Don't be fobbed off - teachers DON'T always know best.

About 10 or so years ago I was told by my two's primary school teachers that a) D needed to write more, that he was bright enough but letting himself down by not writing enough, possibly lazy, and b) K was a daydreamer who could write more if she didn't spend so much time staring into space.  Both kids were working at above 75% of the rest of the class so there was NO possibility of any special needs - ok, so you can see where this is going, eh.

Fast forward to 5 years or so ago, and after a year or two of home educating one or both of them the penny dropped that all wasn't well.  I had many rows with D about his 'laziness'.  In the end I took my concerns to my GP who referred us on to the community paediatrician - who complained that he was 'too old'.  Maybe if school had said that things needed investigating then we would have been there years earlier, but hey I'm only a parent who expected the school to KNOW if things were a bit off.

D ended up with a diagnosis of dyspraxia (general motor clumsiness) and dysgraphia (issues with the mechanics of writing).  We've since added some dyslexia to the mix as his spelling and pronunciation can be interesting/unique.  He's happy as he has an Educational Psychologist (EP) report giving him permission to use a laptop in class and exams plus 25% extra time in exams.

K can be quite jealous of D getting my attention so at the time all his diagnostic work was going on I got a book out the library and read out some of the possible SpLD (Specific Learning Difficulties - not to be confused with learning disabilities) that were going on with him to help her understand why he needed my attention at that time.  At one point I read out about Irlen Syndrome - where the written word flies around the page, rather than keeping still - and she said "You mean, writing doesn't fly around the page for you?"  The poor girl thought it was normal for this to happen so, of course, she'd never mentioned it.  Cue a visit to the optician for some colorimetry testing (using different colour lenses till you find out which colour makes the writing stay still) and £100+ for the right pair of glasses.  Not long after, I took her out of school as she wasn't coping with changing classrooms and the work load.

K has always been 'different'.  Even now I'm not sure which planet she's on but it's not always this one.  Her take on reality is not typical either but she tries hard to stay in this one - when it becomes too much, look out!  Anyway, K found cursive writing too hard.  All those flicks and ticks to get in the right place, especially when you have to work out how to join it to the next letter in the word.  So, once she was out of school, I 'made' her print instead.  She was much happier, and even more so when I passed her my laptop and told her to do it that way.  She thought we were cheating till I told her I'd rather she'd be able to edit it till it looked right without any 'messy' comments that her teachers were happily doling out.  Besides, who'd know.  Plus her confidence needed a boost, and the ability to produce good, neat work was important to us all.

K also qualified for 25% extra time and the use of a PC/laptop in exams.  This enabled her to get a C at Cambridge IGCSE English (similar to the old English Language O-Level in content) a year early.  I only entered her to give her a taste of what was required.  We were all gobsmacked with her result.  By 16 she had added Edexcel IGCSE Chemistry (C), Edexcel GCSE Maths (A) and OCR GCSE Biology (C) to her tally and off she went to college, full of nerves (lots of people) and high expectations (AS's in Double Science, Philosophy and ICT).  She soon made friends and her confidence and self-esteem grew.

I'd pre-warned the college's Learning Support Unit (LSU) as to what to expect.  They were willing to help her with support in and out the classroom, essay writing workshops, etc.  Unfortunately K decided that she was fine and didn't need the help.  In January K had a full EP assessment done which she told me suggested dyslexia and dyspraxia - no mention of the Asperger Syndrome which I suspected might be in there somewhere.  At parents evening her teachers gave me the impression that whilst she wasn't A grade material, she wasn't totally useless either.  Unfortunately her AS results brought her crashing down to Earth big time (an E and 2 U's).

