Back to Work

Well, that's half term over.  Doesn't it fly by?  Does anyone else 'stop' for school holidays still?

We do, as DH works in Education, so we still follow the pattern of term time and school holidays for the most part.  We had a lovely week, doing all things Half Term - gardening, parks and playgrounds, meeting up with friends, cinema and trips to town etc.  The usual rules of computer time/ tv time get relaxed during the holidays but apart from that not a great deal changes any more, except Dad's home! :-)

And today we are back to our routine.  It's been a fairly seamless transition this time - maybe in part due to the fact we've had 2 weeks off, instead of 1, so ds & dd have had more time to process things and adjust to the transition.  It also helps that I have chilled out a bit this half term and although it bugs the hell out of me, I have (tried!) not to nag every time there is mess to clear up, their rooms need tidying or they ask to play on Minecraft on my Kindle! It's hard to step back but they need a break too - they are good kids, they work hard and I do have quite set rules during the normal week, so it's good to let them have a break sometimes :-)  It has paid dividends too as DS was happy to help DD clean out the rabbit last night, and the tortoise, and the stick insects, and the goldfish! So they are all nice and clean and done, ready for the new 'term'.  He also made dinner - one of his famous Stews! Onions, garlic, carrot, potatoes and tomato with a few herbs. He loves it! And it is a sign that he has a Good Break that he is happy and calm and able to participate in things.

And this morning, we have started out with Table Time (although they were given a free choice of Workbooks or drawing to begin with).   DS made this lovely picture (he is a very reluctant drawer usually) of his own creation, The Cempot People who live in a trea (tree!) - 

I love the detail of their little letter boxes and the lifts both inside and outside the tree :-)

DD worked on her beloved maths workbooks (the Carol Vorderman ones this morning) and updated her reading diary, before moving on to drawing -

DS then decided he would like me to read him one of the Geography Quest books -

We all LOVE these, I go on about them ALOT ! :-)  But they are such a fun way to learn, very engaging and easy accessible even if you have no prior knowledge of the subject matter.  This morning we have learnt about Terrace Farming, Meteorologists, Altitude, Cairns, Avalanches, Glaciers, Glaciologists, Fold Mountains, Moraine, Ribbon Lakes, Snow lines and Plateaus amoungst other things!

Now DS is building domino runs, DD is drawing (of course), I am happy & calm and we are off this afternoon on a fab Home Ed trip with a big group of friends :-)

Not a bad start to the summer term :-) :-) :-)