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Nik’s musings on how we are all needing to absorb so much as parents and navigate so much new territory
Holidays are great for some but not for all It can be a genuine worry for many families how the next 6 weeks will go
Nicola Reekie’s PDA Space advice for the 6-week holidays and how to be ahead of the shifting needs of your children
INDOOR BOREDOM BUSTERS
The summer holidays can heighten the expectation to be sociable so here’s two pages of activities for kids happier with solo company
TIME IS BAD
tech gets some bad rep but there’s lots of validity in allowing its use ‘differently’ to the wider narrative we all see and hear about
PUZZLES GALORE
FOUR pages of puzzle fun for the big and little kids among us, including a summer sundae to colour and plenty of summer searching to do!
THE MAD EDITOR
Well that’s a wrap! Another school year over and much musing to be done over how much can change in just one year!
Well hello again my goorjuss frazzled ones! I woke this morning with quite a smack in the face tbh that my son has just finished Year 7
Although we home educate so it’s not so defined in our household But he did give school a try again - year 6 was amazing, year 7 was criminal on how appalling it was before I removed him
Which is the entire ethos of parenthood isnt it - the good, the bad, the ugly and us picking up the pieces. This isn’t to be gloomy though - I just want to be one of the few that gives you grace and kudos for how much we have to take care of with modern parenting
It’s impossible (really impossible!) to keep up with all of these transitions, and what they bring for our children, whilst ALSO running jobs, businesses, homes, marriages etc
So I invite you to reflect and acknowledge what you HAVE managed this last year It’s hard to live a life by design these days, so many of us are muddling through somehow
Which is why the theme is Play for this edition Not in the usual summer holiday edition way but in the very human way If we can manage a lighter persective from time to time, in our stolen moments, we reconnect with who we are inside this hamster wheel we’re all on
Take a real look at what you are to your children (not what you’re not!) and that you’re a team, helping them find their way in a land nobody really recognises any more
Nobody talks about how that’s the most important job anyone does on this planetso I am. I hope you love this edition as much as I loved creating it for you and this very different slant on Play!
WHAT IS MUM'S THE WORD?
Ever feel like you ’ re absolutely clueless on what you ’ re ‘supposed’ to be doing as a parent? If you have one child you ’ re constantly evolving and when you just think you ’ re getting used to things, they change!
That’s if you just have one! Having multiple children, each going through their own phases, their own challenges, trying to manage the family dynamics, to work out their friendship dynamics, understanding their ’relationship-with-ever-changing-self’ dynamics’ - it’s almost impossible for them to keep up.
So they often turn to us - like we know what it’s like to be them, to experience the world with their very unique perspective.
The truth is that we can’t. We can try - we can listen, we can be there for them We can tell them we can try to work things out together, but Mum’s The Word Magazine is for the honest parents that openly confess to having no idea and are dropping the facade
Because that ‘not knowing’ is the only place where your ability to be TRULY open to real solutions aimed at the needs of your extremely individual children can live.
For decades, particularly since women became equal workers, parenting has been this big massive lie that we can do it all MTW is where we all wave our white flags together that we can’t do ALL of it WELL
NOT EVERYONE LOVES THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
That’s a weird way to start the first article of the summer edition of a parenting mag isnt it Nik? More doom and gloom anyone??
I’m not here to kill anyone’s happy vibe because the school holidays often bring joy to many parents who relish the lack of school runs and the term-time juggles - it’s sheer bliss and the fact you have six-ish weeks of no sunday night panic-laundry or uniform searches is the only thing that’s got you through the last few months
But, said with utter love as always, there are a kajillion parenting sites and magazines to help you find things to do if you’re a parent who enjoys the next 6 weeks There aren’t so many places for parents who absolutely dread these breaks so you’ll see nods towards that in this edition.
I detest being given advice, so this magazine isn’t an advisory mag but it’s definitely a shared experience space and the one mantra that has got me through my own parenting journey is this
Wherever you are, be there completely
How the heck does that help? Many of the parents reading MTW are parents of neurodivergent children Many readers are solo parents Maybe they’re neurodivergent themselves? Lots of us are running businesses and jobs as well as parenting.
Maybe we’re all of those things - which is me too Running a business, raising an ND child as a solo parent with my own sensory ‘fun’ (that’s definitely got worse as I’ve got older!), means that the Platimun Level of multitasking that comes with parenting ‘that blend’ just isn’t an option for me
When I set the magazine up, Jasper was 6 weeks old (I’ll tell you that story properly another time!) and juggling a 12 year old daughter, a young baby and running a business is one hell of a white knuckle ride. And as Jasper aged, and progressed towards toddlerhood, my ability to multi-task disappeared on me I just couldn’t do all of it despite trying
Reading a book, The Power of Now, one day though, the line jumped out at me enough to just stop what I was doing “Wherever you are, be there totally” I never quite quote it perfectly but the sentiment is the same
I realised that when I was with my children, my mind was often on work stuff and when I was working I was feeling guilty about mum stuff. I was never fully in the room.
