We've Got Guests...

Much to our great excitement we've had a pair blue tits flying in and out of our bird box. Their little beaks all full of moss and twigs. I'm not sure whether they'll stay to lay their eggs or not, but at least we've had some interest. To be honest I've never really watched birds closely in a bird box. They seem to be really busy from early morning til lunchtime, and then disappear for the afternoon. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see if they return tomorrow.

Pics are a bit blurry I had to take them through the kitchen window.

We haven't done much else today, normal housework stuff and basically lazing about. Hettie started drawing up some rough sketches of her dream house for her buildings and shelters block next week, and made a list of which workmen she thought were needed to build a house. She had her piano lesson and is getting on really well. She's itching to start violin as well, but I'm holding out at the moment - 1) cost, 2) we've got a pretty full week anyway and 3) we'll probably need ear plugs when she practices!!

Issy has played in her room all day which meant it was pretty quiet, but her room looks like a bombs gone off in there. Still you can't have it all ways.

The Secret Six ....

We had some friends over for the day. Six kids all ran straight out in the garden and down into the woods, taking the dog with them. Reminded me a bit of Enid Blyton's Secret Seven stories. The dog made seven! The weather stayed fine and they only reappeared for lunch and later in the afternoon for drinks and crisps. I didn't manage to get any pics, but the day ended with a lot of muddy kids and one extremely muddy dog, who had been rolling in the ditch - Yuk!! My friend's kids were extremely well behaved and a pleasure to have round.

Mum's? Well we do what we do best, sit round drinking tea, feed kids, water kids, discuss HE and various resources and curriculums, good bits and bad bits, feed kids, water kids, wipe dog, pass on some life stories and shared future dreams, gather kids up for home time, wipe dog. Make a pile of things they left behind.

Dh came home at the tail end and was amazed how tidy it was - well they were outside all day, and put the bird box up, which maybe a bit late for this year but never mind, at least its up. We may be lucky.

Its outside the kitchen window so we can keep an eye out!

For those of you who were interested, here's our 'school' room. We don't actually sit out there to work all the time, often prefering the lounge, and technically it was a play room when the girls were younger. Then it very nearly became a dining room, but then fate intervened and it became a school room.

Off to mop the floors, get two grubby girls in the bath, so I can settle down with a glass of wine and watch 'How to look good naked', new series tonight.

PJ Day ...

Ok it was a lazy PJ day today. But when the postman gave me a funny look (when he delivered a parcel - guess what books!) as if to say it's nearly lunchtime, we got going. Well we got dressed. I looked at my new books, Issy played on the computer and Hettie watched Animal Planet.

Books were great because they are for Hettie's Waldorf Grade 4 and I really love our Waldorf curriculum, and I need them to plan her work. I got Roy Wilkinson's The Human Being and The Animal World, and The Norse Stories and Their Significance, and Eric Fairmans Path of Discovery Grade 4, all from Bob and Nancy's. I think I'm beginning to get my head around her Man and Animal block now, which is a bit daunting when you first look at it.

I printed out their Nature Detectives weekly challenge which is all about ladybirds and they settled down to it. I sorted the washing & done some ironing.

I've put an order in with Sonlight, but decided against buying a Core for Issy for the time being. So I ordered some Readers, Read Alouds, Singapore maths, Time Line books and another markable map. I've got 8 weeks of Issy's curriculum completed now and am ploughing on.

So far we have Issy:
6 week block on Animal Fables and Legends
6 week block on Saints and Hero's
Individual readers

Hettie:
6 week block on Man and Animal
6 week block on Norse Myths
Individual readers

Both together:
Daily verse/poem/tongue twisters
Singapore Maths
Grammar and Spelling using Galore Park Junior English Book 1 and Grammar Ace
History for both using Galore Park History Book 1 and HE Marshall Our Island Story
Read Alouds for both
Art/Craft/Cooking for both
Science/Nature Study for both

Hettie has an option to miss the history bit if she wants, because she's doing fine with Waldorf and its not part of her curriculum. I think she'll probably listen in & skip activities!! Sounds good in theory LOL.

The weather remains what can only be described as bizarre, snowing and freezing this morning, sun shining and roasting by 3pm. I went to work this afternoon which meant we missed our local HE trip to the theatre for a back stage tour, but we've friends coming for the day tomorrow or next day, so that will make up for it!

All Dressed Up & Nowhere To Go ....

Oh dear, all kitted out with her new stuff, and ready for her first sailing lesson with dad.


We got up to snow! One day we're sitting on the deck in the sun and then the next it snows. It was pretty steady all morning, so that put an end to the sailing. Unfortunately because it's tidal they won't be able to go next weekend either. Mind you, I don't think Hettie fancied going out in the cold anyway, so she didn't put up much resistance to the change of plans.

