Options

Last night, Joshua brought home the option pathway recommended by his school which will lead to the best possible outcome for GCSE success.  It took me back to 1986 when I took my GCSE options.  I still vividly recall how my academic year across the country were the first to take the transition from GCEs and CSEs to plain GCSEs. The doubts and criticisms that they would be easy, worry that coursework would be abused and undertaken by relatives and friends and that the exams would be soft.  Concern that employers would not take them seriously and that within a decade the educational establishments would realise their error and revert back to the old system, leaving me and thousands of others with seemingly useless qualifications.  How wrong they were.


Looking through Joshua's option paths I found myself longing to be back at school.  I envied him slightly that he's now starting the point in life where his choices become important.  Reading through the subject summaries I found myself excited at the content of some of the courses, and at times got rather carried away trying to convince him how interesting and exciting some subjects were, which inevitably turned out to be the subjects he's really not interested in!  Looking at the History content, he liked the course, but did not relish the idea of writing long essays, the same for the compulsory English Literature.  I was baffled. Strange boy!  How could he possibly find essay writing a chore?  I still remember walking into my A'level English Literature exam literally champing at the bit to get started on the four essays I had to write in three hours - was I mad?  Probably.

I'm thrilled he's being forced to do a language.  Seems cruel, I know, but I have the benefit of parental hindsight.  My bitterness at not being allowed to do languages because apparently getting 91% in German and 27% in French supposedly meant I didn't have a grasp of languages, so because I failed French I wasn't allowed to take the  German GCSE I so passionately wanted to do.  To this day it still baffles and angers me.  I'm glad that Joshua has to learn a second language - it's a skill he'll be grateful for one day.  To my delight he favours German.  He's getting the chance I never had.

In sciences he prefers physics and chemistry.  I was a biology fan.  He likes Maths and all things technical.  I liked all things creative.

But what I really like is that he has sat with me, talked with me and discussed his feelings about subjects, what he loves, what he hates, where his strengths are, where his weaknesses are, his doubts, his fears, his worries and his concern at getting halfway through courses and being disillusioned.  I'm finding it a privilege that he is sharing all this with me and not just ticking random boxes or picking subjects that he's comfortable with or naturally gifted at in an attempt to get the decision making done and out of the way.  He's impressed me with how mature he's being about it all.  He has a few weeks to choose, so now I'm stepping back for a few days to let him work out his own routes.  I'll be there to support him, to advise him and where necessary to push him, but ultimately, the choices are his.

Grasping independence

My eldest son, Joshua, 12, is a smart kid.  Having gone online last week and wheeled and dealed his way around the Internet finding a mobile phone contract deal that would undercut the current ones I held for him and his sister, he managed to find a way of getting them both a brand new smart phone each that had all the gadgets they desired, for less than I was currently spending each month.  Having previously told him that an upgrade was out of the question as I was not prepared to spend more money, I found myself having to concede to his request as he quite rightly pointed out my fears were unfounded and that I'd actually make a saving.

As a parent I could have reacted two ways.  One is that I could have got angry that he continued to pursue something I'd originally said no to and punished him.  Or, as I chose, I could have held back and allowed him to rise to the challenge and make his own discoveries.

I'm glad I did.  With his perseverance and for being sensible, gathering the facts in, making sure the tariffs were correct, working out Internet bolt ons, researching through the current provider what his current text and talk usages were, he could compare differing offers and make an informed choice about which level of contract would suit him.  He wasn't greedy, he didn't demand extra applications and he even made sure he stayed with the same network so calls between family remained free of charge.

The money issue itself was not my main concern.  My children know we have limited budgets for some things, tight budgets for others, miracles in waiting for some things and variable budgets for others.  We've tried over the years to be honest with them about money and spending and to search for good deals, not to be tempted into impulse buying, not to be sucked into the latest craze and to analyse whether they'll really use something. So to see my son actively and quite naturally using these criteria for obtaining something he desired was wonderful to see.  It showed me he's growing up wisely, that he's thinking things through analytically before making decisions and it's confirming to me that he is listening to us when we try to advise him.  As a parent it's uplifting to see your child make wise decisions, not just because a yes or no option has been put before them, but because they've taken an idea and developed it.

