In At The Deep End

Mon 1st March – packing, L gym, making the most of J…

Tues 2nd March – Gina and co popped over to help celebrate L’s b’day, then we dropped Bob and J off at the station (left K, L, A here with BA), came back for lunch and went to violin – A’s second “lesson” and just as much enthusiasm

Wed 3rd – rather subdued morning. Cello, baby music, K Cubs.

Thurs 4th – Tots sorting (last week in old venue for a while), Philosophy club (4 Cs – K and L did well )

Fri 5th – to Susan and K (Wii, garden, cookies, garlic!)

Sat 6th – Kentwell Open Day

Sun 7th – first phone call to J. All well. Hard not to chat for ages Church – moving on service, lunch, transferring toys

Mon 8th – L gym

Tues 9th – violin cancelled, but cello moved forward a day, K gym

Wed 10th – Latinetc science (looked at peas planted in different conditions, talked about making a pea plant maze. Put bacteria into petri dishes to grow, then added antibiotics to inhibit growth/kill) music, Latin, French… then K and SB grade 1 recorder, S, E, L, A with me to Baby Music. Cubs.

Thurs 11th – Tots in new venue (lots to think about!) but no multisport Impromptu Tots planning meeting.

Fri 12th – normals, Australia jigsaw, science – raisins in lemonade, moving a candle on a plate or under a glass to see what happens to flame, lemonade and Mentos (doesn’t work as well as Diet Coke), relative gravity on different planets (lots of counting of popping corn grains into cups, then we popped it afterwards ). Professor Layton/Mathletics/Poisson rouge.

Monday 1st was younger HE sports, which K and L very much enjoyed, and which meant a double dose of activity for L as she had gymnastics in the afternoon as well. Bob was ill and at home, so J and M were able to stay at home and do quiet work. In the evening K had Beavers – one of his last sessions before moving up to Cubs.
Tues 2nd was violin for L, J and M, then gym for the boys in the afternoon.
Wed 3rd was quieter than usual, with no Latinetc and no cello, but there was Baby Music, during which Bob and the boys made gas mask boxes for Fri, and then K had his second Cubs taster session, which also happened to be our turn on the parent helper rota, so I stayed with the boys and helped them turn batteries into bugs with glowing noses Other experiments included static electricity and tissue paper snakes and rubbing a neon tube with plastic bags to make it glow… or shatter – only M could do that!
Thurs 4th – Tots and Nots and Philosophy Club. K went to play with the other K, coming back with delicious choc chip cookies

Fri 5th – WWII Evacuation day with the Nene Valley railway. Dressed (more or less) appropriately and carrying lunch and a few belongings with us, labels on coats and background reading done, we were evacuated to Stibbington. It was very well done, I thought, with enough authentic touches to make it feel real if you wanted to make it so but also enough reassurances to keep everyone happy. We walked through the village, with billets pointed out as we went (each child had chosen an identity from a list of actual children evacuated to Stibbington, so they were able to see where they would actually have been staying), marched smartly past the grumpy colonel’s house and eventually got to the school, where the billeting officer/schoolteacher gave the children identity cards to fill in and a quiz to do based on posters and slogans – all about Doctor Carrot keeping children healthy, careless talk costing lives and so on. Then there was time to look at the Anderson shelter and play with some appropriate toys in the playground before lunch and a chance to spend their pocket money (£1 changed into two old pennies) on souvenirs from the shop before going into the schoolroom to write a postcard home (or draw – she was very good at differentiating and providing age appropriate work, especially given that she said this was the first time she had ever had a mixed age group), learn spellings (reciting and writing), do copy work (with a dip pen and ink) and maths and then drill in the playground. Somewhere in there we sang It’s a long way to Tiperrary and listened to an address from Princess Elizabeth on the radio. Oh and there was an air raid, which meant a loud siren telling us to go to the shelter (indoors – the Anderson shelter in the playground wouldn’t have been big enough!) where they did more maths, sang derogatory songs about Hitler and generally kept a stiff upper lip and carried on regardless except A, who screamed and had to be taken out to look at the pictures in the corridor, even if it did mean we might get bombed! All in all, it was a really good day, and brought everything to life very effectively for the children – and adults too, I think!
We followed it up rather nicely with a trip to see Bob’s parents, after Music school on Sat. Bob’s mum was old enough to remember bits of the war and they both remember rationing, which went on for long enough afterwards to have become a major part of their childhood. Gran-gran and K, with a little help from L, made a couple of things from the recipe book we had borrowed form the library, while Grandad, J and M put together a flying thing from a science kit he’d been saving to do with grandchildren
My plans for a tidying and sorting weekend having been thoroughly overthrown, we came back on Monday via a HE gathering. Paper weaving happened and possibly a little chess, building with Lego and stickle bricks, socialising and lots of running around and climbing on outdoor play equipment. It was a good way of letting off steam after a long journey Then L just about got to Gym and K to Beavers, where he was swimming up – I discovered too late that J and M were meant to be there too, to help with the swimming up ceremony – a weekend away, with delayed return, is not good when people try to make arrangements by email