When I realised this, I then realised that much of this comes from the ‘learned’ pride of being busy, of being able to multi task Of how we are taught to be of use all of the time Deliver on time, arrive on time, don’t be late, hurry, hurry, hurry “Full plate? Great! You’re amazing doing all of that!”
When I let go of that lot, I realised the biggest price of all of it was my ability to sit and do nothing with my kids Which is actually the best thing I could do for them If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to look at how many things are in your head that you think you need to do.
What can you abandon? You CAN’T keep a tidy house, run a business, AND address additional needs your children may have Play games like This or That as a family (see page 15) and enjoy throwing the ‘shoulds’ out of the window. Not only does it break ridiculous beliefs we’ve been taught about what a family home ‘should’ be, but it puts your whole family into the room together ‘completely
And don’t get me wrong - I’m not implying that all families want to be together 24/7. We REALLY don’t as we’d possibly have family battles on monumental scales. And training your mind to be present in the room with you - and not in 55 million places at once - is an art form in itself
But it’s been proven that just 10 minutes of connected time with your children each day can hugely improve their self confidence and ability to detach from you healthily. How ironic that a little bit of deliberate time with your children helps them to give you more time without them?!
They were able to manage it last week
p p g g a walkie-talkie during tasks “Yeah, it's up in your drawer” to help.
Maybe you could bring everything down that you’ll need and place it next to your young person because if you ' re going out for a big day out, they are going to need to conserve their energy and their capacity for that day out
Consider How Flexible Any Plans Need To Be
Your week, month, the entire school holidays, may need lots of manoeuvrability and flex Having just one or two very large days out ie Lego land may then need lots of rest in between them or shortening days out so they can remain accessible and enjoyable.
Planning but knowing that plans may need to change because of everybody's energy, the weather and capacity This acceptance can minimise frustration if days out are cut short
Conserve Capacity Ahead Of Time
On a day where you ' re going to do something ‘big’ what will you need to do as a parent or carer? Maybe have notes prepared somewhere for the family? Perhaps having bags pre-packed, hanging up with a spare set of clothes, suntan lotion, snacks, sensory supports etc will help.
This gives ourselves and them the time it takes without rushing around and possibly getting a little agitated that you ' re doing everything while your child is sitting, gaming, watching TV, YouTubing, because you ' ve already done the prep. You can be there with them and supporting them.
Taking The Time YOU Need As A Family
I know I used to try and fit too much in or try to get them out of the house quicker than was feasible All that would then happen was that I would explode or they would Not a great start to a day out! I now take our time AND will also add an extra hour to meeting people because I know that to leave our home, we need a lot more time to move through those transitions.
I’d often think when I was packing one of my boy's bags at the age of 13 for school, that if I told friends and family, they'd have said I was Molly Coddling him yet I was simply supporting his needs through the many transitional steps that can overwhelm our young people.
Design In Advance
There is one idea called Strewing, where you'll leave activities on a table they might enjoy. Design areassuch as a reading area, a calm area. Have bags or creative boxes or crafts ready for when somebody wants to do something different
When they're ready, very often they don't want to wait for us to put the ingredients together, to get everything together, or to get out of the door. It's why I now understand why ‘bake a cake in a box’ makes so much sense for little people!
If your house can feel like a volcano waiting to erupt at any moment when your young people trigger or push each other's buttons, this can feel like a LOT. If you are experiencing a lot of volatility, challenging behaviour, or you ' re just dreading the thought of the summer holidays with your young person, take a look at the advert below - The PDA Space Portal has a great series of webinars designed to support you and your family through these summer transitions.
The PDA Space is for anyone needing help or support navigating a world not designed for non-typical people Where PDAers are heard ‘properly’
I Am Not a ‘Play Play Mum!’
by Joanne Jones
I Am Not a ‘Play Play Mum!’ These words were said to me 20 years ago by a mum I was working with to support her son ’ s language development, and they have stuck with me and shaped my work ever since.
These words resonated with me so much because I felt the same way but couldn’t really admit it - not as a speech and language therapist Play is at the heart of what we do! This realisation made me take stock and reevaluate play and playing with children
Rather than thinking of play in traditional terms, sitting on the floor surrounded by plastic toys, I began to see play in a much broader context. I saw my role in play as less rigid, and I lowered my expectations of myself. I realised that play is any unstructured time spent with my children and that the most important thing is my presence and open-mindedness.
What can harm children’s play is not whether you are any good at playing with them, but if you approach the activity with a preconceived idea or plan as to how it will unfold.
