Today on the Edspire Festive Forecast we have two great products from Orchard Toys, a British brand very popular in primary schools and homes across the UK. I have used their games in maths lessons with my old year 2 … Continue reading
My first reading and review combination! This was completely spontaneous and so totally unrehearsed. But I liked doing it so may do some more! This is a reading and review of Miriam Latimer’s book Emily’s Tiger, published by Barefoot Books. … Continue reading
Over the last couple of weeks we have been reading and rereading a book which is becoming a firm favourite in the Nairn Henley household. A Julia Donaldson picture book about night and day, through the eyes of two little … Continue reading
Esther and William will be 7 months corrected age next week. Developmentally they are at the stage where they love cuddles with people and stuffed toys. They are starting to develop preferences for certain toys and stories. They are beginning … Continue reading
Barefoot Books sent me a collection of their children’s titles to review including Clare Beaton’s Action Rhymes and Nursery Rhymes. These small and sturdy board books are perfect for chubby baby fingers and soggy baby gums! They would make lovely … Continue reading
Kerry at Multiple Mummy is encouraging us all to take some time out from being a Mummy and share things we are passionate about. I have only been a Mummy for 9 months but I have to say that my own passions and interests are already a hazy memory. What did I do before Esther and William were born?
Drama – acting and directing
I love the theatre. I love going to London to watch a show but I also love small theatre, amateur theatre and schol plays. I have always enjoyed acting from a very early age and have been lucky enough to play some fantastic roles in amateur theatre. I have also worked with some exceptional children when directing school plays. Theatre is my main passion. I have been involved in all aspects of theatre at one time or another and know that I will be again when the babies are older. This is a passion that I share with David and I hope that we will both tread the boards again one day.
Writing – blogging and poetry
I have written poetry, stories and plays since I was a young child. I love writing! I find it easy and can write a poem very quickly. My poetry is quite childlike in format and style but it works. My writing has taken a new direction in the last year since starting this blog. When I was a teenager I went mad with my Mother for reading my diary now I am publishing it online for all to see. I find blogging therapeutic, a release, an escape and a way of making friends.
Photography – taking photos and sorting photos
My camera goes with me everywhere. I have always loved taking photos and being in other people’s. I took GCSE Design and specialised in photography but spent more time modelling for other people’s photos than taking and developing my own. Photographs are another form of diary for me, I record very milestone I can, especially since the babies have been born. I am currently taking the 365 photo challenge to try and improve my skills and if I a feel at the end of the year that I have been successful then I am going to treat myself to a proper SLR camera and deveop this passion even more.
Reading – to myself and out loud
Any regular reader of this blog will know that I love reading with Esther and William. I want to encourage them to have the same love affair with literature that their father and I share. Our house is full of books of every genre and we all love to read. I love to read aloud. When David and I first met we used to read plays aloud together. Now I read out loud to Esther and William whenever I can. We generally share at leats three picture books a day and you can read about some of our favourites here.
The West Wing
David introduced me to this series when we first met in 2007. Since then we ave watched all 7 series about 5 times. I am sure we are on our fifth go through. This is an Amrican drama set in The White House with a Democtratic president. It is fantasticaly written, superbly cast and very well acted. It is easy to watch yet challenges your thinking. It makes you laugh and cry. It feels real. It sparked an interest for me in American political systems and I have learned so much through watching it. It is great! David and I can quote many lines from it and often share them as personal jokes. It is a shared passion and a strong bond between us. We have watched it every day for years. I love it.
Planning
I am a planner. I love to make lists and tick things off. At the moment I am busy planning our wedding, before that we have Esther and William’s first birthday party to arrange and after it their christening to plan. I love researching ideas and making plans.
So there we go, seems I can remember after all! But none of these things compare to the passion I have for my children and sharing in their learning and development. None of these things compare with my love for David and my desire to make him happy, to make us happy as a family. There is nothing in the world that beats that!
But it has been nice, really nice, to take a few minutes out to write this post and remember who I am for a while, who I am when I am not being Mummy x
A Day in the Life of Esther and William
As a first time Mummy of twins I am beginning to wonder if I am doing enough for my little ones.
Here is a typical day at home for Esther and William, how does your little ones typical day at home compare?
6.00 Esther and William get up and have breakfast and a play with Daddy
7.15 Daddy takes Esther and William out for a 4/5 mile run in their pram
8.30 Mummy welcomes Esther and William home. We go in to the playroom for time under the gym and on the Jumperoo. During this time both babies will also have some milk.
10.30 Nap time
11.30 Both babies up and playing on a circuit of activities in the lounge. We have a chill out zone, the gym and a sitting up area also space to practise crawling.
12.30 Lunch and milk
1.30 Nap
2.30 Playtime with Mummy and story time. I try to change the toys and activities whenever they have a nap so that they do not get bored and can find something slightly different when they wake up.
4.00 Mummy takes Esther and William for a walk in their pram or nap time if raining
4.30 Play and dinner
5.30 TV Time
5.40 Bath time – this includes an all over wash before the bath and any medications / supplements needed
6.15 Bed time
I encourage Esther and William to play independently but they are not very good at it. I worry that I do not spend enough time talking to them. I wonder should I try to have some individual time with each of them?
