Fright Night

M has been dreaming about ....

The 'Count' down to Halloween for weeks.

The Skeletons have the majority rule.

And the Mummies were made into Egyptian mummies!



At bedtime there was a spooky glow about the place.

Happy Halloween x

Five little speckled frogs

We had a lovely day with Ruth and Jim today. The boys love to take a short train ride to a small town, with a park and a cafe. We take this simple trip, each half term holiday. They both choose the same food each time and M will often recall the same conversation we had when we last visited and repeats it verbatim. On the way home, M sang "five little speckled frogs" and than he sang it again and again and again. Gentle coaxing could not move him onto the sea shanties he had enjoyed last term at school or even a rendition of his favourite 'yellow bird;' http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rJEmSMLLAMY&feature=related
He did, however, find it hilarious when I dropped my head onto the seat in front and banged my fists in mock exasperation. A lovely day!

I have been given the heads up for today's link from Spuds, who caught this interview on his local news ITV news channel;

http://www.itvfixers.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122:charlottes-project&catid=50:thames-valley

This is the ITV coverage of eighteen year old Charlotte Vicarage's dream of making an animated film about living with autism. She speaks frankly in the video about the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum face, "The trouble with autism is that it’s not physical. If you see someone in a wheelchair, or walking with a stick or on crutches you automatically think they are disabled. But if a person looks normal as autistic people do, then people think you are being silly or misbehaving if you behave strangely."

The ITV fixers media director Christian Aldridge arranged for Charlotte to speak to 18 year old New Yorker Alex Olinkiewicz, whose You Tube films about living with Aspergers http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rbgUjmeC-4o inspired her to make the film. I shall keep my eyes open for the completed film.

Say what you mean By Terri Mauro

This link come from one of my favourite special needs sites; http://specialchildren.about.com/od/learningissues/a/whatyoumean.htm
It is an article written by Terri Mauro, about the confusion that figurative speech can cause, for children who have language difficulties.

She writes that these children can be genuinely confused by "the nuances and subtexts of language" and gives some guidance as to evaluating the level they are at, to avoid misunderstandings and "that deer in the headlight look"

This last phase beautifully sums up the look of panic which sometimes flits across M's face, when I inadvertently tease or use sarcasm. I have to remember that he interprets what I say literally. Similarly when a teacher asked our friend Jay (who has Aspergers) to turn the volume button down, he spent the morning looking for it on his body. Even words which have a double meaning can be a stumbling block and I am often reminded to simplify what I am saying and or to simply 'Say it as it is'

Louisa Leaman "Say What You See"

Today’s link is for Louisa Leaman’s article for TES Connect, on The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=2616033

She writes "It uses symbols and pictures to help children with autism communicate and express their wants and needs." and explains "Pecs works through six different phases: from this simple picture exchange up to pupils being able to talk about things around them unprompted, or answering a teacher's question.”

Since we were late in obtaining a diagnosis, we weren’t aware about the value of the PECS system until after M became more verbal. We did however use some Makaton signs http://www.makaton.org/, which helped to visually support his speech.

The second link is to Judith Betchette's article/parent's view of PECS written for the NAS;

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1384&a=3730

The final two link are links for PECS resources;
http://www.pyramidproducts.com/ and http://www.pecs.org.uk/shop/asp/default.asp

Compliance

A Self Portrait

And a great likeness!

I love this post written by Deborah for the Blog ‘Five minutes for special needs’

http://www.5minutesforspecialneeds.com/337/337/

She raises the point that the level of compliance expected for children with special needs is far greater than that expected of NT children, who are actively encouraged to question and find creative ways doing what is expected of them. Whilst I applaud and respect the school staff that do a great job at managing my son’s difficult behaviour, there are days that have been described as “A bad day,” when he comes out clutching something rather wonderful.

"What shall we do with a drunken sailor?"

On Thursday, I was fortunate enough to attend an open afternoon at M's school. The children sang sea shanties and M joined in with all the actions, even though many of the words evaded him.

Afterwards, he took my hand and was able to talk me through all of the projects, that his class have been involved with this term. They had made light houses, which used electricity from a battery, painted beautiful fish, drawn maps and heard tales of pirates which bought history into play. It really brought home how the creative curriculum can work, for a child like M who needs to work in a highly visual and organised way. I felt a little guilty at my frustration about the difficulties he faces, spending his afternoons working in a less structured way. There, before my eyes, was evidence that he really is finally able to access the curriculum and can finally showcase his skills.

