A tonne of stuff and more...

Hard to know where to start when it has been soooo long since we last updated the blog! The journey so far has taken us from embracing the autonomous route to tentatively trying the structured route to just throwing it all up in the air and doing buggar all... which of course takes back to the autonomous place again! It's both exhausting and rewarding at the same time and I have since discovered how following an organic path often leads on to a structured feel anyway.

One occasion (one of many I must add) comes to mind; Milly has developed an interest in Bones of the human body. We have a one foot tall model of a Skeleton, 'Mr Bones' to you and me. He was given to the girlies by Nanny and Grandad. We are learning a bone a day (or when either of us remember). It was a passing suggestion made by me which was taken up by Milly very eagerly. Milly will often remind me (usually when I am upto armpits in preparing breakfast/lunch/tea) or I will (usually when she is engrossed in Diego-'Spanish Lessons, Mum!) Either way it is always met with GREAT enthusiasm and if it's a bone that I don't know the name of (and there are a few new ones there I am sure) Milly jumps up and gets the reference book from the book shelf. It's a huge book and there is (for a child) a gruesome picture of a skeleton partially covered in muscle and flesh! She can't bear to look at the front cover but will still get it... eager or what!

When we had gathered our first dozen bones I suggested that we start a list of them and she can do a tick-list everyday going over the bones she has already learnt to which I was swiftly put in my place by Milly then stating "No, I shall write out the names of the bones and stick them on to Mr Bones where the correct bones are, Mummy!" My jaw did drop as I mentally nudged myself thinking 'well, there it is... she's really starting learning to learn herself!' It was a really good feeling to see how she did that and how strong willed she was to do it too. She could have easily just gone along with it...

We are continuing to learn from Mr Bones... Hettie of course joins in and is learning how not to manoeuvre Mr Bones' leg joint too far in the wrong direction! An Osteopath in the making?