A second At Home Day imposed on us this time by the car taking two days at the garage for its service and MOT.
The morning was spent with Bean, 9, videoing stop frame animation and Pumpkin, 8, playing roblox, Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2, playing play dough.
We went out to the cafe at Sainsbury for lunch and essential food supplies. We had plans to go to the play park but it was raining so we went home via the weir instead.
During the afternoon the Big Three recorded three Trying Not To Laugh Challenges whilst Pippin watched Bing and we got the skateboards out. Then the Big Three played roblox together. Bean and Plum played hide and seek with each other and Plum and Pippin played in the garden together.
Our Tribe
Thursday, 30 March 2017
Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Double please
As if to highlight quite how much Pippin, 2, enjoys and devours Topsy and Tim, she has started saying "double please."
Bean,9, has dictated another three chapters of his Minecraft Adventure Story. Pumpkin, 8, enjoyed his requested trip to the beach, and Plum, 5, made a return trip to Little Verse after almost a whole term off.
Monday morning began with Plum getting up and dressed and announcing that she was ready for Little Verse as she had heard the notices given in church yesterday and it was definitely on. So we came to the arrangment that i would take her and Pippin to Little Verse in the morning and we would all go to Lancing Beach as we had planned in the afternoon. The beach was the most idylistic time. It was completely perfect except for missing daddy. The big three played on the rocks whilst Pippin searched for the ideal stone. I transcribed a chapter of Bean's book. Pumpkin and i played PokemonGo. All the children paddled in the sea.
Tuesday was an At Home Day. Plum busy as ever with den making and playing toy horses and decorating her hair. Bean and Pumpkin played Roblox, Bean got to chapter 5 of his story, Pumpkin watched ballisticSquid, we read books together, Plum likes reading the repeatitive books to us.
Bean,9, has dictated another three chapters of his Minecraft Adventure Story. Pumpkin, 8, enjoyed his requested trip to the beach, and Plum, 5, made a return trip to Little Verse after almost a whole term off.
Monday morning began with Plum getting up and dressed and announcing that she was ready for Little Verse as she had heard the notices given in church yesterday and it was definitely on. So we came to the arrangment that i would take her and Pippin to Little Verse in the morning and we would all go to Lancing Beach as we had planned in the afternoon. The beach was the most idylistic time. It was completely perfect except for missing daddy. The big three played on the rocks whilst Pippin searched for the ideal stone. I transcribed a chapter of Bean's book. Pumpkin and i played PokemonGo. All the children paddled in the sea.
Tuesday was an At Home Day. Plum busy as ever with den making and playing toy horses and decorating her hair. Bean and Pumpkin played Roblox, Bean got to chapter 5 of his story, Pumpkin watched ballisticSquid, we read books together, Plum likes reading the repeatitive books to us.
Monday, 27 March 2017
Not for saele
Friday we took a trip into town, the library twice, the playpark twice and the toyshop. Bean, 9, ordered Pokemon books from the library and a puzzle story book. We found a book called All aboard the Poo Bus which Pumpkin, 8, chose to bring home, Plum, 5, found a Little Princess book and Pippin, 2, found a Bing book.
The toyshop resulted in new shopkins, grosseries and a pop gun.
And our wander around town resulted in Pumpkin seeing our house for sale in an estate agent window. There was quite the upset to follow, for days, it might continue for days to come also.
Saturday we had no plans. Plum and Bean decided that the paddling pool should come out. We filled it with water and put the slide in. Bean and one go and declared it cold. Pippin and Plum spent more time outside the pool playing with a few toys in it. Pumpkin is immersing himself in BallisticSquid videos on YouTube. There was also more talk from the boys, specifically Bean, about not moving.
Sunday was Mother's Day. Bean had made me some things in mincraft, sculptures of hearts and words that said Best Mum. Plum took daddy to the shop specifically to buy me a present (nail varnish) which we then used to paint each others nails in the garden. We washed the toys in the paddling pool and daddy made us a picnic snack of apples and grapes.
We went to church in the morning, daddy stayed home with Pumpkin. We played cricket in the garden with the other children and Bean wanted to know if we would still come to this church when we move.
We read Bean's puzzle book at lunch time and he completes all the puzzles. And in the evening he dictates a minecraft story to me. We write chapter 1 and part of chapter 2. He has also written two signs for our house. One says 'no moov home' and the second is in our front window and says 'not for saele'.
The toyshop resulted in new shopkins, grosseries and a pop gun.
And our wander around town resulted in Pumpkin seeing our house for sale in an estate agent window. There was quite the upset to follow, for days, it might continue for days to come also.
Saturday we had no plans. Plum and Bean decided that the paddling pool should come out. We filled it with water and put the slide in. Bean and one go and declared it cold. Pippin and Plum spent more time outside the pool playing with a few toys in it. Pumpkin is immersing himself in BallisticSquid videos on YouTube. There was also more talk from the boys, specifically Bean, about not moving.
Sunday was Mother's Day. Bean had made me some things in mincraft, sculptures of hearts and words that said Best Mum. Plum took daddy to the shop specifically to buy me a present (nail varnish) which we then used to paint each others nails in the garden. We washed the toys in the paddling pool and daddy made us a picnic snack of apples and grapes.
We went to church in the morning, daddy stayed home with Pumpkin. We played cricket in the garden with the other children and Bean wanted to know if we would still come to this church when we move.
We read Bean's puzzle book at lunch time and he completes all the puzzles. And in the evening he dictates a minecraft story to me. We write chapter 1 and part of chapter 2. He has also written two signs for our house. One says 'no moov home' and the second is in our front window and says 'not for saele'.
Friday, 24 March 2017
Such Fun
The morning was spent playing with the Peppa Pig and Bing sets with Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2. Bean, 9, played on his tablet and Pumpkin, 8, played Roblox on the pc sometimes Bean joined him via cyberspace.
Gymnastics continues to be a favourite with Plum and Bean. Plum now goes in on her own but only after the group has done the warm up games and stretches. Pumpkin played on his tablet and watched some people playing squash.
Back home Plum disappeared to rest, Bean put on James and the Giant Peach to watch follo2ed by Turbo. Pumpkin played more Roblox.
Plum came out on adventures with mummy in the evenin to Maraccatak with friends from church. Such fun.
Gymnastics continues to be a favourite with Plum and Bean. Plum now goes in on her own but only after the group has done the warm up games and stretches. Pumpkin played on his tablet and watched some people playing squash.
Back home Plum disappeared to rest, Bean put on James and the Giant Peach to watch follo2ed by Turbo. Pumpkin played more Roblox.
