I never could imagine Heppy in a conventional nursery setting when the time came to take a look what was available, in fact I hadn’t even realised funded hours were available to us. I wasn’t against a conventional nursery setting, but I was keen to do something completely different to the experiences she was getting at home but where in many ways the atmosphere felt an extension of the home in the value given to children, the opportunity to explore and gain a sense of self.

This has to be one of my favourite times of year. The door in the kitchen that remains firmly shut in the winter prises open each day at 8am as the once hungry bellies, now full with porridge, descend on the garden to tinker, potter and climb. The areas of my garden where I doubted life would and even could spring forth display their buds and blooms and feet live outside of shoes with dirt under nails just as it should be.