Back to work tomorrow
And about time too, I know those of you with non-teaching jobs are thinking!
It's been a lovely break. We had a smashing trip to stay with Neuromancer's parents for a few days, including catching up with her sister and my nephews, and some of the TubaShepherd family; lots of food and drink, swimming, going to the pantomime, food and drink, playing games, lounging around lazily, food and drink, and so forth. I was even talked into doing a 5km run on New Year's Day, and enjoyed the experience.
Katy, inspired by her teacher who runs a Tabletop Games Club, decided that she'd like to take up Role Playing Games as a hobby, and we've played one session of a mini-Traveller adventure so far, with great success. I'm negotiating with parents of her schoolfriends to find a convenient slot for a regular group, which I will run -- systems will be Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, and D&D: 4th edition Essentials. Katy's leisure-time pursuits are now roughly equal quantities of computer games, reading, playing with toys and watching TV, so adding RPGs will make her list pretty much identical with mine from ages 10-18...
Dan has now started his new dance regime, all consolidated to one Saturday morning slot (9.15-11.45 including a 30 minute break.) He loves it, and is hugely looking forward to dancing in his first Ballroom competition (a fortnight today); apparently he's been entered for four different events, but I'll admit to not having a clue how these things work. I think this is about the right level of commitment for a five-year-old (he also does weekly swimming and karate) -- I gather that, if he's still interested then, it's at about age seven when serious dancers step up to doing more than a couple of hours per week (which makes sense, as that's the age when they can start to audition for selective programmes). We popped up to Edinburgh last week for a very fun dance workshop for him, while Katy and I explored the National Museum of Scotland.
We managed to see Gimli and TheRev, plus the twins, when they were up here a few days ago; and we've exchanged boozy-meals-while-the-kids-are-at-a-sleepover with the family of one of K's friends (who conveniently live within walking distance); and today tovaglia and Napkin are visiting! So we're keeping up with the merrymaking all the way to Twelfth Night (and beyond).
It's been a lovely break. We had a smashing trip to stay with Neuromancer's parents for a few days, including catching up with her sister and my nephews, and some of the TubaShepherd family; lots of food and drink, swimming, going to the pantomime, food and drink, playing games, lounging around lazily, food and drink, and so forth. I was even talked into doing a 5km run on New Year's Day, and enjoyed the experience.
Katy, inspired by her teacher who runs a Tabletop Games Club, decided that she'd like to take up Role Playing Games as a hobby, and we've played one session of a mini-Traveller adventure so far, with great success. I'm negotiating with parents of her schoolfriends to find a convenient slot for a regular group, which I will run -- systems will be Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, and D&D: 4th edition Essentials. Katy's leisure-time pursuits are now roughly equal quantities of computer games, reading, playing with toys and watching TV, so adding RPGs will make her list pretty much identical with mine from ages 10-18...
Dan has now started his new dance regime, all consolidated to one Saturday morning slot (9.15-11.45 including a 30 minute break.) He loves it, and is hugely looking forward to dancing in his first Ballroom competition (a fortnight today); apparently he's been entered for four different events, but I'll admit to not having a clue how these things work. I think this is about the right level of commitment for a five-year-old (he also does weekly swimming and karate) -- I gather that, if he's still interested then, it's at about age seven when serious dancers step up to doing more than a couple of hours per week (which makes sense, as that's the age when they can start to audition for selective programmes). We popped up to Edinburgh last week for a very fun dance workshop for him, while Katy and I explored the National Museum of Scotland.
We managed to see Gimli and TheRev, plus the twins, when they were up here a few days ago; and we've exchanged boozy-meals-while-the-kids-are-at-a-sleepover with the family of one of K's friends (who conveniently live within walking distance); and today tovaglia and Napkin are visiting! So we're keeping up with the merrymaking all the way to Twelfth Night (and beyond).