Circumstances have meant i haven’t done this in a while. This is just a day, as it happens. Not typical, not atypical. Just a day in a life of having a life lived the way we want it, in the last week before school imposes itself on our life and changes it.

Amelie spent a lot of time drawing. She’s 7 now, old enough for me to be worrying about her education. I don’t.

The picture is of a hill in the distance with things on the hill accidentally making a face. You follow?

Maddy took a heap of books on Ancient Britain and finding about past cultures to my bed and spent a loooooong time  reading them.

Josie played on her glock. She’s getting more prepared to try this now and even joined in with last weeks music lesson.

She also did lots of jigsaws. We sell Orchard Toys now but all these come from a stock of long owned, long loved puzzles from the cupboard. I’ve watched most of my children grow up with these.

Amelie was still drawing.

Fran, for better or worse, was brushing up on maths skills ready for starting school next week.

Amelie has largely taught herself to read and submerged herself in Usborne Fairy Tales.

Maddy was still reading. I know it looks like she’s asleep but she isn’t. She’s just very like me and thinks bed is an excellent place for reading a book.

Maddy has developed a real knack for sewing lately and has worked through all the projects in a lovely little sewing kit. This is the last one.

Fran was doing a story at this point, quite happily and much improved by listening to my suggestions for impressing the marker. Amelie and Maddy did music practise but i forgot to photograph that.

Josie had gone to play somewhere else. This is evidence of why my house is a mess and we spend half the day sorting it out. No one ever puts anything away. (Me included.)

Maddy decided to build a long house in Fimo but wasn’t happy with the way her roof strut was going to work. So she baked the house on its own and then came up with a plan to support the roof. (All worked out by herself, including multiple bakes.)

(As an aside, me and Max have a ridiculous fondness for that knife, which was out first mutual domestic purchase. I keep it to remind me i will definitely turn into my parents.)

After that, the house went on much better.

Forgot to photo some rabbit worship, feeding and cleaning out that went on then. Fran also spent quite a while reading Tony Robinson’s Kings and Queens, but i forgot to take a photo of that too.

More house; too much house but was the only particularly interesting thing going on in the house by then (Josie and Amelie had devised a shop, with money and prices, but i wasn’t allowed in to look.) Did love the process Maddy went through with the house though.

Excellent sewing. Maddy did seem to have a particularly creative day today.

And then finally off for the big 2 to go to Jazz and then Maddy to gym, then Fran to gym. Little 2 came home and continued with game before flopping in front of a film.

A more normal day might include some (quite a lot) of Education City (but most of our internet connection is down) and more music and a good bit more written work or even a good bit more of me reading to them. But this particular day didn’t, which is possibly good as it make the photos more interesting.

The Bitter Homeschooler

Thanks to Bob – i laughed a lot If only i wasn’t suddenly feeling so ridiculously grim about my daughter starting school in a week, i’d feel even better