Saturday was a bright and early start-we were off on a family trip to london. First stop was the mac expo. M was very excited, he had been looking forward to it for ages. We let him have a good wander round while sam and I played on the computer games. The show wasn't quite as big as last time we went and sam was very disapointed that there were no good games to buy. there seems to be a real paucity of games for his age group for macs. We have tried everywhere, even the apple store had a miserable selection.
Next stop on the grand tour was the Natural History Museum. It was absolutely packed, especially the dino section. Sam refused to see the roaring t-rex, he said it was too scary. We settled on taking a good look at the mammals as we have just
done a section on them in science. He enjoyed having a wander around but it was too crowded to really look properly.
We then moved on to a whole different planet. We had decided on Wagamama's for lunch and the closest one was in Harvey Nicholas. Talk about feeling out of place! Everyone was very glam with cut glass accents! It was an experience to say the least.
Last stop on the tour was covent garden as M was looking for things for his ski trip. One of the shops we went into had an ice climbing wall and sam and I had great fun watching the climbers. He was keen to have a go but thankfully he is too young.
We were all shattered by the time we reached Kings Cross and it was straight to bed for the young master when we got home.
Today M had to work so sam and I spent the day doing errands. We have had some interesting discussions prompted mainly by our visit to the natural history museum yesterday. He has been asking about evolution and our place in the timescale. He said very quizicallly 'what comes after us?" I was stunned. I explained that I had no idea. He then suggested that maybe dinos would come back. I said that I hoped not for any future descendants of ours. He agreed that carnovoires would not be good neighbors but that it would be nice having parasolophlus (not spelled right I know) as one.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
couldn't they have thought of something else?
I am sitting here watching the BBC's new docudrama on Egpyt. When they first announced it a little whle ago I was quite excited, thinking that it would be something new and original. Instead what do they start the series with?? Howard Carter and the finding of Tukenkamun's tomb. I agree that is is very interesting but it has been done to death. There are so many interesting areas to cover and stories to tell-why did they start with this one? Everyone with even a modicum of interest in egypt knows the story of the finding of the tomb-tell us a story we don't know. I hope they do something more original with the next episode.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Fresh air & friends
We certainly had plenty of both today. We met 'the boys' at belton house and everyone ran themselves ragged in the playground and the gardens. They were so covered in mud that we decided not to risk the house. We did make it to the activity centre where everyone had lots of fun doing nature related halloween crafts. It was so good to see everyone and to be together again. It has been so long since we had the gang all together. The boys fell into their old roles and everyone got on really well. There was lots of rough and tumble but no one seemed to mind. Didn't get a chance to catch up with everyone properly but we managed a good natter nonetheless. Sam was so knackered that he fell asleep almost as soon as he got into the car. I just hope he sleeps tonight.
We now have another boy in the family, matthew's cousin's wife has just had a little boy. Mother and baby are doing well and she hopes to be home by friday. He is called Noah and I can't wait to see him.
We went to see Wallace & Gromit yesterday and while it was good I don't think it was as funny as the short penguin film that they showed before. The makers of Madagascar have done a 5 minute short film featuring the penguins from the original movie and it was very funny. Sam laughed so much he nearly fell off his chair! Saw trailers for harry potter, lion the witch & the wardrobe and the march of the penuins. They all looked fantastic, I guess we will be spending quite a bit of time at the cinema in the run up to xmas. Sam want to see the next harry potter but I think it is too grown up for him. He will just have to wait for it to come out on dvd so that we can fast forward through the scary bits.
We now have another boy in the family, matthew's cousin's wife has just had a little boy. Mother and baby are doing well and she hopes to be home by friday. He is called Noah and I can't wait to see him.
