I admit I have had trouble blogging. Lots of excuses, some of them good, most of them not. So here I go.
I have been reading through various Little House books aloud to Ethan. I love all the detail about their daily life, and I think there isn't anything so interesting about our daily life. Maybe there is and maybe you would want to read it, but if you get bored there are plenty other places to go on the internet! I've used initials for our boys, E is 5 years old, T is 2. My other disclaimer is that these pictures are from when we went out to the sciene museum in December. I forgot to charge my camera batteries. Now that I have figured out how to include pics in the blog itself (duh, not that hard afterall!) you can hope to look forward to more!
After a morning of making, eating and cleaning up from oatmeal and eggs, playing chase and hide and seek, looking at books, snuggles and tickles, doing a load of wash and hanging it to dry on the drying racks, getting dressed, changing nappies (diapers), packing for a day trip, consulting the train schedule, visiting the hamster that is residing in the bathroom (the downstairs is too cold right now), shoes and jackets on, debating which push chair (stroller) to bring --ah yes, it will rain this afternoon better bring the one with the rain cover--and out the door in time to make the 9:55 train. E is walking the whole way to the train station, and once we pass our usual bus stop and he realizes he has to walk another 1/4 mile he is waling "I CAN'T WALK ANY MORE" I patiently take his hand and keep walking. We stop for a moment, and I say " I know you are tired of walking, but if we don't keep going and get to the train station we will miss the train and have to wait 30 minutes for the next one." We made it with 2 minutes to spare.
We saw some friends at the train station. In a bustling place, we don't often see people we know, so it was quite pleasant to see them. they were headed to the V&A museum as well, only to meet up with other older home school students for a scheduled outing. On the train E wanted to use the loo, we happened to be in the one coach with a toilet. It was occupied the entire ride, Todd wondered out loud if the occupant might be doing drugs, I don't know about that, but our eldest was crying as we got off the train, because he didn't get to go. We stopped to go at the next station where we had to change trains, by the time he got back with Todd, we had missed the next train.
The following train we got on and the boys enjoyed looking out the windows at the buildings and other trains. When we went through tunnels, T would say "lights off" and E would say, "Who put that baby out there?" (this is a joke in our family, when babies are little and they look out a window at night or into the dark glass of the oven, I say, "Who put that baby in the oven" or "Who put that baby outside?")
We finally get to the south kensington station, and make our way to the museums. I am carrying T and the back pack (I don't let him walk in the train station, it scares me that he could fall in front of a train or that someone else might snatch him, but really he would just be in other people's way a lot) Todd is carrying the push chair up and down the stairs (and there are a lot of them) and E is hustling to keep up with us.
The South Kensington station is big, and there are tunnels leading away from the platforms. We walk through a long tunnel that was built a couple hundred years ago. It has brick work on the walls and arched brickwork on the ceiling. There is a man playing a Duke Ellington song on his saxophone, and the music slides down the tunnel. There are posters for the various museums and upcoming shows along the walls. We pass the exit for the Natural History museum. We have been there before, it is a beautifully built museum with a fantastic dinosaur exhibit. today we are headed first to the V&A museum. We pass by an iron divider with rows and rows of little fans. The fans are about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, with little blades on them, there are about 15 rows, and about 70 fans per row. When you pass the fans they move, and when you stop they stop.
We enter and pass the securuity guard to come into an enormous selection of statues carved into stone. Its breath taking, and this is only one room! It goes on and on! At the base of the stairs there are about 40-50 mirrors. They are small rectangle mirrors are little stands that rotate. If you step close to them, they all move in unison to reflect your face! So if you move from side to side, they move with you!
We go up the stairs and past some galleries to an overview gallery where we see this huge pillar.
(Now before I go further i have to explain what going through musems with a 5 and a 2 year old means to me) For me going to museums has a few purposes. One is that I get to spend the day with my family. Two is that I get to see some exciting things, that especially, living in London, I want to take every opportunity to get to see. Three is that I feel for at least an hour or 4, that there is something bigger happening in the world around me. Fourth is that the kids get sort of exposed to the same idea as number 3. Fifth, they get to let some energy out during these cold dreary months, and even though they whine and complain or misbehave a bit, they are not couped up. So going to museums in this way means I don't get to read much of anything. I may remember a few things about what I saw, but it mostly just leaves an impression. My impressions of the V&A museum is that I want to find a babysitter to watch the kids so I can go enjoy it with Todd! I did like all the carvings and statues. We saw some fabulous iron work, bronze and clay. We saw a huge Chulluly chandelier, which was fun because E recognized it as a Chulluly! Plus its just cool to look at.
