When working with kids, it’s essential to keep them stimulated and entertained, which is where high-quality learning toys from companies like Hope Education come in. Games, jigsaws, building blocks and other activities that encourage learning are a must-have for any playroom, so here are ten educational toys every childminder should have. Animal puzzles The great […]
Flitting like a butterfly.
One of the problems with being a bit of a ‘plant’ (opposite of completer finisher as opposed to ‘a bit of a vegetable’) is that the internet ends up littered with bright ideas you didn’t finish but that you really should have. One of these is MuddlePuddle which was my first ever site and was […]
The Gallery: Yellow
We went to the library, to see the lady read the books – and she read some books about Spot. Oh Spot… you and I have been friends a long, long time now. And afterwards, they do drawing. And he picked up the yellow pen and, with great deliberation, drew a yellow circle. And […]
Sponsored Video: Stand Up For Good Snacks
The endless shame of toddler parenting for me is, yet again, how far I fail in the food department. 5th time round, I still have a child who has hit age 2 with the palate of an adult and then suddenly regressed until nothing but white processed bread will do. Natural weaning, home made or […]
Too tight to try a tuff spot.
This is what happens when you are doing toddlers for the 5th time. The girls would have got a tuff spot. Bene gets a cat litter tray and a bag of soup beans. I really wanted to be be good at toddler stuff this time round. I was going to be all messy play and […]
Jigsaw Boy
I forget to post about Bene and how he’s growing up. He’s the centre of the universe here, doted on by all of us, never unattended, never alone or left to his own devices. He’s fitted right in like the last piece of the jigsaw. But I’ve not remembered to keep a tally of what […]
I'm glad I spent it with you.
Today was a ‘motherhood’ day. Ups and downs. Growling as I stomped around the house looking for a very lost kindle which eventually turned out to be hidden (in a very toddler manner) behind the radiator that is behind the sofa, growling more as I encountered the bedrooms of my daughters. That’s life. Mess, missing […]
Lax Toddler Parenting #10: Speech Apathy
This is how I like my children… In the garden, being noisy, having fun, not connected to app or screen or anything much. It seems a pretty perfect way to be. Bene, like his biggest sister was, is in his element when he’s being physically boisterous. He’s all about body at the moment, has been […]
It's Hama Time!
I didn’t know he knew about these smaller ones and certainly I didn’t think he knew where they were kept. But today he got them out for himself and for a blissful few moments, he was totally absorbed. Shortly after that, he discovered the joy of sprinkling them everywhere 🙄 I’m not getting much crafting […]
Lax Toddler Parenting #9: Domestic Servitude.
Do you remember that phrase? The one Badman, Balls, Brown and the NSPCC tried to use to describe the poor home ed kids stuck at home, forced to do menial chores and tasks while their lucky school friends had a meaningful, perfect education in school? Look at this poor toddler, forced to clean his daddy’s […]