We went to see Wallace & Gromit yesterday and while it was good I don't think it was as funny as the short penguin film that they showed before. The makers of Madagascar have done a 5 minute short film featuring the penguins from the original movie and it was very funny. Sam laughed so much he nearly fell off his chair! Saw trailers for harry potter, lion the witch & the wardrobe and the march of the penuins. They all looked fantastic, I guess we will be spending quite a bit of time at the cinema in the run up to xmas. Sam want to see the next harry potter but I think it is too grown up for him. He will just have to wait for it to come out on dvd so that we can fast forward through the scary bits.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Happy Monday
Despite the grey and gloomy start we have had a lovely day. It started with a visit from Merry and the girls. We had lots of fun and they spent ages making houses out of the lincoln logs. It is a shame they don't sell them over here-maybe I should set up and import business! We also make kool-aid play dough and lego and play mobil. Everyone got on really well and Fran was brilliant with josie. Josie is so cute and smiley, it is enough to make you broody. Sam shared really well, right up until the end when he started getting a bit precious.
After lunch we ran a few errands with M and then came home to settle into normals. We got through most of them quite quickly. As usual sam enjoyed science the most. He annouced to Merry today that he is either going to be a geologist or an archaeologist. That makes a change from his usual answer which is he is never going to have a job!
We have moved sam's swimming lesson to monday and he did brilliantly with his new teacher. She spent lots of time with him and he has improved already. When he got out of the pool I asked him if he liked his new teacher and he replied that yes, he liked her better, that she was much nicer than his old one. He actually paid attention in class and listened to what she had to say which is a first. The time slot is much better too so maybe it will be a success all round.
The boys are in the other room watching lord of the rings. Sam seems to be enjoying it. Have my book group meeting here to night to discuss Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre. It is the first group I have been to in months, in fact I can't remember the last time I was able to go. M always seems to be on call on group nights. Should be an interesting discussion, the book was odd to say the least.
Tomorrow we are off to see Wallace & Gromit. Sam is so excited. which reminds me, must go book the tickets....
After lunch we ran a few errands with M and then came home to settle into normals. We got through most of them quite quickly. As usual sam enjoyed science the most. He annouced to Merry today that he is either going to be a geologist or an archaeologist. That makes a change from his usual answer which is he is never going to have a job!
We have moved sam's swimming lesson to monday and he did brilliantly with his new teacher. She spent lots of time with him and he has improved already. When he got out of the pool I asked him if he liked his new teacher and he replied that yes, he liked her better, that she was much nicer than his old one. He actually paid attention in class and listened to what she had to say which is a first. The time slot is much better too so maybe it will be a success all round.
The boys are in the other room watching lord of the rings. Sam seems to be enjoying it. Have my book group meeting here to night to discuss Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre. It is the first group I have been to in months, in fact I can't remember the last time I was able to go. M always seems to be on call on group nights. Should be an interesting discussion, the book was odd to say the least.
Tomorrow we are off to see Wallace & Gromit. Sam is so excited. which reminds me, must go book the tickets....
Sunday, October 23, 2005
A well rounded weekend
Sam and I managed to fit in lots of fun stuff as well as getting some work done and giving the house a good clean.
Saturday we did a couple of mystery jobs before heading to Happy Faces for bday party. Almost all of 'the boys' were there and it was lovely to catch up with everyone. Sam was so pleased because for the first time ever he won pass the parcel! It was a pack of 100 magic markers and he spent the entire ride home counting them. We then headed up to the USAF base at Molesworth for their annual holiday bazaar. It was like being home in the states again-it made me feel homesick and wistful. I also reverted to my military upbringing and called everyone we enountered in uniform sir! Dad would be proud of me. We didn't buy too much but it was fun looking around. We did buy a pumpkin from the girl scout troop, they were raising funds to go to the same camp in switzerland that I had attended 23 years ago. Boy did that make me feel old. It couldn't have been that long ago, I remember it like it was yesterday.
Once sam was in bed I spent all saturday night putting things on ebay. I listed 28 things and not one bid yet! Somebody out there must want M's old text books. Stayed up way too late finishing the book for book group. We read Vernon God Little and I am not sure what to make of it. I think it is supposed to be humorus in a dark way but I didn't really see the funny side. The second half was definately better than the first.
