Category Archives: investigating

An oasis in a week of stress

Posted on April 22, 2009 by | 11 comments

i am not convinced that going to work is actually worth it always. and this week is one of those times. actually, thinking about it, this whole month. not that i can even talk about it let alone blog. but there. i am sure i am not the only worker that feels this though…

anyway, chris is going to blog yesterday, which was rather fun i believe. it did mean we didn’t quite do what was planned today as he and the girls were still exhausted [i am always exhausted] but instead had a lazier day. SB did piano practice whilst i was in bed, and had her head in a book when i came down. when i am feeling a bit blue, amazon tends to benefit [ :lol: ] and this time was no exception, and i have spent some of my birthday money on nice books and also Bohnanza! it came today, so we spent most of the morning playing it!

we did also do some hugging, cuddling read the next bit of SoTW, look at some other books with marco polo in them or explorers, The Picture History of Great Explorers , I Wonder Why Columbus Crossed the Ocean: And Other Questions About Explorers (I Wonder Why) ,The Story of Explorers and Exploration and also a map. [i think alison is right, i have too many books! ] Following up on recommendations on the blog ring, we also looked at a bit of Write Around the World: The Story of How and Why We Learned to Write which i also like very much and would recommend.

ANother birthday purchase for me was a Great Gizmos – Movie Motion Zoetrope kit. which BB was fascinated with for the hour or so i was reading the above books to SB. SB then also had a bit of a play. We are going to do some of our own! and then we had lunch :wink:

SB hasn’t done much maths for ages, so she took the book out to the pond, and some rubbed out ernests book as well. BB said she was ready for ‘plussing’ as she is now as good as SB :roll: and :lol: at the same time! actually she just about is ready for plussing, as long as each number is less than five so that she can stick her fingers up and see them together. SB needs to learn some times tables i think, to make the whole multiplication thing less laborious. she wanted to know how i knew 4 x 7 was 28 so quickly. i told her, like number bonds, you use it enough and you know it [unless you are a maths genius and just know it anyway]

BB had had enough plussing, and wanted her face painting, so found the paints and she chose a dalmation, except every spot had to be the same size, but a different colour and not black, so actually she was just spotty!! she painted my feet with cheaper face paints. i have this book Face Painting (Usborne Activity) since i have no artistry. Speaking of lack of artistry i found all the ‘special’ paintbrushes had obviously been used on a previous occasion and not washed out. what is worse, they have glitter particles and glue – aargh! i think i need a mummy only shelf!

we then got out the paddling pool, filled it with water and had it comedown the climbing frame slide and into the pool. what fabulous fun. what a perfect way to spend a summery day hey! [oh to be that age again too] so we all giggled, laughed and enjoyed the day. SB went off to brownies [at the 'big house' this week to look at the lambs and various other animals] and then judo – which she loves. BB was ‘xhausted and watched my little pony video [argh] and magic school bus – not so bad – and then fell asleep. SB on return watched Little House On The Prairie – Series 2 [DVD] [1975] [which frequently makes me cry]. i guess we are pretty much done! chris read George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt to SB for bed time, and now, having had a lovely sunny weathered, sunny mood day, it is apprentice time.

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Posted in Butterbean's HE, early maths skills, General, geography, history, investigating, music, numeracy, science, Stringbean's HE

Easter

Posted on April 19, 2009 by | 7 comments

i guess i should blog! i am just not feeling v bloggy, and actually, there has been scarcely any time. it is VERY unusual for us not to blog for 2 weeks though!!
So, what did we do after the party?? well, i worked, and worked and worked! latin etc happened without me. chris did the optics stuff. it was a much smaller group as merry’s lots were lurgied, and the manor borns were getting ready to celebrate marcus’s 50-2! i shouldn’t laugh, as the next day i celebrated my 40th. my parents had arrived for easter, and we had a lovely meal and thought 40 not soooo bad!! And as a special 40th birthday present i got a telescope – only on loan!! but i did see saturn!! [v happy] and also the moon. my arents also very impressed with telescope, as it is enormous.