I often think that with one baby I would put them in a sling and go out to town for coffee, read magazines in a cafe, meet friends, go shopping. We don’t do any of that because it is just impossible on my own.
What does a day in your little ones life look like?
Here are some pictures to illustrate our days x
Active under the gym
Gym, Mirror Talk, Bouncy Chair, Sit Up Play, Cosy Snooze Corner
Playing together, learning to crawl
Gym, Sit Up Play, Chill Out Corner
Sitting and Chilling
Concentrating
On the Move!
Getting to Know You
Independent Play
Jumperoo or Jump A Poo more accurate in our house x
Story Time
This book by Martin Waddell I adore. It is such a simple, repetitive text but with much that can be read beween the lines. In our house this book is often performed with finger puppets! I find this text perfect for performing or reading aloud, gving each owl baby a distinct voice and character of its own. The text in parts is poetc and reads much like a lullaby. It is a classic bedtime tale.
Three owl babies, Sarah and Percy and Bill, are waiting together for their Mummy to come home from hunting. They are worried that she might not return and Bill in particular really wants his Mummy. Together they wonder where she might be and when she will be home. They huddle together for warmth and comfort until soft and silent Mummy swoops through the trees to Sarah and Percy and Bill.
This book is also perfect for use in the classroom for children aged 5 – 7.
My favourite activity is to use puppets or sequencing cards to retell the story.
You can split a class into three groups and ask each group to read the speech of one of the owls and try to imagine what that owl is thinking and feeling. The children could then extend their character profiles by using their understanding of the three personalities to try imagining how they would each respond to other situations, such as learning to fly, making a new nest and finding their own food.
During a shared re-reading of the story you can ask children to listen carefully to the babies’ speech and decide at the end of each page whether the owls are getting more nervous as the story progresses. A nerve chart/graph can be used to support visual and kinaesthetic learners. Understanding characters’ motivation for their actions is an important part of reading and understanding narrative fiction.
Ask children to think how a trio made up of their own friends and family would respond differently to various situations. Encourage children to think of times when they have been scared or excited and when they have reacted differently to a family member or friend. Think about actions, words and feelings. Role play could be used to explore different situations.
A great tool for the classroom is Role on the Wall. Draw an outline of each owl baby on the wall and then write key words about their character on to the outline. What they look like on the outside and what they think and feel on the inside of the outline. This is a good plenary activity that can be used after characters have been explored through role play.
As well as being a beautiful simple story, Owl Babies also exemplifies theuse of a full ramge of punctuation marks in context. This book is a great resource for sentence level work in literacy. How many different words, for example, can children come up with to replace ‘said’?
For a book with so few words, there is so much to be gained from sharing this story wih children in your classroom or your home.
Why not try these ideas linked to the text?
Ask children to write a set of Keep Safe rules (procedural text) for the owls when their mother is a way or for themselves in a given situation – in the playground, in the classroom etc.
Compare Owl Babies with the first chapter of The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark to compare the feelings of the Plop with Sarah, Percy and Bill.
Ask children to compose a speech by the mother owl to make the owls feel better. The Owl Mother puppet can be used for children to deliver their speech through. This could be a good paired activity.
Make a class reference book called ‘All About Owls’, use the information text included as an introduction to the text type and as a model for children’s own text.
Incorporate the use of ICT and create a web page, ‘All about Owls’.
A fantastic resource and a right good read!
Mummy and Esther and Will!
After what can only be described as a horrible morning and early afternoon, our late afternoon was saved by reading books.
Part of my over tired, over emotional state led to me feeling a little jealous of my Mum. Stupid, I know! She is staying with us at the moment to help with the babies. Because she always gets a good night’s sleep she is so full of energy to play with Esther and William while I can barely speak out loud I am so shattered. I pathetically got to thinking that Esther and William might prefer being with her than with me! She is just so loud and so much fun!
Anyway, William was playing with my Mum when I sat down with Esther to read a book. As I started reading aloud William stopped playing and with the saddest face looked over to where we were and listened to the story too. That tiny moment, that one loving look just melted my heart. He continued to listen to the story, never not watching, from the other side of the room. When I finished reading to Esther I read to William too, the same story and one other. It was such a special time, reading with my son and daughter, that it totally made up for the rest of the day. It also made me realise that no matter what, only I will ever be their Mummy, and that counts for a LOT!!
I would like to share with you now, the books that made it all better.
Tell Me What It’s Like To Be Big by Joyce Dunbar
This is a lovely story about a little girl who wants to be bigger. When her brother tells her of all the things she might do when she is grown the little girl realises that perhaps she would rather stay small after all. A lovely tale about growing up with a subtle message of not growing up too fast. This was beautiful to read as a mother snuggled up to a son and daughter who are growing and changing every day.
Ants in Your Pants by Julia Jarman and Guy Parker-Rees
This is a fun book for reading out loud. It is written with great rhythm and rhyme. The characters are very funny and the pictures are bright and colourful. This is one that can be shared over and over again and every time you will notice something new. A great funny book full of knickers to make you giggle!