Writer, journalist, blogger, mother of boys, A380 pilot's wife, sun-worshipper and distracted housewife surrounded by souks, skyscrapers, shopping, sea and sand.
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Meet all sorts of characters straight out of daily life in Dubai: Helicopter Mum, the Atlantis Tooth Fairy, Shopaholic Katie and many more. Includes Travel with Kids: The Bad & the Worse and the popular short story Cupcakes & Heels
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Category Archives: School
The overseas school trip (aka: pricey package holiday)
I’m back! It’s been a while, mostly due to work taking over my life for a couple of months. Having just surfaced from full-time officedom, I suddenly find we’re just a week away from Son1’s first overseas school trip. I … Continue reading
School reports – what the hell happened?
It’s lunchtime at work. On the day our magazine goes to press so it’s all hands to the pump meeting our deadline. I munch on my sandwich, and click on an email from school – the interim reports are out. … Continue reading
On losing it over homework (and why they won’t cooperate)
Saturday morning (the last day of the weekend here in the UAE) saw me feeling determined: my kids were going to get their homework done early, rather than leaving it until last thing on Saturday night when we’re all tired … Continue reading
The school holiday whammy
That’s it: in my next life, I’m coming back as an expat child. They get soooo many holidays. I mean, it is actually a bit ridiculous. My boys went back to school after two long months of summer holiday at … Continue reading
Throwback Thursday: Organised Mum’s fait accompli
I was late getting organised for school this year for various reasons, and after patting myself on the back on the first day for delivering both children to their classrooms (with lunch boxes, water bottles, labelled clothing, shiny new shoes, … Continue reading
Throwback Tuesday: Underhand school run tips
Mothers across Dubai are either breathing a huge sigh of relief or sobbing into their hankies this week as they drop their children at school for the start of the new term. But rather than simply depositing your offspring into … Continue reading
Summer is over: Time to remember the day of the week
The radio silence over the past week was because we were moving house. We couldn’t have picked a better time really – it’s as hot as Hades (see temperature, according to the car, below!) and as humid as a steam … Continue reading
On watching our little tadpoles in the school swim gala
All the parents from Son2’s year were invited yesterday to watch the swim demo. There are some remarkable swimmers among school children in Dubai – given that they swim so regularly, both at school and for fun, it wouldn’t surprise … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Dubai, Expat, Family, Parenting, School
Tagged Dubai school swim gala, Dubai school swimming demo, Dubai school swimming lessons, Dubai schools, kids showing potential as Olympic swimmers, Michael Phelps, schools swim gala, swimming in Dubai, swimming pools in Dubai
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Fascinating glimpse of a Dubai school in the 1970s
Son2’s school is turning 40, which in Dubai time is quite ancient! Anyone who lives here will know this age is impressive and deserves to be marked, especially as four decades ago the school was just a small huddle of … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Dubai, Dubai schools, Expat, Family, Parenting, raising children in Dubai, School
Tagged Dubai's first schools, JESS Dubai, JESS Dubai celebrates 40th birthday, JESS Dubai in the 1970s, JESS Dubai turns 40, the opening of JESS Jumeirah, what school life was like in Dubai in the 1970s
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Christmad: Twas the last week (of term) before Christmas
Ho! Ho! Ho! I’m sure I speak for school mums everywhere when I refer to the last fortnight of term as utter madness. It’s only now that it’s over that I finally get a moment to stop and think, ‘What … Continue reading
CIRCLES IN THE SAND … Marianne Makdisi 