K & M had the final 'fun' session of the 'term' of 10 swimming lessons today, which they always look forward to and I don't. I don't have anything against the last one being 'fun', I think it's good that they are now comfortable having watery fun that includes ducking under water, something that took K in particular quite while to manage. The thing that I don't look forward to, is that it's the culmination of their teacher's thing of deciding on a 'swimmer of the week', as the 'swimmer of the term' wins a prize (invariably sweets/chocolate - which is another issue). I don't know how he decides on his swimmer of the week, but my feeling is that since the amount of effort put in can't ever be truly judged by others, it is as likely to be demotivating as it is motivating. He clearly tries to share the 'honour' around, but in that case it isn't even based on his perceptions of effort or attainment, which makes it even more arbitrary.
K is completely and utterly unconcerned by this supposedly motivating tactic and really couldn't care less whether she 'wins' or not, being very much 'self contained' in this respect. M, on the other hand, gets deeply upset by the apparent overlooking of her efforts and achievements and can't understand why others (particularly K) have been 'swimmer of the week' more frequently than she has. So naturally it was K who was pronounced 'swimmer of the term' today and received a bag of sweets (which she shared of her own volition with both M and me). I commented to their teacher that I really don't like his 'swimmer of the week' thing and that it always caused upset for us, and he tried to smooth things over with M by having a quiet word with her, telling her that she was really close behind K, but he really didn't understand that it's not the result that bothers me but the whole concept. All the children, as far as I can see, really enjoy his lessons, they get out of the pool happy and buzzing and then all quieten down for him to pronounce judgement over them as to who has done 'best' that lesson, leaving them either happy because they were the 'one' that week, disappointed or upset (admittedly it seems only to be M who actually gets upset) or completely unconcerned. Hardly positive motivation!
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Looking back and making progress.
After reading another chapter of Harry Potter today, I was having another look at our non-fiction books on the body and asked K & M a bit more about what they had got up to at Fun Club yesterday. I was particularly interested in the people model of an ear and they were happy to explain it to me.
As I understand it, the ear was made up by people holding these things in the following order:
a funnel - the outer part of the ear
a tube - the ear canal
a cake tin with the base removed with cling film over it - eardrum
a hammer - hammer
a spatula (which cleared up why M thought that was what one of the bones was called!) - anvil
a potato masher - stirrup
a bowl of jelly - cochlea
and I think a narrower pipe of some sort to take the message to the brain.
I said that given we'd been looking at hearing we could look at the other senses as part of our (now rather protracted, sporadic) project about the human body. However, as we chatted about it, it turned out that we'd already covered rather a lot, some of which that I had forgotten about but K & M hadn't! We talked about sight, touch and a bit about smell and taste as well, for example, about how scientist used to think that different parts of the tongue tasted different types of taste, but that is no longer thought to be true, but that several of our books about bodies state that to be the case. While eating we also talked about the fact that the tongue is key when eating, not just for tasting but also for moving the food around your mouth.
And speaking of food, it was back at the beginning of last year that K expressed a desire to learn to cook, specifically a whole meal. While we have made some progress on that front, moving on from just baking sweet things, to cheese straws, eggs or baked beans and toast for example, we still have an awfully long way to go. So, yesterday, when K asked if we could have what we call 'red pasta sauce' (we do have the pasta with it too!) today, I suggested that she could cook it. Starting simple, she used a portion out of the freezer this time, she cooked, tested and drained the spaghetti with very little help (I help the sieve that was balanced over the sink still as her wrists aren't strong enough for the saucepan and lid draining method that I prefer), then stirred in the sauce. She also boiled some peas and sweetcorn to go with it and served it all up for herself, M and me. We sprinkled some cheese over the top and were good to go.
During the meal, K & M started planning what they could do for a 5 course meal between them!
In other news, M was very sad when her crocodile shaped ocarina broke when it flew out of her pocket at Fun Club yesterday. So when we went to the shops this morning, we went to the shop where it had come from to see if they had any. Sadly they don't have them any longer, but K bought M a pretty oval one to cheer her up, happily this one comes on a string, so she can wear it round her neck run about without risking it getting broken in the same way as the last one.
As I understand it, the ear was made up by people holding these things in the following order:
a funnel - the outer part of the ear
a tube - the ear canal
a cake tin with the base removed with cling film over it - eardrum
a hammer - hammer
a spatula (which cleared up why M thought that was what one of the bones was called!) - anvil
a potato masher - stirrup
a bowl of jelly - cochlea
and I think a narrower pipe of some sort to take the message to the brain.
