Friday 29th May – Thursday 4th June
Another Week and back to home schooling as Half Term is now over, it was so nice to have a little break from the school work and just lower the expectations a little. I’m loving that the sunshine is still here as I don’t imagine it will last forever looking at the forecast!
The sunshine makes such a massive difference to us, as i know it does a lot of others, I feel so much more positive and carefree with some blue sky.

We went crazy on the science experiments this week. Some inspired by Maddie Moate and Greg Foot (the bounce pad challenge), some from an experiment kit that LB got for his birthday (rocket launcher). The kids loved trying something new and to be honest us adults got quite invested too. Some great activities to try all together.

So lovely to get out into the woods for a walk or into the garden playing. It really breaks up the day especially with two kids who i swear would spend all day watching the TV or playing on their kindles. Anyone else had battles with the amount of technology their kids want/are allowed?

We’ve detoured to the shops for ice creams, watched cows and tractors in farmers fields, collected and chased Pokemon on the Pokemon Go app and explored our woods in every which direction. We are so lucky to have that right on our doorstep though I would like to start going and walking in other places too for a little change of scenery. I have certainly noticed the calming effect nature has on me during this lockdown period.

We’ve been getting the kids involved in more ‘around the house’ jobs over lockdown eg. putting clothes away, unloading the dishwasher etc and cooking and baking has also been a good one. They definitely eat the food better when they help to make it. The firm favourite of homemade pizza is a classic though we now have to make two to feed us all, as LB eats more than me most days.

My peonies are looking beautiful I’m just always so gutted they don’t last very long. B isn’t keen on them and moved a plant years ago hoping it would die. We now have two peony plants hahaha!
P is absolutely creepy crawly mad. Unfortunately he’s a bit heavy handed with them so its a constant reminder for him to be gentle!

Nothing like getting the kids involved with making the garden nicer for us all. Planting seeds, watering them, weeding, and hoeing as well as making sure the grass doesn’t overtake the path!

One of our favourite things to do after dinner is to go over to the park opposite for a kick around to try and get the kids worn out for bedtime. Sometimes I join in, sometimes I sit and read for a bit of headspace while they play. Its lovely to see them getting more time with their Dad and doing something they all seem to love.

Home learning has certainly been interesting as the boys are at such different levels. I’ve been getting P used to holding a pencil correctly and following dotted lines to start his writing. Its definitely a work in progress but he’s still got a whole year at preschool left and something that totally depends on his mood. However it’s also hard for the 7 year old to understand that his brother is doing his learning while doing puzzles and building things and not simply ‘playing’ as apparently that’s just not fair!

I’ve also realised the age gap now with Tv programmes or films that they both like. There is just under 4 years between them and There are now only a handful of things that they’ll happily watch together. Neither are huge fans of films unfortunately-though I do keep trying.

I’ll admit the gin consumption has gone up considerably and I saw someone on our work quiz the other day having put frozen berries in to their’s and now its a favourite.

Being outside playing, reading, alfresco dining is certainly the highlight of this week. I find the kids sleep better and entertain themselves better outside. They also tend to not be so demanding, which has been utterly exhausting.

I’ll admit my yoga has gone out of the window, which is totally ridiculous as it was making such a wonderful difference to both my mind and my body. However I keep making excuses and ‘ not finding the time’.
However we are still trying to do some kind of PE each day with either Joe Wicks or Cosmic Yoga to get the boys moving in different ways.

We’ve been trying to entertain the kids by setting up bits for them to play with rather than the constant ‘I’m bored I have nothing to do’ moan which I find soooo frustrating. One day we set up the Scalextric and the boys added their own Jurassic World track into the middle. It looked absolutely brilliant and they were so excited by it.
However you know when you hope for at least an hour of entertainment and 10 minutes later they are stood by your side saying there’s nothing to do? Yeah that!

You know those moments where the kids are quiet and playing nicely and you think the best thing to do is just stay out of their way, don’t let them see you or anything and then you realise they’ve done this to your living room. It always happens on the day I am supposed to be teaching my online dance classes and would therefore have to get the room spotless by dinnertime.

I’m so behind on all my weekly catch ups but I don’t want to stop them as they are a great memory for me and I’m stubborn and like to finish things i’ve started, so I’m playing catch up. Its now the 18th July and technically the start of the summer holidays. So I’m going to try and get through all these weeks and then add in my summer bucket list. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing what we’ve been up to.