M has been very weary this week so his teacher kindly let us slip off home before assembly. He found it very difficult to understand why I was there, if it wasn't home time. Routines are still important, since they enable him to make sense of his day. We spent half an hour sharing some sweets at the nearby lakes. M sighed contentedly and laid his feet across my lap, as we watched the swans. Not a bad way to end an afternoon!

The special educational needs and disability update 25

Today’s (rather late) post regarding the The special educational needs and disability update 25, by the Dept for Children Schools and families, which, amongst other issues, looks at the way in which of the work of John Bercow, Brian Lamb and Sir Jim Rose have been brought together under the Children’s Plan;

http://www.library.nhs.uk/learningdisabilities/ViewResource.aspx?resID=296544&tabID=290

I was also pleased to see that there is to be guidance for quality standards for those providing SEN support and outreach services for our children, although I wonder why there are not already mandatory standards, for such important and essential services?

Finally, whilst I welcome the guidance for schools on tackling of bullying and discrimination of children with SEN and/or disabilities, I feel rather sceptical, based on our experience, that Schools will give the matter the priority it deserves.

Bob Wright, Autism speaks. It's time for the world to listen

Today's link is to Bob Wright's article written for the Times; http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article4995146.ece
in which he asks "How does a child vanish in plain sight?" Bob refers to his Grandson, who suddenly lost his ability to 'connect with the world', when he had previously met all of his baby milestones including speech. Whilst M has not been diagnosed with Autism, we wondered why he seemed to lose words that he had learned with ease, along with his ability to socialise and share his world.

Bob Wright calls for an increased awareness of the true cost of Autism, not only in terms of the financial value given to a lifetime of care, but also the emotional toll that the families of people with autism bear. "We know it is possible to lighten the burdens of autism for individuals and families living with the disorder. But hope and progress can only come through public awareness, swift and substantial legislative action and more research into the mysteries of one of the most devastating childhood disorders of our time."

My hope (albeit probably a naive one) is that all children with complex communication disorders, will be given access to the specialist intervention that they so badly need, in order to be able function in our society. We need to give some visibility to these problems, which are currently given low priority and are therefore hidden from public sight.

Asthma

Over the last few weeks M has had a nasty cough during the night and has been struggling with distances at athletics, which he has previously completed with ease. Last night he was crying and quite upset after a nasty bout of coughing and so we took him to see the GP.

The doctor thinks that M probably has mild asthma and has given him an inhaler to take at night and before PE at school. M will be back to his usual super sonic speed in no time, I'm sure.

John Bercow links poor language abilities and crime

It's The Dad again, so prepare yourself for the well intended thoughts of an ill informed man.

My thoughts for today are concerning and article Tinyclanger spotted in the Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2267596/John-Bercow-Childrens-speech-problems-could-lead-to-criminality.html). The article discusses John Bercow's report and his link between language problems and unemployment / crime / etc. Interestingly enough, we have just written to our MP regarding this subject and is something very dear to my heart.

The review states that, "children with primary language difficulties are at higher risk of developing behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. This increases the risk of their exclusion from school and, in the most extreme cases, can lead to young people entering the criminal justice system."

Now a bit of me says, "ok, so we spend how much money and how much time to come up with this?" because to me, this ain't rocket science. Put me in a foreign country and I struggle. To be honest I am struggling by the time I reach the airport, but once I find myself in a place where they all talk a different language, I am way outside of my comfort zone and avoid many situations, looking for the safe options (restaurants with menus in English, people who speak my language, etc). I feel ill at ease, uncomfortable and to some extent frightened.

Now this is the action of a grown man who, although he doesn't have the right language, does have reasonable language skills. Try taking away these abilities and imagine how much more difficult it will be. Is it surprising that a child who can't explain his fears / frustrations / discomforts lashes out in some way? As he grows older and continues to have problems, is it surprising that he struggles to 'fit in' and can't therefore keep a job down? A vicious circle has started and breaking out is so difficult.

