A green ipad air

We decided that Declan's combination of typing (50 wpm) coding (he is almost all the way through introduction to coding 2) and a great report, meant that he deserved an ipad air. He was very excited last night, and didn't really want to let go of it to get it set up.

Reports

Callum and Declan both brought home their reports this week, and they were excellent. Callum's highlight:

Callum consistently participates enthusiastically in class discussions with intelligent and insightful contributions. He is an absolute joy to teach.

Declan's highlight:

With his genuine love of learning and preference for unusual, original responses, Declan is a decided asset to any class. He is highly regarded by the other students in 5C, who see him as a great role model, an original thinker and a trustworthy confidant. 

Prize

It turned out that Declan got the prize for science at school this year, which he was rightly chuffed by.

The eleventh teddy bear

Declan, as one of his year end craft projects at school had to create a teddy bear (mostly decoration). He chose a Doctor Who theme, and created the eleventh teddy bear. Note the sonic screwdriver, fez, and bow tie.

VIkings at the Maritime Museum

We've been intending to visit the maritime museum to see the Vikings for a while. Callum has been desperately keen to go so he can sneer at their choice to show horned helmets.

So today we were in the right area, with some time, so we decided to check it out. It was excellent (although probably heavier on the reading than seeing magnificent objects), and held all of our interest for an hour and a half or so (Declan had to be dragged away from listening to one of Snorri Sturlson's sagas).

Just for Callum, there was a special exhibit on vikings and horned helmets, showing the cultural evolution of the whole fake idea.

And because it was the maritime museum, there was a replica viking longship at the dock, which we saw arriving just as we got there.

Some interesting trivia: the word for window, in english, is derived from the Norse vindauga, meaning "wind's eye". And the city of York was originally called Jorvik, which sounds much more like the Viking city it once was.

Christmas party

Yesterday we had our annual Christmas party with our friends. The children are growing up fast; it is lucky we have enough space for all of them in our house!

Cal's further wars

I had to go and rescue Cal from school this afternoon. He fell over scraping his face and knee and re-opening the cut on his hand. Much blood; but he was very calm about it all.

Cal's creations

Callum brought home his creations from pottery at school last night. The bird is a penguin pot.

Callum's stitches just before removal

Prize

Nice note home this afternoon advising that Declan is to receive a prize at next week's award ceremony.