Mixed Emotions with Montessori

H has started at a new pre school this term (his last one closed down!) and I'm already starting to have doubts about it.

I was really excited about him starting because I loved the whole ethos that the place has. Think hippy, free play, yoga and nature. It sounded ideal, they even learn Mandarin. 

It is a Montessori nursery...

' Montessori education is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological development, as well as technological advancements in society.'

Image by Rjabinnik

My main concern started this morning when I dropped H off. All of the doors were open (as usual) so we just walked straight in, hung up his bag and put on his indoor shoes. He went straight off to play, no problems there. It wasn't until I looked around me ane realised that there wasn't another adult in sight. Just masses of little people running around, doing their free play bit. I didn't really know what to do, did I just walk off and leave him there? Should I stay and make sure all of these children were safe? What if H decided to go for a walk, they wouldn't even know I had dropped him off. (There is a signing in sheet somewhere, if you can find it!)

Image by Ian Britton

In the end I decided that maybe I was just be over paranoid as all of the other mummies appeared to be just dropping off and going. So I did the same. 

Can't say that I haven't been worrying about it all day though so I thought I'd just have a look at their ofsted report. Oh my I wish I hadn't! In brief... no CRB checks for any staff, no children observation and achievment folders, no key workers, The effectiveness of safeguarding scored inadequate and overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

Image by Isaac Bowen

Now lets be honest here a three year old doesn't care whether he has a key worker or his own folder with chapter and verse on how he is developing. He just knows that when he goes there he has fun with his friends in a nice relaxed atmosphere. What more could you ask for for your child? 

Image by Mark Tomlinson

I like to think of myself as a fairly laid back kind of person, (the OH calls me his little hippy chick) but I fail to be laid back when it comes to my childrens safety. So what do you think, am I just falling into the trap of our ridiculous modern day obsession with health and safety and ticking all of the right boxes? Is this nursery bad for H just because they're not fullfilling the government written standards on how our children should be learning?

A Thing of Beauty

This weeks theme for the Gallery is Beauty.

You'd probably think that this is a picture of my daughter when she was a baby but no it is infact my son! Poor boy.

This is what happens when you live in a pub with a small child, said child suddenly becomes a form of entertainment for the locals. 

Living in a pub with children did have it's plus points though, like now they are very sociable little things, so it's not all bad.

Now go and check out Tara's blog over at Sticky Fingers to see the other entries for this week, you could even join in yourself.

Autumn Love

I feel a change coming, the mornings are getting crisper and the days are getting shorter. Shops are slowly becoming filled with a selection of multicoloured sparkly things and it's soon going to be my most favourite season. 

I love Autumn! I love everything about it.   

• I love the huge array of colour on all of the trees.

Image by Andrew Griffith

•  I love snuggling up next to the fire with a glass of vino and a good book.

Image by Steven.S

• I love Halloween and all of the funny decorations popping up everywhere.

Image by Terry Tyson

• I love fresh Autumn walks through the woods with the sound of crisp leaves under your feet.

Image by Barbara

• I love fireworks night

Image by Bayasaa

• and I love the countdown to Christmas.

Image by Chelsea Oakes

  So many things to look forward to. Bring on the Autumn.

Silent Sunday

Daddy's to do list

Image found on Pinterest

I have a list, it's not a particualriy long list, the jobs on it aren't really that hard to do. Infact I could probably do most of them myself if I really put my mind to it but this is not my list, this is Daddy's list. The same list that has been stuck up on the wall in his office for quite some time now, with nothing scrubbed out or ticked off. This upsets me. 

I like lists, it's a simple way of organising your day to day activities without forgetting anything or getting sidetracked by other things (dam you Pinterest).

So as I said Daddy's list has been sitting there for a longer than I can cope with, even my moving it around the room in the vain hope that he might notice it again, has failed. So instead of continually nagging him about said list, I have written him a new one. We'll see how fast things start to get ticked off now.

