Countryside adventures, park and Tenko

On Monday, Dani and the kids set off to an event at The Sussex Wildlife Trust headquarters organised by a fellow home edder. They got two buses out into the country and Dani got time to chat with other adults while the kids were taken off by the workers to do things like pond dipping. It sounds like it was a great place. Leo was chatting to me in the bath that night about the lava of the Caddis Fly, which makes itself a little portable case out of shells and stones. They also saw frogs, toads, newts and fish. In the afternoon they were shown how to make things with nettles and elder. Leo made a piece of nettle string to adorn his hat and Pearlie made a nettle and elder bracelet. They were exhausted that night as it was another busy day after the hectic weekend. I was no less tired after a morning of unpacking and sorting and an afternoon at work.

Yesterday, the kids' Squeezebox session was cancelled, so we got a morning at home. I spent this trying to catch up on some more tidying and washing. Pearlie is happily engrossed in the new Roman Mysteries book and Leo was working on a long story he started at his writing group. I did a very stupid thing and brought in one of the recycling boxes to clean in the hallway. People chuck things in our boxes if we leave them out and someone had kindly donated a beer bottle that had dribbled dregs all over the place. I was moving very fast and plonked the box on the carpet before filling it up with hot water and Flash. It was only when I picked it up that I realised that it has four, quite large, holes in the bottom! So, the hallway carpet got a soaking in hot soapy water and I realised I’d get more done if I slowed down a bit...

In the afternoon we went up to the park, where the kids disappeared for four hours with friends and I drank tea and chatted with other parents. Two exciting things happened which were reported to me by a breathless Pearlie. First, she saw a heron on the park pond. Second she and friends saw some kids smashing up a bass guitar. This was very dramatic and involved hurling it out of trees, and so on. Most bizarre... A sort of rock star, hotel bedroom moment, in the local park!

Dani’s knitting group came round in the evening and I watched Bonekickers with the kids. They are really enjoying this but I think it is rather *cough* far-fetched and silly! Dani and I stayed up too late once the knitters had gone, watching Tenko. We got another video cheap on Ebay. I am struck by how slow moving it seems, when compared to modern tv programmes. There are also no whizzing camera shots or flashbacks. It’s rather like watching a play, a genuine ensemble piece too, where the story unfolds and you’re gripped by that. The acting is a bit patchy but there are some excellent performances, especially Stephanie Cole as the doctor. I’m loving seeing it again. It is far more interesting to watch than pretty much anything I see on tv today. It is thought provoking too. Dani and I ended the day looking at our Schofield and Sims history timeline poster, trying to understand why there were Dutch prisoners as well as British ones.

Right, got to go and pack a bag for the kids and Dani to use this afternoon. They’re off across town to an outdoor party. I’ve got to go to work.

End of the road for my story - this time at least

The results of the competition came out tonight and my story wasn't placed. But I'm encouraged by reaching the short list. I am rather fond of the story I entered and am thinking of giving it a bit of a dust down and entering it elsewhere. I've got two or three others ready to go too.

I've spent much of the day flopping about and blowing my nose. I'm reading Case Histories by Kate Atkinson, which is a very absorbing read. It have borrowed it from my friend, K, and I suspect that she'll have to wait until Dani's read it before she gets it back!

The kids have had a good day. Pearlie devised a short general knowledge quiz for us. Leo won, which pleased him. I was impressed that he knew who had been defeated in the London Mayoral election. I lost as I forgot the chemical symbol for silver. I just went to double check it on our poster and found she'd stuck a slip of paper over it so I couldn't cheat! Typing up the quiz involved P in quite a bit of learning of Word 2007. She made a beautiful job of it - all in different colours. P is very into rainbow things at the moment.

Leo has been very happy to find himself re-united with paper, pens, tape and scissors. His large picture map is coming along and he's also dismantled an old mobile phone to make a time machine, as well as numerous cardboard creations.

Dani has spent some time planning a new knitting project for a wedding in the autumn. I think she's so clever, the way things emerge from the needles...

I made cheese scones for lunch and a yummy borlotti bean, tomato and pesto pasta sauce for tea. The kids are both eating loads - making up for the rather lean fare available at hesfes!

We had a quick game of Taboo tonight during which Dani made a somewhat wild guess of marshmallow when the word was, in fact, cigar. That led to a lot of laughter.

I finished reading Treasure Island to Leo tonight and his next request is The Prisoner of Zenda. We're reading our way through a boxed set of children's classics that he pleaded for in a charity shop one day and I felt unable to deny him. Treasure Island was great fun to read as I got to do rough, sinister, pirate voices!

Right, off for cup of tea and biccy before bed. Busy day tomorrow with lots of commitments and this cold is making me a bit foggy. Oh, yeah, and we all liked Doctor Who. Great fun to get everyone in for a collective flying of the Tardis!

Church, maths, history and more

On Tuesday evening we went to a local church to hear cousin S play the violin in her strings group. The church in question is ‘high anglican’ so it has lots of pretty bits and bobs around the place. After a little while, both the children produced pencils/pens and started to draw things. Leo was sitting beside me, quietly sketching away. He’d done the crucifix, various hanging things and then he started to draw a wall hanging of Saint Martin. Underneath the representation of the man, was his name in quite curly, old-fashioned writing. Leo finished his drawing and started to copy the writing and I had to stifle a bubbling giggle as he printed out, in nice, clear letters.