So, Tues 9th and M’s last violin lesson. He wants to carry on, but I don’t know how likely that is once he’s back in France, especially given that he wants to keep up piano and recorder too. Last Gymnastics session too – the end of his stay seemed to be rushing up on us!
Wed 10th – Latinlite at Merry’s – yeast, sugar and warm water in jars with balloons on top to catch gas emitted, then we tested the gas French games on the landing for those not yet doing sewing, lots of play and chat… Cello and Baby Music as usual, then M’s last Cubs, marked with a card and some little gifts
Thurs 11th – Tots and then HE sport. Chris looked after girls for me while I went and spent far too much money on cake decorating supplies to put finishing touches to silly numbers of cakes – not that I ever bake when I should be doing housework
Fri 12th – day at home (at last!) and a chance to rattle through a few chores, make lists of games to play at party, bake and/or decorate cakes, get party food made (as working on morning of party) ensure beds sorted out for guests staying over…

Sat 13th – half term so no music school, but I was working (and usual 10 – 2 opening became 9 – 2:30 thanks to NCT training) so lots of dashing round. Michelle and Chris helped save the day, going far beyond the line of god-parently duty by getting here mid-morning and doing lots of sandwich making and general party prep – thank you – and I got back just in time to help Bob get everything to the hall and set up. Completely manic party – lots of children, lots of games, lots of food, no idea what was going on but I think most people either enjoyed it or were able to hide from it – and the pink chocolate fountain was a hit! Cakes all made it there successfully too, thank goodness.
Rather more chilled evening, with tea, leftover cake and a house full of friends – lovely

Sun 14th – Babs and co took M to his usual church. I took our children to our old church. Bob took Chris to railway station. Had to pop out for more food, leaving Barbara with numerous children, and got back to find Goddards and Manorborns had arrived Joined by Beans (without Helen ) and some Kentwell friends. More food, chat, tea etc – very nice way to spend a day In the evening we had a visit from Father Valentine, knocking on doors and windows and leaving gifts – not quite as elaborate as in the past, but still fun.

Mon 15th – Sports day all day for older Rainedrops, M, J and K. Meanwhile I took R, L and A to soft play while Barbara went to a lecture with her sister, then we met up at soft play and went back to college with sister to eat in rather elegant hall. Back home to pack before collecting sporty ones, then Rainedrops went their way and we came home ours.

