Over lockdown, we’ve been getting together virtually as a family on Houseparty & Zoom. Today’s “theme” was Off Menu: each person picks their ideal starter, main, dessert & side. Along with two drinks and poppadoms or bread. It doesn’t have to be a perfectly cohesive meal – it’s more about sharing your preferences and experiences. […]
She asks to sleep with me Because she is scared of the dark And the monsters she imagines I hold her close Breathe in the smell of her hair And silently promise she’ll never know That I see monsters too And that I’m more scared than she is
We have spent the loveliest afternoon and evening together. We’re both a little under the weather, so we took it really easy and snuggled up together in our pjs and watched films. This is such a rarity for us. We spend the majority of our time outside, and when we’re home she usually plays, while […]
I’m proud of my daughter. Of course I am. No more so than recently, at her first swimming lesson. We’d reached the point where I was out of my depth (excuse the pun) in terms of teaching my daughter how to swim. She can propel herself in a general direction wearing armbands, but I have […]
We were given a beautiful book of poetry for Christmas. A nature poem for each day of the year. And so began our tradition of “Poem of the Day”. We usually read it before bed, but sometimes I’ll read it to her when she’s on the loo (!), or we’ll revisit a poem when it […]
You know those moments when your child independently does the right thing? We had one of those today. We’d been out for the day, and on a whim, stopped at a pub with play area on the way home. Boyfriend and I were sitting in the garden, and my daughter was playing in the play […]
Tonight my daughter is sleeping in her own bedroom. I’ve never been able to say that before. Yes, she’s slept in a room with her bed and her things, but it hasn’t been truly hers until now. It’s been a rough few years. When I had my daughter, I brought her home to the toxicity […]
We shared this wonderful story by Oliver Jeffers at bedtime recently. We had a little chat about it afterwards. I asked my daughter who she thought the moose belonged to. She thought it belonged to Wilfredo (he’s the chap on the front), even though the others thought it belonged to them. I put forward the […]
My daughter has conceived a little project for herself, and has been ardently collecting cardboard toilet rolls for the past couple of weeks. She’s delighted every time we finish a roll, and proudly lines up her collection. Well today was the day she announced she was ready to start. Depending on when she’s talked about […]
So today I lost the battle of which cuddly toy was coming with us to the shops. And, as predicted, she got fed up of carrying Emily Elephant within minutes, so that vital job has fallen to me. My “I told you so” is falling on deaf ears. She’s not bothered. She’s had her own […]
Unconditional Unschooling 