arty things

Didn’t fancy home ed group this morning – it was cold and wet, and Small got me up early again, then was up again at 7.30. Urg. I’m really not good at mornings. Especially after late nights.

Anyway, dd seemed very attached to her tv this morning – didn’t even want me to read to her 🙁 She was watching Tiny Living – Barney and then some other equally enthusiastic and musical American youth show. After that though, one of the Birth Story type programs came on. I expected her to turn over, but she realised that a baby was going to be born in the program, and she wanted to watch.

I was rather torn. While I am all for her knowing how it all works and how babies are born, the whole American medicalised approach is something that I’d rather she didn’t encounter too much just yet. So I ended up sitting watching with her, discussing in in great detail and explaining how it could be done differently. She knows that Small was born at home (she was here early on, and came back first thing next morning) and that she was born in hospital, and she seems to be a little sad about that. (Probably picking up on my own regret there). Then she pointed out that she couldn’t be born at home, because our house hadn’t been built then! Gotta love her 🙂 And she’s looking forward to seeing the next baby born at home (she’s got big plans for this baby and I’m not even pregnant yet!)

Early lunch, and then we set off for our afternoon in and around Doncaster. First stop, the Range. Excellent shop – and I didn’t dare wander round it properly. Managed to find the camping stove I was looking for reasonably easily, so grabbed that, and also a four pack of solar lights for £14.99 (hope everyone else is bringing theirs!) Also managed to refrain from buying wetsuits, more camping chairs, extra insulated mugs….

Then to Tickhill, and art. Turned out our new teacher (we’ll call her M 😉 ) had been doing some research into what art means in schools. Apparently an awful lot of it is to do with getting ready for writing and maths – work on co-ordination and pen control, pattern matching and so on. We already cover that with other fun stuff (dd loves mazes, spot the difference, we use cuisenaire rods and all sorts of shapes and wooden blocks for building) – I’m more worried about art for art’s sake iyswim. So M had a table full of stuff, big stack of paper, some poster paints all ready, and we were at it for nearly two hours. They painted, drew, observed colour mixing, used feathers, sponges, printed with potatoes, did wax rubbing, drew from shells in front of them – I was seriously impressed. And yes, we’re going again. Dd was incredibly well behaved (as she usually is for other ppl) which was just as well, as for once, Small was having an off day.

It was odd being back in Doncaster. M is my best friends mum. I spent a lot of weekends and holidays at their house while I was growing up – I’ve known them well over half my life. In fact, it’s probably 20 years this year…ooh! For our 10 year anniversary we went to see Fiddler on the roof – think we’d better plan another celebration! Anyway, we drove through Doncaster from the big shop, and I hadn’t bothered looking at a map, I knew that I would find my way and I did fine. But there’s an odd deja vu – being in a house I practically grew up in, but as an adult, with my children. Relating to someone who was a mother figure to me as a peer – very strange, but also enjoyable.

Got home in time for the tea, bath and bed routing to start up, and got all children in bed by 9.30. Now the big question is do I clear off for a really early night, as I’ve all the packing to do tomorrow (nothing like being prepared, and I’m nothing like prepared!) or do I get my henna out from the kitchen, plaster my hair in mud and sleep with it wrapped in a carrier bag? Decisions, decisions!