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By Little Mummy, September 11, 2007 2:33 pm

Abel Cheng of Parent Wonder tipped me off to this article which covers the stories of four different sets of people that have started their own schools. Two of the families because of poor state education, one a specialist autistic shool, and the other specialising in teaching those with dyslexia.

The story that caught my attention most was the second piece about ‘The Family School at Larkhall’. The school is set in the “heart of London” which is interesting in itself, one expects such schools to be rural if anywhere at all, but to opt out of an established school system in Britain’s capital is brave to say the least, and then to start your own school, some would find the concept complete bonkers. I, however, admire the parent that looks at the options presented to them and their children and rejects them in favour of something they believe to be superior. At this school the parents are even expected to be ‘on-site’ at least one day a week to help with cooking lunches, driving etc.. now that’s commitment for you. This obviously would not be possible for all british parents as our work schedules simply wouldn’t allow it, this is an idealist scenario that is working for a small band of parents and I’m sure their children will reap the rewards.

Coincidentally on my next reading of my RSS feed, I find this story covering the opening of a parent led school, this time on a larger scale – the school has 380 pupils.

So are these schools merely fashionable at the moment or is this the start of a rejection of the state system and all its inadequacies?

Personally I don’t think there’s much scope for these type of schools to become the norm, although, it’s a nice idea. I do think the government needs to take heed and accept that there are many many parents who are dissatisfied with the education system and the ‘one size fits all’ approach, and some parents like those in these news reports who are rejecting it outright.

Luckily, I think if anyone can revolutionise the education system Gordon Brown can, he seems to have a genuine and vested interest in our schools and young people.

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By Little Mummy, September 10, 2007 3:13 am

I recently wrote my top ten money saving strategies that are ensuring we can live off one wage, whilst I stay at home with my daughter Erin. Also providing me with the option of returning to full time education in the near future.

Now it’s time for seven false economies that have tripped me up along the way.

1. Shop Brand Nappies

You may think (like I did) that nappies are a perfect way to save some cash, after all, the supermarket brand versions can be as much as 40% cheaper, which is a real saving….but don’t be fooled. I found that, when it comes to nappies you get what you pay for, the cheaper versions stayed very wet, meaning I had to change them more often, perhaps twice as often, making cheaper nappies a false economy. The only time I buy cheap nappies is to keep for standby. The reason? their so bad compared to the named brand that I can only stomach using them when I’ve truly been caught short!

2. DIYB

Otherwise known as Doing It Yourself. Badly. We’ve all heard of so and so’s husband who tried to rewire the house to save money and uhhh…didn’t get it quite right, resulting in a hefty electrician’s bill to correct it. Take heed, if you are in any doubt that you can’t successfully complete a job, don’t bother, instead try and find a friend of a friend who will do it for ‘mates rates’.

Ok I need to find the phone number for the light switch fixing guy (!)

3. Selling Stuff on Ebay

For a short time (while I was pregnant) I had the grand idea that I might build an ebay empire and become a ‘powerseller’ making lots of money in the process. I would buy cheap items to resell on ebay. If you’re considering it, don’t bother unless you have a great supplier and high priced products (electronics) at rockbottom prices, otherwise you’re going to find it very difficult to turn a profit.

First there is the listing fee, and then the percentage they take from the sale price, not to mention paypal fees, postage and packaging, plus all the time and effort, most of the time it really isn’t worth it, and that often goes for selling unwanted items like kiddy clothes and toys. I actually just give mine to charity or pass them on to someone I know now because it is such a false economy, both monetarily and time wise.

4. Cheap Deodrant

Unless you like snowing armpits don’t even go there!

5. Picnics

Controversially I don’t believe that taking a picnic on an outing is always the most economical. If you have leftovers or stuff to make sandwiches and squash to take then this can definitely be the cheapest option. But if your picnics (like mine) involve you heading to the supermarket to stock up on expensive pre-packaged foods to take, then you’d be better off grabbing a sausage roll or bag of chips when you’re there. Admittedly it’s not the healthiest, but once in a while it’s ok!

6. Buying Ultra Cheap Food

I’ll admit that some shop brand items are equal to or better than the more expensive brands, in fact I made a short list of them in my post about cutting costs. However, buying the cheapest and lowest quality of absolutely everything will likely end up with you having poor meal options, and eventually you will give into the temptation of tasty takeaways, thus blowing your budget way over what it would have been to buy tasty meal ingredients.

7. Extending the Life of Shoes

Kids shoes are expensive, our last pair were £26… You may be tempted to.. ahem… ‘extend the life’ of your shoes by trimming the ends and fashioning a pair of not-so fashionable sandals. It’s an economical idea, but don’t! Think of the shame and extra pocket money you will have to dole out in compensation (we are living in a society obsessed with suing for damages, beware!) also you can really harm the resale value if you decide (against my advice) to sell them on ebay

Anyonelse have a false economy to share….

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By Little Mummy, September 9, 2007 12:34 pm

My habit this week, or more accurately the past two weeks has been to get organised. When I looked a little further into what this habit might entail I found that many of the suggestions were tailored around making ‘to-do’ lists. Now, as you well know, I am the master of list making, this skill (obsession?) seems to be rife amongst my fellow parent bloggers…but that’s another post altogether!

So with me already making more lists than is eco-friendly (I know they do recycled paper, what about pens?) or indeed ‘normal’, why am I not already super organised?

