Having a Natural Childhood.

There is much to be said for a natural childhood , but what is a natural childhood these days ? In a fast pace media world?

You can can argue that you can not have a natural childhood if you live in a concrete jungle this is not true there are ways that you can encourage and support a natural childhood.

Outdoor learning

To step out of the classroom is to step into an adventure , we need to remind ourselves that going outside is fun- an adventure for us , it as much fun for us as it is for our children. You don't have to go far, you don't even have to get on a bus.

Don't worry what you haven't got , make the most what is there.

You need to start with excitement we live in a world worth celebrating. We have to remind ourselves that although we need to work safely, meet the curriculum targets, satisfy our expectations as parents etc.

We need to step back, think and plan, and be ready to accept the unexpected.

Encourage exploration this can be as simple as going outside when it's frosty ( make sure you wrap up warm!) going outside when it's frosty you and your children can see footprints in frosted grass.


We need to encourage exploration / investigation and listen to our children and respect their discoveries. We need to trust our children and let go of our own worries. Meeting things is a challenge being creative can simply mean encouraging children to use their imaginations and even ourselves !

Give them a postcard and pencil and let them take themselves off.

Percy the park keeper is a good tool for younger children in expanding the activity.

If outside is a barrier sort it out as best as you can.

Go outside and build a natural childhood.

Going outside and building a natural childhood is all about building emotional intelligence.



It seems there is some debate about the modern childhood being over by the age of 12 hence the compilation of potty lists and things to do before the age of 12.



Encourage children to get on their knees as they can explore close up .. you don't need expensive kneelers , old mouse mats will do.

Make up your own story book, have a story walk a simple leaf can have a grand adventure plan a route for it : have a secret huddle ! always provide opportunities for the story to finish most things in life reach a natural conclusion.

Make a story out of your journey "Where does this path go to  ? is it a magical land of giants ?"

So get out there GO NUTS and explore :The world is ours is we just need to claim it back.

GO NUTS about going outside and exploring !

I recently went to a Forest school day as part of my role as A SEN teaching assistant.

One door shuts

It's been a hectic week ..

Man flu has hit the household twice ...

It's been a busy week at school ..

Just busy .. I need to relax and rewind.

I didn't get out as much as I wanted I had problems with my blog .

I had problems with a delivery ..

I had problems with the flowers being delivered to my Mother for Mother's Day ...

Argh but there are people with worse problems ..

Nature is part of a natural childhood

We have eggs at school , they are not for the culinary delights of the teachers but its part of the topic of life cycles  last year when I was in year one I was on chicken mess cleaning up duty. As one of the chicken that we hatched came back to visit us , unfortunately it left us a little message in each of the classrooms it visited. I ably chased around chicken clearing up its mess ...

I was told a funny story by a chicken when asked about what the children had learnt about chicken a child put their hand up and said " If you go to a Derby County football match you have to a Derby flag "

To which my colleague asked " That's very nice but we are talking about chickens"

The child said" I am getting there" and proceeded to say the same sentence  but saying about different football teams and talking the right flags.


Exasperated  my colleague said " yes but what has this got to to with chickens ?"

"AWWH you see "said the child "Chickens can't go to football matches"

Where there is a child there is always clear logic. !

Let's do the time warp ..

Not much has been happening this week in the Toplis household except my husband has been struck down with a viral illness. He rather sounds like a James Bond villain at the moment, rasping with evil overtones .

Also this week my blog has broke not sure what's up with it ?

But safe to say I have called in Miss Marple .. Was it the vicar in the study with the lead pipe ?

Let us look at the suspects..

1. The evil cat Rollie .....

2. The fairies at the bottom of the garden.

3. Me ... have I over tinkered at some point

So conclusionn I am at a loss ...

I need a SEO makeover .

I think it's a case of let's do the time warp again.

I feel in limbo .. Yes I know in the scheme of things it's not the end if the world ..

But if it was you I am sure you'd be miffed..

Rollie .........."Get him to the Total Greek"

The Lovely Lovely people at Total yoghurt decided to let Rollie try some Greek split pot Yoghurt's. Well Rollie was so excited He lay in wait for the Ocado man first he hid in a box. I worry about my cat what goes through its mind. Why did it eat its own eyes holes out. Rollie of course can be hired out as a hitman.

Rollie then decided to stalk the Ocado man by waiting at the window..... Poor Ocado man....

Finally the Ocado man delivered much to the relief of Rollie , me and the rest of the human race.

Evil Rollie inspects the yoghurt's. You never argue with this cat . he took his time inspecting his hoard. Perhaps it was because the Ocado man ran , ran for his life from the property and Rollie was sulking at missing out on live prey.

Honestly Rollie is smiling within.

This is the information from the Total Greek website.

"'                                  "NEW TOTAL 0% Greek Yoghurt Split Pots - ALL YUM, NO FAT!

Introducing a brand new concept in healthier eating.

Total 0% split pots combine natural fat-free Greek Yoghurt with a side portion of delicious honey or fruit compote.

Available in four delicious flavours, TOTAL 0% split pots are the perfect indulgence, with no artificial sweeteners and no compromise on taste. Higher in protein than other yoghurts, these convenient little pots have less than 130 calories per pots.*

Take a swirl of sweet honey or fruit compote and plunge your spoon into the smooth, thick Greek yoghurt to create the perfect mouthful.

Brilliant for breakfast, luscious at lunchtime, a superlative snack or a dreamy dessert, NEW TOTAL 0% Greek Yoghurt split pots bring you that great indulgent TOTAL taste, fat free!

*apart from TOTAL 0% with Honey which has 167 calories'  "

"

This all sounded good to me and Evil Ninja cat Rollie.

The First Total Greek Yogurt to be tried was the strawberry .Of course I ate the yogurt first and the cat had a little of each.... The split pot yoghurt's are great for breakfast,lunch or a dessert. We ate them mainly  for breakfast and for dessert . I found them all to be quite filling and satisfying . Anyway back to the strawberry yoghurt. I tried the strawberry compote first and found it to very sweet and quite jam like, but a very high quality jam.

Next up was the honey yoghurt, now I had read people had trouble with the honey setting in this yoghurt. I had no such trouble at all. The honey trickled easy offf my spoon into the Greek yoghurt. I have never been one for tipping the compote into the yoghurt. I think it is part of a mortal fear that it is going to spring out of my hats and splatter me in the face. I found the honey to be an ideal partner to the tartness of the Greek Yoghurt a good British  cup of tea.

We totally adored the blueberry yoghurt , it was an assualt on my senses. I loved the blueberries exploding on my tongue it was a bit of a "When Harry met Sally " moment ... blush. I think this has to be the best of the bunch  as it totally blew me away.

The final yoghurt was the tropical which at first looked odd because it has kiwi's in in but the taste is mellow and of course tropical  and it  transports you off to some tropical island( No it doesn't but we can all dream can't we.) It is rather sweet but it so nice.

So in conclusion Rollie and I really liked the yoghurts we think they have got the competition licked. Please head off to the Total Greek website , you can pick up so good fitness tips there too.

Jack the common servant cat decide  to clean up after King Rollie.

This is Rollie video review of the Strawberry Split Pot yoghurt