“SAINT MARGIN”

I think he would be the patron saint of the periphery.

There’s been a lot of excellent conversation going on here recently but, as usual, most is forgotten. On Wednesday morning I was walking along the road with Leo, when we got onto matters of belief, faith and proof. Leo is of the opinion that he should not question the existence of God in front of believers as he wouldn’t want to upset them.

Pearlie and I did some of an MEP maths book about multiplication involving numbers with digits to the right of the decimal point. This led to a conversation with Dani, in which she explained to me why one of the many rules of my school maths lessons actually works. Once again, I was struck by the fact that I memorised far more than I ever learned about maths. Anyway, Pearlie was happy with the stuff we covered, so she was pleased. She uses a box method for multiplication. We are doing this regular maths at the mo because, as I have mentioned, P is keen to know that she could handle all that the kids do at school. We are keen for her to know that we will give her any support she wants/needs in whatever she chooses. It’s good for me, because I’m learning things that I didn’t know I didn’t know! Maths will never give me the joy that writing does, for example, but I like the feeling of being on firmer ground in my own head.

Leo is very happy because Kids’ Club is planning an ‘archaeological dig’ in the sandpit next week. He wants to make a, rather intricate, object that he has seen in a history book. The plan is for the kids to discover the hidden things and discuss them. He went to bed very tired tonight as he was busy doing the Olympics at Kids’ Club today and then he and Dani had quite a long walk this afternoon, followed by playing with cousins and learning a new computer game.

Pearlie went to her 10-13s group again today and continued work on her board game. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished article. She also went to Woodcraft Folk tonight, where the group discussed motions for the Annual Gathering and instructed their leader on how to vote.

HESFES packing is well underway here. Right, too tired to think about anything else. Had a two and a half hour meeting at work this afternoon and my brain is jelly now. That is probably also because I stayed up until two last night watching a rubbish tv movie and spent this morning working on a new story. Time to fall asleep in front of This Week.

Impressed by the Little Pigs

Dani, Pearl and I met up with some grandparents yesterday to see Leo take part in the first Little Green Pig open mic night. It was excellent. Leo read his kenning about a hedgehog, which I’ve blogged before. Several kids we knew were taking part and they all did very well. I really hope there are more such nights, as we all enjoyed it. I didn’t take any photos but I’m sure that some may appear on the Little Green Pig site before long!

Stuff

We had a good day of bits and bobs on Monday. There was some Taboo playing, computering, making of things and reading. Dani and Pearlie went to B&Q to get a new kettle and a plug for our embryonic pond. We’re going to fix it in with bathroom sealant. Leo and I bathed Bunny and I gave him a hefty fur-cut at his back end. As he gets older, he is more inclined to just sit in wee etc. – charming! We did a little trip up to the park and brought Bunny some dandelion leaves.

The kids have been meaning to write some lyrics for an original song they’re working on at Squeezebox. Pearlie went off with the rhyming dictionary and got started. I offered input when I was asked and Leo joined in too. I think it’s a promising start.

Yesterday morning was rather slow but included Boggle, cards and quizzes on the Newsround website. Dani was at work for the day. After lunch with Fawlty Towers (to distract poor P from persistent hiccups!) we went off for their Squeezebox band session. I think this went well. I read the local paper while I waited for them and did Sudoku on my phone. Then we went up to the park where some home edders were gathered. Pearlie chatted with friends and so did I. Leo spent an exhausting couple of hours being Indiana Jones. He got involved in a game where a bigger boy (of about twelve) had a stick and Leo and a couple of mates were trying to capture it. Leo was thrilled to find that his whip (bit of light rope) actually wrapped round this stick. This was clearly tiring stuff as he is only just awake now – 10.15am on Wednesday.

Dani and I were awake very late and saw some of the thunder storm. It was a wild one.

All things come...

Lots of things have happened in the last few months that have made me realise, again, how wonderful it is when the moment is right for the children to acquire a new skill, or take a new step in growing up, and it just happens. Sometimes those things happen ‘by magic’ and sometimes they require some work, but the lovely thing about them is that they happen because the time becomes right.

Leo was very clear, at the age of three, that he didn’t want to be left at nursery school. The experience of a just a few days trying shook him up a fair bit. We backed off and I did, occasionally, worry that we were ‘storing up trouble’ or that he would never be happy ‘to be left’. But his evident happiness that it was no longer necessary to struggle with the issue made us sure we’d done the right thing. Earlier this week, Leo started at an art group for home educated kids. When I spoke to him about whether he was happy to be there alone, he was certain that he’d be fine. He is just eight years old and he was calm and confident, pleased to meet the ‘real artist’ who runs the group and show him some of his drawings. It is lovely to see how Leo has grown, bit by bit, in confidence and is now ready to go along to anything that he fancies and give it a go. There are plenty of kids who are happy to do that at four or five, but Leo has got there in his own time, and that’s the only time that matters.