Today we spent all morning cleaning, or should I say I spent all morning cleaning while sam created a city out of his lincoln logs. I was amazed how well he occupied himself. I asked him several time if he wanted to help me and each time he said he was happy as he was. that suited me fine because it is quicker to clean on my own. This afternoon we went down to the trains. It was the last session of the season. The train rides were free and sam took advantage of that. Several friends were there and the children ran amok as ususal. I think we were the last to leave. Sam is already counting down the days until the open again (he has a long wait, they don't open again until easter!)
A fairly busy week ahead, we aren't going to have a formal half term break because we had most of last week off due to illness. we are taking it so slowly anyway that I don't think either of us really need a break.
Saturday we did a couple of mystery jobs before heading to Happy Faces for bday party. Almost all of 'the boys' were there and it was lovely to catch up with everyone. Sam was so pleased because for the first time ever he won pass the parcel! It was a pack of 100 magic markers and he spent the entire ride home counting them. We then headed up to the USAF base at Molesworth for their annual holiday bazaar. It was like being home in the states again-it made me feel homesick and wistful. I also reverted to my military upbringing and called everyone we enountered in uniform sir! Dad would be proud of me. We didn't buy too much but it was fun looking around. We did buy a pumpkin from the girl scout troop, they were raising funds to go to the same camp in switzerland that I had attended 23 years ago. Boy did that make me feel old. It couldn't have been that long ago, I remember it like it was yesterday.
Once sam was in bed I spent all saturday night putting things on ebay. I listed 28 things and not one bid yet! Somebody out there must want M's old text books. Stayed up way too late finishing the book for book group. We read Vernon God Little and I am not sure what to make of it. I think it is supposed to be humorus in a dark way but I didn't really see the funny side. The second half was definately better than the first.
Today we spent all morning cleaning, or should I say I spent all morning cleaning while sam created a city out of his lincoln logs. I was amazed how well he occupied himself. I asked him several time if he wanted to help me and each time he said he was happy as he was. that suited me fine because it is quicker to clean on my own. This afternoon we went down to the trains. It was the last session of the season. The train rides were free and sam took advantage of that. Several friends were there and the children ran amok as ususal. I think we were the last to leave. Sam is already counting down the days until the open again (he has a long wait, they don't open again until easter!)
A fairly busy week ahead, we aren't going to have a formal half term break because we had most of last week off due to illness. we are taking it so slowly anyway that I don't think either of us really need a break.
Friday, October 21, 2005
The week that was
After a good start on monday the week went into a sharp decline before taking a turn for the better on thursday and finishing well today. Spent most of tuesday & wednesday feeling really grotty and lying in bed. Sam very kindly passed his bug on to me. Sometimes sharing is not a good thing! Not a lot of normals got done on those two days, though we did watch lots of movies so we can cross media studies off for the month.
Was feeling a lot more human on thursday so we went along to the beans for an archaeology day. Merry & the girls were there as well and everyone had a ball. Thank you so much to them for hosting the day, sam has been talking about it non stop. All of the children got on really well and the girls even managed to persuade sam to join in with their princess games. He is nothing if not adaptable because today he was doing karate kicks with the bigger boys at home ed group. Thursday was lots of fun and it helped to give them a taste of what archaeology is all about. Despite all my snide comments it is a worthwhile profession and one that any parent would be proud to have their child take up. In studying archaeology and working in the field I fulfilled my childhood dream and sometimes I do regret having left it. Oh well, there is still plenty of time to take it up again.
Today was home ed group where we did crafts around celtic autumn. Sam's favorite was the sugar skulls from mexico, indeed most of the children seemed to spend a majority of time on that table. Sam's skull did not make the trip home, it was consumed enroute! Sam was desparate to play with the older boys at group and they were very tolerant of him. They did seem impressed that he did karate and they asked him to show them some moves. Pottered about this afternoon with M before he went to work and then spent the evening watching part of walking with beasts.
Not sure what the weekend holds, two mystery jobs and a bday party tomorrow but nothing else planned. will probably head off to the trains at thorpe hall on sunday if the weather stays nice.
