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
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
Weaving Rainbows 