My children didn’t need anything more from me than my listening and following their lead I would set myself the goal of just adding one more idea This felt light and doable, and I didn’t have to be a ‘play play mum ’ to achieve it This changes play into a learning or instructional activity we can all relax into
Play is about freedom and expression; it is being together and creating together without a plan. And there is so much joy in that! In the end, embracing play in its various forms and letting go of rigid expectations has brought more joy and connection into our lives. So, if you ' re like me and not naturally a ‘play play mum, ’ remember that your presence and openness are what truly matter.
If you’d love to learn more about the Speech and Language Support I offer to families wanting to communicate differently or find their own way of helping each other, take a look at my website below or get in touch - I’d love to help!
Keeping Self Care Simple
by Emma Benyon
Self care ~ that immense topic we hear so much about as mumstelling us we ‘should’ be taking care of ourselves, or that we need to be the best version of ourselves for our kids can add a lot of pressure to our already busy lives
As a Self Care and Motherhood Coach I find that many of these perceptions of self care actually make it more difficult for us, as busy mums, to engage with.
Self care has become such a buzzword with such negativity attached to it, that for us to get any benefit from this practice, we've got to wade through a whole load of stuff before we even get to the point of being able to care for ourselves
It’s no secret why it’s so important though, and that when we have filled our energy fuel tank, we function as a better and more authentic version of ourselves. Most of us would love to feel more calm and grounded instead of exhausted and depleted all of the time wouldn’t we? But there‘s often one barrier to this - and that’s time.
So how, as busy mums, do we find that time in our never ending to do list and the mental load of being a mum?
The good news is that self care doesn’t have to be anything that costs money or requires a chunk of time It can be simple, easy and fun and can fit into stolen snippets in our daily life like the suggestions opposite
Self care is unique to each and every one of us because our lives and our seasons of motherhood are so different When you are choosing which practices to bring in, remember to do what works for you right now, and try and ease into what is achievable in this season of motherhood right now
Raising our energy, setting boundaries and bringing in nourishing habits like this bring joy, calmness and support which we can also use to support our children and families with too.
Keep it simple, keep it easy and keep it fun - and most of all enjoy nourishing yourself in a way that works for you!
1. Arrive for school pick up a tiny bit earlier - read a book, listen to a podcast, meditate, journal or take some breaths before leaving the car
2. Get out for some fresh air - a walk at lunch or after work, just 5 minutes a day can massively help
3. Drink water throughout the day - this will help your brain function and also keep your body hydrated
4. Get an early night - sleep has a massive impact on our wellbeing so getting to bed 30 minutes earlier will have a surprisingly huge pay off
5. Pop your favourite playlist or podcast on as you do the washing or while you sit with the kids when they are in the bath
6. Sit in peace for 2 minutestake yourself off for as little as two minutes and just sit, be still, be present and allow your mind to rest
HowCanWe Resurrect Our Own Inner Genius?
By Dr Jessica Morrod
WhatwouldyousayifItoldyouthatwhenyouwere about 5, it’s likely that you were a Genius? Perhaps you’d think I’m crazy since I don’t know you, how couldIbesocertain?Here’saclue...
NASAcommissionedapieceofresearchthatwould followagroupof1600childrenthroughtheirschool years.Theirpurposewastoidentifywhathappened to the genius, the divergent thinking and the creativity that pours out of young children. The researchfoundthatat4and5yearsold,98%ofthe children in the study tested as creative geniusesthat’squiteastrongstatisticisn’tit!
Only 5 years later the percentage had dropped to 30%. Roll on another 5 years, and as these children prepared to leave school and venture out into the world of adulthood,lessthan2%displayedGenius level creative thinking A staggering 96% of Genius lost by the time they reached adulthood.Makesyouthink,doesn’tit?
What if it encouraged children to be as creativeaspossibleandlovelearningby getting things wrong? It turns out there arealotofparentswhothinklikeme.
I’vealwaysbeenakindofquietdisruptor in the fields I work in. Divergent thinking and seeing different ways around many challengesismykindofthing,soIguess it’s not that surprising that I went from being a research physicist to a neuroscience-based educational coach and consultant - career changes that areoftenmetwithsurprise!
OneofmyfavouriteTEDtalksisbySirKen Robinson “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” Most of us have lost connection to our genius, yesterday’s education was not fit for tomorrow’s world. I’m a big believer that many parents feel they lack choice in many areas of their lives and education is a big one - we do have options in this country but how many of themaretrulypioneering?
When it came to my own son, I made bold moves and challenging choices to enrol him in a pioneering future school It embodies an approach to learning focused on skills and dispositions and puts who you are not what youknowattheheartofthecurriculum.
I’m determined to keep his genius alive! It’s fascinating to see what his learning journey has brought back out in me! It resonates so strongly, because I do the same work with parents and educators - uncover who they areandputitbackatthecentreofhowthey choosetolive,workandlearn.
