Capable Child

Seven years ago the cloth nappies we used on Little Lady were extremely hard work. The shaped terry nappies were very bulky and difficult to put on her. The terry nappy had to be wrestled inside a water proof wrap. We used cloth at home but I never felt confident enough to use them out and about. We saved plenty of nappies from land fill but this time, with my second baby, I was determined to do more. When Littlest Lady, born in March this year, got to a couple of months old we tried again with the bulky terry nappies. The big pail of water reappeared by the washing machine. My husband was convinced that Littlest Lady was unhappy in the bulky nappies. They were so big. She was so little. They came half way down her thighs. Around the same time, I met another ‘Cloth Bum Mum.’ Her little girl was in cloth full time- I had a lot of questions! “It looks like cloth nappies have come on a lot in 7 years,” I told my husband one evening after a detailed cloth nap...

Earlier this term, children in Year 2 at state schools all over England took their SATs tests. SATs tests are used to inform teacher assessment. Schools have a legal responsibility to inform parents of their child’s national curriculum assessment results. Most schools will add in a results page in children’s end of year reports. What results will be reported? Teachers will give a judgement on your child’s standards in Reading, Writing, Maths and Science. Children will be assessed as: Working towards the expected standard (Below where children are expected to be at the end of KS1) Working at the expected standard                               (Where children are expected to be at the end of KS1) Working at great depth within the expected standard (Children with a very secure understanding of concepts cover...

In 10 years time, my children won’t specifically remember the occasions that I picked them up from school, cooked our favourite pasta dish or watched their swimming lesson. But they will remember some of things that we did that were out of the ordinary. They will remember some of the memories that we made together. As we headed out of the door on Friday evening, I knew we were making memories. I was just hoping it wasn’t going to be because the whole family had got soaked to the skin sitting in a park on a Friday night watching a play. We had a flask full of hot chocolate, a box of malteasers and some large umbrellas borrowed from a neighbour. We were heading to a Heartbreak Productions outdoor show in Walsall Arboretum. It was pretty exciting heading out in the evening and walking through an empty park to get to the bandstand where the show was being staged. When I told Little Lady what we were going to see, she was extremely excited. In fact, we all were because ...

What is it? MiniBrum is a play space for under eights based on the theme of a mini Birmingham. There are different areas for children to explore including a canal barge, a construction zone and a shop. The whole of MiniBrum is designed to support children’s role play and exploration of real life spaces. The unique interactive gallery has been created with the input of over 800 children and families from across Birmingham. Where is it? Mini Brum is part of ThinkTank which is Birmingham’s science museum. MiniBrum is on the third floor next to the recently revamped planetarium. Entry to ThinkTank is £14 per adult and £10.25 per child. Under 3’s are free and during Birmingham term time there is a special adult and toddler (aged 3-5) ticket for £15. Another great offer is the £3 per person entry fee after 3pm on term time weekdays. When does it open? It opens to the public on 25 th May in time for half term. I would expect it to be very busy. My advice woul...

Whatever your view is on testing children using SATs, most parents will agree that they want their children to achieve the expected standard in Maths, Reading and Writing as they leave Key Stage One and move up into Key Stage Two (or ‘The Juniors’). This means that they are on track for their age and ready for the challenges of Year 3 and beyond. There are definitely ways that parents can support and encourage their children in all subjects. Below, I give my top five ways of helping your child in Maths- no specialist knowledge required! Money, Money, Money My Little Lady invariably sees me paying for things with card. If I need cash, I have to scrabble around for it! Children need to be able to recognise the different values of coins so I have to make an effort to ensure that we firstly have some coins at home and secondly play with them. A favourite activity for us is setting up a shop with jars, tins and packets from the kitchen cupboard. We use real coins, a toy cas...

Zog is Julia Donaldson family favourite. Dragons, princesses, knights, humour and a strong female with high aspirations. The book is a winner and so we were very keen to see the play while it was on at the Town Hall in Birmingham. So it seems, were many other families! When we arrived at the venue, there was a queue of pushchairs, parents, grandparents and lots of under-fives. There was a buzz of excitement in the air as we went inside and found our seats in the packed auditorium. Having seen previous Freckle Productions shows, we eagerly awaited their winning combination of music and puppetry. We firstly met Princess Pearl who opened in song. The puppets also soon arrived on set. We were kept amused by a pair of rabbits and a flexible frog. As we watched the opening scenes, I could hear children around beginning to whisper, “Where’s Zog?” Zog was clearly a favourite and the children were waiting for their first glimpse. The dragons arrived on stage and Zog received a chee...

Today marked our first theatre trip as a family of four! We headed to Birmingham’s Old Rep Theatre to see Treasure Island. I was a little nervous that our one month old baby might not enjoy the show as much as the rest of family. I need not have been so worried. As we came into the theatre staff were immediately helpful with opening doors and storing our pram securely in the cloakroom. Littlest Lady slept through most of the show only surfacing to top up on milk. I was so pleased that we’d all made it out the house and done something that my older daughter really enjoyed. Within minutes of the show starting, Little Lady, aged 6, was giggling away. The Treasure Island story, first published as a book in 1883, had been cleverly adapted to entertain a  family audience in 2019. The characters introduced themselves and the children watching quickly caught onto the fact that this was a hunt for treasure. Early on in the show, the cast had the audience participating wit...