All posts by Katherine

Access to information – an essential part of parenting

Parenting, ,

Over the last month I have been forced to confront a new emerging reality. One where parents, and women in particular are unable to access information and support on birth, and parenting because of telephone, website and internet adult-content blocks and censorship.

I am facing a new world where as a parent I must choose between essentially turning on the porn and violence (assuming that remains an option) or being unable to access a vast number of websites about breastfeeding, birth, babies, parenting and health. These are precisely the sites that parents need to be able to access in order to make informed choices about their children, but the very filters intended to protect children prevent this.

As a responsible parent you would think that blocking adult content is a good thing – I personally do not want my children stumbling across hard core pornography and violence online. But in practice, whether you think it is a parental responsibility alone or whether governments, phone companies and ISPs should take the initiative and block content, the reality that is emerging is that this type of filtering doesn’t always (or maybe ever) work.

My story starts a with an awareness of the problems faced by many women on Facebook. Facebook has a reputation for banning pictures of women breastfeeding.

The issue became more personal at the end of July when I found that mobile phone company 3 was blocking one of the world’s most highly regarded parenting and breastfeeding websites - kellymom.com. As a mother I have relied heavily on the information on this evidence-based website for years.  Now if you go and look at it (if you can) this site isn’t even full of pictures of half naked women – which as a breastfeding website would actually be entirely appropriate. Many women have problems breastfeeding and one of the factors behind this may be that most of us have never seen a baby feed. Four weeks later – kellymom is still blocked and I am informed that the matter has been passed on to the relevant department, but that rectifying it will take an unspecified amount of time and involve complicated policy decisions by a team of people.

On the same day I discover another blocked website. The International Society for the Study and Prevention of Perinatal and Infant Death (ISPID) is a not-for-profit organization that is leading the world in discovering evidence-based preventive measures for stillbirth and sudden infant death. So it looks less and less like some kind of mistake based on porn websites with a similar name to Kellymom though this initially seemed to be a possibility.

This morning I decided that if these two sites were being blocked I would spend an hour seeing what else is inaccessible through 3. So I carried out some simple searches starting with terms such as birth choices. And voila! – in a short space of time I’ve a list of about twenty websites providing information and services to parents and parents-to-be that are blocked by my telephone network. These range from the internationally renowned KellyMom, to the Royal College of Midwives

http://kellymom.com/
http://ispid.org/
http://www.rcmnormalbirth.org.uk/
http://www.aims.org.uk/
http://midwifery.org.uk
http://independentmidwives.org.uk/
http://wearyourbaby.com/
http://altbirthchoices.com/
http://positivebirthchoices.com/
http://doula.org.uk/
http://www.mothersmate.co.uk/
http://www.independentmidwives-southeast.co.uk/
http://www.independentmidwives.com/
http://hypnobirthing.com/
http://hypnobirthing.co.uk/
http://www.thehypnobirthingcentre.co.uk/
http://activebirthcentre.com/
http://pregnancyandparents.org.uk/
http://www.bellybelly.com.au/
http://activebirthpools.com/
http://thenewbornbaby.com/
http://expressyourselfmums.co.uk/

None of these sites have adult content, they are all aimed at the very people who are likely to choose to have parental controls turned on. They range from small businesses, to birth classes, to the Royal College of Midwives!

So why does this matter? It matters because it isn’t clear what criteria these companies use, and it isn’t easy to get these websites unblocked. Blocking sites like this makes a mockery of the idea of parental controls, just at the point where they are about to be rolled out by ISPs. In order to be an informed and responsible parent, and to make the best decisions for our families and children will we have any choice other than to turn off all parental controls?

 

Education Choices Pt 2a: State School

Beyond babyhood, Education, ,

Every child aged between five and 16 is entitled to a place at a state school and most parents choose this option. These are government funded and so are free to attend.

From September 2011 local authorities must accept children in to reception, the September after the child turns four, but you may choose full time or part time until age five. You can now defer entry until later in the year up until your child reaches five, and the place must be held for you until the term after the child’s fifth birthday, but not beyond the end of the academic year. If you want you can choose to use a state funded nursery or other setting place instead, until the term after you child turns five. (Schools Admission Code)

If you are choosing a state school start inquiring about primary schools well before your child reaches their fourth birthday.