Tiny steps add up! Start simply, embrace curiosity and include more play in your life. Come join likeminded parents on my Find YourGeniusprogrammetoreconnecttowho you are now and make something meaningfuloutofwhatyoualreadyhave.
1 Take pleasure yourself in the small things by adding another dimension to your walks or days outmaybe set up a family or individual challenge to notice the most unusual or greatest number of small things in your everyday environment and take part fully
2 Create mini-games by diving into the recycling bin! Add some tape, glue or even sticky marshmallows and spaghetti to build the tallest, wobbliest or most unusual structure you can individually or as a team and make a point of enjoying the ‘silly’ creativity too.
3. Make the ordinary extraordinary. Like taking a paperclip and challenging yourself and the family to come up with as many different uses as you can! Most people can come up with 10-15 uses but it might surprise you to know that divergent thinkers have been known to come up with 200!
As this edition is all about play it got me thinking about how the ‘grown ups’ have got everything all wrong. We have it almost hammered into us as soon as we start school to take life seriously and if we have a natural talent, the joy of it isn’t cherished. For instance if you’re fantastic at drawing or something creative - many of the adults around you will comment that it would be great for your future career.
So work hard at it and don’t take it for granted. Or that you’ll become a starving artist so don’t bother with that and put the pencils down now in pursuit of something more tangible or measurable.
Like there’s some kind of rules attached to how much play you’re allowed now, while you’re a child and then you have to get all serious about your future aspirations. It’s all upside down and back to front!
It’s like some crazy reversed roller coaster gauge - are you tall enough to ride the grown-up ride? Yes? Okay - well leave all the fun here little one as you’re not allowed to enjoy where you’re going too much
And the irony is that while we’re little and young, we can’t wait to grow up! Luckily some of us correct that one later in life and start regressing again!
If we were taught to CONTINUE to cherish play though, our human condition that underpins absolutely everything about ourselves would have a completely different demeanour.
The playfulness is where your You-Ness is hiding. Being in the moment, without rigidity, structure or expectations is where the real you-clues are.
Losing yourself in a moment - really being in the blissful ignorance of the future or past would gift us with way more joy and insight than any formal structure It’s where all the juicy clues are
I know we can’t throw wild abandon to our routines, plans and goals, but my invitation to any of us with children is to look at how much play makes its way into our life decisions? How much of honing our intentions to just ‘be’ do we do? Where is our ‘divining of self’ happening?
These games may seem childlike but these playful approaches based on impossibility are actually really powerful coping strategies for life and reclamations of your own potential - telling our minds we’re not listening and we’re giving it a go anyway.
I mean - what’s the worst thing that could happen?? No really - I mean it…?
If you have neurodivergent children, or are ND yourself, you’ll be very familiar with the hyperfocus that accompanies divergently wired brains. Boy does a hyperfocus know how to stretch time and steal additional moments from the future instead of the other way around...
It makes you wonder whether that’s how it should be because ultimately, we’re always having moments of ‘right now - life is a string of right nows. Instead of being playful with moments, we offer them up like sacrificial lambs to our future. Play keeps coming at us to get us to embrace the timelessness of life, yet we try to shoehorn it all into something ‘worthwhile’ for later, tomorrow, next year etc. And the really warped thing about this disregard of play is that it is directly linked to possibility - too much play won’t get the ‘work’ done so your odds of success will be lowered.
Yet the pressure of that reduces the odds way more than anything else! Ready to try out some new play?
Worst Case Scenario Competitions
We often ruminate about how bad things could be but we don’t actually delve into it fully so our mind halts us in our tracks. Playing this can outdo the depths our mind will go to to talk us out of looking silly, losing status, material possessions etc
Villains and Heros
Another way of playing that game is to create situations that when they’re working well, it’s full of heroes ie Water the Thirst Hero swooped in and then villains such as Hole In The Glass arrived This game is great because what you’ll learn really quickly is that progress can’t happen without things going wrong or adversity - everything would stay the same and life would be a really boring story!
Play This or That
Playing games like this highlights how many factors we bring into decisions and moments. Everything is so steeped in criteria. Maybe play it where it has to be a quick-fire answer or you’re allowed a maximum of 3 questions. Dinner decisions will be interesting!
Expecting Extra Impossible
We’re so conditioned to only try out things that have a decent chance - how about playing with impossibility! Wanting it to go wrong, expecting it to fall over or fail, knowing it’s not viable but doing it anyway And we all know how stubborn we can be sometimes when someone tells us we ‘can’t’ do something don’t we! We’re even more determined!
Our reality is that our body has an Impossibility Setting that it’s very attached to because it hates change It will tell you really loudly how impossible everything is when you decide to start changing things around Playfulness is the superhero that reverses that bias!