Its fun to people watch too. There are the serious people who bring their sketch pads and are busy sketching the things they see. There are people speaking many foriegn languages! There are school groups in their uniforms. There are a lot of moms with children and I wonder if they home school too. There was a strange woman wanderng around asking for the time, repeatedly.
The bathroom had these funky rectangle sinks that were only an inch deep. The water just ran to the sides. The bathroom attendants were speaking Polish. Oh, and of course it wasn't called bathroom its called "toilets"
We saw some Rapheal work of Peter and Paul, and we saw some Muslim artwork. We left there and walked back through the tunnel to the Science Museum.
We ate lunch in the science museum, this is how cheeky we are about eating lunch in the museums. I bring pack lunch for everyone and a plastic plate, and todd goes and buys everyone water bottles. We eat at the table in the corner of the cafe. I rationalize its because we have food allergies, which we do, but its also just cheaper that way!
Afterwards the boys have more energy and run around in front of this giant circle with a light going around it. We make our way to the lift (elevator) to go to the basement. I get confused because here in England, the ground floor is the main floor. So the sign says ground floor, but there is still the basement. T pushes the up button as well, so we end up going in an up "lift" and ride to the top to get back down. We go use the toilets again. Again people are speaking various foriegn languages, there are swarms of kids from school groups. They all have on their uniforms. I find it so interesting to see them all in their uniforms, and I think of the USA and how the kids all dress for school. I see now how that helps them have their own individuality.
We head to an interactive area for 3-6 year olds called "the garden" Its nothing like a garden, but it is geared for 3-6. First of all it is so LOUD! Kids are screaming and running everywhere. There is a really great water exhibit. The kids put on smocks to keep from getting wet. Then they can go play at any point along the water way. They can push buttons to make bubbles go up through the water, pump water through canals, place blockades to build dams, put boats in and out, etc. T and E play there for 20 minutes or more. T is hoarding all the boats. He tries to pick up 6 boats but can't carry them all. E is facinated with the blockades and controlling the water. There are probably 15-20 other children playing here too, and the adults are watching from the sides. After they are finished we head to the construction area. This area is a bit over run with kids from school groups who have their own plans going. We start to build and dodge their bean bags, helmets and cones that are being thrown from above. I give one boy a don't do that agian look. Todd says, why didn't you say something? I gave him a look! Well, he didn't do it again anyway. We build a huge structure with oversized soft legos and the boys enjoy crashing it down. They play for a while throwing bean bags down the shute, and going though the shadow and sound area. Finally its time to leave and T cries as he's put back in the push chair. A little snack keeps off the whining. On the way back through the museum we glance at the space section. My heart does a little whining cry for missing the air and space museum in DC. E had so many questions last week about space shuttles...Its raining and E wants his buzz lightyear umberella. T is mad that he has to have the rain cover on.
Someone is playing the guitar in the tunnel on the way back.
We just miss the train and wait for the next one. T falls asleep on the train, E is very mellow and is enjoying his snack. He complains and dilly dallies and we miss the next train, but we make it home eventually. Todd stops at Tesco for some salmon for dinner. I like to cook fish on the night the trash goes out.
While I am getting dinner ready, I try to play a game with E. I have him count cards and hide thrm around the room, then I find them. I hide them for him, but he is not so good at finding things. A bit like his daddy in that regard I must say! Could be staring him in the face, and doesn't see it. Todd plays with the boys, until dinner is ready. E had made some place cards for everyone using a pen he made from a feather. His writing is not that steady, but getting better.
After dinner, we clean the hamster's cage out. The boys pet "Conker" (named after the medium sized chestnuts, called Conkers), we put her in her excercise ball and I fiddle with the cage. I do a brief is this worth it analysis in my mind. I suppose it is, but it does seem like a lot of extra work.
The boys have their story time, extra drink of water, pillows situated, lights off, and the day is done!
