Blog Volume 4

The much awaited hard back Blog Volume 4 is finally complete. The latest and greatest edition features over 400 pages with some 1,500 colour pictures. As with the previous 3 volumes I am extremely proud of this work and love looking back at the pictures of the boys growing up. Those two boys better be really nice to their old man in years to come as I have so much material in these blog books to embarrass the them in front of their future girlfriends.

 

Learning Time & Homework

It seems like ages since we got the paints out at home for the boys to do some artwork. So inspired by Lisa's Laboratory art days we had a bit of an art day at home today. I think both boys painted about 4 pictures each and I have to say they are starting to look pretty impressive. Joshua's pictures are starting to be recognisable as he is trying to paint something specific rather than just colours splashed and spread over paper. Today he decided to paint some beach scenes with the sun, sea and sand. Brandon coloured in a very nice picture of Fin McMissile using the paint and also painted a little draft mask.

 

Young artists at work.

The finished array of paintings all laid out to dry.

Homework (aka learning time) is becoming a real pleasure with the boys as it never ceases to amaze me just how much they seem to be learning and how quickly. Brandon is a little brain box and is arguably considerably ahead of where Joshua was at the same age (and that's not taking anything away from Joshua who is pretty smart himself). Brandon can already spell and write his name and has completely nailed the first 3 sound set cards. In fact he is now learning sound set 4 and some of the word cards which Joshua has only recently started learning in his last school term. Even more impressive is that the nursery have said Brandon is ready to start reading books with words rather than picture books and have subsequently been sending him home with word books already. Joshua didn't start on the word books until he started at Abacus.

Brandon's practise with writing his name.

Brandon's first reading book with words, all about pancakes.

Joshua seems to get a bit complacent with his homework as it is often a little too easy for him and not challenging enough. We feared this might be the case and need to give him extra homework text books to add to what the school give him. Each week he school give him some focus words and sounds along with a reading book to learn. However you only need to go through these once or twice with him and they are nailed down and all of a sudden no longer challenging him.

Joshua's half term focus words were my, like, boat and night.

Joshua's hand writing tends to be a bit scruffy at times so he still uses his writing books as part of his homework.

The exercise books in Maths and English which we have bought for the boys are a great supplements to their normal school homework. Joshua seems to really enjoy working through the pages of these books as they present new challenges for him and get him thinking in different ways. For example in the English book below he had to figure out the first letter (out of two) for each of the words that describes the picture. Then he had to pick out all of the words that start with a specific letter and write them out at the bottom on the correct lines. 

Joshua's additional English homework which gets him thinking about words and letters.

The maths book is equally as good and if anything this is Joshua's weak area. He is great with the letters, sounds and reading, but does seem to struggle at times with numbers, For example he will often "put" two numbers together to make a bigger number rather than "adding" the two numbers. So if you said to him add 4 and 1 he will often say the answer is 41 and not 5. The maths workbooks seems to be helping with this problem and as you can see below he is starting to get the hang of his numbers and adding.

Joshua's maths skills are definitely improving thanks to his homework books.

Nick Nack Paddy Whack

Today's blog update is one of those catch up blogs with no common theme but various updates on a few different snippets of news from recent times. Firstly we had our 6 monthly visit to the dentist today and both boys were very brave. Little B stepped up to the plate straight after Mummy and climbed up in the chair all on his own. He opened his mouth nicely for the dentist and for the first time the dentist got the mirror and the air line into his mouth. For Joshua we have been advised that we should start to introduce him to adult tooth paste within the next 3 months as he is approaching 6 years of age and is likely to start losing his baby teeth soon. Both boys were given Angry Bird stickers for being so good at the dentist (gone are the days of lolly's).

 

Obviously this week is half term and Joshua has been off school. We could keep Brandon off of nursery as well but when we have already paid a month in advance I kind of feel obliged to send him in. This has meant telling him little "Fibbernarchi's" that after dropping him off at nursery, Daddy is going to work and Joshua is going to school. We seem to be getting away with it, but it is only a matter of time before he becomes wise to our little deception. Fortunately I only need to keep this up until September and then Little B starts school and has half terms himself as well.