There are times he does things for me because I don't understand how to use them, or he explains how something is made or how it works.  Usually with a big cheeky smile on his face and a roll of the eyes because my level of ability is at 'muppet' level.  There are a lot of times he's just the boy he is, but I'm confident that as he grows, and as time goes on, I'll have to let go a little more each time and allow him to take hold of opportunities.  This week it was just a mobile phone, but it won't be long before those choices become more complex and he'll be able to take life with both hands and get the best value out of it he can.

Oh, and their phones arrived yesterday.

Joshua

Expecting your first child is globally not a unique situation.  Every mother's been there.  But when it's your own child and your own body that's growing this little person, and it's your pregnancy test that has that magic blue line, you feel like the only person on the planet experiencing this life changing force.  I remember referring every day to my book, 'What To Expect When You're Expecting', eagerly scanning the pages to see how my baby was developing and whether he or she had grown to the size of a grape or an apple.  I would stand at the mirror and turn sideways waiting for that little bulge to form into a neat round ball, testament to the world that yes, I was expecting a baby and not just putting on a bit of weight.

I recall the immense tiredness of the first few weeks - absolute exhaustion.  I would come home from work and fall asleep on the sofa, only to be woken by my husband who'd arrived home an hour later, had left me sleeping and prepared dinner for us both. I'd eat and then sleep again.  I have never known a tiredness like it. 

Then the first scan.  That life changing moment when you see your baby on the screen.  It seems a blur of lines, then the sonographer points arrows and shows you legs, arms, eyes, nose and best of all, a tiny beating heart.  Then you hear it.  The whoosing sound like an ocean and then the 'bwoph, bwoph, bwoph' sound of your child living inside you - that God breathed life that's been gently placed there as a gift, all neatly tucked away.

Then your clothes don't fit anymore and the realisation that now it's time to go shopping for maternity wear.  Big enormous trousers that could fit around a space hopper and skirts like scout tents.

Alternate weeks with the midwife and doctor.  Being prodded and poked.  Blood tests being taken.  All to make sure your baby is well and growing.  Finding out your baby's head is half way down or two thirds down, or it's popped up again, now it's down again, and finally 'engaged'.  This is it.  Not long to go.

The final few weeks.  You've had enough now.  Surely it's ready to be born.  You can't sleep, you can't turn over, you can't bend down to do your shoes up, getting out of the bath requires assistance, you can't pull your chair close to your desk at work because your bump is in the way and you can't get back in the car at the supermarket because somebody has parked too close to the driver's door and you're too big to get in the gap. 

You're excited, you're scared.  You know it's coming soon.  You know it's going to hurt.  You've visited the hospital and seen all the contraptions and checked with the nurses they're well stocked with pethidine, entonox and anaesthetists.  The nursery is ready, tiny nappies wait unopened in their packet, grandparents have stocked you up with hand knitted cardigans, the pram is in the hall and your hospital bag is packed.

* * *

 
Joshua was born 7 days early.  An 8 hour water pool labour that was halted because he was face up, stuck and distressed.  I also had maternal exhaustion and the increased effort of trying to deliver him was sending me into a delirous unconsciousness.  I gave it all I had and it wasn't enough.  He needed help to get out and was swiftly delivered by ventouse.  A beautiful baby, 7lb 7oz.

Joshua, is 12 years old today.  A remarkable young lad who is growing up to be an exceptional young man.  He's doing very well at school and has lots of nice friends.  He's learning each day more and more about who he is and who God wants him to be.  I love him immensely and I'm incredibly proud of him and of all things most, I thank God, that of all the women in the world He could have given Joshua to, He gave him to me.

We Didn't Get Much Sleep - Over

Joshua's birthday sleepover went off really well.  After assuring many bemused parents in the reception area of the local pool, that yes, we really could manage 13 kids swimming at the local pool and 12 overnight at our place, we thanked them for their concern, urged them to enjoy their evening of freedom and allowed the madness to commence.  Sleeping bags, pillows and overnight kits were dumped in our car, presents tucked under the bags and lots of noise and commotion sorting out regular members, non-members, free swim members .......

Two hours of swimming and a walk home later the children all settled into their various zones in the house and hours of gaming, giggling, eating and having fun followed.

Papa Johns, who deliver the best pizzas in the area did good by delivering a leaflet offering buy one get one free on any size pizza the day before the party - yay!!!  We'll have TWO XXL large ones then please! 


Followed by a large slice of Dad's expertly baked chocolate fudge cake.  Previous years traditions have seen this covered in Smarties, Flakes and Maltesers.  This year was the turn of the Rolo.