Was feeling a lot more human on thursday so we went along to the beans for an archaeology day. Merry & the girls were there as well and everyone had a ball. Thank you so much to them for hosting the day, sam has been talking about it non stop. All of the children got on really well and the girls even managed to persuade sam to join in with their princess games. He is nothing if not adaptable because today he was doing karate kicks with the bigger boys at home ed group. Thursday was lots of fun and it helped to give them a taste of what archaeology is all about. Despite all my snide comments it is a worthwhile profession and one that any parent would be proud to have their child take up. In studying archaeology and working in the field I fulfilled my childhood dream and sometimes I do regret having left it. Oh well, there is still plenty of time to take it up again.
Today was home ed group where we did crafts around celtic autumn. Sam's favorite was the sugar skulls from mexico, indeed most of the children seemed to spend a majority of time on that table. Sam's skull did not make the trip home, it was consumed enroute! Sam was desparate to play with the older boys at group and they were very tolerant of him. They did seem impressed that he did karate and they asked him to show them some moves. Pottered about this afternoon with M before he went to work and then spent the evening watching part of walking with beasts.
Not sure what the weekend holds, two mystery jobs and a bday party tomorrow but nothing else planned. will probably head off to the trains at thorpe hall on sunday if the weather stays nice.
Monday, October 17, 2005
A good start to the week..
you know it is going to be a good week when your 4.5 yr old hands you a box of mechano at 7am and requests that you help him build something! what is it about children and mornings. my son wakes up so bright and bubbly it is almost painful. I don't mind mornings, even early mornings I just need time to compose myself before embarking on major building works. Apart from the mechano at dawn we had a good day. We had fun with our normals and even got a chance to snuggle up on the sofa and watch more of the life of mammals. ( I must try and find the rest of the series on dvd.) We have now completed singapore early bird kindergarten 2A and he has enjoyed it. It is an easy book to work from and he is excited about starting the next one tomorrow. he has also grown to love dot to dot books and luckiy there are a fair few usborne ones lying around. they have really helped him to get to grips with numerical order.
We had friends to play in the afternoon and then did lots of arty activities. We made more deepas to replace the one that broke and then sam finished his weaving. All in all a good day.
We also had a great weekend. Being in london again was great and it was fun just being able to wander. I really enjoyed 'We will rock you' and would go see it again. Sam had a lovely time with the in laws until the early hours of saturday morning. poor love came down with a tummy bug so was up most of the night. I was racked with guilt when my mil told me about it the next morning. He seemed in good spirits when we picked him up but he was very tired. He slept all afternoon and was in bed by 7 and then slept all night. He seems to be better today but hasn't had much of an appetite so he can't be 100%.
We have a fun busy week ahead and are looking forward to archaeology day with the beans and the puddlers. must dry and find my fingerless gloves and my steel toe boots!
We had friends to play in the afternoon and then did lots of arty activities. We made more deepas to replace the one that broke and then sam finished his weaving. All in all a good day.
We also had a great weekend. Being in london again was great and it was fun just being able to wander. I really enjoyed 'We will rock you' and would go see it again. Sam had a lovely time with the in laws until the early hours of saturday morning. poor love came down with a tummy bug so was up most of the night. I was racked with guilt when my mil told me about it the next morning. He seemed in good spirits when we picked him up but he was very tired. He slept all afternoon and was in bed by 7 and then slept all night. He seems to be better today but hasn't had much of an appetite so he can't be 100%.
We have a fun busy week ahead and are looking forward to archaeology day with the beans and the puddlers. must dry and find my fingerless gloves and my steel toe boots!
Friday, October 14, 2005
A scientific sort of week.. well, sort of.
Following our science day yesterday, we did dinosaurs at mudpud. Everyone brought really cool activities, sam's favorite was the origami pteradon. What a brilliant idea, combining two of his favorite things. For some reason he decided that his did not need eyes so it was flying blind, making it even more dangerous!!! He and most of the other children spent the last 30 minutes of the group flying their pteradons down the stairs and then running around like loons. He was so worked up that his head was damp from sweat! We really enjoyed the group today, all tlhe children got on well as did the parents.
