10 Ways to Raise Environmentally Conscious kids

A new year always gets people thinking about goals and resolutions. One thing that I hope to improve on this year is being more eco-friendly. I feel like I was doing well pre-Covid and then the pandemic came along and I started to question things. There seemed to be little point in trying to be plastic free when millions of single-use plastics were being used every single day in the form of Covid tests and face masks. It made it all seem like an impossible task to me. On the other hand, perhaps this just means we need to be more environmentally conscious than ever.  Afterall, no matter what others do, we can still do our bit for the planet and one of the most important things we can do is encourage our children to be environmentally conscious too.

Prioritising Children: Time Management Tips For Busy Mums

Time management is a common issue for busy mums. There always seems to be something to do whether it be running around after the children, cooking the dinner or ironing your husband's shirts. There is so much to do that sometimes it can become overwhelming. More tasks creep onto the never-ending pile of jobs and you wonder how any of them will ever get done. Do you sit there at the end of the day thinking about where the day has gone? It went by a in a flash and you have not got half the things done that you wanted to.

How Your Presence Boosts Early Language Skills

Language is arguably the most important skill your child must acquire. Language is the basis of everything. It is not only our means of communicating with others, but also, it is due to language that we are able to think, learn and remember. Without it we would not be the intelligent beings we are, for language and intelligence go hand in hand. 

How to Use Narration in Your Homeschool

We narrate all the time. When you tell someone something that happened to you yesterday; that's narration. When you talk about something you saw at the park; that's narration. When you tell a story your father used to tell you when you were a child; that's narration. We do it as part of our everyday conversations, without even thinking about it. So, why not use this skill for learning as well?

How to Homeschool Multiple Age Groups

Making the decision to homeschool is not always easy. One thing that people often have to consider is whether they will be able to homeschool children of different ages at the same time. When you are homeschooling one child, it is all about them. However, if you have more than one child you will have to think about how you can meet all of their different needs.

Meet the Artists Curriculum Review

I am a very creative person so I love to do arts and crafts with my children but one thing that was missing from my own education was an appreciation and knowledge of great works of art. I know of a few artists, but not many, and I don't know much about their lives and inspiration. Because of my lack of knowledge, I wasn't sure how to start teaching my own children about this subject. Therefore, I was delighted to be sent a copy of this brand new art curriculum, Meet the Artists, to review.

The Importance of Play

The start of a new homeschool year normally causes me to reflect. I reflect on the last year and I also reflect on the year to come, thinking about how I want it to be. I ponder our homeschool environment and what I want learning to look like. One thing I always come back to is play. I am truly grateful that homeschooling allows my children to play, both indoor and out, and learn as they go. Play is such an important part of early childhood that Sue Palmer, states in her latest book, 'Upstart', "Love and play are the greatest gifts any generation can hand on to the next". Furthermore, she claims that there is no doubt that play is a vital factor in childhood health and wellbeing, but why is that?