Duncan

6:30, and I'm in the kitchen, a frying pan in my hand. I squint as I attempt to read the recipe without my glasses. The frying pan hisses as I drop in some pancake batter, swirling it around with the back of my ladle. Little bubbles rise to the top. I flip the pancake over, yawning. I should be still in bed, like everyone else. But instead I'm up making a special breakfast for everyone. Why? Because it's Duncan's birthday.

Duncan is the quiet one of the family. At the dinner table, we're all talking and laughing together. He listens quietly, with a smile. However, ask him a question about a movie, TV show, or book, and he becomes quite animated, captivating you for hours as he recounts many of the strange facts he's learnt.

Duncan is the hard worker. The washing machine beeps to tell us that it's finished. No one reacts, except Duncan, who puts on his boots, and braves the cold wind to make sure we have clean, dry clothes to wear.

Duncan likes to surprise us. He comes home in the evening, and, with a huge grin on his face, whips movie out of his jumper, complete with sweets. Then he'll join us in front of the TV to watch it.

It's evening. We've eaten a lovely dinner and a birthday cake. Then we've watched a movie. Duncan looks happy. He's had a lovely day, with lots of good food, presents, and a trip to the go-kart track. I'm tired from cooking the birthday food. But it was all worth it to make Duncan's day special.

Happy Birthday Duncan!

Sister Time

We're all in holiday mode. Gone are the formal school books, Mum's record book. No more piano or singing practices for two weeks. Instead we have unlimited time to work on personal projects, time to sleep in, books to read, time to spend on our own, and time to spend with each other.

For the most part, I like to spend my holidays reading and writing, with the occasional craft project on the side. But yesterday, after an entire morning working on my own, I suddenly realised that I really wanted to do something with my sisters. So I took them to the park.

We raced out the back door, calling goodbye to Mum as we went. My camera swung on my wrist. Maybe I'd get some good shots at the park. We laughed and chatted as we skipped down the road. Look, there was a kookaburra!

Out came the camera. Click. The kookaburra flew away in indignation and we skipped on.

Oh look, pretty flowers. I just had to stop and take more photos. Gemma-Rose tugged on my arm, trying to get me moving. We were so close.

"Can we play tip?" Sophie asked.

I thought for a moment. Tip wasn't really my game. What if I proved to be too slow, or too quick? How embarrassing that would be! Could I really sacrifice my dignity for a game of tip? The little girls looked pleadingly at me. I gave in.

"Ok, we'll play tip. I'm in first."

The girls took off, with me running along behind them. Giggles echoed around the play equipment as we tipped each other. Charlotte sat on the swing as 'bar'. She cheated shamelessly as she helped the runners keep away from 'it' but we didn't care. We were having too much fun.

Finally the game ended with a spectacular swandive from Gemma-Rose as she dive to safe at 'bar'. One look at her skinned knee and I decided we should go home.

"Oh." Gemma-Rose's face fell. "I don't want to go home. I want to keep playing."

"I'll take you here again another day," I promised. Her face lit up again, and we hurried homewards to bandaids and afternoon tea.

I love spending time with my sisters. It's so easy to make them happy. Holidays are a good time to spend doing things for myself, but at the same time it great to spend some 'sister time' with the other girls.

Do you like to spend time doing special things with your siblings during the holidays? What do you like to do in your holidays?

The Wonderful Wilkie Collins

I absolutely love reading mystery stories. The great Sherlock Holmes, the humble but clever Fr Brown, and the teen detective Trixie Belden, are all old friends. I've stripped the library shelves bare of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. But my favourite mystery books are by Wilkie Collins.

The Moonstone was recommended to me by my brother Callum. I picked the book up doubtfully. It looked dreadfully like Charles Dickens' huge books, which daunted me. How was I ever supposed to get through this book?

I started reading The Moonstone for school work, but the story soon drew me in. What had happened to the legendary stone, the Moonstone? Who took it? How? I was absorbed in the book. It may have been school work, but I couldn't put the story down. It held me captive until the few last page, when the mystery was finally cleared up.

I felt I had made a wonderful discovery in Wilkie Collins. Eagerly I picked up another of his books, The Law and the Lady, in the hopes that it might be as good as The Moonstone. It didn't fail me. It proved to be another riveting mystery. Wilkie Collins was cemented in my mind as a fantastic writer.

Soon I found yet another of his books, The Woman in White. I didn't worry about whether it was going to be a good book. It was by Wilkie Collins, of course it was good. And it was.