Lilos were inflated and beds made up around 10.30pm ready for late night DVDs and midnight feast.

At 1.00am the final request to go to sleep was issued (although we found out the following morning they finally settled at 2.30am!)

Weary souls fuelled on just under five hours sleep, copious amounts of pizza, nuggets, chips, chocolate fudge cake and midnght goodies still managed to dive into the mammoth breakfast fry-up.

At 10.30am parents arrived, friends left and we flopped!

Birthday Gaming

Joshua's 11th birthday arrived quite early yesterday morning.  After teasing him mercilessly that his much wanted and long awaited PS3 was out of stock in town (only partly true as Game truly had run out, but we 'forgot' to mention HMV had them in), we managed to convince him we'd arranged a special courier delivery service to have it at the house by 9.00am.  This was our feeble and very wishful attempt at not being woken at some unearthly hour by a boy who for the last two weeks has established a 5.30am waking habit because he's so excited about the big day.  He didn't need to know the 'courier' was Dad, delivering it from the wardrobe in our bedroom.

At 7.30am it was plugged in and ready to go.  He was plugged in and ready to go two weeks ago when he found out that Grandparents hadn't bought him presents as they had contributed to it too.

But in addition to being the Birthday Boy and really rather special for the day he was also tagged with the label of Most Awesome Big Brother by Eleanor and Sam who have now inherited 'free of charge' his now redundant PS2.  Sam's already picked up some pretty nifty moves with the Ratchet and Clank games and is now teaching Eleanor how to work through the levels. 

So, a quiet, but happy gaming day for him, followed by a chocolate birthday cake and Chinese delivery.  We still can't get us all in one car so a trip to a local restaurant was out of the question. But not being ones to let a thing like that get us down, we decided a bit of the restaurant would come to us instead.

So yesterday, Andy and I were the best parents ever. I'm going to remind him later today that we still are - it doesn't hurt a kid to be reminded of basic facts like that :-)

The real party is tomorrow night.  Six of his friends meeting him at the swimming pool for a couple of hours swimming, back to ours for gaming, pizza, DVD, midnight feast and sleepover.

The girls have friends over too. Lilos have been brought down from the loft, extra pillows have been plumped up, stocks of goodies stashed in the kitchen, another birthday cake baked by Dad and the Sega Game Gear dug out for the retro gaming corner.

It's gonna be a fun one!

Winding up the kids

I love winding the kids up with a goofy tale now and then.

This evening while sharing a tray of cheesy salsa nachos I entered into a conversation with Andy about how years ago, did he remember the scientific experiment held on a group of cows who were fed cocoa beans with their usual diet to see whether they would ferment in their udders to create chocolate milk?

Quickly catching on, he embraced the joke and heartily agreed it was a great experiment.  The children were fascinated.  Seeing them being gullibly drawn in I then extended the story  to include the cows that were found munching in a strawberry field, and how scientists were so impressed with the results of the cocoa bean batch they wondered if strawberry milk could be yielded from this group.

I was doing well, I was keeping a straight face.  It was a struggle.

I crumpled when I told them the banana experiment went wrong because the cows couldn't peel them with their hooves.

I adore their faces when they realise they've been pulled a fast one.

Unrequited Love

Joshua is approaching that tender age for boys.  The age where in front of his mates he's a real lad and girls are just starting to get a little bit interesting.  Not a lot, but a little.

He lost his first crush to another school.  The void in his little heart remaining vacant until 'The New Girl' arrived.  We'll call her Samantha.

'The New Girl' is American and Joshua's sweet on her.  So sweet that he confided in me he was going to ask her on a date.  But his timing had to be precise as she has been 'dating' another boy in the class.  We'll call him John.

John and Samantha have broken up at least six times now.  However, John has only managed to impress Samantha with a trip to McDonalds.  Joshua was going to go one better and suggest the movies, complete with popcorn and coke.  How could she resist?!

But it was with a heavy heart he came home and informed me that Samantha liked him - REALLY liked him, but was 'getting over her relationship break-up'.  So, Joshua's going to 'give her time' and then ask her again.

When you're ten years old, time is important and recovery takes 'time'.

So I presume he'll be asking her again on Friday then.  He needs to get in there quick before John gets in for a seventh attempt!!

School stuff

Maddie is learning about the Aztecs this half term. Last night she came home with the dreadful homework grid, but she was elated. On it was a task to make something with chocolate.

