Thursday photo #312

The problem with blogging at the moment is that one week seems to fade into the next. With the children reluctantly starting their schoolwork again, last week seemed to drag on for approximately 327 years. I’ve found myself aiming to have little things to look forward to. A pub zoom quiz on a Tuesday night and a break from schoolwork at the weekend. Little jobs are getting done around the house and we are all pottering along at a much slower pace.

Getting to know you

Isn’t it funny how you get to know your own family just a little better when you are all at home? I have felt like this time is a real opportunity to understand how the girls are doing at school. I now know what they need to work on, what they’re good at and what they struggle with. Libby finds maths difficult to grasp. I’ve always known that, but hadn’t really realised why. Since having her at home, I’ve worked out that it’s just because she’s not concentrating and engaging with it properly. We are plodding on with the school maths, but I’m looking around at other ways to get her more interested in it too.

As for Lia, I have always known that she wasn’t willing to push herself too much. With her being at home, this has become easier to manage. We do the minimum with her. Just maths, English and phonics. Then at a different time and completely separate from schoolwork, we do some extra reading. She has quickly gone from reading basic Biff and Chip books to happily reading the Famous Five. The next thing I want to work on is her handwriting, I just need to work out how to do it without her realising it’s work.

This week, Lia insisted I cut her hair. I didn’t mind, it really needed doing because it had got so long and straggly. So, I cut a decent chunk off it but it was still long. Since then, she has been nagging me to cut it into a bob for her. I’m incredibly reluctant to do that, it really needs to be done by a hairdresser. But she is incredibly persistent, so who knows what I’ll end up doing in order to get some peace and quiet.

Too much company

I do often chuckle to myself about the confusion the lockdown is causing to pets across the country. Their usually quiet homes have been invaded by humans who insist on staying in all day. Our dog, Bubbles, has had to get used to one less walk a day and far more attention from the children. She is a bit confused, but doesn’t seem to mind. The cat on the other hand, is quite cross about the whole situation.

He usually settles down for a nap in Libby’s room while she is at school. Now that his opportunity to find somewhere quiet to sleep has been denied, he often wanders around the house shouting at us all. The rain has thrown him into even more of a frenzy. He now spends a significant part of the day following me around, complaining about the injustice of everything.

Thursday photo #312

Libby built an assault course for Bubbles at the weekend and they take it in turns to drag her around it on a lead. She quite likes the attention, but quickly gets fed up and I think she misses peace and quiet as much as I do. She’s enjoying the extra cuddles though.