Windows

The rhythm that I described last week continues to work well for us.

We have baked again this time cakes and biscuits, this is a good start to our week as it gives us a supply of snacks.  Before joining our singing group we sat and did a craft together making acorn people which we have placed on our seasonal table.  We have put our autumn books on our table but the tree is still looking summery.  We have some autumn leaves to put on it but as the leaves are still green where we live we have not changed them just yet.

We have lots of birthdays and other celebrations coming up in the next few weeks so we sat and made a few cards on Tuesday morning.  I am usually scrabbling around at the last minute to make a card or I don't send one at all, I will try and remember to do this each month in preparation.  In the afternoon we join our friends for our usual play date.  I was given a whole sheep fleece by one friend which I am hoping to dye, felt and spin.  I need to do some research before I can start this so if you can recommend and good websites or books on this I would love to hear about them.

After retuning home from all our various trips I asked the children what they really wanted to do once they were home.  My youngest wanted to go on a train ride and visit a castle which is what we did on Wednesday.  We were lucky with the weather as it has been really wet lately and it was a rare dry, sunny day.  We explored the castle and museum, had lunch and then found we had some spare time before returning to the train, we spent it in a secondhand bookshop close to the castle.  It is an absolute warren of a shop, as most secondhand bookshops usually are we came away with three books, I could have bought many more!

We managed to fit in a swim on Thursday as part of our trip into the local town.  Last week the pool was closed so we had to give it a miss, this week we had the pool to ourselves.  It is a great time to swim, between 3 and 4 pm only the small pool is open at that time as the larger pool is in use for adult swimming lessons.  It is unlikely to ever be that busy as most of the users of that pool will be picking their children up from school.  We have not managed to fit in swimming for a few weeks now, we missed the last few weeks of our outdoor village pool which is now closed for the season it will be good to fit this into our week once again.

Today we have stayed at home for the day.  We did some more science experiments this morning, we looked at vibrations and air waves which included playing some loud music!  We also looked at forces, inertia, acids and alkalis.  Our crystals did not grow that we set up last week we will have a go at them again with different materials this time.  In the afternoon my youngest and I had a go at making a bowl using strips of material and glue, fabric mâché an idea from a book we got out the library this week.  I hope to put this on our seasonal table to store our finds from walks.  If it works I can think of other bits and pieces that I could put in them, we need to wait for the glue to dry to find out.

At the beginning of the week the children got our farm set out.  This is a collection of animals, vehicles and buildings that we were given by some friends their children have grown now and they no longer had space for it.  They set up a farm using fences to make fields for various animals and the buildings for storage and sleeping.  Throughout the week in between other things that have been going on they have spent time together playing with their farm.  They have milked the cows, sheared the sheep, baled hay, fed the animals and driven vehicles around on various jobs.  The fields have changed shape and position through the week as have the animals within them.  It has been lovely to listen to them interacting throughout the week as they have managed their farm.

Water

Welcome to the September 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Staying Safe
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared stories and tips about protecting our families. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
***
My husband and I met through our love of the outdoors, we were both working at the same place, an outdoor activity centre introducing young people and sometimes adults to climbing, canoeing and the like.  We have both ceased to work in outdoor centres but continue to do these activities ourselves, particularly canoeing and we owned two kayaks when our eldest was born.  We both felt that we really wanted to continue to walk, camp, climb and canoe with our children at a level that was suited to them, to introduce them to the activities and enable them, if they wanted to, to become proficient at them themselves.

We took each of our children canoeing for their first time at a really young age, around a year.  We chose a local lake as it is still water, in a canoe both chosen to remove the chance of tipping over.  A canoe is a very stable boat (unless you are in very turbulent waters) and it also provides plenty of room for any kit you might need and all of us!  The children wore lifejackets which are designed to float the wearer on their back should they fall in.  Since their introduction we have taken them on many trips, to local lakes and rivers.  We have also completed several expeditions, carrying all our equipment and food in the boat, including the Caledonian Canal.

You might be reading this and thinking we are mad taking children out so young on water.  Water is inherently dangerous but only if you don't assess the risks and manage them as far as you can.  If a child falls out of a canoe, in still waters, in a lifejacket then the worse thing that could happen to them is they get wet.  My children have both learnt to swim this summer but both of them have always been very confident in the water.  They are not frightened of it.  I believe this is because we have shown them that it is possible to be around water even when you cannot swim, enjoy it and stay safe.