I have been reading through various Little House books aloud to Ethan. I love all the detail about their daily life, and I think there isn't anything so interesting about our daily life. Maybe there is and maybe you would want to read it, but if you get bored there are plenty other places to go on the internet! I've used initials for our boys, E is 5 years old, T is 2. My other disclaimer is that these pictures are from when we went out to the sciene museum in December. I forgot to charge my camera batteries. Now that I have figured out how to include pics in the blog itself (duh, not that hard afterall!) you can hope to look forward to more!
After a morning of making, eating and cleaning up from oatmeal and eggs, playing chase and hide and seek, looking at books, snuggles and tickles, doing a load of wash and hanging it to dry on the drying racks, getting dressed, changing nappies (diapers), packing for a day trip, consulting the train schedule, visiting the hamster that is residing in the bathroom (the downstairs is too cold right now), shoes and jackets on, debating which push chair (stroller) to bring --ah yes, it will rain this afternoon better bring the one with the rain cover--and out the door in time to make the 9:55 train. E is walking the whole way to the train station, and once we pass our usual bus stop and he realizes he has to walk another 1/4 mile he is waling "I CAN'T WALK ANY MORE" I patiently take his hand and keep walking. We stop for a moment, and I say " I know you are tired of walking, but if we don't keep going and get to the train station we will miss the train and have to wait 30 minutes for the next one." We made it with 2 minutes to spare.
We saw some friends at the train station. In a bustling place, we don't often see people we know, so it was quite pleasant to see them. they were headed to the V&A museum as well, only to meet up with other older home school students for a scheduled outing. On the train E wanted to use the loo, we happened to be in the one coach with a toilet. It was occupied the entire ride, Todd wondered out loud if the occupant might be doing drugs, I don't know about that, but our eldest was crying as we got off the train, because he didn't get to go. We stopped to go at the next station where we had to change trains, by the time he got back with Todd, we had missed the next train.
The following train we got on and the boys enjoyed looking out the windows at the buildings and other trains. When we went through tunnels, T would say "lights off" and E would say, "Who put that baby out there?" (this is a joke in our family, when babies are little and they look out a window at night or into the dark glass of the oven, I say, "Who put that baby in the oven" or "Who put that baby outside?")
We finally get to the south kensington station, and make our way to the museums. I am carrying T and the back pack (I don't let him walk in the train station, it scares me that he could fall in front of a train or that someone else might snatch him, but really he would just be in other people's way a lot) Todd is carrying the push chair up and down the stairs (and there are a lot of them) and E is hustling to keep up with us.
The South Kensington station is big, and there are tunnels leading away from the platforms. We walk through a long tunnel that was built a couple hundred years ago. It has brick work on the walls and arched brickwork on the ceiling. There is a man playing a Duke Ellington song on his saxophone, and the music slides down the tunnel. There are posters for the various museums and upcoming shows along the walls. We pass the exit for the Natural History museum. We have been there before, it is a beautifully built museum with a fantastic dinosaur exhibit. today we are headed first to the V&A museum. We pass by an iron divider with rows and rows of little fans. The fans are about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, with little blades on them, there are about 15 rows, and about 70 fans per row. When you pass the fans they move, and when you stop they stop.
We enter and pass the securuity guard to come into an enormous selection of statues carved into stone. Its breath taking, and this is only one room! It goes on and on! At the base of the stairs there are about 40-50 mirrors. They are small rectangle mirrors are little stands that rotate. If you step close to them, they all move in unison to reflect your face! So if you move from side to side, they move with you!
We go up the stairs and past some galleries to an overview gallery where we see this huge pillar.
(Now before I go further i have to explain what going through musems with a 5 and a 2 year old means to me) For me going to museums has a few purposes. One is that I get to spend the day with my family. Two is that I get to see some exciting things, that especially, living in London, I want to take every opportunity to get to see. Three is that I feel for at least an hour or 4, that there is something bigger happening in the world around me. Fourth is that the kids get sort of exposed to the same idea as number 3. Fifth, they get to let some energy out during these cold dreary months, and even though they whine and complain or misbehave a bit, they are not couped up. So going to museums in this way means I don't get to read much of anything. I may remember a few things about what I saw, but it mostly just leaves an impression. My impressions of the V&A museum is that I want to find a babysitter to watch the kids so I can go enjoy it with Todd! I did like all the carvings and statues. We saw some fabulous iron work, bronze and clay. We saw a huge Chulluly chandelier, which was fun because E recognized it as a Chulluly! Plus its just cool to look at.
