honestly, it is hard enough work doing everything, but then when you get to the end of day, i need an extra hour to fit in the blogging and the on line socialising with the wider HE network!
Well, a brief summary! Monday I spent a vast amount of my time at the dentist, and a brief foray to GP as well, meaning off work, and i just do not like to be off work. makes me feel uneasy, let alone the chaos it causes there. but i just couldn’t think through the tooth pain. anyway dentist fitted me in [thanks!] and xrayed and found… nothing!! aargh!! the worst toothache of my life and nothing, i was assuming abscess/root canal etc etc! so we had a chat, and she took out the filling on the tooth [the one that took ages and ages to get right] and popped in a temporary dressing and stuff. it seems to be not as painful, but i am worried about all the refilling malarky. so whilst at home, we did some piano, story of the world, read about the relevant explorers for our time period in
which is a great book – i think kirsty first got it?? did some french and i generally ate co-codamol as if there were no tomorrow! BB did the french and the explorers bit too, and also some before the code stuff. it would really help if she knew her alphabet. i think the time has come to make a concerted go at this!! [sorry, i am just so not autonomous for reading!] i am sure she would be happier reading, as she loves ‘reading’ books. hmmm! BB still under the weather though.
tues i was well enough for work – phew!! chris and the girls went to the library in the morning – something they always enjoy – coming back with stacks of books. SB mostly with puzzle books this time. Then in the pm they went to a home ed meet more aimed at early primary, as it is nice to do something more aimed at BB. She was still feeling ‘fragile’ so not sure she joined in much, but SB – as prob oldest there – had a fab time! swimming for them both. in the eve i practiced setting fire to chemicals.
And wed was latinetc, when i let 4 year olds upwards set fire to chemicals! we did it outside, we had v long spills, they were v v clued up about chemical safety, and actually they are really good at concentrating! we looked at diff colour flames they produce. the older group got more scientific words thrown in for good measure. the older group also got to make anhydrous copper sulphate. it worked really well, as they had plenty of space, so no jostling and elbowing, they all got to do everything – so smiles all round, and no child had any damage at the end!! BB also did french, littlies music and sampler sewing, and SB did Latin, big music theory [forgot clarinet - aargh!] and sampler sewing. She felt she didn’t have enough playing time with Maddy though. i did love how they all played much better since the day was more structured – a v inclusive game! Josie had a happy birthday moment as well. SHe and BB are still quite mummy centred, but both did go off to their groups reasonably happily!
On the way there and back we listened to some more serge – at BB’s request, and she did some reading at home, and then fell asleep on my lap when i read to her this fab book
SB did galore park english [chapter 4 at last!!], then recorder – and we did some duetting together – slightly difficult with arm around BB asleep, but we managed! She then did galore park science on fossils. more reading together from this
with a lovely one about a blind man and a hunter, that SB discussed more. SHe is such a crazy mix of a child, all arms, legs and noise, but when she sits beside you on the sofa, all thoughtful and explorative. BB blew off rainbows – and actually had fallen asleep just before we would have needed to leave, chris made apologies [hopefully] on dropping sb at brownies, and then she had judo. BB awoke to play a farm game with me, and then watch beauty and the beast – which sb returned to. bedtime for the girls [i am reading sb animal ark book whilst awaiting the next bagthorpe book, and chris is reading
which i quite wanted to! so i will have to read it myself when they are finished!!] this reminds me of the bit in beauty and the beast when SB looked at the enormous book filled library and said it would be ‘heaven’ to have one of those. that’s our girl!!
If it’s any help, Em learnt to read really quite well before she and I were sure she knew the alphabet. In fact, it was at the optician’s today that I really became sure of both that and 2 digit numbers, yet she can read (almost) as well as J now. Somehow, it wouldn’t go in as just a series of letters. Since she was really old before she could even make a passable job of remembering the words for Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, but desperate to read, we ignored the alphabet (except sometimes in passing) and plodded through The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Reading and, I guess, somewhere in that she’s picked up on the letter names and sounds.