Tales of the unexpected with The Boy, my pride and joy.
The Summer holidays are one of the best times of the year for getting the children up off the sofa, jumping into the great outdoors and having heaps of fun discovering new places.
To keep the children entertained throughout, the National Trust is encouraging children to complete its '50 things to do before you're 11 & ¾' wild-time challenge and see if they can try and tick off more than 25 things on the list during the six weeks of summer (Monday 22 July – Sunday 1 September).
Due to the fact that it's a rather festive time of the year, Tara has got all Christmassy:
So, in keeping with the time of year and all that, this week's theme is: Christmas of Yesteryear.
This is a chance for you to dig into your dusty old albums and air those embarrassing old photos!
It can be last Christmas, one from your childhood, one before children, one from your mum's childhood even.
I knew the picture to use straight away.
Flashback 32 years and this photograph was taken at my second Christmas. Like my dress and socks? Can you tell I was a child of the '70s?
In my childhood home, we had a landing halfway up the stairs which over the years served many purposes. At one point, it was even my elder sister's bedroom when she was a young girl, and the house was still in flats. After this it housed a cupboard with a mirror-tiled wall behind it. This was the natural place for our Christmas tree every year because the fairy lights twinkled off the mirror and it looked completely magical.
I was captivated with it from the first time I saw it, and then as I grew up I would sit on the stairs and stare at it for hours over the Christmas period. Losing myself in the lights and the ornaments, my imagination would run riot and I'd create different worlds.
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Recently, I've been thinking back over the past decade. In a month's time I will have been married for ten years, but further to this I have been teaching for the same amount of time.
Prior to my teaching degree, I trained to be a nursery nurse and during that time, I had a post in a private nursery, but I also had a nannying job. Let me tell you now, nannying is an incredibly hard career and I take my hat off to anyone who does it. Imagine looking after one or two children nearly each and every day, in their own home, nurturing and caring for them, but they aren't your children. Knowing to step back the moment their parents come into the house is an important skill, and being able to keep the little ones close but not etched too deeply in your heart is nigh on impossible. The rewards though in being involved in a little person's life are incredible, and sometimes so is the relief at being able to go home at the end of the day!
An online friend of mine is a nanny, and I can imagine that she is magnificent at it. Caring, friendly, loving and giving, I know that she adores her charges and they her. If I was to employ a nanny, then she would be the one that I trust with The Boy. I heard from her the other day that the family's circumstances have changed and she will be finishing with them in a month or so. I can't imagine how difficult a transition that will be for both her and her charges. And not only that, but she is going to have to find a new job, this side of Christmas.
Nanny jobs are becoming increasingly popular, as mothers' guilt increases. Often torn at the idea of putting their child into a nursery, a nanny provides the easier solution: your child is cared for in your home with your rules and on a (normally) one-one basis. I was chatting with someone who is returning to work and they are taking a nanny on as it is cheaper than putting their two children into a nursery.
Maybe this friend of mine will fancy a career change? Maybe it's time to try something new? Maybe she'll want to find another family? Either way, a good place online to look for part time work is the wide-ranging site, Gumtree.com. You want a house or a new pair of shoes? What about a band for a wedding or a double pushchair? Gumtree's popularity is increasing, with good reason.
Ever since I've had The Boy my emotions are raw and likely to spill over at any opportunity. I can't watch the News anymore because I weep. To be perfectly honest, I cry at the CBeebies 'Happy Birthday' song (what? It's emotional thinking about the littlies growing up and suddenly being seven)!
When I watched Comic Relief this year I sobbed repeatedly. The tales that some of the people have to tell were awe-inspiring and humbling. The stories that really touched me were the children, the children who have little hope of living past the age of 5. Yes there are children in the United Kingdom who have horrendous lives, but I am not talking about those exceptional circumstances. I am talking about the children in developing countries who do not have the same basic rights as ours; the healthcare and the education. I have been extremely touched by the voyage that Christine from Thinly Spread has been on recently to Mozambique in a successful bid to raise awareness of the need to provide vaccines for every child.
Now as a primary teacher I feel very strongly about the right that every child has to a basic primary education. I'm not talking about the vinegar and baking powder experiments; I mean the right to learn how to read and write, how to do everyday maths, how to nurture their inquisitive nature and the right to be treated as children for a short time. In my school the children study the country of Lesotho because it is a comparable and contrasting country to Wales. We have a very strong link to one of the schools there, and the headmaster, Godfrey, has been to visit us, as well as vice versa, several times. I call him the headteacher but he is so much more to the children in his care, many of whom are 'boarders'. Many of whom, when they are taken back at the end of the week or term to their parents, find that actually their families have either died or moved on. So he puts them back into the battered van and takes them home with him.
Without wishing to inflate my school's ego, through our fundraising, last year this amazing gentleman was able to purchase a sizeable plot of land and build a new school for his pupils. That was an amazing moment for him, and for us too.
Not every child in a developing country is fortunate enough to have a 'Christine' or a 'Godfrey' or a school that is able to raise money for them.
This is where an organisation like ActionAid steps in. By sponsoring a child through ActionAid, you can make a real difference to their lives. You can make a difference to the other children in their community and help people who, through no fault of their own, are struggling to exist. This video shows a visit to Rwanda by Jimi Mistry to highlight how the work of ActionAid can help change children's lives forever.
Because every child has the right to a life.
Click here to sponsor a child with ActionAid