Educational approaches:

Most state schools are mainstream state schools – which means that they receive funding via local authorities, follow the National Curriculum and are regularly inspected by Ofsted. These are based on a formal, single-age, class-based, and curriculum driven approach, where learning is primarily adult-led. It is focused on assessment and passing tests, through SATs and later on GCSEs, A-Levels and the recently approved IGCSEs.

Some specialise in particular subjects, or are governed in partnership with a faith or voluntary group. There are also state schools catering for children with special needs, boarding schools and Grammar schools which select on academic ability. For many parents the local nature and community setting of a state primary school is important.

Academies are a newer type of state-funded school. Free Schools are new Academy schools set up by parents, teachers, charities, community or faith groups or previously independent schools. They are essentially state-funded independent schools, which have greater freedom in how they run themselves and the educational approach they take. Your options are dependent on the approach taken by individual academy schools in your area. If you are interested in setting up a Free School the New Schools Network provides advice and guidance.

Finding a school:

You can search for state schools and find out more about them at schoolsfinder.direct.gov.uk, or contact your local authority and ask for a list of schools.

Finding out more about schools:

Admissions:

Each year your local authority will produce a free booklet giving deadlines, the application process, and admission criteria, and the admissions criteria for how places are allocated. You should automatically receive information on getting your child into school.

The Local authority sets the admission criteria for some schools, whilst other state maintained schools have their own governing body which decides on admissions criteria. Make sure you read the admission criteria for your preferred schools.

Applying:

Apply by filling in the Local Authority Common Application Form online or in paper in the autumn for entry the following September. You need to list one or more preferred schools for primary schools.

The dates vary so check with your local authority and send off your form or apply online in plenty of time.

References:

Schools Admissions Code

<< Back to: Pt 2: State school, independent school or home education?

On to: Pt 2b: Independent School >>

Education Choices Pt 2b: Independent School

Beyond babyhood, Education, ,

Independent Schools are privately owned and run. Since they are not state funded they are primarily funded by fees paid by parents.

Educational approaches:

The independent sector covers a range of different approaches, including some unavailable within the state sector. Each school will have different priorities, different values and use different methods.

Many Independent schools follow formal, single-age, class-based, and curriculum driven approach, where learning is primarily adult-led. It is focused on assessment and passing tests, as in State schools and may be based on the National Curriculum.

Prep schools are primary schools which prepare children for academically selective secondary schools, which have school entrance exams like the Common Entrance paper.

Other independent schools may follow very different philosophies.

Although more commonly found as nurseries for the under 5s, the Montessori approach is also used in schools for older children with multi-age groups, where children select their own activities www.montessori.org.uk. Steiner Waldorf schools focus on play-based Kindergarten until formal, theme-based education starts at 7, with a focus on practical, artistic and intellectual skills, and continuity of care with class teacher for eight years www.steinerwaldorf.org.uk.

Finding a school:

Independent schools are listed at the Independent Schools Council  www.isc.co.uk or the Independent Schools Directory www.indschools.co.uk, or on schoolsfinder.direct.gov.uk.

Finding out more about schools:

  • read the schools’ most recent Ofsted www.ofsted.gov.uk or Independent Schools Inspectorate www.isi.net report.
  • School achievement and attainment tables include independent schools (performance tables) www.dcsf.gov.uk/performancetables/ and league tables
  • Read the schools’ prospectuses
  • Independent Schools Directories
  • Talk to other parents. ISC may have a Parental Satisfaction Report for some schools
  • Visit the schools

Admissions:

Each school will deal will set its own admissions criteria and applications. Contact schools direct for more information.

<< Back to: Pt 2a: State school

On to: Pt 2c: Home Education >>

Education Choices Pt 2c: Home Education

Beyond babyhood, Education, Home education, Parenting, ,

Some parents choose to educate their children themselves, outside school. This may be their their first choice, because they want to take responsibility for the education themselves and allow their child to learn in a flexible, individualized way within a family setting. For others it is a response to school not working for that child, sometimes due to bullying, special needs or educational issues.

Home educators are a diverse group with a range of reasons for choosing home education, and different backgrounds. You do not need to be a teacher to home educate.

Educational approaches:

Home education covers the widest range of approaches, from formal work, as used in schools, to informal learning. Some families use a structured adult-led curriculum and there are many different ones available, as well as lots of resources for the National Curriculum. Others are autonomous, with the child leading the education. Often this emphasises informal learning through play and conversation but may also include structured worksheets and courses. Many use elements of both approaches. The individualised nature of home education means that parents can tailor every child’s education by picking the approach that works for them at that time.

