Proud Mummy Moment

One of the biggest worries I think many of us who are educating our children other than in school have is reading. How old are they when they finally "get it", once they do get it do they have an appropriate "reading age", are they reading good quality fiction and. On fiction from a good range of genres. The list goes on. And even though I find myself telling my concerned colleagues that they shouldn't worry and that little Freddy will get it in his own time and then he'll fly, I still sometimes, just sometimes, allow that doubting fear to creep into my mind. 

E was a natural reader (and I was a smug parent lol). He seemed to learn to read by osmosis. By the time he was five he was reading simple chapter books and by seven devouring Harry Potter like a jam donut. He practically inhaled it. 

But B. Well. He was different. He IS different. He is nearly seven and finds it hard. He didn't seem to have the same innate desire to learn to read that his brother had. He manages life perfectly well without it, thank you very much. And I wonder if he'll ever "get it". 

Roll forward to bed time reading on Friday. Reader, he read! My heart wanted to burst as much as my cheeks were. He read almost entirely by himself a level 3 (because level is important, right?) Biff, Chip and Kipper book. My proud mummy moment was happening right there in that snuggly bunk bed. He was decidedly underwhelmed by my exclamation he was reading, of course. "I'm not reading Mum, I'm

just working out the sounds in my head and saying them out loud!" 

Need more sleep or time or both

This time of year I just want to cozy on up by the fire, drink tea and read great books. I always feel like I need more sleep. Hibernating sounds very appealing. So that is what we've done (nestling by the fire,not hibernating) in between writing our Christmas wish lists, our usual outside the home activities and a visit to the cinema for IntoFilm week (see https://www.intofilm.org/ for more details about this wonderful learning opportunity that happens in November each year). 

We went to see Alice Through the Looking Glass where the Jabberwocky got a brief mention. So naturally once we got home we hunted out the brilliant poem Lewis Carroll wrote about the Jabberwocky and settled down by the fire with a cuppa and some brilliant reading and poetry. 

Jabberwocky 

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves 
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: 
All mimsy were the borogoves, 
And the mome raths outgrabe. 

'Beware the Jabberwock, my son! 
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! 
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun 
The frumious Bandersnatch!' 

He took his vorpal sword in hand: 
Long time the manxome foe he sought 
So rested he by the Tumtum tree, 
And stood a while in thought. 

And, as in uffish thought he stood, 
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, 
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, 
And burbled as it came! 

One two! One two! And through and through 
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! 
He left it dead, and with its head 
He went galumphing back. 

'And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? 
Come to my arms, my beamish boy! 
Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' 
He chortled in his joy. 

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves 
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: 
All mimsy were the borogoves, 
And the mome raths outgrabe.

By Lewis Carroll

The year so far in pictures

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Autumn Musings

Still a contender for the world's worst blogger, I am back to have another go at "regular blogging".

I was recently introduced to using beautiful planners and journals to plan and record my daily/weekly/monthly goings on and have really enjoyed committing my thoughts, ideas and memories to paper, using art, poetry and quotations to embellish my own mediocre ramblings.

As I delve further into middle age I realise that my brain really does have a finite capacity, most of which is filled with song lyrics (I'm a singer in a band) which I promptly forget when the spotlight is shining on me. So it makes sense to use other means of memory keeping. I am truly loving my new found creative outlet and as I was happily cutting and sticking I recalled I had a dusty old blog somewhere out there in the world wide ether. Of course!! This too is the perfect memory keeper. That was my original intention.

With a quick trip down memory lane I really wish I'd managed a bit more. So in my shiny new planner/journal, under the page headed "goals" I have firmly placed a bullet point entitled "post to my home ed blog once a week". It can't be that hard? Surely?