A couple of trips to town and a crafty Fun Club.

On Monday, we had plans to go to the cinema, with the National Youth Film Festival to see The Odd Life of Timothy Green and then meet up with Granny for lunch and do a bit of shopping.  Unfortunately, we got to the cinema to find that they had had a leak and the showing had been cancelled as a result.  So we met up with Granny rather earlier than planned and for the first time ever pretty much did some clothes shopping for K.  We have had a fantastic source of hand-me-downs and consequently I have very rarely needed to buy clothes other than underwear, swimming costumes and very occasionally other things, but this time K actually did need a few things.  Having found a couple of pairs of jeans, one girls' pair and one boys', which she tried on, having previously told me that she definitely didn't want any new jeans, as the ones she has are 'comfortable and *not* indecent', she found the boys' pair, which are absolutely enormous around the waist, were extremely comfortable, and so we got those rather than the girls' ones which appeared to fit her much better.

In the afternoon, I continued making the wands that M and I had started on Sunday and also made some filled chocolates, while K & M disappeared upstairs to make things ready for Fun Club.  Then in the evening they went to Brownies, which was spent entirely in the dark and by torchlight, while talking about life during the Second World War, as part of the preparation they are doing to celebrate 100 years of Brownies in Nottinghamshire.

On Tuesday it was a crafty Fun Club in the morning, with the theme of making things that could be Christmas gifts, and a table top sale of things we'd made in the afternoon.  I had decided on making Christmas cards and had consequently spent much of the previous evening measuring, drawing and pricking holes in the form of two triangles in the form of a star.  The plan was to make cards like this.

However, it became clear that I'd pitched it rather too difficult for most of the children there.  This problem was solved however, as M came along and had a go and came up with a much simpler but just as effective design.

And having realised my original idea was too tricky, others were happy to follow my revised suggestion and ended up with a star like this.

In the end though three of the older girls did go for the first option and found it challenging but managed with a bit of help, so in the end it was rather successful all round.

In the afternoon, we had 11 wands, my chocolates and the bracelets and felt badges that K & M had made.  We sold all but one of the wands, most of the chocolates, a few of the bracelets but sadly none of the badges, which M was a bit upset by, as she'd put quite a lot of effort (and blood and tears, if not sweat, as she pricked her finger at one point) into making them.  She isn't too despondent though, as she's planning on giving them as presents to people instead.  As usual, with our busy Tuesdays, we then dashed to gymnastics and then later the girls had korfball as well.

On Wednesday we had our second, and this time successful, attempt at watching a film at the cinema.  This time we left Granny at home and the girls and I headed into town to see Epic, which we all enjoyed.

A puppet performance.

I'm rather behind with blogging at the moment, so given we've had a very busy few days will post a couple of updates rather than one mammoth one.

On Saturday A & I left the girls with Granny while we went looking at kitchens.  While we were out Granny, K & M continued working on their puppet play, rehearsing and finishing off making any further scenery and props.  They also started making programmes, tickets, signs (Box Office, Balcony, Stalls etc.) which they finished on Sunday, ready for the performance at 2pm.



The tickets.

M's programme cover.

And some of the content - the cast and a wordsearch.

K's programme cover - she's still working on the inside.

Tom, who played the title character.

The play was called Dino Rescue and told the story of Dino, who was captured by Mr Nasty the circus owner and then rescued by Baby Bear and Pig, who had befriended him earlier in the story, who then took him home to have tea at Granny's house.

It was over two acts and seven scenes, with refreshments during the interval and it all went very well and A & I were beautifully entertained.

A scene at Granny's house.

Busy day with Granny.

This morning I headed off for an LLL Toddler meeting, while the girls chose to stay with Granny.  They were rather busy while I was out!  They continued working on the puppet play they are writing, producing and acting, working out the incidental music to go with it.  Granny told me this evening that both of the girls pretty much knew all their lines straight away the first time they read it through and that she thinks they've got really good memories.  I suggested she asked them to do the Much Ado About Nothing Rap for her!

