mouse when the first website he visited didn't have the answers he wanted... cue me getting rather annoyed with him... cue more tears and anger... (does this sound familiar to ANYONE, please tell me it does!!). Eventually he found all but two of the answers he needed, but was FURIOUS that it had taken so long! Welcome to life son ~ things do not always arrive on your plate so easily as the snap of your fingers!!
There have been a few other issues with Taz this week too, but I am hoping that things will settle down as he gets used to this years work load..!
Bugs on the other hand ~ who used to give me SO much grief, has worked like a dream. Long may it continue! :D But we are beginning to think about the future for him too. He is worried (although I am not) about not taking any GCSE's (which quite simply we cannot afford to put him through, and in all honestly I am not sure would benefit him really for HIS future). He is NOT an academic ~ not stupid at all, really quite bright, but not 'sparked' by academic subjects. I cannot see him flying into a career where he is required to use Science, Maths, or English much beyond the normal everyday level that most of us use. I want him to be well grounded and 'up to standard' in those subjects of course, but I do not think an exam in them is necessary for where he is likely heading. He is creative and I want him to be able to enjoy his learning in a creative way. I think that school would stifle him and in reality, IF he went in next year with a view to doing GCSE's, he would hate it more than he realises. SO, what instead..? We like the look of this; http://www.s-cheshire.ac.uk/newcamp/14-19/course14.htm
He would look at doing the 'creative and media' higher diploma (equivalent to 7 A-C GCSE's), with a view to then going on to do the Photography AS/A2 course, but of course that would be optional, he could do pretty much anything else if he chose to at that point and of course he could do additional studies too. SO, here's hoping that this course is open to him (need to make some enquiries), because it looks absolutely up his street and I think college will be a healthier environment for him than school, especially as it is quite likely that some of his church friends are to be going there next year too.
Monday week I have my annual visit from out LEA lady ~ it doesn't worry me as she is very nice and has been consistently visiting us for a number of years now, but still, it's in the back of my mind with recent events and all...
I think that's about all I can think to write just now; pretty 'schooly' I know, but life itself just ticks along, with me getting fatter and the kids getting bigger ~ that's just us!! I still struggle to envisage our family with another little addition in around about 12 weeks time... I am SO not ready for that!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Stuff that must be Blogged ~ Part One
On Sunday, after church, we headed out to Delamere Forest for a day as family. It's all too seldom that we get some seriously 'no agenda' family time, just walking, chatting, running, having fun together. The weather was warm and clear, which was brilliant as rain had been forecast :D. We had a lovely day (mostly) ~ there are always a few gripes at points in any day. Minnie has trouble on and off with one of her ankles and it was giving her intermittent pain, and then she fell over a twig whilst messing in a Wigwam. The fall itself was not too painful, but she landed on the remnants of some chestnut cases and ended up with lots of prickles in her bum and down her legs ~ bless her! Taz was his usual gripey self ~ he is not too keen on walking and would far rather hair round on a mountain bike (as he has a few times with a friend of his), but that was not the agenda for the day, so he was grumpy about having to walk! Bugs was good company ~ chatty and funny (although I do wish he would learn to be quiet at times!). He just started 'going out' with a long-held friend that morning and so we had to hear the whole story...! It's great that he still likes to share all these things with us ~ I guess there will come a time when he doesn't share so freely maybe :( TP and Lilo had a wonderful time and when DD stopped moaning about his legs being 'sleepy' he did too! Stitch did the first half of the 2.7miles in the buggy (he dozed off in the car on the way there), then decided to get out and enjoy climbing about with the others.
We got home about 7 ish and Paul nipped out for KFC! You can never please all of the people all of the time, but this came pretty close :D!!
We got home about 7 ish and Paul nipped out for KFC! You can never please all of the people all of the time, but this came pretty close :D!!
(the children wanted to take this stump home to play with in the garden ~ I thought it would be great too!)
Note 1 to self and Paul ~ do stuff like this more often!
Note 2 to self ~ remember time passes too quickly to not make the most of each moment!
Thursday, May 06, 2010
A new Era ~ perhaps!