BOREDOM BUSTER Active
Lots of physical activities involve group activities, but what if your children prefer their own company? Here are a few playful ways of getting some movement going to burn off some excess energy...
Crab Crawl - sit on the floor with your legs straight o out in front of you and both hands behind you. Lift yourself up so that only your feet and hands touch the floor and now try to walk your hands and feet along the ground!
Bear Amble - put your hands and feet on the floor with your legs straight and hips in the air. Then walk moving your hands and your feet - you can even sing ‘Bear Necessities’ if you like!
Elephant Stomp - this one is great for clearing out any frustration! March on the spot raising your knees as high as you can, your arms as straight as you can, and stomp as hard as you can (you might want to be outside or downstairs for this one!)
Try intermittently doing these activities - 45 seconds on, then 15 seconds off. Which is your favourite? Which is the most tiring?? PS Big kids can play too!
BOREDOM BUSTER Chilling
This one is for when us folks needs some down time! Strewing is where you have some activities ‘strewn’ around the house to capture their interest during the day. Think of them as little curiosity invitations that they might not realise you had stealthily planned especially for them the whole time!
Do you have an old camera or phone with a camera on it? Have some post it notes with ideas of how they could use the camera. Pretend they are an ant, what would they capture on film? Let them take pictures of parts of things so others can try to guess what it is (and their goal is to make it too hard to guess it!). What teensy things can they snap, so zoomed in that it becomes fascinating.
Some googly eyes in a jam jar and some glue dots can bring so much fun to the house! Maybe have a challenge of who can get the most or biggest laughs as they are found over the next few days/weeks. Where is the most surprising place they’re put?
You’re never too old for play dough! Again jam jars are good for this as they can see it. Have cocktail sticks or pencils/tools ready too to make things with and maybe start one or two things in advance (and do a terrible job!) so they might feel compelled to re-make it ‘properly’!
You can’t beat the curiosity of a magnifying glass! The trick is to have a tray with items on it to spark curiosity - feathers, leaves, cones, moss, nuts - anything that would entice them to pick the magnifying glass up (a microscope or binoculars could be good to have lying around too if you have them).
Chopsticks on a tray with jars or bowls for them to transfer items from one to another. A few tricky items like dried rice grains or pulses, dried pasta or spaghetti strands might bring out the challengee in them but you don’t want to make everything too hard - maybe include money boxes or unusual vessels too for them to put items into or get back out.
NOT ALL SCREEN TIME IS BAD
I did say it was an honest mag didn’t I!
Before I start on one of my own rants (oh dear!), please note that one of the things I lead with when writing anything is that I warrant you with your own intelligence.
If there is ever anything that you don’t agree or resonate with - GOOD! This is what we want isn’t it? Variety and self-agency to choose which parts of life to take for ourselves and which to leave where it is
And the bigger mission I’m on is for us to be able to parent honestly. Let’s not pretend that we ’ ve all got our shizzle together 24/7 and that we don’t need a break from ‘100% on ’ parenting which on some occasions might include letting our children play on screens for longer than is recommended.
But may I also offer a different angle which has a strong chance of being an unpopular one with many parents....
I home educate my son and that meant I had to let go of many of the beliefs and methods I previously held
The biggest rewire for me was screen time Partly because you need to look at what screen time is. Much of the home ed learning is online. Even if you ’ re sitting watching a great lesson together, it’s screen time
Add in that my son loves nature documentaries and history programmes - more screen time. Add an even more important factor - he’s highly introverted He doesn’t want to ‘people in person ’ so my compromise had to be that he got to socialise on line
And when I hear him laughing and joking with his online friends - friends that get him because they too are introverted, it all feels SO much easier for him to manage
Not because he’s some kind of screen addict, but because that’s where the friendships that work best for him are hiding Then there’s another aspect that many of us ‘oldies’ ie not Gen Alpha or Gen Zscreens are THEIR future. Tech is going to be so embedded into absolutely everything, that we need to be careful with how much we ’ re limiting that
SCREENSCAN ALSOHELPTO REGULATEOUR
DIS-REGULATED CHILDREN
If you have a neurodivergent child, a highly-sensitive child, a child who is an empath or they have trauma in their past, their ability to switch off is extremely complex. Here are some things that helped in our household around screen relationships and gaming..
NOT SEEING IT AS A ‘THEM’ ACTIVITY
Many games or online activities have only one person on them but if you find some games that you can do together, it becomes an ‘ us ’ activity and creates connection that they might otherwise struggle to engage with in other formats.
UNDERSTANDING THAT THE GAMING ‘MATTERS’ TO THEM
Ever watched a movie that you absolutely loved and wanted to tell people about, but nobody was remotely interested? It puts a little dent in your heart doesn’t it? Just listening to them for a few minutes, telling you about their games, progress etc makes them feel heard, included and they love having an active audience so it’s surprising how quickly this builds into full conversations they want to have with you.