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hordes of family started arriving on the friday, as had my sister and family and little nanny staying as well. children all got on well as usual, i finished just in time the hand made easter eggs, easter cake etc etc. was a lovely easter. little nanny getting v much frailer, and my heart goes out to her being so brave. i declined her help in the kitchen, she got to sit down and chat. after so many years of being chief bottlewasher, kitchen skivvy and all round enabler, i told her the baton had passed on! she nearly didn’t come, thinking she wasn’t quite up to it, but i think she was happy. i had the kids play games in front of her when she wasn’t up to joining in – The Settlers of Catan (New Edition) being a firm favourite, but also the train game – Ticket to Ride – Nordic Countries. and then when she was we played rummy and donkey. my B-I-L has decided he loves playing games when here, so that is fab, and we had a go at settlers and at Puerto Rico

then i went back to work again after easter, and then off to a conference in swansea, whilst the girls went to chris’s parents so he could do stuff.

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Posted in Books, Butterbean's HE, early maths skills, General, investigating, language, little languages, music, science, socialisation, Stringbean's HE, vivien

colourbox

Posted on April 2, 2009 by | 3 comments

we had another fab day today, nipping on a latinetc field trip [ :lol: ] to colourbox [as arranged by our field trip organiser] despite dire warnings re parking, there actually was loads. I did park in the wrong place [the place google suggested!] but they said it was OK [i think they thought i was seeing a truancy team] and we walked round in fab sunlight to struggle a bit to actually find the venue – though succeeded!

really enjoyed it [sorting flickr photos prob next week!] as did the girls. they both enjoyed the dark maze best! we started in a room with white spotlights that then changed to the primary light colours and these overlapped etc. I think the kids much to fascinated with shadows to be overwhelmingly bothered re light blends, but we tried! anyway, the loved it, particularly lobbing penguins around. we then moved to the dark maze. michelle and i tried to get through it first before the kids with torches, and nearly succeeded. it was absolutely entirely pitch black, and i did enjoy it. the kids also raced through, and bb was v proud when she went through on her own without torch!

then into the white room, and played with light boxes and prisms – my fav! making rainbows, splitting light and then bouncing it around mirrors and trying to join it back up. we adults had endless fun. to be fair the kids did too, before going back to dark maze to play a wild ghost game. def recommend it, and apparently we get a video too!

everyone came back to ours, which was lovely. lots of playing in the garden [must remove pirate ship before weekend!] and adult chatting. SB and chloe cleaned the garden furniture, and then in true apprentice style [DOH! I missed it tonight!!] realised they hadn’t agreed a price structure in advance. cleverly they tried to get chris to sign without reading a document – but failed, canvassed adults on the appropriate price, and i agreed to pay them double what i thought the job was worth, and half what they thought! a good lesson!! eventually just kirsty and kids who are staying over. Kirsty laughed at me lots as i cleaned [and moaned about it!] the kitchen cabinets and then sorted and cleaned the pantry. i really am not a cleaner. when i do it, i go all mazportico, and concentrate on a minutiae rather than a global pic too!! well, you have all seen my house [i think!] so i guess you are not expecting miracles!!

SB had brownies then judo and BB, m and a all did some fossils with air drying clay [i shew them my fossil collection!!] v late bedtimes, and i have made a v plain and simple veggie pasta bake for the weekend

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Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean's HE, Cooking, daubing and making, General, investigating, Out and About, SB-PE, science, socialisation, Stringbean's HE

space, the final frontier…

Posted on March 31, 2009 by | 2 comments

we went to Leicester space centre today to have a look around. the journey wasn’t too bad, and loads of parking. what’s more we could swap our tickets into a year pass and therefore go back again! We ate at their tiny cafe -rather lovely broccoli soup. Going in i was a bit nervous of the number of school parties, but they were easily absorbed. we loved it! there were lots of interactive bits big displays and sound bite info – so easily accessible for SB and BB. I loved the visuals in the planets bit. SB says she loved it all, and BB loved the shop!! the becoming an astronaut bit was good, and the job i was given was… medic!! rofl. We all enjoyed the star show visuals [though def aimed for key stage 2 rather than me!] and enjoyed seeing the rockets and satellites. It was a v visual museum that encouraged exploration and talking about things, and we are keen to go back.