Then I made another brilliant discovery. The free ebook site Manybooks had his books as ebooks. I recognised The Moonstone, The Woman in White, and The Law and the Lady, but there were so many more I'd never heard over. Eagerly I downloaded some to my ebook reader and prepared for more discoveries.

I'm currently enjoying his book No Name. As ever, I'm sure that it's going to turn out as a mystery. And I know I'll love it as I loved the rest of his books. I've created another enthusiast. Just as Callum recommended his books to me, now I've introduces my sister Charlotte to the wonders of Wilkie Collins. She loves his books as much as I do. We now have yet another author to share.

Have you ever read any of Wilkie Collins' books? Do you enjoy mystery stories? What mystery writers do you like?

Gilbert and Sullivan Girls

It's 11 o'clock on a Thursday morning. From a nearby park drifts the strains of opera music and laughter. Is it the residents of the local loony bin? No, it's just us spending a refreshing morning at the park.

We're perched on the see-saw, bouncing gently as we fumble our way through our favourite Gilbert and Sullivan pieces.

"I'm called Little Buttercup," we sing gaily, before suddenly switching to, "For I am a pirate king!"This is hardly the music you would expect a normal seven year old to be singing. But then, most seven year olds haven't been introduced to the delights of Gilbert and Sullivan's comical operettas.

From men disguised as women in a lady's academy, to pirates, to ancient Japan, their operas seem to cover everything under the sun. The music is catchy, and the words amusing. We love to sit down of a night to watch a production.

"What shall we watch? Princess Ida?"

"I want to watch The Mikado."

"How about The Pirates of Penzance?"

Eventually we decide on a movie and settle down to watch it, humming the music, and laughing at familiar jokes.

We love these operas so much that we even borrowed a book of their music from the library. Even Charlotte the shy singer can be persuaded to take on one of the male parts. The little girls revel in the songs of their favourite characters, while I glory in the showy soprano parts.

We're Gilbert and Sullivan girls, and proud to be so. Our song matter, our conversations, the movies on our shelves all proclaim this fact. And we'll be Gilbert and Sullivan girls for a long time more.

Have you seen any of Gilbert and Sullivan's amazing operas? Do you like to sing random songs from your favourite musicals?

Sharing Books Meme

Recently Charlotte and I have been sharing our favourite books with Sophie and Gemma-Rose. We searched the bookshelves for books suitable for a ten and seven year old. Soon each of the girls had a wicker basket filled to the brim with unread books. All of them are old favourites of mine, which then gave me another idea. Why not share some of my other favourites with Charlotte?

Fifteen minutes and much bookshelf raiding later and Charlotte too had a basket of books to be read. Her eyes lit up as she contemplated reading all those books, many of which I had told her about quite often.

It was so much fun sharing my favourite books with my sisters that I had yet another idea. What about a book meme? I'd love to share my favourite books with all of you, and I'd love to see what books you like to read too. So, without further ado, here is my book meme.

Novels I am currently reading

Villette by Charlotte Bronte

The Book of the Sword by A.J. Lake (part of The Darkest Age Trilogy)

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Novels I have enjoyed recently:

A True Princess by Diane Zahler

The Paradise Trap by Catherine Jinks

The Ivory Rose by Belinda Murrell

The Horse Who Bit a Bushranger by Jackie French

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Novels I’d like to read

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas

More of Wilke Collins’ books

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskill

My Favourite Genres

Mystery, Fantasy, and Historical Fiction

My Favourite Authors

Wilke Collins, Rick Riordan, Jane Austen, Noel Streatfield, Jackie French and Michael Morpurgo

My Favourite Series

The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The Lord of The Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

My Favourite Novels

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

The Law and the Lady by Wilke Collins

The Moonstone by Wilke Collins

The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley

The Dragon Whisperer by Lucinda Hare

And now I'd like to pass this meme onto:

Charlotte at Charlotte's Web

JT at The Window on the West

Jessica at Safirewriter

Katie at Whisperings of the Pen

Autumn at Storygirl

And anyone else who feels like joining in.

I can't wait to see what you people like to read!

I Am The Teacher

I never wanted to be a teacher ever. The very idea of planning lessons, preparing resources, and dealing with unruly students, seemed too much like hard work. Besides, I wasn't the most patient of people, and teachers have to be patient. No, whatever I wanted to do in life, it wasn't teaching.