As a society we assume that when someone is behaving like this it is because they are being naughty, that they just haven't been brought up properly. But the reality is often that society is failing the child. Society can't see the disability so doesn't cut any slack. Much of my feelings in this area are based on personal experience - not so much M (he hasn't had to try and hold down a job yet, although he does often struggle to fit in), but rather of a brother that I miss very much. He was a gifted individual and someone who inspired me greatly, but also someone who never fulfilled his potential due to social difficulties. He didn't turn to crime but did get into trouble with his peers, and but for the love particularly of his Mum and Dad I am sure this could have been much worse. He wasn't understood, but was often quickly judged.

So let's hope Bercow's words of wisdom, however obvious they may appear to some, are acted upon. Only by high quality early intervention can these children be given the full access to a wide curriculum that will help them blossom into the wonderful member of society that they can be. The alternative is that we continue to waste the gifts that are in each child that we give up on and who in turn gives up on us.

Learning to grow a thick skin

Yesterday, I attended pretty important event for DH. A lady I knew vaguely and hadn't seen for years, asked how M was getting on. I explained about our struggle to gain a correct diagnosis and to access services to help M. She replied earnestly "Of course it is really difficult with special needs children, to know whether their behaviour is down to their disability or because their parents are being too soft!"

I closed my eyes and swayed slightly on my heels for a moment, before explaining how children with SLI don't usually have any other learning disabilities. This means that their frustration at being unable to communicate is huge, I added. "Imagine," I asked her "Having a mind full of ideas and and things you want to say, but being unable to retrieve them because someone has muddled your word files up."
"Yes she replied blandly "It must be difficult."

Through The looking Glass

With thanks to the Garden Monkey for today's link. This BBC four radio 4 broadcast about the effect of binocular instability and the effect it has on the way that people, who have this condition, learn to read; http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/pip/xnnew/ This is one of the problems that was flagged up for M, during our visit at the Sound Learning Centre. We were given some specific exercises to help correct this.

It is only available on line for a short time, but there the subject is also covered in this BBC news article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7661998.stm

This is the link for Eyecare plus in Edinburgh,
http://www.edinburgh-eyetests.co.uk/dyslexia.htm and the Binocular vision clinic at the university of London http://www.city.ac.uk/optometry/public_clinic/binocular.html who provide specialist screening for this condition, which may be too subtle to show up in a regular eye exam.

SMIRA Selective Mutism Research and Information Centre

It seems such a short time since I have been writing the blog and yet I sometimes marvel at the amount I have learned, from speaking to other parents and professionals. One of the things that will stay with me forever, is the words of poet Jane Pearn, who works with children who have speech and language disabilities. She said that she felt that children who have difficulties in speaking are often “accidental poets”

This week I have been profoundly moved by this post on Mumsnet; http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/special_needs/629310-favour-please-mumsnetters-selective-mutism-awareness-week . Within the information that Mumsnetter Wasup has provided, there is a poem written by her eight year old daughter, who has selective mutism. This talented, young girl has summed up the sheer frustration and fear that accompanies a speech and language disorder, in just eight words; "My words get stuck in a traffic jam."

At four years old, M was silent for the first two weeks after starting Foundation. For many weeks afterwards he would only speak to children. I remember his nursery teacher saying that she had sneak up on him to try and hear what he was saying. Even today, adults often pass off M’s lack of response to their greeting or questions as shyness or rudeness. This does not in any way, explain the complexity of what is going on for him. Whilst I understand that M's reluctance/inability to speak was part and parcel of his overall SLI, my heart goes out to every child who is suffering in silence. To watch my intelligent and beautiful son, struggle to find the words he needs to access society, makes me feel sad, proud and humble.

The Charity SMIRA http://www.selectivemutism.co.uk/ are running selective mutism awareness campaign, throughout October. They are appealing to people to write to their MPs to urge them to sign the Early Bird motion to raise awareness of SM. I shall be emailing our MP on Monday and would urge people to do the same. Early identification and intervention is vital in order to help these children to find their voice.