I said that given we'd been looking at hearing we could look at the other senses as part of our (now rather protracted, sporadic) project about the human body. However, as we chatted about it, it turned out that we'd already covered rather a lot, some of which that I had forgotten about but K & M hadn't! We talked about sight, touch and a bit about smell and taste as well, for example, about how scientist used to think that different parts of the tongue tasted different types of taste, but that is no longer thought to be true, but that several of our books about bodies state that to be the case. While eating we also talked about the fact that the tongue is key when eating, not just for tasting but also for moving the food around your mouth.
And speaking of food, it was back at the beginning of last year that K expressed a desire to learn to cook, specifically a whole meal. While we have made some progress on that front, moving on from just baking sweet things, to cheese straws, eggs or baked beans and toast for example, we still have an awfully long way to go. So, yesterday, when K asked if we could have what we call 'red pasta sauce' (we do have the pasta with it too!) today, I suggested that she could cook it. Starting simple, she used a portion out of the freezer this time, she cooked, tested and drained the spaghetti with very little help (I help the sieve that was balanced over the sink still as her wrists aren't strong enough for the saucepan and lid draining method that I prefer), then stirred in the sauce. She also boiled some peas and sweetcorn to go with it and served it all up for herself, M and me. We sprinkled some cheese over the top and were good to go.
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| And it tasted just as good as when I do it! |
In other news, M was very sad when her crocodile shaped ocarina broke when it flew out of her pocket at Fun Club yesterday. So when we went to the shops this morning, we went to the shop where it had come from to see if they had any. Sadly they don't have them any longer, but K bought M a pretty oval one to cheer her up, happily this one comes on a string, so she can wear it round her neck run about without risking it getting broken in the same way as the last one.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Sound.
Today was Fun Club and the topic was Sound, and there were various activities in various parts of the building going on for various age groups! Some of which I know about, but I was ensconced in a corridor doing my activity while K & M moved around having a go at various things.
Activities included:
Making plastic cup and string telephones - both K & M had a go
Making musical instruments - K made a plucking instrument with a margarine tub and elastic bands
Experimenting with making different notes using glasses, milk bottles, chop sticks and water - both girls had a go at this. When tapping a glass with a chopstick the note gets lower when water is added, but blowing across the top of a bottle the note gets higher when the bottle is fuller.
Playing instruments along with a story and songs
Indentifying different sounds on a cd - M joined in with this one
Games finding where sounds were coming from and how far away they are - I think both girls had a go
Using people and some objects to make a model of a human ear - M watched as there were more people than needed in the group at the time
I was doing the plastic cup and string telephones, with various groups of about 4-9 year olds. We talked about 'old fashioned' telephones, of the sort that had to be plugged into the wall, how sound travels in waves, of the sort that moves along a slinky if you move the end forwards and backwards. We had a go with the phones and discovered that you can use them round corners if you use two and have an 'exchange' with an operator in the middle holding the cups together!
When it came time for lunch, K had disappeared and I found her with a model of an ear and she didn't come to eat until she had successfully put it back together 10-15 minutes later.
When we got home I got out our 'body books' to have a look at the
parts about hearing and ears and both K & M did have a bit of a
look. It was clear from some of M's comments that she had grasped quite
a lot from the making a model of an ear, telling me about the 3 little
bones, although she couldn't quite remember all of the names, she knew
one was the hammer and told me one of the others was something like the
'spatula'!
We had another chapter of Harry Potter and would usually have had korfball this evening, but both K & M were complaining of feeling sick and didn't protest when I suggested not going, which given they both really enjoy it confirmed this decision for me. Instead we watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone again while they did some sewing and M also got the beads out and made herself a necklace.
Finally, in other news, M has been in the wars somewhat lately. She's one for getting bumps, bruises, scrapes etc anyway but outdid herself on Sunday and is still in some discomfort (she even limps when she remembers!) from this...
Activities included:
Making plastic cup and string telephones - both K & M had a go
Making musical instruments - K made a plucking instrument with a margarine tub and elastic bands
Experimenting with making different notes using glasses, milk bottles, chop sticks and water - both girls had a go at this. When tapping a glass with a chopstick the note gets lower when water is added, but blowing across the top of a bottle the note gets higher when the bottle is fuller.
Playing instruments along with a story and songs
Indentifying different sounds on a cd - M joined in with this one
Games finding where sounds were coming from and how far away they are - I think both girls had a go
Using people and some objects to make a model of a human ear - M watched as there were more people than needed in the group at the time
I was doing the plastic cup and string telephones, with various groups of about 4-9 year olds. We talked about 'old fashioned' telephones, of the sort that had to be plugged into the wall, how sound travels in waves, of the sort that moves along a slinky if you move the end forwards and backwards. We had a go with the phones and discovered that you can use them round corners if you use two and have an 'exchange' with an operator in the middle holding the cups together!
