After a lovely half term break, Toby and Gabe are now back at school. I love this half term with all the build up to Christmas – I can’t wait for this year’s nativity, it’s the only time they’ll do it together as it’s only Key Stage 1 that do one at their school. But anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself, back to half term!

When I posted last week’s Living Arrows we had just come back from a weekend the in the Lake District (you can read my review of the Hobbit Hole at The Quiet Site here if you’re interested). We didn’t have many plans for the rest of the week, just plenty of time to relax and rest up before going back to school.

On Tuesday I took both boys swimming on my own for the first time. They have both made so much progress with their water confidence recently so it was it was actually a fun and stress free experience for all of us!

Wednesday saw us take a trip to the cinema to see Farmageddon, the new Shaun the Sheep film. We had done the Glow Trail at Whinlatter Forest when we were in the Lakes so both boys really enjoyed watching the film – even Toby who didn’t want to go initially.

We went to a small local independent cinema for the first time, instead of the Odeon where we usually go, and we’ll definitely go back. The smaller screen was great for the boys, and it was loads cheaper then the multiplex too. Bonus!

We didn’t really do much else for the rest of the week. The weather was pretty miserable so lots of TV and PlayStation for the boys. They only get PlayStation at weekends during term time so we tend to relax the rules a bit during the holidays.

We also did some of Toby’s termly ‘home learning’. He’s learning about different materials so he had to do an experiment with something that changes from one state to another – a perfect excuse to make jelly!

Toby and Gabe both had a bit of a moan about going back to school on Monday but they seem to have settled back in quickly. I took this quick snap of Gabe yesterday morning. To be honest I would rather he didn’t have his tablet before school but sometimes I just take the path of least resistance! He knows he can only have it if he gets ready quickly, and has to turn it off when it’s time to go, and mostly that’s what happens – whatever works right?

I hope you’re enjoying half term if your children are off this week. I’ll be back next week with another Living Arrows post – the boys are going to stay with their grandparents for the first time ever on Friday night while Barry and I go to Liverpool to see Tim Minchin so we’ll see how that goes!

This is my ninth year taking part in this linky celebrating childhood, based on a poem by Kahlil Gibran, “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth” .

If you’d like to see the rest of my Living Arrows posts you can find them all here.