14 cook books later, Maddie found her recipe.

Chocolate terrine. I've never known a kid so keen to do homework.

Eleanor on the other hand, was elated for another reason. Today the children in her year are having a pyjama day. The idea of hauling herself out of bed and not bothering to get dressed was pure joy for her. But it wasn't until we'd packed her dressing gown and slippers, put on her coat and shoes and were heading out the door that she announced chuckling her little heart out that, 'Oh Mummy, I've forgotten my knickers - hope my jammy bottoms don't fall down!!'

A quick pack of the missing pants and we hot-tailed it to school breakfast club so she could change.

Joshua however, grunted when I asked what his topic was this term. 'Dunno, but my new teacher is nice'.

So, day one of the new half term is over.

How long till Christmas?

The Channel Divide - Day 4

The chocolate theme carried on last night for Maddie, but this time with Andy. Hot chocolate fudge sauce cake with lashings of fresh cream, and for Eleanor a big chocolate muffin.

Yesterday the girls finally admitted to missing Joshua with Eleanor declaring she'd give him a big hug when he got back and Maddie echoing the sentiment. His last full day in France was yesterday and as I write, he'll have probably just arrived back in England after what looks to have been an absolutely fantastic trip. I know he'll be worn out, tired and hungry, but full of information about his time away. I can't wait for him to get back.

Here's yesterday's events.

Thursday 15th October 10.45pm

Today started off with a visit to Dieppe where we were immersed in the French language, identifying French shop signs, before going to a Creperie where we had to order, eat and pay for a delicious crepe (all in French of course!!)

We then had a quick lunch stop back at the Chateau before heading off to the Neufchatel cheese farm. We all learnt about the cheese making process (all in French!!) before having the opportunity to taste some freshly made cheese and buy some to bring home (let's hope that the coach doesn't smell too much on the way home!)

Our first evening activity was either fencing or the climbing wall which everyone enjoyed a lot.

Now onto dinner......yes, Thursday night is snails and frogs legs night! Needless to say, there was plenty left over after the tasting! We then had a main course of pasta bolognaise followed by a cheese plate and chocolate eclairs.

After dinner it was time to party on down at the disco! There were lots of impressive moves on the dance floor (which we have photographic evidence of!) and also some not quite impressive moves (again, photographic evidence available....!!)

We are going to miss the Chateau (and France!) when we leave tomorrow but we are also looking forward to coming home to see everyone.

IMPORTANT UPDATE

We will be catching a slightly later Eurostar train tomorrow (to give us a bit longer at the market in the morning) and we estimate that we will arrive back at *********** at approximately 4pm.

See you tomorrow!! Au revoir!

The Channel Divide - Day 3

Wednesday night was declared 'Hot Chocolate' night. I didn't realise until a friend pointed out to me that this week was Chocolate Week. Had I known that I'd have started this all on Monday and got maximum mileage out of the celebration!

So, supplies were gathered in for the ultimate hot chocolate sensation. Squirty cream, mini marshmallows, hundreds and thousands, chocolate chips and toffee sauce. This was going to be goooood!!!

Pour in the hot chocolate, load on the toppings, be careful not to let it topple!

A quick lick of the lips, wring of the hands and we're ready to dive in!

YUM YUM YUM!

Meanwhile, across the Channel, Joshua had also been busy.....

Wednesday 14th October 8.50pm

Today we went to Rouen which involved lots of walking but also lots of exciting sightseeing! We explored and learnt about the Notre Dame Cathedral (not the Paris one!!), learnt the story of Joan of Arc and saw where she had been burnt at the stake, ate lunch in the park and went shopping!

When we got back to the Chateau, we had some free time. Some of us played football and made some French friends whilst others had some chill out time in the dorms (well maybe not quite so chilled out....!). Then it was time for our group activities which were either archery or climbing wall.

Food tonight was mixed cold vegetables to start followed by fish and rice. We then had a cheese plate and an apple pastry for dessert. Evening activity tonight is team tech which involves lots of thinking (oh dear!!!!!!).

We think the late nights and long days may be beginning to catch up with us, however we are determined to carry on having lots of fun and new adventures!!

The Channel Divide - Day 2

Eagerly logging on Tuesday night to find out what Joshua had been up to I was pleased to see the teachers had taken time out of their really busy day to update us Mums and Dads on what the children had been doing. Sounds like they're having a great time.