I’ve had to face some harsh truths over the last 14 days, like, when you make a list you’re supposed to actually do what’s on the list and, only then are you actually achieving something. Yes, it would seem I had been overlooking this fact, and instead making more lists so that I would create the illusion of organisation (oops).

In short, this weeks’ habit ended up being really straight forward, complete everything on the to-do list before blogging, watching tv, and making more lists! And you know what, it’s actually worked, my house will never be a show home but I have been tackling lots of niggling jobs, clearing clutter and doing outstanding deep clean tasks. I’ve also organised the finances, taken Erin on more outings and ‘play dates’, even my husband has noticed the difference, the other night after a long shift at work he asked “who’s taken my Erica and replaced her with a stepford wife” I’m not really sure if this was a positive statement or not, he seems none too impressed with my rigorous enforcement of the ‘pick up after yourself’ rule. Ah well…men need to be living somewhere that likens a cess pit before they decide to have a tidy round!

Next weeks’ habit: Positive Thinking (this should be interesting, my first maths assesment is on tuesday eek!)

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By Little Mummy, September 6, 2007 10:04 am

I have a quick breakfast tip for you, it’s not the most healthy, this is a treat – perhaps for a weekend morning but Erin really enjoyed it and it made a nice change from weetabix;

Small squares of French Toast (also known as eggy bread), a small side portion of maple syrup for dipping served in a ramekin or small plastic bowl. Strawberry milk diluted with extra whole milk.

Erin loved the change and the fact that it was sweet, but most of all she liked doing the dipping herself!

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Erin has found an outlet for her pocket money (£1 a week, what?…she’s 19 months, she surely doesn’t need more than that!!). The new In The Night Garden magazine has been released, and she purchased her first copy today. I have found it to be a high quality (!) publication featuring stories and pictures, a free (!) jumbo sticker sheet and the piéce de résistance…. an iggle piggle hand puppet, surely worth the £1.99 alone!

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Now for some highlights elsewhere in the blogosphere;

When Erin begins nursery I’ll be sure to include some lunchtime entertainment, scribbit has some inspiration on the subject.

I enjoyed this humorous list of tips to get you through your first year of school. 21st Century Mummy has fast become a must read for me since she joined British Parent Bloggers.

Whitney’s always been one of my favoured writers at GNMParents, Your Choices, Your Child’s Experience was yet another article that made me think.

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The first ever Carnival of British Parents was hosted by the Little Legends blog, I’d urge any british parent bloggers to submit a post for the next edition. You can do so here.

The ever growing Carnival of Family Life was in Australia this week.

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And finally in case you needed some further reading (!) here are some littlemummy retro’s from September last year….

Painting inspiration – try something different next time
Make a Paper Flower Collage

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By Little Mummy, September 5, 2007 1:29 pm

Being away last weekend helped me see ‘my baby’ in a new light. Surrounded by family, she thrived on the new experiences presented to her. From playing the piano to feeding fish in the garden pond, from eating and playing with her four year old aunty to sharing a family meal on sunday. There were many new faces for her, many new experiences and to my surprise she took it all in her stride.

Erin’s always been very outgoing and confident, but now I’m seeing an independant streak, my nineteen month old suddenly seems rather grown up. She played the piano like she’d done it a dozen times, back straight, fingers tinkling away. She played well with her aunty, and they shared lunch at a miniature table and chairs. Up until now Erin has always had her meals in her highchair, but after seeing her sitting nicely in a chair, eating with an acceptable amount of manners and decorum, with minimal mess, I know now that it’s time to make the move. The miniature table and chairs has joined the ‘most needed’ list.

Following that lunch, we then had a sunday dinner where she sat (propped up) at an adult table, again, she ate her dinner and desert and seemed to really thrive on the social aspect of being truly together (not in a highchair), she wouldn’t let me help her with dinner insisting on persevering, with success. Since the weekend I haven’t fed or helped her at all, she is now mastering the use of a fork and it feels like the baby days are long gone. The highchair as mentioned will make way imminently for a new, and grown up, table and chairs. And then there’s the cot, which will be culled around christmas time, if not before. And then after christmas the potty training. And then the baby days will truly be gone.

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By Little Mummy, September 4, 2007 9:58 am

The following is an excerpt from a book that I am reading/reviewing – You Want To Do What?

“…the only thing we can give our children of any real value is our time.”

Those words really struck a chord with me when I read them last week, so much so, I wrote them down with the idea that I might build a blog post around it, and then, as if the words pierced my subconsious I suggested to my husband a (very) last minute long weekend to Wales instead, so on Thursday, off we drove to be reunited with family that we hadn’t seen since Erin was six weeks old.

I guess that explains the lack of blogging around here, no apologies, we had a great time together catching up with family. We visited lots of relatives (only the second time for Erin), played piano, went to the Gower, ate ice-cream, Erin rode the kiddie rides, we went to the park and ate sunday dinner together, and apart from the journey back (!!) we had a wonderful time.

I had a chance to think while I was away, and the experience reconfirmed what I already believed to be true – when all is said and done, when Erin is grown up and doing whatever she does best, it will be the TIME we spent together that she’ll remember, not the TOYS and CLOTHES that we bought her. I know this because it’s those spontaneous trips, days out, walks and picnic teas that I remember from my childhood with such fondness.

Here’s to more spontaneous weekends, days out and family time!