They also tried out the new twist to Vapoosh!, using a 10 second egg timer with the easier side of the board up to 6x6, and the rule that you have to work out the answer and put your counter on the board before the time is up, which worked rather well.  It would be a bit tricky, certainly until the girls are more confident with the higher number tables, to do with the up to 12x12, but we can keep it in mind for the future. They also went out and had a look at the Craft Fair, which comes every couple of months, and they tidied up the front room too!

This afternoon we did our traditional biannual clothes trying on session with Granny.  I have in the past tried to sort too small clothes and get rid of them, but it's just so much easier with my Mum, that now we save it for when she's here.  K & M both get very attached to clothes and can be very unhappy about getting rid of things they've grown out of, but are gradually reluctantly accepting that it is inevitable.

This afternoon the girls and I returned to the Craft Fair because they wanted to spend some money and they bought a 3D picture of a wolf in a landscape and while we were there between them and a very persuasive lady we signed up for a family membership of the RSPB.  As quite often happens it came up that we home educate and after chatting for a while and having signed up, she gave us an extra freebie that was an ex-display copies, in addition to the free book and wildlife organisers that the girls chose.

While K was at ballet, M & I played the 6x6 Vapoosh! using the timer, which worked well and M won by rolling a Vapoosh!

Trickle Treating and Granny time.

A couple of years ago K & M decided that they really wanted to go Trick or Treating, but a couple of things merged and M's mispronunciation, plus the fact they they decided to take treats with them to give to people and Trickle Treating was invented.  So today I baked (the plan was that the girls were going to, but that didn't quite happen) and this evening M got dressed up in her fox costume and K wore her white furry coat and took her fluffy toy polar bear with her and we went Trickle Treating.

M the Urban Fox.

We generally only knock on doors of people we know, but even most people are slightly baffled by the idea of children going ostensibly Trick or Treating but trying to give them treats instead of accepting them.  Each time K tried to explain that they weren't Trick or Treating, but Trickle Treating, however, most people don't hear the difference.  K & M do sometimes accept a treat, but not always, another thing that baffles people.  K & M had a great time anyway.

This morning K & M spent some quality time with Granny.  I'm not quite sure how they got there, but they started talking about putting on a play with their cardboard puppet theatre, K had our Complete Works of Shakespeare out.  This lead to talking about reading plays and Granny discovered that although we have seen several plays at the theatre and that we've read books on which the some of the plays we've seen have been based, we hadn't actually read any plays.  So the three of them went to the library and came home with a few plays, a Meg & Mog one and a couple based on Roald Dahl books.  After having a look at them, Granny wrote down the play that K & M have come up with.  M has also been making scenery in preparation for the play, while K was doing a couple more birthday thank yous, one email and one miniature card.  The three of them are planning on continuing work with line learning and rehearsals while I'm out tomorrow morning, ready to perform for A and me at the weekend when he's home from Berlin.

This evening we introduced Granny to Vapoosh!.  K, M & I played while Granny watched first and K won by rolling Vapoosh!, then Granny joined in for the second game and K was only a point away from winning, with me on one point, M on zero and Granny on minus one, when against the odds (1in 1296) M won outright with the second Vapoosh! of the night!  Granny thought the game was really good and suggested to make it a bit trickier, as the girls get better with their tables, we could introduce a timer, so that you only get to place your counter on the board if you work out the answer within a certain time.  The egg timers that come with the Brainbox games (of which we have several) would work really well if we decide to go for this.

Well we weren't expecting that!

 M received something in the post this morning!

The proud owner of a Blue Peter badge.

Back at the end of August, M sent a poem that she had written a while ago to Blue Peter in the hope of winning a Blue Peter badge.  M wrote out her poem about her favourite toy dog, Christopher, and we printed out a photo of him to send with it, wrote a letter of at least 50 words telling them about it and we posted it.  We then sent an email, telling them what we'd sent, as it seemed that you needed to do that too, although actually I don't think you are supposed to do that, it wasn't completely clear, but we fairly quickly received an email in reply, thanking M for her poem, but telling her that she hadn't been successful this time.

