Half term is nearly over. People often ask whether we keep to term times and holiday, and the answer is emphatically yes. Although I like the rhythm and routine of our normal weeks, I also very much appreciate the flexibility and spontaneity that holidays give us. I also love the occasional day when we’ve got nothing planned. Children all seem to react differently to structure….some really need it, and some are fine without it. When my children were younger, I did notice that behaviour sometimes did a nosedive when the normal routine went out of the window. However, now I think we all appreciate it, and it will be hard getting up and out of our pyjamas at a reasonable hour on Monday! We started the week, together with a small team of youth leaders, with twenty or so teenagers at a lovely Christian Conference Centre. It was their annual week end away. We always go to the same place, so they know and love it. Our children also are so excited beforehand. Lanky Dude, the only one old enough to be on the week end officially, made billionaires shortbread, as his contribution to the cake mountain.
On the way there, we stopped off at a walled garden, which had some fantastic hothouses. An excellent learning opportunity for Dancing Toes, as one of her current projects is gardening. As we drove up the long driveway to the house, we spotted these snowdrops. Girls have also been doing a mini project on snowdrops….biology, poetry, creative writing and copy work….haven’t got the maths in! The rest of the week was a mixture of seeing family (a lovely day with cousins…lots of them, so always fun) and friends, catching up on some of the jobs I put off until holiday, and some very welcome time in the garden. We had a couple of quite warm days; I could almost smell spring! Girls both love gardening; Dancing Toes busy digging and raking her patch, and also chose her seeds. Sparkly Eyes just digs holes and sits in the mud! Both were covered in mud and sand one day, and asked to be hosed down before they went in for a warm bubble bath. (I do this in the summer). I didn’t think this was a good option in February, though, but Rhythm Dude most happy to man the hosepipe…he even asked them to sign a consent form first! It was quite a sight.
We bought our seed potatoes and put them in egg boxes to “chit”. Another sign that some warmer weather is on the way.
Mothering through the seasons 