REALISING IT REGULATED HIM AFTER PEOPLING
Being around people can be a sensory overload for some children My son says that being around people feels too much for him, so his insides get all tangled When he games even for half an hour once we ’ re back home, he switches off and knows this regulates his body again.
NOT SEEING IT ‘ALL’ AS SCREENS (OR BEING A HYPOCRITE)
My 24yo daughter is a voracious reader but she’s always read electronic books as they’re quicker to get her hands on. I love learning about psychology on YouTube and regularly binge watch videos when I love a series. If we focus on the quality of what’s being consumed, and the actual impact on our children, instead of the more common narrative of them being terrible, we soon realise that technology is the new ‘how’ of learning for our youngsters
LOOKING AT THE BIGGER PICTURE - THE GAMING INDUSTRY IS 3X BIGGER THAN THE MOVIE INDUSTRY
Here’s an absolute whopper - there are huge careers in gaming, especially for creatives. Probably working from home and your introverted child is likely to always be an introvert Games need music, scripts, artwork, computer coding etc My son will tell you who did the artwork in his games - he’s genuinely interested in how they’re made He sings their songs and sees them in the same way we might a musical artist or film director that we follow. We’re missing a huge trick if we teach them that their geeking out on what could easily become a career in an arena they find easy and love, is problematic
TEACHING HOW TO RECOGNISE GAMING DISREGUALTION
One last point I’ll leave you to research gaming hygiene such as blue light exposure etc, but I do want to share that if you look for the signs of gaming disregulation that's a much better gauge of when to suggest switching off. I taught Jasper when he was 6 that his brain didn’t know that games weren’t real-life threats and that I’d be a terrible parent if I let his body feel attacked. When his palms were getting sweaty and he was getting agitated with a game, I’d point it out and give him the option of having 5 more minutes then either coming off the game or choosing a calmer one This always worked fine as he already understood why 1 2 3 4 5 6
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsps olive oil
1 onion sliced
750g skinless chicken breast or thigh (chopped into 2cm chunks)
2 cm piece of ginger (grated)
2 garlic cloves (grated or crushed)
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsps garam masala
Salt & Pepper to taste
400ml tin coconut milk
3 tbsps ground almonds
1 tbsp coriander chopped (plus extra for garnish)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves 4
Easy Chicken Korma
This mild and creamy korma is a perfect intro to subtle spices whilst still being packed full of flavour What’s also handy is that fresh ginger, onion and turmeric are fab for the immune system, and the coconut milk and chicken are great for the brain. Winner, winner chicken dinner - literally!
METHOD
Put the olive oil in a wide, deep saucepan and add the sliced onions. Cook on a low heat, covered with a lid, for 5 minutes until the onions are soft but not brown
Take the lid off and add the chunks of chicken. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook for 5 minutes until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
Turn the heat down and add the grated ginger and garlic together with the turmeric and garam masala, plus a little salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add about ¾ of the coconut milk, bring to the boil and then turn down and gently simmer for 10 minutes. If you find the curry becomes too dry you can add the rest of the coconut milk.
After 10 minutes, add the ground almonds and chopped coriander and cook for 1 more minute, then serve with rice or naan and garnish with a little more chopped coriander.
Just like a science lesson AND a cookery lesson together!
Easy Ice Cream
Ingredients
300ml cream
2 tbsps caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 trays of ice cubes
6 tbsps rock salt fruit, crushed biscuits, sprinkles or chocolate chips (optional)
Method
Add the cream, sugar, vanilla essence and any optional extras into the medium-sized zip bag Securely zip up the bag
Gently, shake the bag to combine all of the ingredients
Place the ice into the large-sized zip bag and spoon the salt over it
Then, place the medium-size bag inside the large- sized bag and zip it securely
With gloves, or using a tea towel, shake and massage the bag for 5-10 minutes until the mixture becomes the consistency of ice cream
Little Chef’s Tip: You might want to take it in turns to massage the bag as little arms might start aching You could also put some fun music on while you massage the ingredients to get a summer vibe going!
Remove the medium-sized zip bag (containing the ice cream) and wipe the outside to remove the salt
Carefully, cut a small hole in one of the bottom corners of the bag and squeeze out the ice cream
Decorate with any fruit, sprinkles or goodies of your choosing and enjoy!
Searching!
Ready for a SUPER tricky puzzle? On the right are LOTS of items - looking for their twins and gang. Their other twin is hidden in the square on the left - can you find them? But here’s the extra tricky part - there’s one rogue item on the right that doesn’t have a twin! Can you spot which one it is??
You can colour the items in too - you might notice that some have LOTS of copies of themselves. How many can you find? Don’t forget that one is missing completely!
Searching!
