What are we up to?

It has yet again been too long between blog posts.

Our days have settled into something of a rhythm.  Each day sees some reading, maths, and French, and if things have been going well (!) I encourage some writing.

Dr John is a little behind on his 11 books challenge, but he is becoming more confident with reading and is reading more to himself (lego catalogue, magazines etc).  He still will only do odd words outside of his 'official' reading, but to see him decide to read anything is a joy.

I have been teaching him how to tell the time.  I went way too quickly at first, not thinking that the correlation between minutes and the numbers actually written on the clock would be so hard.  Its a great chance for us to use a clock that I made in pottery class that I still haven't put up on the wall, particularly as we only have one other visible clock in the appartment, and thats the digital one on the oven.

French comes and goes in waves.  He had a lesson a couple of weeks ago that the teacher labelled 'fantastic' and declared that he would be flying in a couple of months.  Although not wishing to be too negative I did warn her not to get too excited, and sure enough the following week, although not a bad lesson, wasn't at the dizzy heights of the previous week.  He appears to understand an awful lot, but doesn't speak it.  I suspect this could be down to him wanting it to be perfect, almost the feeling that if he can't get it completely right, he'd better not attempt it at all.

I have still been trying to come up with more creative ways of encouraging his writing.  So last week I asked him to empty the tins cupboard and make a list of what was in there.  This has served several purposes: writing practice, a stocktake for me and then we can use the results to make bar charts, tally charts etc.

This week he has been to his theatre class and I think they have started practising for their spectacle in June. The teacher cam out and asked me what crevette means in English (prawn) so I dread to think what its about!
He went to his atelier too as usual where this term they are looking at exhibitions.  They are making a totem pole.  I love this place and will be very sad, as will Dr John, when he has to stop going in the summer.
He was meant to be going to rugby, which is inside for 6 weeks (only 3 weeks to go, and I'm sure the weather will get worse just as they go back outside!) but our neighbour has been taking him, and I didn't check my phone until just before they were due to leave, so missed the text saying that her son had hit his head and wasn't going to go, so we didn't go, as we would've turned up way too late (one of the downsides of not having a car).
Yoga was, as usual, manic.  Which seems a strange thing to say, but when they come out, they are all fired up, and then get to run around the play place for 30 minutes before we leave.
On Friday, as Pip and I missed her Kindermusik class on Wednesday as we went to look round a house, all three of us went.  Dr John had fun and was helpful and kind to all the babies, even though I could tell a lot of the mums were wondering what a 6 year old was doing there during school time, particularly one wearing an elf's hat!
In the afternoon we went ice skating with a friend who has just started at a montessori school after being home educated.  The school doesn't have sports facilities so has to give the children the whole of Friday off.

And so to the weekend.  This afternoon, Chris Evans is taking the children to the park and the supermarket so I can get on with some sewing without having a little lady pressing on the sewing machine pedal!  And then as the weather looks like it might be even warmer tomorrow, I think we are going for a walk in the vineyards.  Perfect.