I don’t know why she swallowed a fly…

Would love to do the witty deconstruction of that nursery rhyme but it has already been done to great effect by the wonderful Richard Herring (as previously linked to by Alison quite some time ago, so it seemed only right to link to it again as me and the children read it about six times today and then did the song version with movements!). Davies did actually start to ask me about why she would possibly swallow a cow to eat the dog when even he knows that cows only eat grass but as I told him, there was little or no point in going down that route, precocious though he may be to get there aged five it has already been done. We’re starting on ‘there was an old lady who lived in a shoe’ instead tomorrow, a quick google shows we may be in with a chance of satire-ing that one up good and proper first! 🙂

I had quite an impressive job list to get through today – which included getting a couple of CVs done (finished one, will do the other in the morning), making some playdoh for new spangly home ed group, sorting out tea and coffee and sugar for new spangly home ed group, getting washing out on the line, and indeed getting to new and spangly home ed group. Which was why when I got a text from Lucy to say she was sitting outside my house waiting for us to come out so they could follow us to new spangly home ed group I was outside pegging out washing and the children were still sitting in their pjs eating lunch! 😳 I do like to sail close to a deadline, me!

But we got there, on time, furnished with playdoh and a big roll of paper and little tupperware containers with tea, coffee and sugar in them, and cups, and the washing had been hung out and loads more put away, and the children had gotten dressed 🙂

While I did my work and dashing around getting stuff done this morning the children played with geomags and then spent ages playing with the foam castle thingy I got in the charity shop haul yesterday. Been trying to find a link for it and failing, but its like those foam floor puzzles you get – I’ve seen giant ones with letters and numbers on – or like the letters you get to stick to the sides of the bath and is lots of shapes which interlock to make a castle with. So they did lots of building with that, Davies learnt such terms as cube and 3d and was doing some basic maths counting pieces to work out what he was going to build next. I’ve noticed he’s doing a lot of estimate work with his numbers of late – lots of ‘about x many’ and judging volume and distance etc, not bad considering he still insists he can’t count past 12! 🙂

So, group. Well I’d pretty much convinced myself that it would just be me, Julie and Lucy so I was actually fairly shocked when not one but two other families appeared. I had known both of them were intending to come along to be fair, but it had been weeks since I’d heard from either of them so I was still fairly surprised when they all walked in. One family I had met previously once when they came to the WAG group – very nice, youngish couple with 3 children – a small baby, a boy who was with them and a girl who is currenly in school. Not at all sure if they will ever return but their son was lovely and joined in with lots of the activties and the dad was excellent in teaching most of the assembled children how to make paper aeroplanes and then rounding them up to go outside and fly them – so I hope they do return!

The other couple were also lovely – actually the grandparents who are raising (and I believe also in the process of adopting) two of their daughters six children! Both boys, both on the spectrum, both statemented and both with experience of the school system, but very high functioning and clearly the product of a very loving stable home with their grandparents, who were informed and dedicated HE wise. They also brought along stacks of stuff to do, left with the promise of loads more stuff for next week and didn’t stop thanking me for setting up the group. Nice people 🙂 Julie, Lucy and I deemed it a tentative success although Lucy won’t be there next week and the grandparent family won’t be there the following week and I am not at all sure of return potential of the young family the venue is nice, the potential is there and I think it could work if word of mouth gets out there to promote it a wee bit more. We’ll see…

Scarlett who has only had bare legs twice so far this year (first time at Chris and Helen’s at the weekend) already has her ‘summer legs’ bedecked with bruises, two scabs and scrapes on one leg and one on the other, a knee full of nettle stings and a scratch on her thigh 🙄 – she did just look so much like I always imagined a 3yo little girl of mine would look today though in her little dungaree dress, very messy long hair and grazed knees – love her! 🙂

We came home via the sweet shop and the charity shop to get the fabric for the costume and Woollies for some elastic and face paints (bargain packs of football supporters face paint kits ready for the international games). The children played with the foam castle stuff again and I was perusaded to join in with building a castle which they then got loads of prince and princesses, knights and dinosaurs to play with in the castle. I made a very bad start on the costume by cutting out some trouser shapes and sewing them together to discover on making D try them on were sort of right in width, but too short in length and would mean he could only walk keeping his legs together from knee height! 😳 – will be fine for a sleeve though so all is not lost and I’ll get it sorted tomorrow.

They had a bath while I put a final layer of papier mache on the Alex the lion ‘thing’ for Buzz’ pressie and then we snuggled up with the old lady who swallowed a fly. I’d got them both in bed, Tarly asleep and Davies work he’d had to go in to deal with but armed with a charity shop bargain 99p copy of The Emporers New Groove which thrilled Davies 🙂

Dinner, The Apprentice and I am about to go to bed. I have a day at home tomorrow with various tasks scheduled in to get done so will probably post one of my job lists here in the morning. Oh and finally I had a real positive rush about late reading today on getting my ‘freedom in education’ email newsletter and speaking to the other two families at group about late readers. Funny how supportive words from something which you believe in but wobble on occassionally can make such a difference to your confidence levels again isn’t it.