Plum came out on adventures with mummy in the evenin to Maraccatak with friends from church. Such fun.
Thursday, 23 March 2017
Look at my shells
Daddy took the car today and the weather was blustery and raining so we had a double reason to stay at home today.
Plum, 5, began the day playing a magnetic dressing game with Pippin, 2, and mummy. She played in a fort that Bean, 9, built for her and washed the shells that Pumpkin, 8, had put. This was followed by playing with moinsand in the garden with Pippin. They took their camping chairs outside and sat in the garden chit chatting for a while too.
Pumpkin played the Escapists on his tablet and the pc today. He has almost escaped Centre Perks on the pc and escaped level 1 on the tablet. He looked at our shell collection for a while, mostly exclaiming how soft they are and looking at the ridges and bumps on each of them.
Bean built a fort for Plum and Pippin and it had an official opening with the cuting of the ribbon. He made a treasure hunt for daddy by writing notes for him to follow to the next location.
Bean also made pizza with me. We made the dough in the breadmaker and then each of the smalls put on their own toppings.
Plum, 5, began the day playing a magnetic dressing game with Pippin, 2, and mummy. She played in a fort that Bean, 9, built for her and washed the shells that Pumpkin, 8, had put. This was followed by playing with moinsand in the garden with Pippin. They took their camping chairs outside and sat in the garden chit chatting for a while too.
Pumpkin played the Escapists on his tablet and the pc today. He has almost escaped Centre Perks on the pc and escaped level 1 on the tablet. He looked at our shell collection for a while, mostly exclaiming how soft they are and looking at the ridges and bumps on each of them.
Bean built a fort for Plum and Pippin and it had an official opening with the cuting of the ribbon. He made a treasure hunt for daddy by writing notes for him to follow to the next location.
Bean also made pizza with me. We made the dough in the breadmaker and then each of the smalls put on their own toppings.
Wednesday, 22 March 2017
Blown Away
Bean, 9, has been asking for a while to go to the arcades in Worthing and Pumpkin, 8, was keen to go to the beach, Plum, 5, has been planning a picnic in the sunshine for days so today was the day. It was beautiful and sunny but windy. We walked in no time from the play area on the sea front to the lido and ate ice cream and cake together before going to the arcade.
The children each had a pot of pennies to put in the penny machines. Pippin, 2, put in a few pennies and won a lot more, this happened repeatedly, she definitely left the arcade with more pennies than she went in with! Bean played splat a rat and we found a star wars pod racing game that he played with Pumpkin. Pumpkin and Bean played twice on the air hockey and then Plum and Pippin had a go too. Pumpkin also had several turns on the grabber machines to try and win Pippin a toy. He also won a fair bit on the penny machines and betting on the horse race. Plum was struggling with the idea that you don't always win and that you have to put the pennies in the game to even be in with a chance, she prefered to go on the rides.
Pumpkin found a bag of shells he liked in the beach shop on the way back.
We sat in a shelter on the way back to the car and ate as it was so windy no one wanted to sit on the beach. Pumpkin found a stone in the shape of a heart and Plum talked about an episode of Bing with diggers on the beach as we passed a construction team working on a new set of defenses.
The walk back to the car was longer and more difficult. Pippin walked the whole way as we walked into the oncoming wind.
Back home and daddy was home early. We replenished drinks and snacks, mummy emptied all the bags and daddy cooked dinner. Bean put on the Lego Movie and then after we'd eaten, Bean and daddy watched episode two of Fungus the Bogeyman with Plum.
The children each had a pot of pennies to put in the penny machines. Pippin, 2, put in a few pennies and won a lot more, this happened repeatedly, she definitely left the arcade with more pennies than she went in with! Bean played splat a rat and we found a star wars pod racing game that he played with Pumpkin. Pumpkin and Bean played twice on the air hockey and then Plum and Pippin had a go too. Pumpkin also had several turns on the grabber machines to try and win Pippin a toy. He also won a fair bit on the penny machines and betting on the horse race. Plum was struggling with the idea that you don't always win and that you have to put the pennies in the game to even be in with a chance, she prefered to go on the rides.
Pumpkin found a bag of shells he liked in the beach shop on the way back.
We sat in a shelter on the way back to the car and ate as it was so windy no one wanted to sit on the beach. Pumpkin found a stone in the shape of a heart and Plum talked about an episode of Bing with diggers on the beach as we passed a construction team working on a new set of defenses.
The walk back to the car was longer and more difficult. Pippin walked the whole way as we walked into the oncoming wind.
Back home and daddy was home early. We replenished drinks and snacks, mummy emptied all the bags and daddy cooked dinner. Bean put on the Lego Movie and then after we'd eaten, Bean and daddy watched episode two of Fungus the Bogeyman with Plum.
Tuesday, 21 March 2017
Hush
A quiet and peaceful day, all day.
Pippin, 2, sat colouring in her picture book snuggled under the duvet on mummy's bed.
Plum, 5, creating a puzzle display from four puzzles she worked on for hours and a game of animal and colour bingo with mummy.
Sitting with Pumpkin, 8, reading for him as he played The Escapists.
Bean, 9, sharing his favoutie YouTube videos with me and purchasing The Escapist app.
Playing minecraft together for three hours: building houses from instructions in books and playing Hunger Games together.
Reading stories to Bean, Plum and Pippin in the evening and running a bath for Bean.
Pippin, 2, sat colouring in her picture book snuggled under the duvet on mummy's bed.
Plum, 5, creating a puzzle display from four puzzles she worked on for hours and a game of animal and colour bingo with mummy.
Sitting with Pumpkin, 8, reading for him as he played The Escapists.
Bean, 9, sharing his favoutie YouTube videos with me and purchasing The Escapist app.
Playing minecraft together for three hours: building houses from instructions in books and playing Hunger Games together.
Reading stories to Bean, Plum and Pippin in the evening and running a bath for Bean.
Sunday, 19 March 2017
London, lunch and lego
Friday
We had a home day on Friday with a very relaxed and easy vibe.
Bean, 9, made up a game based on things he has watched. It was called Dare or Dodge? He wrote two sets of cards, one with Dares on the back and one set with Dodge challenges on the back (less risky dares!!) We played one round and then he and Plum, 5, wrote some more and before the third round I got to write some too. We used the monopoly board to move around and the rules were that if you landed on a hotel you picked a dare card and if you landed on a house you picked a dodge. You could also do a dodge instead of a dare if you chose to. It was a great and fun game and we played it several times throughout the day and again with daddy in the evening.
