When I was pregnant one of the things I was looking forward to was having a little girl I could dress pretty and do her hair. It was really important to me that her hair would look healthy and shiny and well maintained with pretty little clips and bows in it. I didn’t think much …

Why we took away food restrictions
Before I had children I was certain that they would not be allowed sweets, chocolates, junk food and most of all fizzy drinks. I believed those things were not healthy and bad for your body and I was going to ensure my children knew this from a young age. I even banned my husband from …

Ten tips to keep messy play clean
I was in an independent lovely little toy shop on my local High Street browsing for a birthday gift when a mum came in with her little girl. The little girl picked up some putty and asked her mum if she could have it. Her mum took the putty off her and said ”definitely not, …

A forgotten Anniversary
So yesterday was our 8th wedding anniversary. I know what you are thinking ‘oh how lovely, I wonder what Nadia and Sy bought each other, something bronze or made of salt I bet!’ Well actually we didn’t buy each other anything, why, because we both forgot about it! Well I didn’t actually forget, I knew …

Reflections on how unschooling found us
We hadn’t planned to homeschool, when we took Rayne out of school we had no time to research or plan how we were going to do it. I joined an amazing online network, Explorium who helped us make our decision and continue to help us understand how to go deep in relation to learning through …

It is OK to cry, shout and be angry
When Peachy the hamster was put to sleep Rayne cried hard. We were at the vet’s waiting area with lots of dog owners waiting for their appointments. It was quite a distressing scene and I noticed people looking over with concern and sympathy. There was even a little girl with her mum looking over at …

Growth Mindset: It is never too late to take your first piano lesson!
My Grandparents had a piano in the room that nobody ever went in. Not one of my family members knew how to play it, well if they did know, they never showed off their talent, not even at Christmas! As a young child I would spend hours sat at that piano trying to work out …

A story about Miscarriage
Before I embark on my story I would like to make a disclaimer that there may be some upsetting and graphic content so please take care of yourself while reading. It is not my intention to upset anyone, I just want to share my story here, in my tiny part of the internet, as it …

Why I won’t be ‘teaching’ my children at home
While travelling to gym in the car yesterday Rayne asked me a series of questions: “did you teach me to walk?, did you teach me to talk?, did you teach me to eat?” I answered “no” to each question then explained that I gave her the opportunity to walk by allowing her to go on …