Yesterday was our science day, we had hoped to have the company of the puddles but circumstances dictated otherwise. I had about 6/7 experiments lined up and we managed to do them all. I have posted photos of a few of them. Sam had a blast, science really seems to be his thing. We have also started our chicken mummy-the whole process takes about 6 weeks and it will be interesting to see if it actually makes it that far. We had a good discussion about the mummification process and why people would choose to do so. Sam's main concern was whether we were going to put gold & jewels in between the layers of the bandages. Unsurprisingly I am not going to be donating any of my jewelery to this chicken.
Had a hard time getting sam to sleep tonight. He seems to be very excited about the prospect of staying the night with nana and grandad tomorrow night. When last I left him he was busy reading to his fluffy dinos and telling them that they needed to go to sleep so they had engery to play with nana. He doesn't normally sleep with his fluffy toys, he must have been inspired by our dino session today.
Yesterday was our science day, we had hoped to have the company of the puddles but circumstances dictated otherwise. I had about 6/7 experiments lined up and we managed to do them all. I have posted photos of a few of them. Sam had a blast, science really seems to be his thing. We have also started our chicken mummy-the whole process takes about 6 weeks and it will be interesting to see if it actually makes it that far. We had a good discussion about the mummification process and why people would choose to do so. Sam's main concern was whether we were going to put gold & jewels in between the layers of the bandages. Unsurprisingly I am not going to be donating any of my jewelery to this chicken.
Had a hard time getting sam to sleep tonight. He seems to be very excited about the prospect of staying the night with nana and grandad tomorrow night. When last I left him he was busy reading to his fluffy dinos and telling them that they needed to go to sleep so they had engery to play with nana. He doesn't normally sleep with his fluffy toys, he must have been inspired by our dino session today.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
A bitty day.
We seemed to be in and out a lot today so we never really settled into work. We did get most of our normals done but not alot else. We had to pick up the car from the garage, deliver unsold nearly new sale stuff back to the seller, go to swimming and a few other mundane jobs. Not as much fun as yesterday when we visited the local mosque with our home ed group and then ended up going back to merry's to play. The visit to the mosque was interesting and generated a lot of good questions. I have visited a lot of old mosques in my travels but this was my first visit to a new mosque. It was beautiful, in its simplicity, especially the caligraphy. Thank you so much to everyone who made the visit possible and to andre who acted as our guide. He presented the children with their names in Arabic at the end which was a lovely touch.
We have declared thursday to be science day and sam is thrilled. There are about 4/5 experiments that we should have done and haven't so we will tackle them all at once. We will also start our chicken. M has said we have to keep it outside-just hope a fox doesn't get it!
We have declared thursday to be science day and sam is thrilled. There are about 4/5 experiments that we should have done and haven't so we will tackle them all at once. We will also start our chicken. M has said we have to keep it outside-just hope a fox doesn't get it!
Monday, October 10, 2005
Not himself.
that is the best way to describe sam today. he woke up cranky and spent the whole day that way. Either it is PMS or he is coming down with my bug. Nothing seemed right for him today, though he did perk up a bit when we went over to merry's to play. I hope that whatever the cause he is in a better mood tomorrow. I can't face another day of a grumpy, weepy child.
This morning we visited a local mosque with our home ed group-one of the father's was instrumental in is design and decoration. It was a very interesting visit and despite his complaining I think sam enjoyed it. Our guide spoke very eloquently on Islam and Mohamed and the chilidren had lots of interesting questions for him. Merry kindly asked us back to her afterwords so we went back for lunch and a play. After lunch sam disappeared upstairs with the girls, I could occasionally her cries of "oh sam" so I think even the girls were frustrated by his bad mood.
We are talking about mammals in science now so I dug our our copy of the secret life of mammals and we watched an episode. It was interested by seemed very long and sam was fed up by the end. We only have 2 episodes on that dvd so must have a scout around on ebay and charity shops to see if I can find any others in the series. We have fallen a bit behind on our science experiments so I think that we will devote wednesday or thursday to them. It will please sam no end to have a science day.