At this point I wasn't missing him too much. I knew he'd arrived safely and I knew he was having fun with his friends. I could relax.

Having one less at home does afford the opportunity to spend a little more time with the other children. This week, Maddie and I have declared that each evening we should have a girlie treat, of the chocolate variety, before she goes to bed.

Tonight was chocolate fondue night. I usually avoid doing this kind of messy stuff before bed, but with the cunning use of a tealight, metal pie dish and a peg, we mustered up our own mini-fondue and tucked into melted chocolate, maderia cake cubes, marshmallows and apple chunks.

We're going to introduce Joshua to this when he's back - he'd love it. And whilst we were enjoying this little luxury here's what he got up to on day 2.

Tuesday 13th October 9pm

Another busy day in France! Breakfast was at 7.45 this morning after what turned out to be a late night with 28 excited children deciding that they didn't actually want to go to sleep (quote 'we stopped talking at 3.20am....!!). We have had a great day out visiting the WW1 underground tunnels at Arras followed by walking through the German and Allied trenches at Vimy Ridge. We then went to a very impressive memorial monument, also at Vimy Ridge.

When we arrived back at the Chateau we headed straight down to the beach with some frisbees, giant jenga, a basketball and a rugby ball. These were surplus to requirements though as the children just wanted to build stone trenches!! At least they have been inspired!

Dinner tonight was carrot salad for starters followed by pork meatloaf and beans. Dessert was a cheese plate and yoghurt and after all of that we even managed to save some room for Will's birthday cake!

The final activity for today is either archery or fencing. Hopefully bedtime tonight will be earlier than last night as we have a full day out tomorrow exploring Rouen!

The Channel Divide - Day 1

Joshua's in France this week and I'm missing him. But the pangs of separation are being dampered by the fact the teachers are putting a daily update on the school web page to keep parents informed of the day to day activities the children are undertaking. It will be great to see the pictures he has taken to accompany the round up of each day's events. I last saw him 8.30am Monday morning. By evening this is what he'd done.

Monday 12th October 9.30pm

We are here!! As you can probably tell from the delay in updating this page, we have had a very busy start to our trip! The journey went well with lots of excitement whilst travelling through the tunnel and even more excitement when we realised we had reached France (quote 'I love France now' and 'I can even smell France!')

We had a great stop off at Nausicaa Sea Centre, touching stingrays, seeing the sharks close up, watching the penguins being fed and laughing at the sealions playing!

The journey on to the Chateau seemed very long (quote 'are we there yet' and 'how long until we get there' over and over and over and over......!!)

We finally arrived at the Chateau at about 6.30pm and after the initial excitment of seeing the dorms and playing some field games it was dinner time. On the menu tonight was cheese pie for starter, sausage with cabbage and potato for the main course followed by yoghurt and fruit for dessert.

The final end to the day has been mini olympics in the sports hall.

Everyone is very tired but still excited and looking forward to what tomorrow may bring!

The Long Weekend

Joshua has probably spent the longest weekend of his life these past two days. Because when you're 10 years old and going to France for a week with your schoolfriends, Monday morning can't come quick enough.

He's usually pretty good at playing it cool, but this one was too much for him to contain. Armed with the kit list on Saturday afternoon, the hints of packing prep were coming. Just checking certain shirts were in the drawer, sorting out an empty backpack to take for the day trips, trip to the shops for a new pair of trainers, making sure no washing was due to be done so the all important trendy stuff was clean and ready. Check, check, check.

By 5pm the desire to pack was getting too much. Could Dad just get the suitcase down now? Assured the suitcase would come down in good time, excitement then turned to attitude with huffy puffy blows of 'fine', grunting up from somewhere inside his body. The chimpanzee arms swinging by his side and the hunch of his back as the realisation that still at least another day was in waiting before departure.

By 7pm we relented. A very excited boy busy packing his case, checking off his list and counting his Euros.

Then the tummy problems started. 'Mummmm, I've got stomach ache'. 'It's because you're excited, it's perfectly normal, don't worry'. 'I'm NOT excited, babies get excited'. 'You're 10, going abroad for the first time with all your friends, trust me Joshua, you ARE excited and it's OK to be'. 'Oh, alright then.'