So I have spent the last week holding her and drying her tears.  She was ready to quit college because she was stupid (something I hadn't heard in a while).  To be honest I was very worried about her, hence another reason it has been quiet on here.  On Tuesday of this week she had her course choice morning at college.  Whilst she was in the hall having some lecture or other (Welcome back, here's how to fill in your UCAS stuff, etc) I collared the head of LSU and asked if I could see K's EP report as I hadn't had a copy.  She said that Kshould have had a copy to give me but for whatever reason I never saw it.  Anyway, we sat and went through it (I have my copy now) and it was a real eye opener.  K's verbal and non-verbal skills are up above 90% (as in 90% of people her age are equal or worse than her).  Her processing skills (as in what her brain does with the information she reads/hears) is 2% (as in 98% of people her age are better than her at processing the information).  That is one hell of a discrepancy - in fact, less than 1% of the population would have this size defecit.  Bl**dy H*ll!!!

It's no wonder she made such a bad job of her exams.  To be fair to the college the LSU are not allowed to frogmarch needy students into extra support, unlike at school where they can (but getting them to admit there's a problem in the first place is damn near impossible if you're smart with it).  As it was explained to me recently, if you are predicted C's then schools won't bother as you're hitting the league table requirement.  It's only if you are predicted D's/high E's will they make an effort to boost you to the magic C and that all important tick in the 5 A* - C box in the charts.

We are currently researching assistive software/hardware that will enable K to get the most from her next 2 years at college.  She needs something(s) to help her organise her written work (intro, middle, end), take notes in class (dictaphone, pre-made notes from the teacher, notetaker in class), make sure she has correctly interpreted what she is supposed to be doing (class assistant, follow-up in LSU), and honest feedback from her class teachers instead of "oh, she's lovely".  K has totally changed her courses.  Now she is doing a Level 3 BTEC in IT (continuous assessments that she can re-write to improve) and AS Photography (she's decent with a camera but time will tell whether she's arty-farty enough).  Both teachers are aware of her individual needs - one of the teachers is dyslexic too so says she understands (we'll see) - so I'm hoping that things will be better.

The college has a policy that for each subject you drop you have to replace it.  The double award Applied Science counts as 2 courses so she was expected to replace it with 2 new AS's.  The head of LSU and I both agreed that, for K, this was NOT an option.  The head of LSU said that if the curriculum management team wouldn't budge then she would play the disability discrimination card and to send them to her if they were awkward.  Needless to say, all is now well for K and she has replaced 4 AS's with the equivalent of 3 AS's plus plenty of time in the LSU for dyslexia assistance/confidence building/essay skills/show us what you're doing and we'll make sure you're on the right path help/etc.

The EP report suggests possible assistive stuff and we are looking to try before we buy.  I'm also hoping the LSU might have some to play with.  Now I've had time to digest the report I'll be contacting the head of LSU to see if I can get an appointment for a week on Tuesday (K has to go in to get her bus pass/timetable/etc) so that we can start the ball rolling on some of this stuff.  I've looked it up on the internet and some of it seems a very good idea - shame it's so darned pricey, which is why I want to get K to try it first.  If it really is going to benefit her she can have it, I'll make the necessary sacrifices, but I'm not forking out hundreds of pounds to find it doesn't help her.

So ladies and gentlemen, should you find yourself in the position I found myself in all those years ago - kids aren't producing the work at an appropriate level/volume but are very clever and therefore can't possibly have special needs (according to the teachers) - make sure you get them assessed.  Fight the school, LA, go to your GP.  Whatever you do, don't think that the teachers know what they're talking about.

I feel that, in a way, I wasted the 4 years K was home educated as I didn't push a lot of dyslexia therapy at her.  With D, all he needed was an alternative recording method (typing) and he was able to play on a level field.  With K, she needed more and I missed it!  Don't let guilt get you.

Doing too much, and other interesting insights

Maybe I was trying to do exactly that.  Needless to say, thanks to a good chat with hubby, things are a-changing.  I am reducing my hours at work down to 3 days and, once the exam is done (this coming Tuesday), 2 weekdays at home.  This gives me a 4 day 'weekend' to get caught up on all the chores.  It also means a return to some lovely home-cooked-from-scratch dinners.  And I'll have more time to catch up with friends.  And I might be able to find the time to keep this blog up, instead of letting it drift like I have for the past few months. 