When it came time for lunch, K had disappeared and I found her with a model of an ear and she didn't come to eat until she had successfully put it back together 10-15 minutes later.
We had another chapter of Harry Potter and would usually have had korfball this evening, but both K & M were complaining of feeling sick and didn't protest when I suggested not going, which given they both really enjoy it confirmed this decision for me. Instead we watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone again while they did some sewing and M also got the beads out and made herself a necklace.
Finally, in other news, M has been in the wars somewhat lately. She's one for getting bumps, bruises, scrapes etc anyway but outdid herself on Sunday and is still in some discomfort (she even limps when she remembers!) from this...
Monday, 4 March 2013
Good bits too. :-)
As well as the baking by M (they were very nice by the way!), K got creative too. She disappeared and came back with something for M and me.
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| A Gryffindor lion for M and a Hufflepuff badger for me made of Fimo. |
A bad start to the day.
Things did not go well this morning, K & M were grumpy (that's understating their interactions with each other somewhat!) and I was majorly grumpy (again an understatement) with them. I had wanted to make a phone call before leaving the house to get to a 10am meeting on the other side of town, not only did that not happen, but we didn't manage to leave the house until 10 o'clock! Neither K nor M wanted to go anyway, even though I knew they'd like it when we got there. K usually likes LLL Toddler meetings, M always claims not to want to go, but they both generally have a good time. I had a much needed chat with other mums about dealing with frustration and anger around children and K & M had such a good time I had trouble dragging them away!
When we got home, I cut some bread and we each got ourselves something to eat and then we retired to my bedroom, M wanted the playroom, K wanted the front room, so my room was the compromise, for a chapter of Harry Potter (we're about 2/3 through The Order of the Phoenix now). After that M baked some fairy cakes, the only thing I helped with was using the hand mixer to do that actually mixing as it's a bit heavy for her still and getting them out of the oven.
While she was doing this, K was on the computer doing a Harry Potter quiz and some French. Then we popped to the shops for a few bits and pieces, before returning for M to decorate most of the cakes (I helped make the buttercream, but she did the decorating), although she did let K do two of them.
Then they emptied the dishwasher while I made tea and now it's very quiet as they're out at Brownies.
When we got home, I cut some bread and we each got ourselves something to eat and then we retired to my bedroom, M wanted the playroom, K wanted the front room, so my room was the compromise, for a chapter of Harry Potter (we're about 2/3 through The Order of the Phoenix now). After that M baked some fairy cakes, the only thing I helped with was using the hand mixer to do that actually mixing as it's a bit heavy for her still and getting them out of the oven.
While she was doing this, K was on the computer doing a Harry Potter quiz and some French. Then we popped to the shops for a few bits and pieces, before returning for M to decorate most of the cakes (I helped make the buttercream, but she did the decorating), although she did let K do two of them.
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| This photo doesn't really do justice to just how much icing she managed to pile on some of them! |
Sunday, 3 March 2013
More French and more other stuff!
We've been continuing with French, mostly on the subject of food. Last night, after K & M had turned off their lights to go to sleep, K appeared at the top of the stairs to call down 'Le pain, s'il te plait Maman'. She wasn't hungry, she just wanted to show that she could remember how to say this in French! Today as a result, we touched on the difference between asking for 'le pain' and 'du pain'.
K & M both had birthday parties they were invited to this weekend. They both went to Z's Laser Quest party on Friday, M really enjoyed the whole thing, while K chose not to join in, as she doesn't like the idea of shooting people, but still had a good time chatting to a new friend who didn't want to join in either. Yesterday K went to her friend A's bowling party and had a really good time. I had wondered if she'd know anybody other than the birthday girl, but there were two other girls she knew, one from Brownies and another who used to go to ballet.
This morning, K decided that she would come to church, but only just managed to get dressed in time, because she was doing some more of her maths workbook! She also replied to Granny's letter inviting her to stay next month, she decided to do so by email, to which she attached a picture she had also done on the computer using Paint.
On Friday we managed to have a quick go with another Harry Potter game (a trivia quiz board game), that friends have lent us (thank you C and D!), but didn't finish it as K & M were off to the party. Today we had another go and I thought it was quite good, but unfortunately I'm finding it difficult to balance the difficulties the K & M have of playing games like this. M is struggling with not winning at the moment, because she perceives herself as never winning, and K finds it difficult to cope with any allowances made for M. For example in this game we gave her another chance because she didn't realise that the book was specifically about the first Harry Potter book and gave an answer that was wrong according to the answer card, but was something that you find out about in a later book.
