A Modern Mother

Kids bored this summer? Try these tried and tested recommendations

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Summer is always a challenge with kids. Lack of routine, changeable weather and lots of free time can take its toll. Sure there are lots of places to go, but many are expensive and it can be hit and miss finding a winner. Recommendations are always appreciated. When supersavvyme.com first contacted me about their idea of creating a summer guide where mums would contribute their most economical and fun tips to keep kids entertained during the summer, I knew it would be a huge success.

My perfect day in San Francisco, kids included

Everyone has their own idea of a perfect day in a favourite city-- a secret haunt, restaurant, coffee shop or that special view. If you get it right, it's like putting on your favourite sweater. I lived in San Francisco in the 90s when I was single, upwardly mobile and thought I was the luckiest person in the world. If I squint, I can just about remember it. Now I live in the UK and have three gorgeous girls (ages 5, 6 and 8). Of course I wanted to share my favourite city with them. Oh, just an aside, please never say Frisco in my presence.

So what's my perfect day in San Francisco?

 
Drive down Lombard Street. Enter at the top of Greenwich.

A day at the beach

I'm thoroughly ensconced in California now. We've been here nearly two weeks and the girls are officially "tired" of Mexican food. One can never tire of the beach though, and here are some pics from a recent trip to Santa Cruz... 

Do you keep score?

You know what I mean. It's one the unwritten rules of parenting: a play at ours in exchange for a play at yours. Free childcare with a trusted friend, preferably when you really need it.

Of course I am exaggerating a bit here. Mothers don't really keep a scorecard with ticks on it. No, it's much more subtle and complicated than that. It's all in our heads. Or not, as in my case. I suffer from a severe case of mummy rot and have lost ten percent of my brain cells with the birth of each child (I have three children). I can't keep track of it all.

These favours are especially important to career mums and mums that work at home. I can remember one (working) mum frantically asking children over after school on a day that she was home, to rack up her points. She was completely upfront about it (I love this mum).

The Christmas Lectures: It's hard not to be interested in science when...

Disclosure: we got free tickets to see this event.

Wow. I can tell the Royal Institution's Christmas Lectures made a lasting impression on my nearly eight-year-old daughter. They made a lasting impression on me. And my husband. Syringes armed with harmful histamines, seeds seeped with deadly nerve poisons: Who knew plants were so vicious?

The Christmas Lectures are special. Given nearly continuously since 1825, their aim is to share science's latest discoveries with young people. They are now televised each year and a Christmas tradition with many families. We were lucky enough to be invited this year to hear Professor Sue Hartley of Sussex University talk about "The 300 Million Years War" between plants and animals. My daughter's exact words after seeing the engaging Professor Hartley were "It was WAY better than I thought it was going to be" and when explaining it to her four-year-old sister: "You don't know how FUN it was." I thought it was fantastic having a woman role model in a male dominated discipline (Professor Hartley is only the fourth female lecturer in 184 years).

Football: Where are all the girls?

 

My oldest (7) was very excited when we moved her schedule around this term so she could play football. She is keen on the sport and has played on and off since she was three. Her early years were spent in California, where "soccer" is as popular with girls as tap or ballet.

Imagine her disappointment when she turned up in her football boots and shin guards last Monday afternoon to discover she was the only girl among a small swarm of boys.

She didn't let that stop her. The coaches (from the local football club) were great and supported her involvement, awarding her player of the day. I was very proud watching her muck in there with all the boys. After, she ate two helping of shepherd's pie and fell asleep on the sofa...

But I have to wonder... where are all the girls?

 

Lazy summer days

Santa Cruz is just under a 1/2 hour from where we are staying in California. It's a bit of a curvy ride through the mountains, but when you arrive the air temperature is about 15 degrees cooler than the valley (which can get to 100F) and there are loads of beaches to explore.

One of our favourites is Seacliff, also known as the cement boat beach.

 

The cement boat is at the end of this pier (trust me).

Whatever rows your boat...

 

I went down to the school gate today with my big Nikon D40 strapped around my neck.

It's as easy as riding a bike and COMPETITION for bike gear

I didn't know when we bought our three daughters bicycles last weekend that it would test our marriage.

Brand spanking news one from Halfords. Pink. The two youngest got stabilisers, but at seven, Emily was too big. She would have learn to ride a bike the old fashioned way.

Come to think of it, I can't remember how I learnt to ride a bike. And it soon became apparent that neither could hubby. It's easy, right?

After a half hour of going round our garden at a snails pace and getting a back ache from holding the steering wheel, Emily started to get frustrated.

The Stonor walk

When I was dating future Scottish hubby, he took me on this walk.

I was in the UK on a quick weekend stop over between Boston and San Francisco.

I'm sure we must have slept late, then gone out for the papers to read with our frothed coffees and buttered toast. I had already half moved in and purchased a Krupp's cappuccino maker, and future hubby was just starting to realize how important the black drug was to me.

That was more than 10 years ago, and I remember taking a photo of the manor home of Lord and Lady Camoys, and later, when I was back in my office in Marin Country, I shared it with my colleagues.

Credit Crunch Sundays – Try a FREE art workshop at the National Gallery in London

I’m going to share a secret. The National Gallery in London does FREE art workshops every Sunday aimed at the entire family to enjoy and learn about art together.

The workshops, run by professional artists, focus on an area in the gallery. After a short discussion, you are given insider tips and high quality art supplies and then set loose to create your own masterpiece.

It’s FABULOUS.

Did I mention it was FREE?

If you live near London, or are visiting with kids, you have to check it out.

Playdate etiquette – the unwritten rules

When I was little and was bored with my four brothers and sisters – I would disappear next door to play with my best friend. We would practice endless baton routines with The Carpenters Mr Postman Please blaring in the background on a record player. I had an open invitation and my mother always knew where to find me.

Today, playing with your best friend is more formal. We fit in “playdates” between swimming, football and French. The spontaneity is gone.  I know one mother who has playdates booked months in advance. She's a working mum and pencils in our daughter's name between items like "Ian's review" and "ops meeting".

If you are new to the wonderful world of arranging your child’s extracurricular play time, here are the unwritten rules.