Imagine the scene. A church hall filled with loud, single-purpose plastic toys. Children of all ages running around, ignored by their childminders who sit chatting on the benches at the side. Noise. Pushing, snatching, shouting, scolding, threats. No one welcoming you, no one leading the session or seemingly in charge, no structure whatsoever. Biscuits and…
Read MoreLife lately
Life lately has been full on, and the last couple of weeks have been quite tough for various reasons. Still, things are calmer now, Autumn is in full swing (my favourite season), and we’re starting to find our rhythm again. As ever, we still try and go outside as much as possible, and look at…
Read MoreToilet learning at 17 months
It’s been a month now since we ditched Frida’s nappies, a good time to take stock about what has worked well for us during her toilet learning. When Frida was ten months we tentatively took our first steps along our toilet learning journey. You can read more about it here. We basically just introduced a potty,…
Read MoreArt shelves at 16 months
Hello! I’ve been very quiet this summer – work was busy, we’ve been on holiday (post to follow once I’ve caught up!) and life in general keeps getting in the way, so I allowed myself a summer holiday from blogging. Now the leaves are starting to turn and the nights are starting to get cooler,…
Read MoreWe love… Books about wildlife
Like most young children, Frida is fascinated by wildlife. Mammals, birds, insects, fish – you name it, she loves it. Because of this we read a lot of books about wildlife and animals (“ana!”), and these are probably her favourites (as well as her ever-growing collection of Mog books and Lynley Dodd books). We do…
Read MoreMog (or, on being child-led)
“Follow the child”. I love this concept, and it forms the core of how we choose to parent. We try hard to follow Frida’s interests, providing her with opportunities to explore and play and learn which are guided by her likes and desires. Enter Mog. Frida is obsessed with the Mog books by Judith Kerr.…
Read MoreVauxhall city farm
Frida is a child who loves animals. And I mean really loves them. If she’s sad and a bee flies past – wham, smiles. A cat walking down the street? Best. Thing. Ever. Don’t get me started on ducks and geese… Because of this love of animals there is no better place for Frida at…
Read MoreGrass soup: sensory toddler play
It’s a beautiful day today in London, and we have spent all morning in the garden. Frida was starting to get a bit grumpy so I thought that I would offer the one thing that usually cheers her up immediately – water play! We had not made grass soup or potions before so I thought…
Read MoreMontessori entrance hall
Continuing the slow work of making our whole home child-friendly, we have updated our entrance hall with Frida in mind. We added a low mirror with a built in shelf and pegs (we chose this one – from IKEA, where else!) so that she can hang her cardigans, hats, and coats up. Frida is still…
Read MoreWe have walking!
Frida has been walking confidently holding onto our hands (well, one finger to be precise) for a good month or so, but has never been confident enough to take more than a few steps alone. Until today… Please excuse the messy hallway. I just wanted to share this milestone moment!
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