How the days go

Sunday, first thing, F made a sort of 'our ideal house'. She cut out pieces of paper and stuck them together with help (her cutting out has suddenly got really good, with just a little practice). It was a 3 storey house with a purple balcony and roof, a big playroom, an art room, a big kitchen with a table, and some other lovely features. Most of the features weren't exactly represented on the drawing but were declared in the conversation we had while she made it. I love that kind of conversation. She said the art room was for daddy to do art again (most readers here know that that is something I would love and do hope for in the future) and the purple balcony was because we did once have a balcony on a house we lived in but we didn't dare let her out there except on the last day we were there. This has obviously had a huge impact - the sudden discovery of something a bit magical that she had never suspected was there in a place where she had lived for 18 months. I used to constantly have dreams like that - in every flat and house I have lived in, when I get to a point of having a few dissatisfactions about it, usually after living there about a year or so, I start having dreams where I discover a whole secret room or garden or path or tunnel or swimming pool in the basement!
It was really interesting to have this conversation with her, which revealed what aspects of our various thoughts/hopes about houses and homes she had absorbed or reshuffled to suit her own ideas. Her house incorporated colours liked by each of us (her, me, J), ideas each of us have expressed or discussed at various times, things she likes about other people's houses, etc.
After doing that, she played X-Box for a while and fiddled with number squares and shapes. Then I introduced her to The Sims 2 on my laptop, and she and I bonded over creating people and keeping them happy for ages. Last time I showed it to her, she wasn't anywhere near able to take it in, this time she was itching to get in there.
Other things she did yesterday - some drawing, a tiny bit of writing, counting and talking about numbers in her casual way - what is a hundred and another hundred put together? etc.
Monday:
I worked for about four hours, as I had a deadline today and my software was on some kind of obsessively repaginating go-slow.
F was great and I responded quickly and nicely every time she did need me, which always works a treat. One of those times when you think 'yep, working at home and home educating can work'. So while I was working, I was also writing down a story she was dictating, which turned out to be really long, probably about 500 words and not finished yet! It was a version of Rapunzel that morphed into Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus with some nice original bits chucked in. I thought her storytelling showed good use of language and structure, for her age.
Best of all though I love her confidence, there is no doubt in her mind of what she can do because it is almost always she herself who calls the shots, who decides when to take a step or two forward, to go fast or slow with new developments, or to back-pedal madly. There is no 'system' or 'authority' making her measure herself and find herself wanting, asking her to jump ahead of herself and fall over. She very largely follows her own interests at her own speed in her own way. If she tries to do something and doesn't achieve what she wanted, she usually practises to see if she can make progress. If she feels she is not making progress fast enough for her own needs, she asks for help. And usually gets it, either immediately or at an arranged time. When it's good it is just so civilized and sane. Of course it is not always good. But generally it is at the moment, she is a happy child.
On an average day at home when we haven't got socializationness going on, she will do most of the following: some casual number stuff (today she asked about a hundred hundreds and similar and later asked what a million things would look like); some drawing, making, colouring, writing, cutting and sticking (today she invented a new type of jewel called the 'golden sunfire', made it out of coloured paper and card); storytelling (today, Rapunzel goes Barbie), pretending, joking, jumping around, making strange semi-language noises with imaginary friends; Leapster, X-Box, puter games (today, more Sims 2) and web stuff; and plenty of conversing about things (today we touched on jewels/precious stones, death, love, work, babies and the concept of a thousand and a million).

Me - I met a big deadline (up till 4am) and now have a slightly more relaxed few days ahead I think with some more socializationness coming up. I'm expecting deliveries of software, books and stationery over the next few days or so too, all for F or for use in making things for F. I have a bit of a cough/sore throat thing, but not too bad. I'm tired but happy.