This morning we visited a local mosque with our home ed group-one of the father's was instrumental in is design and decoration. It was a very interesting visit and despite his complaining I think sam enjoyed it. Our guide spoke very eloquently on Islam and Mohamed and the chilidren had lots of interesting questions for him. Merry kindly asked us back to her afterwords so we went back for lunch and a play. After lunch sam disappeared upstairs with the girls, I could occasionally her cries of "oh sam" so I think even the girls were frustrated by his bad mood.
We are talking about mammals in science now so I dug our our copy of the secret life of mammals and we watched an episode. It was interested by seemed very long and sam was fed up by the end. We only have 2 episodes on that dvd so must have a scout around on ebay and charity shops to see if I can find any others in the series. We have fallen a bit behind on our science experiments so I think that we will devote wednesday or thursday to them. It will please sam no end to have a science day.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Do you think the OU does a freshers week?
Probably not and even if they did I don't think that I could cope with that much excitement at my age. For my fellow americans freshers week is the first week of college here in the uk where everyone drinks to excess while trying very hard to figure out everything there is to know about college life. I suppose it is a little like rush week back home but without the frats. Anyway all this is a way of saying that I have signed up to do an ou course in fossils and the history of life on earth. Sam has generously agreed to help me if I get stuck. I am really looking forward to the course and am eager to get started. I only wish they did more history/archaeology short courses, I really fancy one on egyptology or the ancient near east.
It has been a good week, despite this icky cold that I can't seem to shake. We have talked alot about ancient civilizations and archaeology. There is a really cool experiment in the SOTW activities book that involves mumifying a chicken (of the prepacked ready to roast variety) I am really keen to try it and sam thinks it would be cool. Must remember to add that to the tesco's list. (thank goodness for home delivery, it is one of the greatest reinventions of the last decade). We also spent lots of time learning about diwali as we were in charge of the diwali cards for home ed group. Sam seemed very intereseted, especially in the mythology associated with the various gods and godesses. I have to say that a pantheon of gods who have exciting adventures seems to appeal much more to him than christianity. I think he would be well chuffed if I announced that we were going to build a shrine to zeus and have him as our household god! He also likes the Indian gods as they get to cool adventures (his words not mine!).
Today was the NCT Nearly New Sale and I was very proud of sam for being such a big help. With M being on nights and needing to sleep during the day I had no choice but to bring him with me. He actually enjoys the sale, especially when he has a pound to spend. He was really good at helping to set up and managed to find a bag of mecano for £1. The sale itself was chaotic and we slipped off in the middle to go to french class. Sam went on his own again without so much as a "bye, mom" so I was left to run errands on my own. After french we went back to the sale to help clear up and then pottered home to wake up M and play with the new mecano. I also managed to pick up Battleship for £1 so we had a family game of that . Sam took great delight in sinking most of my battleships.
M is working tonight and tomorrow night but we are looking foward to next weekend as sam is going to stay with nana & grandad for the first time. Some couple time is much anticipated and appreciated.
It has been a good week, despite this icky cold that I can't seem to shake. We have talked alot about ancient civilizations and archaeology. There is a really cool experiment in the SOTW activities book that involves mumifying a chicken (of the prepacked ready to roast variety) I am really keen to try it and sam thinks it would be cool. Must remember to add that to the tesco's list. (thank goodness for home delivery, it is one of the greatest reinventions of the last decade). We also spent lots of time learning about diwali as we were in charge of the diwali cards for home ed group. Sam seemed very intereseted, especially in the mythology associated with the various gods and godesses. I have to say that a pantheon of gods who have exciting adventures seems to appeal much more to him than christianity. I think he would be well chuffed if I announced that we were going to build a shrine to zeus and have him as our household god! He also likes the Indian gods as they get to cool adventures (his words not mine!).