leaving on the later side to get back, we weren’t sure that we would make it to SB’s swimming. luckilly we were just a few moments late, and got to see how much she has improved since I last went. her strokes are all strong and recognisable now, though the butterfly is a bit shaky [i never ever got the hang of it] and her diving was more of a jump/fall! but most impressed.

so finally back home, and i got the choc eggs out to add another layer [they apparently need 4 for best effect] and girls are alternating milk/white [BB] and plain/white [SB]. BB had a few books read, and then we did an eino kit on optics. might need more sun for the pinhole effect!

finally some sylvanians and bed in disgrace for sb when i found the alphabet written in pencil on marble fireplace. TBH wasn’t aware she could write the alphabet out. BB helped me clean, and squirted window cleaner in my eye. i appear to still be able to see.

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Posted in Butterbean's HE, Cooking, daubing and making, General, investigating, Out and About, SB-PE, science, Stringbean's HE

‘nother day, ‘nother ‘postrophe-ed blog post!

Posted on March 23, 2009 by | 3 comments

i think the girls went out to the local town market, and to get SB some new ballet shoes for most of the day! in typical SB style, she seems to have come back from ballet with 2 shoes of diff sizes :roll: , and last week, no-one else seemed to have the wrong size?? [how does she do it??] so new shoes in order! also a new gym leotard, because her lovely rainbow one seems to have totally vanished :roll: and :roll: again!!

ermmm, when i got home, SB had just got her recorder out to practice, and asked if we could duet, so i thought that was a fab idea, and we played the first piece a couple of times, and then moved onto the second. rather fab this! [no, i haven't got over the violin, just making the best!] I might even stop trying to play the notes on the treble as they are played on the descant one day soon! She then did some galore park english [yes we still are on chapter one!] and chris has decided she did it at the rough speed of 1 word a minute. I think he was being generous!!

SB off to ballet [it took 15 mins to go upstairs and bring down bag -:roll: !!] and BB was being massively waily. compounded by me i :blush: to add. i couldn’t quite grasp what she wanted to do with boxes to make a stage, and in trying to find out, she wailed that much she had to admit she had forgotten [to more wails]. we compromised on reading some stories, cuddling and then making crystals. she is rubbing her eyes a lot at the moment [and actually temporarily stopped fimo-ing because of it] so insisted we were only using salt and sugar, but we could dye them, so we will see how succesful they are. we were all cheered up then, and played silly games until tea. Chris drew taking a ‘not tired’ BB to bed.

SB and I started by playing buckaroo, and then went on to ticket to ride – nordic countries – which did delay bedtime by an hour whilst we enjoyed playing! i love playing games with SB, and this eve time is v precious to me. Def a good game!!

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Posted in Butterbean's HE, Dance/drama, General, history, investigating, Out and About, pre reading, Stringbean's HE, writing

Tagged

Not according to plan, but fabulous anyway

Posted on March 21, 2009 by | 4 comments

hmm, daddybean does appear to have stopped blogging doesn’t he. this is a bit of a home-ed blog disaster, as he does most of the home-ed! This blog is brought to you with Grieg’s holberg suite as background music, in vain effort to block out singularly awful pub band next door!

thurs: hmm, not tots and nots due to a poxy chickens breakout at a terrible time for us, but yes to dual gym. [peers at BK] ‘Reading, discussing, Dsing, Oggly Googlies, VR and NVR. SB now showing BB about different hardnesses of pencils’ ‘They are turning the water off for a bit (water co digging hole in the road) kids excited about idea and filling up all sorts of things :-)’ ‘BB: “I could get my poo and roll it into sausages with my hands”. Me: “Don’t you think that sounds a bit yucky”?’ [ermmm, lets gloss quickly over that one! :lol: ] When I got home, read books and played games with BB [don't wake dad and who's who] whilst snuggling SB and she did some maths, then chatted about animal crossing, oh and we watched dr who i think. Chris and I started the latest series of BSG [holberg 2]

