Dragon Pie

This was a much needed quiet day, well, morning. I then had to contend with Meave's dad shouting down the phone about the noise complaints while he was away, and where was the promised letter of explanation, from her?... And then had to have a conversation with DP about what he is going to do about his disciplinary action from work? And then the stove man: concentrating on the intricacies of different kinds of chimney liners and how to get the best out of your multifuel stove was quite hard. Aparently, you should let wood dry out for 2 years. I had decided, whilst staying at a remote house in Swaledale, that I could not live another winter in our house without a fire; central heating just doesn't do it for me. Anyway we had hours of fun, Fugs and I, in the woodshed, sawing and breaking wood and dragging it up to the house on a sledge.

So that was it, really, apart from making Dragon Pie; Fugs cutting a dolly's hair; finding Jem trying to knit with 2 pencils in her bedroom- maybe I should have another go a teaching her! Allie trying to wee on the potty.

Had a couple of phone conversations about computers/ofsted things- trying to find out how the Steiner Kindergarten got round it. Aparently they have a lot of support from the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship and can ask for a sympathetic Ofsted inspector. Still heard nothing but the wind blowing bloody tumbleweed about (sorry, obsession of the week) from the Montessori School about their decision to allow the nursery children aceess to computers, as a result of their Ofsted report. It has just made me more determined that this is all wrong wrong wrong for children of that age. I suppose, when you see it from a Waldorf point of view, as I do, (as I don't think that's something you can ever change your mind about it. I mean once you know something its difficult to unknow it again.) and when you have seen inside the state primary schools, with their interactive whiteboards- that was enough to make me run screaming from state education. I think it was the final straw for me, really. I mean, they hadn't even had a blackboard- too old-fashioned, with all the desks facing one way. I find this all too disturbing- the old-fashioned approach with the modern technology. Well, put like that, it sounds quite good, but some old fashioned things are out dated as we don't think they're good any more, like feeding information to children in the name of education. Yes, I'm ranting again.