Pearlie is ever more grown up too. She’s learning all the skills involved in being independent as she goes about the place alone. What I like about our life is that she can make the choices that feel right that day. Rather than having to get on the school bus, one day at the age of eleven, and then every day after, she has the opportunity to build up to longer journeys – or make a big leap if she’s in the mood. I put a great deal of store in listening to yourself, judging what feels right by how you feel, not what you think you should be able to do – or not do. P is remarkably capable in the world and enjoys her independence, but it’s on her own terms and in her own time. She's so sociable - spent the whole day with other kids and adults today in two different home ed groups and at Woodcraft. She's looking forward to a Woodies camp in the summer and a trip to the Isle of Wight with other home edders but without us!

In the last couple of months, Leo’s handwriting has developed into a, very fine, script. This has been just another stage in his development as a literate person. He’s taken every step at his own pace – and in his own way. By his sixth birthday he could read more or less anything that fell under his gaze, but his writing was still likely to have reversed letters, no gaps between words or punctuation to speak of. His spellings were largely phonetic and his letters a mix of upper and lower case. This never stopped his enthusiasm for writing and I’m sure that he learned loads through this early writing. His adoption of this new writing style has been really rather easy – maybe because he had laid all the real foundations of writing already – in his own way. He already knew how to spell, a lot of rules of punctuation and had considerable stamina. If we’d given him a pencil at five and got him sitting down tracing joined script (like they do in the schools round here) who knows what we would have been disrupting? I did offer to help him learn to write like this and I have supported him in his learning, but he was happy to put in some time every day because it was the right time – the time he wanted to learn a joined script. And, so, here it is - Leo’s achievement in Leo’s own time. And for his own purpose...

Pearlie is at a moment in her life when she is ready to understand a lot about how the world works – politics and all that. She reads First News and the local paper every day. She watches the news and reads websites and loves to watch Have I Got News for You and some of Bremner, Bird and Fortune. I guess there are many eleven year olds who would find both those shows impenetrable and uninteresting. But this is the right time for Pearlie and so she is getting what she can from them at the moment. She really likes the bit in BBF where posh London types are having a dinner party. There’s so much there to observe and learn from – the politics, satire, good writing, excellent comic timing... The right things at the right time for P.

I guess it isn’t always a case of waiting. Sometimes our kids do things that take us by surprise because they happen before they’re ‘expected’. But, either way, the right time is the right time and the order in which those things come along is the order that’s right for that child. Home education gives us the freedom to respect the pace, the order, the style of our kids’ learning and I love it. Of course, there will be times in the kids’ lives when they’re under pressure, when they need to get to grips with something quick, or suffer the consequences. That’s true for all of us. But I hope that lots of time learning things in their own way will keep them confident and engaged with the world. I think it’s true so far!

Busy in the sunshine

Here’s some bits and bobs from the last few days.

Thursday included Kids’ Club for both the kids where they did detective things: identifying whose fingerprints were on a particular item and who had taken a bite from an apple. They are planning to make a little detective film next week, I believe.

Dani had rather less fun at a meeting. We then got carried away talking in the park and nearly missed Woodcraft for P and a Woodies parent meeting for Dani. I was off work on leave again and so got to join in with all the panic!

Friday was the big drop-in session that happens a couple of times a month. I took along some Japanese braiding to share with people. Some people loved it and some endured it and I think it was worth doing!

After that, Leo and I popped to the doc to get a prescription for anti-histamine that seems to be working well for him. Saw a new, young doctor who spoke to Leo in a lovely, straightforward, non-patronising way. She also impressed me with her willingness to prescribe just what I asked for!

Then there was a quick park visit to put up our new tent, which seems to work well. In the evening there was a Hedline meeting at our house. That was enough for one day!

On Saturday morning, Pearlie was lucky enough to be taken to see Michael Rosen by a friend and her family. She said he was SO funny and she came back very jolly. Then we went to the swimming pool, where we had organised a private booking to be shared between local home edders. Those who came seemed to enjoy it a lot and I hope we can do it again.

After swimming, the kids were really enjoying playing in the park with cousin S and friends A and C. Sadly, the fun came to an abrupt end when A got hit on the head by a heavy metal catch. It is a ‘safety feature’ to stop little ones reaching the pond but it managed to make a rather horrible, bloody wound on A’s head. We went home and A and C came to sit in our cool basement for a while. A was quite calm and ok by then, thanks, in large part, to her very calm mum. I am rather hopeless when ours get hurt and tend to let my fear affect them.

On Sunday, I had to go back to work. Pearl and cousin S had an exciting trip to see Caroline Lawrence who told them all about how she writes. Meanwhile, Leo was playing in the paddling pool with cousin D. That must have been fun because he’s still asleep at 10am this morning!

Enjoying my leave

I had a day off today and missed the discovery of an unexploded 2^nd ww bomb on the campus!

But, anyway, we had a lovely day. Leo went to Kids’ Club this morning and had a good time doing some treasure island themed things and playing with his chums. Pearlie and I popped to town to get a pressie for a friend of hers and them came home to brush up our division skills with an MEP book.

We met Dani at the cycling park, once she had finished work. It was wonderful weather and both the kids had a great time cycling about the place.

Pearlie took some beautiful photos of things like bluebells and damsel flies - but I'll let her blog those. Leo got more and more confident and was whizzing off, away from us, in no time.