The Waiting Game

I have mentioned in previous posts, how difficult it is for adults and in particular parents not to jump in and aid their child, be it verbally or during play. Today's post is an article written by James D MacDonald, for the Comeunity website, on 'the power of waiting'; http://www.comeunity.com/disability/speech/waiting.html

I have to hold my hand up to "overstimulating" M in the past by trying to direct games and so these days I try to hold and encourage turn taking, especially during conversation. In trying to be his all round entertainment, I think I may have over egged the pudding on occasion.This seems to be working since M has recently learned to insert "excuse me" before he interrupts me countless times a day!

Elklan

Elklan is an organisation run by speech and language therapists Liz Elks & Henrietta McLachlan, that run training packages "to help others to promote and support the communication skills of all children especially those with speech, language and communication needs." http://www.elklan.co.uk/jk/2008/about/index.html

Elklan offer a two week training course for parents of children who have communication disabilities http://www.elklan.co.uk/jk/2008/trainingcourseslearners/lets-talk-with-5-9s.html
Whilst Cornwall is a little out of the way for us, this is something I'd definitely like to follow up in the future.

They also have an online shop which has some interesting looking resources; http://www.elklan.co.uk/jk/2008/shop/index.html

Special Needs Handbook by Helen McGrath-Doherty

Whilst reading India Knight's fantastic Blog recently, I was came across her post about Helen McGrath-Doherty, who is compiling a special needs handbook for parents, carers and therapists, which will be available free as an online download; http://timesonline.typepad.com/india_knight/

I sent her an email earlier this week, firstly congratulating her on such a fantastic idea and secondly putting in my two penn'orth in, regarding specific language disorder/impairment.

I’m sure that parents, who are in a similar position, will have an abundance of ideas, tips and other helful information that may be useful. Please pass on your thoughts or questions about the book, to Helen at helen@specialneedshandbook.com.

Apologies for the poor picture quality of the flyer, which Helen kindly gave me permission to use. I had some technical difficulties as Blogger did not seem to like PDF files.

What I wouldn't have given to have a comprehensive parents guide to the special needs system, in the early days after M's diagnosis!

Sensory Foundations

Today's link is for a new Blog, which is written by Tarryn Poulton, an occupational therapist; http://sensoryfoundations.wordpress.com/ about children with sensory integration difficulties. The post addresses the common misnomer that children with sensory processing problems are 'naughty' children. M ticks all of the checklists in the post and we are awaiting the written report and recommendations from the occupational therapist. We hope that this will assist school in meeting his sensory needs.

The blog also provides a link to the sensory foundations occupational clinic in London; http://www.sensoryfoundations.co.uk/index.htm

Web Of Words

I was lucky in respect of my ability to learning language. I was speaking in full sentences at eighteen months and haven't paused for breath since. Unfortunately, this talent did not extend to learning other languages, at which I was utterly useless.

Now that M is really getting the hang of speech, he is pretty keen to learn to read and write too. We never have to nag him to do his homework and he often spends his down time before bed, drawing beautiful pictures, and making a fair old attempt at writing a simple narrative. He never ceases to amaze me in how far he has come, over the last few years. I am, as always, extremely proud of the way that he faces his challenges head on.

The Dad loves to read books and be read to, before M goes to sleep. It is such a gentle time of the day and the softened light of the darker evenings, seems to wrap around them like a blanket. It is during these times that the Dad, who found learning to read difficult, has come to realise how complicated our language is. "Foreva" read M, "Good try sunshine but it's 'forever'. A little later on in the book book M valiantly try to sound out even but it came out as 'eaven. Then there are the other tricky words like was, bath (although the pronunciation of that one is arguable), have and behave, one, the, I could go on but the list is endless. Today I have ordered the Jolly Phonics tricky word wall flower;
http://www.pickabook.co.uk/bookdetails.aspx?ISBN=9781903619117

M and The Dad always end the day with a little prayer. M likes to choose either to thank God for something or to ask him/her to look after someone. The other evening M finished as usual with Amen, but then opened one eye and asked "But what if the prayer is about a woman?"

Emotional Detachment

When M was born, we were immensely proud of his beauty and happy disposition. I felt as though I hand been handed an angel. I wonder now, in retrospect whether someone has swapped those early photos, which actually made him look like a baby chimp. We cherished every moment of his first year, but in honesty looked forward to his early words and first signs of affection. Some of the words he had learned in the first year, seemed to disappear along with the animation of his expressions, at around eighteen months. It seemed as though M was vacant or absent from us and in a world of his own at times.