Tues 16th – dropped K, L and A off with Gina so J, M and I could go to radio studio to do Woman’s Hour recording. Jenni Murray was great – nice to actually have some sensible questions! Horrible talkback on headsets though – really hard to concentrate when you can hear yourself a second or two later. While that was being sorted the boys got the giggles, which probably helped to settle any nerves, anyway. Quick pick-up,which disappointed children a bit, but Gina had other things to do and we needed to start M’s packing and make sure all his clothes were washed and dried. Wednesday was a quiet day, filled with not much more than finding things, making piles, fitting them into suitcases – and a fair bit of playing games too I had hoped to get to Twilight at the Museums, but it would have been silly to squeeze more in, I think.
Thursday 18th was M’s last day here, which he spent with J and Bob in London. They met up with M’s mum at the station and went on from there – Bob’s story to tell, I think, as I was at Tots with K, L and A, mostly sorting toys and books ready for our move while the church is refurbished.
Friday 19th was a catch your breath day, I think, although we had intended to go and help Tadcu with clearing Grandad’s house, then Saturday was filled with baking and soup making ready for a ceilidh at church in the early evening. Sunday found the children dancing again, and also learning about how a violin works, at the second of the dancing sessions organised by Gina and friends. It was also an all age service at church, followed by a fair-trade lunch.

I think M going made the others realise how little time there was before J went. They seemed to close in together, sleeping in the same (fortunately large) bed and spending much of their time playing or reading together. HE work took a back seat as I felt they needed down time together, but at the same time we were trying to fit in visits to see people J wanted to say goodbye to before he went, or who asked to see him. On Monday we had again intended to see Tadcu, but bad weather intervened so it was put off until Friday, when we went to Auntie Norma and Uncle John’s on the way. Tues was violin, then gym for K but not J. Wed was Latinetc, with pea planting to see what conditions they like best, and lots of extra music for those taking exams soon. No Baby Music, so I took K and E to cello, which meant I could stay and watch the lesson for the first time, while Gina and Helen stayed here with all remaining children – which meant extra bonus time for play and chat before Cubs Thurs was Tots and then multisport and on Fri we managed to squeeze in a trip to the dentist for J – all fine but he has the same problem I had/have of having unusually deep grooves/holes in molars which means you have to be extra careful to clean food out; the first I knew about it was when I had a precautionary filling at 15, so I’m glad this dentist has at least warned us beforehand. Then we went to Grandad’s house, which was bittersweet. We came away with a box of books which were presented either to Grandad or to my great uncle Alf when they were about 10, which my dad and uncle read at about the same age and which my dad has now passed on to J to read because he’s the right age – or will be when he gets back from France I also have notebooks with all Grandad’s sermon notes, some children’s address props (but I’ll need to hunt through 70 years worth of sermon notes to find the talks to go with them!) and a great sheaf of papers which are my grandmother’s sermon notes, plus lots of their preaching books and resources. I need to set myself up a corner and do some proper work again soon, I think. The post-baby lull is finally wearing off. J talked all the way home, processing Grandad’s death and the circle of passing on memories and things. Not very easy to deal with at 70 mph on the A11.

Despite a late night we got the children to Music school on Sat. J had taken some En Famille International leaflets with him because he said he was tired of having to explain about it to everyone who asked. I don’t know how many he actually handed out though! L tried the violin ensemble this time, hoping it would be a fun way of getting a bit more violin into her week. It turned out to be rather prescriptive and distinctly lesson-like though, with a teacher who disapproves of “coloured strings” and likes things done her way. Poor L spent most of the time waiting to be told what to do, which eventually happened via an older student explaining things to her rather than the teacher actually giving any kind of instructions or explanations On Tuesday we spoke to Christina, our violin teacher, and she said she had already come across this particular teacher and sadly her advice was not only to not do the sessions but also to speak to the organisers and point out that this was not an ensemble and that it would be unhelpful to most of the children there. Back to recorder ensemble then, I think.
In the afternoon we went to our favourite toyshop where J managed to buy L’s birthday present (the cuddly seal she has been saving up to buy) without her noticing, then went on to choose a present for A (jointly with L and K) again without her suspecting Lots of browsing and playing later we had chosen a game or two for M’s family and some little bits and pieces for ours and it was time to come home.