Saturday night, skulking off to bed - far too wound up to sleep. How on earth was I going to get him through two nights?! Sunday morning unable to contain himself, the decision to abandon rugby training was taken as his mind would not be on the game. The last thing I needed was the air ambulance arriving due to his lack of concentration, making him the 3rd player to be escorted off the field like this. Taking no chances, he asked to come to church with us instead - big result - YAY for that!!

Lunchtime - not hungry. Not excited apparently, just 'not hungry'. What to do with him in the afternoon? I know, we'll all go swimming - that will take his mind off it. Dinner time - FINALLY, he eats.

Bedtime - surprisingly he settled quite early. But three trips to the bathroom last night, an early wake, fully dressed and not interested in breakfast, shoes on by 7.30am, we set off with case in tow, wallet stuffed with various coins and notes, EHIC card ready, rice milk in a bag and off to school.

28 very excited 10 and 11 year olds departed at 8.30 this morning. It's a great bunch of kids going and he's going to have the time of his life. I'll see just how much when he gets back and develops the three disposable cameras he's taken.

Moving On Up

Joshua's tour of possible secondary school choices ended last night and finally he's made his selection and order of preference. Now all I have to do is fill in the forms and send them off.

It's been interesting watching him throughout his deliberations. Seeing him form opinions before he's even seen some schools, reasoning that certain schools are worth a visit for this reason, why this school seems good for that reason and why some schools are just a plain no-go in the first place.

Having been encouraged by his form teacher to sit the local grammar school exam, Joshua's first reaction was to completely balk at the idea and protest because everybody would think he was a geek if he went there. Until that is, he found out that three other boys in his year group at school were also being persuaded by their parents to sit the exam. All these boys being non-geeks in Joshua's opinion.

So, the visit to the school was arranged, with Joshua moaning fervently in the back of the car that the children would all be Tefal headed, goofy teethed mad professor types with middle partings and how his future as a normal kid was doomed. He wanted a school where he could hang out with his friends, come home on his bike and do just enough homework to get some good grades at GCSE. He has no intention of university because apparently nowhere offers a BA Chef's degree!

But the view was to be quashed when moving around the school he met and spoke to schoolmasters and current pupils who explained things to him, who engaged him in conversation, invited him to take part in experiments and went through puzzles with him. His utter joy at seeing the football posts relegated to the side of the field to see the older boys playing the only game worthy of a ball - his beloved rugby!

His assessment at the end - school choice number one - both because the criteria for entering grammar school is based on it being first choice on the council application and because, 'Actually, it looks really good Mum, and they don't all walk around with jam jar glasses holding their fingers in the air shouting Eureka!'

School choice number two has turned out to be the local catchment comprehensive. I am not qualified to comment as his father viewed this one with him, but having heard back from both of them that it is indeed pretty impressive, with an outstanding Ofsted, I have to back down from my original opinion of it being a cattle market due to the sheer volume of pupils on the roll. It has a proven record - I can't argue with that.

Number three is another local comprehensive that specialises in Computing and Maths, one which Joshua spent a maths day at earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed.

It's difficult knowing whether the choices we make for him are right. But I hang my head in shame knowing that his deliberations at the age of 10 were far more mature than mine at that age. I had a choice of the local comprehensive mixed school or the single sex one nearby. My sole reason for going to the mixed was because I didn't like the fact the headteacher at the girls school was so strict and the uniforms were ugly.

The Plight of the 'Gifted' Child

I'm a Facebook addict. I love the site and spend a fair amount of time chatting to friends, sorting out socials and generally just catching up with the lives of the friends I don't get to see often.

I resist joining groups on it though as most of them are totally pointless. But I have been skating on the rim of one for a few months now. Wondering whether to join or not. Primarily because I think the person who joined it has a bit of a beef about the fact his child has not been identified as 'Gifted' or 'Talented'.

I have a personality weakness. I'm opinionated. I've learned over the past few months to think long and hard before commenting on things. So, I've thought long and hard about responding to this group and today I felt it was right to post my views.

I don't know your thoughts on the whole 'Gifted and Talented' child phenomena that is sweeping modern education. I have a child on it. I'm proud of him. But equally if he wasn't on it, I wouldn't be too bothered and I doubt he would be either. He knows he's on it and never mentions it. I think therefore, it is more a problem for the parents. I'd be interested to know whether my views are relevant or whether I've missed the point. Do let me know. Feedback is always good.

So, here it is.