Home educated children can take formal qualifications, such as IGCSEs, GCSEs and A-Levels either through correspondence courses, as external candidates or at further education college.

Finding out more:

There are a number of national organisations for England that support home educators.

You local public library should also have books on explaining more about home education.

Getting started:

If your child is not at school yet, you do not have to inform anyone that you are home educating since education is a parental responsibility.

If you want to remove your child from school in England then you need to inform the school in writing, and they will inform your Local Authority. The Local Authority has a duty to act if it thinks that a suitable education isn’t taking place, and you should respond to any enquires. Local authorities often prefer visits, but you may instead provide written information to satisfy their enquiries. De-registration from a designated Special Needs school requires LA consent.

Many home educators start by joining one of the national organisations and using its local contact lists to meet other home educators. There are local support networks (try searching yahoo and google groups for one in your area) through which home educators pool resources and take part in a wide range of group activities and social events.  Talking to home educators is a great way to find out if home education is for your family and how others go about it.

References:

Elective Home Education Guidelines
Ed Yourself – Comprehensive look at legalities of home education

<< Back to Pt 2b: Independent School

Book notes and book lists – how to stop them getting out of control?

Books and Magazines, , ,

Do you love books? I know I do.

Do you find yourself making note of books, and creating book lists that get lost? How do you deal with keeping track of the books you are interested in?

And I am always collecting notes on new books to check out, and creating book lists for the girls and myself.

Basically I want to be able to note down books, add comments, add them to lists, and have those lists easily available on this blog, with a link to the book on Amazon. And be able to access them from anywhere on my phone, so I can add books on the move, look them up in the bookshop and share booklists with friends.

So far I have been muddling along using Amazon Listmania.
This is a way of creating your own lists on Amazon, so others can see your recommendations. And if you run a blog there are  ways of adding the books to your blog with links back to Amazon – or you can create your own Amazon store. This sort of works, but has its problems.

  • Listmania is  hidden on Amazon. It doesn’t appear in the main search, so I find myself searching for listmania, and then searching the listmania box on the left. I even end up doing this for my own lists because although Wish Lists are easy to get to your Amazon profile and Listmania lists are buried rather deep in the site.
  • There isn’t an app that you can use to add books from your phone – which means I still need to note down books to add to Listmania later.  Amazon mobile makes it had to find the ISBN/ASIN needed to add a book. So I’ve been doing this using Evernote.
  • Also once you get past a small number of lists it becomes really hard to organise and look through your own lists.

I now have over 50 listmania lists and it is getting difficult to navigate through the pages of lists.
So my next job looks like it should be adding a list of lists to this blog!

How do you manage your book lists?

Finding out about animals

Home education, Learning, Nature Books, ,

My youngest and I are both very interested in animals, so I have started spending more time finding books and other resources that should interest her.

Our approach is fairly informal. But I do have a need to create a framework, in order to satisfy my sense of order and it makes it easier for me to research good resources and books, which as you can tell from my blog is something I love to do! Then if and when my daughter is interested we share them.

For the animal kingdom the obvious approach seemed to be to reflect the evolutionary relationships of animals, and the starting point for this has been the poster that takes pride of place on our living room wall. Produced a couple of years ago for the Open University, the Tree of Life poster is a beautiful representation of evolutionary relationships between living things. We have laminated it so that it will last. A variation on the poster is available on Amazon. My daughter is endlessly fascinated by pictures on this poster and the relationships between the animals. And this prompted me to find more resources for her.

A second essential resource is a good animal encyclopedia. As a child I spent hours reading my one and became extraordinarily proud of knowing about really obscure animals such as the South American Yapok (an otter like marsupial or pouched animal). So I spent a while roaming shops and Amazon looking for a really good up to date book to replace my rather out of date and tattered volume. My criteria were that the illustrations or photographs had to be beautiful to look at, that it be an adult one so that it has enough detail and coverage to satisfy an interested child’s thirst for the unusual, and that it include distribution maps so that we can easily see where a species comes from. The favourite we settled on it was the then current edition of The Encyclopedia of Animals: A Complete Visual Guide. Though we do also like the Natural History Book from DK – which includes rocks, plants and a larger number of species, but lacks the distribution maps.

We also have a copy of the very wonderful Zoo-ology, which I have blogged about before and is a great pictorial starting point for even the youngest child.

