Hello Muscat Mums!

This is the last newsletter before our Summer break, and with it I bring the sad news that two of our wonderful coordinators have stepped down. Liz and Nadia have been such wonderful assets to our coordinating team and will both be hugely missed. Massive thanks to both of you for your hard work, dedication and being such fabulous team mates. Joining the team is Jana, our new Cheeky Monkeys coordinator.

It is hard to believe that another year is coming to a close, but as we reflect back there have been some wonderful highlights, and of course areas we know have room to improve for the coming year.
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We hope you have a wonderful break, and the chance to slow down, to be present and soak it all in. Additionally, we are all parents so lets not sugar coat it; we send you luck for those many moments over the coming weeks that are challenging, and possibly even have you questioning some of your life choices. We jest of course! But seriously good luck out there. See you soon.
Your Muscat Mum Coordinators.

Love them or hate them the long summer holidays are upon us. Here in the Middle East, with the high temperatures and the length of the break, it can be tricky to find ways to fill the days. Firstly, a reminder:

​Boredom is actually good for kids. It allows for certain skills to develop, such as creativity and problem solving their boredom issues. It can also help with building their flexibility, patience and tolerance levels. Perhaps, must importantly, boredom helps to prepare them for “real life” where the majority of days follow a routine, and can be a bit mundane.
In essence, there is no need to feel the pressure to plan a summer that is jam packed to the rafters.
Secondly, down time is equally as important for kids as it is for us. At the end of the summer break, we all need to hit the ground running, refreshed and ready for the year ahead. Free play has numerous benefits, as above it allows time for creativity to come to the forefront. It breathes life into our children’s imaginations, the impact this has is an individual who can think differently and has the potential to be an innovator in later life. If your schedule is bouncing you from place to place, stress levels will be higher, it’s likely the food you consume will be more unhealthy as time for cooking is reduced. Additionally, later nights impact on the quality of sleep. All of these factors, sleep, nutrition and higher stress levels impact upon learning, growth, development, brain function and health. Of course, once in awhile will have little impact; this is if it is a regular pattern of the household.
In essence, there is no need to feel the pressure to plan a summer that is jam packed to the rafters.
Our kids, treasure and crave time with us. It doesn’t matter what it is we are doing, they just want to play and be with us. (The younger ones anyway!) All they truly want is to know that we are focussed on them and are present. Put the phone down, get the colours or the play dough out. Play hairdressers or build railways. Craft together, read together, watch together.
In essence, there is no need to feel the pressure to plan a summer that is jam packed to the rafters.
To revisit a thought from above, if your schedule is extremely full, where is the time for you? This is important all the time, taking time to yourself, however small a time it may be. Even more so during the summer break when the normal routine of school and nursery is not in place. Slowing down and scaling back the schedules means you can take ten minutes here or there for a cuppa, or to send those messages and emails . Or to just sit down and do nothing!
In essence, there is no need to feel the pressure to plan a summer that is jam packed to the rafters

Hello Muscat Mums!

​As we are racing towards the summer, the coordinators have been working hard behind the scenes to plan some fantastic events to look forward to. (Carry on reading to find out more.) As always, we value your ideas and input so if anyone has any ideas for play dates or events, don’t be shy get in touch and let’s see what we can plan together. Here’s to another wonderful month.

​Your Muscat Mum Coordinators.

The 11th May will mark World Migratory Bird Day. This year the focus will be on the importance of insects on bird populations, what we can do to help insect numbers grow and thus aid bird numbers to thrive and not decline in many instances.

Here are some of our top bird and bug book recommendations:

The Go Away Bird by Julia Donaldson. This book is wonderful, it is beautifully illustrated and it explores the theme of friendship and how we are stronger together.

Peck, Peck, Peck by Lucy Cousins. A fun book about a little woodpecker who is learning how to peck - he pecks everything from the loo to the blue shampoo. It’s bright, rhymes and it is wonderful to see a father child relationship represented.

Mabel and The Mountain by Kim Hillyard. A story about a determined, resilient and persistent fly who will stop at nothing to succeed in achieving her goals - even when she wobbles and thinks it might be easier to just change the goals!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carne. This classic book explains the metamorphosis of the butterfly.

The Blue Footed Booby by Rob Biddulph. This is a fun story following booby birds of blue, red and green and how following footsteps to solve a mystery may not always be what it seems.