I think it's a shame that this group has been set up at all. As parents we should be encouraging our children and those of our friends and family to do the very best they can with the abilities they hold. It's not our job to criticise parents because they strive to achieve the best for their child.

In the UK parents do not succeed in getting their children put on the gifted and talented registers at school. It is a requirement of participating schools to select the top 5% achieving pupils within a certain area and to notify parents of that fact.

My son was selected for his maths ability. He was selected at Year 4 as he was working way ahead of his peers. He worked way ahead of the year group above him. Yes, he is VERY gifted at Maths. I make no apology to anybody for that. As such, he was noted and the placing on the register has merely led to him having opportunities to partake in mathematical activities at levels higher than those of his friends.

His friends don't resent him or shun him. He doesn't go around with an air of superiority either. He just happens to be better than them at Maths. Yes, I'm very proud of him. My daughter is working 3-4 years ahead with her writing and reading and yes, again I'm very proud. I'm not going to apologise for my children's achievements, but similarly I'm not going to parent them beyond their years. They are still children. They are encouraged to be just that, young people who enjoy the company of their peers, who still enjoy watching cartoons, to be children. It is possible to parent a gifted child and not have a rod stuck up your backside doing it. It would do parents of the so called non-gifted children to realise this and not think that every achievement of another child is an educational stab in the back.

We should embrace our children's strengths, enjoy their skills, note their talents and encourage them when they struggle or fail, whether they are 'gifted' or not.

WW2 Fish Paste

Today I have pity for Joshua's classmates.

Last night he embarked on the WW2 cooking project he has chosen to do as part of his homework grid. I allowed him the chance to make one main meal, one dessert and one 'revolting' meal. Typical boy, he chose the latter first.

Fish Paste. The recipe is basic, some salted cod, mashed potato, margarine, pepper.... Mmmm, looked good, smelt OK. Then the worcester sauce went in. My nostrils couldn't take it anymore.

It's been refrigerated overnight and a loaf of bread has been cut into chunks. So, yum yum, cold fish paste seasoned with worcester sauce on plain bread.

My kitchen still pongs this morning.

The Mental Mathematician

Joshua never fails to make me smile. This is the child who two years ago was placed on the Gifted and Talented Register for his mathematical abilities. (The use and point of such register I'm still waiting for school to enlighten me on!) The child who could play banker without the use of a calculator during long games of monopoly at the age of 7.

The child who today told me he was nervous about his maths test. This maths test being the sort where the use of calculators is permitted. Is this boy so used to using his brain that a calculator is an unwelcome obstacle? Wow wee!

The child who this week brought home a form for a local secondary school's Annual Master Class for 'particularly able mathematicians'. A day being 'taught challenging mathematics that is not part of the national curriculum'. Yikes!!

The child who for over a year now has been pulled out of his maths lessons to work on papers 2-3 years ahead of him.

And he worries that he won't pass a test using a calculator.

Gotta love his modesty.

An Old Fogey at 36!!

It's a good job I'm not having a bad day otherwise after reading Joshua's homework grid I might have felt compelled to stick my head in the oven.

"Write three problems involving old fashioned measurements."

Am I REALLY that old to consider yards, feet, inches, pounds and ounces as 'old fashioned'?

He'll be asking me if I've ever seen a woolly mammoth next.

Blumenthal's Apprentice

Chef Loizou ready and raring to go.

Ingredients prepped, knives sharpened, chef's hat on and stove at the ready.

A bit of chopping here and a bit of chopping there. The panel of judges keeping a keen eye on proceedings.

Maddie not quite certain about what's about to be served up!

Voila! Chalaier (pronounced chilayer, his own creation, owned and named by himself)

Joshua's very first own recipe main course meal.

YUM YUM YUM

And it was.

Well done Joshua!!

xx

Tweaks

After last night's discussion, Joshua went to sleep with ideas of culinary expertise at his fingertips, no doubt dreaming of the day he's awarded his first Michelin star.

This morning he woke up and told me in the car that he had to rethink his dish. At this point I was kind of hoping he'd realise that the brown sauce element might not work, which he did, only to replace it with worcester sauce. I liked his thinking as I don't have any HP in the house so it's one less item on the shopping list.

But his tweak to the menu was to ask me to buy some garnish, because in his own words, 'If I'm going to be taken seriously as a chef my food needs to look right. There's no point me cooking a dinner if it look a mess. Presentation is as important as the eating'.

He just gets better.