We had a bit more illness in the house last week but nothing more than a day of high temperatures from Caden. He recovered after a couple of nights and a day of rest.
Caden has been watching loads of the Lego Ninjago series recently on Netflix. He loves the stories and he and Miles like to be ninjas and fight each other (of course) and they also have made up their own dance to the theme tune which they do each episode. It is very sweet watching them enjoy it so much.
We started a new group this week which seems to work very well for us, called Woodcraft Folk. It's a national group which has been established for nearly 100 years. It is based around democracy, nature and the environment and social responsibility. MK Woodcraft is run by some mothers I met at other groups when the boys were much younger, so it's good to see familiar faces. Caden and Miles are in about the middle of the age range there. The set up is fairly laid back so there is no problem with them having a 'mad moment' and running around a bit. There is a reading corner with topical books and natural toys. The topic last week was birds, in lieu of the RSPB bird-watch weekend. We read books about birds and looked at their pictures. The activities included the circle time to start, where the older children mostly talked about their 'news'; then crafty tables where we made a variety of different bird-feeders; games involving lots of running around - big hit!! and the closing circle where the children say goodbye. Both boys were tired after 1.5 hours of the club but both really enjoyed it and we are all looking forward to the next one and working towards badges. Here they are in their woodcraft folk T Shirts.
Here are some photos of them making the bird feeders, playing the traffic-light game and helping to tidy the chairs at the end.
This is the bird feeder hung off our balcony bars. You can just see it hanging down behind the reflection. The top four balls are made from lard and seeds and the bottom disc made from gelatine and seeds.
We did some play-doh modelling. They always love to smoosh all the colours together. I gave up trying to keep them separated a long time ago. We opened a few new pots and they made some animals for me. Here is a giraffe that Caden made.
Miles couldn't get enough of berries this week. He ate a 400g punnet of blueberries to himself and a packet of blackberries too. It's a shame they are out of season but we are lucky to be able to get them still.
We saw friends this week as usual. We have a new weekly event of movie night on a Wednesday at 5pm with Arthur. We always have our 'tribe' friends round for playtime on a Wednesday afternoon anyway. We make raw juices with the kids and get all the toys out. They love to play pirate ships on the bunk-beds and role-play/dressing up happens without fail every week. They watched The Muppets movie and all had a picnic on the floor. They really loved it!
Friday we went up to Ikea and although this was the day Caden had his high temperature he rested with me on my lap while I had a coffee and Miles went in for a play into Smaland with Freddie, Betsey and Meg. They really love going into the little creche there, it's a real treat-hour for them. It was too cold for the playground sadly.
Academically, we did more reading... The Twits by Roald Dahl is now half-way through and Caden isn't sure what to make of it. He loves the jokes but I think he is a bit scared of how wicked and horrid Mr and Mrs Twit are. We'll finish it this coming week, it's only short. We did pretty well on the maths.... Caden completed his subtraction section and did fine on the questions at the end.
We visited other friends too in Newport Pagnell. More play-doh there and lots of role playing, being knights, riding on horses and kicking balloons around. Plenty of socialising and free play with friends (boys and girls) of all ages this week.
We attempted a parkour lesson on Sunday. Caden really wasn't having it though. It is frustrating because I know for a fact he will love this if he gives it a go and gets into it. I am putting it down to him being ill recently and we will give it another go in 2 weeks. It is difficult separating your need as a parent for your kids to get involved in certain groups that mean something to you (my need) and the actual things they are interested in (his need). Caden is quite introverted and I struggle with his need for 'alone time', feeling that I am not parenting well enough if he has been alone for (in my opinion) too long. Often he just prefers to be alone or with me and Miles. He rarely enjoys being in large groups or gets very worn out with them quickly - probably why he struggled at pre-school. He is very reticent starting up in new groups and with new people, quite shy of them and needs space to adjust to new environments. Often by the time he has warmed up, the class or event is finishing. There is room in the world for people like him of course, I just have to be mindful of it when faced with new classes that he refuses point blank to do. Trying not to be annoyed with him for not doing the group (hard for me).
We made jam tarts this week for a friend's birthday party (that we couldn't attend in the end due to Caden's high temperature). The boys love baking. Their new passion is rolling pastry and cutting it into shapes. I think lots of biscuit making will be taking place soon once we finish the ones in the cupboard.
Another thing the boys are doing together this week is den making. In their bedroom, taking apart the duvet and covers and draping it across the top bunk. They love taking their soft toys, extra pillows and the new furby toy in there to play!
Miles went to pre-school two days mid-week for about 2 hours a time. He was absolutely fine as I thought he would be. He seemed very happy the last time especially, I watched him happily playing with the sand and running about. He seemed really happy and comfortable there. I hope to increase him by an hour a week until he is happily at 10 hours a week. I am looking forward to a regular time each week to work with Caden on projects without distraction.
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