Aaaarrgghh, Spider! by Lydia Monks. All spider wants to do is become part of a family and be it’s pet. The issue is, the family it has chosen are well, a bit scared of spiders…

Flip Flap Minibeasts by Axel Scheffler. Everyone loves a flip flap book right? With a plethora of combinations some very weird and wonderful new minibeasts can be created. The information is provided in rhyme which means exploring this concept can happen too.

Yogi Duck and the Little Chick by Isabel Benavides. An absolutely beautiful book! Little Chick has lost her mum and mindful duck decides to help find her again. The problem is several animals have heard of chick’s plight and pretend to be her mum. Throughout the book mindful duck introduces different yoga moves and mindful breathing.  

Hello Muscat Mums!

​We hope you are well, as yet another month flashes before our eyes we are somehow in April. Recently, a meeting was held and we are very lucky and happy to announce we have some new coordinators joining the team - Silvana, Olaiya and Priyal.  Additionally, as many of you will know Denise is passing the baton of the toy library over to Priyal. We are sure you will join us in thanking Denise with all her efforts in cultivating a thriving and utterly wonderful library that our families have had the honour of benefiting from over the last five years under her watchful and dedicated eyes. It is not goodbye, much to our relief, Denise is staying on as a coordinator with a different role.

As we are getting to grips with our new systems we value your feedback to allow us to improve and provide you with the best service possible. So please, any ideas or suggestions don’t hesitate to contact us.


Your Muscat Mum Coordinators.

Earth Day is just around the corner on April 22nd. It is a global day of celebration of what a wonderful world we live in, and how collectively we can all make changes that positively impact to create a healthier, more sustainable planet.
Earth Day 2024 is focusing on the monumental amount of plastic that is produced and discarded. Earthday.org is demanding a 60% reduction in plastic production by the year 2040.
Many of us already have made changes to our lifestyles such as trying to reduce, reuse and recycle. Many try to sell on / donate items we no longer need, and whilst the environment may not be the primary goal for this action it certainly is a wonderful side effect.
However, with everything we see and read in the news about climate change, global warming, weather conditions become more extreme and more frequent. It can therefore be hard to stay motivated to play our part, in fact at times to think “what’s the point?” During a conversation that was recently had, a very good point was raised - good news just does not sell. So, below are several good news stories to hopefully help you see that even though there’s a long way to go we are on the right path. Furthermore, to remind you of the ripple effect; in that every action we take creates waves and will make a difference.
The WWF  suggests that all the technology that is required to be carbon neutral already exist. For instance solar, wind and battery technologies are now affordable and growing fast. With the correct governmental backing they have the potential to half carbon emissions that are created during the production of electricity by 2030. Similarly, with the support of governments, electric vehicles could become more widespread and common place then the traditional petrol / diesel run cars.
Businesses are beginning to realise that they can have an impact and be a driving force for change. It is estimated that around 50% of America’s largest businesses are trying to offset their carbon footprint. In addition, they are helping to advocate for stronger governmental support and change. However, it is not just the big companies that are doing this, some of the smallest players are also pioneering change. For example, small coffee shops that provide discount or advocate you bring your own take away cup so as not to add to the single use plastics being used. Or the businesses that plant trees for every purchase made. To those who are not buying in “fancy packaging” but reusing boxes, or reducing the amount of plastic in the packing itself.
A Swedish start-up called Modvion is using Scandi design to build wooden wind towers. This is important because although wind power is green energy, the production of the turbines usually require steel (a carbon-intensive material.) Therefore,  ‘net zero wind power’ is now a very real possibility.
Brussels is leading the way in becoming a “10 minute city.” This means that all amenities that are essential in an urban setting will be available in ten minutes or less.
El Hierro, in the Canary Islands has been declared a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve and Geopark. Why? Because it is the only island to have successfully run purely due to the power provided from wind and water, and is predicting it shall soon be completely self sufficient and powered by clean, renewable sources. Illustrating to the world it can be done.
Whilst there are many animals that are being added to the endangered and extinct lists. There are also good news stories. For example, the blue iguana (down to 15 is up over a 1000 now.) Gould’s mouse, once thought extinct numbers around 2000. The  Red Kite, once extinct in England and Scotland, was successful reintroduced and is now one of the UK’s fastest growing bird species. Similarly, the Northern Pool Frog, were no longer in England by 1995. However, they are now back due to a very successful breeding and reintroduction programme. European Bison became extinct after World War I. From the 54 captive animals programmes have reinstated this magnificent animal, in the wild. Eurasian Beavers became extinct in the UK in the 16th Century. Wild Beavers were spotted in 2013, and after studying the amazing side effects we can profit from living alongside, reintroduction programmes were given the green light. The Eastern Barred Bandicoots in 2021 were moved off the critically endangered list. Similarly, due to fantastic conservation work carried out by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Echo Parakeets were downgraded from endangered to vulnerable with numbers growing to around 700 from 20.
There are businesses out there that are making it their mission to ethically help the world be a better place. For example ecologi a UK based business that aims to put the planet first. It has funded the planting of over 60 million trees across the world, prevented the release of 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide through a variety of climate projects. For example, making cooking stoves fuel-efficient, various solar power projects, reforestation and mangrove planting to name a few.
As you can see, there are positive changes happening all across the world, yes the world needs our help right now. However, it is not all doom and gloom. We can make a difference, what we do matters. It is important to remember that as parents we are constantly being watched, our little people will all too soon be the advocates for a world that needs our help, and they see all we do and learn from it.