(and hoping Bob will blog Centerparcs so I can tick that week off my list )

I was working on 2nd January, the first day of new hours at the shop so we were open 10 – 2. Lots of inquiries and phone calls and more sales than I’d expected, but still a fairly quiet day. Sarah popped in for a chat, which was lovely (and brought me some home-made lemon curd, which was delicious) and Bob and the children came along too (no music school) and did a few bits of work but didn’t make the planned trip to the park as the weather was not good. In the evening we went to the pantomime – Aladdin – amateur but fun

On Sunday M went off to church with the usual friends, but the rest of us stayed at home, as we were expecting a visit from old friends. Had a lovely time with them, chatting and playing, but not nearly for long enough…

Monday was a rescue day for Sarah; she came with her two little boys and we played with them while she got on with an essay L’s gymnastics had already started up so that kept her busy for some of the afternoon, while the boys watched various Christmas lectures. Over the course of the holiday season we’ve worked our way through this year’s and also a couple of sets we have on DVD – number mysteries and food. It was also the day I found out that Grandad was very ill and made plans to rush over and see him on the Tuesday.

Tuesday 5th was officially the first day of term, but violin hadn’t yet started so we had a day at home until it was time for the boys to go to gymnastics. I should have been going to see Grandad, but he died sometime on Monday night, so it was a bit of an odd day really, with all of us trying to carry on as normal but feeling sad, and me feeling terribly guilty

Wednesday was a snow day – neither Latinetc nor a proposed trip to London happened, but we did make it to K’s cello and A’s baby music
We expected a quiet Tots on Thursday, but actually lots of families turned up, so it was a busy session, which was nice after the quiet of the holidays. Friday should have been a recorders session at Gina’s, but we decided we (I!) didn’t have the energy to face the snow and stayed at home instead, doing a few more normals and a bit more sitting down type work. A nature walk happened some time this week, too, with resulting watercolour sketches and paintings

Saturday 9th was the first Music School of the new term, while I was doing a sling morning. Bob and the children came and picked me up and we walked to the park together then went and had a look in a lovely toy shop owned by a family we know through HE. The children spent their first pocket money of the year and L spotted a toy she wants to save up for, which led to some good discussions about putting money aside each week and how long it would take to get to the desired sum

10th – 15th was the usual round of Gymnastics, Beavers, Cubs, violin (but no cello), Baby Music and Tots, with added Latinetc (microbiology – putting samples onto agar plates to see what would grow; my airing cupboard now has some very unsavoury looking brown/beige/yellow splodges fortunately well taped into closed containers) and CHEF sports. Oh and the extra excitement of a reporter at Tots and sports, getting some idea of a day in the life of the other K.
16th should have been shop for me and music school for children, but everything changed for various reasons, so we ended up losing a day and having to pack for CP in a bit of a hurry. Sunday was spent very happily between church and dancing – a new dancing club for children interested in Molly/ceilidh and so on.

