Thursday photo #341

Freelance life never fails to take me by surprise. One moment, I’m merrily ripping down cupboards to decorate the kitchen. Safe in the knowledge that I’ve got no work on. I’ll easily get the whole lot painted and put back together within a few days. The next moment, my three email accounts for different jobs are all going mad and I’ve got a months worth of work lined up for the next week. It looks like the kitchen will have to wait, thank goodness nobody is allowed in our house for the time being.

History

When I was at school, I had no interest in history. I always hoped that at high school we would learn about the world wars. Instead, the only thing I can really remember learning about is crop rotation, numerous times. So, I didn’t take the subject for GCSE and other than general knowledge, I’ve never learned much about history. That is until the children came along.

Over the past year or so, Libby has begun to develop a keen interest in history. She is always asking questions and loves nothing more than a history quiz on things she’s learned. Unfortunately I’m in no position to quiz, her having very little knowledge myself. As a result of Libby’s interest, Lia has also become very interested in history. In fact, I’ve found myself having to brush up on it a bit. It would be horrifying if they knew more than I do at six and eight years old.

Surprisingly, both girls take a great interest in politics as well. My parents were never particularly interested in politics when I was a child. I grew up thinking it was boring and nothing to do with me. As I’ve got older, I’ve realised that’s far from the case. So, I discuss politics with the children quite regularly. Nothing heavy but they do know what’s going on in the world and take an interest in it. I do hope that this stays with them as they get older.

The Malvern Hills

The girls’ interest in history led us to go on a blustery early morning walk on the Malvern Hills at the weekend. Lia had been learning about the British Camp as part of her topic at school and was desperate to go up and have a look at it. None of us took much persuading, especially as there’s very little to do at the moment other than walking.

It was lovely to hear the girls swapping stories about what they had learned at school. Lia in particular seems to have really grown in confidence with her schoolwork lately. As a little girl who is somewhat prone to laziness, I’m quite proud that she is getting so into it.

Thursday photo #341

Two girls clinging on to each other to avoid being blown off the top of the hill!