Plum was keen to have a fairy picnic outside but then wasn't keen on the weather so we ate the tiny chocolate chip cakes we had made with pizza and picniced on the living room floor and watched The Lion King together.
Pumpkin, 8, continued playing Terreria and Minecraft PE for most of the day. He joined in Bean's game and helped write the shopping list.
Daddy attended his third funeral so far this year. Food for thought.
Saturday
Mummy and Bean had a day together. We took the train to London, had lunch in a cafe and went to the Lego Shop on Leicester Square. Bean had a fantastic time. He loves earing out and declared the pizza to be the best pizza ever. And we loved the lego shop and only queued to get in for ten minutes. We played Star Wars Top Trumps in the queue. Bean bought a Batman Joker car, nexo knight shield and blind bags for Plum and Pumpkin.
We played Top Trumps and Lego on the way home together.
Back home Pumpkin had spent the day playing Roblox, Plum and Pippin playing dollies and daddy tidying the house as we had a viewing at 4pm (which coincided nicely with picking us up from the train station) and the saga of buying and selling houses continues.
Daddy had i have come up with a plan for Pumpkin and church after last weeks epic fall out.
We had a home day on Friday with a very relaxed and easy vibe.
Bean, 9, made up a game based on things he has watched. It was called Dare or Dodge? He wrote two sets of cards, one with Dares on the back and one set with Dodge challenges on the back (less risky dares!!) We played one round and then he and Plum, 5, wrote some more and before the third round I got to write some too. We used the monopoly board to move around and the rules were that if you landed on a hotel you picked a dare card and if you landed on a house you picked a dodge. You could also do a dodge instead of a dare if you chose to. It was a great and fun game and we played it several times throughout the day and again with daddy in the evening.
Plum was keen to have a fairy picnic outside but then wasn't keen on the weather so we ate the tiny chocolate chip cakes we had made with pizza and picniced on the living room floor and watched The Lion King together.
Pumpkin, 8, continued playing Terreria and Minecraft PE for most of the day. He joined in Bean's game and helped write the shopping list.
Daddy attended his third funeral so far this year. Food for thought.
Saturday
Mummy and Bean had a day together. We took the train to London, had lunch in a cafe and went to the Lego Shop on Leicester Square. Bean had a fantastic time. He loves earing out and declared the pizza to be the best pizza ever. And we loved the lego shop and only queued to get in for ten minutes. We played Star Wars Top Trumps in the queue. Bean bought a Batman Joker car, nexo knight shield and blind bags for Plum and Pumpkin.
We played Top Trumps and Lego on the way home together.
Back home Pumpkin had spent the day playing Roblox, Plum and Pippin playing dollies and daddy tidying the house as we had a viewing at 4pm (which coincided nicely with picking us up from the train station) and the saga of buying and selling houses continues.
Daddy had i have come up with a plan for Pumpkin and church after last weeks epic fall out.
Friday, 17 March 2017
Let the sunshine
Thursday is gymnastics day for Bean, 9, and Plum, 5. The smalls spent the morning playing. Plum and Pippin, 2, played a mummy and baby game which largely involved Pippin sitting in the laundry basket and being pushed around by Plum. Bean and Pumpkin, 8, played Doughnut games, Terreria and minecraft together. Bean also worked on a growing lego creation.
Daddy made it to gymnastics today in his lunch break. Bean was doing forward somersaults into the pit and jumps off the spring board. Plum was doing piroettes and then jumping into the pit.
Back home the big three played the role play pirate game again and then we took our bikes to the park for a couple of hours. Plum's chain came off her bike so we fixed that when we got home.
The big three then played the Prison Game together (based on The Escapist) until food was ready and then Plum put on The Mr Men dvd being inspired by finding a Mr Men book at the park.
Both boys took a bath, Pippin, Plum and Bean all had stories before bed.
Daddy made it to gymnastics today in his lunch break. Bean was doing forward somersaults into the pit and jumps off the spring board. Plum was doing piroettes and then jumping into the pit.
Back home the big three played the role play pirate game again and then we took our bikes to the park for a couple of hours. Plum's chain came off her bike so we fixed that when we got home.
The big three then played the Prison Game together (based on The Escapist) until food was ready and then Plum put on The Mr Men dvd being inspired by finding a Mr Men book at the park.
Both boys took a bath, Pippin, Plum and Bean all had stories before bed.
Thursday, 16 March 2017
Joy in our heart
Things that make my heart happy:
Bean, 9, asking how to spell things and reading every sign and advert and leaflet we pass. And getting excited about things we have planned or are planning, setting up a game with his siblings and playing together for hours, wanting to tell me about the things he is watching and sharing things that he finds funny and making us laugh, plans to make a bigger origami display for the next showcase event.
Pumpkin, 8, swinging his arm as he runs, finding giant sticks that he has ideas to whittle so it looks like Gandalf's staff, helping his brother up out of the stream, being excited at the Butcher's and choosing something to eat, riding the roundabout with his siblings and letting Pippin push him on the swing.
Plum, 5, making friends with a dog and being so pleased with herself, playing IT with Bean and Pippin, forward rolls at hyperspeed across our bed, playing hide and seek toys with Pippin, waiting up for me before she goes to bed, holding hands as she falls asleep.
Pippin, 2, singing twinkle twinkle as we drive in the car, swinging and swinging and swinging at the park trying to make it go by herself, throwing a ball to the dog and eventually getting out of the buggy and loving the dog, reciting We're going on a Besr Hunt, running to the window to wave at our neighbour in the morning.
Our day was a mixture of Cartoon Network, minecraft, Terreria, a trip to the Butcher's, over an hour at the play park, walking Archie for two hours in the woods, playing The Battle of the Pirates role playing game, hide and seek toys, watching The Pink Panther cartoon, Gobblet, buying Harry Potter collectors stickers and chocolate ice cream.
Bean, 9, asking how to spell things and reading every sign and advert and leaflet we pass. And getting excited about things we have planned or are planning, setting up a game with his siblings and playing together for hours, wanting to tell me about the things he is watching and sharing things that he finds funny and making us laugh, plans to make a bigger origami display for the next showcase event.
Pumpkin, 8, swinging his arm as he runs, finding giant sticks that he has ideas to whittle so it looks like Gandalf's staff, helping his brother up out of the stream, being excited at the Butcher's and choosing something to eat, riding the roundabout with his siblings and letting Pippin push him on the swing.
Plum, 5, making friends with a dog and being so pleased with herself, playing IT with Bean and Pippin, forward rolls at hyperspeed across our bed, playing hide and seek toys with Pippin, waiting up for me before she goes to bed, holding hands as she falls asleep.
