Goodliz

midivydale, the day is very much structured with their age group in mind. For example: -lots of moving round - Outdoor play - carpet time -story time - separate play times for the little ones and usually earlier lunch too. The first week usually consists of shorter days in order to ease them in gently. The teachers, TAs and other staff are experts at dealing with the children and I'm sure your son will have a super time. With regards to things to help him perhaps some activity books that encourage them to write over letters and numbers and make shapes as it all helps with co-ordination and pencil grip. Verbally sequencing things like days of the week. Alphabet. Counting. You probably do all that anyway. Sorry I'm on my lunch so rushing back now. I'm sure lots of other people will come on and reassure you and give you some ideas.

Thanks lorraineliyanage and DulwichBorn&Bred I will look into these.

Hello, my year 7 son gets really stressed over drawing pictures. This is getting to be a bit of a problem as now he is in year 7 he often has to draw for parts of his homework. He won't let me help him as gets himself into a right state as he just finds drawing really difficult. I am not very good at art and I try and get him to try stuff on you tube with me or follow simple methods but he just won't have it. Does anyone know of any art classes locally that help children with drawing please? Not ones for toddlers or really little kids though. Thanks, liz

My eldest did Kumon English when he was in year 1 and 2 as he had been put forward for literacy interventions at school so we thought we had better do some extra at home to help him catch up. It really did help to close the gap with his literacy but once we felt he had caught up we stopped it. This was also for a number of other reasons: Money. It was a bit of a battle to get him to do it every day. I felt mean making him do it every day. Whether it was the Kumon that helped close the gap or just development and teaching at school I don't know (and will never know) - but I do think it was worth it for that period of time as it gave us a structure for helping him at home. All that is years ago now as he has just started year 7 and is at secondary school. I found the Bonds books good for extra stuff to do at home if it was needed.

We went in 2003 for our honeymoon and loved it. I can't remember where we stayed but it looks like you have lots of good recommendations above. I think we went to this restaurant for lobster which was delicious http://www.fjorubordid.is/ http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g2052448-d1107743-Reviews-Fjorubordid-Stokkseyri_South_Region.html there is a link to the website from the tripadvisor page too. To this day I can still remember their gorgeous lobster broth. I do have a couple of tips too: If the Northern Lights are out have a good look there and then. They were out on the night we arrived but I happened to be driving along a very dark road taking us from the airport to our motel. I had to really concentrate on my driving and assumed I would see them the next night so did not bother to stop and get out for a good look. They never came out again! So we went all the way to Iceland and out of the two of us only my husband got to see the famed Northern Lights! The other tip is if you are hiring a car get a good one for going up mountains and uneven roads. We got married on a budget so hired the cheapest car we could which was something like a Toyota Yaris so not that powerful. Many of the roads near the coast are very steep and we had a very scarey experience on a steep road when the car's power failed and if I remember correctly my husband had to get out and push - I was terrifed. You need to a good car to get across the island too. We found that we would not be able to get to some places as the car was not up to it. It is a lovely place and I would love to go back one day. As I am sure you know it is very expensive to eat and drink out but sort of like being a tourist in London I suppose. Have a great time. If I remember anything else I'll let you know.

Hi All. Just wandered if Magic Wok is still recommended for a Chinese takeaway. Thanks.

The Mr Gum books by Andy Stanton have a similar sense of humour.

Thank you. This is great as I am not from the South East originally but often feel the need to get out into the countryside and can't think where to go. Looking forward to trying one of the routes.

We got our small one in Aldi Old Kent Rd last year and it was quite close to Christmas. Not sure if it was free range though sorry.

Yes my youngest had it twice too. Hope your daughter is better soon.

Thank you Jeremy and Otta.

Hi, I need to go to Goldsmiths Uni in New Cross tomorrow morning. Does anyone know whether it is possible to park in the streets nearby please? I'm assuming it is all restricted. I know it is well connected public transport wise but I have a few places to go afterwards on a tight timescale so I'm thinking driving is the best option if there is car parking nearby - there is no parking on the campus. Thanks, Liz

sam&pat Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Honestly it's a killer so be warned if you try it > but does really work fast. > Starting to see a little difference in my body now > so thats giving me the motivation to carry on : ) Glad you are noticing the benefits already. Do you feel great after each workout?

