The realisation that I will have to return to work soon, hit me with a hard blow this week. As I need to do something about childcare, I took it upon myself to weed out the finest nursery's St Albans has to offer, phone them and make appointment to visit them, should they have places. Life can deal you some hard knocks; one by one, I was told that they were full with very long waiting lists. 'Fine', I said. 'Send me your application pack and I'll fill it in anyhow'. On receiving the application packs its appears that most nursery's charge just for putting your name down, prices seem to vary from £35 to £75, this is not refundable. So thats more money down the drain then. There were two nursery's with spaces, one has the worst Ofsted report in St Albans, the other has a good one. Childminders are another option, you are a better peson than me if you can find one with appropriate spaces to keep the pair of them together. Ofsted will only allow a childminder to look after 3 under 5 year olds, most have their own little kids, or are full. So much for choice, looks like I dont have any. The moral of this tale is, if you are pregnant, and considering going back to work look at your childcare options and put your name down, now!
School is back, there is a distinct feel of autumn in the air. Relative peace has descended on our local park. Now is the time to enjoy brisk walks with the buggy without being buzzed by children on micro-scooters and having to duck flying footballs. The toddler can enjoy the tranquillity of the playground and I can enjoy counting the number of photographers and walkers I see as I perambulate around the lake. The speed upon which autumn has descended has made me feel a bit reflective about life and encouraged me to think back to my childhood. I remember looking at conkers, crunching newly fallen leaves and the excitement of the prospect of fireworks night.
As school is back, I feel that I should try to move our activities on from outdoor water play and kicking the football about. So this week, I have been trying to plan some activities for the toddler around an autumn theme using things we find on our travels. It wont be long before he reaches school age and these precious moments of calm and exploration at this time of year are lost. One of our activities has been to collect leaves so we can paint them and use them as little stamps on paper. The peaceful park has proved a goldmine of different leaves of all shapes, colours and sizes. Back home, our kitchen has slowly turned bright red, green and blue, as little hands seem intent on being wiped everywhere. I can tell you that the best leaves for this sort of project seem to be Sycamore and Oak, the others disintegrate. Regardless of the educational aspect of it all, fun has been had, leaves have been discussed and the toddler has been encouraged to open his eyes to the change that is slowly happening around him.