I loved it. I've not
read anything by Susan Cooper except The Dark is Rising books, although she
doesn't seem to have written much else. She lives in Massachusetts now,
apparently, which is where the book is set, at the time of the first English
settlers. I'm 30 years older than the target audience of course, so my
enjoyment probably says more about my stunted intellectual growth than anything
else. I've recommended it to Ella, hopefully she'll enjoy it as much as me.
Libby is now riding
a bike with aplomb. She was really put off when we came back from holiday, and
still won’t go near the blue bike, but she whizzes up and down on her pink bike
now, despite it being a rickety little cheap thing. She's made it to school and
back without complaint, which bodes well for next year. If she and Freddie can
cycle to school it makes the logistics so much easier, and I hate having to
drive them short distances in the car. At the moment we have no choice, as with
Bibs & Libs both at nursery at the bottom of the hill, I can’t pick them up
and get to Fred's school in time without using the car. I've been toying with
the idea of a trailer or even a triporteur, but it's only for another month so
doesn't seem economically viable; also we want to encourage Lib to cycle
herself of course. She's such a confident little girl. There was an open day at
school last week, and despite not starting there until September, she was
strutting around like she owned the place, showing me and Freddie around and
telling us where to go. She doesn't yet understand that not ALL teachers are
called 'Mrs Taylor' like her teacher, so was wandering around classrooms
interrupting conversations to should 'Mrs Turner! Mrs Turner! Why you got this
in your classroom?' to startled, random teachers while pointing at a
papier-mache dinosaur or a rock collection.
Freddie has now
broken up for the year, and we received his school report last week. I don’t
want to be a gushing parent, but we're so proud. He's a good kid, kind and
thoughtful and takes responsibility looking after new children. What more can
you ask for? I am a bit concerned that he's not yet reading for pleasure, but
conscious that you mustn't force it as it'll put him off reading.
We still have a
bedtime song from the list at the moment, and Libby's favourite is Emily
Barker's 'Blackbird'. She sings the chorus and it's so sweet
'I need you to love
me
And help when I'm
losing
And in return I will
love you
And help when you
don't win'
I've recorded it and
set it as my ringtone. Fred, by contrast, is going through a Chas & Dave
phase, although contemporary pop is popular too, as you’d expect for a 7 year
old! Bob Dylan and Camera Obscura are always going to lose out to Mark Ronson and
Little Mix there. . .