Recently, I was having a telephone conversation with a friend and his young son was pestering and pestering to be allowed to speak. Eventually, in desperation he answered " Yes what is it son?" I heard a young and very pure voice ring down the line "I love you Daddy" and tears sprang into my eyes. M first repeated "I love love you" in the same way he echoed the end of every sentence we uttered. "Do you want a biscuit M?" "Want a biscuit" "I love you M" "Love you M". Hugs for Mum, seemed functional and only required for warmth or comfort. As the months and years slipped by, with them went our dreams of the conversations and games we would share.

Today I watched M in the park. A tiny boy was engrossed in a game which involved cooking and serving food. To my left, M held an imaginary baking tray full of cookies and it struck me that far from missing out, I have so much to look forward to!

"I don't quite know

How to say, How I feel

Those three words

Are said too much

They're not enough."

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lN7dpm-kbbQ

Cranial Sacral Osteopathy

I think that I have briefly mentioned the difficulties we faced during M's delivery and birth. M was born by emergency cesarean section, after he became distressed. He was brow presentation and eventually went into distress and had to be resuscitated. For the first year he seemed to be a happy, docile baby who ate and slept well. The only fly in the ointment was frequent colic and digestive problems.

Things began to change when he was about two years old. He'd wake many times a night screaming and distressed. We gradually got into an awful cycle, whereby the Dad and I would alternate in taking turns in sleeping with him. Eventually, it became hard for us to function, through lack of sleep and exhaustion.

I have always maintained that alternative therapies can work hand in hand with conventional therapies and so we sought the advice of a cranial sacral osteopath. Whilst initially sceptical, we noticed a dramatic improvement in M's demeanor and sleeping patterns, within the first week of treatment. Even M's preschool leader commented that he seemed to float around the room after each visit. It was a strange experience to watch tension visibly drain from your child and I honestly felt a sense of relief, just by sitting in the same room. I won't claim that this was a miracle cure for the sleepless nights, but I am so glad that we stumbled across this therapy. M still attends an osteopathic clinic a couple of times a year.

And for the science part here is a link to the Sunderland society article on how cranial sacral therapy, can be used to treat children with learning disabilities;
http://www.cranial.org.uk/page4.html

Talking Point Article " Making the Curriculum accessible"

Today's link is an article from Ican's website talking point;
http://www.ican.org.uk/sitecore/content/TalkingPoint/Supporting%20Children%20in%20Education/Make%20the%20Curriculum%20Accessible.aspx

Whilst it is aimed at teachers and professionals, I think it is still of interest for parents of children with communication difficulties. It details the need for identification of language demands and has tips and links for strategies and questions that should be considered, when considering the needs of these children.

These examples on 'adapting the environment' are particularly useful;

"Make timetables visual - use pictures, symbols or photographs, for younger children, having a visual time line can be very effective.
Label equipment and places for specific activities - use pictures, symbols, photographs or written labels.
Have visual displays of topics or current activities- This can be used to reinforce information. Beware there isn't too much, though - for some children, vast displays on the wall can cause overload.
Other useful ideas include:
Consideration of noise levels. If the environment is too noisy, it can be difficult for children people to listen effectively or focus on tasks in hand.
Minimising distractions can help children focus on language in class e.g. screen savers can sometimes be very distracting.
Make the routines of the classroom or activity very explicit. Often children can benefit from rehearsing these routines several times to become more confident in the environment."

M responds well to visual timetables and prompts and photographs of the classroom rules, which help with his behavioural issues.

The Transporters

Today's post was going to be about this article on the autism and genetics by Jonathan Leake, that I spotted in yesterday's Sunday Times http://143.252.148.161/tol/news/uk/article4882699.ece

Being the whimsically creature that I am however, I was even more intrigued by the lead at the bottom of the page to this website; http://www.thetransporters.com/ This DVD has been developed by the Cambridge autism research centre, to help children with Autism recognize emotions through characterised vehicles, who show case various emotions.

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, who is the Director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge, is featured on a short video which explains the research behind the product; http://www.thetransporters.com/researchvid.html. He explains how the animation series was commissioned by the government to help children with autism learn to read faces and emotions by helping them to relate through the use of moving objects, which are more familiar to them. This is probably a little too late for M, but what a fantastic concept, for children with social communication difficulties across the board!

