Books

I love to read, books are a world where I can send myself to escape reality and forget my cares for a little while. My preference is for fantasy and science fiction but I do enjoy historical fiction as well. I have dabbled elsewhere and will have a go at pretty much anything once. I would like it if my children could learn my love of books but at the moment I am finding that school are not as supportive as I would like.

We were told, when oldest started school, that his book would be changed twice a week. It is not. He gets a new book once a week. he will read his new book lovely for the first 3 days and then after he is bored. I get it - I wouldn't read the same book twice without reading something else in the middle so would never do it 4 times in 4 days. I asked the school to change his book more often and was told that they don't have time. I was also told that he could read one of his own books. I get that - he has a lot of books and the teacher's time is not infinite. I like to read to him (I try to read to them both daily) but I am not a teacher and I am scared that in choosing on his own books that, if I pick the wrong one or something too difficult I will put him off.

Now I have a second child in the same school and, over 2 weeks in, she still doesn't have a school book to bring home. She has been asking since day 1 to read her book as her older brother does so we have been choosing a book and she has been using the pictures to tell me the story with the odd attempt at basic words (she has her letters sorted). It is hard to see that the school struggles to find time to change reading books, I can imagine resources are limited and time is precious.

We are also experimented with books in different formats. Books on paper are wonderful but both children really enjoy audio books and for in the car they are amazing! We have already listened to the Hobbit over the summer, just a little bit at a time. I found a couple more on Amazon and have saved them for Christmas presents. I have also loaded the Kindle app onto the tablet that my oldest uses and tried to load some child friendly books, they are all a bit hard for him to read himself at the moment and the ones that I have chosen lack pictures so I am hoping he will enjoy these more when he is older and a more confident reader.

For my next read I doubt I have picked a literary classic but hopefully it will keep me quiet for a little bit. Once the children are asleep.

Another new start.

Youngest started school today.

I have to spare a mention for oldest, he seems to have the rough enough of the stick at the moment as the world seems to be focused on her and he is struggling a lot. On holiday it was all about how gorgeous she was and he was an after thought meaning that we tried to make more of him but that wasn't the same to him and he was openly jealous and so naughty as a result. Once we got back it was all about preparing for his birthday and we hoped this would give him some perspective as well as reinforce the idea that he has to take turns to be the focus of attention. But now his birthday is over and the wrapping paper and cake almost finished it is all about going back to school. He just has a weekend treat with his grandparents to go so I am hoping that will help.

(The birthday celebrations were understated but happy with oldest liking all his presents and his cake. I am not sure which was his favourite between the CD player and the skateboard but he did love his dinosaurs).

Except he is going back to school and she is starting a new school. He has a new class, a new teacher and all that comes with moving up a year but the school is familiar, so is the uniform, the format of the day, the meals and even the playground. For youngest is is all new. I had to remind oldest that last year the fuss was on him when started reception but he doesn't recall that and if he does he is choosing not to reflect it to what is happening today.

They both looked really smart in the new school uniform this morning, They both had shiny new shoes, bags with no scuffs and nothing was screwed up or covered with food/paint/pen. I can't reconcile the 2 children I saw this morning with the terrified toddlers we met in January 2013. I have the photos and I have lived the last 2 and a half years but I still can put the 2 images together and conclude that they are the same children. Their Daddy took them to school complete with P.E. kits and completed homework and they went in with no fuss, excited to be there. Hopefully they will come home as happy. I am expecting them to be worn out.

Rules of Survival - The Wheels on the Car go . . . . .

As a big fan of the car over the bus or train for many different reasons we do most of our long distance in the car. I much prefer to leave when I am ready and I don't want to be subjected to other passengers in the same way I am pretty sure that they don't want to listen to me entertain my little darlings for a couple of hours.

1) Toys! Lots of small, none noise making bits and pieces from books to drawing pads (those magnetic ones) and even the tablet (on silent but the risk of sound, exceptionably irritating sound, is high). We can also pass a happy hour in the car taking it in turns to sing songs and those with hand actions are great thus 'heads, shoulders, knees and toes' is popular as is 'Incey Wincey Spider' and 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. We are also getting better at I Spy, Spot It and we are trying to teach them Rock, Paper, Scissors (Lizard, Spock will come later).

2) Encourage sleep. We find that after they have eaten lunch they are much more likely to take a nap. We have stories on CD which are also conducive of a little snooze so use them where possible. Those moments of peace whilst we are travelling are treasured as they make the journey feel much quicker. As a child I was great at sleeping in the car and have kept this skill into adulthood - not great when driving of course nor when the driver expects you to entertain them.

3) Pack snacks. I learnt the hard way that anything that melts is bad and the same is true of things that can be spread all over the back of the car. Raisins might sound like a good idea but they get everywhere! I have to confess that I do limit liquids as the constant 'I want a wee wee' is also a nightmare especially when you know that you have passed the last service centre for 20 miles, the only place to stop is a lay-by and youngest will not go in a bush. Favoured snacks at the moment include mini cheddars/crackers (although there is a crumb issue), larger dried fruit varieties and

4) Plan to stop. A lot depends on how far we are travelling but I get restless after a little while in the car and the kids are no different. For any journey over 2 hours we plan to stop and get out of the car. it is great if we can stop somewhere there is the possibility to have a run around but that is not always the case so we improvise,

5) Be prepared for arrival - whether at your destination or back at home. We go camping a lot and always have an idea of how we are going to manage the first hour as we have to entertain 2 children who have cabin fever from being stuck in the car but we also have the tent to pitch and sort ready for habitation. We are helped when someone is on hand to do the entertaining bit but otherwise the toy bucket has to be easily accessible. If raining then a car dive for puddlesuits and Wellington boots has to be completed as the priority.

Not that long ago I had to use the train to London and I have to compliment the Dad sat with her toddler behind me - she giggled pretty much the whole was there (just less than hour) so whatever he had done to keep her happy and entertained must have worked and she was a pleasure to listen to. Maybe I should have asked his secret before I left the train.