You see, there was a rumour at work that my services would be required up to September and there's no way I can let my outstanding 'big' chores list (total spring clean, decorating, etc) go on till then.  So tomorrow, for the first time in many months, I will NOT be going shopping tomorrow (Saturday).  I've never liked doing that - too many people.  So I'll start going on Mondays (or Tuesdays).  I might even stop feeling guilty for having a lie in at the weekends.

I've also decided to stop job-hunting.  It's soul-destroying to get no joy.  I've had 2 interviews this year out of nearly 50 job applications.  Once the economy picks up, and there's not so much competition, I'll try again.

I have enjoyed my time at college and I'd like to do the Level 3 course at some point in the future.  However, I think I'd like a job in that field so that I can have some experience of what I'll be learning.  Plus the distance learning version will set me back about £800, once you've allowed for things like books, exam fees, AAT annual fees, etc, etc, etc.  Makes you wonder what you're paying the course fee of £670 for, doesn't it?! (Yes, the £800 includes this £670).  For a mere £650 I can go back to the Open University and do the next course on my list - M208 Pure Maths.  No extra fees (apart from posting some tutor-marked-assignments back).  Plus I LOVE pure maths. 

Right now I want to spend the next 6 years or so finishing my Maths degree.  The only issue is, what do I do with it?  Most people assume I'll go into teaching.  Not a hope!  I'd rather go into a research role - being left alone to discover new and wonderful things in the world of numbers.  Not much money in that, though, but a heck of a lot of job satisfaction, not to mention the absolute delight at going to work each day.

Anyone want a middle-aged, enthusiastic, willing to learn, number cruncher?

Getting on with things

Just a quick post to let all my loyal followers - there's more than two of you, right? - know that I'm still alive.  I've not fallen out with anyone; it's just the job agency I'm registered with (for temping) has suddenly decided I'm a useful asset.  Therefore what starts out as a fairly low key week rapidly turns into a mad dash between contracts.

I love it!  So if I'm overdue a visit to you I apologise profusely.  You're on my list of things to do, honest.  Alongside revise for up and coming AAT exams, get stuck into some of the tedious but essential NVQ stuff associated with this course, give my CV the WOW!!! factor, housework (again, tedious but essential), sorting out who owes what at the home ed group (and finding the time to remind them - work keeps getting in the way), and sorting out the last few items of clothing for K's half-term ski trip to Austria with Explorers.  And if I'm really lucky I might find time to move this blog to Wordpress.  It takes a lot of setting up - for technonumpty me - but the usability is a lot of fun.  It took me all afternoon (at the weekend) to get the Running From Trouble blog set up, and 10 seconds to copy across all the posts from the blogspot version.

So if you see a demented woman, running between Fareham and Whiteley with a manic look in her eyes, it'll be me.

PS  Jill, the jacket is great!  Perfect image of the business woman.

Making friends, or my reputation precedes me

Last Monday saw the first exam of my AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) course.  It was a 4 hour paper.  I finished it in about 2, and that was including a quick tea break to give the brain a rest.  Gemma (afternoon tutor) wondered why I was loitering outside the classroom at lunchtime - I was talking to a fellow student - and then asked if I'd finished.  I gave her my best 'Roger Moore' eyebrow and said "You really have to ask that?"

Today was the second paper (Unit 4), a 3 or 4 hour paper.  I cracked it (I think, I hope) in an hour flat.  Jim (morning tutor) asked me what took me so long.  The rest of the class raised eyebrows/smiled/said enjoy the rest of the day.

Before leaving Jim wanted to go through last week's paper.  He said he got sick of writing the same comment next to each question (good job, sort of thing) so left them blank.  I managed to get 2 answers wrong on the legal/technical questions in the back but that was about it.  We haven't officially been taught that stuff yet so I'm not concerned.  Hopefully I'll find out in the next few days if I've made any howlers today.

I've always been quick with exams, with one or two notable exceptions (like when I make a huge horlicks of it).  

