First off, allow me to apologise for the fact that this is not the originally scheduled post about Hijab. I will still be posting on that topic; it has merely been postponed for a couple of months. I decided that,… Read More ›
family
Fallen
Fallen by David Maine is a vivid retelling of the old, familiar stories of Adam & Eve and Cain & Abel. Beginning with the final days of Cain and moving back in time to Adam and Eve’s banishment from the… Read More ›
Ditto's 'Keep Safe' Adventure Show
I have just had the (dis)pleasure of watching a DVD called Ditto’s ‘Keep Safe’ Adventure Show. This is a show developed by Hetty Johnston’s Bravehearts Organisation. It is pitched at 3-5 year olds and comes with a ‘Keep Safe’ colouring… Read More ›
Nanna Kitty, my paternal Great Grandmother, stayed this beautiful till the day she died.
WebStory: A super blog editor for bloggers
Powerlessness
Powerlessness creeps in as a result of setbacks children experience as they strive to feel confident and self-assured. They can’t do things as well as their older siblings or peers, so they feel frustrated. They are criticized and punished and… Read More ›
I Blend In
At first glance, I blend into the crowd. I have a hubby and four kids. I’m average height. I still have my natural hair colour. I’m a little on the obese side, but that isn’t unusual these days. I eat… Read More ›
What Would You Say?
If you had the attention of the entire world for two minutes, what would you say? Personally, I would do whatever I could to avoid being in this situation. Think about it. Suddenly you are so famous that everybody in… Read More ›
my siblings had it easy
I am the eldest of three siblings. And I don’t like it at all. As the eldest, I was the experiment. Everything got tested out on me first – rules, parenting tips, new foods – everything. Being the eldest, I… Read More ›
The Princess Bitchface Syndrome by Michael Carr-Gregg
Opening Sentence:I think I would call her the stranger who arrived to replace the other person we knew – we now have the both of them living with us in one person happily. Synopsis:In this hard-hitting book, Michael Carr-Gregg focuses… Read More ›
Freeman Dyson
“The destiny of our species is shaped by the imperatives of survival on six distinct time scales. To survive means to compete successfully on all six time scales. But the unit of survival is different at each of the six… Read More ›
The Unschooling Unmanual by Nanda Van Gestel, Jan Hunt, Daniel Quinn, Rue Kream, Earl Stevens, Kim Houssenloge, John Holt & Mary Van Doren
Opening Sentence:Why did you choose unschooling rather than some other form of homeschooling? Synopsis:”It is part of the mythology of childhood that children hate learning and will avoid it at all costs. Of course, anyone who has had a child… Read More ›
Stefania Siedlecky in ‘Teenage Sexuality and Pregnancy in Australia’ from ‘Children Having Children: Global Perspectives on Teenage Pregnancy’
“Society generally has had punitive and judgmental attitudes towards teenage sexuality and pregnancy – directed mainly at girls. There is reluctance to provide adequate sex education for fear of encouraging promiscuity, a reluctance to make contraception more easily available –… Read More ›
Vida Winter in ‘The Thirteenth Tale’ by Diane Setherfield
“Our lives are so important to us that we tend to think the story of them begins with our birth. First there was nothing, then I was born…yet that is not so. Human lives are not pieces of string that… Read More ›
Horrible, Horrible Day
*UPDATE: I have decided that I feel ready to open this post to the general public. Please understand that this is a sensitive topic and refrain from trolling.* Only a few people are being allowed to see this post. I… Read More ›
The Life of Riley by Steve Wright
Opening Sentence:As he stumbled and cursed his way up the flinty slope of Mount Mornington beneath a remorseless summer sun, Joseph Cornelius Riley experienced the painful delusion that he was not twenty miles inland from the breeze-sweetened coast of Central… Read More ›
He’ll be OK: Growing Gorgeous Boys into Good Men by Celia Lashlie
Opening Sentence:Recently I was invited to convene a breakfast for fathers whose sons attended a Gosford grammar school. Synopsis:Adolescent boys – they seem to disappear into another world where they barely communicate, and where fast cars, alcohol and drugs are… Read More ›
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Synopsis:In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, colour your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a… Read More ›
She has Replied
Well, I heard back from my mother today. Most of the issues seem to be resolved, and I’m pretty happy with her reply. After discussing it with Earth, we have decided to give her our address. We have also spoken… Read More ›
Huge News!
Well, quite a while ago (I think it might even have been last year) I was worried about my sister, so Earth sent a letter to my estranged family to find out about if she was OK. He sent an… Read More ›
Betrayed by Lyndsey Harris with Andrew Crofts
Opening Sentence:My daughter Sarah would say this is a story of ‘big scary feelings’ and she would be right, as she so often is. Synopsis:For the first few years of her life, Sarah Harris was a normal, happy, popular little… Read More ›
The Good, the Bad and the Inevitable by Barbara Holborrow
Synopsis:In this moving and compelling collection of stories, bestselling author Barbara Holborrow tells of the good, the bad and the inevitable outcomes for so many of the kids she saw in her capacity as a children’s magistrate. There are stories… Read More ›
Rafferty's Rules is Closing Down 