Diary pages, December 2013

18/12/2013

Mollie asked how broken bones mend so after breakfast and morning chores which both Mollie and Jake helped with, we spent some time  looking it up in the books we have about how the body works. Jacob joined us and we looked through both books and found the answer (new bone grows) this led on to them browsing through both books and asking me to read bits and pieces (actually, Jacob read aloud the bits he was interested in and I helped him when he got stuck), they then asked me to read a chapter of each of their preferred books. Mollie chose how babies are made and grow from the first book of questions about the human body and Jacob chose the digestive system from the Osbourne lift the flap book on the human body.

Charlie got up late today, he has a mouth ulcer and said he was feeling achy and so went off to have a bath, to soothe his aches.

After lunch we decided we wanted to play a board game but  we couldn't all agree on one we all wanted to play then Charlie decided to go off and do something else, so I helped Mollie with her puzzles (during which she told me that the shapes on the back of the pieces of one of them were hexagons and that hexagons have six sides), then we played blackjack (good practice for adding up) with Jacob (Mollie teamed up with me).

At teatime Mollie helped me make the batter for the toad in the hole.

In the evening I played hairdressers with Mollie and read a few chapters of Mr Gum and the Dancing bear to Jacob, Mollie and I settled down to sleep whilst listening to the complete tales of Beatrix Potter (we finished reading Milly Molly Mandy yesterday) the boys usually have an audio book on to go to sleep too but I don't know what they chose last night.

19/12/2013
Mollie and I started off the morning reading Issi Noho's alphabet and completing the Sudoku puzzles at the bottom of each page we read about letters A and B and completed puzzles a-e Mollie picked it up very quickly.

I spent the morning doing the usual chores, putting on yet another new toilet seat and preparing tonight's dinner (beef stew), whilst Mollie and Jacob played and Charlie created a dungeon's and dragon's character for Jacob.

After lunch we played carcassonne, then I bug combed Mollie and Charlie, Jake is going to be done tomorrow after his bath.

Then it was 3pm (the time that the children are allowed screen time if they get up by 9 otherwise they have to wait for an hour later for each hour they are late getting up) so Jake went on the ipad, Charlie got up at 11am today so has to wait until 5 to go on, this is a consequence I have set to ensure the children have plenty of opportunity to explore other things away from screens.  Mollie and I played hairdressers and dentists for a while, then I did some blogging whilst she played on my phone.

Jacob and Mollie helped make dumplings to go with our stew which had been bubbling away nicely in the slo cooker all day, we had dinner earlier than usual today. It was nice to have a Thursday afternoon/evening at home for a change - we are usually at our trampolining/games lessons taught by a local youth worker, we club together to hire the local youth centre each week with some friends from our home ed group and that is usually followed by more trampolining for Jake at Wight Flyers, so we're usually not home till after 8pm.

Our Week in a list - beginning Sunday 27th Oct 2013

This week we:

Went to Wight flyers - Trampolining/ Gymnastics club

Did Puzzles

Played Games:
Game of life
Connect 4

Watched Documentary's:
Monkey Life
Emergency Animal Rescue
Earth ..

Learnt about Lithography - studied Lithographic prints, looked up meaning in dictionary, read about inventor and process, watched you tube clips of the process of lithography both in a professional setting and a kitchen table setting. (Milton Bradley who designed the game of life was a successful lithographer).

Practiced our dictionary/research skills

Celebrated Charlie's birthday

Jewellery making

Sewing

Took part in halloween activities:

We went to a Halloween craft afternoon where we made jar lanterns, painted cardboard pumpkins, decorated biscuits, did some drawing, chatted and shared with friends, ate cake and took part in cleaning up.

We carved our pumpkin,
Made costumes
Got together with friends and family and went Trick or Treating

Baked and Cooked - banana bread, cup cakes and pancakes.

Read Stories - The Hunger Games, Milly-Molly-Mandy

Did Chores

Went Shopping

Got together with friends to play Badminton and Pool

Did lots of drawing

Made Lists

Spent time writing

Played a Medical School Game on the computer

Discussed politics, banking, bank charges, bank accounts, what being overdrawn means, will there be a revolution?

Discussed decorating boys bedroom colour scheme etc.