Its fun to people watch too. There are the serious people who bring their sketch pads and are busy sketching the things they see. There are people speaking many foriegn languages! There are school groups in their uniforms. There are a lot of moms with children and I wonder if they home school too. There was a strange woman wanderng around asking for the time, repeatedly.
The bathroom had these funky rectangle sinks that were only an inch deep. The water just ran to the sides. The bathroom attendants were speaking Polish. Oh, and of course it wasn't called bathroom its called "toilets"
We saw some Rapheal work of Peter and Paul, and we saw some Muslim artwork. We left there and walked back through the tunnel to the Science Museum.
We ate lunch in the science museum, this is how cheeky we are about eating lunch in the museums. I bring pack lunch for everyone and a plastic plate, and todd goes and buys everyone water bottles. We eat at the table in the corner of the cafe. I rationalize its because we have food allergies, which we do, but its also just cheaper that way!
Afterwards the boys have more energy and run around in front of this giant circle with a light going around it. We make our way to the lift (elevator) to go to the basement. I get confused because here in England, the ground floor is the main floor. So the sign says ground floor, but there is still the basement. T pushes the up button as well, so we end up going in an up "lift" and ride to the top to get back down. We go use the toilets again. Again people are speaking various foriegn languages, there are swarms of kids from school groups. They all have on their uniforms. I find it so interesting to see them all in their uniforms, and I think of the USA and how the kids all dress for school. I see now how that helps them have their own individuality.
We head to an interactive area for 3-6 year olds called "the garden" Its nothing like a garden, but it is geared for 3-6. First of all it is so LOUD! Kids are screaming and running everywhere. There is a really great water exhibit. The kids put on smocks to keep from getting wet. Then they can go play at any point along the water way. They can push buttons to make bubbles go up through the water, pump water through canals, place blockades to build dams, put boats in and out, etc. T and E play there for 20 minutes or more. T is hoarding all the boats. He tries to pick up 6 boats but can't carry them all. E is facinated with the blockades and controlling the water. There are probably 15-20 other children playing here too, and the adults are watching from the sides. After they are finished we head to the construction area. This area is a bit over run with kids from school groups who have their own plans going. We start to build and dodge their bean bags, helmets and cones that are being thrown from above. I give one boy a don't do that agian look. Todd says, why didn't you say something? I gave him a look! Well, he didn't do it again anyway. We build a huge structure with oversized soft legos and the boys enjoy crashing it down. They play for a while throwing bean bags down the shute, and going though the shadow and sound area. Finally its time to leave and T cries as he's put back in the push chair. A little snack keeps off the whining. On the way back through the museum we glance at the space section. My heart does a little whining cry for missing the air and space museum in DC. E had so many questions last week about space shuttles...Its raining and E wants his buzz lightyear umberella. T is mad that he has to have the rain cover on.
Someone is playing the guitar in the tunnel on the way back.
We just miss the train and wait for the next one. T falls asleep on the train, E is very mellow and is enjoying his snack. He complains and dilly dallies and we miss the next train, but we make it home eventually. Todd stops at Tesco for some salmon for dinner. I like to cook fish on the night the trash goes out.
While I am getting dinner ready, I try to play a game with E. I have him count cards and hide thrm around the room, then I find them. I hide them for him, but he is not so good at finding things. A bit like his daddy in that regard I must say! Could be staring him in the face, and doesn't see it. Todd plays with the boys, until dinner is ready. E had made some place cards for everyone using a pen he made from a feather. His writing is not that steady, but getting better.
After dinner, we clean the hamster's cage out. The boys pet "Conker" (named after the medium sized chestnuts, called Conkers), we put her in her excercise ball and I fiddle with the cage. I do a brief is this worth it analysis in my mind. I suppose it is, but it does seem like a lot of extra work.
The boys have their story time, extra drink of water, pillows situated, lights off, and the day is done!
These are links to the museums we were at: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk, www.vam.ac.uk