Pippin, 2, singing twinkle twinkle as we drive in the car, swinging and swinging and swinging at the park trying to make it go by herself, throwing a ball to the dog and eventually getting out of the buggy and loving the dog, reciting We're going on a Besr Hunt, running to the window to wave at our neighbour in the morning.
Our day was a mixture of Cartoon Network, minecraft, Terreria, a trip to the Butcher's, over an hour at the play park, walking Archie for two hours in the woods, playing The Battle of the Pirates role playing game, hide and seek toys, watching The Pink Panther cartoon, Gobblet, buying Harry Potter collectors stickers and chocolate ice cream.
Wednesday, 15 March 2017
Here be Pirates
Today was a slow, relaxing day. All of the smalls seemed exhausted after yesterday' s Japan Day and we spent most of the day watching films (We're going on a bear hunt and Toystory) and Bakhunan and Bing and Topsy and Tim and playing minecraft and Terreria together.
In the afternoon, Plum, 5 and Pippin, 2, played in the garden together. They took out a selection of cuddly toys and Pippin climbed into the empty rabbit hutch and got stuck. We made chocolate chip cookies together and Plum chose the best one and put it in a tin for daddy.
After this Bean, 9, asked to play a role playing game of pirates, Plum joined in on my team. It's a long time since we played it so we had to relearn the rules as we went. It ended up being a game between Bean and Plum as i occupied Pippin and then Pumpkin came and joined in for game two.
The day ended with watching Pirates of the Carribean.
In the afternoon, Plum, 5 and Pippin, 2, played in the garden together. They took out a selection of cuddly toys and Pippin climbed into the empty rabbit hutch and got stuck. We made chocolate chip cookies together and Plum chose the best one and put it in a tin for daddy.
After this Bean, 9, asked to play a role playing game of pirates, Plum joined in on my team. It's a long time since we played it so we had to relearn the rules as we went. It ended up being a game between Bean and Plum as i occupied Pippin and then Pumpkin came and joined in for game two.
The day ended with watching Pirates of the Carribean.
Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Japan Showcase
The morning was spent with Plum and Pippin, 2, playing obstacle courses in the dinning room with the chairs. They were using the cars inittially to navigate the course which then evolved into them climbing up, down and through the course.
Bean and Pumpkin were looking at Where's Wally books and listening to music in their bedroom.
After visiting the last Japan Showcase in October Bean, 9, and Plum, 5, were both inspired to display their own Japanese interests at todays Japan Showcase. Bean displayed the origami that he has been putting together for weeks and we took the instructions and origami paper too so that others could have a go. Plum put together all her Hello Kitty belongings and, thanks to a fellow HE mum, we were able to play her dvd too.
Bean set up his display, invented his own pokemon at the pokemon display, had his name written in Japanese and played Japanese board games with another HE family. Pumpkin, 8, spent the time watching others play on the wii, playing outside with the other children and playing zombie cards with Bean (making up their own game). Plum showed her collection, played outside in the glorious sunshine a lot with Pippin, she flew origami areoplanes, she had her name written in Japanese and enjoyed some prawn flavoured crackers.
Back home we watched Toy Story and played Terreria together.
Bean and Pumpkin were looking at Where's Wally books and listening to music in their bedroom.
After visiting the last Japan Showcase in October Bean, 9, and Plum, 5, were both inspired to display their own Japanese interests at todays Japan Showcase. Bean displayed the origami that he has been putting together for weeks and we took the instructions and origami paper too so that others could have a go. Plum put together all her Hello Kitty belongings and, thanks to a fellow HE mum, we were able to play her dvd too.
Bean set up his display, invented his own pokemon at the pokemon display, had his name written in Japanese and played Japanese board games with another HE family. Pumpkin, 8, spent the time watching others play on the wii, playing outside with the other children and playing zombie cards with Bean (making up their own game). Plum showed her collection, played outside in the glorious sunshine a lot with Pippin, she flew origami areoplanes, she had her name written in Japanese and enjoyed some prawn flavoured crackers.
Back home we watched Toy Story and played Terreria together.
Monday, 13 March 2017
Old favourites
Friday
We went to Fisher's Farm today. We found three new features which we loved although one is only open weekends and holidays so the children plan to come back tomorrow with daddy.
We spent some time on the indoor slides, Pippin, 2, loved the spiral one and her and Plum, 5, and Pumpkin, 8, raced down the bumpy slides. Outside we went on the go karts folowed by a game of crazy golf and then onto the carousel and where the boys enojoyed the new spinny ride, twice. Then i took the girls on the swings whilst the boys went on the tube slope. We played in the new castle and then pony rides for the big three before spending our pocket money in the shop and then home.
Saturday
Daddy took the children to Fisher's Farm specifically so Bean could do the Sky Jump, which he did three times. He jumped from a height of 4m onto a big pillow.
The remainder of the weekend was spent playing in tablets and cleaning out the animal cages, playing card games and board games, preparing for Japan day with origami and hello kitty, minecraft and Terreria.
We went to Fisher's Farm today. We found three new features which we loved although one is only open weekends and holidays so the children plan to come back tomorrow with daddy.
We spent some time on the indoor slides, Pippin, 2, loved the spiral one and her and Plum, 5, and Pumpkin, 8, raced down the bumpy slides. Outside we went on the go karts folowed by a game of crazy golf and then onto the carousel and where the boys enojoyed the new spinny ride, twice. Then i took the girls on the swings whilst the boys went on the tube slope. We played in the new castle and then pony rides for the big three before spending our pocket money in the shop and then home.
Saturday
Daddy took the children to Fisher's Farm specifically so Bean could do the Sky Jump, which he did three times. He jumped from a height of 4m onto a big pillow.
The remainder of the weekend was spent playing in tablets and cleaning out the animal cages, playing card games and board games, preparing for Japan day with origami and hello kitty, minecraft and Terreria.
Thursday, 9 March 2017
100 ways of Home Ed
Welcome to #100waysofhomeed blog hop. My name is Heidi and my husband and I Home Educate our four children. Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 8, are compulsory school age. Plum, 5, will become compulsory school age after Easter and Pippin is 2. None of our children have ever been to school and, partially due to this, we have very naturally fallen into Unschooling.
