About Anne

Rain, snow, ice, cold … when the weather does not play nice it is good to have an easy back up indoor activity.

The great thing about home made play dough is that you know exactly what is in it so even though it is not for eating it is less worrying if a small person manages to sneak a bite…

This recipe is very quick and very easy made with ingredients that a lot of us will have in the house anyway. The recipe makes a very decent amount so you may want to make half  if making lots of colours

Ingredients:

1 cup of plain flour

1/4 cup salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 cup of water

1 teaspoon of vegetable oil

food colouring if you want to make coloured dough

Method:

Mix all the dry ingredients in the pan and add the water, oil and food colouring. Mix very well and heat on a low heat until it comes away from the sides of the pan.

Knead into a ball and make sure it is cool enough before giving it to the children.

Regardless of whether and how you celebrate valentines day it is kind of good to be told you are loved.

So from all of us at Natural Mamas:

Thank you for being a part of the site, we could not do it without you!!

Will you be celebrating tomorrow??

Natural Mamas is very excited to announce that we have teamed up with Sarah from Embrace Art to bring you some FREE colouring sheets.

Sarah says:

“I was thrilled when Natural Mamas asked me to produce their colouring sheets, the forum is a huge source of information and support for me so it is a real honour. I’m so nervous and excited to see how they will be received by the forum members and I can hardly believe that that they could be on playroom walls and fridges across the world! I really hope children enjoy colouring them as much as I enjoyed drawing them.

I love babywearing and I love art…I don’t know why it took me so long to combine the two! Embrace Art started as simple babywearing pieces in pencil and ink but its quickly grown into much more. I am experimenting with pregnancy and birth artwork as well as breastfeeding and also trying out new things such as paper cutting and incorporating fabric. Embrace Art has allowed me to find a little piece of ‘me’ amongst the ups and downs of being a SAHM to a child with special needs. I’m really excited to see where Embrace Art is going to take me.”

Here is February’s first blog challenge by Charlotte:

I’m sure we all have them stashed away in a cupboard, so here’s your chance to do something a bit different with one of them.

Upcycle a jam jar!

I made a couple of jar jumpers for them for Christmas presents:

The daffodil vase was for a relative with a love of the sunny flowers. The square jars were a charity shop find, and once covered were filled with sweets.

It doesn’t have to be a jar jumper. Try glass painting or paper mache. Make a pen holder or a snow globe.

And the kids can join in too. Here’s a lantern my daughter made with leaves, tissue paper and lots of glue!

Don’t forget to share ideas and post your pics on the thread on the forum.

And if you have any ideas for our blog challenges please pm Charlotte

Wrap that is.

And not just any old wrap either. Natural Mamas is working together with Oscha – A very popular wrap company based right here in the UK. Of course we wanted to get some input on the wrap and we are now in the last stages of the colour selection.

Click on the image to go to the voting thread!

Voting closes on Friday after which more details will be released! Hope you are all as excited as we are!!

Sarah from Connecta is not finished dishing out prizes yet!!! So impressed by the amazing poems entered in to the competition we have another Connecta to give away.

Let’s have a fun fact about the Connecta first:

Connecta

One of the great features of the Connecta is the lack of rigid waist band. This DOES NOT mean lack of lumber support. In fact – for many wearers it actually improves the support. Rigid waist bands on SSCs can often fit incorrectly which results in gappy wearing. The close fit of the Connecta offers extreme support for babies and big heavy toddlers alike!

The days until my bump is gone are flying by,
I need a carrier and quick, I hear myself cry!

If I could win one I would be over the moon,
And I promise to use it from dawn until noon

Congratulations to Steph who has won a Connecta Integra!!

The first time I heard about Home education it intrigued me but the idea of being responsible for how much my children learned scared me. As a mother of one tiny baby I have to admit that the thought of him walking scared me so I wasn’t really ready to give schooling a lot of thought.

Ben learning about weaving

Next time it came up was a couple of years later. My immediate reaction was: ‘ I could never do that!’. This exclamation was not meant in a nasty way. I admired those who did feel they could and was perhaps a tad envious at how easy and comfortable they appeared with their choice. My children were going to go to school however and started at age 3 and age 2.5 respectively. Both immensely enjoyed their first experience with nursery and pre school. Both went to small village schools within a small community.

Exploring the woodland trail

For my eldest Primary school followed. He started a term later than the rest of his class as we had moved in the summer and there was no space for him initially. Still he started on the first day that he was legally obliged to receive education.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when my second child was starting the term after his 5^th birthday, we now live in a town and they were both attending the rather large local infant school. Things had stopped being happy and it was also the week that we decided to de-register our children. Never became right now and although I have a healthy amount of nervous excitement I also have an absolute trust in my ability to be my children’s teacher and guide. After all we have been taking care of all their other needs and even some academic ones since they were born, it is just a bit more of the same.

In our first weeks we are still finding our feet but already our children are calmer and more motivated to do things. Gone are the morning stress sessions and epic tantrums ( theirs and mine ) in our race to be in time.

I am under no illusion that it will be easy and straight forward but then being a parent is not like that. The best thing for me happened towards the end of our first week when my 7 year old came up to me and said: ‘ My tummy aches are all away now mama, I like being home for school.’

Mastering weapons

I do not think school is wrong but I do believe that sending my children to school is the wrong thing for our family at this point in time. This may or may not change in the future, any decision I make will always be with my children’s best interest in mind.

For more information on Home education see our Home education subforum or have a look at the Education Otherwise website.

The sun shone in the sky

I was born when the sun shone high in the sky
You wrapped me in close and shaded my eyes.
The leaves changed in autumn but still I stayed snug
Nestled into your chest, held in a hug.
The weather grew cold, ground frosty, cheeks rosy
In your coat, on your back, I was lovely and cosy.
Spring came, I was growing but still quite unsure
You held me and loved me and made me secure.
One year on, I was already running around
I rode for a bit but then begged to get down.
Time passed yet the offer was constantly there
To be carried in close, any time, anywhere.
I’m growing up fast now, in so many ways
Wrapped up in cuddles I will treasure always.

Suzanne (Purple13)

A huge congratulations to Suzanne who wins a one of a kind  Connecta!! Thank you to everyone for taking part we may publish some of the other wonderful entries over the next couple of weeks.