mine! I read SB the boudicca britannia story and cried over them dying. I obviously need a strong dose of sunshine. Or something.
before that she Joe the dragoned – tangrams and spellcatcher. We also had a look at Google Earth
SB now being all waily in the bath – perhaps my blues are catching.
She had a great day at nursery. BB is also shouting – such a rarry girl these days.
We had rather a good day. We did some tidying, and my mother arrived to stay over night. SB and BB very excited!!
Sb even read to mum – good on her! And did 6 pages of singapore maths with her. So felt we had shown education. Mostly we were playing. We had a woolly mammoth wooden skeleton thing to build, so me and SB had fun doing that. She played lots of games with my mum – the tube joining game, build a beetle, shape snap, jigsaws. Also wrapped up a present and did a couple of pictures. In fact was altogether charming and gorgeous!
Mum had been disappointed in the dance mat she got SB for christmas, so bought one from ELC in the sale. they had a great time doing the free dance together! BB kept switching it off mind you.
When my mum started to look like being in the wind tunnel was a bit much, I settled SB down with cbeebies to navigate around, and BB got a lookin – she had been trying hard for a while! Finally all settling down to play with lego. finished with some just so stories and others at bedtime. The Britannia book is really good – thanks Merry.
Nice lazy day and chat. I think we got away with mum not going into the room with xmas tree – but hope chris tidies it away before barbara comes! After beanies went to bed, we chatted family tree, and managed to work away at the Hellowell/Rushworth side a bit. Shame they seem to be the most popular surnames in Halifax, and the census writers had no idea on spelling! One poor chap is variously linneus, lyneus, lennis and lewis!! And when you add to this that part of the families prediliction for being unwed, going into service and being brought up by siblings etc…[no wonder it is proving difficult].
I think I maybe using it to sublimate my present disatisfaction with my life.
Mum went to my Nan’s on thursday [little Nanny], but forgot to take the triwalker, so they popped in yesterday while I was at work. In the eve, SB had ballet and did some explode the code as we have been a bit slow in that this week.
Blogging has pointed out the serious lack of muzzy and piano too!! Also history of the world. hmmmm
Posted in art and crafts, Blogging, Books, Dance/drama, General, literacy, numeracy, Stringbean's HE, writing
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Posted in Blogging, General, Ponderings
Don’t know what the beans did at the start of the day, except that it did include some Singapore maths. They then went intio the city to have lunch [apparently a very nice pizza!] and try and find BB some shoes now she is walking. SB was very disappointed that her feet haven”t grown though.
When I joined them, they had so far failed to do this, as needed to go to the other clarkes across the city. So I had the pleasure of being there when BB got her first shoes – very nice. She soon got into tramping around with them, and was stunningly cute as she kept trying to make a break for it. For exceptionally good value, we Got SB a pair of princess slippers for ?2. Should have bought loads and ebayed them for ?5!
We then failed to decided what to buy with the Johns Lewis vouchers quite spectacularly – I hate shopping really. Shops should have comfy sitting down and thinking places, not feeling all hemmed in. SO vouchers are still intact.
Came home and had a very healthy chips for tea – oops. My amazon order had arrived – which ncluded the just so stories and britannia for Merry’s curriculum. We have already caught up on the britannia. SB thinks it is great doing British myths and legends – partuicularly as it kicked off with a reference to the trojan war. Also started the Just So which she rather enjoyed. SB cbeebied whilst BB tried on her shoes again and clumped around the house.
for her bed time story, SB read me most of the M and S enormous turnip book . She sounded out the long words, and I helped with some of the blends. She was great! So she got a new story cd – fairytales read by bernard cribbens.
I have belatedly watched child of our time – and not worried for once, as I think SB and BB do have a close bond. Folloed on with the first installment of Elizabeth.
