Since my last posting, which was somewhat depressing, but just how I was feeling and reacting to events at the time of writing, I found some perspective again. A walk around our house, looking at things I pass by all of the time, lots of cuddles and talking has made me realise we do have a good life. Plus, a trip to the cinema to watch Disney's Beauty and the Beast helped Lillie and I to relax and forget about recent events. Though, I did nod off for last ten mins or so. Perhaps, it just being Lillie and I in the whole auditorium and being completely relaxed had something to do with that! Just goes to show how family life can bring its ups and downs - and being a home educating family does not exempt us from the rollercoaster ride. We are still just 'normal' human beings, like families who opt for the school system. Therefore, the HE way is not always idylic nor strange.
Saturday, we went shopping for presents, cards, a 21 key, banners and a little trophy! It's my son's 21st birthday on Thursday, so we were in good spirits with little surprises. He's had his main present already from me. A nice little wad of money. But, I couldn't just leave it at that. He's visiting tomorrow, so a nice home made ruby murray (curry), naan bread and mango chutney for dinner. Followed by a lovely fresh cream and strawberry sponge cake, drizzled in dark chocolate. Lillie and I started making that earlier. Well the sponge part. It's hidden away ready for the remainder tomorrow after I finish work.
Talking of work, I had some good news Friday. The 5 clients I've been visiting for the past few weeks are now my own clients. I was very pleased to hear this. Not bad considering I've only been in the job for 4 months and have mostly been doing cover work. Well, except for one client I've mostly visited every weekday morning since going solo. They're all such lovely people with very different personalities. I think they're all just great and I've learnt alot from them in more ways than one. In fact I've learnt alot about myself too.
As for Lillie, well like I said in my last posting, she's moving ahead. Maybe I should have gone into more detail, but I didn't. Anyway, here's some pictures I took while putting things into perspective. They are limited because all the pictures I had on my comp have been lost. I had to wipe everything, so back to nothing because it just didn't want to start up! Sadly, the only back up disks I had, were the ones to get it back to when it was first purchased. No point dwelling, because I can save all the pics from this blog and FB. Not even a dent in the ocean compared to how many I had, but at least I can retrieve some of what was lost. And have my comp working again. Was a strange week that, because Lillie spilt water on her laptop and it was not working. After a week of drying out, that too is back and thankfully all her files and pics have been saved. I think my house resists technology!
Here's the pics.... As you can see, we're still reading Oliver Twist! But, it's not a book to be rushed, especially when games of dominoes, connect 4, chess, draughts and scrabble have now become battles! I lost £10 to my son, playing chess a couple of weeks ago. Now Lillie wants to play dominoes against me for money! I think wagers with her will have to wait. I wouldn't want to be accused of encouraging her to gamble now!!
Since studying the environment with my latest OU module, Lillie's curiousity has increased. Lately, she has been engaging more in conversation, regarding this topic and has showed particular interest in the River Nile. So, she's begun her own research after I set her a task of finding me 5 facts relating to the Nile. I'm not sure if the image is very clear. So, I will state what she discovered. The River Nile 1) is in Africa. 2) possibly the longest river in the world 3) Hapi was the Nile God during ancient Egyptian times 4) The name Nile comes from the Greek word "neilos" which means valley 5) runs through 10 countries. I asked her to state which 10 countries, but she got me to actually write these for her! But can name some when prompted.
Lillie has also shown an interest in the Titanic with it being the 100th anniversary of it sinking last month. Again I set her the task of finding me 5 facts. Here's what she came up with. 1) she sunk 2) bumped into an iceberg 3) only 20 life boats 4) 1 523 people died 5) it's been 100 years since The Titanic made its first and last voyage
Lillie's drawing of the Titanic - everyone who has seen it has commented on it - she's very pleased.
Back in early April, after a conversation with a retired teacher, I decided out of curiousity to see how Lillie would cope with a couple of online reading tests and one comprehension test. Well, the award above represents she is doing well and apparently she's above her reading age level. I'm no expert in this grading system, yet have no concerns with her reading ability and understanding of what she's reading. Although a text like OT, is always explained to her as we go along, due to the nature of the language, time, themes, etc, But, taking a text apart is standard when reading english literature whatever your age.
There's also the Kids Know It website and BBC Bitesize website covering Key Stage 3 activities and quizes in english and science (environment) that Lillie has become a frequent visitor to. And of course the Moshi Monsters website features high on her list too. Her liking for Doctor Who has been interesting to watch. She seems to be eager to learn about past doctors. Tom Baker perhaps being one of her old time favourites, and she wasn't even around in the 70s. Or was she?
To end this posting, Lillie did her bit for Sport Relief 2012. During a GB meet, all the girls took part in a timed obstacle event. They were set obstacles such as, step ups, bouncing a ball with one hand, doing puzzles. They had a set time for each one and had to achieve as many as possible. Lillie's score card totalled 189. Plus, the evening raised money too!
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