Home Educating the Puddle Girls…

I’m not even sure i need to blog further. If i could be bothered to hunt out clip art of a bloodbath, i might aim for a blog post worthy of Grit but as it is, all i will say is that i got out the base 10 blocks to teach Amelie (you know, the intelligent one…) how to add 10 to another number and only just managed not to ram two lots of 10 up her nose, Frances pushed me to the limits of endurance by complaining there were no clean bowls, that she didn’t want to wash one up and she couldn’t even have toast because there was no bread and “why do we never seem to be organised?” Frances is now a small pile of drying bones under the patio. Maddy had an entire day of fiddling with things; twisting her clothes, dropping, banging, tapping, fidgeting - argh. She did an entire page of division sums and ignored the last figure in each one, like it just wasn’t there, then did it again and did them right but told me she didn’t know what she was doing. Josie ran around whining that no one would let her do anything while insisting on doing exactly what any one else was doing, unless she was walking in front of Amelie saying “i’ve got your new dolly”.

Fran and Maddy half redeemed themselves by reading about the crusades (Fran, we also looked up the “Childrens’ Crusade”) and Hill of Fire for Maddy. Maddy apparently now wants to read Level 3 books and has requested more. Hurrah.

16 times after i asked Fran to wash her face so it didn’t have tomato sauce on it and brush her hair, she eventually did it, while crying because i am mean to her.

Josie refused to wear trousers all day and walked around crying because she was cold.

Amelie… actually, she didn’t really do anything else, although she sat on me a lot. Maddy kept slathering me in fat, wet, slightly too much kisses. She’s going through a bit of a socially inept phase

I believe i threatened school.

We recovered, just, with the first Chapter of Ballet Shoes. I like reading Nana’s voice.

Friday i just worked; i’m deeply engaged in a bay by bay audit of how everything is being sold; i’m now half way round the first room Still, i have also sold off a load of stuff to my workplace comrades, who can’t resist a bargain and despite the fact that business is utterly and completely dire at the moment, May is not a good month, i do at least feel as if the place is paying it’s way, shelf by shelf. It is an excellent lesson in ruthlessness because i’m having to learn to evaluate each product on a “have i done it justice, does it deserve it’s shelf space?” basis. Focuses the mind nicely. (i’m NOT ever, not NEVER going to do it on my HE resource shelves!)

Everyone else accommodatec Max being on the phone to somewhere in Asia for an hour, Fiver having his balls snipped off and got back to dancing and musical theatre as well as doing some work. Max and Fran, i believe, had a monumental stand-off over her being a prize cow over a bandana and she got sent to her room. Nice
Saturday we went on a Rainbow, Brownie and Beaver (my there were some big scary Beaver ladies there, i wonder if as round as tall and deeply sarcastic is a prerequisite for the job? Deb?) day out at Sundown Adventure Park .All 6 of us went, me because in a fit of “giving something back stroke convinced 3 of my daughters would be in a coach crash” enthusiasm, i’d offered to be a grown up for the day and Max and Josie because the coach had spaces and we thought she would be cross to be left behind.

I had a panic 2 days before at the thought (slightly belated) of having 20 Brownies to herd around on my own but in the end i got Maddy and Amelie (who chose to stay in my group), Linzi’s 2 and one other who was feisty but adorable and who Amelie and Josie both fell in love with. Grey Owl had phoned me to ask if i thought my girls would want to be with me or someone else for the day, to which i felt compelled to suggest that since she was currently in the same room as them while i was 8 miles away, perhaps she ought to ask their opinion! Fran chose to go in a different group, which i rather admired her for, even more after i had spent some time with the 2 younger girls in her Six, who she occasionally mutters about as being slightly difficult to control. Rather her than me, that’s all i can say! (Blimey!)

The adventure park was lovely; it was a funny place, oldey worldy, sort of home spun, very non-commercial, childish, simple and just enough to do in a day. For all that, it was lvoely; no merchandise being thrust down your throat, a positive hunt for an ice-cream lace, simple pleasures like rides that just take you on a trip round a circle, being squirted with water and laughing at silly japes being acted out by models. A bit like the nursery rhyme ride at Legoland but all over. What was extra-ordinary was that all these kids, sophisticated as they are and up to age 11, adored it. It seemed to give them licence to just be kids and i never heard a single moan about the rides, the level of fun or anything else. They all loved proessing the buttons that made the displays work, laughed at being squirted and bought right into the nursery rhymes and generally cuteness. It was uncanny and incredibly refreshing.

I didn’t take photos, far too fraught trying not to lose people and avoiding snapping kids i should have snapped. We’ll go again though, i liked it and the kids have NOT. STOPPED.TALKING.ABOUT.IT.

Josie had rather a lovely day too, either monopolising daddy or being with “big girls”

Sunday i worked in the am as Sue and MF had a funeral the next day When i got home they were both at ours and we all had lunch and sat in the sun. The girls and LF chased rabbits round the garden and generally indulged in pet worship. Clover is rather adorable and extremely happy to be living with us Fran gardened the herb patch, which she is taking over as hers, i cleaned out my bedroom cupboard and made myself a little workshop in there. Went for a cycle in the evening, leaving the kids all gymnasticking in the garden.