I remember running a canoeing activity at a weekend summer camp for young people, my eldest was about three at the time and spent the whole day on a jetty, playing wearing his lifejacket.  I stayed on the bank (it was a very small lake) supervising him and the activity.  Several adults who I encountered watched him and wondered who he belonged to, they were worried that he was close to the water, when I asked them what they were worried about I was informed that he might fall in.  Yes indeed he might and he will get wet, but he will not come to any harm as he is wearing a lifejacket.  Sadly they felt I was irresponsible to allow him to play in that way, he didn't fall in all weekend he felt safe, I trusted him and I had assessed the risks hence the lifejacket.

As our children grow older we will continue to canoe together as a family.  Now that they are both swimming we have bought them Bouyancy Aids and taken them swimming in a lake so they could test them out.  We hope to take them on what we call moving water, a river with a current that you can see, and the sea.  We may introduce them to kayaks too if they want to.  All this we will continue to do at a pace they are comfortable with to keep them safe and enjoying what they are doing.

We are lucky that as we have skills in canoeing ourselves we can take our children out but if you haven't then find someone who has.  Canoeing is not a risky activity unless you do not take sensible precautions and consider your risks before setting out.  It is fun, honest!
***
Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
(This list will be updated by afternoon September 10 with all the carnival links.)

• Stranger Danger — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama shares her approach to the topic of "strangers" and why she prefers to avoid that word, instead opting to help her 4-year-old understand what sorts of contact with adults is appropriate and whom to seek help from should she ever need it.
• We are the FDA — Justine at The Lone Home Ranger makes the case that when it comes to food and drugs, parents are necessarily both their kids' best proponent of healthy eating and defense against unsafe products.
• You Can't Baby Proof Mother Nature — Nicole Lauren at Mama Mermaid shares how she tackles the challenges of safety when teaching her toddler about the outdoors.
• Bike Safety With Kids — Christy at Eco Journey In the Burbs shares her tips for safe cycling with children in a guest post at Natural Parents Network.
• Spidey Sense — Maud at Awfully Chipper used a playground visit gone awry to teach her children about trusting their instincts.
• Water — sustainablemum explains how she has used her love of canoeing to enable her children to be confident around water
• Safety without baby proofing — Hannabert at Hannahandhorn talks about teaching safety rather than babyproofing.
• Coming of Age: The Safety Net of Secure Attatchment — Gentle Mama Moon reflects on her own experiences of entering young adulthood and in particular the risks that many young women/girls take as turbulent hormones coincide with insecurities and for some, loneliness — a deep longing for connection.
• Mistakes You Might Be Makings With Car Seats — Car seats are complex, and Brittany at The Pistachio Project shares ways we might be using them improperly.
• Could your child strangle on your window blinds? — One U.S. child a month strangles to death on a window blind cord — and it's not always the obvious cords that are the danger. Lauren at Hobo Mama sends a strong message to get rid of corded blinds, and take steps to keep your children safe.
• Tips to Help Parents Quit Smoking (and Stay Quit) — Creating a safe, smoke-free home not only gives children a healthier childhood, it also helps them make healthier choices later in life, too. Dionna at Code Name: Mama (an ex-smoker herself) offers tips to parents struggling to quit smoking, and she'll be happy to be a source of support for anyone who needs it.
• Gradually Expanding Range — Becca at The Earthling's Handbook explains how she is increasing the area in which her child can walk alone, a little bit at a time.
• Safety Sense and Self Confidence — Do you hover? Are you overprotective? Erica at ChildOrganics discusses trusting your child's safety sense and how this helps your child develop self-confidence.
• Staying Safe With Food Allergies and Intolerances — Kellie at Our Mindful Life is sharing how she taught her son about staying safe when it came to his food allergies.
• Don't Touch That Baby! — Crunchy Con Mom offers her 3 best tips for preventing unwanted touching of your baby.
• Playground Wrangling: Handling Two Toddlers Heading in Opposite Directions — Megan at the Boho Mama shares her experience with keeping two busy toddlers safe on the playground (AKA, the Zone of Death) while also keeping her sanity.
• Letting Go of "No" and Taking Chances — Mommy at Playing for Peace tries to accept the bumps, bruises and tears that come from letting her active and curious one-year-old explore the world and take chances.
• Preventing Choking in Babies and Toddlers with Older Siblings — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now gives tips on preventing choking in babies and toddlers along with Montessori-inspired tips for preventing choking in babies and toddlers who have older siblings working with small objects.
• Keeping Our Children Safe: A Community and National Priority — September has many days and weeks dedicated to issues of safety; however, none stir the emotions as does Patriot Day which honors those slain the terrorist attacks. Along with honoring the victims, safety officals want parents to be ready in the event of another disaster whether caused by terrorists or nature. Here are their top tips from Mary at Mary-andering Creatively.
• A Complete Family: Merging Pets and Offspring — Ana at Panda & Ananaso shares the ground rules that she laid out for herself, her big brown dog, and later her baby to ensure a happy, safe, and complete family.
• Be Brave — Shannon at Pineapples & Artichokes talks about helping her kids learn to be brave so that they can stay safe, even when she's not around.
• Catchy Phrasing — Momma Jorje just shares one quick tip for helping kids learn about safety. She assures there are examples provided.
• Know Your Kid — Alisha at Cinnamon&Sassfras refutes the idea that children are unpredictable.
• Surprising car seat myths — Choosing a car seat is a big, important decision with lots of variables. But there are some ways to simplify it and make sure you have made the safest choice for your family. Megan at Mama Seeds shares how, plus some surprising myths that changed her approach to car seats completely!
• I Never Tell My Kids To Be Careful — Kim is Raising Babes, Naturally, by staying present and avoiding the phrase "be careful!"

