Petits Haricots

the belief-o-matic from jax

Posted on February 17, 2008 by HHaricot | 1 comment

Your Results: The top score on the list below represents the faith that Belief-O-Matic, in its less than infinite wisdom, thinks most closely matches your beliefs. However, even a score of 100% does not mean that your views are all shared by this faith, or vice versa. Belief-O-Matic then lists another 26 faiths in order of how much they have in common with your professed beliefs. The higher a faith appears on this list, the more closely it aligns with your thinking.

1. Secular Humanism (100%) 2. Unitarian Universalism (93%) 3. Liberal Quakers (89%) 4. Theravada Buddhism (82%) 5. Neo-Pagan (75%) 6. Taoism (69%) 7. Nontheist (68%) 8. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (67%) 9. Mahayana Buddhism (64%) 10. New Age (61%) 11. Orthodox Quaker (59%) 12. Reform Judaism (50%) 13. Jainism (49%) 14. Sikhism (43%) 15. Bahá’í Faith (39%) 16. Scientology (34%) 17. Hinduism (34%) 18. New Thought (31%) 19. Seventh Day Adventist (29%) 20. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (28%) 21. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (24%) 22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (21%) 23. Eastern Orthodox (17%) 24. Islam (17%) 25. Orthodox Judaism (17%) 26. Roman Catholic (17%) 27. Jehovah’s Witness (12%)

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Posted in Daft Stuff, General

bonfire

Posted on February 17, 2008 by HHaricot | 4 comments

well, i had a lovely lie in [thanks love] and when i got up both girls were about to start some k’nex models. so BB and i made a dinodor/bird [4 legs plus wings, so a bit unorthodox!] with kids k’nex, and then we all helped make a ferris wheel with SB’s k’nex. I was really proud of how SB managed BB and found her a role and help. we all enjoyed doing it, and it worked! SB the project manager! SB then put various things on the ferris wheel in different places, saw how they slowed the motor or made the wheel wobbly – good hypothesis testing going on! BB played alot with an alphabet bus with me, looking for letters and numbers.

Actually, i do love SB’s totally adoring attitude towards BB. She loves her totally unconditionally, always tries to excuse BB’s outrageous behaviour, and protect her from the consequences [mostly toys in cellar!] loves her, hugs her and incorporates her in loads of her activities. We had a tidy up and then a cafe game before lunch.

After lunch was swimming, would have gone better if chris hadn’t lost the back door keys. by the time he had found them, me and the girls had already gone swimming, the pool was full and wouldn’t let him in.

do you know i am fed up writing this, i have already written it once, for it not to get uploaded, followed chris instructions and lost the lot. so now grumpy. can’t be bothered to particulralry blog all the long swimming blog again. blah blah.

home, and the girls helped chris for a bit drag things to a bonfire and because it was cold both came in and did some painting, followed my watching raven [called raisin by BB] and magic school bus. BB did some numbers and colours match and sort with SB. Out to set fire to the bonfire and generally be pyromaniacs for a bit before coldness took over. we popped some jacket pots to cook as the fire was cooling down. they were yummy for tea!

After tea we packed SB’s bags, as she is going to stay with my mum and dad for 4 days [sob!] SB read her inventions book – which she likes, and then we read ballet shoes at bedtime, and i left her reading the mummies at morning magic tree house book.

4 Comments

Posted in art and crafts, Butterbean, Butterbean's HE, daubing and making, early maths skills, gardening, General, history, literacy, pre reading, SB-PE, science, Stringbean, Stringbean's HE

QI

Posted on February 16, 2008 by HHaricot | 1 comment

The Nuffield Review paper concludes that we should recognise, and value, many different aims for education.

These include: critical thinking and an introduction to knowledge in the physical and social sciences, the humanities and the arts; development of practical capabilities; preparation for citizenship; and development of the ideals and values needed to face the big issues affecting our communities.

Taking us back to consider the big question – “what is education for?” – may seem like an academic frippery compared to the day-to-day hard questions about the curriculum and testing.

But at a time when 14-19 education in England is going through its biggest upheaval for over 50 years, it is an essential reminder of the need to keep an eye on the bigger picture.

i think that sounds like a decent stab at educational though. link to nuffield website

1 Comment

Posted in General, Ponderings

As seen on jax’s blog

Posted on February 16, 2008 by HHaricot | Leave a comment

a tired day

Posted on February 13, 2008 by HHaricot | Leave a comment

due to the lateness of the girls actually sleeping last night, there was a fiar bit of tired behaviour going on. SB was totally shattered all day, as she was found reading her books when we went to bed at 1am! oh, and i forgot to say i gave BB her first all round haricut on sunday rather than just a quick fringe cutting. She wanted me to cut enough off to make a birds nest, needless to say i didn’t!

So today I nipped quickly to the dentist – no probs – phew!! ANd returned to find SB doing her singapore maths, and BB watching magic school house. SB took ages on one of the questions, she knew the right answer, but couldn’t see how to work it out to that [i realised after she cried over me] its taking away across tens and hundreds. SHe also did some handwriting. We were going to do the propeller science kit, but instead she chose a dig out a dinosaur to do. BB made some more things out of the air drying clay. BB continued doing that for a bit whilst SB went off to her trampolining.

