Last day of the summer

It’s been a lovely day today, possibly more so because I’ve been surrounded in real life and online by people dealing with first day back to school and far from last week’s feeling that actually I was quite envious of them I am renewed with enthusiasm for Home Ed again this week.

This morning a long awaited dvd request from Davies arrived and while I was getting dressed upstairs the children had been into the garden and got their space hoppers, brought them into the house and were sitting infront of the tv watching the film and bouncing happily away. 😆

I iced the biscuits I’d made last night and packed up a picnic ready to go to the local park and meet Mel, Liam and Lily. We saved the three quid parking fee by parking a two minute walk up the road, met Mel in the carpark and headed straight to the playground. We got the swings out of the way first and Davies, Scarlett and Liam headed off to play having a great time. Lily was a bit slower to warm up and was struggling to break into the game – Davies and Scarlett tend to just continue one of the games they play together at home and often other children just join in – the most common one being Wallace and Gromit. Today they were playing Cars – with Lightening McQueen 1,2 and 3 and then they moved onto being Agents. Liam was Agent Fast because he’s super speedy at running, Davies was Agent Small on account of being well, small, and able to fit underneath and through gaps in the play equipment. Tarly may or may not have been alloted an Agent name, she was far too busy doing daring climbing and clambering stunts to come and tell me!

We left the playground to find a grassy spot to eat lunch, the children did some clambering about on an area of rocks and then we had a ride round on the miniature train. The boats were out on the boating lake but they only had pedalos and as neither Mel or I fancied pedalling our children round (they are only four seaters so we’d have needed one per family) for 15 minutes we chose the train instead. Then over to the cafe for ice creams. Davies had a bit of a moment as the end of his ice lolly had snapped off inside the packet but we sorted that out and he ate it happily in the end – rather unlike him but ably demonstrating a conversation Mel and I had just been having about 6-7 being a tricky age for boys with their not a little boy any more but not a big boy really either feeling. Back to the playground again for a last play before home time.

We got home around 5pm and the children did some drawing, watched Dinosaur again while they had their tea and I finished icing and decorating the biscuits, made a lasagne for dinner, cooked a load of cupcakes ready to decorate and made loads of ear-shaped biscuits to decorate them with. That will have to wait for tomorrow though. The children had a long bath and then watched Mr Bean on tv for a while – they often watch the cartoon but had never seen the orignial tv show before so that had them laughing lots. I finally got them to bed and had a bath, then sat with first Tarly, then Davies until they were asleep before sitting down with my lasagne to watch Supernanny.

Ady has been to cricket with my Dad this afternoon and has only just arrived home. He is off again first thing in the morning to Cambridge and won’t be back until Thursday which means I should get plenty done again tomorrow night at least, leaving Thursday night for tidying the house in preparation for all the various houseguests this weekend.

It’s been lovely to listen to and watch the children playing so well together today – bouncing on their space hoppers, at the park, in the bath – it has all been very harmonious today. And the sun shone so much we all have red bits on our cheeks – truly the last day of the summer holiday. 🙂