Ah yes, HE group Christmas party – Friday 18th December…
The children played in the snow first thing, while I got food ready for the party, finished loading up the car with costumes, percussion etc and quickly printed off some carol sheets. Then we headed out, through a lovely clear crisp day, with roads all easy until we got to the city, where there was packed ice and we met some slightly scary ruts and slippage! Made it to the venue, where we found a somewhat depleted company but had fun nonetheless. The play was performed, with a few of the essential characters being replaced at the last minute and a few extra parts (and costumes) being found for enthusiastic but unrehearsed joiners Lunch was a bring and share affair, including everything from roasties and sprouts to chocolate cake and truffles. The children spent lots of time and energy playing in the snow, coming in for an informal concert, popcorn stringing and similar crafts and carols round the piano. Father Christmas even came along (in his bathrobe!) with presents for the children. As we headed home in the afternoon we mentioned that we were planning to go our local (town) celebrations, which were to include “ice” skating and refreshments and managed to persuade the Beans to come along too. Bob came home from work a little early and Big Alice turned up just in time so it was a large group of us who made our way down the road just as it started to get dark. There was quite a wait for skates and the ice turned out to be plastic tiles, which were not working as well as usual because it was snowing softly, but my poor deprived children didn’t know any better and enjoyed it just the same M, SB and BB were all seasoned pros, but had to change technique to accommodate the odd surface, while Alice, Chris and I just walked around and supported/encouraged as necessary and Helen, Bob and A looked on from the sidelines, enjoying hot chocolate and mince pies. Oh, and Father Christmas was there too, handing out goody bags, including one to Big Alice, who was very chuffed Not bad for a free event! After skating we sent Bob on ahead to get chips, then I fished veggie sausages out of the freezer to make up for the non-veggie hot dogs we had been watching others eat. A quick burst of Magic School Bus while adults chatted and drank tea and it was time for bed, after a long but pleasant day with friends

Saturday was a quiet day for the children (no Music School) but I was at the shop and then took 2 hours to get home, thanks to a road closure, diversion and gridlock – lovely! In the evening Bob was to have gone to a party but cried off because of bad weather, but at least it was clear enough to get M to church in the city (and us in town) on Sunday.

On Monday we went to visit Emma and her boys and had a lovely restful morning and early afternoon there, eating warm mince pies and quince pies – definitely to be recommended and I intend to raid their tree next year so I can make my own Then we girded our loins and set out in the snow for yet more Christmas socialising – one of those “shall we or shan’t we?” things where in the end you are glad you did as there turned out to be lots of HE friends there and the children all disappeared and played party games for ages, leaving adults (and babies/toddlers) free to chat.

On Tuesday we had expected to see Bob’s parents for a fair while, but their visit was curtailed by weather etc so I took the children out to collect parcels and do shopping and we got back just in time to say hello, read a story or two with Gran-gran and then say goodbye again. I’d rather the children blamed me for being late than their grandparents for not being there…

Wednesday was Latinetc again – another seasonal special with Saturnalia for Latin, plus a couple of Minimus plays for the children to practise and perform (in Latin), making (and eating) Roman Army bread, some music theory, jingle bells on the bells and a chance to look at snow and ice crystals with the microscope. Helen and co had to dash off so it was a bit rushed in places, but we got lots done and then relaxed and did the rest at a slightly slower pace!

Christmas Eve morning was spent tidying and hoovering for the Inlaws Visit, then waiting for them to arrive as they got held up by slow traffic and bad weather. M-i-l was too poorly to come, unfortunately, and b-i-l was working, so that left s-i-l, f-i-l and two nephews – who instantly disappeared off to play. It was lovely to see K and cousin C bonding so well (I really should make the effort to get them together more often ) and they all seemed to have a great time, making clove-stuck oranges, building with the rainbow blocks, racing sprouts and Christmas puddings (from crackers) and whatever else they were up to when they disappeared into the annexe giggling Sadly the weather meant f-i-l didn’t want to stay late, so having got here after 12 they left again before 3, but it was lovely to have them anyway.

Lots of changes of plan this week

On Tuesday we met up at Gina’s, because S was ill so they didn’t want to travel. Our plans to get lots of work done were slightly thrown by S being uncertain whether he wanted to sleep or not, but we still ticked a few boxes and the children each wrote a poem based on the pattern of Baa baa black sheep – all pretty cool actually After a quick lunch we headed off to violin, the first lesson in three weeks thanks to half term and then two lots of illness (the first ours, the second the teacher’s). It went well, though, and a good lesson always seems to give back a bit of impetus, so I’m hoping practices will be easier for a bit. Then back here for K to get changed and then off to gymnastics with him and back here for GCSE lesson – only one student this time as the other was ill, so she got an extra value lesson (group rate, individual tuition) and work to take for her partner. Meanwhile Bob was not quite getting dinner cooked before having to rush M and J to gym and pick K up, so the boys had to snatch a snack and then eat properly later…

