New Schedule

We had our first week back to our new schedule. It's going to take a while for us all to adjust, though I think Grace is doing better than the rest of us!

Jamie is going in early and working late at the moment preparing for some trade shows the company will be at, so we haven't seen much of him this week.

Grace has started the new college term and is now at three days a week. Adding in her Rainbows Young Leader work and two new youth groups, one village and one city, she is probably at the limit of what she can cope with, but she *is* coping, which is encouraging. She's enjoying her course, although one of the two girls she made particular friends with last year, sadly hasn't come back because of some sort of funding problem.

Jack started his examination courses:
O Level Religious Studies, which he's studying at home for the exam Nov 2009
IGCSE Double Science awards (Biology this term) which he's taking at a Montessori School, in a class of otherwise home-ed kids, exam Nov 2009
Drama, IGCSE, in tutored groups of home-ed students, exam May 2009
Art and Design IGCSE's tutored groups of home-ed students, exam May 2009.
Of course, he's also continuing with Maths and English, but these are exams he won't be taking until May 2010.
He's being stretched and seems to have a good attitude about the step up in his responsibilities. He's even tackling his chores more conscientiously!

A friend's father took the two boys off to teach them how to play squash on Weds which is great because they can now book courts and go and play once a week together. And today, Jack is going to a 'Boys' Club' invented by one of his friends. There is a group of 6 boys who will be doing 'manly projects' according to Jack. Today they will spend all day, probably in the rain, 'digging a big hole' on the land that his friend's family owns. I think there's some talk of a pond. It should get filled very easily! {vbg}

In between driving people places (I spent 3 1/2 hours in the car on Monday!) I've been trying to get laundry dry without using the tumble drier (ha!) because it's so expensive to run and get a venue booked for our first Life-Songs concert which has proved incredibly difficult! I hope I don't fall at the first hurdle!

We were all tired on Friday night. Usually a holiday in good sunshine helps get us ready for the new academic year. September is the sunniest month statistically in the UK, but so far has been just as cold and wet as July and August. We haven't really been re-charged. I just hope we all have what we need to get us through until Christmas. I'll be buying vitamin D tablets for us, though.