Caitlin Moran makes a flawless argument for the internet - there’s a fairly strong argument that internet is, in fact, much, much better than the entire “real world”.

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Stacey at Anymommy writes The world according to Matt.

Matt on what’s wrong with this crazy world. You. You are the crazy in this world.

Stacey and Matt, Ella and Matthew - we could be the same couple.

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Steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting breast cancer.

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Gretchen at The Happiness Project posts Eight Excellent Tips for Living that My Parents Gave Me.
Enjoy!

I am a Wordpress gal. I love the functionality and the flexibility it provides for blogging. So it pains me a little to say that I have found a new love. In fact, I am in the throes of an affair.

My new love is posterous, the quickest blogging platform I have found which allows almost instant sharing of things I have found on the web. It’s quick to set up and even quicker to share links. If you’re on a web page you want to share, you copy the text you want on your posterous page, click your ‘Share on Posterous’ button which will be on your toolbar, add a comment if you want to, and publish. Easy, peasy! (It’s just as easy to share pictures and videos.)

It has a number of drawbacks, including not being able to customize the template to add advertising etc, so I won’t be moving over there but I understand a premium service is on it’s way (although I expect, hope, pray Wordpress will have a posterous-type plugin by then).

The thought of writing something these days which involves linking or uploading anything usually means it doesn’t get done. It is the blogging equivalent of me thinking of mending something: it’s easier to toss it in the trash and live without it than attempt to find my sewing kit/screwdriver/glue/whatever (hot on my list of people to employ when I win the lottery - behind housekeeper and nanny - will be a handyperson to fix all that stuff that doesn’t make it past my ‘oh that needs fixing’ thought before it is retired gracefully to the bin). Sometime in the future I may be able to come for air from this parenting babies malarkey and have time to do Stuff, but right now I need time-saving ideas whether that’s for parenting, working or blogging.

So for now that means I will be posting some stuff to posterous, until someone comes up with my perfect Web 3.0 homepage coded to allow Twitter, Facebook, email and blogging to come to me and share quickly out again. Where is that and why hasn’t someone developed it yet? (And at the same time why hasn’t someone developed something that will allow me to dump the contents of my mind onto my computer, take care of the stuff it can, and put the rest into actionable points. Preferably in my Web 3.0 homepage. The guy that develops that will be a multi-billionaire. And in the meantime I’ve got my husband coding night and day to make me a DIY version. Because life is short and I have a lot to do, most of it Not Fun. At least not until I login to Facebook.)

Where am I going with this? Oh yes:

So see over there on the right, the two coloured boxes - those are the widgets which link to my two posterous blogs. The top one is the most | least one which has parenting, environmental, social media and other links - all my favourite subjects! The second one is the kidney beans one which has kidney-related links. It’s mostly for my neph friends but right now it’s showing a hot picture of Jonah Lomu and you can pretend you’re interested in kidney issues and go take a peek if you want - I won’t tell.

So in short, if you’re at all interested, please feel free to browse.

There’s more than one kind of breast cancer. Did you know that? During October, we’re so often flooded with “buy pink” campaigns, and reminders to check ourselves for lumps, that it’s become almost commonplace. We all know that we should do regular self exams, and we’ve heard it so often that the urgency often fades into the background of children, spouses, laundry, and work. But did you know that there’s a kind of breast cancer that forms without a tell-tale lump?

Please go over to Toddler Planet today and learn about Inflammatory Breast Cancer, a dangerous breast cancer which has few external signs or symptoms and which spreads fast. And then take the time to read Susan’s blog to see why it’s so important to know about this cancer.

We’re homeschooling again today as sickness seeps through the house this week. Harry trudges downstairs, sighing. ‘I’ve been learning something, Mummy. When William goes on and on and ON about Lego, I just switch my brain off and forget everything he is saying.’

Yes, son. And we’ll file that homeschool lesson under ‘life’.

I’m passionate about children learning through doing, using real-world situations to learn wherever possible and being involved in ‘work worth doing’. In doing so, they are encouraged to be useful members of our communities and society as a whole. So it is good to see research out today from the ESRC that argues that children are well placed and also keen to take on wider roles and responsibilities as active (rather than passive) citizens in improving their communities (in this case in relation to sustainability):

With their dynamism, energy and new ideas children demonstrate considerable potential as agents of change,” says Dr Percy-Smith. “But as a society we neither encourage nor harness that energy and creativity. We have too little respect for the abilities of children and too many people feel that children either can’t or shouldn’t take a lead on change.

It’s nice to see children being talked about positively.

via eurekaalert.org

As the mother of four boys, two of whom are now in school and a third in preschool, it worries me to read that boys are falling further behind in school and that one in five boys cannot write their name after a year of primary school:

Boys have fallen further behind girls in key areas of development, including writing and the ability to concentrate, following the introduction of Labour’s ‘nappy curriculum’ last year.

Eighteen per cent are unable to write their own name and simple words such as ‘mum’, ‘dad’ and ‘cat’ by the time they reach the end of primary school reception classes at age five.

And research out last week by the Cambridge Primary Review suggests that children should not start formal learning until they are age six.