My first experience of real teaching was when I help to prepare my sister Charlotte for her very first piano exam. Lesson after lesson went by, ending with me in my grumpiest mood, and Charlotte generally in tears. We were both glad once the exam was over and I could stop interfering with her playing.

Then Mum asked me to teach the two younger girls. I had the books and the piano and the students. I was set to go. We sat down for the very first lesson. Sophie chattered the whole way through about things besides piano. She played at top speed, like a 1000km/h hurricane. Then she began to sulk as I grimly pointed out every single mistake she'd made in the whole lesson.

Gemma-Rose wasn't much better. I explained things ten times, and she still couldn't tell me where we were in the piece, or what note was which. She eventually stormed off, leaving me sitting on the piano stool, wondering what to tell Mum.

After only a few weeks, the lessons died away, much to my secret relief. I was left in peace for months, free to enjoy my own lessons, play my own pieces, and do nothing else.

Then, "Mum, I'd really like to learn to play the piano properly. I want to be as good as Charlotte and Immy." Sophie gave Mum her best pleading eyes.

"Well, maybe Imogen will teach you after her exam."

Sophie didn't forget, and as soon as the exams were over, she was ready to be taught. I sat down for the first lesson, filled with dread. This was going to be awful. Sophie would have forgotten everything. She'd get grumpy the first time I tried to correct her. She would...

Half an hour whizzed by without my noticing. Only the appearance of Gemma-Rose stopped the lesson. Wow, that hadn't been so bad after all. I was in a good mood for Gemma-Rose's lesson, and she was in a good mood too. She bounced off after the lesson to tell Mum all the wonderful things she had learnt.

Meanwhile, I was buzzing with ideas for the next lessons. Gemma-Rose wasn't very good at recognising notes. Maybe I could make or find some cards with notes on them. And I could find extra pieces for her to learn. Sophie could learn scales. She was always asking when she could learn them.

A whole new world of teaching was laid out before me. Enthusiastically I made the note flashcards, downloaded the free sheet music, and taught lessons. The girls really enjoyed their piano lessons. After every lesson they ran off to tell Mum all the new things they'd learnt.

Today was their last lesson of the term. Sophie aced her note practice and played all her pieces perfectly. Gemma-Rose enjoyed using the cards too. And today I showed them the pieces they're going to play next term. They can hardly wait for the next term to begin! Not to say that I'm an amazing teacher, but that they're awesome students.

And what about me, the reluctant teacher? Well, I have to admit I'm enjoying the lessons too. Every week gives me new ideas as to how I can help my pupils learn better. I think I could keep on teaching them. And I think they've taught me things too, like how to be patient, and how to give correction without annoying people. I may be the teacher, but they are teaching me too!

Do you teach anyone? Do you like teaching them, or do you find it hard work? Do you have any tips I can use?

Time To Be Brave

Two days ago I sat down at the computer to write a blog post. I thought I was going to write a normal, family story post. Instead what came out was To Blend Or Not To Blend, a post on being myself instead of doing what everyone else does.

It was only after I hit Publish that I started to think, "What if I offend all those nice people out there who happen to like wearing jeans, high heels and make up? I'll have to write an apology note on the end." So I went back and added the apology note, then worried for the rest of the day. I needn't have. The responses were overwhelming. People I'd never met stopped to have their say. Comment after comment showed up on my dashboard from people who wore skirts and those who liked jeans. That was my first brave post.

Ever since I joined the blogosphere I've admired people who can write thought provoking posts with strong opinions. I read the posts, and the comments afterwards and tried to imagine posts like those. But I failed every time. I'm too scared to come out and say what I think. I can wear the clothes I like, be myself wherever I go, but I don't say what I think.

Subjects come up in conversation, subjects I know I have a different opinion on. As they come up I slid away from them, skirting neatly round the danger areas. No sense in getting into a debate. Or so I tell myself. And I never say what I feel about these subjects.

I should say what I think. I should say that I don't think something is right, instead of dodging the point, turning a blind eye. But I'm scared to. What if people think I'm too strange? What if they think I'm judging them? What if they decide not to talk to me again?

But on the other hand, why can't I say what I think? As long as I do it in a way that doesn't offend anyone, or try to force my opinions onto other people. If they can't accept what I think, they don't have to. But I can say what I feel too.