 

Joshua is starting to take after me with a real enthusiasm for exercise. Today he showed me some sit-ups and he is getting really good at them now. He no longer cheats and leans to a side using his arms to push up. He can comfortably knock out a set of 10 strict sit-ups which I think is very good. I asked him if he practises sit-ups at school during P.E. class and he told me, no, they are not allowed to do sit-ups in case they bang their heads on the floor. What is the world coming too when kids are not allowed to do sit-ups in a P.E. class - health and safety gone mad again!

 

The boys are starting to develop their likes and dislikes for music and every time they hear a new song that they like then I download it and put it on their Innotabs for them, Some of their current favourites include Rihanna (Diamonds), Jessie J (Price tag), Tayler Swift (We are never ever getting back together) and Psy (Gangnam Style). I know this is a shocking selection of songs. However rest assured that their Innotabs also has some real music such as ACDC (Thunderstruck) and Korn (Shoots & Ladders) on them. Brandon absolutely loves the Korn song and has played it through about 6 times tonight singing along to the words. Tina isn't best pleased, but at least Shoots & Ladders incorporates the lyrics to nursery rhymes. God help the nursery if the ever sing "Nick nack paddy whack" as Brandon will sing his metal version and probably shock everyone!

 

Finally for today I have to confess I have been a bit lazy and lacked discipline in getting the boys to do their homework during half term. However we still had a bit of learning time in the bath tonight as the boys took it in turns using the soap crayons which Zoe bought them for Xmas to draw a letter or number on each others back and the game was to guess the character just from feel. This is a great little game to play and surprisingly both boys are very good at it. I think Brandon mainly likes this game because he loves squirming around in pleasure with the tickling sensation of the crayons drawing on his back.

WPT Kismet Poker Tour

Another first for the boys as this last weekend gone they got to enjoy their first family game of poker. That were pretty intrigued with the big poker table and the poker chips and so they partnered up with a member of the family to help out. To start with Brandon was my team mate and despite explaining the value of the chips, he did not seem to care and was betting very high value chips on very poor hands which we were not capable of bluffing. Needless to say me and Brandon were first to be eliminated. So then Brandon had to move on to his next victim!

 

Joshua was team mates with his Auntie Nicky.

Shirt stack Brandon with not many poker chips left.

Brandon moves on to his next victim after losing all of his Dad's chips.

How big does Joshua look sitting at the head of the poker table.

The boys look on as the flop goes down in the middle of the table.

Pirate Joshua with a big blind eye patch.

Year of the snake

I love the way Joshua's school generally picks a new theme for each week to focus their learning around. A week or so ago the theme was all about China as they children were all learning about the Chinese New Year and the year of the snake. Joshua learnt lots of interesting facts about China and Chinese people and also had to ask me and Tina for some facts about China that he could share with his class. I had a pretty cool fact to tell him about Daddy having a conference call with China most mornings at work - his comment back was, "do you speak Chinese then Daddy?". Best of all though Joshua learnt to make Chinese lanterns and was dead keen to show his little brother how to make them.

 

Brandon decorating his Chinese lantern with dinosaur stickers.

Joshua sticking and cutting as he made a couple of different size and shaped Chinese lanterns.

Brandon's finished work of art all ready for the year of the snake celebrations.

Joshua and Brandon proudly showing their homemade lanterns.

Also for today's blog update the boys have tackled their biggest puzzle to date. A 60 piece puzzle featuring Monsters Inc which Brandon got for his birthday. Between them they managed to get it done with only a little help from me. 



Joshua and Brandon proudly showing their completed 60 pcs puzzle.

The finished puzzle, how colourful.

Hot Cross B

Brandon has taken after his Dad and has developed an addiction to hot cross buns. The little dude is knocking back two a day given the chance. So the fight is on to get in there first.

 

Hot cross B.

Lads night out

Schools out which means it is yet another half term. To celebrate the boys met up with the lads after school and all went out bowling and to grab a bite to eat. You can see these four will be up to all sorts of mischief and trouble in years to come!

Joshua, Harry, Brandon and Zac on a lads night out. 

Anyone for a chicken nugget.

The fantastic four.

