Diary of an (ex)London mum

Baby is now in Year 1, which is the second year of formal schooling in the U.K.  This term the school introduced the weekly spelling test as a means to keep track of a child's progress in literacy.  Baby is average in terms of his ability to read and write- adequate for his age group- but lately I have noticed a change in his level of interest in reading and writing which I think will aid him progress. For reading, this heightened interest coincided with the introduction of books on subjects that interested him.  Regular reading was introduced last year (in his Reception year)- the books are graded and children are promoted to more difficult reading material if they manage to read a number of books at each reading level. Part of Baby's increased interest coincided with his expanded vocabulary- the books talk about more interesting things because it is possible to do so.  In short it is worth helping children through the initial pain of reading simple things that t...

Time is precious.  Any time that we spend doing chores is time we don't spend with Baby.  Like a lot of working parents, we use online shopping to save time.  We have been using an online, weekly, organic vegetable box and groceries delivery service for a while, and I have to say that I have really enjoyed the experience of having a regular delivery of groceries where the fresh produce is whatever is good on a particular week.  Takes a bit of imagination and thinking on one's feet, but the vegetables have been really good and tasty; the suppliers help by including pamphlets with recipe suggestions that are useful for the vegetables supplied.  It is kind of nice to not stick to things that we know well so we don't get stuck in a rut.  It also meant that we enjoyed more variety of dishes as we have had to adapt to what is supplied. We have loved the vegetables so much that we have also been ordering their weekly organic roast box which is essentially a pre...

The wonderful Sam Shephard has died and in memory we started a Shephard season at home. My husband chose the first one and went for Baby Boom (headlining Diane Keaton), because it was too late to start The Right Stuff and still expect to get a decent amount of sleep before we have to wake up to go to work. I had not seen the movie for a good few years- I did not have fond memories of the movie and still did not really enjoy it that much.  It was the style of the movie rather than the subjects that it dealt with that I found difficult to like.  However, it dealt with subjects that were important at the time and still resonate now. Working mum/parent trying to juggle home life with a young child and career progression, the idea that a person who is not available to work 24 h a day as a minus point in an employee (which is pertinent not just for parents but anyone who wants some semblance of work-life balance),  organic/artisan/home-made food as a thing to sell to ...