Five Things To Do With Your Family In March

EVENT HEY LADIES

March 8th is a time to cheerlead girls and women and celebrate their achievements and potential; it’s International Women’s Day. The theme for 2024 is ‘inspire inclusion’ – imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated.

Find out about the inspire inclusion pose and strike it all day! WD is a great learning prompt: you’ll find zingy, colourful and inspiring learning resources for children here. Find resources including videos, author interviews, colouring sheets, animations and one-hour lesson plans here. Or perhaps search out a new-to-you intersectional feminist book for kids.

There are a huge number of events going on both on the 8th and into the weekend – there will be something exciting near you – the WOW Girls Festival Tour bus rolls into Manchester, Bradford, Keighly, London, and finishes up its journey at Buckingham Palace. The bus is a piece of art in itself with a library, recording studio and on-board activities. Check out its stops for festivals, workshops and fun!

EVENT DROPPING SCIENCE

British Science Week runs from March 8th – seven days of STEM-centric, countrywide and online events; check online to find one near you. We like the sound of Cambridge Museum of Technology’s It’s About Time exhibition, David Attenborough’s live online Q and A, and Chris French’s dive into paranormal activity at The Royal Institution. Find out more here.

The site also has some great resources for learning – download a free activity pack here (you’ll also find previous years’ packs via the same link) and find out more about the Smashing Stereotypes campaign here (do you have a preconceived idea of what a scientist should look like?).

As it’s Science Week, why not try some experimenting at home? Playing with and learning about magnets can be an almost magical experience for children. Find out more about the science behind them here (toddlers), here (primary) or here (GCSE). Try some fun magnetic experiments; this magnetic gizmo will help you make different observations about their properties, or make your own electromagnet using a battery and nail. Older kids could try making their own magnetic levitation booth. Alternatively, combine art with science to make these building blocks, try this magnetic painting technique, or create images using iron filings.

Plus, at the very end of the month, don’t miss the incredible Edinburgh Science festival, one of Europe’s biggest, and packed with things to do including City Art Centre’s five floors of hands-on science, Lego’s biodiversity show, Build The Change, a robot petting zoo at the National Robotorium, The Rocket Show and Bakineering; an exploration of the science behind your favourite cakes and pastries. Find out more here.

One more sciencey reminder! Want to go to Birmingham’s brilliant Big Bang Fair in June? Home edders and teachers should sign up here now…

DO AND RECIPE ROOT DOWN

The first, most tender shoots of wild garlic have started to burst from the ground. Brave the mud and go and search in your favourite garlicky spot. Our go-to recipes include wild garlic pesto, garlic bread, or just adding the leaves to everything we cook (they’re great in omelettes). Find some ideas – and ways to preserve your stash – here and here. We love nettle and wild garlic pesto; find a recipe here or use it in seaweed and mushroom broth. This year, why not go off-piste and try making ice-cream, kimchi or a tincture to use as a spring tonic - find more tonic ideas here.

And golden dandelions are starting to dot our lawns, parks and meadows; find out more about the super-powers of the flower, leaves and roots here. Alternatively, use your foraged flowers to make fragrant dandelion honey earthy dandelion coffee or a very pretty dandelion crown!

CELEBRATE AND DO EGG MAN

It’s the spring equinox on March 20, a time to connect to stop and connect to the natural world, as well as celebrate with family and friends. This is a festival of balance; of light and dark, of Sun and Moon, the inner and outer world and the balance within ourselves. Why not celebrate by choosing a place to run wild in the wind, making a spring shrine of growing flowers, meditating among the trees and greeting the nature spirits of flowers and herbs? You might even test the old wives’ tale that the Equinox is the only time you can balance an egg on its end.

We’ve got some great ideas for marking it here and equinox wild wisdom from Glennie Kindred here, or why not find inspiration by reading how it is celebrated around the world.

If you’re feeling more adventurous, you could head to the druidic ceremony at Tower Hill in London on the day itself.

In some parts of the country, it’s traditional to drink dandelion and burdock cordial at this time of the year – it was thought in ancient times to cleanse the blood – find a recipe here.

It’s also a big celebratory Easter, and Passover month – the perfect opportunity for family time. We have some ideas for celebrations (none of which are linked to any particular religion), crafts here, and ideas for great natural egg-dyes here.

These hot cross buns are warm and spicy and will fill your house with delicious smells. A traditional simnel cake represents the apostles – try this dairy, egg and gluten free version, or bake a traditional Polish lamb cake for Easter together. If you’re celebrating Passover, these dessert recipes are not only vegan, but delicious too, and what Easter weekend would be complete without some chocolate eggs? Jamie Oliver’s vegan versions are fun for everyone to help make.

March 25 is Holi, the two-day Hindu festival of colours. The first day is spent doing religious rituals in front of a bonfire, and the second throwing around rainbow-coloured dry powder paint, coloured water, and water-filled balloons. There are events across the country, from a sweet party in Durham to a huge, multi-hued festival in Leeds.

Why not find an outdoor space and try colour-throwing? Wear white, stock up on colours or make your own, and lob them around until you’re all rainbow coloured. Find some more tips for a party here and check out the sweet, multi-hued craft ideas here

EVENT PONY UP

The New Forest is one of our favourite places. With rare heathland habitats, beaches and creeks, and - of course - wild ponies, this is a special, nature-soaked place only a hoof-step away from our capital city. The New Forest Awakening festival, which runs through March is a great introduction to this ark for wildlife. Find out more about the trees, go on a farm tour, have a go at hedge-laying or go behind the scenes at a sustainable brewery. Find out more here

WHAT WE’RE EATING GREEK EASTER TREATS We’ve rounded up some tasty Easter recipes to enjoy this weekend. I first experienced Greek Easter when I was staying in Wellington, New Zealand, where there’s a big Greek community. I loved the Greek Easter bread they served and have included a recipe for that here, plus a tasty side salad. Devilled eggs are an old favourite, and there’s a recipe for a dairy-free chocolate pudding so that vegans can enjoy some of the chocolaty fun of Easter too! Check out the recipe websites for more tasty treats to enjoy all year round. Find the recipes here

WHAT WE’RE READING Play outside and sing together: what living in Denmark taught me about raising ‘Viking’ children ” Nordic children do things differently. They eat differently, learn differently, play, dress, even sleep differently – with babies left to nap outside in their prams in sub-zero temperatures. They sing, fight, climb, fall and get up again. They are out in nature for hours a day – despite the fact that the weather’s terrible (we’re talking Mordor from October to March).

Nordics seldom come across as happy-go-lucky – preferring “scheduled fun” to anything approaching spontaneity. And yet… Nordic countries regularly top Unicef rankings in terms of happiness, education and equality with the highest rates of wellbeing, globally. Some aspects of their parenting can be applied wherever you are, while others can act as inspiration. So here are a few things I’ve learned about how to raise a Viking.”

Read more here