Now for the first installment of sleep here! [btw, both beans went to sleep much more easily tonight]
Posted in Butterbean, General, literacy, numeracy, Stringbean's HE
actually, am feeling simmering at the moment, so blog should cool me down. Having spent 45 mins or so putting SB to bed, 15 mins later I spend 30 mins or so failing to put BB to bed. I just can’t bear my whole evening being taken up by getting children to sleep. [or not]. Have unceremoniously handed BB to Chris. She has – however – taken 4 oz from a bottle for me, so not all doom and gloom.
So to the weekend, lets see what I can remember? on the overtly educational, we have done explode the code – SB happy to do it, and races through the pages, so not bad. She has done loads of webland, going forwards and backwards through the ‘editions’ that we have. When we started with webland, I used to sit beside her reminding her to listen to the stories to do the games, where as now she flicks all over the place with great confidence. She also seems to remember a lot of it now. on the IT front, there was a fair bit of cbeebies as well – particularly the stories.
Seed sowing, and discussions around that. [and counting – she was particularly taken when I clumped the broad beans in multiples of 5 so I could add them up more quickly than she could count them, and I saw her later on having a go with this idea.] SB read some of the easier books to me. She is getting confident to try and sound out longer words – though not very good at blends. We have gone swimming, read a number of books – the theme has been loosely underwater/seas or the poles. So looked at the globe, a book on the poles, and her underwater jigsaw books. taking in finding nemo characters!
A great hit of the weekend has been a buy from ebay – a snappit build a donkey and cart set. It was supposed to be part of her birthday present, but why not spread things out. She has put it together and taken it apart numerous times over the weekend – initially using the picture to get things right, and then just remembering.
We have also done lots of drawing – and played around with chalks on dark card as well today. She has written bits to go with all her pictures – the last even spelled by herself – lov SB to Chris [asked me about the H] lots ov lov [she remembered love doesn't have an u anyway!] We have been having a chat on and off about silent letters – like w in write. She had remembered k in knee from a discussion over a month ago.
Our Jenga -alike has been used to make forts, castles and patterns, and she has spent a lot of time with the dress up flower fairies, making stories for them to act along to.
A lot of the time SB has been quite self-contained, so that I have had a lot of 1 to 1 time with BB. She is being giggly and silly at the mo – so quite a laugh! Though she does try and feed me all sorts of rubbish as we go along – plastic pigs were todays menu, and specks off the carpet – lovely! She has her lower molar on the left rhough, and the upper one is nearly though. She is always keen to play with SB, and I loved watching SB try to feed her tea. It seems that although there is quite an age difference, they do get a lot out of each others company.
No doubt I’ve missed lots of stuff out. It seems that mostly I have juggled 2 children’s needs fairly well – for a change! That we have done more educational things than I though whilst having fun. They do just slip in don’t they!
Next week we reall must take down the Christmas tree, and tidy SB’s bedroom before Barbara visits.
Oh, and I have calmed down. It is past 10, and my evening will start with Sir Robert Winston [I wonder if BB is asleep?]
Edited to add: AH, flickring and I have rememerbed what I had forgotton – my friend Katrien , who used to live in Ely with her family, popped in on Saturday, as they are moving their final things – to Belgium. Somewhere nice for us to visit one day! And I have promised SB a barge holiday one day – like angelina ballerina. She does wish she had the box set of the books…
Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean, gardening, General, geography, literacy, numeracy, SB-PE, writing
… do future dinners grow. Not much gets sown till late February, but this weekend we have sown the T and M packet of mixed aubergines, some green globe artichoke and a packet of braod beans. All from thompson and Morgan and all in modules in a heated propagator.
It crossed my mind that this year, I may not have to sow everything into a module and plant out when getting established, as we no longer have such thick clay. Although we had raised beds, drainage was still a problem, and clay is cold for so long, and slugs so rampant, that all module was the only way.
We missed the autumn sowing of the broad beans though, so these will be our catch ups. Another packet will get sown outside towards the end of Feb.
just finished submitting 2 abstracts with co-author. 01:14
been manically doing it as soon as free from general work commitments.
