6 Tips to Help You Breastfeed With Confidence

I am currently breastfeeding my fourth baby who is now 8 weeks old. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to breastfeed my babies. My mum breastfed my siblings and I so it just seemed like the natural thing to do. I never questioned my ability to breastfeed. I was never one of those mums who thought I would buy some formula "just in case" I found breastfeeding difficult. I was confident in my ability to breastfeed my babies even before I had attempted it. To be honest, I think that may have made all the difference.

Response to the Proposal to Question School Girls Wearing Hijab

When I found out Ofsted school inspectors have been told to question primary school girls wearing hijab I was stunned. Amanda Spielman, head of Ofsted, is the lady responsible for this. She recently met with campaigners who are against girls wearing a hijab in school. Well, no wonder she has become suspicious of it. I guess noone in that meeting was telling the other side of the story. I would like to know why she did not also meet with women who are in favour of the hijab. Surely she must know it is important to look at both sides of the argument before drawing a balanced conclusion and acting upon it.

According to Ms Spielman, donning a hijab could be seen as sexualising young girls! What?! How did you work that out Ms Spielman? Lets take a look at what could have led her to this unbelievable conclusion.

Turning 30 - Musings on a Milestone birthday

Last week I turned 30 and it got me thinking about life, reminiscing about the last 30 years and the last 10 years in particular. The older you get, the faster time seems to go by; have you noticed that? My twenties seem to have gone by in a flash and now I enter my thirties with excited anticipation.

Motherhood

So what were my twenties about? Mainly, my twenties have been about motherhood; pregnancy, newborns and dealing with toddler tantrums. I became pregnant with my first child at the age of 21 and my baby girl was born a few months after my 22nd birthday. Although I was married at the time, I was considered a young mum and I felt this had quite negative connotations. 

Raising Children of a Different Religion

I will never forget that moment, when my parents got their suspicions confirmed: ‘She is a  Muslim!’. It was almost nine years ago and, boy, was it a journey of self-search, acceptance and reconciliation.

Let me go back to where it all began… It was around 2010, when I flew abroad leaving my family behind. It was time to leave the nest and the relationships were strained. Plus, the studies that I didn’t enjoy, and the lack of career opportunities helped to make the final decision.

Our Homeschool Journey

I never planned to homeschool. In fact, if you had told me 10 years ago I would be homeschooling my children, I would have thought you were crazy! I was one of those people who thought homeschooling was nonsense; normal (what is normal?!) people just did not do that kind of thing! So, knowing that, it may surprise you that I now homeschool my children.

October Nature Studies

If you have read about our homeschool curriculum or follow my instagram account, you will know we are following a nature curriculum this year called 'Exploring Nature With Children'. It is a wonderful curriculum that covers different topics each week of the year. For each week, there are activities to do, recommended reading, poetry and a piece of art to study. The curriculum incorporates science, English, art and nature studies so it is really varied. You can check out the curriculum here.

Imagistones Review

Storytelling is an important part of our everyday lives. We are always telling stories, whether it is to recall events or create fictitious tales. Through storytelling, children can begin to learn and understand about things they have not themselves experienced. 

Children love to listen to stories being told but it is important for them to learn to tell stories themselves too. As a Speech and Language Therapist, I have often worked with children to help them learn to create narratives and now, as a home educator, I am teaching my children this skill too. 

November Monthly Goals - Organisation and Productivity

I have a confession to make. I have never been a particularly organised person. I was always the one with the messy bedroom when I was growing up (in fact, I still am quite untidy). I blame my creativity. Creative people are messy, according to research studies. Is this a bad thing? Well, some of the most creative people, such as Albert Einstein and Roald Dahl, had messy desks. As Einstein famously said, 'If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, then what are we to think of an empty desk?"

Pumpkin Activities

We have been learning about pumpkins in our homeschool as part of our nature curriculum, Exploring Nature With Children. I decided to take the children pumpkin picking for the first time. We have been fruit picking many times in the summer, but we had never been pumpkin picking before.