Just asked Davies if he wanted to do some of the exeter maths book – met with a complete no ๐ He informed me that what he does want to do is play his Thomas game on the computer so that is what he is doing. It is way too easy and unchallenging for him now but he is not easily persuaded to do anything harder. Don’t quite know how to get round the maths thing – I know it is not something we need to be fretting over as yet but I need to find a way of bringing it to life more than the pages of a book. Ideas anyone?
I have just had a burst of activity and sorted out all the kitchen cupboards – they had reached the level of fullness where you stand back as you open one for fear of what might tumble out and get you ๐ I actually chucked out very little but putting it back in a more organised fashion means they have an appearance more akin to the cupboards of Monica in Friends and less the cupboards of Waynetta Slob! Watched that Jamie’s Dinners thing last night and that has inspired me once again to try and sort out the kids’ diets a bit. They do tend to live on tinned pasta shapes, chicken nuggets, fish fingers and smiley faces – not sure where to start exactly so might dig out the kids recipe books we have and see if they can be persuaded to try anything if they have a hand in cooking it themselves. A task for next week that one.
Scarlett has been being very 2 this week (unsurprising given my cheery state ๐ ) but I feel I am handling her well as she rarely tantrums for too long and always comes and says sorry and gives cuddles afterwards. She did it this morning when Rachel was here and just took herself off to her room, yelled for a bit then came back for a cuddle. So sleeping aside so far two is not quite as bad as I had feared it might be with her ๐
What else? Already starting to worry about the kids next week being left with my Dad for the day, infact I have decided that if what Boss Lady and I propose as regular paid work is enough to cover it I will re-register with the same agency that found us Lynda when we were in Manchester and try and source some decent, paid childcare. They operate on a pay a membership fee and they will find you a ‘primary sitter’ who you meet first and decide if they are suitable for you. If they are ever not available then they have a back up carer locally also. Then you ring the agency as and when you need childcare and they arrange it for you and bill you accordingly. Once we had been doing it a while I ended up paying the agency off and paying Lynda directly but they did all the hard work in advertising, interviewing and reference checking her etc. In an ideal world I would love to have a nearby friend or relative who is able and willing to have them for the odd day / afternoon / hour but I don’t. And if I had the option of paying someone 30 quid to come in for a few hours earlier this week so I could escape for a bit I would have happily done so, so I think it’s something we need to get sorted as back up for the future again.
And finally, someone who will remain nameless has passworded their blog and despite me emailing to ask for a password I don’t have one ๐ wah!
well don’t worry, you’re not the only one without a password. And sorry I keep forgetting to come here – aargh, can’t cope without my rss feed. Are you sure you won’t come back into public?! So, what did I miss last night in chat?
We watched Jamie Oliver last night too. could not believe that the kids couldn’t recognise some of the veg etc. Did wonder what on earth the bit between him and Jules was all about (I mean, I’m sure the conversation may well have been genuine, but why on earth keep it in the programme?!) – is this whole thing one big stunt to make sure he’s painted as a caring family man, or what?
Comment by Sarah — 03 March 2005 @ 3:35 pm
Glad it’s not just me then – if anyone is inner circle you are ๐
No takers for chat so me and Karen spent ages on yahoo instead ๐
yeah, we thought that about the Jamie and Jules bit – what was that all about? He just came across as desperate for the camera on him – I’ve lost all faith in celebrities true love since Chris and Billie split up! (and don’t even get me started on the Beckhams or Brad and Jen!)
And it’s nice to have you when you’re here – Jax did warn me about losing readers and she was right (as ever!) but I am really enjoying feeling more secure about knowing who is reading.
Comment by Nic — 03 March 2005 @ 7:24 pm
Im still here, just been busy with POx and backs, and trying to get sleep. Fell asleep after putting R to bed last night at 6 o’clock.
Who has passworded???
Comment by leandra — 03 March 2005 @ 7:53 pm
Suddenly I’m not being asked for a password- is this right??