It seems to me that they appreciate the time and effort it takes to put pen to paper and send something by post rather than just an email.  Anyway, M was very happy, as she was very proud of her poem and quite upset when she received the original email, and I was chuffed to bits for her.  This is the poem and photo she sent.

I have a dog 

He is a toy

But he is real to me

He likes to sit on a log

And when I see him doing it

It gives me joy

He surely cannot be a toy

Granny arrived this afternoon, bringing with her various pull-outs from their newspapers, so we all had a go at the Children's literary puzzle crossword in one of them and between the four of us did pretty well.  Then while I cooked, Granny and the girls played a couple of games of Happy Families, with the lovely (although understandably rather tatty) pack of cards that she had played with when was their age.

Some clay creations.

Well the weather didn't stop us from going to Asfordby, but A only made it as far as Grantham before finding out that there was no way he was going to make it to London, due to flooded tunnels and trees on the various lines that he could have taken.

As is usually the case K and M spent most of their time in social imaginative play, but they did also both spend some time making things out of clay.

One of M's creations.

K's bird Mummy and baby.

I told K that this reminded me of something that you might find in a Dr Seuss book and she agreed.

K's basilisk, which she is very proud of.

A close up.

Today was also Brownies and at the moment they are all working towards their Stargazer badge, so we've been finding out interesting facts to share, mostly from this website.

In other news, K & M have both taken to reciting various things to, or at times it would be more accurate to say at, me.  Usually it's one of the poems from Alice in Wonderland or this rap about Much Ado About Nothing, with which they are almost word perfect!

A circus, thank yous, games and more.

Yesterday we finally got together with friends for a birthday treat, between the 10th birthdays of the two older girls, at a lovely local teashop.  After tea/hot chocolate and cake/scones there we came back here and after a short rehearsal, S & I were treated to a circus performance by the four girls, various cuddly toys, A and Mr Fox as the ringmaster.  It included human cannonballs (leaping of the swing), a tightrope walking giraffe (attached by string to a cane and manoeuvred along the washing line), "bear back riding" (not a spelling mistake - it was teddy bears riding on children's backs), clowns (bears with red noses made from pingpong balls) and more.

Mr Fox, the ringmaster with A.

Alice & Ted - the clowns.

Jolly - the tightrope walker.

"Bear-back riding"

A with the Diablo

M, one of the human cannonballs.

And K, another of the human cannonballs.

Mr Fox with his amazing ball catching trick.

A the mime artist.

K, one of the contortionists.

And M contorting.

J & M doing dangerous scooter tricks.

All the performers taking their final bow.

Today K has been catching up with making and writing birthday thank you cards.  Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a photo of the one that was to George, the guinea pig (who had given her a freebie balloon from a taxi company).  It was a cartoon strip "true story of the little blue balloon", that sadly was burst on a thorn on a hedge on the way home, complete with thorn saying 'Mwahaha', followed by a picture of scissors and sellotape and a happy ending of the (now flat but) happy balloon with some little baby balloons.  She has also written a thank you card to my brother, Uncle M, who she knows has got her a present, but she hasn't had it yet!  And as well as doing several thank you cards, she also made this one.

For me, just because.

M and I had played The Game of Life for the first time in ages, which was fun and very close indeed, M won by the smallest margin possible, although she wasn't very happy that she didn't get to adopt twins or a pet.  Later she and A also played Carcassonne, again for the first time in a long time and again it was a very close game, but this time it was A who won.

The girls also played with a friend from a few doors down, both at her house and then here, which involved dressing up as Wizard of Oz characters and 'ice-skating' on the laminate floor in 'Granny's room'.

In other news, I mentioned previous that M had been 'making' again, it was another Mister Maker make, which I wasn't allowed to take a photo of until it was finished.  Here it is and I think it turned out rather well!

M's new suitcase.

Now we're hoping that the impending stormy weather doesn't stop us getting to Asfordby tomorrow, while A is trying to work out if and how he can get to London for two meetings, before heading off to Berlin on Tuesday for the rest of the week.  The girls have got a visit from Granny to look forward to from the middle of the week, so hopefully won't miss him too much.