FAMILY COMINGS AND GOINGS

Iain is back from his sailing trip and so that is us getting back to our normal routine. The weather was really very poor for their trip but they managed to get some sailing done: Oban - Mull - Lismore and back to Oban. Seol na Mara is still in the boatyard at Lagavulin waiting for someone to check the keel bolts after her close encounter with a rock 3 weeks ago.

While he was away I was happily occupied in various activities with the children.

Ishie is going to start school this August! She will be 5 years old at the end of December so is included in this year's school intake. Arrangements were made for the pre-schoolers to go to their new school for orientation. So here is Ishie on the day of her visit for the Teddy Bear's Picnic (held in the school hall).

She said she enjoyed the day and that "Teddy didn't want to go home"!

I went with her for her second visit, a week later. Here the children went to another room while the headmistress gave a PowerPoint presentation about the school and its aims. Then 15 minutes was spent on an exercise for the parents which was to illustrate what is like to learn to read when all the letters are new and strange.

It was very well done! Little booklets were given out. Each page had a cartoon and under each picture were, not alphabetical letters, but rather what I would call 'wingdings', i.e. web symbols to 'spell' the words relating to the text.

I had a chance to browse through the books which are to be used for learning to read. They are called the Oxford Reading Tree and are published by Oxford University Press. Apparently they are used all over Scotland.

Now that I know what is planned I should be able to pick up odd books in the charity shops for top-up reading when the time comes.

Meanwhile Alastair is having to learn to wave good-bye to Ishie. This is proving a bit hard as they pretty well do everything together. (We have to remember that it must be a bit like being a twin as they are so close in age!) Of course, he is his own wee person ... here he is sitting in the log basket in the living room munching on a Jacob's Cream Cracker.