Today me and the big 3 set up a list for each of them to use so that they can plan out their work and tick it off - this was mostly their idea, Fran and Maddy are both keen for a bit more structure now and this seemed to be a good way of making sure either they, or Max, can instantly think of something to do. Now that Fran is having cello lessons, i really want her to be able to tick the box each day for that; she is quite happyy to do 1/2 an hour or so at least, but sometimes she just forgets to sit at it. I really want her to have an encouragement to remember to be consistent.

Her other stuff today was Meleto (long multiplication, perfectly do-able but set out oddly and she got angry and started yelling… blaaaah, this is going to stop soon, right?) the intensive practise book from 4A (data) where she did the work fine and then insisted on doing the adding bits at the end in her head, got them wrong by being daft and then yelled some more, a book on medieval continental differences and something i’ve forgotten. Oh yes, drawing. (I looked at the ticks!)
Maddy did maths (division) read a book on microscopes, which she is very into and she and Max did some proper “looking” with one on friday (salt and sugar i think), several DWN pictures and guitar.

Amelie did several Roger Red Hat books, some 3x tables and um… can’t think… lost list.

Later on we nipped to work then took the big 2 to Jazz, then all the big 3 to gym; Fran got moved up into the gold group (thought she would) and is consequently thrilled and nicer to know this afternoon. Me and Josie legged it to PCWorld, bought an armful of laptops (i’ve never left a pc shop with a trolley before!) and to the bank to pay in Max’s money. “Do you have plans for this money?” said the cashier… “OH YES!!!!!!” said i!
Back home, neighbour kindly brought kids back for me as i got held up, fed everyone and finished off The Borrowers Afield - and no, 2 hours too late, i better go to bed!

One of my customers has started making little Fimo Highland Cows - they are so cute, i thought i would give her a plug!

It doesn’t take much to guess that such a statement was made by Amelie. It could have been easily made by one other child i know (grin) who, by startling chance was here today… but Amelie it was, on this occasion.

Last year i smultzed good and proper on this girl; last year i wrote this

“She is a girl of many characteristics, amusing, eloquent, impudent, outrageous, unremitting - she isn’t an easy mix of anything to live with. She teases, tests, tantrums and taxes but with that she is the most loving, the most perceptive, the most loyal, the champion of any underdog, the one who always notices when there is hurt, or unfairness, or sadness.”

I don’t think i can improve upon it; 5-6 has with all my girls seemed to be a year more of consolidating than changing; Amelie has mellowed a little this year, she has learned some control and learned to pace her love some. She’s grown in skills, begun to harness her intelligence, forged ahead with reading and writing and is sharp as a box of pins. She loves passionately, flips from big girl to little girl with consummate ease and seems to have her role in the family clearly and thoroughly carved out. She knows exactly where she stands - and it is right in the middle.

Her day today was little short of perfect; a pink scooter with flashing lights, a doll and a Dora Beanie, a queen on a horse, an official handing over of my old DS Lite and Tigerz, plus lashings of early morning Dr Who, a DS Lite cake with Mario on it - and more importantly, R,E SB and BB, plus a visit from Auntie Kate, a phonecall from Buttercup and Gamma and Grannie and a trip to the playground. She loved the twitters i read out to her too
Simple, but very delightful, pleasures. Thank you to all our guests (and their drivers, who were also very pleasant company!)

Just to top it off we brought home Fiver’s new mate, Clover - a mini-lop in Fiver’s colours. Signs are good; Fiver has perked up and they’ve spent the day lying side by side in their 2 runs. Allowed nose to nose contact through wire, they kissed Tomorrow Fiver loses his balls and then in a week or so, hopefully she can move in. She’s terribly cute

Amelie is 6 on Thursday and i’ve half forgotten! (Eeeks!)

I’m hoping we have 3 guests for the day but if anyone else who likes her can make it over for impromptu party and play, please do
(Edit: …suddenly wondering if this will mean 4000 small children appear following a “shout out!)

Girls have been acting along to this all morning (we have Granny to blame) - i do love Bernard Cribbins though!

Feeling very delighted with our new under stairs cupboard (WHY Persimmon didn’t do this by default i can’t imagine!) This was done for us by my cousin-in-law-in-law. It is the final demise of BeadMerrily at home, the box corner has gone; this area will now become a home for lost ballet shoes.
Now i just need my dad to come down and paint it. My dad does family paintwork. It’s the LAW!

Today i was suppose to get a nice long day at work, taking proper control of all the things that got out of control in the last 3 weeks while i couldn’t give it all the attention it needed. My plan was to start at one end of the office and work soldily round until all the new stuff was in place and everything that needed a place to go, or needed listing for sale, was done.