With the emphasis very much on formal learning at an early age, boys, in particular, are being ill-served by schools because they are not allowed enough outside play, nor to move around in the classroom as they learn, nor - for under 7s - encouraged to learn through play. The formal curriculum increasingly being pushed on young children and pre-schoolers will NOT help our children, boys particularly, do better academically. And so it is hardly surprising to read that boys are falling further behind in school.

This year my son, who is seven and in Year 3, has moved into Key Stage 2 and is really struggling with the long, boring days. He spends ‘too much time sitting down on the floor’ (which I find suprising to hear, given his classroom is small and has desks where everyone faces the teacher which makes teaching to the class while they are sitting at their desks perfectly practical). He also complains that there is not enough time spent outside running off ‘all the energy he has got’. His teacher is nice. She is very calm. She is strict. These are all good qualities for keeping a classroom of rowdy children under control; no-one wants anarchy in the classroom because our children wouldn’t learn anything. But children, and boys in particular, need to be interested, participating and involved in order to learn well. And for many of them that requires moving about, doing things, rather than sitting and listening to somewhat passive teaching. A quiet, hardworking classroom looks good to the onlooker, but it isn’t necessarily the way that children learn best, particularly boys.

My second son is six and in Year 2. His teacher is the same one Harry had last year. She is nice. She is a bit shouty. She is quite strict. She has a slightly chaotic classroom. The children are often moving about. To the onlooker, it might look like she doesn’t have a lot of control over the pupils. But the children love her. They love being in her class. They learn a huge amount. She is an outstanding teacher and teaches other teachers across the country.  They love the things she prepares for them to do.  My son, who is having a few issues at school with friendships, wants to go to school even though he doesn’t really like it there because he loves the work she gives them and the way he learns in the classroom.

When he homeschooled we almost never sat at a table doing workbooks. We learnt through play, through activities, anything that involved moving, interacting and participating: learning, rather than being taught.

Reading, writing and social skills are key to achievement in later life and if boys are falling behind in reading and writing what can you, as a parent, do? Well, you can read to your children as much as you and they can bear. Buy or borrow books that are written for boys. The Max Flash series (Sub Zero (Max Flash)) written by Jonny Zucker are great for boys.  Encourage non-fiction reading. Read books that will make them laugh; I often pull Oh, Yuck!: The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty off the shelf and I secretly grimace my way through it, but they love it and will continue to read it when I leave them with it. Let them cook, preferably something that makes a bit of a mess and they will practice their maths and reading and hopefully their tidying up skills too. Let them do science experiments at the kitchen table. The DK Kitchen Science book is good for this and doesn’t require anything too arduous in the way of preparation. Competitive activities and play-fighting appeal particularly to boys; encourage them. And let them get plenty of exercise before and after school - walk to school if you can and in summer send the children into the garden for ten minutes before setting off for school to run off some energy. Come home via the park or make a playdate with a friend if it means your children will run around more. Consider starting your son at school at a later age, and let him spend Reception Year (pre-K) and/or Year 1 (Kindergarten) in a more play-based environment. Some schools - even good ones - will consider holding a place open for up to a year.

At your child’s school ask the governors, the Friends of the School parents group or the headteacher what can be done to allow boys to move around the classroom while they are learning and if they can have as much playtime outside and activities like PE (Phys Ed) and creative art as the timetable allows. Ask if boys can sit at the front of classes to get maximum impact from sometimes softly-spoken female teachers. Ask the school to encourage competitive activities. Encourage your school to set less homework (if you have formal homework, make it physical wherever possible: do spellings on the stairs - for every right spelling they move up a step, down for one wrong, if they get to the top, they get to do a ridiculous goal ‘run-around’ like the professional footballers do when they score). Intervention strategies like these can be implemented to benefit boys whilst not impacting negatively on girls’ performance. Get your child’s father to be CRB checked by the school so that he can help out on school trips whenever possible. Encourage your son to take subjects which are assessed by exams rather than coursework if possible (boys do better with the cram-at-the-last-minute kind of work). If coursework is unavoidable help him plan how to get the work done.

Encourage boys that they can aspire to be teachers in the future. The shortage of male teachers particularly at primary levels is acute and as boys grow up thinking that teaching is a ‘girl’s job’ it will be to the detriment of the next generation of boys. And if you are not a parent of boys, encourage those who are amongst your circle of friends or wider family to get the most out of the education system; the welfare of the next generation is the responsibiltity of us all and we will all surely benefit.

More:

Raising Boy’s Achievement - Research Report

Lessons in life at the forst school -under 7s learning through play rather than through formal learning.

Photo: woodleywonderworks

Disclosure: the links to books on Amazon in the post are made using my Amazon affiliate link where I earn a referral fee for any purchases made through that link. I have bought these books myself and recommend them.

The children have nine party invitations between them this weekend.

It would be sooo much cheaper if they were social misfits. If I added up how many parties they went to over the year I think I would call a moratorium on them and, oh I don’t know, feed the entire population of Gambia instead or something.

