Reflections on Children, Music and Being Fully Alive
Dedicated to Damaris Pfeiffer-Böhme and all those that mother mothers. It's Mother's Day in Germany, and for the first time in 17 years I get to spend it with my mum. Not because I'm a wonderful daughter who has just jetted over to Germany to surprise her with a visit and whisk her off on… Continue reading Mum
"All my babies come early" was a mantra I kept repeating to everyone that asked me when baby was due. "Officially middle of April, but I don't think I'll go much beyond 38 weeks." Conceived wisdom has it that this is something you don't do. Put your dates back, never forwards. Except that we had… Continue reading In Praise of the Post-Date Baby – Freddie’s Birth at 41 Weeks
We all want our children to listen well, but how do they learn this vital skill? As we dig up the soil to look at the roots, we find that the ability to listen is closely connected with a toddler's emotional and social development - and that active music is like a superfood that helps boost their learning.
Breathing in the midst of chaos I’m standing in the kitchen holding my crying 2 ½ year old. Sobs are bubbling up from deep down, racking her little body and I can feel her heart galloping along at breakneck speed. But she’s letting me hold her, which is good. Better than the last twenty minutes,… Continue reading Tantrum
Hearing is just one of our five senses, one we often take for granted. Why is it crucial for early childhood development, and how do we get from hearing - indiscriminately taking in sound - to listening - deliberately processing the noise that's important to our survival and well-being? Read about the importance of the… Continue reading Learning to Listen Part 1: From Day One
Sing with your children and you will give them a gift that keeps on giving for a life-time! But some of us feel daunted by the very idea. Maybe we weren't sung to, or feel self-conscious about competing with the plethora of professionally recorded children's albums. Maybe we don't realise we're already doing it, and that… Continue reading What’s in a Song? Six Things You Need to Know About Singing With Young Children
I wrote this article for the Mother Magazine in 2015, while volunteering for Home Start the year before my youngest was born. It never made it to the printing press for one reason or another so I'm publishing it here. The time I spent with my Home Start family was so worth it! A few… Continue reading Building Community – Home Start-Style
Academic success appears to be the be-all and end-all in life, especially if you listen to our politicians. But could the way there be very different from the route they advocate? We live in a high-stakes society where existential angst and fear of failing are rife. Nowhere is this more in evidence than in the… Continue reading An Ode to Fascination
Hi there, thank you for joining me on my new blog! It's been in the pipeline for quite some time and I've finally decided to give it a go and kick off. I'm a bit of a mish-mash, a work-in-progress, lots of different strands, all being woven together into a pattern that I don't understand… Continue reading The Journey Begins
Weaving Rainbows 