You can read about other methods of Home Educating as you follow the blog hop. Yesterday it was Kat writing about What to do About the Teens at boyschooling.blogspot.co.uk
Our reasons for choosing Home Education initially were two fold: In a previous life I was trained as a Primary School Teacher and specialised in Early Years Education and I loved it. I enjoyed watching all those children grow and change and learn and I wanted to be there as my own children grew too. The idea of sending them off for someone else to have that pleasure seemed ironic to me, that I had watched so many other children laugh and play but I would miss my own. There was also the other side of education that I didn't want to put my children through, the tests, the goal setting, the being forced to sit still, being told what to do, when to do it, how to do ot and how long to do it for. Secondly, as Christians, we wanted our children's spiritual journey to be nutured and supported in a way that school would not be able to. As we have travelled down this road we now have 100 more reasons to Home Educate and we will continue to do it for as long as it works for our children and our family.
Unschooling, as a way of Home Educating, was an obvious route for us. Amongst other things Unschooling prioritises our relationships with each other; it focuses on the learner and their learning and not on the teacher or the teaching; as parents, we facilitate our children's interests by doing more of the things they love and helping them discover and explore their passions further; we support our children's natural inquisitiveness and recognise that learning happens all the time. Practically, day to day this means that the children play and learn seamlessly.
Today looked like this:
Bean spent most of the morning watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on his tablet whilst curled up on the sofa. Pumpkin was playing Plants versus Zombies, Clash of Clans and Roblox on his tablet. Plum and Pippin requested the rabbits out so we cleared the living room and got some suitable toys and some food and the rabbits (Lilly and Petal) came inside to have a cuddle and play for an hour.
Bean and Plum then had a gymnastics class. Plum went in for the first time on her own thanks to her gym instructor who came and met her especially at the door, Pippin was definitely not going to let me go in this week. Plum's group did handstands and forward rolls for the first half of the session and then moved onto the trampoline and wall bars for the second half. It was Bean's first class today. His group were using the rings to start with and then moved onto the vault.
After gymnastics, we stayed at the leisure centre and ordered food from the cafe. We sat next to friends as we ate and discussed colour mixing and read various signs and menus together, Bean and Pumpkin agreed that they would like to come to this leisure centre the next time that we go swimming and we contemplated how they made raspberry slush puppies blue.
Pumpkin was enjoying the sunny weather and was keen to go to a park with no shade so that we could be in the sun. A lot of the car journey to and from gymnastics was spent with Pumpkin admiring the early signs of Spring. He was particularly taken with the sunshine, the daffodils and the crocus'. We stopped by a friend's house on the way home to pick up an item that Bean left there yesterday and then home, briefly, to collect our bikes and ride to the play park across the road from our house. It's the first time that I have taken all four on their bikes without additional adult help. It worked well once Plum and Pippin swapped bikes for the journey to the park, Pippin enjoyed riding the bigger bike as I pushed it and Plum could push the much smaller and lighter bike more comfortably. We spent about an hour at the play park which included riding our bikes on the hard standing basketball court before heading home.
Back home, Bean and I played Magic: The Gathering together (he won) whilst Plum helped me select cards and turn the dice to keep score and Pippin took care of all the cards that were in my graveyard. Dinner involved both Bean and Plum writing lists. Bean put together a list of foods that he likes to eat and Plum wrote a list of all the activities she would like to do and shops she would like to go to with daddy.
Every day looks different in our house, we have themes and interests that come and go, and classes and organised events that we plan and pay for. Sometimes we dip in and out of things over long periods of time, sometimes we immerse ourselves in an interest for days on end and sometimes questions and queries are fleeting and merely ponderings (for now, at least). You can find out more about what we get up to day to day by reading more of our blog posts.
The beauty of Home Education is that there are as many ways to Home Educate as there are Home Educating families. Tomorrow on the blog hop you can read about the Whatever Works Approach by Sarah.
You can read about other methods of Home Educating as you follow the blog hop. Yesterday it was Kat writing about What to do About the Teens at boyschooling.blogspot.co.uk
Our reasons for choosing Home Education initially were two fold: In a previous life I was trained as a Primary School Teacher and specialised in Early Years Education and I loved it. I enjoyed watching all those children grow and change and learn and I wanted to be there as my own children grew too. The idea of sending them off for someone else to have that pleasure seemed ironic to me, that I had watched so many other children laugh and play but I would miss my own. There was also the other side of education that I didn't want to put my children through, the tests, the goal setting, the being forced to sit still, being told what to do, when to do it, how to do ot and how long to do it for. Secondly, as Christians, we wanted our children's spiritual journey to be nutured and supported in a way that school would not be able to. As we have travelled down this road we now have 100 more reasons to Home Educate and we will continue to do it for as long as it works for our children and our family.
Unschooling, as a way of Home Educating, was an obvious route for us. Amongst other things Unschooling prioritises our relationships with each other; it focuses on the learner and their learning and not on the teacher or the teaching; as parents, we facilitate our children's interests by doing more of the things they love and helping them discover and explore their passions further; we support our children's natural inquisitiveness and recognise that learning happens all the time. Practically, day to day this means that the children play and learn seamlessly.
Today looked like this:
Bean spent most of the morning watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on his tablet whilst curled up on the sofa. Pumpkin was playing Plants versus Zombies, Clash of Clans and Roblox on his tablet. Plum and Pippin requested the rabbits out so we cleared the living room and got some suitable toys and some food and the rabbits (Lilly and Petal) came inside to have a cuddle and play for an hour.
Bean and Plum then had a gymnastics class. Plum went in for the first time on her own thanks to her gym instructor who came and met her especially at the door, Pippin was definitely not going to let me go in this week. Plum's group did handstands and forward rolls for the first half of the session and then moved onto the trampoline and wall bars for the second half. It was Bean's first class today. His group were using the rings to start with and then moved onto the vault.
After gymnastics, we stayed at the leisure centre and ordered food from the cafe. We sat next to friends as we ate and discussed colour mixing and read various signs and menus together, Bean and Pumpkin agreed that they would like to come to this leisure centre the next time that we go swimming and we contemplated how they made raspberry slush puppies blue.
Pumpkin was enjoying the sunny weather and was keen to go to a park with no shade so that we could be in the sun. A lot of the car journey to and from gymnastics was spent with Pumpkin admiring the early signs of Spring. He was particularly taken with the sunshine, the daffodils and the crocus'. We stopped by a friend's house on the way home to pick up an item that Bean left there yesterday and then home, briefly, to collect our bikes and ride to the play park across the road from our house. It's the first time that I have taken all four on their bikes without additional adult help. It worked well once Plum and Pippin swapped bikes for the journey to the park, Pippin enjoyed riding the bigger bike as I pushed it and Plum could push the much smaller and lighter bike more comfortably. We spent about an hour at the play park which included riding our bikes on the hard standing basketball court before heading home.