Maybe it's time to break away from 'safe' subjects, like what we did in a day. Maybe it's time for me to air my opinions a little. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll be one of those people with the thought provoking posts and one million comments after them. And that would be good, so long as I remember that other people think differently to me, and that they're entitled to have an opinion too

Will you join me as I attempt to be 'brave'?

Do you find it hard to come out and say what you think? Are you afraid of saying the wrong thing? Of people thinking your opinions are strange? Or are you one of those lucky people who always know how to say what they want to say?

To Blend or Not To Blend

The choir master came up to speak to me one day. "Imogen, you need to blend in with the rest of your section more. You stick out a bit."

At first I was puzzled. Did I really stick out that much while singing? I certainly wasn't trying to. Wasn't I singing just like everyone else? I got quite worried, and for the next few weeks tried valiantly not to be heard at all. The upshot was that I didn't enjoy the rehearsals one little bit, which was a pity because I love to sing.

The choir is not the only place I stick out in. I'm very noticeable among people of my own age too. Go to any function, and I'm always different. I wear skirts, not jeans. I don't wear make up. I hate high heels. I like to talk about things like Shakespeare, biology, Jane Austen, and other such weighty matters, not to spend hours talking without saying a thing. I like spending time with one or two people, not hanging around with a crowd...The list is endless.

Sometimes it's hard being so out of place. I know people see the differences between me and other girls my age. I'm sure people think I'm weird. When I go places and meet new people, it's hard for me to break into the in crowd. Just because I'm different.

I could fix this. I could go out and buy trendy clothes. I could squeeze into a pair of skinny jeans and totter around in a set of ridiculously high heels. I could talk nonsense all day and plaster my face with all kinds of goo. I could become absolutely normal.

But why would I want to? I'm perfectly happy being me. I couldn't even begin to imagine wearing jeans all day. It's hard enough to make myself wear pants for exercise. Elvis feet aren't known for liking high heels. And really, isn't my face good enough without all that make up? No, I'll stay the way I am. I won't follow the crowd, I'll be my own crowd.

I may not be the most popular girl, or the most trendy, but I'm happy and comfortable. I don't care if I'm different. But I'll still have to work on blending in at choir!


I hope I haven't offended any jeans and high heels wears by writing this blog post. It's just that neither of those things are for me. I'll stick to skirts and flats thank you.


Do you like to blend in and be part of the crowd? Or do you prefer to be different? Do you wear jeans or skirts? I'd love to hear from you!

Crash Course in Computers

It looked like an innocent email from one of my friends. I opened it, found no message, and clicked off, thinking no more about it. There were so many other things to think about.

Later, "Imogen, did you send an email to V with the subject Urgent?" Mum called.

"Urgent with a number?"

"Yes."

"No. I got one of those too."

Mum looked serious. "Imogen, I think you've been hacked."

I wasn't quite sure what to do with that news. Panic? Laugh it off? Blow up the computer? hacking wasn't something I'd come across before. The first thing was to warn everyone about the emails, which was easily done.

Following Mum and Dad's advice, I set up a new email account, copied out all my contacts onto a piece of paper, and sent off a couple of emails. There, now everything would be fine. I'd tell everyone about my new email address and forget about being hacked.

That was right before one of my freshly sent emails bounced straight back with an attachment. An attachment? But it had been a two liner. I hadn't attached anything. With a sinking heart I hurried to show my new problem to Dad.

Dad took one look at my email and diagnosed the problem. "It's a virus on your computer. Do you have Malwarebytes?"

"No." What was that?

"Windows Defender?"

"No." I'd never heard of that either.

"Well, what do you have?"

"Um, AVG."

"That's no good." Dad took my netbook from my hands and with a few clicks of the mouse had both Malwarebytes and Defender installed. "Now let's do a scan."

We set the scans going, while, on another computer we set up yet another email account. I sent off my emails yet again and waited in fear and trembling. Would I immediately get an email with a sneaky attachment? No, luck was with me. Everything was fine.

In netbookland things were looking up too. "I found three viruses. They're gone now. It's safe to use the netbook."

It might be safe now, but I'm still left with a big mess. Contacts have to be added to my address book. I have to tell people my new email address, change the address used to sign into places like facebook. The hacking problem may be sorted, but the side effects are just beginning.

Have you had problems with your computer? Have you been affected by the recent hackings? I'd love to hear your stories.

Homeschooling Meme: A Student's View

My aunt, Vicky from Creating With Wisdom tagged me with a meme on homeschooling resources. As a homeschooling student, I'm sure my answers will be quite different to the ones given by homeschooling mothers. Still, I'm quite willing to have a go.