Hardly saw my girls tues, thurs or fri as home after 7. big sigh. I just cant find the comfort zone of work/life. When I’m there I have loads of work ideas, andfeel badthat I’m not overextending, and wen I come home I wonder what was so important I left so late.
Part of the problem is that I am at the time of my career when I actually need to overcommit to make a stable basis for the next 10 or so years. I am also at the time of my life when I want to limit my commitment… bugger for vicious circles
Chris is wittering on about scratch and sniff books. BB is asleep onmy lap, and I did take time out to read SB bedtime story.
Oh and on another negative, I forgot to budget for my study leave. sigh. Maybe we will get a lodger.
oh, we have a portico elephant btw
Posted in General
Helen couldn’t get to sleep anyway and had gone off to another room.
BB woke up at about 4.30 ish and was not happy – she screams (it’s not just a cry), she tries to scratch/grab you, she hits herself on the head face with her hands – even scratches herself sometimes. She did eventaully fall asleep again, but it tends not to be deep sleep and the smallest thing can wake her again.
By about 5.10, and a couple of wakings I was getting ready to give up when Helen appeared anyway as she had had enough of listening to BB. Of course a feed and BB was asleep, the rest of us, including SB who was woken by the crying didn’t ever really get back to sleep before the alarm at 6.45. 
Hope Helen’s day at work isn’t too bad.
Posted in Butterbean, General
I know, I’ve used the title before, but it was.
had a migraine on waking – actually almost certainly stress induced about returning to work – wondering what the chaos will be ike, and the penalty for being away.
So, CHris took beanies for a swim while i took the meds and slept it off. At least it worked! on returning, I could hear Chris doing the ulysses story, and perhaps a few fairy tales as well.
So i got up at lunch time full of resolve! So we had a fun afternoon. In no order, we face painted - rofl! me as Im not quite sure by SB, and her as a piggie and CHris as a bunny [mpre rofl] by me!
did some drawing and colouring and sticking. Read various story books, played with the fuzzy felt faces, did 4 pages of explode the code [in under 10 mins as allowed her to choose which writing bits to do, but she had to do all the rest - she did half the writing]
She then told us her present best friend at nursery lives in this village. Now I’m not sure exactly how best friends they really are, as you don’t hear loads about her like we did about rosheen in leeds, but… we have decided to see if her mother would allow her to come to tea after nursery one day, or around to play – so the mum can meet us, or mett at the park etc. Seems a logical place to try for a village friend who she can meet up with perhaps when stops nursery. May well not work out as time so short, but worth a try. SB doesn’t really want to stop nursery, so we may well keep her there until Easter [last possible] – particularly if cements some sort of local friendship.
So SB then wrote a letter to the girls asking her if she would want to come and play, and we will write a more detailed one for the parents. if i’d have known they were local, I’d have made an effort to say hello at the nativity.
over tea SB keen to do some mental maths as well, so we were exploring the concept of adding in tens for the first time, as she seems to be getting there with her understanding of tens and units. Otherwise I told her a few stories and then she chose some cbeebies rather than playing a game, having tidyed p without any fuss. We had a lovely and easy bedtime, both are currently asleep, so Iwill watch the videoed child of our time. Missed the stephen poliakoff thing though as forgot about it – grr.
BB as pootled about quite happilly today, highlights are always the ramming things into the wrong holes with increased frustration until she puts them in the hatch – in fact she would go for this option first if my hand wasn’t there! A bit of drawing at the same time as SB – though a fair bit of crayon chewing too. She loves the mini keyboard toy, and is very certain of which buttons noise she likes the best. She also makes a special sound for whiskey cat – if i was truly besotted I would say she is saying whiskey, SHe isn’t but…
Can’t find id card for tomorrow, which includes the carpark chip. Unless i find it, I will have to pay ?10 in the visitors carpark!!!!!!! [over 4 hours you see] they prefer you to park and ride, and i might do that if actually get out of the house early enough = always a problem!
Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean, General, literacy, numeracy, photos, SB-PE, writing