We don’t tend to use online resources but a one that appeals to me and I’m keeping in mind for my daughter as she gets older is the very comprehensive and visually appealing Arkive, a multimedia guide to animals, plants and fungi. There are teachers resources, games as well as comprehensive information on each species.

We also have a giant world map that we use to blue tac on things of interest. It has taken me a long time to find the ideal map website for our home education needs but have finally found the solution. These MegaMaps allow you to print out maps on A4 paper and stick them together to create really large maps. We print out pictures of animals of particular interest and stick them on to show where they come from.

For each group of animals I search Amazon and the local library for books to share. Then we reserve and borrow library books and see which ones we like. If there are books from particular series or that come highly recommended and my daughter likes the look of them then we might even buy one! I will post our favourites as we go along.

Coming next – Our favourite resources on the Great Apes

 

The animals of Eric Carle

Children's books, Children's fiction, Nature Books, , , , , ,

One our favourite author’s for younger children who love animals is Eric Carle.

He has a way of combining a quick, colourful story with a good first look at a group of animals. Although most famous for the Very Hungry Caterpillar, with its less than realistic diet of a caterpillar, some of his other book introduce new animals in a very accessible way.

Three of our favourites are:

See on Amazon

See on Amazon

See on Amazon

Mister Seahorse – A pregnant Mr Seahorse meets lots of other different fish, including other Dads looking after their eggs and babies in their own way. Interesting look at male parental care in fish.

The Very Quiet Cricket – The Very Quiet cricket meets a range of other insects, including a spittle bug and a lunar moth

Slowly slowly slowly said the sloth – The sloth introduces us very slowly to some of the animals of South America including a tapir and some leaf cutter ants

Kings and Queens of England

Children's books, History, History Books, ,

To celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee we have been thinking about our favourite children’s books and a few other resources on the Kings and Queens of England.

Our favourite:

Tony Robinson’s Kings and Queens

(or The Hutchinson Book Of Kings & Queens)

This is one of my eight year old’s absolute favourite books in the whole world. It has done much to turn an general interest in people into a passion for history. It covers Kings and Queens of England, and unlike many books goes back to Anglo-Saxons rather than just starting with Normans.

Read our full review of Tony Robinson’s Kings and Queens …

Other recommended books:

See on Amazon

Cruel Kings and Mean Queens (Horrible Histories)

Horrible Histories books always go down well in this house. This is a chatty, humorous and highly irreverent book. Starting at William the Conqueror it covers the monarchs of England in bite size pieces. The cartoon strips and bullet points make it very approachable for inexperienced or reluctant readers.

See on Amazon

King and Queens, A Very Peculiar History

This mini book is absolutely jam packed with concise facts, lists and quirky stories. It includes Saxon and Scottish Kings and provides good context for the monarchy. Although maybe slightly less approachable than the Horrible Histories it will appeal to those with a love of small books, and who want to move on from the gruesome, all kings and queens are cruel and mean approach of Horrible Histories.

Other books:

A couple of other books on Kings and Queens that we haven’t got around to investigating properly:

Sticker books

Sticker books provide a fun way to approach a subject.

  • Sticker Dressing: Kings & Queens – A sticker dolly dressing up book with kings and queens from all over world. This is a firm favourite. Bold, beautiful pictures, with luxurious stick-on outfits and a simple summary of each ruler with details of their clothing. This book has a nice balance of male and female figures. Ranges from Ancient Egypt to modern day, and an interesting mix of the usual suspects (Henry VIII) and less often covered rulers that we found sparked further investigations (Theodora and Justinian).
  • Kings and Queens Sticker Book (Usborne sticker book)
    More complex sticker book on the monarchs of England and Scotland. Packed with information on each ruler, with stickers to add through out.
  • Kings & Queens Ultimate Sticker Book (DK)

Cards, games and posters

Kings and Queens of England Playing CardsHeritage Cards does some lovely playing cards with very interesting pictures. My daughter loves the Kings and Queen of England ones (they also do Kings and Queens of Scotland). These are beautifully illustrated, and simple with just the name and dates of their rule. These get hours of play in our house – both as playing cards and for laying out family trees.

Whilst researching this post I found a card game called Monarchy, which we hadn’t seen before and looks like it might be interesting. Also just wondering if anyone knows of good top trumps game with English monarchs on them?

Usborne do a set of Kings and Queens Cards (History Cards) – a picture card with a large picture on one side and facts on the back. Plus cards listing the royal dynasties and kings and queens of England and Scotland. These are a larger size than the Heritage playing cards.