Wednesday was to have been a craft session at a local nature reserve, but was cancelled at short notice, so we had a morning unexpectedly free to do normals. Lots of music practice, a little maths and some serious NaNoWriMo – none of them are looking likely to meet their targets, but they’re all enjoying the process anyway so I’m not worrying; we thought we’d have more time than we ended up having. Then J and I did the primary Maths Challenge paper (I finished first – phew! but was quite impressed with how well he sat and got on with it, even if he did need reminding that the ten minutes at the end would be better used checking his work than sitting back saying he’d finished!) before lunch and Baby Music. Back home for tea and then J and M had Cubs.

Thursday was Tots, as ever, but a very quiet session this time. Gina took J, J and M off to Multisport, while the rest of us finished up with the intention of following along to take petitions for anyone at multisport who wanted to sign. Unfortunately this plan was thwarted by a vicious attack on my person which left me, I suspect, mildly concussed (I was set upon by the metal rod designed to make the high level cistern of the church toilet flush; it flung itself at me from a great height and bounced on my head en route to the floor!) and distinctly unable to drive. Susan saved the day once we’d realised that K, K, E, L, A and both adults could all fit in our car so Susan could drive us straight to Gina’s where I could lie down for a bit while Dave then drove Susan (and A, they decided, so I could have a real rest ) back for her car. Meanwhile Gina picked up the boys from sport and then I took it easy for a bit while children all watched a film and then did Geography (seashore poem) and bits of music – thank you Gina and Susan
By about 6 o’clock (having bumped at about 12:30) I thought I felt well enough to get everybody home, but actually only made it a little more than halfway, through heavy traffic and bright lights, before deciding that having to concentrate that hard was Not a Good Thing and that discretion was the better part of valour. I pulled over and phoned Bob to come out in his little car and rescue us. By the time he got there I was feeling a lot better again so he took the big car and the children while I took his small car by myself and eventually we made it home.

Today’s plans? Well, they’re completely awry already! We were to have gone to Friday Club meeting and brought Z home with us so Sarah could get some more packing done, but I warned her yesterday that I might not feel up to it. We would have been late anyway, because at short notice we had a reminder that A had a 2 1/2 year check today – just as well they phoned as I hadn’t known about it! We did make it to that, and it was fine (HV spent more time chatting about HE and how nice my children were than anything else – always good to hear – and was intrigued about En Famille and how it works, then A jumped through all the hoops with a big grin ) but our consolation for not going to Friday Club was to have been a trip to the playground on the way home and instead we trudged back through torrential rain and had to warm ourselves up with hot chocolate when we got here, by which time it was too late either for FC or to get to the other HE group history thing which had been our alternative possibility for today. Ho hum. Actually a quiet day at home is probably just what the doctor ordered for me (or would have been had I seen a doctor) if only the children would cooperate…. Music and NaNoWriMo… not sure *I* have the energy for maths, so it may be a day of videos after that… will look out for something vaguely edutainment online I think

Saturday was music school (and a sling morning) then it was party time Big hall, bouncy castle and lots of children – what could be better? Actually, J decided, as soon as the birthday girl let slip that the bouncy castle was officially for children 8 and under, that he shouldn’t go on it and so hid away in a back room doing NaNoWriMo (I need to get him to dictate some to me or he’s never going to reach his target – there just isn’t enough time, even when he snatches opportunities like that) while the others bounced and played. K was happy with the other K, A made friends with the other toddler S, L was happy to be with a small gaggle of small girls, including E and M just bounced. Lots
We came home and made Christmas cake (“Square or round?” I asked them. “Dome!” they said, “so we can make an igloo!” We’ll see how it turns out…), had tea and got everyone to bed.

