In case someone out there needs to hear it: it is perfectly fine to give your kids second hand gifts. Maxing your budget or overspending does not mean more love or more magic.

Wrote a poem/manifesto for 2024 based on responses to this thread plus a wonderful conversation with Prof Gayle Letherby yesterday - thanks all for your inspo! 💛💛💛

Start the year as you mean to go on! With friends, movement and sea!

Always appreciate chats and laughs with Dr Bethan Michael-Fox

Made soda bread, soup and my way through a lot of admin today!

Working on a collaborative creative project with young people and for the millionth time reminding myself that I must always ask them to title their files! And also never to rely on getting things by email later. Get it in the session.

Staying in Weston-super-Mare on a house swap with friends so we can go to a family baby shower in Bristol tomorrow 🥰

One of my kids just explained to me that the key to enjoying life is: "Don't think ahead."

I’ve been pregnant &/or breastfeeding for over 8 years & now that’s come to an end. Many feels. Special thanks to my mum, partner and to Adele Jarrett-Kerr for all of their support through the whirlwind of a near decade, & to La Leche League GB whose book the womanly art was invaluable #breastfeeding

One of the ADHD surprises from my kids' first week of school (after nine years of home educating) is that I no longer remember when to eat. I hadn't realised they were functioning as human alarms.

I'd appreciate listening to this again myself. Now that our kids go to school, it's interesting seeing these systems at work, up close.

I'm on A Life Unschooled podcast talking about influencer culture pushing the idea that anyone who wants to can earn huge amounts of money while home educating with no fall out (and said influencers often profiting from saying so). alifeunschooled.substack.com/p/homeschool-b…

This hits different now that I have a ten year old who's only just started school for the first time after being home educated but will be sitting SATs next academic year. This exam will in no way be reflective of or relevant to her education journey. Same for anyone else really!

Whenever I talk about listening to children's perspectives and respecting their opinion, someone equates this with neglect. 'So they want to run into the road in front of a car, and you let them?' or 'They hit other children, and you just stand by?'. It's as if the only