All creatures great and small deserve a place in the environment.

I don't mean that a spider shouldn't be moved (and quickly!) if it's dangling from a windscreen, or that a cockroach shouldn't be hounded outside whenever possible. Just that we need animals and insects as much as they need us.

Encouraging children to learn about the diversity of the animal kingdom and our interdependency has several benefits.

It instills compassion, ignites the imagination and encourages a love of all creatures.

Animals / Discovery / Family Life / Garden / Imagination / Kitchen / Outdoor Fun

Departing childhood – will your child pack the important stuff?

by Caro&Co on Jan 13, 2012 • 10 Comments

I recently had the misfortune of watching an advertorial about a product that promised to have your child reading fluently by the age of 1. Whilst I adore reading and would always encourage children to do so, the advertorial implied that young children should spend every waking moment engaged in some form of structured learning....

Animals / Family Life

Three deaths, a small dog and insurmountable Christmas joy.

by Caro&Co on Dec 28, 2010 • 11 Comments

Sometimes something so utterly lovely flings itself upon your heart, that you forget (and don’t care) that you might bore everyone rigid and so instantly pick up your pen… Just on two years ago, my father died. He had been ill for around 7 years, so, whilst I was desperately sad at the thought of...

Animals / Discovery / Family Life / Garden / Imagination / Outdoor Fun

Who’s afraid of the great outdoors…?

by Caro&Co on Nov 10, 2009 • 8 Comments

I originally posted this a year or so ago, but in the run up to spring I thought it worth revisiting. The great outdoors …. sometimes the thought of allowing your child to run free outside can be a daunting prospect.  There are so many variables; so many places of potential injury.  Every stick, insect,...

Animals / Discovery / Family Life / Garden / Imagination / Outdoor Fun

a veggie-led backyard revolution…

by Caro&Co on Nov 6, 2009 • 2 Comments

There’s a quiet revolution going on in the suburban backyards of Australia.  Rather than sitting back and admiring our perfectly manicured “outside rooms”, gazing lovingly at our mondo grass, perfectly coiffed hedges of murraya, buxus or newly acquired rows of trendy agaves, we are choosing to head outside armed with buckets of kitchen scraps, water...