SEN Teacher

I found this site;
http://www.senteacher.org/Print/?gclid=COqZhOLVkJYCFQSfugodJVA-FA Via speech teach, who I have featured earlier in the blog; http://www.speechteach.co.uk/. There are some really useful downloads and resources on both sites, many of which are free.

One Last Glimpse of the sea

To escape the chaos and mayhem this week, we couldn't resist,

One more seaside adventure

Because speech flows more freely in the great outdoors and I even gave Mum
A rare Kiss!

We found some of the Sea's real treasure

and a mountain to climb.

Am I Superman or Goliath?


The waves went crash and I chased the foam.


And Mum watched for new horizons to conquer.

The ouch factor

Sometimes, I can laugh at the chaos that M causes around our home. In the bathroom, the towel rail has been ripped from the wall and each of the curtain poles hang at a jaunty angle with a dip in the middle. M greets life head on and takes it very literally. Yesterday I rescued him from a booby trap he had made from a bag full of heavy toys, balanced precariously on the top of the climbing frame. He had fastened a rope from the basket to his ankle and was waiting for the weight to topple a la Tom and Jerry. Indeed I have rescued him from every imaginable pickle!

He learns in his own unique way, moving with the speed of a whirlwind through our days. When I have time to draw breath, I cherish his strength and his energy. His now blossoming understanding of language, can sometime be a double edged sword. With words come knowledge and with knowledge comes awareness. Children with SLI and autism can sometimes seem cocooned in their own worlds. I have gradually seen M develop a sense of self and have had witnessed the seeds of him learning to appreciate the feeling of others.

Two evenings ago, I heard an almighty crash from the kitchen and saw M fly out of the kitchen. He reverted to an old familiar position under the table, with his eyes closed and his hands covering his ears. He had tried to lever himself up by using the shelf of glass cupboard that held all of our wine glasses and anniversary crystal champagne flutes. I am ashamed to say I was moved to unaccustomed tears, especially when I heard M murmur “I am going to leave home now because I am a failure!” There are some words that I wish he never has to learn.

Top Cybertip

As I have mentioned on numerous occasions, the special needs parent forum at Mumsnet;
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/1373?ts=1205269905267 is second to none for the level of support and valuable information shared by its contributors.

One of the forum's most valued and knowledgeable regulars, Cyberseraphim, has kindly given me permission to quote from one of her recent Mumsnet posts. She describes a technique that she learned at her therapy group, which whilst aimed at children who have ASD, would be equally as useful for those who have SLI.

"We learned a really useful approach at our therapy last week. My son is fairly good at puzzles. The therapist told us to not let him put the pieces in himself but to hold up one piece at a time and to ask him to show her where to put it - he can point but lacks understanding as to why he should point beyond his own needs. He learned to do this kind of showing/pointing quite quickly and it might just be imagination but he is responding with showing/pointing in general social situations much more readily and is responding verbally more often too"

Cyber, points out that this technique is used to tackle 'mind blindness' in ASD children, but I believe that this is a great starting point for letting children lead conversation, during floor time play. M found sharing and turn taking very difficult in the early years and jigsaw puzzles were a breakthrough for us too.

Gardening with kids

A short while ago, I posted about how delighted I was to win this beautiful book by Catherine Woram & Martyn Cox http://sunshinetc.blogspot.com/2008/09/im-winner.html . As you can see, M is also very excited about my prize.

The photography, by Polly Wreford by is stunning and many of the projects are suitable not only for Kids, but for their hapless, amateur gardening parents also. I particularly loved butterfly basket, the herb trough and my personal favourite the peanut bird feeding heart.

This book is perfect for children with speech and language difficulties, because the step by step photographs, serve as great visual prompts. M typically has a very hands on (and in) learning style and learns well outside in the natural environment. There are also a good range of activities ranging from the very simple, such as how to make pine cone animal, to more skilled projects like creating an elf house from twigs. I'd like to thanks VP (and Martyn Cox who has signed my copy) once again.

I am really pleased that the book included a chapter on planting an alpine garden. Here's how NOT to do it!

I told The Dad that those are ground covering plants!!!!

Let's hope that the garden Monkey doesn't wander by anytime soon.