as you can imagine, after yesterday, my black dog on the shoulder seems to have turned into a clydesdale horse! so i decided to be as computer free and child available as possible, with my facilitator hat on. it has actually meant we have had a v productive yet fun day, but i am totally bushwhacked from being so engaged! in reality, i think disappearing off to an alternate reality with a book might help my weariness, but not my heartache.
having fallen asleep [wayhay for actually sleeping] playing civ 4 last night – a go at alternate reality, but actually i prefered the earlier civs – i was woken up by bouncing children at 9.30. managed to keep them bouncing in a mole game, rather than having to get up straight away! On coming downstairs, SB and i started with piano practice together. now she isn’t playing the violin [and i v much miss that] we are making a concerted effort to practice the piano daily. this is already paying off! bB was a bit grumpy that i was doing piano practice with SB, so once she had got going on it i played the most dificult game of hangman with BB. she was in charge of the hang, and the only letter of the alphabet in her 17 letter word was 1 m! so i lost.
BB then leappadded, and chose the phonics series. being BB she chose number 7 rather than actually look at some of the letters of the alphabet! she is def going to learn to read her own way. she wants the dinosaur leappad book that sb has but never looks at. SB meanwhile was doing maths. they have got to thousands – woohoo and all! so she raced through that, as having grasped hundreds, tens and units, thousands is really just more of the same. SB then insisted on more ballet practice whilst BB said she was doing her ‘writing practice’ – ie squiggles on a white board! SB settled into some spelling – she enjoys these wizard whimstaff, and BB and i did a bit of piano fun. I then did some violin practice [faint!] as have strings. boy am i rusty!! i think i now have finger strain – rofl!! WHilst i was doing that, bB was quite happily following instructions on the brainbox primary electronics kit to make a ‘whizzer’ with only a little bit of support from SB.
After lunch it was baking time. SB chose a recipe of chocolate marzipan biscuits – something nice and complicated! and through the afternoon did it pretty much on her own. BB and i opted for the simpler peanut butter cookies. SImpler in recipe, but obviously complicated by BB’s desire to lick things all the time [so i have a series of spoons that are single use licking spoons to keep the biscuits edible!] and her sometimes idiosyncratic weighing and measuring 
SB’s mixture had to rest for a while in the middle, so we all read one of my french books from the little linguist – berthe makes a pizza – which we loved. [here it is on amazon] and SB did a recorder practice. the new outerwear from muddypuddles arrived, so SB now has some camo trousers, my pink girl really has vanished! BB got a free glove puppet, so equally happy.
SB finished her biscuits whilst bb and i had a romp and read a book together, then we all had tea before SB went out to Judo. BB off to bed, and SB watched some nina and the neurons when she got back.
SO there you go, a busy day in our household! flickr pics of the day
oh, and any advice on trampolines. still humming and hawing. jumpking ovalpod oval vs bazoongi deluxe 12 foot with funring [ouch for more money, but ? its worth it?]
Trampoline is the best “big” toy I ever bought I think, Charlie has played on it way more than he ever did on his TP climbing frame and goes on it year round. Every child that comes here loves it too, even significantly older ones than SB and BB, Charlie nearly 11 and 12, 14 & 16 year old visitors love it too.
Don’t know anything about those two makes, mine was a similar cost for a smaller one though but bought as being a “proper” trampoline make rather than a “play” make IYSWIM, so after researching was told it was the safest because of that. I didn’t buy a net though as all my research showed that a net makes children less naturally careful and therefore more prone to falling off/accidents and had heard of children slipping inbetween net and trampoline and getting very hurt. I did probably over research though as was anxious to get something that lasted!
thanks for that claire. is yours a rectangular one then??
SB is so naturally accident prone that i was happier with a net!
Very much admire your oomph when struggling with beasts on shoulder.
No advice about trampoline, I’m afraid, as our back yard wouldn’t fit one. But I would go with a net if I was getting one as when P and L went to trampolining in a gym the teacher wouldn’t do the class unless there was at least one adult on each side to act as catchers if necessary!
Either of those trampolines look good to me, we hummed and hawed and googled at length, but I wouldn’t think you’d go wrong with either of those.
thanks Ali and Allie. i am v tempted by oval one. brightkiters are suggesting just going for the rectangular though for the better bounce [and higher price though]