Unfortunately i only managed 2/24 bays of shelves

While i was on a call to a customer, Max rang to summon me home. Maddy had been blending the soup they had cooked and had taken the blender out of the saucepan without taking her finger off the button. Boiling soup splashed everywhere (cleaners came fortunately and did a sort of “The Assasin” style ‘cleaners’ job on the kitchen later.) Max wanted me to pick up some dressings and come home; i was dubious about the detour but he assured me it was fine. Told him to stop using flannels and put the worst bits back under running water and headed home.

Poor Maddy. She had 4 largish raw spots on her face, top layer of skin, like a blister that had lost it’s top, 10 or so down her arm and a patch about 2 inches square on her upper arm that had skin hanging off it. I saw that underwater and thought “hmmm… casualty” and then decided that getting a panicking Maddy to casualty on my own, with no easy parking and no spare adult was not going to be much fun. So decided i would call an ambulance instead. It wasn’t that i thoguht she was in any danger but i didn’t think we could manage to get her anywhere without much more distress and she was grey and shaking with shock (and cold!) too. All the scalds were in places that were going to be hard to dress myself, or clothe her around and it seemed the simplest answer.

Ambulance blokes were lovely and patched her up, agreed to avoid casualty and told us to get her calm and then take her off for proper dressings later. The patch that had freaked me turned out to be more blister skin filled with the running water than anything else ( i confess to taking one look and then retching and deciding not to investigate further). Took a long time to stop shaking but after some trifle and Nanny MacPhee she began to warm to sickness like a man…. “i think i feel too sore to hold the Wii controller…..”

Took Fran to cello. Her teacher (am i the kind of person to go on about my kids like they are geniuses? I try not to but i may be about to do it now!) is very pleased with her and is giving her sets of 8-10 tunes per week to do. She’s bowing really nicely, hearing the notes nicely, reading the music well and already able to find notes without looking down. Today the teacher spent quite a while doing theory with her and played a duet with her that apparently lots of 11 year old starters find very difficult. She got Fran to sing a tune and congratulated her on how accurate her ‘ear’ is. I’d say she’s got quite a natural aptitude for it, which is great and i can kind of tell from the way the teacher is reacting to her and pushing her to try new things that Fran is proving able. There is something about the way Fran holds the cello and her assurance with it; for someone who has only been learning for 3 weeks she quite stuns me. She is certainly much more able than i was at that stage.

This week she has got to learn to use her first finger on every string, learn to find the octave up for each note and get her written note recognition as perfect as possible. Her timing is good, i think it is the dancing (and probably the decent grip on maths) that helps there; 4 years of dancing is bound to have given her a good start on listening to rhythm and so on. She is so excited by it; i can see her finding it such a challenge.

Her lessons happen to be in the maths department; we’ve been looking at some of the optical illusions on the walls (that was ART in my day!) and today we happened to be waiting in the “Levels” area… aside from factoring (not done yet as i don’t know what it means so i’m evading it till i get that far in my course!) she appeared to be able to do all the examples on the board.

She’s never seen an equation until today…

“Fran, what do you think the answer to k -20 = 40 is?”

“60. Duh.”

I’ll shut up then. Just the sight of a letter in a sum was still throwing me at 16!!!!

On the way home we got talking about the Elizabeth Chadwick novels i have just read my way through. As we were leaving Huntingdon i started talking to her about Waltheof of Huntingdon, a Saxon Earl in the days immediately after the Norman Conquest. Was very interesting. We talked about some of the Chroniclers of the time, historians/storytellers who made records of the events of the age and how their accounts of the era have to be viewed in a circumspect manner. Interesting to be able to discuss the validity of source material with her now and particularly good when our area has so many of them. Crowland and Thorney Abbey both have chronicles attributed to them and much of the source material of the time is very um… questionable. It depended very much on the who, how and why’s of the writer; how much time they spent at court, how devout they were, what their agenda was (how lacking in sanity they were) and how much they liked a good yarn. Some of them were known to pad out a dull area of a characters real life with a bit of dragon fighting, just to liven it up!

Waltheof was buried at Crowland and became a place of pilgrimage where miracles were said to occur; i’m not sure if his tomb was destroyed during the reformation, but apparently there is no mention of it there now. Must take a visit. Have been meaning to for 10 years!

We also chatted about how language and understanding would change over the years, how old Saxon/English mutated, through Norman French, into our current language. Trying to explain a gradual alteration, i’ve found, is tricky with children; i suppose they just find long spaces of time difficult to comprehend. We settled on using Opal Fruits as an explanation; I used to call them Opal Fruits and so did Daddy, they haven’t been called Opal Fruits for a long time, but if i ask Daddy to buy me Opal Fruits he will know what i mean and come home with Starbursts. Likewise there is every chance that Fran will always know them by both names, even though they haven’t been Opal Fruits in her life time. We talked a bit out inches and cms and old money denominations being the same, how it takes a long time for an inherited but “defunct” knoweldge to die out from our collective memory.

Interesting stuff.