Weekending

This week has been one of busyness and surprises, surprises that were not of the positive kind.  We started the week with our usual trip to the local town for our food shopping and a visit to the library picking up as we usually do a huge pile of books.

Tuesday rather than heading to our friends for a play they all came to us.  By late morning I thought that it might not happen as I had two texts to say we may not be able to come but they did!  We had a lovely afternoon enjoying each others company in the sunshine.  Our Tuesdays are usually spent at one particular house where lots of home educating families meet up, we have been doing this for about two years.  Recently they have felt that they needed a break from every week and decided to make it every other week.  It has been rather haphazard of late and we were struggling with the irregularity, so I offered to host a meet up on the other week.  I checked first to see that folks were interested and that I was not digging my self into a hole I could not climb out of by talking to the host mama to see why she had decided to go to every other week.  I hope we can continue to meet up every week somewhere, in the future.  Tuesday was also the day of our first surprise.  One of ours cars was booked in for a MOT Test and the garage rang to ask if we wanted to go ahead as it needed a major welding job that could take anything up to three days!  The car is twelve years old and we have had it from new, we always said we would run it until it became too expensive to, the cost of the welding was likely to be more than the car is worth.

The next day we visited a local free Musuem for the morning.  It is a lovely small museum with an eclectic collection of stuffed animals, roman remains, local history, local artefacts and local geology to name but a few.  We visit about twice a year and always see sow thing different each time we go.  I pooped into a great wool shop on the way home and picked up some bargain wool to knit some presents for babies that are due in the next few months.

Thursday we spent at home drawing, playing, reading and doing puzzles there was no room on the dining table or the living room floor by the time we had finished.

The next day we joined a local home ed group for a swim.  My eldest has become much more confident in the water recently and I can finally take both my children on my own.  They love swimming now and really look forward to our weekly trip to the pool.  After swimming we went to a park and had a very cold play!

Over the weekend we spent our time at home.  We were busy sowing seeds in the polytunnel which I have little hope will germinate as it has snowed all weekend!  Playing endless games, battleships, chess, board games, memory games and I taught my eldest Patience, the card game that is.  Reading lots and lots of story books.  Baking bread, my first attempt at baguettes which I am not convinced were worth the effort.  Another surprise, our PC has stopped working.  We not entirely sure what its wrong with it but we did here a loud electrical noise from that corner on Saturday night and assumed it was the speaker for the stereo, seems it could have been the computer.  It is no longer switching on, we are hoping it is the power supply, if not it could be a new PC.

We have ended the week with a final surprise, the car that we started the week with has now been sold through auto trader and we have bought another one from someone in the village!  It has all happened so quickly it does really feel real yet.  On Friday this week we will pick the new one up and the buyer will come and take ours away.  We have had long discussions this week about whether we can be a one car family but we do not feel at the moment it is practical.  My husband is self employed and his work takes him all over the place, often at short notice.  It would make planning anything on the home edding front much more difficult.  We do have a bus service which we use but we would not be able to get to some of our friends houses as there is no service to them.  So for now we are sticking with two.

