2007 - the year of what?
So, 2007? What did you do for us then? Well, on balance I think there were more ups than downs.
We had some great trips away, and one not so great but hey, I can safely say that if our tents can survive everything that Kessingland could throw at ithem this year then they are worht the money! I can’t imagine some of the cheaper ones standing up so well somehow. The mini-tent was fun for going Off the Path and the one leak, which was down to a design fault, should be easy to fix with a bit of ripstop nylon at some point. Melrose was good if we gloss over Aprilia looking like death on the last day precipitating a very early get away (and of course recovering to look the picture of health by the next day…. amazing what sleeping for 20 hours in 24 can do for a girl!) oh, and we’ll gloss over my total lack of any sense of direction when trying to find supermarkets too shall we 
NicCamp was different again, not quite to intense, very pleasant and with the extra excitement of train riding! House visiting was, as ever, lovely. I am blessed with some vry good friends up and down the country with excellent spare rooms and floors for sleeping on 
Aprilia has carried on edging closer and closer to reading, it’s not being an easy ride for her but we are getting there. Her general knowlege is pretty good, it constnatly amazes me how she remembers stuff that I’ve red to her. I t hink it’s one of the big pluses of HE for her that she can soak up so much interesting stuff without the struggle of needing to read it. She pickes up maths concepts remarkably fast which has led to me being far from diligent about "teaching" it - seems no rush really She adores practical science which I’m also far from diligent about doing with her and which I REALLY need to try harder with! Likewise cooking although I have great plans for that in the new year courtessy of Duke buying me the River Cottage Family Cookbook.
Rainbows has been great for her. She gets to do girlie things, running about and being rowdy things and belonging to a group things. She can’t wait to go up to Brownies and have a go at all those badges! I was worried that me taking over as Rainbow leader would mean that she would shaddow me but nah, she’s qutie happy to share me with the others, even lets a select few hold my hand
Our regular "Winsford Home Ed Group" meetings at Jungle Jims have been good for both of us. She gets to learn that essential skill of dealing with someone even bossier than her (yes! ther are people even bossier than my child!!!) and also even more "emotionally fragile" than her. It’s been a tough dynamic once or twice but I suspect they are good for each other in an odd sort of way. The other benefit of course is that I get to drink coffee and chat to a real live adult human being for several hours without having to share them with the TV! I’m a bad influence on her though, she’s abandoning her autonomous aproach in favour of gentle guiding into learning stuff and firm turning off of the TV. I really hope it works for her, she really needs a boost.
Duke’s employment history has continued to be varied, the private ambi company going bump lost him nearly £1,000 in unpaid wages which was a blow but then that led to the Red Cross taking over the contract and that’s given him a much more reliable income. If only he could find one job that paid enough for the standard of living he wants….
My year? The whole diagnosis of dyslexia and discovering what that means has been a roller coaster. I’ve been angry that schools dismissed my saying that I thought I was dyxie when, looking at the list of "symptoms" they were all there for anyone who bothered to look. I’ve been awkward at finding myself suddenly a "special case" with special allowances like a PC for my exam, somehow feeling a fraud for getting help friends on the same course don’t get. I’ve been down right furious and inwardly seething when Duke’s family have (without knowing my diagnosis) dismissed dyslexia in their pupils ( there are 2 school teachers and a classroom assistant) as either a by-word for stupid or lazy. But I’ve been blown away by learning that actually I’m not who I thought I was, I’m actually just a bit clever, in fact, clever enough to get a Pass 2 (like a B grade) in a degree level exam. I’m really looking forward to the next course now!
Taking on Rainbows has been great too, hectic at times but great. They are a great group of girls.
Getting the kitten has been nice, she’s a bit fiesty but also great company. Funny, Duke would never let our old cat upstairs but has been perfectly happy to share a bed with Whiskers, mind you, she is significantly smaller than Sammy was so takes up quite a bit less bed! It will complicate holidays though, we don’t ahve a cat flap so she can’t let herself in and out which makes just getting someone in to feed her tricky as it would invovle asking them to dispose of smelly bits in the litter tray. I suppose it’s going to end up being cattery time. Ah well, she gets a holiday too!
And my targets? One day I will learn. They need to be acheivable, practical and specific. And they need to be somewhere I can see them, not tucked away on a blog page. I did make a bit of progress though! There has been more domesticity and, although I still have a pile of washing, it’s usually clean washing needing sorting rather than dirty washing these days. The new dishwasher has made kitchen duties quicker and easier (we can fit a full day’s worth of stuff in one go) which does make it more likely that there will be clean crocks. There has been sporadic interest in excercise but the vile weather has restricted this, I’m pining for our forest rides. There has been a little more routine in the home ed but I think I need to go back to the accountability of the "in brief" blogs to keep me on track!