Yesterday deserves a quick mention. Kids had Squeezebox sessions and Leo went to Green Pig writing group. We also spent a few hours in the park with lots of home edders and scoffed cafe treats.

We are having lots of great conversations at the mo but I can’t remember any details to blog, I’m afraid!

Our new tent arrived today. It is wonderfully old fashioned looking object with the kind of poles that tents had in my childhood, rather than the spindly things they have these days. We need to find some time to get to a park in a quiet moment so we can have a go at pitching it.

We’re Ba-ack!

Well, that was a strange experience – nearly a month with no internet at home. Apologies to all those to whom we owe emails and so on. I lapsed back into a pre-internet state and actually got quite calm about it. I have read more books and watched some old videos. Dani was looking decidedly twitchy by the middle of last week (she says it was actually by the second day!) and I think she is very relieved to be back online. The kids were pretty ok with it, though they missed i-player.

A catch-up is impossible. Here’s a few things, in no particular order.

Pearlie had her eleventh birthday last week. We went to Bath for an overnight stay and bought her a new bicycle there. It is a rather fabby Dahon and should last her forever, or until she reaches 6 foot 4!

Bath was lovely. We stayed in a Travelodge room for £26 and crammed in lots of fun. We went on a little boat trip up the river, in the beautiful, early evening sun. We also visited the Bath Fashion Museum and went to Pizza Express for a birthday meal.

We all enjoyed a sunny, family gathering in the park in honour of P’s birthday.

I have been enjoying a continuing dalliance with the writing of Ali Smith. I was mesmerised by Hotel World and have read two of her books of short stories too.

Leo has been prompted to learn a joined up writing style by Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide. We bought a little workbooky thing, which goes through each join in turn, and he’s doing some every day. He is pleased with it and has abandoned his previous writing style (mixture of upper and lower case letters) and is using it all the time.

Pearlie has been enjoying all her birthday presents. She got lots of Jessops vouchers and has had a lovely splurge of processing. Some of her pictures are gorgeous. She got a plant for her room and some lights for her new bike, and is planning to buy an i-pod. She got clothes, too, and has been looking very sophisticated.

Leo is back to reading the end of the Amber Spyglass but has also started The Hobbit.

Dani has made lots of progress with her big, celtic knot blanket.

Pearlie went away for a weekend camp with her Woodcraft group. She had a great time, including playing games in the dark! Leo got to choose dinners while she was away and we ate lots of veggie lasagne and fruit crumbles.

We’ve bought tickets for an exciting Festival show, which we’re all looking forward to. Dani and I have also treated ourselves to tickets to see kd Lang in August. It’ s Pride weekend so everyone should be on a high. If you want an example of how spine tingling kd can be, when singing live, then check this out on YouTube.
Anyway, better get some sleep as electrician is coming tomorrow to fit the new fuse box.

Back in the swing

Well, it’s been a busy week here – getting back into the swing of things.

Pearlie has been to Kids’ Club once this week, where she had a wild time running the new go-cart through paint and then over paper. She enjoyed swimming on Wednesday. She and I did some of a funny little 1960s book of punctuation exercises. She learned the hard way about checking pockets before washing her clothes and pulped a notebook in the washing machine. She’s blogging occasionally on her new(ish) blog. She's excited about going to an event tonight where friends are playing.

Leo has been enjoying spending his birthday money. Here he is enjoying purchase.

He also did painting at Kids’ Club and, on a different day, made a fabulous piece of art in the sandpit – using sticks and so on. He went to writing group and wrote this:

Backspiker
Hill hiker
Trash eater
Badger beater
Roller upper
Quick Supper
Food hider
Foot slider
Nest finder
Twig binder

Can you guess the animal?

He is working on a new set of comics all about Milo the Smilodon and also made one about Mustelid Man today.

He’s also back in full-on prank mode. These were in the fridge.

I have been writing. I went to a new group, after an invite from my friend E. It was great and really inspired me. I entered two competitions on Thursday. Apart from that, I’ve been back at work and feeling very tired in the evenings.

Dani has also been back at work. She took the kids to the swimming pool and library on Wednesday. On Thursday, they went to town to shop and drop in films for developing. P is spending most of her money on developing films at the moment but she was pleased to get some free ones as part of a deal.

Kids are doing secret things in Leo’s room and it has been quiet for hours now. Oh well, I’ll enjoy Poirot in peace.

Here's a lovely photo that P took the other night.

Too busy to blog... again...

It’s been very busy round here lately. Here’s some stuff that’s been going on…

On Saturday, Pearlie went on a bouldering trip with Adventure Unlimited, to Harrison’s Rocks. This would have been higher climbing but it was too wet. She went with a friend from Woodcraft (the only two girls, apparently) but happened upon several boys she knows from other places. She had a great time.

While Pearlie was there, Leo went to a friend’s house to play. They watched some old Doctor Who together, as well as the start of Jurassic Park. (Luckily, Leo and Dani happened upon a copy in a charity shop yesterday, so he’s seen it all now.) They also went under covers and told each other very scary stories by torchlight.

