More coffee please. To quote Alice Cooper , "schools out, for summer".  Imagine not knowing school without a pandemic? My son just finished reception class. These are unprecedented times.  Top marks to the parents, for navigating the farce. You earned the parent stripes, and some.  School closures, remote learning, facemasks, isolation, rapid testing, and more school closures. We'll look back and laugh some day. Challenge number two; the summer break. We've just done a staycation in  Cornwall, so five weeks left. That said, September seems a long way off. I warn you, this may be ranty. Summer Break, Six Weeks, Help! Who decided summer breaks were needed? Probably teachers! Fortunately I work from home, but it isn't without challenges. It presents many childcare issues. How do you juggle work and life demands, with kids? Netflix? Disney+?  The problem is, everybody is busy.  Even most nans and grandads still work. So this further limits childcare option...

Joe (Dad) Bloggs. Happy blogger-versary, six months in! Blogging works for me. I'm too busy for podcasts and YouTube, they take effort. It's a passive hobby, some fun, nothing more.  Not everything works in blog world. I'm learning that. Some posts hit, some do not. If you are reading this, I suspect you have some interest in me. Thanks for reading! Aside from last month, I've been consistent. I post weekly, no pressure. Sometimes it resonates, sometimes it doesn't. That's ok. I just get it done. Why do I blog? Let me take you on a journey. Why I Started Blogging When I graduated (in 2019), I stopped writing. I got lazy. When you study, you write continuously. In my final year, my prose were tight. Words flowed  like Angela Lansbury on Amphetamines ( click here, if you don't get that reference ) . Then I graduated, and the writing stopped .  Without deadlines and dissertations, the motivation went. If there's no incentive to write, you don't write! T...

Hey teacher, leave those kids alone! So recently, my son started receiving private tutoring. I know what you are thinking; pushy middle-class parent, leave him alone. I don't blame you, I'd think the same. My son is five and doing well at school. The basics are there and we are proud. Our concern was his handwriting. He knows the letters and numbers, but struggles to write them. A common trait in boys (we're told). In fairness, I don't possess great handwriting either. Perhaps it's my fault? Anyway, nearby, this local tutoring firm launched. We saw the opportunity to support a new business, and our son's learning.  Is Private Tutoring Worth It? It is hard to put a value on your child's education. I pay £20.00 for a half-hour tuition, on Saturday mornings. I thought extra learning would be a hard sell. He does five days of school, then dad springs this nonsense on him. Surprisingly he bought into it. This is 1-2-1 tuition, with no distractions from classmates...

iDad? Tablets for kids? There's a divisive subject! I wrestled with the dilemma myself. Christmas was nearing, and we suffered a prolonged "sh*t, what can we get him?" moment.  Previously I'd been strict with screen time. Tablets were viewed with cynicism, the lazy approach to parenting. I was not going to be that parent. Along comes Black Friday to tempt me. Before long, there's a Fire tablet in my virtual basket. Hooked like a haddock, on a £50.00 ($65.00) saving. I'm so weak! So how did Amazon break me? Great question, let me mount a defence. Technology Is the Future Most schools use tablets, and even nurseries. Most households have a Fire or iPad device. Friends of your children, will be using them.  Parents (I believe) hold onto a nostalgic belief, that technology is bad. They want their children to enjoy the simpler things, as they once did. I get it, but we have to be real.  Parents hold onto a nostalgic belief, that technology is bad. Nobody wants litt...

University challenge! Unlike many, I didn't go to university after school. Armed with average grades, I concluded that I lacked brains. Plenty of intelligent people drop-out of university, what chance would I have? Why demonstrate my stupidity on a grandiose scale? So I dismissed the pipe-dream and moved on.  As it turned out, this was rubbish. I was stupid, but only for doubting myself. Learning is a long-game and nobody is defined by poor grades, or achievements in school.  I recall one teacher describing me as a "constant daydreamer". That part was correct, I dreamt of not being in his class. Naturally I felt pigeon holed as a "non-academic". As I progressed through my twenties and early thirties, I could not shake the feeling. I had "unfinished business" in academia and something to prove. So in 2014, I had a mad moment and enrolled for a degree programme. Five years later, aged 38, I graduated with a BA (Hons) in Business & Management, at the ...