KidSpiration
After Aprilia spending ages helping me create some mind maps for my exam, I decided she was ready to have KidSpiration loaded onto her PC. I gave her a quick tour of it today then lost her for several hours whilst she played with it. Only thing we couldn’t get to work was the voice bit because she doesn’t have any voice software on her PC (and aparently it relies on what is already installed, must install Read Please on her PC and see if that cures it.
I have to say, I know that the original idea of mind maps was that you produce them by hand as part of the learning process but Inspiration/KidSpiration are really, really good if you work better with a keyboard than with a pen. It’s by far the best bit of software I have on my new PC and certainly worth every penny to buy it.
Other than taht today we nipped up to Petty Pool to get a few bits for Rainbows and whilst we were there had a good walk around the site which is basically a rigourously managed woodland with a small adventure playground, a special area for Rainbows (with a shelter and small sized benches etc) and lots of little paths to explore. There’s a camping area for the bigger girls and cabins for the less hardy. We were there for about an hour and felt much better for the fresh air although I did hve a funny turn going over the suspension bridge. My own fault, I had totally forgotten how swaying bridges make me feel adn gaily strode out onto it, got half way and was not at all sure if I could make it (think Donkey on the rope bridge in Shrek but with a small "ogre" and a big, ought to know better "donkey") Thankfully there is a footpath round the side of the bridge (it doesn’t go over a streem, it’s just a play thing really) so when I take the girls I’ll just nip round that way!
I just about resisted some retail therapy today. Duke told me taht Lidl have artist stuff in including an easel/box of the sort I would love to have some day but really, really don’t need. We do have a habit of buying all the stuff in a fit of enthusiasm in this house then not really making best use of it all so I’m not going to. Well, not yet, if I get really good and to the point of wanting to go set up in teh wilds somewhere to do a bit of landscape stuff I’ll nip off to the art shop in town who has them at a similar price and treat myself. For now I’ll stick with a book, a pencil case and my lovely little watercolour set.