Today was the NCT Nearly New Sale and I was very proud of sam for being such a big help. With M being on nights and needing to sleep during the day I had no choice but to bring him with me. He actually enjoys the sale, especially when he has a pound to spend. He was really good at helping to set up and managed to find a bag of mecano for £1. The sale itself was chaotic and we slipped off in the middle to go to french class. Sam went on his own again without so much as a "bye, mom" so I was left to run errands on my own. After french we went back to the sale to help clear up and then pottered home to wake up M and play with the new mecano. I also managed to pick up Battleship for £1 so we had a family game of that . Sam took great delight in sinking most of my battleships.
M is working tonight and tomorrow night but we are looking foward to next weekend as sam is going to stay with nana & grandad for the first time. Some couple time is much anticipated and appreciated.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Splish, Splash..
We have had a wet couple of days. Went with our home ed group to a local pool yesterday and sam had a blast. I had to drag him out of the water after almost 2 hours. I was freezing and bored but he was happy as larry to stay in. He really loves the water-even at home, he would stay in the shower all day if I let him. Today was his swimming lesson and miracles of miracles he actually listened to his teacher!! The past couple of weeks he has had lots of fun at his lesson but hasn't paid attention to a single word his teacher said. Today he listened to john and did his best to join in. He was very proud of himself and even suggested that as a treat he should have a happy meal for dinner!! Needless to say this was met with a no.
Learning wise we have had a good couple of days. Inspired by fran & maddie sam got out his geomags and embarked on making a pyramid to rival theirs. We also played with the pattern blocks, did our normals, made cuneiform tablets, orgnised diwali cards for home group on friday and had long conversations about god, religion, sumerians and paper making. Talk about a varied day. His question about god stunned me-he asked if god was made up. I did my best to explain the various points of view on the subject and we talked about the reasons why a society would invent god. He decided that he like the greek gods the best as they seemed to have the most fun. I never expect to have this type of conversation with my 4 year old. Next he is going to start asking how babies are made!!! I am a complete coward when it comes to this subject ( I blame too many years of catholic school-apologies to any fellow catholics out there) and am going to let M handle this one. After all, he is a medical professional!
We are settling into our routine now and sam seems to be enjoying the rythmn of our day. He really likes doing sums on the blackboard and writing words on index cards. He even wrote a letter to his great grandmother today all by himself.
As part of our exercise today I attempted to kill myself by jogging with the baby jogger. I should have realised that pushing a 40lb child in addition to trying to run would kill me before I even got round the corner. Oh well, it has to get easier doesn't it?
Learning wise we have had a good couple of days. Inspired by fran & maddie sam got out his geomags and embarked on making a pyramid to rival theirs. We also played with the pattern blocks, did our normals, made cuneiform tablets, orgnised diwali cards for home group on friday and had long conversations about god, religion, sumerians and paper making. Talk about a varied day. His question about god stunned me-he asked if god was made up. I did my best to explain the various points of view on the subject and we talked about the reasons why a society would invent god. He decided that he like the greek gods the best as they seemed to have the most fun. I never expect to have this type of conversation with my 4 year old. Next he is going to start asking how babies are made!!! I am a complete coward when it comes to this subject ( I blame too many years of catholic school-apologies to any fellow catholics out there) and am going to let M handle this one. After all, he is a medical professional!
We are settling into our routine now and sam seems to be enjoying the rythmn of our day. He really likes doing sums on the blackboard and writing words on index cards. He even wrote a letter to his great grandmother today all by himself.
As part of our exercise today I attempted to kill myself by jogging with the baby jogger. I should have realised that pushing a 40lb child in addition to trying to run would kill me before I even got round the corner. Oh well, it has to get easier doesn't it?
Saturday, October 01, 2005
To infinity and beyond.....