Finally for now. We bought a strip of raffle tickets after church (didn't win), but M decided to use them for a little raffle of her own. We each chose a ticket and she shut herself away in the playroom and made a prize. I won this!
K & M both had birthday parties they were invited to this weekend. They both went to Z's Laser Quest party on Friday, M really enjoyed the whole thing, while K chose not to join in, as she doesn't like the idea of shooting people, but still had a good time chatting to a new friend who didn't want to join in either. Yesterday K went to her friend A's bowling party and had a really good time. I had wondered if she'd know anybody other than the birthday girl, but there were two other girls she knew, one from Brownies and another who used to go to ballet.
This morning, K decided that she would come to church, but only just managed to get dressed in time, because she was doing some more of her maths workbook! She also replied to Granny's letter inviting her to stay next month, she decided to do so by email, to which she attached a picture she had also done on the computer using Paint.
On Friday we managed to have a quick go with another Harry Potter game (a trivia quiz board game), that friends have lent us (thank you C and D!), but didn't finish it as K & M were off to the party. Today we had another go and I thought it was quite good, but unfortunately I'm finding it difficult to balance the difficulties the K & M have of playing games like this. M is struggling with not winning at the moment, because she perceives herself as never winning, and K finds it difficult to cope with any allowances made for M. For example in this game we gave her another chance because she didn't realise that the book was specifically about the first Harry Potter book and gave an answer that was wrong according to the answer card, but was something that you find out about in a later book.
Finally for now. We bought a strip of raffle tickets after church (didn't win), but M decided to use them for a little raffle of her own. We each chose a ticket and she shut herself away in the playroom and made a prize. I won this!
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| Not only pretty... |
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| ...but functional too - it's a brooch! |
Friday, 1 March 2013
Some French and other stuff.
M has decided that she wants to do some French, which I have been suggesting as we're going on holiday to France later in the year. She had a look at this site, which I think is pretty good but M decided that she'd rather learn from me. So we've been doing bits and pieces and although we haven't done any French for about a year, I was pleasantly surprised how much both K & M could remember of colours, numbers and more. Still on the subject of French, M bought herself a French knitting doll yesterday and both she and K have been making a rather large family of snakes, mostly while listening to me reading Harry Potter. Both K & M have been doing a bit more Timez Attack too.
Each girl received a letter from Granny this week, she has invited K to stay for a couple of nights on her own with her and Big Grandad. They are going to come and fetch her one Friday and then M has been invited to go down and stay for a few more nights, taking me with her, before we all come home again. M has been struggling with the fact that K is going to get to go on her own, even though she knows that she will be doing the same on her own at some point in the not too distant future. Even so, she has RSVP'd to Granny's invitation and I'm just waiting for K to do the same so I can post them.
We discovered that the 'fossils' we made at Asfordby didn't quite turn out successfully. We have learned from our mistakes though (the plaster of Paris leaked through, so left only a very thin layer, which wasn't robust enough to break the clay off without breaking it too) and have everything necessary to have another go if we fancy it.
On Wednesday we met up with a new HEing family, L and her daughter E at a local soft play place. M had told me quite determinedly that she didn't want to play with anyone else and only liked playing on her own before we went. However by the time it was time to head home, all three girls we playing together beautifully and I know my girls are hoping to meet up again soon.
Each girl received a letter from Granny this week, she has invited K to stay for a couple of nights on her own with her and Big Grandad. They are going to come and fetch her one Friday and then M has been invited to go down and stay for a few more nights, taking me with her, before we all come home again. M has been struggling with the fact that K is going to get to go on her own, even though she knows that she will be doing the same on her own at some point in the not too distant future. Even so, she has RSVP'd to Granny's invitation and I'm just waiting for K to do the same so I can post them.
We discovered that the 'fossils' we made at Asfordby didn't quite turn out successfully. We have learned from our mistakes though (the plaster of Paris leaked through, so left only a very thin layer, which wasn't robust enough to break the clay off without breaking it too) and have everything necessary to have another go if we fancy it.
On Wednesday we met up with a new HEing family, L and her daughter E at a local soft play place. M had told me quite determinedly that she didn't want to play with anyone else and only liked playing on her own before we went. However by the time it was time to head home, all three girls we playing together beautifully and I know my girls are hoping to meet up again soon.
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