Back home, Bean and I played Magic: The Gathering together (he won) whilst Plum helped me select cards and turn the dice to keep score and Pippin took care of all the cards that were in my graveyard. Dinner involved both Bean and Plum writing lists. Bean put together a list of foods that he likes to eat and Plum wrote a list of all the activities she would like to do and shops she would like to go to with daddy.
Every day looks different in our house, we have themes and interests that come and go, and classes and organised events that we plan and pay for. Sometimes we dip in and out of things over long periods of time, sometimes we immerse ourselves in an interest for days on end and sometimes questions and queries are fleeting and merely ponderings (for now, at least). You can find out more about what we get up to day to day by reading more of our blog posts.
The beauty of Home Education is that there are as many ways to Home Educate as there are Home Educating families. Tomorrow on the blog hop you can read about the Whatever Works Approach by Sarah.
Red Letter Day
Today was a red letter day. Today Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 8, successfully went to play at a friends house, O, without me, at Bean's request, whilst mummy, Pippin, 2, and Plum, 5, went to play at Plum's friend's house, V.
In the evening Bean and Plum put on a show for mummy and daddy. There was a Repunzelesque story followed by acrobatics and tumbling.
In the evening Bean and Plum put on a show for mummy and daddy. There was a Repunzelesque story followed by acrobatics and tumbling.
Wednesday, 8 March 2017
Day Eight
On the eighth day of chicken pox, we went out, hurray. I took Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2, to the little play park near our house. We were out for an hour and they were exhausted! We played on everything at almost hyperspeed and then we did it all again. We had a extra long go on the swings when an inquisitive cat arrived and was loitering for a stroke. We played hide and seek and then one more go on everything before heading home.
Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 8, opted to stay home and played lego together. When we got home from the park all the smalls went into the garden. Plum had plans to eat lunch out there. She got the playdough out, Bean got out the bug hunting kit and he and Pumpkin set to finding insects, Pippin had the bubbles out.
After lunch, grandma and pops came to visit. Plum showed them her new bedroom and Bean finished off the natural coaster he was making them so that they could take it home with them. Grandma played online games with Plum and Pops played with Pippin.
Once they had left Pippin promptly fell asleep on the sofa and Plum lay on the sofa watching on her tablet. The boys were watching Cartoon Network.
We watched We're Going on a Bear Hunt and Scooby Doo movies in the evening. Pippin, Plum and Bean had stories with daddy before bed.
Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 8, opted to stay home and played lego together. When we got home from the park all the smalls went into the garden. Plum had plans to eat lunch out there. She got the playdough out, Bean got out the bug hunting kit and he and Pumpkin set to finding insects, Pippin had the bubbles out.
After lunch, grandma and pops came to visit. Plum showed them her new bedroom and Bean finished off the natural coaster he was making them so that they could take it home with them. Grandma played online games with Plum and Pops played with Pippin.
Once they had left Pippin promptly fell asleep on the sofa and Plum lay on the sofa watching on her tablet. The boys were watching Cartoon Network.
We watched We're Going on a Bear Hunt and Scooby Doo movies in the evening. Pippin, Plum and Bean had stories with daddy before bed.
Tuesday, 7 March 2017
Home on the Ranch
Still at home. Day 7. One full week for the girls. But Pippin, 2, is still sporting fresh spots. Plum, 5, is truely on the mend and now itching to go out.
We started the morning with The Winnie The Pooh movie followed by more moon sand play. We built different shaped sandcastles using the moulds we have and then Plum got her mini My Little Ponies and Pippin got her Bing toys to play with. Plum hid her toys in the sand and then mummy had to find them.
Plum has also signed up to Teach Your Monster To Read and in the afternoon she and Pippin played mummies and babies together using the soft toys, cot, baby blankets, dummies. There was a brief moment when Plum watched SevenSuperGirls on YouTube and then we put on The Heffalumo movie but she didn't watch it all as she returned to her game with Pippin.
Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 8, played minecraft on the temple map. They built a tree house, tamed two dogs and a horse, played hide and seek and allowed Plum and mummy to play too. We spent some time trying to work out how to take screenshots from Bean's tablet but were unsuccessful. Bean and i read more Harry Potter in the afternoon followed by a deep bath so that he could practice putting his head under the water and holding his breath. We played more of the paper game he made yesterday and then made a couple of flip books together.
Bean and Plum played lego together in the evening. Plum made a race track with action posed runners and a finish line. We read stories and, for the first time since she got chicken pox, she slept in her own bed.
We started the morning with The Winnie The Pooh movie followed by more moon sand play. We built different shaped sandcastles using the moulds we have and then Plum got her mini My Little Ponies and Pippin got her Bing toys to play with. Plum hid her toys in the sand and then mummy had to find them.
Plum has also signed up to Teach Your Monster To Read and in the afternoon she and Pippin played mummies and babies together using the soft toys, cot, baby blankets, dummies. There was a brief moment when Plum watched SevenSuperGirls on YouTube and then we put on The Heffalumo movie but she didn't watch it all as she returned to her game with Pippin.
Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 8, played minecraft on the temple map. They built a tree house, tamed two dogs and a horse, played hide and seek and allowed Plum and mummy to play too. We spent some time trying to work out how to take screenshots from Bean's tablet but were unsuccessful. Bean and i read more Harry Potter in the afternoon followed by a deep bath so that he could practice putting his head under the water and holding his breath. We played more of the paper game he made yesterday and then made a couple of flip books together.
Bean and Plum played lego together in the evening. Plum made a race track with action posed runners and a finish line. We read stories and, for the first time since she got chicken pox, she slept in her own bed.
Monday, 6 March 2017
Up
Continuing on the up and up health wise but our spirits are also lifted with daddy being home and those who are fit and healthy (and not contagious) finally being able to leave the house.
Bean, 9, is glad that the weekend is here, daddy is home and took the Bean and Pumpkin, 8, swimming. They were out for three hours and had a great time. Plum, 5, was a bit upset but as Pippin, 2, was asleep we were able to spend a lot of 1:1 time which is always a welcome treat in our house.
I had popped out in the morning and bought a few things for the smalls. I had We're Going On A Bear Hunt on dvd and we watched it three times. We then opened up the origami that i had bought for Bean and had a go at making a giraffe and then then Plum made a card for daddy whilst i made a string of paper hearts.
Bean and Plum slept on the living room floor again.