The boy finally did it

On attempt number 2, D has passed his driving test (yesterday).  I've notified the insurance company, who don't offer no claims bonus building for additional drivers so will not be getting my renewal come November 14th.  Now I need to find some 'P' plates that are magnetic like his 'L' plates were.

Gonna have to share my car now.

The future's bright.......

...... the future's mine for the taking.

I blame Ros - yes Ros, if you're reading this, I know I'm not allowed to really.  Ros is someone I've known on and off for a few years.  She is a life coach, amongst other things, and she offered me some sessions as I was at a crossroads in life (no more HE) and not sure which way to go.  Thanks to Ros and her probing questions I now know exactly what I want and, thanks to research and Gemma (one of my AAT tutors) I know how to get there.  Blood, sweat and probably tears appear large in the next 5 years or so but, oh my, it will be worth it.

You see, many years ago I started an Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Level 2 course.  Unfortunately life, and moving house/counties, got in the way and I didn't finish it.  Years passed and I was quite happy as a stay-at-home-mum, then home education (HE) became our way of life so working outside the home became awkward.  So this August I took the plunge and re-signed on to the Level 2 course, now run as an NVQ award (sheesh!!!) with the intent that I would earn a few pennies playing with numbers - and I adore maths so numbers don't scare me. 

So, the AAT run three levels of courses (2, 3 & 4), after which you can either a) go on to university and do whatever else needs to be done to get an accounting degree (the AAT courses mean you don't have to do all the years), or b) get a job at some point during your AAT studies and hopefully your employer will encourage you - and fund - the rest of your AAT studies as well as your Chartered Accountant/Management Accountant studies.  All in all option b), the one I shall be following, should take 5 years or so.  After that, and a few years experience, I have been told by Gemma that Financial Accountants can earn £120 per hour, and Management Accountants can earn £160 per hour!!!!!  Not being the totally greedy type (yeah, right) I've kind of decided to go for the £120 per hour job.

Financial Accountants deal with what has happened - they have a paper trail to build a picture of how the business has been doing in previous years.  Management Accountants deal with the future - crystal ball accounting if you will - projected profit and loss over the next few years, likely investment required, income/expenditure forecasts.  Hence the higher pay packet.

Ros's life coaching has helped me realise that I am money-oriented.  Reward me enough and I will work like a slave.  Also I value financial freedom (don't we all, I suppose).  I like the idea of being able to afford the nicer things in life - not necessarily being able to afford everything (that's no fun), but certainly a decent standard of living - including a nice home in a very rural setting with a pool and several acres between me and the neighbours, oh and a Ferrari 430 of my very own.  Yes, a lot of it is probably pie in the sky but if you don't dream you can't set yourself a goal.  I'm also concerned that A's health may be a factor in how long he works before retiring - he already has achy joints (arthritis runs in his family) and a back problem - so I want to be in an earning position so that if he has to cut his hours or stop working completely I can take up the slack.

And besides, the way this government has cocked things up and put the country in a mountain of debt that will take years to clear (don't get me started on borrowing to make up a shortfall) I don't want to rely on the state pension provision.  I want to be able to retire when I'm ready, not when some faceless bureaucrat in Whitehall decides I can.

So, watch this space, this girl is going somewhere!

Clever child - part 3

Now it's K's turn.

We spent a chaotic day last Thursday running around Hampshire, rounding up results from 2 different exam centres. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem but, as you'll read in the next post, I had other things that I really needed to be doing.

First to Portsmouth to meet a friend outside a private school that allowed our Home Education group to enter Maths GCSE private candidates. Friend went in to collect the envelopes whilst those of us who'd made the trek waited nervously outside. Not sure who was worse, us mums or the kids. Good news!!! K got an A!!

Then off to Hilsea to another friend to get a haircut - am now sporting a quite short 'do'. No more hair in food - other than what falls out naturally while I am cooking.

Then we called in at Cosham Tesco to grab sandwiches and drinks from the chiller - not the best form of nourishment but it's not something we make a habit of. Then into their Krispy Kreme outlet for some donuts to take home.

Then calling near home to drop D off so he could go to Iceland and get some frozen chicken for tea, and he walked home from there.

Then it was off to Southampton, right in the centre, to fetch K's ICGSE Chemistry results - IGCSE is international GCSE, a little harder than GCSE and a 'no coursework' option. This was the make-or-break result. Her college courses depended on her getting a C or better. So our nerves were stretched near to breaking point.

AND SHE DID IT, SHE GOT HER C!!!!!!! K was leaping around, squeaking, and nearly in tears of relief. I was numb, also with relief. Remember, I was marking her mocks and I could see how she struggled to remember the facts. I was not convinced she would get the grade. Once again she proved me wrong (she got a C in English last year when I predicted an E). She has been gracious enough NOT to rub my nose in it.


So tomorrow we are off to her chosen college to present her grades and confirm her courses for the coming year.

Clever child - part 2

Yesterday was AS results day. D drove to college, me being on strict ankle rest (ha ha ha). He got the grades we expected, B in Chemistry and Geology, and C in Computing. Now he has to decide whether he wants to continue with Computing or start a new course. You see, he has a bit of an attitude problem with his teachers (a little knowledge is a dangerous thing type of attitude) and he doesn't really enjoy the theory side - programming is fine - so he'd like to find a different course. Unfortunately there isn't much choice - can you see him doing AS English (ROFLOL) - so he may have to swallow it and behave.

BTW, he has his driving test on 10th September. Clear the roads in the afternoon - you have been warned!

Clever child part 1

Part 1 because AS/GCSE results come out towards the end of August.

D passed his driving theory test today! And once again I didn't see much evidence of revision. Next in line is the practical test - not sure when but he's not far off ready.

Then he can taxi himself to all his social events in the evening, as long as I'm not working.

Long time, no write

I've been too busy living life to write about it.

The job-hunting front is a 'bad' topic. A says I can go to college and get some qualifications if I can decide what I want to do. Unfortunately I CAN'T decide. Do I get some proper office qualies or do I do something different? Decisions, decisions! For now we have decided that I should do some voluntary work. It'll give me some current references and experience, just no pay. But, you never know it might morph into a real job.

A has got his hayfever/snuffly sinus allergies under reasonable control. He's been taking Hayleve (cheap OTC remedy) and it seems to be working. Fingers crossed for tonight as we are going to try sharing a bed, something that's not happened regularly for the better part of 7 years or more. You see, he snores. It's loud enough that if he goes up for a nap during the day I can hear him over the tv. No amount of prodding or changing of position helps. None of these anti-snore devices make a difference either. So we have separate rooms on different floors of the house (with an old external wall between us), otherwise we'd probably be divorced by now. He wants to take me away for our wedding anniversary this year (20 years) so we have to start being able to share a room first.

K is a clever girl. She has just got the results from her latest Maths module exams in March, an A in each paper - 50/60 in the multichoice and 52/60 in the structured. I am so proud of her as she doesn't really like the subject. She's refusing to study it at AS level yet it will probably be the best of her GCSE grades. She's off on a sleepover tomorrow night.

D is considering his university choices for September 2010. D & I have spent 4 days this week visiting Aberdeen and St Andrew's. Don't think Scotland likes us though as it was sunny when we arrived and sunny when we left but cold, wet, and/or foggy for the rest of the time. These visits also raised as many questions as they answered. Yes, he'd be quite happy going to either of them but, thanks to St Andrew's, he might also want to do a single honours in Chemistry rather than a joint honours in Geology and Chemistry. Cue more soul searching and changing of minds. He has been trying to make his mind up between Oxford and Cambridge too. Both do interesting courses but their entry requirements might be a bit too much. The silly boy didn't revise for his January modules and got high Bs. Just got to hope that he works hard enough to turn those into As in summer.

As for me, I survived the Scotland sojourn. D might not be as bad as his Dad for snoring but he's certainly in training. I've finished my 'medical microwave' sessions for this year. Of course since then I've had minimal opportunity to keep topping up in sunny weather! D & I played golf at St Andrew's - there's a pitch & putt right next to the 18th fairway on the Old Course. You just have to, don't you. I won by one hole!!!!!

There, I'm more or less up to date again. No more moaning when you see me.

The boy done good

Today D got the results from the AS modules in January - both Grade Bs (Chemistry and Geology). Then he told me that if he'd actually done any revision he might well have got As.

Sigh!!!!!

College Interviews - round 2

This time last year D was having interviews to choose where he wanted to go to college. He happily settled on the one that was the furthest from home but, as they had let him in to do Adult Education 2 years too early, I was ok with that.

This year it is K's turn. Yesterday she had an interview at D's college. They were quite rigid in their requirements that K would need 5 GCSEs to do A-levels or she would have to do a BTEC instead. Neither option really appealed to us. If she opted for another GCSE then she would have to get the coursework in by February as well as working like a slave to get the syllabus covered. If she opted to do an IGCSE instead (no coursework) then she would have to be ready to sit the exam during April/May. Again, these courses are supposed to be for 2 years so the workload would be crazy. K had it in her head that somehow BTECs were second-rate compared to A-levels and didn't want to do it. You know how intractable she can be about some things.

Today we went to a different college, one that was at the top of her list to go to. They were more than happy to let her do her choice of A-levels as long as she got at least Grade Cs in her GCSEs/IGCSEs. She has already passed 2 of them so it should be fairly easy for her to meet this requirement. K has now decided that she is definitely going here and can't wait for September.

At last!

Amazing what can happen in 24 hours. D has come home today with all the bumpf needed to do Stats 2 in Further Maths! Now all he has to do is get on with it, which shouldn't be an issue.

Yesterday he sat in on an AS Geology class. He sorted it out himself with the teacher, and is going to sit in on a couple more before getting it added to his timetable.

Today he received a letter from college - no, it doesn't make sense to me either seeing as he's there all day - asking him to attend ICT Key Skills workshops to work towards Level 2. Umm, the boy is studying A-Level Computing. I hardly think that his ability to file handle and make Office do its thing is going to be sorely tested here. This is the boy who, at 6 years old, was rescuing his primary school teacher's files and folders from wherever she'd hidden them on the class PC. Ah well, the hoops we have to jump through just so the boxes can be ticked.

As a total aside to all this, my daughter loves me! What did I do to bring this about? I made lasagne for tea, a whole load of it. Then she promptly invited a friend over to help make a big dent in my hoped for freezer supplies. Now A will be taking some to work tomorrow for his lunch so I may be lucky to get 3 portions frozen. Not bad for 3lbs of mince ;-)

What would you do

D has settled well into college. So far the work isn't stretching him and he is considering adding AS Geology to his timetable. Our biggest gripe is that he hasn't had a Further Maths lesson yet.

Why? Well it seems that the first module they do for the AS is Statistics 1. D has done this, and passed with an A, for his A2 Maths (Maths and Further Maths are two different courses, although the modules available are interchangeable). Now college have known he would be starting full-time there since November. They knew in February/March that he would be sitting the Stats 1 module in June. They've known since the middle of August that he got an A. They've known since 29th August exactly what his finalised course choices are. YET THEY HAVE YET TO DECIDE WHAT MODULE HE CAN STUDY INSTEAD!!!! They don't want to have this issue next year for the A2 so they need to decide what they will be teaching next year so that D can choose something else instead. Wouldn't you be a bit peeved that here we are two weeks into the year and he still has to do any maths?

I've told D that when he sees his tutor, who happens to be his Further Maths teacher, on Wednesday he is to tell him to sort it or I will lose patience and be in to see him - and that it won't be pretty if I do.

Tigger is still in da house!

A lot has happened since my last post. I went back up to Nottingham to finish FIL's front room, so that was me absent Friday - Tuesday. K came with me and we had a great time.

On the Thursday before we left we all went to college to collect D's A-level Maths result. My 16 year old boy got a Grade B! Despite getting an E in one module! Is he satisfied? Is he heck! He wants a Grade A. To be fair all the universities he'd like to go to want an A so he really should try again on a couple of modules.

Today we went into Portsmouth to pick up D and K's GCSE results. D got a Grade D in Geography. He's a bit disappointed but didn't really like the subject so is not too upset. Hopefully college won't hold it against him - bet there aren't many students doing 3/4 A-levels with only 3 A* - C GCSEs. K got a Grade C in Biology. She was quite upset as she was hoping for a B. So she is planning to resit over the next year. If she wants to do A-level Biology she needs the B.

All in all not a bad haul for them. K has proved she CAN cope with exam pressures and do a sterling effort into the bargain - something I didn't think would happen this side of college.

Looks like Home Education hasn't done them any harm.

Tigger is in da house!

The last week or so has been spent in nervous anticipation of when the IGCSE results would be published. They usually come out earlier than A-Levels and GCSEs. The I stands for International. These are the exams sat by other countries or private schools. As far as I know state schools are not allowed to offer them, which is a shame as most are quite a bit more rigorous than their GCSE counterparts. If you're interested in reading more try http://www.cie.org.uk/qualifications (IGCSE is listed in the 'Popular Qualifications' box on the left) or http://www.edexcel-international.org/home and click on qualifications. Scroll down the list on the left-hand side and click on IGCSE. Finding somewhere to sit the exams can be quite tricky but we found somewhere in Bristol willing to support my two with extra time and PC access (all signed for by Educational Psychologists).

Anway, back to the story. The nice man from the Exam Centre phoned this afternoon to say the results were available. Both D and K got grade Cs!!!!!! D entered the Extended Tier (Higher Tier equivalent). He needed a C or better to avoid all that English Lit. stuff at college for the next year or so. K entered just to see what it was like and she did the Core Tier (Foundation Tier equivalent). Grade C is the highest grade on that tier. She ran round the house crying and squealing "I got a C!" with a grin a mile wide all at the same time. (I've checked the windows and none of them have shattered).

A & I are a complex mix of relief (at D's), shock (at K's) and joy (for both of them). We promised D a meal out if he passed so we're heading for the Indian buffet restaurant on Thursday evening for a fixed price pig out! FIL is staying for a few days and he is just as chuffed as we are.

For those of you who don't know D & K, a grade C is one heck of an achievement for them. D has always hated writing and creative writing in particular. His school books (from when he went to school) were full of comments along the lines of "Scruffy work. Be neater next time." to "Lazy boy! I know you can do better than this!". Hence his hatred of the subject was very well entrenched. He didn't do any formal English for nearly 2 years after leaving school. In that time we found that his handwriting speed was appalling (4 words per minute average) but his typing speed was better (14 words per minute). He still balked at creative writing. Thanks to the care, talents and, above all, patience of three ladies at our local HE group he learnt the tricks needed to get the marks. By Easter his essays had much improved and I dared to hope he could get a C. He did!

K has issues with understanding and using language, particularly when she has to assimilate a lot of it at once. She doesn't qualify for a diagnosis of semantic/pragmatic language disorder but certainly exhibits some traits. We entered her this year (a year early, she's not 15 till tomorrow) just to see how she would do and to give her a taste of what the English exam is like. She didn't attend half the lessons that D did at our local group as she found the workload too much. However one of the Mums said she would mark any work that K did out of the text books. I wasn't allowed to see any of it! Obviously this was the way to go.

So we are all bouncing off the walls like Tigger!

This week's round-up

I thought I'd write one long post instead of several smaller ones.

D's last GCSE exam was on Thursday afternoon. Technically he is now finished with compulsory education, even though the official leaving date for Yr 11's is 30th June. He's planning to spend the next 3 months being lazy - apart from the two weeks work experience next month - but he can plan again. I've told him that he is going to be improving his domestic science skills.

Sea Scouts had invited D along last night to give it a go. I must stop calling it sea scouts though as it's really Explorers. During the day K decided she'd like to try to, so at 6.15 yesterday evening we were down at the quayside. I introduced the kids to one of the organisers and that was the last I had to do with it till they came back at 8.15 ish. K was ecstatic - she'd been allowed to helm the boat - and had a dreamy expression on her face. D came back with a broad grin. Malcolm (organiser) had taken them out in a Wayfarer and introduced them to the art of sails and rudder - many thanks Malcolm. K accidentally crashed into a wooden piling but blamed the boys for not telling her it was there. No damage was done. They both can't wait till next Friday evening.

The results of my patch-testing were a bit of an anti-climax. I reacted quite well to balsam of peru - no I'd never heard of it either - and fragrances. The suncream set were normal! So it seems I can slap it on with gay abandon, making sure it is fragrance-free - no more tacky coconut-smelling gunk. This morning I took the dog a walk and slapped some suncream on my face and arms. So far, so good. No redness, itching, runny eyes. Yet this same product (as in it's the same tube) made my face go all hot and red last year. Confused? Yeah, me too.

I have an appointment for January to see Mr Arden-Jones, my wonderful dermatologist, to schedule another session of 'medical microwaving'. A and I have discussed this and decided that, for now, the benefits outweigh the risks. I get a P(M)LE rash every year but I may never get malignant melanoma, even though my chances are somewhere around 1-30 to 1-40. Apart from a little outbreak in May my rash is behaving itself quite nicely this year. You watch, now I've jinxed msyelf and will look like a bad measles outbreak till October.

Almost forgot to tell you about the compliment I was paid by friends on Thursday. Bearing in mind my skin issues, particularly on my face, and the fact that only use water on it - no make-up, no cleanse/tone/moisturise - I was pleasantly surprised to be told my skin is looking really good. Apparently I am glowing with health and they can tell I've lost weight.

One down, one to go

My little boy, D, sat his last GCSE this afternoon. He's now technically finished compulsory education, though the official finishing date for Yr 11s is 30th June.

I've already warned him that although he has no studying to do, he needn't think he's lying in bed till lunchtime or playing on the computer all day. I'd like to be kept in chocolate brownies and muffins, he can help in the garden and do chores, oh and he can keep dipping into the relevant A-level books on the shelf in the dining room. And if he can find himself paid employment he's excused all of the above.

Evil? Moi?

If you asked D how he thought the Home Education had gone for the past 4 years and whether it was worth it, you'd get a resounding yes! He's a happy soul and ready to face whatever the world throws at him. Tomorrow he's going to Explorers (Sea Scouts for older kids) and is planning, subject to him earning the money, some sailing holidays in the next 12 months - without parents.

Change of plans

Tomorrow I should be going up to Nottingham for the 25th anniversary of leaving school. A was going to take the kids to Bristol for their English exam. Instead I'll be doing Bristol and not going to the party.

Why? Well I'll have to take Scooby with me and although he travels well he doesn't like staying away overnight. In fact he's ready to come home half an hour after we get there. It doesn't take long for him to stop eating properly. As most of his pills need food/are served with food, he needs to eat. Also the cost of petrol these days is getting silly. And K is sitting her first proper exam tomorrow and is quite likely to need lots of emotional support. A can do it but he's not as intuitive. So, my job is to be here.

Exam season

Today was the first of the exams for my two. D was well-prepared for it, having scored 92%+ in all his practice papers. He came out of it quite unfazed. He said he found a couple of bits slightly difficult but once he'd worked out what it was asking him it was easy enough.

He resat his C1 module from AS maths. He sat it the first time in January 07 and got a C. This was his first AS paper and he didn't do much revision. Yes I nagged but got nowhere so left him to sink or swim. By his standards he sank. Since then he has revised well for each module and done plenty of practice papers.

He needs a grade A overall (AS + A2) to do a Maths and Computing degree. Fingers crossed he does as well as expected in C4 and S1 in the next few weeks. He should, as he is getting 90%+ in practice.

Tomorrow is the dreaded English IGCSE. I'm expecting D to get a B or C. I think K will probably get an E. She can always resit - she is a year younger than her brother so there is no rush and no panic.