Comment by heather — 03 March 2005 @ 8:08 pm
Must add you to my links, then I’ll remember to get here! Meant to watch Jamie but forgot (and watched Alan Sugar instead ..) He is a bit of a prat, but at least he tries to put his money where his mouth is.
Comment by Alison — 03 March 2005 @ 8:11 pm
erm no Heather – but perhaps it’s cos you have been here before – cos I still get asked for one! ๐
Yeah I do like Jamie normally but that clip was just a real WTF moment.
Comment by Nic — 03 March 2005 @ 8:14 pm
also not password approved! do come reg here though nic!
I like watching the apprentice. makes me laugh – esp how last nighths team leader lass thought that if se talked the talk, no further input required – rofl!!
Comment by helen and chris F — 03 March 2005 @ 8:34 pm
OH, AND WHAT CHAT PLACE!! cried billy no mates
Comment by helen and chris F — 03 March 2005 @ 8:35 pm
Agh – yes – struggling to keep popping in without rss to boot me up the bum. But then I do find if I make it here and log in, the rss does manage to find it OK for a few hours. But I’ve been really awful at checking other people’s nlogs recently anyway. So who’s password protected now? I’m still waiting on one too (a password) but is this another one?
And Billy here is still trying to find out where the chat is happening too. Looked in on the Yahoo group the other night, but was empty (‘cept for Layla who wasn’t there, if that makes sence). Wasn’t around last night though, as was working followed by late night shopping at Tesco’s.
Comment by Barbara — 03 March 2005 @ 8:51 pm
right Helen and Barbara – do you have yahoo messenger? or trillian or similar?
you need to get that and then we can all do chat type stuff…
Comment by Nic — 03 March 2005 @ 9:05 pm
and I did offer to set up an email list to let people know when I have blogged but Sarah told me the last thing she needed was more to read from me ๐ If anyone wants me to do it I will though! (any excuse to spend more time online!)
Comment by Nic — 03 March 2005 @ 9:09 pm
I’ve got a password…I must be inner circle. Have also given it to everyone who has asked for it.
I also pick up the RSS feed for this blog in my aggregator. I can put the username and email in. Have you tried the obvious way of getting it to work in Bloglines, Sarah?
Comment by Chris — 03 March 2005 @ 9:45 pm
what obvious way? not obvious to me, obviously. And I haven’t had an email from you, Chris.
Comment by Sarah — 03 March 2005 @ 10:00 pm
Well it might work with simple html authentication (if that’s what it’s called).
You add the blog subscription with the following url:
http://username:password@goddardstuff.co.uk/blog/wp-commentsrss2.php
I have done this and it finds the feed, and doesn’t give the red ! next to the feed. So far it hasn’t picked a new item up but that’s probably ‘cos I only just set it up. If it doesn’t pick up anything in the next hour or two I suspect it don’t work. Worth a go.
Well you haven’t asked for the password have you?
Comment by Chris — 03 March 2005 @ 10:05 pm
actually, yes! My email has been really playing up recently, maybe you didn’t get it. Please could I have the password?! ๐
Comment by Sarah — 03 March 2005 @ 10:06 pm
oh, and thanks for the bloglines tip, hope it does work, I’ll be very happy if it does.
Comment by Sarah — 03 March 2005 @ 10:09 pm
No didn’t get it. Got to be an email, can’t provide off the back of a comment. Instructions are clear. Blimey we are danger of Chris making Sarah happy scenario, so much for me being ‘predictable’. I am still boycotting your blog though.
Comment by Chris — 03 March 2005 @ 10:15 pm
I have yahoo, so is this chat an outer circle thing that people outer that circle , dont get either? ๐
Comment by leandra — 03 March 2005 @ 10:46 pm
Leandra have emailed you. And Chris – was it because i emailed a different address ? in again now so don’t care ๐
and chat – everyone get on yahoo or messenger and then we can all stalk each other and know when we are online ๐
Comment by Nic — 03 March 2005 @ 11:04 pm
aaahhh will have to get chris to do an messenger thingy for me.
i emailed chris and decided nt worthyness r us
Comment by helen and chris F — 04 March 2005 @ 12:27 am
heather if you return in a computer deermined time you don’t have to re eneter password.
where did the pips go btw. are they password proteted elsewhere??