One Homeschool Book You've Enjoyed


Chemistry is probably the hardest subject to study at home. Ordinary text books, while good for referring to every now and then, just aren't interesting enough to use on their own. I'm always looking for more interesting books and ways of learning chemistry, so I was delighted when Mum introduced me to 'What Einstein Said To His Cook'. It's filled with interesting facts and explanations of the science of the kitchen. (Any book that can classify what colour meat a flamingo is, and explains why it's that kind, has got to be good.) At the moment it's probably my favourite book.

One Resource You Wouldn't Be Without


Mum decided at the beginning of the year that she needed a better laptop. Dad drove her down to the shop, and they came back, the bearers of a brand new, whiz bang laptop. A hour later and Mum's old netbook was looking for a new home. It didn't have to look far. I claimed it, and soon put it to good use. Suddenly I was able to watch educational videos, keep up with my blog, and research information in the quiet of my own room. Even though I'm sure lots of people have already said this, the computer, connected to the internet, is one thing I would not be able to study without.


One Resource You Wish You Hadn't Bought


I haven't bought many resources myself, so I have chosen two, one bought for me, and the other I bought myself.

I was very excited when Mum told me of the computer based science course, Switched On Schoolhouse. It sounded great. Computer experiments, interactive games, the works. As soon as it dropped into the letter box I had it installed on the computer and was ready to roll. I started the first lesson, dawdled my way through it, forced myself onto the next lesson, and then another. The interactive gems disappointingly turned out to be nothing more than one vocabulary game. True there were experiments, but you had to do them off the computer with actual chemicals. A few weeks later, we stopped battling with the program and left it to gather dust on the shelf. Not one of our better purchases.

Of resources I bought myself, the most disastrous was a USB stick. I loaded it up with files, pulled it out of the computer, went to another computer, tried to access my files and...These files have been corrupted. I thought it was just a one off thing, and tried again. Several more ruined files later and I had to admit it wasn't the best thing I'd ever bought.

One Resource You Liked Last Year


We found it online, a brand new, black, ereader. It caught our eyes at once. Images of thousands of books in one small piece of technology filled our brains. Suddenly we thought of hundreds of uses for one of those. Quickly, we persuaded Mum to buy it. Once it came, we were hooked. One ereader wasn't enough. We bought another, then another. Soon we all had an ereader of our own. We read many of the free books that came with them, downloaded new books, and generally enjoyed. Then we discovered free, classic ebooks, and our world was never the same again.


One Resource You'll Be Using Next Year


A university! (I'm sure that counts as a resource.) Soon I won't be a homeschooler any more. Next year I'll be studying through Open Uni.


One Resource You'd Like To Buy


We're a Shakespearian family. Everyone down to Gemma-Rose, who's seven, loves sitting down to watch a new play, or a new version of an old play. We've got our favourite versions. Probably our most favourite versions of some plays are directed and acted by Kenneth Branagh. I'd love to own more plays produced by him, especially 'Much Ado About Nothing.'


One Resource You Wish Existed


For the most part, I'm quite happy with what I have. But if there's one thing I hate, it's reading through my work, and finding that I've missed out words. What I really need is a program that finds places where I've missed out words, and tells me about them. Anyone care to invent one?


One Homeschooling Catalogue You Enjoy Reading


Probably more of a question of a homeschooling mum. As a student, I don't actually read any.


One Homeschool Site You Visit Regularly


Do blogs count as sites? I'll pretend they do and say that I read Creating With Wisdom, and Stories of An Unschooling Family (I appear quite frequently in the stories on the latter blog.)

Normally, once this meme is completed, it's passed on to six other people. However, I don't actually know anyone to pass it on to. If you'd like to have a go at answering it, consider yourself tagged. Otherwise, go and visit my Mum's blog and read her answers

The Art of Doodling

"Look at my new picture," Charlotte said, thrusting her drawing notebook into my hands. I duly admired the latest brilliant drawing, stifling a sigh. If only I could draw even half as well as her. But art wasn't one of my talents.

"Girls, come and have a look at this," Mum said a few days later. "Look at this blog."

We rushed into her room and looked at the computer screen. Beautiful pictures filled the screen, brightly coloured and elegant.

"Wow," we gasped. "They're gorgeous."

"And so easy to draw," Mum add. "They're just doodles. You draw them with a pen. I'd like to try drawing some."