Does life change when you become the Mum of a teenager? Well, I can't answer yet, but it began for me on Sunday, and so far it's been fine :D
It's hard to believe my little boy, born on the same day (May 2nd) as the dawn of a 'New Labour' era (literally minutes after the results were announced) in 1997, is already 13 and here we are, praying that this political era is about to come to an end, as today (May 6th) we all go and cast our votes yet again.
My Digital photos don't go back far enough to document his full 13 years, but I can start from age 4.5 :)
(Christmas 2001)
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October 2002 (age 5.5)
Birthday 2003 ~ with his little girlfriend ~ age 6
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A day at The British Motorbike GrandPrix ~ 7th Birthday 2004
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8th Bithday 2005 ~ he's playing my full-size one now!!
Bowling with a bunch of mates for his 9th 2006
Ready for school ~ June 2007 (age 10)
School trip to Min-y-don ~ May 2008 ~ age 11
A self-portrait taken May 2009 ~ age 12
Birthday Batting (3.5.10) ~ age 13!
Welcome to your TEENS young man ~ it's good to know you!
If you read this Bugs, know that I love you. I may have got you wrong too many times and for too long, I may have misunderstood and expected too much of you too many times, but despite all my failures you've turned out OK so far! You are great fun to be with, and a great help to me when I need you. You have a heart of gold ~ though it took me too long to see it ~ and a charm about you that endears you to many (and me!). You are clever, creative, artistic and imaginative and I know these qualities will carry you far. You are loving and caring and will one day make some young lady a wonderful husband (I hope), but you DO need to learn to pick up your socks and help them find the wash bin!!
You fill me with pride (good pride) when I see you dance, or even when you're just messin' with your mates ~ I love you!
I am not fearful of your teens ~ just keep talking to us and we'll do fine :D!!
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Catch-Up Tot-School Post
I'm changing the way I do things (again) and trying to free up more time with Stitch. This week was quite successful. My only battle is that he'd rather spend time playing on the computer than playing with his tot-school things! I have to strike a balance, but I don't wish to force him into anything just yet. He is so bright and learns by saturating himself. Just today he chose to play on Starfall and I could hear him saying "see" (naming the letter C) after it was read out to him. How can I argue with that? We don't 'do school' on a Sunday, but to him he is just playing. We have a set of miniature board books upstairs in his room. Each one focuses on a number, a letter, a colour, or a concept (eg opposites). None of my other children have been in the slightest bit interested in them- they are his number one choice. He is so hungry to learn and he learns very quickly. He has all but mastered his colours now (still forgets yellow sometimes) and is seemingly moving on to learning to count. He is pretty secure with one, two, three, four, and has nearly got five in the sequence, but often jumps to nine (why do children do that with nine?). But not only is he learning to say the sequence, but he is trying to point and count objects one-to-one which seriously impresses me! I'm not pressing any of this, I am just going with his flow and he is most definitely leading the way. This is a first for me - a child who wants to learn and wants ME to follow HIS journey :D All of my others, if they have asked to learn anything, they have always wanted me to supply the materials. They have lacked the creativity to 'choose' what to learn, or the initiative to know where to start ~ I am working hard on helping them with this :D Stitch is so very different ~ he is like a breath of fresh air :D
Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks;
He had a haircut!
He really enjoyed this puzzle ~ and didn't need very much help with it!
each time he completed one he worked down the line, naming animal & baby name ~ his idea! :D
So simple, but DD and Stitch were quite absorbed in this for some time.
Just good fun :D
We spent some time in the park one warmer afternoon ~ he was able to hit the ball (a little) and has a VERY good overarm throw! He also has some very well developed 'dribbling' skills with a football.
DD & Stitch enjoyed some finger-painting (but OH! the mess!!) :D
Favourite pass time (he has now comandeered his Dad's own laptop, just so the other's can have the 'school laptop' free for their use in the day!) ~ he has mastered mouse control now :D
Some time spent playing in the garden and in the field playing footy with me and DD (no pictures of that ~ sorry!)
He still enjoys digging around in a tub of macaroni filled with hidden bead; finding the teddy, dog and 'ball' beads and then proceeding to play a game of football with them on the tot-tray :D This week the rhino and giraffe beads were added in as goalies!! - too cute!
It's been a fun couple of weeks but I am looking forward to a week's break ~ I love half-terms!
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