In the week or so since I last wrote the world has shifted once more, with another layer of the UK’s Covid-19 response unfurling towards ‘lockdown.’ Citizens are restricted to a narrow range of activities, with outings from the home permissible only for work, obtaining food or medicines, helping the vulnerable or partaking in one…
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When I need to occupy my mind (and who doesn’t right now?) I tend to make lists, make plans, and do what I can to channel my anxiety into action. This weekend, I’ve been using some of the extra time at home to think about plans for homeschooling my children – in fact, I’m feeling…
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It might surprise you to know that our household does not possess a dishwasher. About a year ago, our dishwasher broke, and we decided to find out whether we could get along without it for a while. Granted, there was also an element of laziness involved – ‘finding out whether we could get along without…
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This week is Dyslexia Awareness week in Scotland, and in line with this I wanted to share a little of our own family’s experience with the condition. It’s estimated that 1 in 10 people in the population are dyslexic* (I won’t say ‘suffer with’ dyslexia, because as you’ll see, that’s not the way I see…
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Over the last few days, I’ve found myself returning time and again to the same question: how on earth did we get to the point where our eldest son is just about to leave primary school? The second half of the academic year has literally flown by, and it seems only a blink since I wrote about our year of small goodbyes as…
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At this time of year, I usually like to take a look back on the twelve months that are about to leave us, but this year I have to admit I’m thinking more about the twelve months that are about to begin. This year has been a relatively stable one for me, without some of the…
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Anne of Green Gables once said: I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. I’m with you, Anne, I am. Autumn has to be one of my favourite of all the seasons (I know, I always say that – I’m fickle). But crunchy leaves, abundant colour, the seasonal harvest – what’s not to…
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All good things must come to an end as the saying goes… And so it is that our seven weeks of school holidays have finally disappeared. Who knew that fifty days could pass so quickly? (I can multiply, by the way – we just got a cheeky extra day 😉 ). 2018 has definitely been…
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Recently, my youngest son received a green Blue Peter badge for his efforts in picking up litter around our local community. He didn’t just do it for the badge, though: it’s something he’s done quite naturally for a long time on dog walks and on the way back home from school. The sight of him laden…
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With school holidays just around the corner (well, at least if you live in Scotland 😉 ), the attentions of parents everywhere turn to keeping little ones entertained during the lengthy summer break. CBBC and PlayStation marathons notwithstanding, there are lots of things you can do to avoid wails of ‘I’m bored’, or ‘are we…
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