Thursday was our day in london and it was spacetastic!! (okay it is a made up word but it is saturday night so I am allowed a little frivolity). After an uneventful journey (on which we stuck out like a sore thumb-afterall, you don't see many rising 5s on the morning commute) we arrived at the science museum with time to spare. We checked out our favourite french bookshop and the lamborghini garage-sad to say we didn't make a purchase in either. We ate chocolate croissants while we waited for the museum to open and we were first in. We had a quick look at sam's favorite things-stephen's rocket before heading to the gift shop so he could spend his money. At last it was time for the Imax movie and it was easy to pick out all the home ed families-for a start, the children weren't in uniform and the child to adult ratio was much lower! We got seats way up at the back, near D and her children. D is another peterborough home ed mom and it was great to meet up with her and her children. Anyway, the movie-all about the international space station, was fantastic and being in 3d made it even better. Sam was enthralled through out and kept trying to reach for things, especially the m&ms!!!!
After the movie we headed down for a workshop on rockets where the home ed children equipped themselves admirably with answering questions and volunteering. Sam was picked to help demonstrate one of newton's laws ( the first one I think). After the workshop we had time for play before heading up to space food handling. This was very interesting but sam was so shattered that he fell asleep in my lap.
We finished off the day down in the basement at the water play area. What struck me most about the day was how excited and eager the home ed children were and their energy and enthusiasm. It was nice spending time with D and her family, her children are all older than sam but they all got on really well. What her boys don't know about aircraft isn't worth writing down!
We wandered to the west end on few errands after the musuem and then headed back to kings cross. We were both pooped but had had an enjoyable day. I would definately attend more days at the musuem in the future and will investigate whether the other major museums in london do similar events.
Yesterday was quieter-normals in the morning and then time with daddy in the afternoon. He is working all weekend so it was our only chance to spend time with him. M's parents came up last night, it was the first time we had seen them since their holiday. they brought us lots of nice goodies, including the lincoln logs that sam is playing with in the photo below.
Today we went down to see M's grandmother. It was lovely to see her and sam really enjoyed spending time with her and finding out about what things were like when she was a little girl. Sam was amazed to hear that she had lived in the same area her whole life. He loves the story about nan not going into an airraid shelter because it had a big creepy bug in it. He wanted a detailed description of the bug!!!!
A contemplative drive home while sam napped. I put on whitney housten which is always a mistake because her ballads are so soppy and take me straight back to high school and college. I made me miss my mom even more and hope that where ever she is she loves sam and is happy about the way we are raising him. She would certainly approve of the fact that van gogh is his favorite aritist.
Tomorrow we must catch up on housework and do some gardening. If we don't get the bulbs in soon it will be too late.
After the movie we headed down for a workshop on rockets where the home ed children equipped themselves admirably with answering questions and volunteering. Sam was picked to help demonstrate one of newton's laws ( the first one I think). After the workshop we had time for play before heading up to space food handling. This was very interesting but sam was so shattered that he fell asleep in my lap.
We finished off the day down in the basement at the water play area. What struck me most about the day was how excited and eager the home ed children were and their energy and enthusiasm. It was nice spending time with D and her family, her children are all older than sam but they all got on really well. What her boys don't know about aircraft isn't worth writing down!
We wandered to the west end on few errands after the musuem and then headed back to kings cross. We were both pooped but had had an enjoyable day. I would definately attend more days at the musuem in the future and will investigate whether the other major museums in london do similar events.
Yesterday was quieter-normals in the morning and then time with daddy in the afternoon. He is working all weekend so it was our only chance to spend time with him. M's parents came up last night, it was the first time we had seen them since their holiday. they brought us lots of nice goodies, including the lincoln logs that sam is playing with in the photo below.
Today we went down to see M's grandmother. It was lovely to see her and sam really enjoyed spending time with her and finding out about what things were like when she was a little girl. Sam was amazed to hear that she had lived in the same area her whole life. He loves the story about nan not going into an airraid shelter because it had a big creepy bug in it. He wanted a detailed description of the bug!!!!
A contemplative drive home while sam napped. I put on whitney housten which is always a mistake because her ballads are so soppy and take me straight back to high school and college. I made me miss my mom even more and hope that where ever she is she loves sam and is happy about the way we are raising him. She would certainly approve of the fact that van gogh is his favorite aritist.
Tomorrow we must catch up on housework and do some gardening. If we don't get the bulbs in soon it will be too late.
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