Swimming Lessons @ Sporting Village

I think I have mentioned before that both boys have been going swimming religiously on a weekly basis since about 8-10 weeks of age. They are both extremely confident in the water and can both swim without any buoyancy aids. I am very proud that I have taught them everything they know about swimming so far, but I have have pretty much reached the limit of what I know to do with them to progress any further. So what they really need now is some proper tuition and to learn some technique.

 

Previously we tried booking Joshua in to a swimming class at the David Lloyd, but after one session he did not take to it at all. The reason for this is because he has made the link that swimming at the David Lloyd is fun time with Daddy and not time to listen to an instructor in a more disciplined class structure. He did not want to be in the class, he simply wanted to go and jump in the play side of the pool and do his own thing.

 

So the solution we have come up with is to take them to the Basildon Sporting Village to use a different pool with different children, a new instructor and no Mummy or Daddy in the water with them. The plan is that the David Lloyd becomes their fun pool time with Daddy and the Sporting Village is for their swimming classes. I have to say I was extremely nervous about how this would go and was worried that I had potentially wasted a lot of money on a term long course that neither of them would partake in.

 

Joshua and Brandon all ready for their first swimming class and looking a bit nervous and excited at the same time. Joshua has to wear a yellow cap and Brandon the orange.

The swimming classes went a dream and both boys were absolutely outstanding. They were in different pools with a different instructor due to the difference in their abilities. So Tina took Brandon in and I took Joshua. At first Joshua went all shy but his instructor was very, very good and welcomed him into the group. One of our other concerns was that both boys had been put into a class that was too advanced for them due to their current abilities. However they were spot on and Joshua had absolutely no problem keeping up with the other children that have been going to classes longer than he has and he managed to do everything that was asked of him. The 30 min class went so quickly.

 

Today they had Joshua swimming doggie paddle, breast stroke, front crawl and then back stroke. After that they used floats to firstly practise the leg kicks by holding it with two hands and then they had to hold the float with one arm and do a front crawl arm stroke with the other arm (I think I would struggle with that one). 

 

Little B was in the smaller pool and all of the kids were using one of the tube floats under their arms and then practising the hand movement for doggie paddle and concentrating on kicking their legs. As with Joshua, Brandon had no problems keeping up with the class and did phenomenal when you consider he can be very shy and usually would not do something like this without me or Tina holding his hand (so to speak).

After a good, hard, (but fun) swimming class both the boys get showered off and then off home to bed.

Both boys are now keen and excited to go back next week so I couldn't be happier with this result, and to make things even better Joshua got "Star of the Day" at school today for outstanding phonics.

Perfectamondo

Both are the boys are now very used to the concept that they have to do a bit of homework every night. Typically this is done straight after dinner whilst they are both already at the dinner table and typically they are not allowed on the Wii or computer until homework is done. Brandon’s homework usually involves doing his sound set letter cards, reading his nursery picture story book and then practicing some letter writing in his letter book. Joshua’s homework usually involves reading a story book, then he normally has key words and sounds to practice writing. This week he key sounds are ar, ai, oo and his key words are said, look, market and too. He seems to be struggling a bit with the market word. To make Joshua’s homework more challenging sometimes he has to hunt around the house and like for an item which has one of his key sounds in it, other times we play a game where you take it in turns telling each other to find a specific word in his reading book. This week’s book that he is learning to read has some very challenging words for a 5 year old, such as skipping, painting, etc.

A couple of weeks ago Joshua had some comments from his teacher that he was reading his book more from memory than sounding out the letters. He only ever bothers with the sounds when he gets stuck on a word and I thought that was exactly how you learnt to read. So I was somewhat disappointed with the comments from his teacher that almost implied he had to take a backwards step with his reading. This week his comments are very different and he has been praised for reading very well and for remembering a lot of his key words as well as sounding out words that he did not know.

Whilst I am very pleased with both of the boys development at school and nursery, one of the things I struggle to come to terms with is that their teachers / key workers get to spend much more time with them than me. I would like to think the boys see me as a role model and try to take after me in many ways, yet lately it seems they are picking up mannerisms, expressions and behaviours more from their teachers and I guess this is only to be expected when the teachers get 6 hours a day with them and I get 2-3 at best. Within this 2-3 hours we usually have to fit in dinner, bath etc so actual quality father-to-son time is probably only 30 mins to an hour each night. However unless I win the lottery or Tina suddenly get a high paid job and I become a house Dad then this scenario is not going to change much.