Like KGastaldo I've seen alot of Shaun and Tanya too - so much so that they almost felt like members of our family. I have completed Insanity a few times and even got the t-shirt after I sent my before and afters! It does work so just keep on digging deeper and it will be worth it! Everything just seems to lift! It is hard but I guess that is main draw. The wall chart is very motivating as you can tick off each workout as you do it (I kept mine on the inside of a cupboard door). You may also find it helpful to join one of the team Beachbody communities on the website. I found all of that helpful as well as the online diary - yes I really need to get a life. I've also got T25 but did not stick to it in the way that I stuck to Insanity. You will be chuffed with yourself when you see and feel the results. You can do it.

We've used this company a few times to make the front windows and bathroom window opaque. It has been fine. http://www.purlfrost.com/ Just need to take your time following the instructions it it looks terrible if you rush and get grit or air bubbles trapped. It's not difficult to put up - just a bit time consuming.

London seems to get a bit of a rough deal in terms of reputation for being unsafe - in my opinion. I grew up in a not very nice area of Liverpool and the problems that would have happened there seem to be of a similar nature to what people are worried about in London e.g. teenagers being mugged when out on their own, gangs, dangerous dogs, bullying etc. I think that will be the case for other big cities too. I cannot see any reason why we would move out of London (apart from a great job somewhere else) and I don't think our 2 boys would get to teenage and thank us for it either.

Dawes Blowfish is a really nice one. Light and easy for little legs to pedal.

Sounds great. Is this something that the children get when they turn 11? My son has a couple of months to go until his 11th birthday. Thanks.

Kate H, yes sorry he was a similar age to your child. He was still in nursery.

Had the same with my eldest. Got the anti-nailbiting liquid from the chemist and put it on his thumb and he stopped immediately - honest! I could not believe it. He is now 10. Once he stopped thumb sucking he got sickness bugs alot less frequently - there must have been lots of germs lurking under the nail - yuck. Hope it works.

Books with rhyme and repetition are great at this young age too. What is done at home is so important. We always read to our eldest from a very young age but did not get him to read enough to us which meant he struggled a bit. Once we clicked on that we had to listen to him more his progress sped up. All fine now but just thought I'd mention it as we thought we were doing a good job and did not realise how much we were not doing. If you are juggling e.g. making dinner there is nothing wrong with getting them to read to you whilst you are stirring a pan etc. You are still listening and can chip in if they are stuck. It isn't always possible to give totally undivided attention but some is better than none at all. I work with alot of children who struggle with their reading so cannot reiterate enough how important little and often at home is. But as others say, in a low pressure way and books that are not too hard for them. If they struggle on more than 2 or 3 words it is likely the book is too hard.

There is Forgewood Camping near Tunbridge Wells. Lots of woods there.

After 3 months of waiting for my 10 year old son's hospital appointment, we went along to Kings today only to be told they hadn't been forwarded the paperwork from DMC and he had been referred to the wrong hosiptal. What a let down for my son and a total waste of so many people's time. I have just complained to the email address given on this thread. Thanks for providing it.

Both of my sons are at Goodrich which is the largest primary in Southwark with about 700 pupils. It is organised well so the younger children have lunch earlier than the older children and their playtimes are staggered too. I don't think it is a problem. They are both happy. The eldest was a little unsure of himself when he started in reception as they used to have lunch at the same time as the older children and he would get upset if he was sitting opposite an older child. Now he is in year 6 he looks back and laughs at this - but he was still anxious all the same. I don't know how the facilities compare as I don't have any other experience. Likewise with the wraparound childcare. I was speaking to some one recently though who said the Heber wrap around childcare hours are better - I think it was 7.30am - 7pm but I am sure someone will set me right on this and provide the correct hours. At Goodrich it is 8am - 6pm - I haven't needed to use it though. There are also lots of after school clubs and activities.

Thank you DulwichFox, that is good to know. I've just had some technical support over the phone so I may not have to go to the shop after all. Fingers crossed.