Weekending

This week has been one of busyness and spending lots of time outside enjoying the sunshine.  We started the week with our usual trip into the local town for shopping and a visit to the library.  I had an extra child with me as we were looking after a friends little boy for the day.  The children spent the afternoon strewing  playing with toys all over the house!

On Tuesday we had a wonderful afternoon with friends doing some origami.  We had fun making paper planes and fish.  After clearing up some of us sat and chatted and laughed a lot.  It was a perfect afternoon and just what I needed.

Wednesday we had a day mostly at home.  Our Wednesday friends are away on a long holiday at the moment, we are missing them and looking forward to their return.  We baked some bread, made flapjacks, did two loads of washing, completed puzzles, did some colouring, drawing and read books together.  In the afternoon we went to the garden centre to buy seeds and seed potatoes.

The next day dawned sunny again and we all headed out for a walk around a local lake.  It was a wonderful day in beautiful surroundings.

Friday we met up with a local home ed group at the swimming pool for a swim, after which we headed out of town back to the lake we visited the day before.  We all walked up to the top of a small hill and had a play in the top.

Over the weekend we had a day at home on Saturday.  I did some pruning in the garden, walked up the village, made some pasties, planned next week and chilled out with the children.  On Sunday we met some friends for our first canoe trip of the year.  It was slightly cooler than the rest of the week but it was dry.  We stopped for lots of breaks and made hot drinks with the Kelly Kettle.  It was a great end to the week.

Weekending

This week has been varied and busy.  We started as usual with our trip into the local town for food shopping and visit to the library.  In the afternoon we headed to the swimming pool rather than home, it was the only time we could fit a swim in.  We are trying to go every week and did not fit a swim in last week as we were away.  We popped in to see a friend on the way home for afternoon tea and a catch up.

On Tuesday we joined our usual play date friends for a wonderful celebration of Imbolc.  The following day I took the children to see their first play.  An adaptation of the wonderful book, Stuck by Oliver Jeffers.  It was a perfect length at 45 minutes and they both really enjoyed it.  Thursday we visited friends who we have not seen for weeks, it was great to catch up for lunch and a short play.

On Friday we packed up and travelled to see family.  We stayed with my in laws for the weekend.  My father in law is in poor health and I think we will be making this trip a fair few times over the coming months to share the time he is still in good enough health for us to take the children.

In between times we have been baking, cooking, reading books on castles, knights, armour, Romans, celts, Vikings, medieval cathedrals, drawing, talking about numbers, playing with Lego, play dough, soft toys, making dens, pretending to cook, go shopping and so much more!

Weekending

It has been another busy week in these parts.  We started the week with our usual trip into the local town for our food shopping and a visit to the library.  I also bought some material from the sewing shop to make some trousers for my youngest.

On Tuesday we travelled south to our usual play date.  There were not so many children this week but fun was had none the less with Lego, battleships game, cushions on the floor and flags.

On Wednesday we had a train ride to a soft play area for a birthday treat for our Wednesday play date friends.  It was very noisy at the soft play as it was so busy, and it got really noisy when hail rained down on the metal roof the noise was deafening.

We were up and out early on Thursday to join a friend for a swim, after last weeks amazing achievements in the pool my eldest spent most of the time swimming underwater.  It is amazing how confident he has become.  We had our lunch on the poolside before heading to pick up some bits we had left last week to be repaired.  After we dropped our friends off we popped to buy a pair of shoes for the youngest as her feet have grown again.  It was a long day out and the children both fell asleep really early.

On Friday we joined a local home ed group that we have not met with for a while, it was good to catch up with folks again.  They were making jitterbugs a bit like this except that we used a CD for the body.  It was fun to sit and make them, although our legs kept falling off!  We decorated ours after we got home as we ran out of time.

Over the weekend we joined up with some friends for tea on Saturday.  We headed over in the afternoon so the children could have a play together.  We have not seen them for a while so it was good to catch up.  On Sunday I spent the day cooking and getting ready to go away.  We are off for a few days next week so it will be quiet on here for a few days.  If you leave a comment, thank you, it may be a while before it is published I am not ignoring you just having a short break from technology.  Hope you have a good week, will be back soon!