I was at work and so Dani had a couple of hours alone in town. She bought a beautiful wool coat, ‘vintage’ velvet jacket and black/black baseball boots. This was all in honour of the evening…

Once the kids had finished climbing and playing with friend, we dropped them round at their cousins’ house for a sleepover. We ate a quick meal and went out to an International Women’s Day disco. Sadly, this was not the exciting event we’d hoped it would be. I have amazing memories of an 8^th March cabaret event in Leeds where this tiny, stocky, leather dyke put on a big wig and belted out Shirley Bassey numbers. This didn’t really come close… So, we had a quick drink there, cut our losses and went to the pub. Pubs are much better now they’re not full of smoke, aren’t they? Then we came home and watched some series three L Word episodes. It was lovely to have some time to ourselves. We talked about how lucky we are and thought about other women who aren't. (There is a petition online but I'm not sure how current it is.)

Sunday was pretty quiet. I went to work exhausted. I can’t imagine how I used to go to work on so little sleep when I was younger. D and the kids relaxed at home.

Yesterday, Pearlie went to Kids’ Club in the morning and to the grandmothers’ in the afternoon. At Kids’ Club she did some work on a magazine they’re making. At the grandmothers’ house she played a French game they’ve been making together – as well as cards and with the trusty, red animals. The red animals arrived in the family in my childhood. They came from Terry, who was a sort of adopted family member, having been on my mum’s caseload when she was a social worker in the 1950s. He had a succession of factory jobs and the red animals were meant to go singly into cereal packets, I believe. He arrived with a big bag full. That was always the way with Terry. When he worked as a meat packer he used to turn up with huge joints. He was such a skinny bloke, I guess there was plenty of room under his jacket! Anyway, those red animals have provided hours and hours of play for children in the family, for the last thirty five years.

Leo and I had a lovely morning at home. We did some maths together and I was amazed at the increase in his speed and skill in things like subtracting two digit numbers in his head. Then he did some more excavating for plastic dinosaur bones, while I read him some of the book we’re sharing. I wasn’t too sure of these books at first (they’re full of American childhood cultural references, so a bit hard to grasp at points) but they are actually very clever. I like the way the author has taken realities of modern children’s lives (like absent parents and diagnoses of ADHD etc) and held this ancient mythological glass in front of them. Leo is picking up loads about mythological monsters and likes to check on the free Guardian wallchart we got recently, to see if there’s a picture of each one that gets mentioned.

In the afternoon, I hurriedly sploshed a bit more yellow paint on our bedroom walls (yes, we’re still decorating that room!) and then went to work. Dani and Leo did some more experiments from his Christmas chemistry set. So, the kitchen is now full of crystals growing and stuff in test tubes.

Pearlie’s forays into the world of veganism are proving a bit of a mixed bag. She’s happy with vegan marg on her bread and toast, which is good. She had some soya yogurty stuff which she said was ok. We all tried some Cheezly vegan cheese and found it revolting! Dani made some of her lovely bread on Sunday, which is super-nutritious.

P is off tidying her room at the mo, as a friend is coming to play on Thursday. The living room is covered in piles of stuff as we are mid-pack for our holiday at the end of the week. There are a hundred things I should be doing, but I think I’ll have a cup of tea. Oh, fab, Leo has washed up all the breakfast things.

No title

I found yesterday a bit draining. I was on the rota as parent helper at Kids’ Club, which was fine. The sunny weather meant outdoor play – drawing life size outlines of dinosaurs, in chalk, on the ground. But it was chilly and at times I felt my lack of ability in handling ups and downs in groups of kids.

I rushed off to work for a presentation by a supplier. Had to leave that early (which is embarrassing when someone has travelled miles to give you their spiel) to do an enquiry desk session with new colleague. Spent a while floundering when trying to find source of quote by Francis Bacon (why do we mess things up when we’re being watched?), only to have it rejected by student as ‘too old’. Entirely my fault for not checking that student had vague notion of who Francis Bacon was when she presented me with the quote in the first place. Ho Hum.

During the evening, as I battled with inbox and heap in my post tray, I was afflicted with sneezes. It was odd – great bouts of sneezing for no apparent reason. At least it was entertaining for my colleagues. Librarians are easily amused. Anyway, staggered through to end of day and we went to bed when the kids did. After ten hours of sleep I feel ok(ish) – just a bit congested.

Dani and the kids had a bit of a stressful afternoon too. A sudden row disrupted plans to go swimming. All was calm by the time I got home. Pearlie had plaited herself a lovely bracelet out of embroidery silks and finished it with a home-made paper bead.

Tuesday was a good day. Kids each had an individual session at Squeezebox, as the rest of their band members are away this week. I spent half an hour reading to Leo, while P had her lesson. I spent half an hour doing fractions with Pearl, while Leo had his lesson. We looked very LEA approved…(joke, joke, I know we don't need approval.)

Leo had a super time playing Primeval with friends, in the park. Pearlie came home with a friend as they were both too cold – and played in her room. She set up a cable car for her Sylvanians. Leo went to Little Green Pig, where he wrote limericks, apparently. This led to limericks over the dinner table in the evening. I have to be watched or they get rude. Well, if you have a family member called Dani…

Monday included a trip to the grandmothers’ for Leo. Pearlie bought a new notebook – something that keeps happening here! She’s enjoying having a new blog. Thanks to all who’ve paid her a visit. Oh, yeah, and I went to town in search of jeans. D and I have a night out planned. I got a pair of brand new Levi’s in a charity shop for a fiver. This was after I almost laughed in the face of spaghetti-shaped sales assistant in the Gap. Here’s a tip for all such beings:

“Woman of thirty seven years, who is five foot nothing, with big bum, is not interested in skinny jeans.”

