So much for the data protection act.

Which is, i suspect, a methodology for people being able to give a good reason for not helping you when the information they need should be at their disposal. When our LEA realised we’d moved, they trawled council records for our new address. We aren’t on the electoral role yet, so i can’t help thinking they must have gone somewhere they SHOULDN’T have access. Hm.

So, phonecall to them today; i’m sending in a short report and i’ve agreed to meet him but have said that baring their maths books and current spelling test, i don’t keep work and that is all there is to it. I suspect we are going to have a battle there as he was clearly not happy with the idea that we didn’t keep records but we don’t and we don’t have to and so i am not going to. I said he was welcome to have some copies of photos (gulp, hardly taken any for ages) but that i wasn’t going to create work for him to see. He asked why i didn’t keep everything; i asked if he had any idea how much “stuff” 4 children could create?!?!?!?!!?!?

We’ve had a busy weekend of doing not much; Maddy is poorly with Laryngitis and really quite miserable (very unlike her) so spent yesterday on the sofa watching tv. Lots of Sound of Music, yet more discussion on the various implications of the Nazi invasions and lots of singing. Was pleasantly surprised to hear Fran really gaining confidence in her singing, she sounds lovely these days. Both of them made it to ballet on Saturday and were excited about that; Grade 2 seems to suit them both, they like having something to stretch them.

Over the weekend there was also a fair bit of drawing going on, with different people trying out new things; Maddy played with some watercolour pencils (i love having a Staedtler rep, he always leaves me nice things!!!!) and Fran has been trying to improve her “people”. Amelie is just obsessed with writing at the moment and i get a lot of little notes from her. Josie, beyond all of them, just loves her books and she and i spend a good bit of time reading together.

Fran wrote a long letter to her cousins and has been playing Pokemon Pearl (sure it is good for her!) a lot, including long conversations on the phone to her biggest cousin about it. She has her appointment about her next op on friday; if they decide to go ahead, it will be within 3 months of the appointment, which just floors me, to be honest. There was a time when sitting in the Addenbrooke’s cafe, praying she wouldn’t be one of the freak anaesthetic deaths and that it would all be okay, was practically normal for us. I can remember sitting with a tiny baby on my lap and them saying “when she is about 10….” and suddenly, here it is, coming up. Woah. She is incredibly pragmatic about it, she makes me so proud. Also feeling delighted that her teeth have straightened a lot on their own and several people have commented on how clearly she speaks at the moment. I’ve said it before, but how i wish i could have had a glimpse of ‘now’ on those frightening first few days.

We’ve been discussing charity, alongside our “Where the bear Sleeps” book, because it made interesting talk to contemplate the idea of giving as being something that was meaningful and fulfilling to do. Kids all talked about a possibly “Portico Style” frugal Xmas and seemed genuinely intrigued and positive about the idea of Xmas really not being about gifts. Maddy has decided she would like to look for a charity to find out about and give pocket money to. Fran has decided to support The Smile Train and we’ve started planning an event she’ll try to get sponsorship for to coincide with her 10th birthday in May.

Today we got ourselves fairly briskly through some normals; simplifying fractions for Fran, addition revision for Maddy, a history book of reading for Fran and a Revise History book on the Tudors – Maddy did some spelling tests and LOTS of reading (i’m encouraged to see she can read and spell within a Year 3 level on the site i found; so was she!) and Studydog for Amelie. Amelie and Josie also spent a long time with a tamborine and a pair of Maraccas and a teaching dvd – i can’t find the link but i will. They must have played along for 90 minutes or so and loved it which was fab to see (if slightly less fab on the ears at times!) Maddy also did guitar.

Big girls helped me make a stew (which was yummy, i am good at stew!) and then we went out to Home Ed bowling, followed by the big 3 going to a new Jazz class. Ams isn’t sure, big two loved it. Then home for tea.

Unit is taking shape; all the shelves are up, the computer has arrived, deliveries are ordered now that will be sent directly there and i’m spending all day there on Wednesday. MOST excitingly, the outside of the building now has 2 new signs, one saying BeadMerrily and one saying PlayMerrily. I kind of wibbled when i saw that today; i think it must be really real!

Edited to add: i highly recommend DS Word Coach. I’ve played it avidly for days and i’ve gone from being roundly humiliated on Scrabulous, to managing to stay within snogging distance of Jax, Sarah and Helen on my latest games. I still haven’t actually WON a game, mind you, but i might… soon.