Temporary Homeschooling

Stegen started work on Tuesday and even though it's only a 5 minute walk away, reality has really sunk in with him gone. Before he started, there were challenges to our move, but it still felt like we were just on one of our annual family vacations. Now that he's at work, the kids and I have had to readjust and figure out what to fill our days with. 

We found the park from the previous post and have been regular visitors, but we're always at the mercy of the rain. Since there have only been two clear days since our arrival, we've had to find other ways to entertain ourselves indoors without staring at the telly all day. Instead, they're staring at other devices...but I'm trying to keep it educational! We started a schedule of Starfall reading work and math worksheets for Audrey and Dorian plays with his Bob Books games on the iPad. "Homeschooling" is a lot harder than I thought!

We've also been keeping busy with some FaceTime visits with Uncle Sean. There was quite a commotion when we got him on the phone...I think the kids miss the family back home.

Today we had an appointment to visit one of the schools that we'd like for Audrey to attend. Holyport Church of England Primary School has really good ratings and after our visit with a tour guided by two Year 4 (3rd grade) students, we could definitely see why. The school was extremely organized (love it) and the students were all well-behaved and engaged. 

The Head Teacher was very sweet and when I told Audrey that they have a sewing club (if you've chatted with her recently, you'd know that she's been on a sewing kick for some reason), she was SOLD! The problem is that they only have one spot left in their Year 1 class and can't take an application from us until we have a permanent address. I hope no one else applies between now and Tuesday!

In other news, I finally figured out how to use the towel radiators that you find in homes around the UK. Now that we've switched them on, we never want to live without one! I'm sure our energy bill will be through the roof, but who cares?! We have toasty, warm towels everytime we shower! In a country where the temperature rarely rises enough for anything to fully air-dry, these are the best invention...ever.

ooohhh...aaaaahhhhhh

Well, TGIF (seriously)! We're hoping that the weather is pleasant this weekend so that we can hop on the train and head into London city center. I'm personally looking forward to seeing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace!