A Clucking Good Lego Club!

We are into week three of Lego club and what a great turn out! After the success of week one and the disappointment of week two, the verdict was still out on how today would go. As happens with these things, the first time is quite a novelty and that quickly wears off with people. That was my worry. However things started well when there was a knock on the door at 10.20am. Lego club starts at 10.30am so early arrivers are a good sign! Pretty soon there was a huge pile of shoes and coats stacked up in the hallway! I did a quick count mid way through and numbers matched the first week: fifteen children plus parents. I was pleased! 

There were some familiar faces, which is great to be able to say. I'm starting to learn names too, which for me is as big a challenge as Jenson trying to learn phonics! There were lots of new faces too. I got chatting to a few people and was left feeling humbled and really quite lucky. Quite a few of the children have learning disabilities. Some can't cope with the pressures of mainstream school and some have been ousted by their mainstream school for 'not being suitable'. There are some genuinely horrible stories about how these kids have been let down by a system that is apparently not only victorian in its approach to schooling but also victorian in its attitude towards children. Some of these people have had to home school because there is simply no other option. The irony is that they would now never send their children back to mainstream school for their love of home schooling is so strong. That Jenson is able to socialise with children from difficult backgrounds and facing tough challenges will be credit to him when he's older. I hope it will show him compassion and understanding towards others and an ability to treat all people from all walks of life as equals. It beats the bland and unrealistic social classing that school dictates.  

Today Jenson wasn't feeling sociable. He had isolated himself to a little wooden table with two chairs around it. He had sat his bottom on one and put his Lego tray on the other. That was his way of saying there was no room for anyone else. A little while later and even that wasn't enough. He casually picked up his Lego tray, grabbed a kitchen stool and set up camp in the kitchen, away from the noise and hubbub!

Wren was not in great spirits either. Constantly wanting the TV on and when that was refused pulling the paint out. It's a nice crowd at Lego club. I watched one Mother take time to sit with Wren and help her build a small Lego wall. It was touching and showed the care these people feel towards children.

I've always said how brilliant Lego club is for Jenson in terms of learning to share but equally it's as beneficial for the other children. There was some unrest as it dawned on them that they wouldn't be able to take the model below home with them. A Dad had made it and he was clearly as enthusiastic about Lego as his son! I thought at one point he was going to have a melt down about not being able to take it home with him! Seriously though, the children deserve real credit though. There was very little sulking or grumbling when they were asked to leave it behind, by all accounts, it had been quickly acquired by Jenson anyway! 

Prior to Lego club we had been to see the Chiropractor, or back back doctor as the kids call him! They quite like the back back doctor because there is a friendly skeleton that sits on the wall of the car park and greets us as we pull up! Cue a conversation about bones!

Simon had taken the kids back to Kent for the weekend to see his family, leaving me to catch up on some very overdue work. On returning on Sunday Daddy had apparently promised Jenson another trip to the Lego shop!! Daddy doesn't remember saying this but Jenson does. Obviously with Christmas just around the corner this didn't sit well with either of us, but Jenson wasn't going to let it drop and so you can guess what happens next in the story. Jobs!

After Lego club they both did a super job helping to clean out the chicken house, which was desperately mucky. I was pleased to hear Jenson talk about how good the chicken poo is for the vegetables and that we would be putting it on the compost once we'd finished scooping it all out. Wren wasn't so keen on getting her hands dirty, she was far more interested in picking up the chickens. This is something she used to do a lot of eighteen months ago and I was sad my little chicken wrangler had become scared of them. However, today was a good step forward in the world of Wren as her enthusiasm and confidence clucked it's way back!

After cleaning out the big chickens we moved round to the front to clean out the rabbits and the little chickens. Jenson loved picking some old carrots and feeding them to the bunnies. He commented about how cute they were, which always makes me laugh as he says it in such a feminine voice! 

Eventually we made it to the Lego shop and after 20 minutes or so of important decision making they each chose a very modestly priced item. Wren loves Sylvanian Families so was happy with her £5 purchase and Jenson picked out a Lego dragon that was just about under £10. When we got home he got stuck into it straight away and as usually happens I was the one who ended up making it. Or so I thought. I got Jenson reading the manual and for the first time in the history of our Lego making, he made the whole piece by himself from start to finish. It was a big moment for him. He followed the instructions, was able to read how many pieces were needed for each section and had the dexterity to fit the parts together. Mid way through his energy levels wained and he complained of feeling tired. We'd only been going 20 minutes. I asked him how on earth he coped at school where there was a lot more asked of him. He shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't know. It just made me realise how exhausting he must have found school. The change in hims is remarkable. Even my Chiropractor said today that he could see a change in him. He was actually talking and conversing in a normal voice rather than a high pitched embarrassed shriek. He wasn't fidgety but sat on the chair and watched like a normal human being and we made it out of the waiting room without (barely) any major incident! Home schooling rules.