So dh and I decided as we had a day free (at last) we would have a good reorganise of clutter and cupboards. My in-laws had a sideboard going free, so we wrestled that into the 'school' room and I sorted it all out, actually it wasn't too untidy so it didn't take long. We then decided our bedroom was desperately in need of help, it was becoming a storeroom. I haven't got any pics but boy is it tidy now!! Much easier with two on the job. Dh took all the old stuff for recycling at the tip, several bin bags full. In the middle of the mess my niece came with her boyfriend and took the girls to the cinema.

One built in cupboard was so full of old sheets, duvet covers etc we couldn't actually get in what we use. The downstairs loo has been turned back into a cupboard for the time being - us girls don't use it anyway - and so the ironing board etc has now gone from my room, at last. The hoover has a home!

And I have two nice empty shelves to put on all the curriculum stuff I'm planning, most of which is in a heap in the front lounge -

I'll take another pic when it's all organised & labelled.

So I'm hoping to keep going now. The kitchen cupboards are pretty much organised but need a clean out & tidy, and I've got the bathroom to clean, and of course that never ending washing and ironing pile.........

Two Front Teeth....

Issy is missing them. I haven't got a picture yet, but she does look odd somehow. The bottom ones fell out but not in the normal manner, they leant further and further forward and the new teeth were nearly fully grown behind them. So she had 4 bottom teeth for some time.

Last night at 11.30pm she came down to say a top one had fallen out, she 'had been asleep but suddenly woke up when it fell out' - likely story! Still at least its school holidays. At 10pm tonight the other one came out. Anyway she doesn't like the whole business of teeth falling out and it's made her feel quite ill. Added to that she's vain and I had to sit with her until 11pm tonight when she finally plucked up the courage to look in the mirror. I'm now waiting for her to go to sleep so the tooth fairy can visit.

She has got odd teeth - she was born with five, all in a row. They came through four or six at a time and she never moaned once. Hettie on the other hand, screamed and created for about 3 months prior to every single one. It was a long painful process.

Other than teeth, we've had a pretty lazy day. Girls managed to complete their jobs again and Hettie had piano this afternoon. Dh was home early and mowed the new grass - first cut. It seems fine though, all growing nicely, no patches anywhere. The dog rolled and rolled on it !! I'm ploughing on with Issy's curriculum, working on a six week block of Saints & Hero's. There's some terrific stories, we're going to enjoy that block.

We're off to the country park with some friends tomorrow, so hopefully the lovely sunny weather will hold.

Nice day today...

We all went to a friends today for lunch. All the kids played together and had a great time, luckily enough it was warm Spring weather and they got to play in the garden. They all ate lunch watching a DVD about tigers which meant mum's got to chat. So it was a nice leisurely day. I took the Galore Park books and everyone agreed they look good and were reasonably priced. Hettie's gone off to fencing and Issy is playing with her Polly Pockets. She's particularly looking for a miniscule yellow shoe, which I think has possibly been hoovered!

So not many chores done today, and I've run out of washing powder, so shops early tomorrow. I figure we'll do extra, and early, tomorrow to catch up.

I'm beginning to peruse Grade 4 Waldorf for Hettie and trying to sort it out in my head. I think she's going to really enjoy it though, not as practical as this year but a bit more of a mix. I'd like to keep the local geography block for this time next year so we can get out and about.

I'm also pondering on a summer project for them both to do this year. They're both still in 'it's school holiday' mode, but will end up 'bored' if we don't do something. Hopefully we will have our veg growing and garden to tend for some of the time at least. If we can get onto the grass we can sit about and read some good books as well, which is just what hot summer days are for!

Day Two of Chores....

Well it hasn't worn of yet. Bedrooms have been tidied, playroom has been tidied, tables set, cleared and wiped, dishwasher emptied and oh boy what a difference. I taught Hettie to iron today. She got her clothes out of the tumble and folded them, and carried them up to either put away or iron. She ironed in more creases than she ironed out, but in the end we got there. I think she was quite chuffed with herself, but her arm was aching LOL!! Not sure they've both quite realised they've got more washing to do tomorrow before we go out to our friends for lunch.

Mrs D's blog made me laugh today, which was basically about doing housework and being unorganised. But although I thought she may have popped to our house like a fly on the wall I took some of her advice, i.e. get on with it! So we are tidied and fairly clean, washing is nearly at the bottom of the basket, sorry huge heap. Just the ironing to tackle now! I even did some of that today.

The girls painted, and cleared away after, and then they both helped make lunch. Hettie spent the afternoon building lego and Issy practiced her dance. I managed to get 6 weeks of Issy's curriculum completed.

I've based the language arts on Grade 2 Waldorf and for the first 6 weeks we're going to cover Aesops Fables, Lessings Fables, African Fables and some Beatrix Potter tales (not strictly Waldorf). The plan is that for this 6 week block Hettie will complete her Man & Animal work. I'm waiting for some books from Bob & Nancy's to arrive before I can plan this. I plan a shared block on Native Americans, and then Hettie will have a block on local geography & history. I'm deciding whether to let Issy join in here or do her own block. No doubt it'll come together eventually!