"Me too," Sophie chimed in.

"And me," Gemma-Rose piped up.

I didn't say anything, but made up my mind to have a go as soon as possible. That very evening, I sat down with a drawing pad and a pen, ready to start. Putting pen to paper, I carefully started drawing. Soon I was engrossed in the picture. I hardly noticed time passing until suddenly my paper was filled and my first doodle was done.

I rushed to show it to Mum, who was quite impressed. I had to admit that I was quite pleased too. It wasn't too bad for a girl who couldn't draw.

The next day I added another doodle to my book, then another. Then I doodled a special doodle for Wattle Day. I couldn't stop drawing them. But wait! Wasn't I the girl who couldn't draw?

Well, I still don't think that I can draw. I can't draw a picture so lifelike that it seems about to step off the page, like my aunt does. I can't draw beautiful, less lifelike, characters like my sister. But I can doodle. Anyone can doodle. Can you?

P.S. Sorry, the pictures aren't very good quality.

Waiting for a Wedding

I came out of my room this morning, intent on finding a diagram of skin for my biology notebook. As I stepped into the family I found my three sisters gathered round Mum and her lap top.

"What's going on here?" I asked them.

"We're looking at flower girl dresses for the wedding," Gemma-Rose told me excitedly. Our eldest sister is getting married in a month and a half.

I bent over the computer and saw the pretty dresses with their brightly coloured sashes. Someone soon informed me that these dresses had not one, or two, or even three, but six layers.

"I want a fuchsia coloured sash," Gemma-Rose said.

"I want a lavender one," Sophie chimed in.

"We'll have to do some measuring," Mum said. She handed me the tape measure and set me to measuring the two girls. Soon we found a problem.

"Sophie's too tall and Gemma-Rose is too small," Mum said. "And you're both too thin."

We debated over the sizing for ages until finally, we daringly bought two ivory coloured dresses with six layers.

"Thank you Mum," the girls cried in great excitement. I thought about the long, regency style blue bridesmaid dress hanging in my cupboard and grinned. It seemed such a long time to wait until the wedding.

Lunchtime came, and with it came more discussion about the wedding, the clothes and the guests.

"Will children be allowed at the wedding?" Sophie wanted to know. "I hope so."

"Do you remember how every time we measured me for my dress, I seemed to have shrunk," Charlotte laughed. "And then it turned out to be a little too long. I hope I've grown."

"I hope I haven't," I said. "My dress fitted me perfectly when I got it."

"How long is it until the wedding?" Gemma-Rose asked. "It seems like forever."

I can hardly wait for the end of October, when I'll go to my very first wedding ever. What will it be like to be a bridesmaid? I can hardly wait to find out! And once it's over, I'll have plenty of beautiful photos and memories. Plus a lovely, long blue dress!

Charlotte's Pencils

"It's time for bed, Charlotte. What are you doing?" I say, walking into the bedroom one night.

"Oh, I was drawing. Do you like my new picture?" She holds out her book for me to see. I take it from her and examine the drawing.

"Wow, this looks really good. You should put it on your blog."

"Can you help me?"

"Of course I can."

Mum sees Charlotte's pictures on her blog. "These look good. Why don't you make a page specially for your pictures? Then everyone would be able to see them."

Charlotte is quite pleased with the idea. Together we scan her pictures, compress the files, and painstakingly upload them to a special new page on her blog. At the same time we give her blog a snazzy new background. Quite the makeover!

Charlotte is very pleased with all the changes to her blog. Now that her interest has been rekindled in blogging, she starts thinking about our other blog: Paper Dolls By The Serendipity Sisters.

"I think I'd like to design a new paper doll," she says, and sits down with her pencils and paper. I smile, and leave her to it. Soon she hands me her piece of paper. I take one look at the doll and grin.

"This is really nice."

"I've made her some clothes too. See." She hands me some more paper. My eyes take in the beautiful feathery dress, just right for a fairy doll. I see the perfectly shaped wings, the dress made of cloud. This is a lovely fairy doll.

"I'll scan it for you, and upload it to our blog."

Charlotte's face brightens. She sits beside me as I painstakingly scan the doll, colour it, upload it, link it, and write the blog post to go with it. Her work is now on the web for everyone to see.

"I think I'll do some drawing," she says. "And maybe I might draw another paper doll too." I can see that her head is buzzing with ideas.

You can see Charlotte's lovely drawings HERE, and her new paper doll HERE. What do you think of her work?