Can you find all of the summery words from the list on the right? Flowers? Check! June? Check! Bnignua? Check! Wait - that’s not even a word!?
Okay so maybe our weather is all over the place, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look forward to a yummy ice cream does it?
What toppings are you going to put onto yours? ANd more imoportantly, will we need to worry if it melts too quickly, or whether we have enough jumpers on that day??
We never know with our summers do we?
Happy Happy Colouring! Colouring!
T E A C H I N G
R E S O U R C E S
E A R L Y Y E A R S
F O U N D A T I O N S T A G E -
B I R T H T O A G E 5
Whether you are your child’s prime educator, or you ’ re looking for additional teaching resources, here’s a selection we ’ ve collected that may help
D U C A T I O N A L I N F O
• Oxford Owl - a website from age 3 - range of topics with reading being of emphasis.
• BBC Tiny Happy People - lots of activities aimed at helping your child to develop their communication skills through play
• Word United - Loads of printable activities and really useful information on the topics such as science for toddlers.
• Libraries From Home - Libraries are known for their community activities - their reading sessions and imaginative play - this is all of the resources they're providing from home
• BBC Bitesize - a fantastic site full of resources across all of the learning stages, includes daily lessons.
• Hungry Little Minds - gov site offering learning and interactive activities to do with your children - handily separated from 0-6mths, 6-12mths, 12-24mths, 2-3 yrs, 3-5 yrs
If you are looking for help on a specific topic, such as reading, writing or speech for instance, many of these sites offer multiple specialisations. If you can't find what you ' re looking for at any point, feel free to raise it in our Facebook group and we'll happily hunt for it for you as the odds are that if you need it, lots of other parents would too! We'll be adding to the links as we go along so this is just the starting point.
Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play, children learn how to learn
O. Fred Donaldson
• National Literary Trust - Full of reading resources, this charity works with schools and communities to provide disadvantaged children with literacy skills - loads of online resources.
T E A C H I N G
R
S O U R C E S
Whether you are your child’s prime educator, or you ’ re looking for additional teaching resources, here’s a selection we ’ ve collected that may help
E D U C A T I O N A L I N F O
• Oxford Owl - a website from age 3 to 11 - range of topics with reading and phonics being of emphasis
• Robin Hood Multi Academy Trust - a great site devoted to teaching children through innovationencouraging independent thinking - offers 7 weeks of teaching resources.
• Word United - Loads of printable activities and really useful information on the topics up to age 11
• Libraries From Home - Libraries are known for their community activities - their reading sessions and imaginative play - this is all of the resources they're providing from home
• BBC Bitesize - a fantastic site full of resources across all of the learning stages, includes daily lessons
• Crash Course Kids and Cognito - both YouTube sites with educational videos CCK is mainly science but Cognito is a wider range but both great for auditory or visual learners
• National Literary Trust - Full of reading resources, this charity works with schools and communities to provide disadvantaged children with literacy skills - loads of online resources.
If you are looking for help on a specific topic, such as reading, writing or speech for instance, many of these sites offer multiple specialisations. If you can't find what you ' re looking for at any point, feel free to raise it in our Facebook group and we'll happily hunt for it for you as the odds are that if you need it, lots of other parents would too! We'll be adding to the links as we go along so this is just the starting point.
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire ”
William
Butler Yeats
R E S O U R C E S
KEY STAGE TWO AGES 7 TO 11
Whether you are your child’s prime educator, or you ’ re looking for additional teaching resources, here’s a selection we ’ ve collected that may help
E D U C A T I O N A L I N F O
• Oxford Owl - a website from age 3 to 11 - range of topics with reading and literacy being a strong emphasis.
• Robin Hood Multi Academy Trust - a great site devoted to teaching children through innovationencouraging independent thinking - offers 7 weeks of teaching resources
• Word United - Loads of printable activities and really useful information on the topics such up to age 11.
• Mystery Science - Science based site with lessons to ' open and go ' - their mission is to inspire kids to enjoy STEM subjects and they're currently offering a free one year membership
• BBC Bitesize - a fantastic site full of resources across all of the learning stages, includes daily lessons going from Early Years through to college
If you are looking for help on a specific topic, such as reading, writing or speech for instance, many of these sites offer multiple specialisations. If you can't find what you ' re looking for at any point, feel free to raise it in our Facebook group and we'll happily hunt for it for you as the odds are that if you need it, lots of other parents would too! We'll be adding to the links as we go along so this is just the starting point.
“The
trouble with over-structuring is that it discourages exploration ”
• Crash Course Kids and Cognito - both YouTube sites with educational videos CCK is mainly science but Cognito is a wider range but both great for auditory or visual learners.
Jay Giedd
R E S O U R C E S
K E Y S T A G E T H R E E A G E S 1 1 T O 1 4
Whether you are your child’s prime educator, or you ’ re looking for additional teaching resources, here’s a selection we ’ ve collected that may help...