So there will be much buying of presents that look like they are full of thought instead of just what was on special offer at the toy store, that didn’t involve a tantrum from the child selecting the present and that doesn’t break the bank. There will be a full-time taxi service operating from our house. There will be many children hyped-up on E numbers and excitement. There will be many tiredness-related tears. There will be many broken and discarded party bag contents found in the baby’s mouth, despite my best efforts. There will be cake crumbs found under certain boys’ beds despite my rule of no food upstairs. EVER.

Also, one of my OWN children said he wouldn’t come to my birthday party this weekend, saying it would be boring as I wouldn’t have any food that would ‘make him feel a bit sick’.

Photo: woodleywonderworks

I love my children ’til my heart hurts. There is no other way to say it. I watch my first born, my beautiful sweet seven year old, struggle with so much at the moment and I feel so unable to help him. Even if I knew what was wrong, I don’t know if I can help him right now. I watch my six year old sniffing his way through a cold that threatens to hospitalise him, unable to prevent the course it might take. I see my three year old struggling with the fact that he is a baby in a big boys’ world.  I want to protect him but he doesn’t want me to; ‘I’m not a BABY, Mummy‘ and I hold my breath silently as I watch him fight for his place in the family. I cuddle my baby, who has nine - nine! - teeth erupting at once and who cannot physically cope with it. He whimpers at me night and day, and so I leave the chores undone to love him. I struggle through the day on no sleep (those teeth) and hope that tonight will be better, even though the last five have been desperate.

I love my children ’til my heart hurts. There is every way to say it.  I take my eldest out of school for the day, his worries about school palpable and driving our family apart. We do some (illicit) homeschool and the day flows just the way I remember it, with learning part of our everyday life, him happy and relaxed, cuddling me for the first time in weeks. I lay my six year old on the sofa and ply him with drinks, medicine and cuddles, and a few hours later I see soap inside the top of the tap and I know he must be feeling better, the hallmarks of his naughtiness as clear as if he had left fingerprints. My obstreperous three year old appears for a cuddle with the same book in his hand that we have read three times today already. I laugh and swing him onto my lap, ready to read it again, but not before he buries his head into my neck whispering ‘I love you Mummy, I’m your BABY!‘ and laughing. My other (proper) baby runs in from the garden emitting broad exclamations, excitement flooding his movements. I can hear from here that the plougher has come and is outside our window, turfing up the soil ready for winter and a new season of growth - it’s more than any of them can bear and they run outside like a living river, snaking out of the door and I think two minutes of peace and then, no, today’s such a good day, my boys are here at home with me and all is well so I join them outside, the sun shining and I look at them and I think yes, ’til my heart hurts.

This is the last day to vote for John Piano , whose work may one day provide a kidney for my son who is so very poorly. John is only 1% behind the leader so PLEASE PLEASE vote if you haven’t already - it really could make the difference. Thank you so much for helping our family - we have been through so much this year and we really appreciate everyone’s support.

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Please show support for the National Kidney Foundation and its efforts on behalf of organ donation and transplantation by voting for John Piano in the GQ Better Man Search. John is one of 5 finalists selected for his creation of software that helps expedite and increase organs available for transplant. And if John wins, he will designate NKF as the charity to receive a donation from GQ. Voting ends at 4pm EST onWednesday, October 7, so get your votes in now! Voting is free, quick and easy—just go to http://thegentlemensfund.com/final_vote.asp and vote for John Piano.

John’s win would allow him to spotlight organ donation on the pages of GQ and at a large-scale speaking engagement.This is a wonderful opportunity to support transplantation with just a few easy clicks! Thank you for your support. Go to http://thegentlemensfund.com/final_vote.asp now.

(If you have a child with kidney disease or you know someone who may one day need an organ transplant, please consider emailing your friends and asking them to vote.)

Updated: He has won!!!! At the beginning of the day he was behind but he is the clear winner, so your votes really did make a difference. THANK YOU all so much for voting.

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Updated: This is the last day to vote for John Piano , whose work may one day provide a kidney for my son who is so very poorly. John is only 1% behind the leader so PLEASE PLEASE vote if you haven’t already - it really could make the difference. Thank you so much for helping our family - we have been through so much this year and we really appreciate everyone’s support.

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So as most of you know, my little boy has kidney disease. He is 6 and is likely to need a kidney transplant within a few years. There is something very quick and simple you could do to help him and I would so very much appreciate it.

Please show support for the National Kidney Foundation and its efforts on behalf of organ donation and transplantation by voting for John Piano in the GQ Better Man Search. John is one of 5 finalists selected for his creation of software that helps expedite and increase organs available for transplant. And if John wins, he will designate NKF as the charity to receive a donation from GQ.

Voting ends at 4pm EST on Wednesday, October 7, so get your votes in now! Voting is free, quick and easy—just go to http://thegentlemensfund.com/final_vote.asp and vote for John Piano.

John’s win would allow him to spotlight organ donation on the pages of GQ and at a large-scale speaking engagement.This is a wonderful opportunity to support transplantation with just a few easy clicks! Thank you for your support. Go to http://thegentlemensfund.com/final_vote.asp today! (via Danielle - thank you Danielle!)