So what is your penguin called?

Sam's latest obession is Club Penguin,(www.clubpeguin.com) it is a huge craze among his age group and everyone we know seems to be playing. It is a online game, where you are a penguin and you play games to earn coins to decorate your igloo, buy pets called puffles, buy clothes and generally hang out. Sam is completely penguin mad and has spent all his computer time the last few days playing games to earn enough money to upgrade his igloo. Apparently he and his 4 puffles were too crowded so they have now gone upmarket and have a split level igloo. His next purchase is disco flooring! At first I was a little wary of him playing an online community game for fear of who might be lurking out there but it is very safe. He only goes on the ultra safe server where they can only say set phrases and it is heavily moderated. Users are reminded everytime they log in to never give out personal details to anyone. He really enjoys the games and if nothing else it has taught him a little about the value of saving up. While saving up the 4600 coins necessary for the new igloo he had to forgo the temptation of getting yet another puffle! It is nice to see him enjoy a game that does not involve world conquest for a change!

Home ed group on monday was chaotic but fun. Our theme was holiday celebrations and it was one big make and do fest. All the children came away covered in glitter and tissue paper, all except sam who spent most of his time making fimo creations.

Yesterday we had an outing to the botanical gardens, it had been arranged by one of the moms in our group and we did a special christmas activity trail. The children got to investigate the plants and foods that go into making christmas. Sam's fav part, you will be surprise to learn was getting to eat chocolate. We saw a coco plant and the children learned about chocolate production and got to sample some! It was a fun morning out and it gave us a chance to meet some new families.

Today I have had a poorly boy on my hands. I got up extra early to do transcribing work and it wasn't long before he came padding down. He hadn't been down long when he threw up for the first time. He has subsequently spent the rest of the day snuggled either in bed or on the sofa. We watched Miracle on 34th Street to get us into the holiday mood and to take his mind off of being poorly. I hope he perks up tomorrow it, it is not nice seeing him poorly. The dogs were very understanding and spent most of the day snuggled up with him.

The xmas gifts have started arriving thick and fast and I have almost done all the children on my list, if only the grown ups were so easy to buy for! I hope everyone likes what we have chosen, sam has put a lot of thought and care into choosing everything.