On Sunday Bob had a list of jobs to do at home, but we also had free tickets to go and see storytellers at the city library, so we all went to our local Methodist church, came home for lunch and then those who wanted to go into the city (M, K, L, A) came with me while J stayed with Bob to do jobs. The storytellers were fab, as ever and we then spent a few minutes reading in the children’s library before heading out to catch the parade and see the Christmas lights being turned on. It was slightly less frenzied and nowhere near as crowded as I remember it from a couple of years ago when we last went, thank goodness (1 adult and 4 children in a big crowd is not fun!) although we may have just been lucky in where we ended up (a cordoned off area near the stage) and the children all enjoyed the big build-up and countdown then the sudden brightness of the lights As we were walking back to the car we saw a couple of men with a ladder quickly turning on the few lights which had somehow failed to come on with the magical Big Switch…

Today began with music and then a quick trip into town, livened up by a nosebleed from L (her first). By the time we made it back we had just time to put together a quick picnic before Z arrived for the afternoon. We took him (and lunch) to a HE park meet nearby, in the park we went to when M first arrived, which was fun, but cold and muddy. Temperature and wind chill notwithstanding we managed to stay there for a good couple of hours while the children ran around, flew a kite, played on exercise equipment and got progressively muddier and then took Z and L to gymnastics – L having washed in the sink at gym and wearing a pair of A’s leggings as hers were irredeemably muddy! Noodles for tea, then K went to Beavers, L to bed and M to the bath to try to get rid of some mud! Oh and somewhere in there we watched the Classic Buskers via Michelle’s blog – thank you

On Saturday the children had music school and I was working in the morning. J decided to opt out of ensemble and do NaNoWriMo instead – I think we need to slim down on options next term as M is doing singing he’d prefer not to do and J says he finds the ensemble too noisy and disorganised so would rather not do that. It seems silly to pay for them to do things they aren’t enjoying, especially now that they’ve given it a fair go. L and K are still keen to do everything, so it will also mean that first M and then J get an hour with Bob (and A) which could be quite useful if we think about how to make the most of it.
The boys are all signed up for Holiday Orchestra now too, and all doing Gamelan (J advanced and M beginner) so music isn’t going to be lacking

Sunday was fine and warm (considering) for the Remembrance parade, which I think Bob has talked about already. All the children wore an extra jumper underneath their uniform and were then fine without coats

Monday was a morning of normals, with lots of fractions. I realised, after some miscommunications, that M really had not done fractions before (when we worked through some bits on Friday he got very distressed but it wasn’t clear that it was fractions completely which were the problem rather than just those exercises!) so we went worksheet crazy and printed off lots of useful maths stuff to give him a crash course He’s now just about caught up with J, although still rather shaky when we change types of sum – once he’s in the groove it works, then we switch to a slightly different problem and it all comes crashing down again Soo, it’s been a whole week of fractions, really – even K and L have started on them as they were interested in what we were doing And A just enjoyed all the sharing out practicals
In the afternoon one of my old schoolfriends (also L’s godmother) came to stay, shortly followed by another old schoolfriend (aso J’s godmother) who lives locally and just popped in for a cup of tea after picking up her boys from school. The children all pootled, while we chatted and ate cake until it was time to whizz L off to gymnastics, then a quick tea for K before Beavers and a rather more protracted tea for the rest of us, with much chatting and catching up – oh and lots of stories for A, ever appreciative of a new story reader

On Tuesday morning we made the most of our guest, with more stories and games, then got back to normals, with extra music practice since violin was cancelled. Gymnastics took up most of the afternoon and evening.

