James is recovering well from his Chicken Pox Virus - only has a couple of scabby spots left.  Also he had sinusy virusy type thing on top of his two types of Pox, but he did really well - especially well as he did not have a seizure - which of course is brilliant.

I did have quite a relaxing time during the first week of his illness (apart from the worry of course, but that never stops no matter how relaxed I am) as he was just too ill to do anything, apart from watch TV, whilst cuddling into me, Mike or his brother or sister - which meant of course that I wasn't running around after him as much as I normally do - he really is like a whirlwind my little boy.

Danny has been to Rugby Camp this week, had a good time, but got sun burnt.

Becky told us a couple of weeks ago that she wanted to be Home Educated again, and after many many discussions with her about it, the decision has been made to Home Educate her again. We have accepted that she is not going back (hurrah) and so our task to start her on the way to studying for exams begins.

I do not really want to say much on here about the reasons behind her decision, as my son is still at the school, and I am not sure where I stand if I go into to much detail about the school itself, but she said in simple terms that she liked being HE'd before, she wanted to try School for a year, she has done this, and out of the two she prefers to be Home Educated, and as long as we are OK with this, this is what she would like to do.  She wants to be a Nurse, and has already researched what qualifications she needs and what she would have to do at college. 

We are happy with her decision.

Danny is actually looking forward to going back, probably because he gets to play Rugby and Football every day in the breaks with his mates.

Of course little James will continue to be Home Educated, in the laid back, unschooling, Child Led way which worked so well with my eldest two.

Have to say how well Becky did at school, and she ended up being put in the top sets for Maths and English, and exceeded her target level for most of her subjects.

Also to mention that she has grown again during the summer and is now 5ft 10 - 3 inches taller than me! 
And gorgeous.

What have we been doing:-

Got in to see Exeter Chiefs - cheap tickets for a pre-season friendly, so Mike and I took Danny and James, all for under £20.  Funny that Becky didn't want to come as well.

Next day we used up our Tesco Clubcard Reward Tokens and went to Exmoor Zoo

Weather has still been mainly grotty, but we did have a day of sunshine.  So blackberry picking in the garden,  afterwards Becky and James made Blackberry Crumble, then  a trip to the park and a splash in the pool. 



Other news

Mike has got a new job - starts in a few weeks as a Health Care Assistant - much better hours and more suited to him.

He has had this week off and has been working really hard on the house.  Now we are staying here we are tyring to do the best that we can to repair and re-decorate where necessary.

Off now to search for worksheets for Becky, look at study guides, GCSE costs etc - and so it begins again :-)