E D U C A T I O N A L I N F O
• Mystery Science - Science based site with lessons to ' open and go ' - their mission is to inspire kids to enjoy STEM subjects and they're currently offering a free one year membership.
• Access 500 Museums and Art Galleries - For students inspired by the arts and culture, this is a fantastic collection of all of the museums and galleries from around the world offering free online access
• BBC Bitesize - a fantastic site full of resources across all of the learning stages, includes daily lessons going from Early Years through to college.
• Teach It - a site full of resources for KS3, 4 and 5 to help with all subjects
• National Geographic - No learning section would be complete without National Geographic in it! Full of lessons and quizzes this site is great for all the nature and geography fiends!
National Literary Trust - Full of reading resources, this charity works with schools and communities to provide disadvantaged children with literacy skills - loads of online resources.
If you are looking for help on a specific topic, such as reading, writing or speech for instance, many of these sites offer multiple specialisations. If you can't find what you ' re looking for at any point, feel free to raise it in our Facebook group and we'll happily hunt for it for you as the odds are that if you need it, lots of other parents would too! We'll be adding to the links as we go along so this is just the starting point.
Let the child be the scriptwriter, the director and the actor in his own play.
Magda Gerber
T E A C H I N G
R E S O U R C E S
Whether you are your child’s prime educator, or you ’ re looking for additional teaching resources, here’s a selection we ’ ve collected that may help
• The Traditional Teacher - core knowledge ab GCSE literary texts which pupils should memoris characters, setting, context, themes, and key qu
• Teach It - a site full of resources for KS3, 4 help with all subjects
• National Geographic- No learning section wo complete without National Geographic in it lessons and quizzes this site is great for all th and geography fiends!
• BBC Bitesize - a fantastic site full of resource all of the learning stages, includes daily lessons from Early Years through to college.
If you are looking for help on a specific topic, such as reading, writing or speech for instance, many of these sites offer multiple specialisations. If you can't find what you ' re looking for at any point, feel free to raise it in our Facebook group and we'll happily hunt for it for you as the odds are that if you need it, lots of other parents would too! We'll be adding to the links as we go along so this is just the starting point.
• Digital Projects - for the more IT minded, a sit dedicated to learning how to create all things digital, in project fornats to make the learning process more relatable and digestible E D U C A T I O N A L F U N
Kids deserve the right to think that they can change the world
Lois Lowry
Want to join our brand new gang? The Mum’s The Word Facebook & WhatsApp Community is one of the few places where you don’t need to pretend you’re still sane! Join us here.
Current WhatsApp Groups...
What'sInTheFridge? I DETEST the family-food conveyor belt so this is for shared ideas when inspiration has done a runner.
NeedAService? The group will always be a pitch-free zone, but this chat is for if you're actively looking for a recommendation or help.
Wins - some days, just cleaning your teeth, or washing dishes that have haunted you for two days can be a win. This is for the wins to be cheered on - regardless of their size.
Wobbles - we have plenty of these too, so this is a safe place to share that so it doesn't fester - I personally think there's nothing more powerful than a me too' moment knowing it isn't just you.
SchoolShizzle - a shared space for anything school-related as so many of our children are struggling and it's an absolute minefield.
Divergents - I don't like to label or box people's quirks and traits off - this is for those diagnosed, undiagnosed or just different thinkers, trying to make sense of life or issues that are 'issuing'.
BizzShizz - a designated space for parents running businesses to openly promote, swap, share, ask for advice etc.
And Finally...
I hope you all have an amazing Summer - whatever that looks like for your family Try to have a few moments that you get to cherish as your own
Nomumguilt!Right?IgnoretheInstahighlightreelswhereotherfamiliesare onamazingholidaysordaysoutthatyourbudgetorcapacitywon’tstretchto I
I don’t know how many times I’ve had that tummy pang of guilt because other families are living lives that look way cooler, better, more exciting (delete as appropriate) than mine
The mums seem more mummish, the dads more daddish and their lives more life-ish
But I’ll never forget my daughter at age 7, sitting on the sofa instead of putting her shoes on for a day out I’d already paid for saying ‘Mummy - can we just stay in today and do nothing? We never do nothing’
And there it was The day my time cramming and activity jamming stopped when I realised my daughter’s favourite thing to do in the whole wide world, was to be at home, in our version of a haven, away from the world.
And at 24, she’s still the same But I still need regular reality checks as my son detests peopling and it can feel like the world is passing us by sometimes
But it isn’t Reclaiming life on our own terms and working it out as we go, requires us to leave the othering to the others and playing around with what life looks like to us. As per everything in this issue.
Happy Playing!
We don’t stop playing because we grow old - we grow old because we stop playing