Fri:they played monopoly [also cribbed from BK] not cribbed from BK [unfortunately] was that SB’s glasses were ready, so they went and picked them up and spent the rest of the day and early evening at his parents. my phone was dead, so a text never reached me, so i spent the earlyy evening wondering where all my family were, and the later evening saying goodbye to a work colleague with a really appalling meal! [there was a single choice for veggies – starter = roasted pepper and tomato with some rocket, main = roasted pepper, tomato and rocket tart!! and TBH, it might as well have been tipped out of a jar [prob was actually as a bit watery]. but i got to sit next to some interesting people and have interesting conversations.

SO to today, I wasn’t allowed up initially as craft things going on – i think this may be related to mother’s day if lucky. so i had a bit of a lie in and finished Imperium , which i have really enjoyed [ although as reading The Dolphins of Laurentum: Roman Mysteries 5 (The Roman Mysteries) to SB at the moment, i have felt a bit over-romaned at times!!]. [small break to get to part 3 of holberg suite! – now, where was I??]

oh yes, i got up and went to see what was happening. SB ds-ing animal crossing, then did piano practice with me. BB and i then read a variety of stories, and SB and i looked at minimus chapter 3. A short break as BB insisted on getting the paddling pool out as it was sunny, and was surprise at how cold that was!! however, both girls did have a whale [wail] of a time and came in freezing. i sorted out some seeds for sowing. i am feeling time pressed this year, so we are going for some easy things that we def like, rather than trying to do loads. then lunch for the girls [too close to brekkie for me!]

both girls declared keen to do some science [we had been going to the science festival again this weekend, but somehow inertia and a desire by me for a simple day at home kept us here. BB was enthusiastic to do the ‘bean thing’ so we have 3 jars of broad beans, a control, a fridge and an airing cupboard to compare. SB got out a kitchen science kit she got for Xmas and was happy to see a volcano in there. BB found the other volcano and we were away. [holberg 4] we decided to colour green, and SB’s does a massive shoot up. obviously a tighter fit and smaller hole so more pressure [and far more mess] = way more fun!! With shaking them, could make BB’s do it, and SB’s even more dramatic – may add video clip. so we are all out of vinegar, and will need to buy bicarb in suma quantities!! After we had washed and cleaned up i set out to do a slow explosion [tho actually not entirely sure it will explode!] we put sugar, yeast and warm water into bottles with balloons on the top. SB actually guessed the right gas [well, i guess we had just released it in far more dramatic manner!!], and we have been checking back on it. balloons inflating, not sure will pop!!

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more playing outside in the paddling pool until a small contretemps saw SB retire to the top of the climbing frame with the non-verbal reasoning book [half way through already] and BB into the playhouse. i got ingredients for seed sowing, so both girls joined me on the grass – bB first for a bit, then SB for much longer, and brief return of BB.

    edited to add, due to the lack of life in my gardening blog, i am going to stick this here for now, we sowed chilli peppers, tomato illidi [a huge success last year] and gardeners delight, pea misty, sunflowers [must buy some more seeds] and dwarf french bean gold tepee.

we looked at the birds guzzling on the birdfeeders – more and more. must be mouths to feed. in to tidy playroom [v poor grace!] I read The Rock Factory: A Story About Rocks and Stones (Science Works) [holberg 5 – though pub band having a break], they helped chris peal potatoes and I remembered a small parcel so SB opened it. We had a go at the first duet in Descant and Treble Recorder Duets which we were evenly matched for as i was on treble, so finally coming to grips with what the notes actually are. She just had a few counting issues, but even the low D noticeably better, and we both decided that it had def been fun.