Daddy went to church solo on Sunday. Bean had an extra long bath and was submerging himself and playing under the water with his goggles. We played Akinator together and Bean read a lot of the questions himself. He played Akinator for most of the day. We read the next chapter of Harry Potter and i remembered that we read a chapter on Friday and Bean had made me his first cup of tea for me...best cup of tea ever. Later we made some origami animals, today was a bat, a fish and a fox. This led to making a paper game that probably has a name but i don't know what!
Pumpkin, 8, spent all day on his tablet, playing games and watching youtube.
Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2, played with home made moonsand for two hours in the morning together and we returned to snuggling on the sofa in the afternoon where Pippin fell asleep on my lap. Plum went and washed Charlie and helped daddy to clean out the hutches. When Pippin woke up her and Plum played watering plants in the garden together.
Bean, 9, is glad that the weekend is here, daddy is home and took the Bean and Pumpkin, 8, swimming. They were out for three hours and had a great time. Plum, 5, was a bit upset but as Pippin, 2, was asleep we were able to spend a lot of 1:1 time which is always a welcome treat in our house.
I had popped out in the morning and bought a few things for the smalls. I had We're Going On A Bear Hunt on dvd and we watched it three times. We then opened up the origami that i had bought for Bean and had a go at making a giraffe and then then Plum made a card for daddy whilst i made a string of paper hearts.
Bean and Plum slept on the living room floor again.
Daddy went to church solo on Sunday. Bean had an extra long bath and was submerging himself and playing under the water with his goggles. We played Akinator together and Bean read a lot of the questions himself. He played Akinator for most of the day. We read the next chapter of Harry Potter and i remembered that we read a chapter on Friday and Bean had made me his first cup of tea for me...best cup of tea ever. Later we made some origami animals, today was a bat, a fish and a fox. This led to making a paper game that probably has a name but i don't know what!
Pumpkin, 8, spent all day on his tablet, playing games and watching youtube.
Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2, played with home made moonsand for two hours in the morning together and we returned to snuggling on the sofa in the afternoon where Pippin fell asleep on my lap. Plum went and washed Charlie and helped daddy to clean out the hutches. When Pippin woke up her and Plum played watering plants in the garden together.
Tea Time
On the mend can be a tricky place to be. We are happily recovering from chicken pox and energy levels are increasing however we are still growing new spots so not actually able to venture out yet. Plum, 5, struggles with this the most and Bean, 9, would like to go out too, Pumpkin, 8, is incredibly content with staying home.
With energy levels increasing, we spent the morning preparing a fairy tea party. Plum and Pippin prepared food in the kitchen set and lay out a blanket on the living room floor. I made tiny chocolate cupcakes and Plum and Pippin chopped cucumber and baby corn and pepper and we put them on cocktail sticks. I found tiny pasta in the cupboard so we had tiny pesto pasta too and some grapes. I cut some sausage rolls up small too and Plum found her fairy to come to the picnic. By the time we had finished preparing and playing, the girls were all spent and the afternoon we resumed film watching and cuddles on the sofa.
Pumpkin spent the day playing and watching on his tablet.
Bean has been working on a comic strip: The story of the Farting Cactus and later played lego with Plum. We read another chapter of Harry Potter today and Bean made me his first cup of tea...best cup of tea ever. Plum and Bean also slept the night in the living room both on the floor.
With energy levels increasing, we spent the morning preparing a fairy tea party. Plum and Pippin prepared food in the kitchen set and lay out a blanket on the living room floor. I made tiny chocolate cupcakes and Plum and Pippin chopped cucumber and baby corn and pepper and we put them on cocktail sticks. I found tiny pasta in the cupboard so we had tiny pesto pasta too and some grapes. I cut some sausage rolls up small too and Plum found her fairy to come to the picnic. By the time we had finished preparing and playing, the girls were all spent and the afternoon we resumed film watching and cuddles on the sofa.
Pumpkin spent the day playing and watching on his tablet.
Bean has been working on a comic strip: The story of the Farting Cactus and later played lego with Plum. We read another chapter of Harry Potter today and Bean made me his first cup of tea...best cup of tea ever. Plum and Bean also slept the night in the living room both on the floor.
Thursday, 2 March 2017
Down Days
Some days are less intense than others. Following our natural rhythms allows us to accept that some days are more restful than others and quite rightly so. I can't deny that the early signs of Spring and the sunshine are encouraging me to consider outside more but for today opening the window and the back door will have to fill that need.
Chicken pox continues to leave our nights sleepless and our days restful. Plum, 5, spent all day watching films and on her tablet. She managed about 5 minutes of playing cbeebies games on the pc before returning to her duvet on the sofa. Later in the afternoon we made chocolate cupcakes together with Pippin, 2, too.
Pippin took one two hour sleep today and has spent the remainder of the day sat or lying on the sofa cuddling mummy. Breastfeeding has increased significantly. We have been allieviating the itch with camomile and daddy has bought some moiserising soap for bathtime. I'm hoping this will relieve some of the night itching and support more sleep.
We found a Treasure Trail company online and have purchased our first trail around Horsham for Bean, 9. We sat and played minecraft together,bean, Pumpkin, 8, Plum, 5, and mummy, on a jungle temple map that Bean had downloaded. We played for over an hour. Bean and Pumpkin played Terreria together and Bean spent an hour or more building lego. We continued reading Harry Potter.
Pumpkin has been enjoying watching the Try Not To Laugh videos on YouTube. He fails miserably but it's beautiful listening to him laughing. He has played Roblox today and watched minecraft songs on YouTube. He played with his new Skylanders with Bean. He watched Cars with us in the afternoon and made a soft landing using all the duvets and pillows so the smalls could all jump off the sofa.
The girls had a moisterising bath after dinner and Plum fell asleep on the duvet pile in the evening.
Chicken pox continues to leave our nights sleepless and our days restful. Plum, 5, spent all day watching films and on her tablet. She managed about 5 minutes of playing cbeebies games on the pc before returning to her duvet on the sofa. Later in the afternoon we made chocolate cupcakes together with Pippin, 2, too.
Pippin took one two hour sleep today and has spent the remainder of the day sat or lying on the sofa cuddling mummy. Breastfeeding has increased significantly. We have been allieviating the itch with camomile and daddy has bought some moiserising soap for bathtime. I'm hoping this will relieve some of the night itching and support more sleep.
We found a Treasure Trail company online and have purchased our first trail around Horsham for Bean, 9. We sat and played minecraft together,bean, Pumpkin, 8, Plum, 5, and mummy, on a jungle temple map that Bean had downloaded. We played for over an hour. Bean and Pumpkin played Terreria together and Bean spent an hour or more building lego. We continued reading Harry Potter.
