Feels like long time no blog, but of course its not really. Still, 24 hours is a long time in Blogland, as Nic so often ably points out 😉
Yesterday, we decided to head out early for some retail therapy, knowing we were expecting Jax and co in the afternoon. Girls were very enjoyable to be out with and behaved like stars. We spent a bit of time in Tesco, where they all chose new reading books and maths books; iFran has really enjoyed Toady Times Tables, so we got another from the Wizard Range, a Year 3/ 7-8 one which seemed the most suitable for what she can do. Its not going to stretch her massively but it will definitely be her reading limit, so should do us up to the end of July i think. She’s more or less at the end of the Tables one and is now using most tables fairly competently; not all off by heart by any stretch but she knows what to do or where to look for anything she gets asked. So i’d call that a significant success really. She has her 2’s, 10’s, 5’s, 11’s and 3’s pretty much there and is getting pretty good at her 4’s. The biggest deal of course is that she can now read and decipher what is being asked of her, her reading has come on so fast that i doubt she’d be far out of place in a typical Year 2 now – effectively a couple of “school years” worth of typical reading learning in a couple of months. I’m typing that, not cos i specifically care about National Curriculum stuff but so that next time i’m not relaxed about something, i can re-read this 😉
We also did some clothes shopping; sundresses from H&Ms (only managed ONE each, WHERE are the sundresses this year? I can’t find any decent ones….) then Fran went to spend her birthday NEXT voucher from Auntie G. Now that was all very weird… she chose her skirt and top and then asked if she could try it on, tootled off into the dressing rooms on her own, got the assistant to help her tighten the adjustable straps at the side (6 buttons on each side it had to be taken in for an age 7 skirt to fit! She’ll be wearing it for years!) I sat there feeling faintly stunned by how grown up she seemed and she just compounded it by escorting Ammi into the public loos and seeing her safely through the process.
My girl is getting so big.
I can’t remember all of yesterdays many educational conversations, but i knwo we had them. They are such interested children, its great to see Maddy getting so much more aware too. I enjoy their company so much.
Well anyway, then Jax and Co. arrived and its been bedlam since 😀
Today we went off to town to visit the museum and did the Forces and Motion experiments and saw the Bug stuff. All excellent stuff, most impressed. Had lunch on the Cathedral Green and talked about Cathedral Building which linked perfectly with the pulley experiment in the museum, then went off to get my tooth refixed. They were really all very patient; Jax and i purchased some Scoubidoos and have twiddled since. I’ve cracked it now i think.
This evening both Fran and Maddy have read to me; Fran is loving reading factual books to me (Ladybird Frogs and Tadpoles tonight, she seems to far prefer this to fiction) and Maddy pretty much scooted through Peter and Jane 2a – she is stunning me actually. I can tell she isn’t memorising, she certainly stops for new words and its not perfect, but she is very clearly reading, in a very different way to Fran has learned. Its quite mindbending really. Especially since she still can’t reliably tell me most of the letter names or sounds!
Moment(s) of the day though from Fran:
“Mummy What does “Play the Game, Play to Win” mean? – i saw it on the back of your book” and also successfully sounding out “window” and “breathe”.
Ammi is very taken with Small which is very lovely. She is being a good girl at the moment.. oh she is getting so big…
Josie is also such a big girl now too… sits for AGES, plays, reaches, throws, grabs and mouths all the time. Wears clothes a lot now too (now people have given me some that actually fit such a ‘NORMOUS baby.) She has a real deep, giggle chuckle, loves having her neck kissed, especially under her right ear and adores all her sisters.
I’ve just set up an email addy for Fran so i’ll email people about necklaces. You are all so lovely…. 🙂 She has to make a few more tomorrow i think!
(Oh… i missed my Blog Day – Happy Second Birthday Patch of Puddles… Carol.. i’m about to email you back too.)
EDIT: Just as an aside (mainly to make people choke and splutter at me 😉 ), i was looking in Waterstones today at Oxford Reading Tree Books. A very quick look at the highest level they had, which was Stage 7 and reckoned that was a level Fran was comfortably at. And having a quick look at this chart seems to suggest that, when used in schools, those books are the aim for Year 2, Term 2, which would give a reading age of 6 1/2- 7 years old. Which basically means that despite only starting to really do any meaningful reading in the last couple of months, she’s already covered the ground it takes schooled kids 2 years of Literacy Hours to get to. Which… oh, its a weight off my mind to know its all panned out right. 🙂