Busy

Very busy here at the mo. Dani and I have just grabbed an hour to sit and make lists together – as we were in danger of running up against deadlines.

Lots of happy stuff going on here at the moment.

Pearlie made a beautiful dressing gown for one of her bears. I will blog a picture when I can find the camera…She had a fab time in the park on Tuesday afternoon – playing cops and robbers with a big gang of kids. She and I enjoyed a morning together – buying cakes at the bakers, doing some stuff about fractions in an MEP year 7 book, playing rummy and chatting. She’s enjoying a series of books that appear to be quite teenage.

Leo has made a network of ‘CCTV cameras’ around the house – including a control box and taping device in his room. He also had a wonderful time in the park on Tuesday, playing Primeval with some friends. He went to writing group, which P has decided to drop. A man came in (Leo couldn’t remember his name) to read them the beginning of a story (Leo can’t remember what it’s called) and encourage them to continue it themselves.

Here’s Leo’s story.

“He opened the door. He saw a red and black treasure chest. It was padlocked. He looked up and found a digging fork. He pulled it down and stuck a prong into the lock hole. It twisted, and fell to the ground with a clang. A light switched on in a bedroom. He had to be fast. He grabbed the chest and the lock, and closed the door behind him. Then he crept up the stairs and dived into his room. He jumped into bed and hid under the covers, about to open the chest. He pulled up the heavy lid and let it land on the blankets. He saw a bundle of cloth. He pulled a scrap off it and it began to unravvel. He saw a small furry stoat, whimpering in the moonlight. He promised the small animal he would bring it some of his supper the next day.”

Leo declared himself bored of sandwich lunches when he’s at Kids’ Club and we have tried to rise to the challenge. Yesterday he had gujerati carrot salad and sweetcorn risotto. Today, Dani got up early to make creamy potato salad.

Got to go to work now.

Science and dancing and a bang on the head

On Sunday morning, Dani got the kids up and out to cross town to visit the Brighton Science Festival. They saw lots of cool stuff. Leo designed a chair and made a model of it out of paper. He also saw some silk worms, apparently. Not sure that Pearlie was as keen on the event.

I was at work in the afternoon and rushed into town on the bus afterwards, to meet the others for another bus east. We were headed to a seafront café a few miles along the coast, where a friend was having her eleventh birthday party. This was a lovely event - but sadly marred for us by Leo tripping over a skateboard while playing a chasing game in the dark outside. It was one of those horrid moments when you thought something was a bad idea (kids running about on uneven surface in very dark area) but didn’t say anything. He grazed his face (forehead and nose) and got wet and muddy as he fell into a puddle. He screamed and was very shaken. He told me this morning that he thought that all the water running down his face was blood and it was too dark for him to see. We cleaned him up and he sported a big, blue catering plaster on his forehead! He’d just eaten some chocolate birthday cake and he went very pale… Happily, a kind friend offered to drive me and Leo home. He perked up in the warm car but went very shaky again as I got him into bed. I think it was just exhaustion – as he is fine today. We’ve got the plasters off and none of the grazing is very deep at all.

Today, Pearlie has gone off to Kids’ Club, where a local environmentalist and campaigner is coming in to talk to the kids. She’s taken in a clipping from our local newspaper, of a letter by my mum. The grandmothers are opposing a development in their street, which eliminates a small green corridor beside the railway line. It is a horrible, money grabbing thing, cramming people onto this little scrap of land, down a steep slope. The access will be by means of a lift! The land has had slow worms, and other wildlife – though the developer seems to have slung a load of weed killer over the site now.

After Kids’ Club Pearlie’s off to visit the grandmothers. Leo is having a day at home – making comics and so on. He is a bit miffed to find that a ‘design a monster’ competition on the Primeval web site is only open to people over ten. I helped him do some maths in an MEP book this morning – something he’s quite keen on at the mo. I’m having a lazy time – until I have to go to work – as I can feel a migraine lurking. This is no surprise, really, as I had a huge adrenaline rush and swinging blood sugar yesterday night. We’re expecting Dani home from work any minute. She’s popped up to the post office to collect a parcel, which I hope is our new duvet set. Something very strange has happened to me recently – and I chose a duvet with embroidered flowers on it. I used to be much more into primary colours and plain things but this seems to be changing with age. If I start to like doilies I think it will be time to end it all…

Stuff

Very quiet here this morning. Pearlie is in her room writing to a pen pal. Leo is reading The Subtle Knife beside me. There is an occasional sniff – the poor boy seems to be starting another cold.

Yesterday, Pearlie went to Kids’ Club and a visitor came to discuss the group’s input into a mosaic project to cover the toilet block where they meet. Pearlie worked with a friend on a design. I’m not entirely sure how it will be decided which design gets used. I imagine the artist will have a good idea of what is possible.

Leo and I were on tidy up duty which meant we had to go along for the last half hour and do some sweeping and washing up, and so on. We’d spent the rest of the morning at home and Leo had started on a painting on canvas. He was given the canvas for Christmas. He worked on it in stages, throughout the day, and here’s the finished article.

