Chatting and Stepping! Stepping and Chatting! (and the odd rant!)

[carrotsandcelery]

Come inside for a and a and maybe even a if the mood takes you.

A thread for chatter and nonsense

I always take hundreds Scout and then usually have 2 or 3 good ones out of the lot

We are watching "Super" while dh does his ironing.

I've always been a picture taker. Fortunately I met MrScout -- he's bought me all of the digital cameras I've ever owned and it's saved me a fortune on processing! I spent, easily, USD 175 on processing after my first trip to England. To be fair, though, I had one of the cameras that took pictures in three sizes and had a lot of panoramic shots (from the London Eye, the campsite, Windsor, etc). Still, it was a boatload of money.

Birthday present ordered. Craft supplies ordered (mostly paint powder for Toddler). Pictures downloaded and the people that need to know have been emailed.

Right, it's time for bed!

Good night.

I ended up giving Twilight a bath yesterday evening as we just couldn't get her clean from our walk. She likes to walk up and down streams and ditches when we are out and she is so hairy she gathers all sorts on herself as she walks about. I will have to take her back to the groomers and get her cut as short as they can manage for the summer (if it ever comes).

Scout Happy Mom's Day! Do you celebrate both?

Afternoon everyone! How are you all? I had an internet free day yesterday ( basically I taught and slept with a bit of eating in between!!)

I am really trying to keep myself awake this afternoon rather than following my usual pattern of sleeping! As I slept so much yesterday, I'm thinking that it is likely to be better if I keep awake now and just go to bed early!

I went to church this morning then came back and cooked myself a healthy lunch. Since then I've been doing ironing and mending and watching "I used to be Fat" programmes back to back on Viva. I figured that I could be sort of sitting down and chilled(ish) and still get something useful done. I've also got 2 loads of washing outside on the line which feels great. It is sunny here but also extremely windy. First load had dried within 2 hours or so. I've hit another trough of tiredness so I'm having another cup of tea and trying to get some more energy! I could do with doing all sorts of bits of housework really!

Hi arti. Thank you for the link to that goblin times table game. Ds got a bit panicky with it at first but now he has the hang of it he loves it. It is like a "proper" fancy computer game so it appeals a lot. I also don't feel guilty letting him play a computer game for once.

I am saving the penguin one for when he has them learnt a bit better as it sounds like speed of recall will matter!

It is sunny and really windy here too. Dh has been sanding down and reoiling our garden furniture. He also fed the grass. We have a clematis to plant tonight and I bought dd some jubilee pansies to plant as she is obsessed with all things Union Flag this year. We have a big bright blue pot at our front door so I think they are going in there

I have got a fair amount done on and off today. I should really list more ebay as it won't get out of the house until I list it. It is soooooo boring though...

Glad that the bigbrainz goblin game is going down well! Mostly 7-11 year old boys love it but I've had some girls tell me it is "too scary"!!

Tip:
If you still "ration it" whilst letting him play on it quite a lot (eg only 20 mins at a time or whatever) it will be likely to keep its appeal and street cred for longer!!

Some other things you could try:

Once he has got to the sage of recalling a table ( even if very slowly) try getting him to recite it while throwing a foam ball or juggling ball (or small teddy!) up and catching it. One throw for each sum iyswim. It helps them get in a rhythm with saying it and also do it more automatically. Then you can "play" between you so you throw the ball to him and say 4x3 and he has to throw it back and say 12.
Boys particularly seem to like this one as they can move physically while learning!

Get some bath crayons - but keep them especially for learning tables, not for general play and as a "special treat" let him write out the current table on himself or the tiles at bath-time. ( He may - or may not feel too grown up for this one?) One mum I know got her son to practice saying tables at bath time and she would flick him with cold water if he got one wrong (He was the sort of kid who found this hilarious and a great game!! Would not work with all kids though!)

Get some chalk and let him write the answers to the "current" times table large on the drive or patio ( if you have such a chalk-able surface). Then you yell out a sum and he has to jump onto the right answer.