BB and i moved onto a bit of reading, including a fun number book to do a fair bit of counting and spotting the numbers with. SHe then did an alphabet jigsaw and some thomas the tank jigsaws. we did lots of hug and tickling games – BB is of the age of hug and tickle games! oh, and she asked to do a violin practice, so we had a play of open strings.
SB returned in a fragile mood, wanting to go swimming, bt no swimming slots suitable for us this pm. SO we did some violin, but abandoned it half way as everytime it wasn’t perfect she was crying. So we had had a lovely hug whilst chris made lunch and read a sir cumference book. After lunch we read the first story in our king arthur book, and also a french goodnight book. Still not feeling up to much, SB sat down in front of some roar back to back, whilst BB and I made carrot cake. hmm, the house has smelled rather lovely ever since. Chris has been still trying to sort out the veg patch during this. we might tame it yet!

SB came to enough to want to do the propeller kit after all. SHe and BB took one thing each, with me helping BB and SB pretty much unaided. it as simple and quick to do, and worked. [always important] . SO we obviously went and had a bath so we could try out SB’s boat – worked, and BB’s dragster worked far better in the water too. Both girls were far too splashy in the bath [i am worried re dining room ceiling!]. That seemed to seal both their energy levels, so some more vegging infront of the square box and an early night for both. think chris and i should try that early night thing too!

weird

Posted on February 12, 2008 by HHaricot | 2 comments

driving home late this evening there was a lot of fog about. however, as i was on a slightly higher part of where i live, the fog only went half way up the windscreen. so it was really thick in the bottom half – making it v difficult to actually see where i was going, but i could see stars. as i said, weird!

SB has had more trampolining today and a gym taster session. she enjoyed reading the magic school bus chapter books, adn read 2 last night, she has also read ahead ballet shoes, and is enjoying reading the magic faraway tree.

2 Comments

Posted in General

musical monday 1 = dives and lazarus

Posted on February 11, 2008 by HHaricot | 1 comment

hmmm, i think Vaughn Williams has captured my soul. this and the lark ascending is some of my favourite music

1 Comment

Posted in General, music to love

bouncing, grooving and swimming

Posted on February 11, 2008 by HHaricot | 7 comments

chris knows the initial bit of the day, as i got home mid afternoon. it involved shopping, and it involved going to the halfterm trampolining sessions at the local sports centre. SB and Chris also looked at a country file magazine set about UK animals and birds, and she also read gregs microscope again. BB is rather upset that she no longer goes to gym, so we might try again the gymtots type session.

When I got home, SB and i did some violin practice [ she is finding playing while i count v difficult - not sure how succesful the melrose music will be, but as long as it is fun...] and then opened my amazon box for the movin and groovin dvd! this is part of my try and get fit regime. I realised that i would only actually do it, if i did it with kids, and that my fitness level is at 0, so Jax’s choice of dirty dancing grt fit was never going to be in my league! once i had sent chris out for sniggering, it was much better. honestly, you would think i would get a bit of support – i do know how silly i must look! ANyway, we did half an hour, and SB was then tired, so not bad, and we hope to do this 3 times a week.

BB had been asleep and woke up for a bit of painting of her airdried clay dinodor balls, whilst SB did some maths. i took SB swimming, as we are gradually acclimatising her to the idea of changing on her own in the ladies. i was in there, but not helpful! i loved watching her swim, she puts a lot of effort in, but even the instructor looked dumbfounded at her doggy paddle /crawl arms paired with half breast stroke half butterfly legs!! she did survive a width with this though! There were only 2 of them today so they worked well, and the crawl visibly improved. I am v pleased with this instructor. SB also appears not bothered by the deep end thing anymore.

Home and we watched some TV, BB and i did a jigsaw and then some paper shredding! some fun and games with me singing a hornpipe faster and faster, and the girls dancing more and more wildly! SB has gone to bed with a worst witch book and a magic school house chapter book, to see if she enjoys them. [she gets through a book a night - thank goodness for the library!]

7 Comments

Posted in Books, Butterbean, Dance/drama, daubing and making, General, literacy, music, numeracy, pre reading, SB-PE, science, Stringbean's HE

Sunday walking in the WARM

Posted on February 10, 2008 by HHaricot | 1 comment

It was really warm for our monthly RSPB walk with chloe, michelle and marcus, and it was lovely! lovely to be out in the sun, lovely to have a nice walk, lovely being severely bossed by BB! She particularly wanted to be first, and to run up and down the quarry steps, so thats what we did alot of! She took her ‘noculars and SB took some real ones, so they could both look at the birds. SB and Chloe also did a finding things all the way round, which they enjoyed. i loved the fact that SB thinks of the R in plRnt and grRs rather than an a – would help if we were northern!
[lots of photos to come on flickr]

back to their house for the usual sumptuous feast – yummy – and lots of game playing. i particularly liked the fire and ice game. girls all got on very well, BB was only intermittantly ‘three’. we adult had plenty of nattering time.

on the way home, SB and i sang together, and its the first time she has ever held the tune with someone else singing with her as well. so i am v happy [BB has always been able to do it]