 Anyway each family as their little quirky expressions that they use and two which I have passed onto the boys lately (which I think are quite funny) are “perfectamondo” and “fibbanarchi”. “Perfectamondo” is pretty clear as this is what I say to them if they have done something very well (or perfect). “Fibbanarchi” is our little expressions for if someone is telling fibs / lies. I know these words are not in the Oxford English dictionary and I probably should not teach the boys things like this, but it is funny to hear them use such words.

B Day Party at the Laboratory

This weekend was Brandon's 4th birthday party which was held at the newly opened Laboratory Art Studio in Wat Tyler Park which is run by my little Sister. In addition to running art classes, part of her business model is to organise and run children's birthday party's. Since the studio only opened one month ago Brandon's party was to be the first in what will hopefully turn out to be a great business venture for Lisa. For the Laboratory's first kids party we certainly did not let her have an easy time and it was a proper case of baptism of fire given that there was something like 14 kids plus adults there!!! But I have to say the party was a major success and Brandon thoroughly enjoyed himself. The 2 hour event really flew by but everyone (even the parents) seemed to be having a great time.

 

The party started with some arts and crafts where all the children got to make a pencil racing car. They started by colouring a car template and then cutting out the shapes. Then it was stamping the wheels and inserting pencils to make the axles. Next was to assembly the car and glue all of the parts together. Finally it was time to bling the cars with all kinds of decorations including eyes, feathers, pipe cleaners, stick on letters etc.etc. The kids all did a great job and had some really stunning car models to take home with them after the event.

 

 

Spikey haired Brandon getting stuck into his model car.

The bodywork is on the chassis and Brandon gets some help from Auntie Lisa.

Joshua and Zac working hard on the other table.

The parents did not just stand around and had to help the kids cut and glue etc.

Brandon starting to bling his car up and looking for some small eyes to glue on.

The 40 mins allocated for the crafts absolutely flew by and then it was off for stage 2 of the parts which involved all the kiddies having a 30 min wide on the Wat Tyler mini locomotive. This was a big hit with the kids despite the near freezing temperatures. The parents seemed to equally like this part of the party as it gave them 30 mins to sit back in the Lab with a coffee and cake whilst the children were entertained on the train.

Joshua, Zac, Brandon and Thomas ride the last carriage. Their strategy was that once the engine turned at the other end, then they would be at the front of the train.

Brandon was very happy on the train. Zac looks a little cold!

And off they go...........

If only British rail could be as organised and timely as Brandon's party!

Off they go for the second half of the train ride doing a loop down the other end of Wat Tyler.

Can you spot Auntie Chris with the boys third cousin Leyla-Grace.

Once the kiddies returned from the train we figured it was time to let them all settle down for some food and drink whilst they thawed out from the brisk winters day. Brandon did not eat any of his nice Lightning McQueen cake that we bought for his birthday as he just does not seem to like that sort of cake. So for his party we kept it very simple and got a basic Cadbury button chocolate cake which we decorated with Disney Cars, a number 4 sparkler, a firework candle and 4 normal candles.

The cake firework candle seemed to go on, and on, and on, and on.........

By now Brandon is getting pretty good at blowing out candles.

You can just about make out the number 4 sparkler which decorated his cake.

All the kiddies tucking into their little Hot Wheels lunch boxes which Tina made up the night before.

After the food was done it was time to clear the tables out of the way and make space for a few games such as pass the parcel. But before that we hung up Brandon's Monster Jam pinata and let all of the kiddies grab hold of a pull string. After the count of 3 the floor was smothered with sweets and the carnage began,

3-2-1-pull...............

Absolute mayhem as the kiddies all scramble around picking up hand fulls of sweets.

The day was so full on that Brandon did not get to open any of his presents until a day later. But it was well worth the wait as he got some amazing presents and was a very happy little boy. Expectations are now high for his 5th birthday next year, but I am not sure how we can top his 4th. 

Brandon with his named Hot Wheels t-shirt which Max and Sam got him.

How about this for a birthday present collection - and this was just from his party (nothing from family and friends).

So a big thanks to Lisa and David for making Brandon's fourth birthday so special and sorry for making your first party at the Lab a challenging one!