SO finally to tea infront of Dr who, and much enjoyed scribbling one. BB off to bed with chris, and SB and i looked at the doctor who website, and she played some games on it. SB and I played connect 4 – which she is getting rather good at. Usual bedtime roman mystery read from me, and she is currentyl reading Ordinary Jack – The Bagthorpes 1 and enjoying it. [a far cry playing holberg, and band restarted]

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Posted in art and crafts, Books, Butterbean's HE, early maths skills, gardening, General, geography, history, investigating, language, music, music to love, numeracy, Out and About, pre reading, SB-PE, science, Stringbean's HE

not latinetc

Posted on March 18, 2009 by | Leave a comment

edited to add a potted summary of yesterday! chris took the girls to his parents, SB did piano and a neglibile bit of maths. Hooray, she has ordered some new glasses [hope we keep these for more than 5 seconds!] played a complicated game with chris’s mum, swimming lessons.

with the poxy chickens on the loose, and the incubation period set to be party-easter [and i couldn't bear to miss either!] we, reluctantly, couldn’t do the normal latinetc :cry: and nots and tots tomorrow :cry: so are thinking about vaccination of BB!

but, luckilly the littlest puddle girl hasn’t had either, and due to v similar reasons, avoiding the poxy chickens too. SO we had notlatinetc here! it was going to be a later start, so SB did piano and timewasting [how fab is she at that!!] and then got stuck into her new Bond First Papers in Verbal Reasoning: andBond Assessment Papers – First Papers in Non-verbal Reasoning 7-8 years books – which she thinks are just fab! since these are the first she has done, i got her the lower of the 2 poss years, but she is finding them v easy. so that’s good as gets her confident, and should race through a bit!! to buy books for one and not the other is daft, so a quickie amazon order, and SB also got Space Heroes: Amazing Astronauts: Amazing Astronauts (DK Readers: Level 3) , which she has taken to bed to read and My First Theory Book whilst BB got The Day of the Dinosaurs (Cartoon History) and The Rock Factory: A Story About Rocks and Stones (Science Works) which she later complained weren’t really books, but were – aargh! must ask chris the term she used, my brain is hopeless! [added by Chris – she called them ‘about books‘] obviously SB has taken them to bed to read too… [so bb has a point!]

BB got out the gears gears gears [Wacky Wigglers™ Set etc sets] and was having fun when Merry and girls arrived. they all got straight into investigating gears and making the Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! Dizzy Fun Land Motorized Set, and SB and Maddy read some french together. merry and i got science ready, as some of the natives were getting restless! we started with talking about building blocks of food, and then looked with iodine at which common foods contained starch. this was pretty good fun! led into the next section with maddy noticing the paper also turned starch a bluey black colour, so we did secret writing with lemon juice. A pause for lunch, and then we iodine washed them to see the pictures underneath. the bigger 4 then played with a fab kit that merry is stocking, Kidzlabs – Spy Science – Secret Message Kit, which is absolutely fab, and comes with my full recommendation! The big 4 did all but the last bit, and then went outside to play – and used the kits in some convoluted game! the little 2 had been playing beautifully with the gears together, making up a story, and then played together outside happily.

After clearing out the table again! we got out the fimo masterclass of bunnies! maddy and SB elected to continue playing outside, and the other 4 made v creditable bunnies based on Sculpey Oven Bake Clay Furry Friends [for a change!] bB keeps getting sore eyes with fimo-ing, and is rubbing them alot at the mo, so i had her a damp cloth to dab her eyes. not sure what else to do, as she loves fimoing.

Some more wild running around, and a snack of a loaf of bread between 6 kids – where do they put it all?? then home for merry and girls. didn’t get around to the music, or french. we watched a rather odd dr who episode, had tea and then girls to bed!

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Posted in art and crafts, Books, Butterbean's HE, daubing and making, General, investigating, language, music, science, socialisation, Stringbean's HE

Sciency Saturday and Sales Sunday

Posted on March 15, 2009 by | 1 comment

I guess i should do a small sum up of the week before – loads of hama beading! [i mean loads! serious inroads into the stock!] gym for both girls, a ‘big paint’ session at an HE group – which was lobbing paint covered tea bags at paper, which i believe degenerated into a brown splodgy mess!! but great fun was had! A visit to the puddles [forgetting to take Ams lily doll or to pick up our tent pod!!] and then some tidying. SB has been regularly doing her piano practice as well.