If you have a trampoline you could try getting him to bounce whilst reciting a table. Again the movement and rhythm seems to help them learn!

I agree the penguin one is for when they have learned them thoroughly but need to speed recall!

Have fun!!

Thanks carrots. Happy Mother's Day everyone!

And yes, I sort of celebrate. I make sure to send my Mom a card & present and call her. My first Mother's Day Toddler (then BabyScout) and I were in the US on holiday so I had two Mother's Days tht year. This year I received a card from Toddler, sent from the US. It was "signed" by Toddler, so I think my Mom arranged it at Thanksgiving.

Currently eating strawberries on oatcakes for tea; an interesting but surprisingly tasty combination! It will be followed by a banana!

I ate too much dinner.

I'm off to bed soon --when the DC are asleep-- as I feel pretty tired now.

Night all!

Good night, Cats! Sleep well.

Sleep tight Cats.

Arti thank you again. Those are great ideas and I think they would all appeal. We have done sums on the path and drive way but it didn't occur to me to get ds jumping on the answers. Genius!

We had another Mills of the Wind variety day today. Toddler was in HEAVEN. And again I took way too many pictures.

Scout - it really makes me smile thinking of TS enraptured by windmills!
Carrots - glad to help with ideas! Must go and do final jobs before bed!

Night all!

Today he kept saying "Windmill! Windmill! Windmill! Again! Again! Again!" And this is while we were standing on the windmill sight, looking at it and chatting with the volunteers. All of the volunteers we've encountered this weekend have been captivated by Toddler and his enthusiasm and his seriousness in checking out the sails and gears.

Scout has Ts been introduced to Windy Miller?

I don't know the Windy Miller. I'll have to remember to ask MrScout if he knows him.

He was a staple of my childhood and probably the childhood of most of us on this thread (if they were raised in the UK). He wasn't always drunk. That is a bit of an uncharacteristic episode! Ts would probably love him.

Look up Camberwick Green and Trumpton on youtube and you will find loads about him.

Thanks, carrots. We'll look tomorrow. MrScout is English, through and through, so probably knows him.

I remember being amazed that Windy Miller never got hit by the sails on the windmill!

Making a Lego windmill (using the motor from my train set) was one of my favourite things to do!!

Morning everyone!
What has everyone got planned this week?
Bessie i hope things go well for you this week. I am a bit stunned we are at this point already. Have you worked out your new flight route?

Oooh, bessie, good luck for this week!

carrots, it's shaping up to be a same ol' same ol' week for us. Seniors, Busy Feet (that new-to-us group from last week that TS seemed to enjoy), Tots in Guiding Village, Swimming, Soft Play. Only difference is I think we're going to the in-laws this weekend because MrScout has an interview with the jamboree committee and if we don't go down to the Thames Valley I won't see him until next week sometime.

I'm excited about jamboree -- I just can't believe it's interview time already. It's come around so quickly! I'm trying to work out what I want to do at jamboree, I just know I don't want one of the "power positions" that MrScout's gone for.

Toddler came in to visit again last night. I barely remember him coming in and when I fully came to he was sound asleep on my arm, snuggled in, laying on top of the covers (which makes me think maybe I didn't wake up at all because I would have moved over and pulled the covers over him). I got up for the loo and to sort out his bed then carried him back to bed and he never woke up. I was so tempted to just leave him in my bed but I was afraid MrScout's early wake up would wake him up. And honestly, as much as I love a cuddle from Toddler, co-sleeping would not be good for me my boys were both sound asleep and I couldn't relax enough to sleep once I realized TS was in my bed. Once he was put back I was asleep within minutes. Sleep walking (& sleep talking) runs in my family (my sister was famous for it but it goes back a few generations) so I have a feeling Toddler is a sleep walker he barely ever seems "with it" when he comes in in the night. He doesn't talk, he just climbs into bed, lays on my arm and goes to sleep.