Maths and Shopping
Monday
We were all tired from the weekend and L and M were full of cold (and they’re still in the thick of them). Everything seemed to take for ever. We did umpteen loads of washing and drying to catch up from the weekend. M did some maths and phonograms. In the afternoon he baked chocolate cookies and I managed to singe them for him (cooked much faster than I expected).
In the evening M went to try Cubs for the first time and came back having enjoyed it, which is good, especially as they don’t seem to do much at Beavers aside from waiting for the attention seekers to pipe down. We got mixed messages about whether there is a space in Cubs for him to move up, but they didn’t say he can’t come next week and he got sheets to fill in and take back so I presume he can go weekly to Cubs as well as to Beavers til he’s invested. Next week at Cubs they are doing their cycling badge so he’s got a few things to learn if he wants to give it a go.
We watched the Jamie Oliver follow up programme about school dinners and it’s given me a bit of a kick up the bum to sort out some better meals for us all. We seem to have degenerated into cheese or tuna sandwiches for lunch every day and too many crisps and biscuits.
Tuesday
M played his new Lego Star Wars 2 game for ages in the morning while L had a lie in til gone 8.30am. While he played, I started some lentil soup for lunch and put some mince etc in the slow cooker as a base for a half courgette half beef lasagne for tea. Once we were all up M did some maths and spelling and we looked through what’s involved for the cycling badge. We discussed bike safety and maintenance (as much as I know about it, which is not much!) and looked at the Highway Code for cyclists.
I made some flat bread with cumin and coriander to go with the lentil soup and M refused to eat the soup and made a big fuss. He doesn’t like the thought of lentils. I said I’d make lentil soup with just carrots in it next time and he ate it eventually. L got stuck in with his spoon - thicker soup from the bottom of the pan in a ramekin and he did get some of it in his mouth LOL.
In the afternoon we did a science activity from the BA First Investigators folder all about colours that show up well in the dark. M cut squares of different coloured paper and we had some pieces of reflective strip in silver and red. Then he sat in our understairs cupboard and compared pairs of colours so he could order all the slips from most to least visible. L helped by opening and shutting the door, climbing on top of M and randomly eating some of the squares of paper! Next we tested which papers showed up the best with a torch to simulate car headlights. Finally M had to design an outfit for wearing out at night when cycling, so he picked the best colours and we printed out some clothes and a body from the Making Friends website. Then he added strips of reflective silver to the collar and shirt sleeves to make it better for nighttime.
After that M was supposed to be having his last 10 mins of computer time because he was desperate to try out a new character he’d unlocked. Then he decided to start a new chapter and they always take ages to play (blooming games that can’t be saved at frequent intervals!) so he got very upset when I said he had to come off and ended up doing his shouting/screeching/biting/throwing paddy thing and got himself banned off the PC for today.
Late afternoon A took M to rollerblading for an hour so that wore him out. We had a late tea when they got in and then did showers and bedtime for both boys. Then I did stuff on the computer and then watched Lost.
Today
The start of the morning went relatively well even though M was on a computer ban. L was full of yellow snot, lovely! M did some maths about multiplying by 10 and kept doing random things like adding instead of multiplying and got himself completely befuddled with it. I think we’re going to be working on multiplying by 10s for a while. The sums were things like 3x4= then 3x40= then 3x400= and M would say 12 for the first one and possibly get 120 for the second sum and then suddenly go to 2400 for the last, and I think he even suggested 128 as a possible answer. I find it really hard to explain things that seem so blooming obvious to me.
Then we went in to town and spent hours going round and round the clothes shops looking for an OK jacket for me. We might be going to a presentation at A’s work next week (though we were told at the weekend it might end up being moved to a different date but they don’t know yet!) and I don’t have anything smart to wear. Eventually found a jacket that goes OK with a skirt I have and then we went round again looking for a top. We eventually gave up and came home but I think I have one that will do.
At home L had a long nap and M mooched about complaining about his computer ban and watching TV. Eventually I got him started on his chocolate coin making kit he got for his borthday and he did that off and on with Blue Peter before bath and bed. I’ve just watched Who Do You Think You Are about Colin Jackson which was fascinating and A has been doing figures for my tax return (cos I ignore it as long as possible and it annoys him so much he does it). Now he’s filling the bath with water just in case (for flushing the loo etc) because our water is being turned off overnight while they do something to the mains.