SO sat was an early start to get up and out to go to a science festival. we weren’t TOO far behind schedule, and pretty much immediately ran into the manor borns who were off to here some more of george’s adventures George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt which they very kindly got a copy for us too. We had a shorter day planned, suitable for all ages! so we started off in chaos science, and found that so fabulous that we were there for 2 hours!! we looked at bones, and bb was extremely careful with the fragile lizard one, although the student was clearly terrified she would break it! we looked in microscopes, made explosions, looked at dna, yeast, chemicals, electric circuits, light experiments and body stuff. SB was enthralled and loved all of it. by the end she was even voluntarily asking questions! she also had severe lab envy – rofl. BB spent a bit less time in there and then decamped to the zoolology museum, and made a bat mask. SB and i joined them, with sb doing a wildlife trail along the way. what a fab little museum. not been there before! we also did some of the outside things before meeting up with the manor borns. we had a chat about morning so far, chloe made off with SB to the funghi tent, and from there we dragged her off home. we saw grit and gritlets across the tent, but since we were rushing off, it seemed a bit too much like cyberstalking to say hello – even though michelle there to introduce! maybe another time, if more time to actually say hello. there were loads of other places to go on our list of possibilities, and will see more next year!

SO back home, and just in time to welcome our weekend visitors – nattyem, E and R. Girls started off playing games of varying natures and then settled down to make a book, this took quite a while, as an illustrated cat book. then some bookmarks. the played a variety of games after tea. we parents played agricola – always fun, i do like that game – and eventually chased the girls to bed approaching midnight.

the next day, the girls finished another book, and after breakfast set up a stall on our drive to sell the 2 books and various bookmarks. they discussed their selling strategy, and organised their display etc etc and were v dedicated, finally selling 4 bookmarks for 20p each to complete strangers! they bought some sweets with their proceeds and all seemed v happy. lots more playing, mostly outside, including pond dipping and filling up the bird feeders before they set off home. it was lovely seeing you!

BB has been flaking since, watching the clangers, and SB also, ds-ing away. Both are now in bed, and feel they have had a fab weekend

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Posted in art and crafts, General, investigating, music, Out and About, science, socialisation, Stringbean's HE

busy day today – Science museum

Posted on March 11, 2009 by | 2 comments

actually, i think its been a bit busy both days. yesterday was a library day and then a trip into town to get SB’s eyes tested and then she will need some more glasses :roll: lets hope she doesn’t lose these ones as quickly. her eyes are still a little bit worse. BB had a massive strop in full bB mode in the shop because she wasn;t going to get some glasses. apparently she kept this up for quite a while… [so much so that SB doesn't have any glasses chosen yet]

Anyway, today we had promised the girls a visit to the science museum. we were going to go to an electronics workshop. we got to the museum, but the girls elected to do their own thing, so fair enough i guess. getting there was both easier and with a higher number of failures along the way! firstly we decided that we would park not in the exorbitant £6!! but at my work, and chris drop us off, and then cycle back after parking. that worked well. rather brainlessly, i bought a ticket right the way in, rather than the tube stop. and we just missed the 9am train. but happily got the next one, chris laughed at the wrong ticket, and then the ticket had the last laugh by not stopping at where we usually get off – so we did go all the way in! oh, and the other failure was the croissants and brioche left sitting at home… we did have loads of games of the fabulous treehouse game on the way in though.

