I travelled alone for the first time to Ipswich for the Children and Childhoods Conference, hosted by the University of Suffolk. The Open University provided me with a scholarship to attend. This post will provide a synopsis of Professor Helen Lomax's and Professor Alison Clark's keynote addresses for each day. Playful arts-based methods for child-centred research and knowledge exchange during times of global crisis Professor Helen Lomax's presentation, 'Playful arts-based methods for child-centred research and knowledge exchange during times of global crisis,' was discussed. Morgan Jones et al. (2020) suggested that policymaking is limited when children are excluded. When researching this topic, Helen came to the conclusion that using a creative method would allow children to express themselves and that their voices would be plural rather than singular, and that these voices would contain the experiences of those around them. Given the covid-19 pandemic, the ques

 So I haven't posted in a while what with the Christmas holiday and everything.  Christmas 2020 was quieter than last year thanks to covid-19. We were still up early to see if Santa had been, he had, and Jamie was the best big brother and 'helped' Rosie open her presents.  After presents Scott had a quick nap and we got ready and went to visit family where more presents were opened. I had the meat in the oven on low as it was the first Christmas dinner I've made. I was so nervous that something would go wrong.  Luckily it didn't. By the time we got back from visiting it was dinner rather than lunch. We had our starter, lentil soup made by my mother in law and then Jamie was full and Rosie was tired so we decided to save the rest of dinner until boxing day!  It still worked out ok and to be honest I really enjoyed the quieter Christmas at home. There was no need to try and rush two tired kids home for a late bedtime. We were able to relax afterwards without being to