Weekending

We started our week, as usual, with a trip into the local town for food shopping and a visit to the library.  The afternoon was spend snuggled by the fire reading our library books, we were cold from our trip into town.

On Tuesday we woke to another cold day, we were due to visit friends for our usual play date.  I decided to have an early lunch of soup at home rather than taking lunch with us as we usually do.  We set off and about a mile down the road there was about two inches of snow, we have to drive over a high pass to get to our friends and the snow got deeper the higher we drove.  I hoped that there would be no snow as we dropped down the other side, there was less but still a couple of inches.  We were on a main road at that point which was clear but our friends live on a quiet lane some distance from the main road.  We did make it although it was icy in places and we had to stop to let a huge flock of sheep go past.  Most of the children were playing outside in the snow, but as we had not had any snow we did not bring any clothes suitable for joining in, my children did not seem to bothered as we were offered clothes to borrow.  They had a fun afternoon indoors playing with any of the children who got cold outside or who, like them, did not want to play in the snow.

Our usual Wednesday friends were away this week so we went swimming together and joined a friend for a play and biscuits afterwards.  My youngest and I made gingerbread men to share, it was a recipe that I had not used before from this lovely book.

The next day our friends from the south came to join us for lunch.  We had soup, I used some from the freezer and the remains of three others which were in the fridge!  It all got eaten.  After lunch the girls and mummies braved the cold and walked and scooted up to the park.  It was a bit cold for standing around, so we headed back after a short play for a hot drink.  My husband had got the fire going which was very welcome.

On Friday we had been hoping to go and join a home ed group for an activity, but it got cancelled on Thursday night as folks were pulling out due to the snow forecast.  I was sceptical about it reaching us, and sure enough it didn't!  So we had a morning at home building and playing with a wooden train track.  After lunch I walked up the village with my youngest the wind was biting but it was good to get out.  She has recently started to ask question after question and we stopped alot to look at and talks about things that she noticed, moss in the wall, ice crystals, lichen, numbers on houses, pub signs and I am sure there were more.

Over the weekend we had a quiet time at home, keeping busy.  We read books together, played with the railway track, drew pictures, read joke books and made each other laugh, played board games, went for short walks up the village, had friends over for dinner, kept warm by the fire and generally enjoyed each others company.

Weekending

It has been lovely this week to get back into our weekly rhythm, it is comforting like a fire on a cold winter evening.

We started the week with our usual trip into the local town for our food shopping and a visit to the library.  As always after unpacking and lunch we spent the afternoon reading our new library books.

On Tuesday we visited our friends who we have not seen for ages for our usual play dates.  Illness, them not us thankfully, and Christmas has meant we have not seen them for about six weeks.  There were several families there again and the children all had a wonderful time playing together.  It was really calm and peaceful this time.

The next day we had a wonderful day of outdoor play with some friends.  We took a picnic and drove up the road for a lovely day out in the sunshine.  It felt so good to feel the sun on our faces again after so long.  The world feels huge when you can see the blue sky.

The next day we drove south to join our friends for lunch and a play.  Just after she had woken up, my youngest said something which proved to me that rhythm that I have worked hard to introduce into our week has all been worthwhile. We see the same the same sets of friends each week, each on a particular day.  She knew it was the day for our Thursday friends without knowing it was Thursday. It was good to catch up after a break over Christmas.  The girls had fun icing cakes.  The drive back was long through the dark and thick fog.

Friday we headed for a day round the county.  We started by dropping off a hire car that my husband no longer required as the job he was to use it for had been cancelled, such is the life of being self employed.  Then we drove to another town for swimming and lunch with friends.  After the children had played for a bit and the adults chatted we headed to pick up our flour order from a local mill.  On the way home we dropped in some more friends for a cuppa and to drop off some bits.  We got home exhausted after a long day out!

We had a fairly busy weekend based mostly at home.  On Saturday we headed out to the local famers market to pick up some supplies.  In the afternoon I cooked up a batch of soup to put on the freezer for eating this month.  On Sunday I had one of those days were I was highly productive without much effort.  I cooked up more soup, baked some bread, made some rolls, did some washing, hoovered the house, put together a big bag of stuff for the charity shop, read books with the children, danced, played, read some of my book whilst the children and my husband went for a bike ride and fell into bed happy and content.  A perfect end to the week.