Mummy&Roo

There's no getting around it, Roo is a wild child. She loves being outside, messy and mucky. She loves running, jumping and climbing. I can't even declare her a Tom boy, she's just Roo. Yesterday we went to visit a friend whose daughter is much less wild and much more calm, Ruby's wildness turns out to be contagious, they were dashing around being loonys. I was hoping that a busy and wild day yesterday would give me the chance for a quiet day where I could work. Nope she's still wild. The only reason she's calmed down today is a game has resulted in a cut finger. Only her first cut could calm the crazy. Let me be clear, she's wild but most the time isn't naughty. She's frustrating but it doesn't warrant telling her off most of the time. I count myself incredibly lucky for our childminder who is just as wild as the kids. Messy play, mud, rain she loves then and Roo gets to let her wild side out. So now, I'm going to enjoy my quiet cuddle ...

Today we joined our childminder and the gang at Forest School. Forest school is an opportunity for the children to play and learn in an outdoor, messy, fun setting. There's a mud kitchen, bug viewers, a den, mud art. They make natural crafts and then have hot chocolate and biscuits around a fire. While I was there they were planning future visits (they go weekly) and how they would fit them in with their topics. I now know this is going to involve making bird feeder and some food adventures with the fire. I can hear some of you already "there's a fire, and children?!" yes there is a fire but the children go no where near it, there is a visual barrier of sticks, lots of supervision and most importantly they are taught. How can children ever learn about fire safety if they're never exposed to fire? I agree that it's better they are exposed to and experience risk at an early age so they can learn to handle that risk rather than just developing a fear. This go...