Capable Child

My family has spent much more time outdoors over the past year. This has been a real positive to come out of 2020 and I hope it's something that we will continue. With this in mind, I didn't hesitate to book a Twixmas walk at Hawkstone Follies in Shropshire. Twixmas is the word used to the described the period between Christmas and New Year. However, in my family it describes the period when we aren't sure what day it is and we live on left overs from the fridge.   This year Twixmas meant snow for parts of the UK and that was the case for our visit to Hawkstone Follies. How lucky we were to see this incredible place transformed into a winter wonderland. We wrapped up warm and with a map in hand and sturdy shoes headed off to discover the rugged sandstone hills. Everything to do and see at Hawkstone is outside. You need to be prepared for this in whatever season you visit. You are also required to take a torch so that you can investigate the caves safely.   We took the high ...

  As children head back to school this September, for some of them they will have been away from school for almost six months. It’s completely unprecedented and a new experience for parents and children. Some children and parents will be desperate for normality to resume whilst others may have carved out a new normal that they enjoy.   Children and parents will have had many different positive and negative experiences. Whatever the case, I’ve suggested a few ways that may make the transition back to school a little smoother.   Encourage your child to talk to friends of relatives who have already been back to school.  This could be key worker children who kept going to school during lockdown, children in the year groups that did return or friends in other countries. We have friends in Scotland whose Autumn term has already begun so we have a chat planned on Facetime. School won’t be the only topic of conversation but I’ll be sure to encourage it and hope it can b...

Along with millions of other parents around the country, I’m suddenly an accidental home schooler. Whilst some children are due back at school soon, for others there could be many more weeks of home school. Over 15 years of teaching experience means that I didn’t feel the rise of panic that many other parents faced. I have access to resources and have ideas up my sleeve to fall back on. However, there have been challenges and over the weeks of accidental homeschooling, I’ve certainly changed my approach along the way to make life a little easier. Less is More! An experienced homeschooler once told me that she only had to do a few hours a day to cover the whole curriculum with her child. Impossible, I thought. Children are at school for over 6 hours a day. It’s hard for teachers to fit everything in.     I now find that it is indeed possible. 1 to 1 for most children means that things can be covered much more quickly.     A couple of hours of good concent...

A few months ago I joined a cloth nappy Facebook group. The group has given me an insight into those parents just venturing into the world of cloth nappies. It's common for them to feel overwhelmed and not be sure where to start. Some first timers are considering buying a whole starter set of nappies from one brand and the advice from the old hands in the group is almost always to get a mixed stash. A stash is what cloth bum parents like to call their collection of nappies. For my first daughter, I had a stash of lots and lots of identical shaped towel nappies. Seven years later, for baby two I have upgraded to an all in one nappy and have a mixed stash. There are a few reasons for this this. So here goes… The main practical reason to have a mixed stash is drying times. I love my Tots Bots Easy Fit Star nappies but in winter they take at least two days to dry on an airer. If my whole stash took two days to dry then I'd have to be super super organised to make ...

If you fancy giving your Christmas jumper an airing in early December, I can think of no better place to go than a Notelets Christmas concert. This morning, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Centre, just off Broad Street, was full of children, parents and grandparents wearing a host of Christmas jumpers ready to enjoy some festive music. There was a real buzz of excitement amongst the families who arrived early to enjoy free craft activities in the foyer before the show. Children were busy making Christmas decorations with plenty of jingle bells attached to shake along in the concert. Alongside the craft, there was an area with various musical instruments for the children to explore. A willing member of the orchestra sat surrounded by children with shakers and tambourines taking requests for Christmas songs on his euphonium.  The concert itself was very relaxed and lots of fun. Notelets concerts are designed for under fives so wriggling bottoms and excited ...

Right from the very start, we were warned about the two men wearing dresses! How bad could it be we thought? Whatever we were thinking we were not expecting the sheer variety of hilariously hideous costumes. Nor were we expecting them to be quite so magnificent. From apparel that looked like it had been taken straight off a cow’s back, to hats shaped like immense boxes of French fries and bowls of ice cream with a flake to finish it off, the two men wearing dresses are surely the most hilarious act this Christmas, well certainly in Lichfield anyway.   Lichfield Garrick’s Christmas pantomime has become a family favourite in recent years. We know that we are always assured of a top class performance, the classic panto gags, a family friendly experience (with a bit of adult humour designed to go over the kids’ heads) and a cosy place to watch it all going on.   This year’s offering was the classic Cinderella story. Cinders herself lives with her father, Bar...

On the day that Frozen II was released it seemed appropriate to shun the hype of Hollywood and instead head to The Old Rep in Birmingham for their performance of ‘The Snow Queen’. Although it is only the end of November, we were ready for some early Christmas indulgence. After having a mooch around Birmingham’s Frankfurt Market, including a hot chocolate for Little Lady and a very garlicky lunch, we were in the mood to wander over to the theatre and sit back to enjoy Hans Christian Anderson’s classic story of how two children overcame the evil Snow Queen and her trolls. What better way to get into the season of winter! The Old Rep’s interpretation told the story of two friends, Gerda and Kai, who had been forbidden by their parents from spending time with each other because their families were different to each other. The production explored the theme of ‘otherness’ and how friendship can overcome many of the prejudices that we see in society. The strong moral message was port...