Episode 34 - The Tearoom moves to New England

[beanandspud]

At this time of year New England is famous for its glorious foliage as billions of leaves change from green to a kaleidoscope of colours. The air is crisp and cool ? perfect for hiking, biking or a drive along back roads, where farm stands are piled high with crunchy apples and orange pumpkins.

Everyone is welcome. There are tea, cakes and wine aplenty so pull up a comfortable chair and join us.

The usual rule applies - no fisticuffs please!

Blue curacao, yummy.

Sounds good to me...

Well done to UniS's Boy as well. It was a good day to swim.

SB has told me he'd like to go back to that swim class again next week. I think as long as he can see me/wave when he wants (he did a couple of times, as did the other two new-to-the-group kids) he'll run to go into the leisure center like he did for Tiny Tots. At least for now until I become completely redundant.

You won't be redundant for at least thirty years, Scout.

Hahahaha.

Cheers everyone! And well done to swimming boys!

Does anyone know if there's a difference between Ace Trumps and Top Trumps?

bean, Small Bean should receive something from SB in the next few days.

One is produced by the owners of the brand name "top trumps" the other isn't. We own one set of "top trumps" and one set of "safari trumps" and used to have a set of " mega trumps" but that got lost.

Always makes me snigger tho, trumps, what were they thinking off, my fart is better than yours....

Are they played the same way?

I found a trains Ace Trumps game and have moved it into the "gift ideas" Amazon list, thinking it might be a good one for SB.

seem to be. some sets have the different categorys highlighted in different colours which helps pre readers to play.

Thanks, UniS. It's on my ideas list for SB's birthday or Christmas 2013. I don't think he'd get Top Trumps yet so no point in getting a deck just now. We're still working on taking turns with the preschool/pre-reading games we have now (various Orchard Toys games, CandyLand, Chutes & Ladders, etc) but I saw Tesco had a Cars 2 deck on sale for £0.74 which made me wonder if they did a train version which led me to the Ace Trumps deck. I don't see SmallBoy's obsession with love of trains diminishing this year (or any time soon for that matter).

Please feel free to help yourself overnight and in the morning.

Good night!

MC was quite taken with small scout and they did enjoy looking at all those models and trains together Scout!.

Running today apparently. I've told MC that I don't expect him to be first - but I do expect him to do as well as he can, and aim not to be last! (Clearly takes after his mother in terms of running capabilities)

We're watching CBeebies. We don't normally. What's with the Muppets with Irish accents? That's not being rude, by the way, a genuine question. Sesame Street characters shouldn't have foreign accents. They just shouldn't.

MT, SB talks about the "toys trains museum" too. My MiL gave him a toy train, similar to ones in the shop there, so thinks it comes from there and thinks we bought it for him there.

SB and I have a quiet day in. We've needed it after running/being out all this week. We spent ages working on his train sticker book (one of those DK ultimate sticker book books) today and he's almost done. Very good at making matches, he is. We've also made a snowflake out of popsicle sticks & sparkles and a rocket out of paper, glue & stickers. Scissors are a new thing for SmallBoy so we sat practicing and used the bits he cut out to make the rocket.

Sounds a very productive day Scout!

I like the (proper) Muppets - although its probably monterist/frogist/pigist or something politically incorrect....

I have put heavenly snacks on the side a huge jug of hot choc, help yourself. The log fire is blazeing and I'm going to curl up on the sofa over there with Terry pratchet book.

Miserable weather day in RL, roof is leaking , grrr.

Sounds good Unis, may I join you?

I fear we are entering a phase where Small Bean's class teacher is 'God'. It's been a little wearing today hearing that "Miss T said....", "Miss T says that we must...", "Miss T says that we shouldn't..." I'm sure it won't last forever and mummy's opinions will count for something again!

Scout, thank you for the package. Small Bean was delighted and has really enjoyed starting his 'train challenges'.

Arrr, the godness of teachers, better than the godness of new friends.

choc box of requirements to help you while away sunday night??

Bean - I'm afraid that MC has always been of the opinion that, whilst teachers know quite a bit, mummy and daddy know more .

We have a light covering of snow - and there's more gently descending, although not heavily.

Its a morning for porridge, hot chocolate, hot crumpets with butter and honey....

Boy has a tendency towards knowing something interesting about numbers that the class have not yet been taught... thankfully his best mates mother reaches for the dictionary to settle arguments about is a googleplex bigger than a squillion...

Boy is happy going into negative numbers, recognised 10000000 as a million at start of Y2 and sort of has an idea about infinity not being a "real "number because you can always add 1. I blame DH entirely. Next stop will (I think) be Prime numbers.

sorry- smug mum moment there, its nice that he is good at something at school, as his writing is appalling and he has been "moved down a table" for literacy, but he's happy that hes gone up a table for maths ( to top table he tells me).

Woohoo on maths UniS!

That's the sort of thing that DS comes out with, although we've been trying terrifically hard not to teach him how to do things mathematically as we feel that we're sure to get the wrong method...

He's doing rather well in science though and tends to know rather obscure things about strange topics there...

DL has bought him a Raspberry Pi with the view to teaching him how to program using it, which sounds like a very good idea to me, we've just got to implement the 'I'm going to teach him' bit now!

DH are taking the approach that is isn't a "wrong method" only different methods. That said DH could teach maths at degree level ( and used to tutor and mark) so I've few worries about getting it "wrong". I started boy on column addition back in year 1. he likes it because you can add up REALLY BIG numbers ( like millions) after you run out of fingers and with out having a very long number line.

I remember sitting at the back of a class doing long division sums whilst the rest of the class learned how to do simple division

There do seem to be some very different methods around now which is the thing that worries me...

SmallBoy still hates walking on the snow. He loved being outside as it was falling (he thought it landing on our hair was funny) but as soon as it started to really lay and he couldn't not walk on it he screamed the neighborhood deaf. We're going to Forest School tomorrow morning. This should be interesting. (Not the F.S. bit, we love F.S., but F.S. in the woods in the snow when SB won't stand or walk on snow.)

Yay for boys with good math skills! I've seen some of the methods they use at the school MrScout governors at and I'll admit to going at them. They don't seem to make any sense and make extra work. I guess I'm also of the "one method does not fit all" and it's good to be able to look at a problem in different ways.

Have appointment at hospital on Friday. I suspect the new doctor will get an earful from me.

SB is also going to have an adventurous day on Friday hospital appointment with me, then ride on the bus from the hospital to the train station, then a train to London, the underground across London and finally a train to Berkshire. All without a stroller I must be mad--.

Good luck with the journey tomorrow Scout - if it had been MC I would have been talking about how 'big boys' cope without the stroller - and hold onto Mummy's hand nicely so that they stay safe... and making sure that there were plenty of provisions for sustenance along the way

All the best for your adventure in the big smoke Scout. hopefully TS will be so excited about the big boy ness of it all he will be fine.