In the afternoon I went off to work.

Dani and Leo went to town to get some buttons for this lovely waistcoat that Dani has made for Leo – all her own design and everything. I think she’s very clever!

Pearlie went over to the grandmothers’ house, where she did some French, played cards and went out in their lovely back garden. She told me that she and my mum are making a French game together.

The weather is lovely again so we’re planning to get out into it at some point – between Squeezebox and writing group, I guess.

Good day

Today’s been a good one.

Leo went off to Kids’ Club, where there was a show and tell session. He took his cuddly stoat, which he got for Christmas. There had obviously been some planning going on between the kids, as various other children had brought along cuddly creatures. This led to a collaborative puppet show style of play involving all the creatures – written and presented by the kids.

You can't quite see the stoat here. He and Leo's precious rabbit are good friends and they spend a lot of time like this!

I was very pleased to hear that this Wednesday group is going so well. It involves mostly children at the younger end of the Kids’ Club range, which is bound to need a bit more adult support. But it seems to be working. Let’s hope I haven’t jinxed it now!

Pearlie and I came home and, at her request, made chocolate cake. Actually, my role was just to have a recipe in my head (I do) and pass things and wash up a bit. Pearlie popped out to the shop for white chocolate buttons to decorate the top. It was very yummy!





While the cake was cooking, and cooling, we played lots of games of cards. Pearlie likes rummy at the moment, and she thrashed me. We also played a game that P calls spit – a kind of simplified racing patience style of game. Pearlie declared that this game must have MSG in it, because you just want to play it more and more once you start!

I had to go to work for the afternoon and evening.

Dani, Pearl and Leo went swimming this afternoon. They had fun on the slide and pootling around. Pearlie did lots of diving down to get stuff from the bottom of the pool. Leo enjoyed jumping in at the deep end.

I got home tonight to find Pearlie just winning a 35mm camera on ebay, which she is very pleased about. Dani and Leo were playing casino (another card game) that is one of my favourites.

I finished reading The Flight of the Silver Turtle to Pearlie tonight. We both loved it. Pearlie has plans to write to the author to tell him.

Leo and Dani finished reading Stories from the Silk Road. This was a Christmas pressie to Leo, and we bought it partly for the illustrations. When I went in to say goodnight Leo was looking through at the pictures, so that was a good buy.

Leo is desperate for a book to arrive that he bought on Amazon marketplace – The Subtle Knife – the sequel to Northern Lights. Sadly, other things keep arriving – but not his book.

Pearlie is reading Tennis Shoes, but not enjoying it as much as other books by that author.

Kids have got a science workshop at Kids’ Club tomorrow – hope it’s good.

Snatching five minutes

Just to say that yesterday recovered itself quite well, once the inevitable anger and disappointment had been aired.

Pearlie and I played chess, and then we all played rummy too. There was lots of chatting.

Then, mid-afternoon, we walked (in the pouring rain) down to the venue for the kids' new writing workshop thingy. We were approaching this was completely open minds and no plan to make it a permanent group. But, actually, the kids both enjoyed it a lot and want to go again next week. The facilitator was amazed that six people aged between seven and ten would want to sit and write quietly for a long stretch but it's a self-selected group of people who like that short of thing! Leo wrote a story and Pearl a poem.

I had a wonderful hour in a cafe. I took a notebook and, as advised by the woman running my short story course, earwigged conversations in a shocking manner. I got a really juicy one too!

In the evening I walked P down to her swimming club. She found it very cold again and I'm not sure if she'll stick with it. They just plough up and down really, once they can swima couple of strokes reliably. The more advanced lanes are all racing. Pearlie likes to twirl about and get things off the bottom and otherwise enjoy the water. We shall see.

I went to my sort story course and that was great. I haven't done an evening class for years and I'm just loving it. The chance to get away from everything else and just focus on one thing, is really liberating. Mind you, I think the resulting story telling in my head all the time is probably the cause of recent absent-mindedness. Yesterday I lost the pot in which we keep the group money. Dani found it under the sink, where I had NO memory of putting it.

Right, off to drop Leo somewhere and make a cake with Pearlie.

Very swift little catch up

I have many other things to be getting on with, so here's the briefest of catch-up posts.

Dani has been
Going to work
Altering a cardigan so it fits me better
Going to a meeting for one of the kids' groups
Making a blog digest for us to use in compiling our report to the local authority

Allie has been
Going to work
Watching old Poirots on the TV
Sorting out another free trial on Education City. I'm still not very keen, but they have some French games that P enjoyed.
Encouraging everyone else to think about a week in Cornwall in the spring, which looks like it might happen!

Pearlie has been
Weaving with a little IKEA loom that we found in room tidying.
Making up an album of her recent photos. Pearlie has a current craze for photography with disposable cameras. She got another one for Christmas.
Reading Noel Streatfield. She was inspired by the boxing day adaptation of Ballet Shoes and read that in a few days. I found her When the Siren Wailed at work, which I think I read to her a few years ago and which she is now enjoying herself. She whizzed through The Secret of the Crocodiles.
Doing a few Education City games.