Music Videos

History Teachers and Horrible Histories both cover various monarchs, including some English and Scottish ones. These are firm favourites here, and we find that an enormous amount can be learnt from a good music video.

Our recommended starting place for English Kings and Queens of England is the Horrible Histories English Kings and Queens Song – a fun way to become familiar with them and maybe learn their order! There are also songs and sketches about lots of the English Kings and Queens from the TV series. (the easiest way to find these is to search Youtube for a ‘horrible histories’ and the monarch in question).

Another favourite source of history music videos ours is the History Teachers – more grown up, less ‘horrible’ and often quite poignant. I’ve blogged a rough chronological list but here are the English and Scottish ones.

Videos

Timelines and Posters

Finding out more:

And finally a few websites for finding out more. Suitable for older children or adults.

——–

Do you have any favourite books on Kings and Queens of England?
Can you recommend any that cover Wales, Scotland and Ireland too?

Tony Robinson’s Kings and Queens

Children's books, History, History Books, Uncategorized, ,

Buy on Amazon

This is one of my eight year old’s absolute favourite books in the whole world. It has done much to turn an general interest in people into a passion for history. It covers Kings and Queens of England, and unlike many books goes back to Anglo-Saxons rather than just starting with Normans.
Written with the humour you would expect from Tony Robinson. With big, bold, funny illustrations to match. It is funny, and full of personal details that bring historical characters to life.
Text is divided into manageable, well thought out chunks so it is easy to dip into.
We have found the odd historical inaccuracy. My daughter was rather perturbed to see George I and George II described in a round about way as grandfather and father of George III. But actually it generally seems accurate and it has resulted in a good understanding of the limits of history, and history books!
All in all a great place to start.

 

Stone Age – Children’s Historical fiction

Children's books, Children's fiction, History, History Books, , , , , ,

Historical fiction is a great way of finding out more about history. This list includes some great picture books and novels for young adults.

***HIGHLY RECOMMENDED***

Stone Age Boy

This historical fiction picture book is a great introduction to archaeology and stone age people for younger children – for us it is the one essential book on the subject.

Read full review

Historical Fiction

Mini reviews of the ones we have read:

Picture Books

  • The First Dog (Reading Rainbow) by Jan Brett
    Another beautiful picture book – Stone age boy Kip encounters Paleowolf. Paleowolf would like some of his food, but Kip doesn’t want to share. But they are not alone, and Kip soon finds out that having a wolf for a friend has advantages. A lovely look at how the first dog might have been welcomed into our lives. The artwork not only tells the story, but gives clues as to what is happening next and the page borders are filled with pictures of stone age artefacts.

minnowandbear

  • Minnow and the Bear by Benedict Blathwayt
    A good picture book for a child that loves visual elements and tiny details, but disappointing as stone age historical fiction. Full review …
  • Adventures in the Ice Age (Good Times Travel Agency) by Linda Bailey
    Comic book time travelling adventures. This entertaining series takes modern day children back in time. We have found this a really approachable way to learn about the stone age.
  • The First Drawing by Mordicai Gerstein
    Who drew the first cave art? A picture book imagining how the Palaeolithic world might have inspired a boy to create the first cave art.
    Vibrant and lively illustrations.

Chapter books

  • Wolf Brother: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Book 1 by Michelle Paver
    Book 1 of Chronicles of Ancient Darkness  (9+)
    Torak’s father is killed by a giant, possessed bear and he must find new friends and family and save the clans. Very detailed descriptions of stone age life in Northern Europe, particularly strong on natural history and animals of the time. It touches on fantasy as it brings the mages and belief in magic of these people to life. Although an enjoyable read even as an adult, the six book series feels as though something is lacking in the writing or pace of the books.

Older children/Young Adult

  • 11, 000 Years Lost (Amulet) by Peni R Griffin
    Young adult fiction. A modern Texan girl Ester discovers an 11,000 year old spearhead. Her fascination with the people who made it leads to her time travelling into the past. Adopted by a group of mammoth hunters, who are an interesting mix of characters she must learn how to survive in a very different world. What was life like as a mammoth hunter, can they find food, and survive? Will Ester ever find her way home? A really good read.

More children’s historical fiction set in the stone age (we haven’t read these yet)

 

View Children’s Historical Fiction: Stone Age on Amazon Listmania

Do you have any comments on these or any other historical fiction set in the stone age?