Comment by helen and chris F — 04 March 2005 @ 12:30 am
No one’s invited me to chat and I’m on yahoo ๐
๐
Anyway Nic … the maths thing … Can he count? Well then, you’re sorted until the end of Reception then, pretty much ๐ Easy enough to do sums, patterns, shapes, bit of telling the time perhaps, etc with him, you don’t have to leap straight into a book ๐
Hmmm, Merry asked me to do some blurb about how we do maths for MP ages ago, maybe I should do it ๐
Comment by Alison — 04 March 2005 @ 5:00 pm
He can count – but gets wobbly after 14 or so (and has now been caught up by Scarlett!) and TBH he counts in the same way people recite the alphabet – without any real concept of what the numbers mean. He has been doing quite well with the maths stuff on Class TV actually this week so I am a bit reassured but I really want him to grasp the concept of numbers as opposed to the parrot fashion style I was taught.
Yeah, if you do a Maths with Alison series count me in ๐
Comment by Nic — 04 March 2005 @ 8:49 pm
I have found that B and to a lesser extent now K do that too, count without meaning. The trick there is to have something worth on offer (pringles, smarties, grapes) and ask them how many they want. B started off just saying a random number but now both of them consider it carefully, look at how many that really is and the
Comment by Sally — 04 March 2005 @ 9:19 pm
Grr B hit the keyboard and posted before I finished..
and then change their minds for a larger number. Its working a treat, B was actually counting properly this week. Other things we’ve done to encourage this is to count the stairs up and down, count how many steps to somewhere, play a good game where you get to sit on the sofa and they have to take a certain number of steps in different directions or bring you certain number of things. B is just about to pull my power cable out so if I’ll try to think of some more stuff later…
Comment by Sally — 04 March 2005 @ 9:21 pm
Sorry to be dense but this chat thingy is it not just the yahoo chat on the MP page? I am computer dense so please be basic :-).
Maths…basic stuff like baking, laundry sorting, dividing sweets up between him and Scarlett
Comment by Roslyn — 04 March 2005 @ 9:27 pm
Ros, you need to download Yahoo Messenger!!
Comment by Sarah — 04 March 2005 @ 10:03 pm
When Pip left reception her best friend couldn’t count to ten and this wasn’t considered a problem, so Davies is doing fine. If my memeory serves me class R maths consisted of knowing if something was bigger than something else, really basic 2D shapes and counting (hopefully) to ten. But then she did have a fab teacher who believed 4-5 yr old should spend all day playing ๐
Comment by heather — 04 March 2005 @ 10:18 pm
oh and ‘junk modelling’, button sorting, ludo, snakes and ladders cooking, measuring stuff with bits of string, guessing how many footsteps to the end of the garden type things, more sorting…:-)
Comment by heather — 04 March 2005 @ 10:23 pm
Thinking on about the maths, dot to dots, playing games with dice (adding up the dots) and computer games (with scoreboards!) have all helped here too, with general number stuff. It has all clicked very recently with Joe, and I’ve not done anything special. He’s gone from missing out 15 every single time and not knowing what came after every 9, to being able to count up to 100 and on, in a couple of months.
Think it probably helps having the big ones around too, cos I’ve really not done much with him but they are happy to play number games of all sorts. He’ll count plates, knives, forks, etc as we lay the table, and the other day I asked how many dumplings we’d need for two each, and he worked that out – I think it’s just a case of bringing basic number play into every day life, then they can see the relevance of it, and its fun.
Comment by Sarah — 04 March 2005 @ 10:31 pm
Thanks guys – loads of ideas in there which I will read soberly tomorrow and do something with next week ๐
Comment by Nic — 05 March 2005 @ 12:01 am