Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Ideas and not a lot happening....

I've decided I need a new email address. My current access anywhere one is a yahoo account, and it's my initials from my first marriage, and the word yokel, a loving nickname given to me by someone long ago, that stayed and was used by others. I love it, I cherish it, but at the same time, it's time to leave it behind and move on. Obviously I'll keep the other email going, as it'll be the only one that some people have for me, and I can leave it for all the spam to go to, as well as all the stuff from people who I need to keep in touch with. That way, when they email me, I can then tell them the email has changed. And those who dont' email me, that's cool! Lol!

So, what to have for the new email address? I can't get to my Outlook from school, so I do need to have a webmail address. Whilst I'd love something cool and funky, I also have to give it to random people for work every now and again, so that's a minor limitation.

The cheap seats have made several suggestions, ranging from "Crayfish Dave" to more sensible but premature ideas. (And that evokes a whole lot of other feelings in me, which I was surprised about, tbh!)

The other option is that I keep my current email address, and learn to use my school address for school stuff. Which would mean actually learning it lol. It's just long and clunky. Hmmmmmm.

Any ideas?

In other news, the child has blitzed through stage 6 reading, and is heading towards stage 7 with no worries. I was able to speak to his ELS teacher today, who is a Teaching Assistant at school. The AC did ELS (Extra Literacy Support) for 16 weeks from October to January. It was 20 minutes, every day, of small group work. Most people were surprised when he was put in for it, because he is considered to be one of the most intelligent and together children in his year, but my beloved child just wouldn't write.

Partly, it was because he felt his writing was untidy. He felt it was untidy because one of the small ones in his Reception classroom had told him his mark making was "rubbish". So he stopped doing it unless he totally and absolutely had to. He would find any excuse - need drink, need toilet, need different pencil, need rubber, need ruler, need different chair, not right book and so on and so forth.

Partly, it was because it was a lot of effort for that much fine motor control. I know my boy. I love him, totally and utterly, but I know him, and there are times when he is an idle little monkey! Because writing was hard work, he didn't want to do it.

However, he had the right support at the right time, and has surpassed everything we thought could happen.

16 weeks of 20 minutes a day, and the child is well away. He writes by himself, he cheerfully wrote in everyones cards for birthdays this week, he wrote me a lovely card for Mothering Sunday, he's written part of a story, he's just writing everything, and he's happy to do it. He and R were doing his homework the other day whilst I was working on the computer, and he wrote what he knew, asked R for bits he didn't, and I was almost overwhelmed with the love and support that was being shown, and the ability and want that the AC had to write. to shove down on paper what was in his mind.

I wonder where he gets that from? ;-)

I'm just watching Heston Blumenthals Roman Feast. He's a nut job, but he's amazing.

Lion or Gazelle?

Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle... when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.

And that's how today feels lol!

Part of me feels like the lion - strong, slightly predatory, always happy to eat then sleep, but working hard to keep the pride together and fed, happy with my cub at home, happy with my pride of cubs at school.

Part of me feels like the gazelle - fast, slim, athletic, content to meander until there's a problem and then running like the hounds of hell are on me.

Some days I'm more one than the other I suppose!

I know today I'm sleepy. R came to bed late as he's starting and finishing late today, and potentially all this week. He's fine about it, and I'll just make food that can be ready whenever he turns up here. I think tonight we are down for chicken curry and rice. Nummy! He made me laugh the other day, when we were talking about food, and he was saying he's not into complicated food, he thought he was a fast food person, or a from the freezer person (speed over taste and effort!) but it turns out he's just a "good home cooking and lots of it" person! Which is good, says he, as that's what he gets.

And that's what I do. Basic home cooking. Nothing over fancy, and usually only the meat from the freezer as I can't get to a butcher every day. If I could, I would!

Today is espresso man in, which is good. That's my afternoon sorted out anyway. This morning is numeracy (symmetry) literacy (Acrostic poetry) and Topic (geography). It's all good!

In other news, I had some lovely photos from the He-Ex of when he and the AC went to the Tank Museum at the weekend. It was the one we were planning to go to lol, but that's fine, AC says he'll take us there to see it some day and he knows about the tanks so he can just show us round like a guide. It was great to get the photos though, and see what he's up to when he's not with me. He talked me through the photos and I emailed his father to thank him for them. It's just a little thing that makes a bizarre-at-times life easier!

And the AC has plans for the holidays already!