Pumpkin has been enjoying watching the Try Not To Laugh videos on YouTube. He fails miserably but it's beautiful listening to him laughing. He has played Roblox today and watched minecraft songs on YouTube. He played with his new Skylanders with Bean. He watched Cars with us in the afternoon and made a soft landing using all the duvets and pillows so the smalls could all jump off the sofa.
The girls had a moisterising bath after dinner and Plum fell asleep on the duvet pile in the evening.
Pancake Day
Tuesday
Reason number 457 that Home Education is amazing: when we have sick days there is no informing anyone or having to provide proof. I'm not in a pickle trying to organise getting the boys ready and to school whilst the girls are ill.
Although being ill does have its own misery. Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2, (who has presented with spots overnight) have largely sat and watched films and cbeebies today interspersed with board games but the energy levels are low and even sitting up for board game play is tiring. Pippin has had two two hour long sleeps as well.
Bean, 9, has sat next to us and watched films and played on his tablet. His new excitement is finding and downloading minecraft PE maps and playing and exploring and building on them. He has also ventured into using redstone to create doors on a temple after us playing a levers map together.
Pumpkin, 8, has been enjoying Terreria more and joining Bean on the downloaded minecraft maps. He has played extensice amounts of roblox and been watching minecraft songs too.
The sticking points during the day are when i need to get food for anyone as Plum purely wants me to sit with her. I have tried to limit the number of times i get up by preparing food and drink in bulk but this then means that i am away for a longer period of time. Not easy.
Daddy made us all pancakes when he got home. The smalls love pancakes any day of the year and had all said today that they would like some but i couldn't manage this with crying girls and clinging to my legs whilst doing it so we waited and enjoyed sharing together with daddy. Pippin didn't want any. Plum had chocolate spread and sugar and lemon all together, Pumpkin had chocolate spread and Bean ate them plain.
Reason number 457 that Home Education is amazing: when we have sick days there is no informing anyone or having to provide proof. I'm not in a pickle trying to organise getting the boys ready and to school whilst the girls are ill.
Although being ill does have its own misery. Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2, (who has presented with spots overnight) have largely sat and watched films and cbeebies today interspersed with board games but the energy levels are low and even sitting up for board game play is tiring. Pippin has had two two hour long sleeps as well.
Bean, 9, has sat next to us and watched films and played on his tablet. His new excitement is finding and downloading minecraft PE maps and playing and exploring and building on them. He has also ventured into using redstone to create doors on a temple after us playing a levers map together.
Pumpkin, 8, has been enjoying Terreria more and joining Bean on the downloaded minecraft maps. He has played extensice amounts of roblox and been watching minecraft songs too.
The sticking points during the day are when i need to get food for anyone as Plum purely wants me to sit with her. I have tried to limit the number of times i get up by preparing food and drink in bulk but this then means that i am away for a longer period of time. Not easy.
Daddy made us all pancakes when he got home. The smalls love pancakes any day of the year and had all said today that they would like some but i couldn't manage this with crying girls and clinging to my legs whilst doing it so we waited and enjoyed sharing together with daddy. Pippin didn't want any. Plum had chocolate spread and sugar and lemon all together, Pumpkin had chocolate spread and Bean ate them plain.
Wednesday, 1 March 2017
Treasure Hunting
Monday
Bean, 9, held a treasure hunt today which he had planned. He prepared it two weeks ago and invited his friends and held it in Horsham Park. He had printed off maps of the park and decided where he would hide four clues. Each clue was a piece of a puzzle that when put together formed a map that showed where the treasure was.
It rained on and off all morning and we almost cancelled. Bean was feeling overwhelmed and he was getting himself in a muddle and shouting a lot. I suggested that he went and did something else for an hour which he did and it certainly improved things.
We arrived at the park an hour early and had a chance to use our umbrellas. We hid the clues in the spaces that Bean had marked on the map. Due to the weather i had put the clues in plastic bags and then in margerine tubs with labels on the top. It was still raining when our friends arrived. There were A, J and H. A and J, V (who Bean invited specifically so Plum would have an extra friend) then there were T, and O. As the four groups went off into the park to find the clues, Bean and me and Pippin, 2, went to hide the treasure. Pumpkin, 8, and Plum, 5, had joined V to go and find a clue. We met in the cafe on return and put the pieces together and solved the code breaker on the back, then we all went together to find the treasure.
It was a really succesful afternoon, everyone endured the rain and had a good time. It was the perfect way to treasure hunt in the rain, not too much to do and a break indoors in the middle. Bean is already talking of organising another one in the sunshine.
We bought slush puppies and crisps at the cafe and then home to get warm and dry. During the course of which it became apparant that Plum was erupting in chicken pox. This explained the uncontrollable moments she has had in the past few days and the need to return to mummy's bed to sleep.
Pets
Friday.
We went to see a friend today, T, 8. He has a new puppy who is energetic and friendly and loves children. Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 8, immediately went and played upstairs with T where the dog couldn't get to. Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2, sat glued to my lap. Eventually Plum made it clear that she wanted to be outside/anywhere except with the dog. So we went to play in the garden however Pippin didn't like the horses at the end of the garden either. We went back indoors, the dog was now on a lead and the girls became a bit more confident to go and play. Initially Plum went to play upstairs too but returned to play on the keyboard and guitar. The boys finished the playdate with a play outdoors. Plum became inconcolable as we left as she wnted an apple and we didn't have one. I put the timer on my phone and said we would be home in 10 minutes and this occupied her enough to calm her whilst we drove home.
The evening was spent with Plum on my lap as she was feeling anxious about me going out for the day on Saturday. She joined me in bed in the middle of the night too.
We went to see a friend today, T, 8. He has a new puppy who is energetic and friendly and loves children. Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 8, immediately went and played upstairs with T where the dog couldn't get to. Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2, sat glued to my lap. Eventually Plum made it clear that she wanted to be outside/anywhere except with the dog. So we went to play in the garden however Pippin didn't like the horses at the end of the garden either. We went back indoors, the dog was now on a lead and the girls became a bit more confident to go and play. Initially Plum went to play upstairs too but returned to play on the keyboard and guitar. The boys finished the playdate with a play outdoors. Plum became inconcolable as we left as she wnted an apple and we didn't have one. I put the timer on my phone and said we would be home in 10 minutes and this occupied her enough to calm her whilst we drove home.
The evening was spent with Plum on my lap as she was feeling anxious about me going out for the day on Saturday. She joined me in bed in the middle of the night too.
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