ANyway we wandered around the spacey bit, spent loads of time in the launchpad. i particularly loved the dry ice ‘melting’ in water, and the girls both seemed captivated by the viscosity experiments – easily repeated at home! also, remember the waves of fire lecture? well, there is a sound to water waves tube here. not as exciting, but still rather fab!SB declared herself baffled by mirrors :roll: but the electic circuits were ‘too easy’. We then had lunch in the picnic area [home made soup and cheese scones] then we did a bit more launchpadding and followed our noses around the rest of the museum. we went into the computer bit. SB wanted to look at the pegasus computer, and when the chap came to speak to us, went completely quiet, and i couldn’t think of anything to say [unless it was can you make music with it!!] mind you, i think his first language may have been computer geek :wink: just as i was hoping the earth would open, SB asked a sensible question about the paper with holes in it. phew, exit not too embarrassedly. we really enjoyed the flight section – particularly bB who loved investigating the engines. i realised i had remembered more than i thought about the air traffic simulator i had had a go on as a child [my dad an ATC] and rather liked looking at it, and we searched for him in the relevant photos but didn’t find him.We had a short romp around the boats, and longer look at the ‘firsts’ [most impressed by stevensons rocket and Apollo 11 lander] and a bit of a play for bb in the pod bit. we were all tired then and made a break for home.

SB read a french story book rather well i thought, and something on planet earth while chris and bb snoozed, then with all more enthusiasm we played the treehouse game again! so that passed the time quickly [well, that and the m and s flapjacks]

SB has had brownies and judo, BB has vegged and watched my little execrable ponies [Bob, i believe it is trademarked as that] and then both together nanny mcphee before going to bed.

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Posted in Butterbean's HE, General, investigating, language, Out and About, science, Stringbean's HE

definitely awake!

Posted on March 9, 2009 by | 12 comments

we have had a busy and productive day here chez haricot. i had today off work – yippee!! and having worked the weekend, decided to use it well – ie stay at home. really i should have gone into town and done some fairly urgent banking stuff, but don’t know where the forms are :roll:

SO we thought we would start with a bit of normals. SB keen to show me she had moved onto the next piano piece [i am trying to play this v cool - cf violin!] and she has played it v nicely. BB was a tad jealous, so brought me her maffs to do – so we did that, and SB went onto Junior English Book 1 [we are doing this in tiny bites so on 1.5! but we are at least considering things]. I suggested that for the galore park, that although i am unbothered by her spelling elsewhere, she might want to use the dictionary to spell things for this [cue wails as couldn't find circus]. bb and i did jigsaws and then a marble run and sb did some maths – see we have been productive! then we had lunch :lol:

both girls wanted to do some science, but ‘on their own’ and bb chose to investigate magnets and sb an eino burglar alarm that she has done before. after this they fancied craft. BB chose air drying clay and initially made more fossils. SB looked at a Middle Ages Activity Book (Crafty History)
and chose to play 3 mens merrels. we decided it was a fun game, so she has made a board and counters out of air drying clay too. then they have both spent ages sticking jewels into air drying clay as middle ages treasures!!

Now BB is watching magic school bus and SB is at ballet. plan to make some scones when chris comes back with cheese. actually chris been gone a while – might have forgotten and gone into hayloft. hayloft currently has a dead animal aroma [something of a concern] so he is investigating!

edited to complete! we made cheese scones – yummy – as planning to visit science museum wed unless things go pear shaped! BB did a short nice recorder practice and then a v long hideous one, so banned to the stairs!! SB grumpilly did 5 mins recorder practice, and then decided to make up music for me to copy, and then made up some more etc etc so did about 40 mins in the end!! i love the fact she is so unthinkingly confident about making it up, and also often modal rather than modern tonal. much reading – she is working through the roald dahl books she happily got for her birthday.

BB was particularly spectacularly ‘not tired’ at tea tonight and after screaming and shrieking in the pantry for about 10 minutes while we all pretended she didn’t exist, came back and let me feed her before falling asleep at the table – so not tired! tho she woke up and pretended she had been pretending and was again not tired, so we got the whole rigmarole 2ce!

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Posted in art and crafts, Books, Butterbean's HE, Cooking, Dance/drama, daubing and making, early maths skills, General, history, investigating, literacy, music, noises and sounds, numeracy, pre reading, science, Stringbean's HE, writing