Future gardener

ah I remember mud pies with affection. my mums garden had a patch of clay and my youngest brother and I used to cut out 'tiles' of clay leave them to dry and use them as building bricks. when it rained it all went back into the mud.

and my 2 girls did the same as your grand-daughter. funny how they were rarely ill as a children and apart from the odd cold the same as young adults. who says muck is bad for you :o)

I'd have got our dog involved as well, the more mess the better.

I have always been a great believer in the saying "You've got to eat a bushel of muck before you die"! Sometime in the past Swedish 'experts' discovered that children who grew up in the countryside and had more contact with muck and animals, had less allergies that children who were cleaner in the cities.
Now I don't advocate not washing children or letting them play in the sewer, but a healthy curiosity and not worrying about perpetually wiping them with anti-bacterial wipes, would make healthier children (and ones with less hang-ups) - let them play, let them get dirty, so what if they swallowed the odd finger-full?
Your Grand-daughter looks happy and this is the sort of memory (playing in Grans/Nans garden) that will last much longer than the trip to the cinema - keep it up!

Siris, I used to dress the very patient dog up & put him in my dolls pram & wheel him all over the place.

Bring up a child in the way he should go... or she, as the case may be.

Honeysuckle, Allanah goes to the local Forest Nursery school, she loves it.
The children pile into a Landrover Defender & off they go into the forest, they are out all year round & in all weathers. They have the right equipment to ensure they are warm and can focus on learning & having fun. There are no plastic bikes or toys outside, the kids spend organised time enjoying nature. They have a veggie garden & ducks & chickens to look after.
The nursery provides a hot, healthy & nutritious meal that I wouldn't mind having, the daily menu for the term is available to view.
My D in L tells me she comes home very dirty but very happy.

One very happy little girl, never hurt I, my children or my grandchildren and as most of you all know I am still a happy bunny when playing in the muck, lol....

Gosh I can't believe Allanah is 2 already it's frightening how time flies , she's a lovely happy child Mari, Violet will be next to follow in her footsteps ..I was told I use to cry if my best friend wouldn't eat my mud pies Lol .. I must have a catch-up with you soon Mari my time doesn't seem to be my own these days I grab a few mins here and there when I can x

Good for her, its natural, and her pre school sounds absolutely wonderful a very lucky little girl!! I am all for it!

Amy, I don't know where the time goes either, Violet is 5 months already.

Angela, I had never heard of a nursery like this before, all this & much more has come about since they moved to the New Forest. They have donkeys & ponies that visit them wanting a carrot, forest walks aplenty, the sandy beach is close by in one direction, butterfly farm, a petting farm & water sports. They are so happy & feel blessed.

The nursery sounds so wonderful, something that every child would benefit from if they had the opportunity.

They couldn't live in a nicer place, the best of both worlds!

We visited a couple weeks ago & it truly is a fabulous place to live, the forest kept the temperature that bit cooler than our arable area. The cows, ponies & donkeys wandering by is lovely to see & on the Sunday we went to the beach for ice-cream.
This w/end was the New Forest Fairy Festival. It truly is the best of both worlds

Lovely to see!