Hello, Muscat Mums!
Firstly, apologies there was no February Newsletter; all time and effort needed to be diverted to our new website and membership platform. As with all change, we are aware there will be some teething problems as we all adjust and find our new groove. One of the main questions we have been receiving is why we needed to change? Well, in an ideal world, all the coordinators (and members) would admit that wild apricot was perfect for our community - especially the app it made viewing upcoming events and registering for them extremely easy. However, our numbers are growing. This wonderful community of ours is thriving. We had reached the ceiling of memberships with them, to move on to the next tier would have been financially impossible. We did contact them and they were unable to offer a personalised plan and so we had to look for alternatives. At the moment, an app is not possible, it is something we will continue to research though.  If you have any questions at all regarding the changes please do not hesitate to get in contact with us.

​Your Muscat Mums Coordinators.

On the 8th March it is International Women's Day. This year the theme is to inspire inclusion; the aim of this is to promote a society where women feel empowered to to be included. To help everyone in society to not only understand what inclusion for women looks like but to act to implement changes to create this environment. 
International Women's Day (IWD) has three colours that symbolise it; purple, green and white. Purple for justice, dignity and loyalty. Green for hope. Whilst white represents purity. These colours started in the UK from the Women's Social and Political Union in 1908. 
IWD has a long history dating back to 1911, it is not linked to any individual group, charity or country, it is to evoke solidarity for women everywhere globally. The mission of IWD is to aid the building of community and connection, as well as to support actions for positive change.
There is no one answer, or one size fits all. Together, we can make small changes that will cause a ripple effect. This can be how we communicate with our daughters (and sons!) to instil values of equality, confidence to be able to say when something is not right - better still if solutions are inspired and put out into the world. It can be what books we choose to read, what we choose to listen to and watch. It can be about changing our inner narratives: we are valued, we are loved, we are equal and we matter. 
What small changes can you make to start creating your own ripples?

Hello, Muscat Mums!
Belated wishes for the New Year! We hope that 2024 is a wonderful year, full of memories, opportunities and the chance for friendships to blossom both old and new.
On the note of opportunities, we are currently looking for more coordinators, if you want to know more or are interested please reach out so we can continue to keep this wonderful community thriving.
Secondly, we are in the process of switching membership providers. As we begin importing all of our existing members to this system you will receive an email. It will thank you for your membership to Muscat Mums - there is nothing to worry about or anything to action, it is purely an automated email. 
We thank you for your continuing support and look forward to seeing you all soon. 
Your Muscat Mum Coordinators.

Playdates form an essential part of the Muscat Mums experience, and considerable effort goes into organising and hosting them.  We understand that life can be unpredictable, especially when you're juggling the responsibilities of being a mum. If unforeseen circumstances arise, we kindly request that you notify us as soon as possible- simply send a message on WhatsApp. We would like to take this opportunity to remind members that in order to maintain a respectful atmosphere and acknowledge our hosts and sponsors, there is a 2 OMR fine for members who do not show up to events without notice. This measure aims to promote engaged participation and allows us to notify waitlisted members when a spot becomes available. ​