Leo has been
Making a new graphic novel in a plain note book.
Drawing.
Reading all sorts of things at once.
Playing generally with cuddly creatures, small figures, Sarah Jane Adventures toys - and string etc!

We all went to The Golden Compass, which we enjoyed a lot. I think we might read the books to the kids as bedtime books.

Dani and Leo are enjoying a Chrestomanci book and Pearlie and I are loving The Flight of the Silver Turtle.

Off to cook Leo a Quorn burger - his current breakfast favourite!

Reunited

It’s been a funny weekend, with Pearlie away. We took the opportunity to get started on painting her room, so I went to B&Q on Friday night (in the pouring rain) to get paint, and Allie and I stayed up stupid late filling, priming and painting.

Leo and I spent a peaceable and productive Saturday together. He went to a writing workshop at the library in the morning, which he enjoyed greatly. The workshop was being run to encourage kids to enter the Write around Air Street competition which is currently running, and he came up with a lovely poem about clouds:

Clouds

When I look up high I see…

A pirate ship sailing to France,
Speech bubbles hanging over people,
Mashed potatoes waiting to be eaten,
Ice cream melting in the sun,
And peas rolling down a blue plate.

© Leo, 2007

He is hopeful about winning, but I think it will inevitably be something of a lottery, as they are bound to get loads of entries.

While we were waiting for the library to open, we looked at a photographic exhibition in the square outside, which has been put together by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance. I told Leo some basic facts about HIV and AIDS. When I said that HIV stood for ‘human immunodeficiency virus’, he astonished me by thinking for a second and then coming straight back with “so it affects their immune system”. He was bewildered by my explanation that people in poor countries continue to die from AIDS because they can’t get hold of the expensive drugs they need – “why don’t they just send them the drugs?”, he said. Why, indeed? I took and sent some postcards being given out by a volunteer standing next to the exhibition, to ask my MP and the prime minister the same question.

Allie had gone to work by the time we got home, having squeezed in a bit more painting, so we pottered about together for the afternoon. He rattled out several more fantastic comics, I read an interesting book I’d borrowed from the library, and made brioche dough, we popped into the local community centre where there was an arts and crafts fair going on, but didn’t buy anything.

By 4 o'clock, when we had to go out again, it was really pouring down, and we both got soaked during the 5 minute walk to the bus stop. Cousin B’s birthday celebration was an extended family gathering at a pizza restaurant in town. We met Allie there, together with 3 cousins, 3 aunts and uncles, 4 grandparents, plus two more of B’s grandparents as well. Pearlie was missed, but it was a lovely meal, and we all made pigs of ourselves.

Once Leo was in bed, Allie and I made the mistake of pressing on with the decorating instead of going to bed ourselves, with the result that she has been laid up with a cracking migraine all day today.

Leo has produced loads more brilliant comics today, all without ever getting dressed! I cooked brioche for a late breakfast (yummy, but quite a hassle to make), tidied up, looked after Allie a bit, and gratefully accepted a lift from a friend when it was time to go and collect Pearlie.

She seems to have had a fantastic time, and came back bubbling with tales of rain soaked walking, hilarious games, a spider-filled attic, close proximity to cows, and enormous waves crashing over the marina wall on their journey home. It’s good to have her back.

Silly consequences

The kids and I had a few hours at home this morning while the builders fiddled about with the washing machine – again. (Don’t ask, but they seem better than the plumber with this!) We played cards for a bit – cheat – and then I remembered how much we all enjoy story consequences. There have been some short tempers round here recently, which is mainly due to illness, lack of sleep (up late for various reasons, some better than others) and a steady stream of men called Paul who need to turn off the water, or get that floor up, or something. Story consequences is a great collaborative activity and no-one got cross with anyone else – until I had to go and talk to a builder for a minute, but that didn’t last long.

Here’s one of the best. If you don’t find it screamingly funny then there’s something wrong with you, evidently, as my children declare these stories to be hysterical. Don’t argue with me, BTW, lack of sleep does bad things to my patience levels.

Here is a story by Allie, Leo and Pearl. Each person writes two and half lines and then folds over the completed lines, passes the paper to the next person, who carries on. Leo, who writes in small capitals, seemed able to fit in more than me and P, who use a joined script. So, guess where we passed the story on? Some of us try to write a continuous story, others tend to get a bit carried away…

“Once upon a time there was a king and a queen. They lived in a castle. Knights with pet rooks guarded by a dying dog. It had two heads, everyone from far off lands came to see it. Other dogs would bow down to it. Until one day. That day two mice came to the kitchen and stole the king’s cutlery. The kind died later. “Oh, I don’t eat sweets!” snorted the boar. He went on chewing the rusty bench, with a grim, purposeful air. “If you happened to have a painkiller I’d be grateful as I have an upset pet lion. He came home today without having any time to play,” said the bishop, once they had got to his house. It was not far away. He said that some children had scared a note pad and loved the telly. They also ate cannon bear cheese with a ball of fluff. But that was a bit strange. The next week they bought back the farmer’s dog. Two fish also liked to stay down their shirts. The end.”

I have another eight stories like that and if you’re not careful I might just blog each one. BTW, cannon bear is one of my favourite cheeses – just in case anyone here is in need of Chrissie present idea for me.