Wednesday was a HE group trip to Denny Abbey, which was fab. Sadly, I forgot the camera and we ended up in a group not with camera-toting friends, but the children completed pictures of the abbey buildings, made stained glass windows, decorated manuscripts and shaped and patterned clay tiles, so we have plenty to show for the day all the same Before the last session had finished Gina took A and S off to Baby Music, along with E who was not feeling too good and we arranged to meet up again back at our house so that we could swap children back! Nearly didn’t make it, as the car kept cutting out and becoming more and more unhappy about starting again, then when we did poor E was really not very well and ended up borrowing a bowl and a hot Pudsey bear to get her safely home
In the evening J and M had Cubs, where they handed in their 20ps earned (for charity) over the last couple of weeks by doing jobs at home, got certificates to show they had attended the parade on Sunday and had a talk from members of the Armed Forces. There was a quiz, with prizes taken from a box of 24 hour rations – J came home with a block of oatmeal!

Thursday should have been a nice long catch-up Tots, with added Philosophy Club, but the car definitely had other plans and stranded us near a roundabout less than halfway there I phoned Bob and he came out from work in his (little) car so I could take the keys and three children to Tots and leave him with two and the car to sort out breakdown services etc. It seemed most helpful to leave A with Bob, as she didn’t have Philosophy,and then J volunteered to stay and help look after her as he says the others like it more than he does and he wanted to get some NaNoWriMo done (he then left all his work in the car and so couldn’t get any done at all *sigh* but apparently did such a good job of amusing A that Bob was able to get some work done, so I guess I can’t complain too much really!). As we were leaving a police car was pulling up…
Even with a working car it was not all plain sailing, as the traffic was so bad it took us twice as long as usual to get into town and we ended up arriving an hour later than we had hoped and almost half an hour after the first philosophy session should have started. The day could have been saved, as it happened, because one of the church stewards was in and had already let a couple of Tots mums in, but since Gina and others who had come by car did not know this they had waited outside in the car park while the Tots mums wandered around inside the hall wondering where we all were – a bit of a comedy of errors really! Anyway, things had been more or less resolved by the time we got there and philosophy was underway so my three rushed downstairs to join in while I had a much need cup of tea and a quiet sob in the kitchen!
Both Philosophy sessions ran slightly short, to make up time, so we still finished at the usual time, but somehow the hall seemed extra noisy and disorganised and everything just wasn’t quite right, for no apparent reason. Lots of worrying and politics type stuff going on about forthcoming local HE group planning meeting/AGM didn’t help with general unhappy feeling, I think, and nor did my having arrived so late that we hadn’t got properly set up. We did some French, nonetheless, including colouring some flags and then playing a colours guessing game, and M had a bit of a piano lesson. Recorders didn’t happen though, as S was tired and grumpy and Gina had other things to do later which really required him to sleep. In the end Gina went home and we just packed away and walked to the library to meet up with the W-Ss. On the way I realised that we haven’t yet had a chance to do the touristy bits of the city for M – we really should try! – so we did some potted history. At the library the children all played very cooperatively on one computer (they had to as we only had one library card between us with which to sign in!) and then made friends with a slightly older boy who showed them how to get internet on the information point computer by going via google (oops! but a useful piece of info, I guess!) once their allotted pc time was up. Emily and I had a nice unhurried chat
Got home to A, who was very pleased to see me! J had had a good day avoiding work *sigh* and Bob had managed to get some work done, despite having forgotten to bring his laptop home *sigh* so not too bad all round really. Baths and early nights for all children. Yet another early night for me – I just don’t seem to be able to shake off a general under-the-weather-ness I’ve had for weeks now

Today’s plans, given that we are carless, the children are currently enthusiastic about libraries and our local(ish) library has finally been reopened had been to do normals and then walk into town to the farmers’ market, the library and maybe the museum. Torrential rain has scuppered that Lots of music practice was easy, but normals somewhat harder as all still in car which is still at garage. More fractions worksheets therefore printed off Then a fairly riotous game happened, which I think I’d rather not know all about and lunch, followed by letting the children loose with a new science kit. Of course they went straight to the water experiments so now it’s nearly as wet inside the house as outside…