Category Archives: Stringbean’s HE

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

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!!

Not according to plan, but fabulous anyway

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!!

IMG_7929 IMG_7925

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]

not latinetc

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!

productive home ed day

When i got in from work today, SB was desperate to tell me all she had done, and she had worked hard! She has finished her theory book, Theory Made Easy for Little Children Lv2 , so i have bought her a new one, My First Theory Book . She has also finished her spelling book, but think i will encourage a bit more of GP and dictionary use! But if she really fancies another spelling workbook, i think we can float the boat out a bit, as it is an area she isn’t so certain on. SHe has done her piano and recorder practice and some handwriting. Also, she read a french colour book, Colours/Les Couleurs (Bilingual First Books) , to BB. that girl deserves a gold star!! SHe hama-ed beside me, and we did some chapter 1 and 2 revision of Minimus Pupil’s Book: Starting out in Latin, as she is variable in her recall :roll: but i have to say, when i read our french book, Berthe Fait Une Pizza , she was excellent, so I do think that french, at the mo, is working for us, even if inefficient, and i wish i knew more words!!

Sb went off to ballet, and BB snuggled up and we decided she was right royally dirty! so a bath was in order. After that we snuggled up to a variety of not-mummy’s-thing type videos! on SB’s return she happily ds-ed away with animal crossing. she has wiped her old town as too weedy!

i am happily flickring last week at the moment, but have a fair amount of paperworky things to remember to do!

Sciency Saturday and Sales Sunday

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

busy day today – Science museum

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.

definitely awake!

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!

Reminiscence

reading Jax’s brightkites made me peer back into this blogs history, and read our moving story. actually was moving, and i felt all forlorn again over leaving our circle of friends and family up north. we have a new circle here, and i would say we are settled, but it takes me a lONG time to actually feel fixed, and the future of where i work still isn’t certain!

i have been at work, and chris took the girls swimming, which they always love. we would get more of a weekend swimming routine, but seem to fill the weekends up! when i returned, SB was transfixed by the ds, playing super mario bros and then spore for quite a long time. BB and I painted some farm frames, and then bb took some photos and we printed them off. SB managed to drag herself away from the ds to make a flower fairy from the present from BB [Fairies: Petal People You Make Yourself (Klutz)] which she did really carefully and enjoyed. so good present BB!

they did some arguing over sylvanians they want to get next – :roll: i told them that it was even worse hearing them argue over something that wasn’t going to happen then their normal arguements! Chris and i [and bb] watched a really harrowing lion programme where most of the cubs gradually died from starvation… SB chose to do a really long piano practice instead!

quick catch up

very quick actually, am going to see whether i can do one of these fabulous 10 min blogs, the craze of which is sweeping the early years blogring in that typical blog meme way!! [23:10]

so thurs is chris’s day, so will be swift for me to write! nots and tots, both girls told me lots about recordering – and rather fabulously they have both practiced every day since!! BB is somewhat challenged to keep all her tiny fingers over the holes, and i am somewhat challenged by 10 mins of b’s and a’s, but hey! SB working on her low d at the mo, and just enjoys playing through book 1 – long may it last. actually, she has also done piano every day too. sb made sausage rolls, she def prefers them with linda mccartney sausages [good as much quicker to make!] i think she also did some french.
thurs also gym for both girls – i believe all costumes present and correct! and i did something with them when i got home ? read stories?? and then panicked about my friday!

Fri, i think was a sorting at home day, sb doing lots of reading, both music practices and some maths, and then lots of playing with polydrons and geomags. bB has done lots of fimo-ing. merry left us a fimo booklet thingy, and BB is gradually making them all – i think this is a sales technique! we watched dr who, and BB impressed us by knowing it was going to have the Ood in it! SB has enjoyed reading The Battle for Radio: Marconi’s Story (Science Stories) and Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude and Antarctic Adventure: Exploring the Frozen Continent (DK Eyewitness Readers: Level 4)
My friday wasn’t as bad as it could have been, and i will leave it as that on the blog.

Today I have been working. SB spent AGES doing some maths, and has again piano-ed and recordered. A fair bit of sylvanians playing and reading also. BB and I have fimo-ed [again!] read a lot together [ including this series Duckling (DK Watch Me Grow)] and recordered [more a's and b's] SB wrote BB a recorder piece in a’s and b’s – lovely of her. we read some french alltogether, did a fair bit of playing and reading altogether. watched the second ood thing, read some SOTW [ages since we did that, are reading about gengis khan] and SB currently in bed listing to our island story vol 2. [23:28 - but interruptions from chris - also blogging same days - and SB - can't sleep as windy]

young anatomists club

this is a brief blog [probably!] as i have loads of work related stuff i need to do every evening at the moment. :cry:

but today we had lovely latinetc. SB says the latin was lovely but she wants to do a lot more [i think katy does so much that she is v lucky as it is!] so i suggested that we do a bit in between. not sure that was so well appreciated! she loved the bells with gina [sorry that we hadn't practiced the hand stuff, it only seems 2 seconds since the last one!] and had fun with the anatomy t shirts. i had got felt and body part templates. the littlies had theirs cut out apart from A and K, and it was clear that cutting out took way too long [and BB having a total tantrum melt at the beginning was not entirely helpful for my patience levels!] luckilly, my teaching assistant helped cut out, and we got all the bits stuck on – i think we need to sew them a bit if they want to last though. we also looked at the bones, which were bendy – i left that to my teaching assistant though too [aargh :blush: because i was trying to be quick as their were time constraints, i forgot to go back outside at the end and bin the bones - really sorry]. they would prob be even better if left another fortnight. the t-shirts looked cool though. merry did a lovely fimo dinodoor craft, and BB was ecstatic!

returned to here with Merry and girls, and fran and I practiced her piece, [stress on sight reading accompanying part!] but it went well, we ran through it lots of times, and fran got happier with it each time, so we vidded it for her to refer to in practice. hopefully she will smile more! the other kids played together, BB and J seem to finally be noticing each other in a play possible manner, and SB and M seem to be far more pally recently. we moved onto playing with watercolours, trying to see how they worked and doing brushwork. sort of from Watercolour (Klutz), but a lot from merry, who actually knew how to use them [i cannot believe how little i know about art!!]

evening wobble about sick relatives and work stresses [in the awful mode] and so bailed out of going for an extremely expensive meal in a very very nice restaurant that i have already paid for :roll: at my silliness.