I think I got about 4 hours of sleep last night.\u00a0 I should have tried harder to go back to bed, instead of getting engrossed in a book.\u00a0 I had a much better morning than I deserve under the circumstances.\u00a0 At 9.30 I was woken by the sound of the dishwasher being emptied.\u00a0 Soon there followed the rattle of dominoes – that is what Antonia uses to do her multiplication practice.\u00a0 After that things went quiet.\u00a0 When I woke up again, I was handed a cup of coffee.\u00a0 After a while, I thought I had better turn up downstairs.\u00a0 I found a pristine, brilliantly neat (and illustrated) writing exercise sitting on the table.\u00a0 What a wonderful kid!\u00a0 After that she did some maths and piano practice, while I swallowed coffee.\u00a0 Practically all I had to do is shake myself awake enough for the parts of our reading that I read aloud.<\/p>\n
One of the highlights of homeschooling for me right now is Antonia reading me some of Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories.\u00a0 It’s nice to be hearing something that has some literary value and something that’s new to me (yes, I somehow missed out on these when I was a kid).\u00a0 I’m enjoying the way Kipling plays with words.\u00a0 These stories are just the right level for Antonia.\u00a0 A few longish words that are new to her, but not so many that she loses the flow.\u00a0 From now on, I’m going to try to make an effort to see that the books she reads to me are worth hearing.\u00a0 She can read as much kiddie-lit as likes in her own time.<\/p>\n
Now, she’s gone off swimming with her Dad.\u00a0 Boy, you can really hear the silence.\u00a0 She is brimming over with intellectualism and fine words just now.\u00a0 The other day she said “This talking process is just becoming more and more interesting”!\u00a0 I thought that was wonderful – but it’s a bit intense for a poor old mother who was up to the early hours.\u00a0 Right now, I am supposed to be finishing off some translation work, catching up on a week’s worth of housework, and preparing for an intense weekend of socialisation, starting this evening.\u00a0 In reality, I am sitting in a daze.\u00a0 I have been wondering vaguely for 15 minutes whether more coffee would be a good idea, but I can’t make up my mind as the thought won’t hang around for long enough.<\/p>\n
NB:\u00a0 It would seem that I can write something vaguely resembling a sentence without engaging any long range though processes, wouldn’t it!?\u00a0 Ah, the joys of automated skills.<\/p>\n
P.S.\u00a0 I managed a thought, and it is this:\u00a0 routines work better for some people than other perhaps, but in this case, at this time, a routine empowered a small child to pretty much get through her day by herself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I think I got about 4 hours of sleep last night.\u00a0 I should have tried harder to go back to bed, instead of getting engrossed in a book.\u00a0 I had a much better morning than I deserve under the circumstances.\u00a0 At 9.30 I was woken by the sound of the dishwasher being emptied.\u00a0 Soon there … Continue reading Antonia helped me through the day<\/span>