Daddy’s to do list

1)      Fix the windscreen on my car. The small crack has now spread from the top to the bottom. If you don’t then just be warned that after we die (from the car crash that we will inevitably  have because of the cracked winscreen) I shall haunt you everyday for the rest of your life!

2)      Put up Lj’s new curtain pole in her bedroom, if you don’t I shall just have to find a new place to shove it. Somewhere that the sun doesn’t shine perhaps?

3)      Take the handrail off  the wall in the en-suite. If you don’t and I hit my elbow on it one more time then I might just cry (full on , snot running down my face crying) and we all know that nothing makes a man more uncomfortable than a crying woman.

4)      Cut the grass, I don’t want to have to send out a search party everytime the toddler goes out there!  I could, of cause, do this myself but this is a mans job, as is taking out the rubbish, washing the cars and fixing broken things.

5)      Sort out the timer on the water heater. If the kids have to have one more cold bath I think they may get hypothermia. I’m pretty sure that the kids lips turning blue is a bad sign.

Love your adoring and slightly mad other half x

The Gallery - Sky

This weeks theme for the Gallery is 'Sky'.

This picture was taken a few years ago in mine and the other halfs 'special place'. It is one of the most beautiful places that I have been to in this country.

We haven't been back there since the kiddies have been born and now that we live on the other side of the country I don't think we'll be getting back there anythime soon. *sob sob* Oh well we will just have to find a new special place and at least we have some good pictures to remember it.

On another note sorry about the serious lack of posts the last couple of weeks, I've been going out a lot with the little ones to try and keep them entertained during the holidays, roll on September.

To check out the other entries for this weeks Gallery go to Tara's blog at Sticky Fingers

Driving Mummy Mad!

I am close to despair! 

It's my son, I just don't know what to do with him. It's not that he's particually naughty or disobediant, he's just wired!

He starts the minute I open my eyes and doesn't stop until bedtime. He never stops asking for things whether it be a drink, an apple, a biscuit or to put his TV on and if you happen to be busy at that moment in time and don't answer him straight away he will just keep repeating the same thing again and again and again.  

One time I had to go into a shop and get some bits and rather than get both the kids unstrapped and out of the car, the OH stayed in the car with them. I was in the shop for 20 minutes, (I know this because the OH timed me) and when I came back the poor guy looked like he was ready to kill someone. Apparently our son had asked for some music on just as I got out of the car, the OH ignored him because he had already told him no. He then proceeded to ask again and again and again for the full 20 minutes without stopping once!

 I have tried everything with him from painting to football and nothing seems to hold his attention for longer than about 5 minutes. The only thing that keeps his attention is the bloody TV. I hate him watching it, when I was growing up we didn't even have a TV. I use to spend all of my time in the garden, building dens or getting creative with something. It is literally the only thing that works though and if it's a wet day he will pretty much just watch it all day! 

I take them to toddler groups, sure start activities, the park, walks, we feed the ducks, we go to soft play places but nothing seems to do it for him. We will get somewhere and you can guarantee than within 5 minutes he'll start whinning that he wants to go home or somewhere else.

I have tried sending him out into the garden with his new ball and all he does is go out there and throw the ball over the garden gate, which then proceeds to rolls down to the bottom of the village (our village is on a hill and we live on the top!) So now I don't let him do that.

He won't even play with toys, he has cars, trains, puzzles, a kitchen, colouring bits, dressing up clothes, you name it we've got it but he's just not interested.

 I just feel that if we could channel some of his energy into one thing that he enjoyed then it might just make life a bit more bearable for both of us. My daughter is just so easy in comparison, she is so happy to just be with you and yes she follows me around all day like a little puppy but she does her own thing. She's quite happy to sit and do some colouring as long as she can see where you are. She can stay in all day and amuse herself, just give her a cuddle every so often and she's fine.

I don't know, maybe it's just a boy thing. I just feel so guilty for letting him watch TV all the time. I'm hoping that as he gets older he will find something that he's into, a sport perhaps, just anything would be a start.

So what do you reckon, is this just normal behaviour for a three and a half year old? Is it just a phase that will pass? Or should I just give up now?