Doxey Nature reserve, Pokemon, Parks,maths and kinaesthetics

The boys did some maths work then went to meet friends at the local park . After dinner we took them for a walk around Doxey Marshes.

First we played at the park

Then went exploring

There was much to see and the most meadow sweet I have seen in one place.

Owen took some pictures of the geese and ducks

At this point Owen was starting to get tired, so I gave him my phone so he could catch Pokemon as we walked. This took his mind off his tired legs and we managed to walk back without him becoming distressed. There was much excited chatter from both boys as Blokey was Pokemon hunting with Sam, so we got all the Pokemon facts and a few made up ones too.

Owen did more RM maths today but has a terrible prickly heat rash and it was disrupting his concentration. I applied some cream and a cold compress , which helped. He was then able to carry with his studies.Afterwards he helped me do some weeding in the garden, then went off to play at the park.

Sam had a long lie in, a lazy breakfast and then cracked on with some more maths. He's enjoying working out number patterns in his head and tests me on mental subtraction. He's also learning Roman numerals, which he has been very quick to pick up.

Here he is checking his answers.

Later they pootled off to jujitsu, thankfully it's cooler tonight because we have had a little rain. Sam was upset because he has been asked to tie his hair back for jujitsu. Previously he has decided to have it cut..even though he hates his hair being shorter and being cut. We are hitting a real sticking point with him this week as he hated having it tied back and is currently refusing to have it cut. 

The next morning Sam is up early ..as his birthday draws nearer it's harder for him to curb his excitement. His focus is slipping considerably but he manages to work hard on his maths with some encouragement.

He then does a little writing practice and goes off to play Minecraft whilst I help Owen with his work.

Owen watched Horrible Histories, then we started our new session to try and help him with his fine motor skills. We are using this book. The emphasis for us is legibility not speed at this stage.

There are different exercises and fun writing challenges. I have bought some lumicolour pens and a big whiteboard which Owen really enjoys using. He's written a contract for himself to state he will practice 3 times a week and a pretty ambitious challenge to improve his style and legibility.

We have a lot of fun trying out the sessions and he is really happy doing it (so far ). I explain he is building muscle memory to help with his dyspraxia. Swimming, playing at the park and jujitsu have all greatly improved his gross motor skills and coordination..he still struggles with fine motor though, so hopefully this may help. Currently he is really motivated, I hope it pans out for him because he is very keen to be able to write fluently. 

After the writing games, he works through his maths programme and unlocks more levels. We have a laugh at some of the voice overs as he works.

Both boys are still enjoying Flingaball between each level, there is also quite a bit of competition building between them about who has the highest score.

Owen wanted to do his maths before Nanny arrived, so he worked hard after breakfast.

My Mum visited today to bring the children's birthday presents. Owen wanted to open his early but Sam wanted to wait till his birthday , much to his Nans disappointment ! Sam showed her his maths program but got performance anxiety at being watched and struggled to concentrate. After lunch the children showed their Nanny the new park. After Nanny went home the boys had a long play with their local friends. Getting the children to bed that night was very problematic as they are getting birthday anxiety as the day draws nearer. We breathed a sigh of relief when we got both overwhelmed and teary  children to sleep.

The next morning the children were up at 6 am and at warp factor 10. Sam has gone into human pinball mode and is talking so quickly , we can barely make out what he is saying...he thinks we are deliberately annoying him, so goes in batmode. This means his speech reaches a very high, unintelligible pitch ..it's brain splitting. I try not to grimace.

Sam works on RM maths..with mixed results ( I expected that) and Owen watches a documentary on Netflix. There is clearly no point in pushing any activities today, both are donkeys on the edge. So I will just try and get us through today with as much sanity intact as I can. By 8.05 I am completely exhausted. Not helped by the fact we have a poorly Piggle dog again, so I was up in the night looking after her..poor love. It's possible her meds have started to cause her problems , which is worrying. It also could be a simple tummy bug but she does look as though she's lost weight this last two weeks , so I am concerned.

Before lunch the boys go out to play and oone of our friends pops round with presents and cards for the boys birthdays tomorrow. As she arrives , I am running up the street trying to give Sam a cheese baguette. He hasn't stopped moving all day so far and is refusing to come inside to eat any lunch.

We have a brief chat in the street whilst her baby boy sleeps, both boys zoom past on their bikes and shout thank you before zooming off again. Later it rains heavily forcing the boys indoors and we watch a film together. I struggle to keep awake and feel very slowed down by my pain and tiredness. Owen attempts to go out again but crashes his skateboard and comes in upset because he has hurt his foot and 'why do I get so stressed about my birthday Mum!?'. He's holding back the tears , which means he expresses his pain as anger. Eventually I make him laugh.

Our poor dog is really quite poorly, so Blokey takes her to the vet and they give us medication and administer a steroid injection. She has colitis and is throughly miserable. We are all very worried about her as she is very old now.

The big days arrives and the release of the pressure and tension is very welcome. We start with breakfast then present opening. The boys are very happy with their gifts.

Later at the boys request , we go to the Wolsley Arms for a celebratory lunch. 

In the evening Sam tries out his spectacular straw..both boys love these.

Owen enjoying his present.

Awaiting his birthday meal.

Afterwards we took the children in to town and I hey spent some of their birthday money in CEX and Shogun games.

Sadly on our return home we found Piggle had become more ill with new symptoms , so our concern increased about her.

We ring the out of hours vet and they suspect she has had a reaction to one of the medications and we have to stop it immediately and see how she is on Monday. Sam becomes increasingly upset as like me, he wants her to live forever pain free.