Thursday 30 September 2010
Dear Sad Lady,
We saw you eating sushi at the shops today. You were sitting with two kids and you were crying on the phone. Did you hear some bad news? Or was it just a bad day? Did someone let you down? Or were the kids just being a handful?
We saw you, sad lady. We were going to stop and see if you were ok, but we decided you needed flowers. So we bought you some. Pink roses. Just a little bunch. We got them as fast as we could and raced back to the sushi place.
But you were gone.
So we didn’t get to tell you that we noticed. We didn’t get to let you know that...
Wednesday 29 September 2010 -
4 Comments »
I was on my favourite local radio station this morning 96five talking about the importance of outdoor play. Click on this link or the image below to hear a podcast of the interview.
If you are looking for simple outdoor play ideas while the kids are on holidays, try some of these:
Ideas for Under 5s
Mud pies – set up a simple dirt kitchen and let the kids cook with mud. Give them some utensils and bowls and they’ll...
Sunday 26 September 2010 -
14 Comments »
Some days my children are gorgeous. They play nicely together. They make each other laugh. They share adventures. They create things. They listen and follow instructions. And I look at them and think I must be doing something right.
Some days my children are a handful. They rile each other up. They have tantrums. They are disobedient. They break things. They draw on walls. And I look at them and...
Thursday 23 September 2010 -
10 Comments »
Birthdays are special. They are all about…
Inviting friends (and their bears) to share in the fun. I chose these fun invitations and thank you tags from Nomie Boutique Stationery. (I kind of left ordering the invites til the last minute, but Naomi had the invites ready in less than two days, and offered express postage. Phew! I was delighted with the service I received from Nomie.)
Opening presents. One...
Tuesday 21 September 2010 -
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I picked up these wooden, unpainted creatures at an art supply store for only $2 each. I think one is actually a lizard, but we called them both dinosaurs. The kids loved the way the cuts in the wood enabled the creatures to move.
I set up some paints in egg cartons and let the kids go for it! My little one just needed me to hold his dinosaur still for him, but apart from that he painted it all by himself. Here...
Thursday 16 September 2010 -
11 Comments »
School holidays are upon us again (where is this year going?!) and I have THREE family passes up for grabs just in time. The new family flick Furry Vengeance is released in cinemas today. It’s rated PG (mild comedic violence) and in my opinion is suitable for mid-primary aged kids to mid teens.
In this hilarious family comedy with a message, greedy developers pay the price for paving over paradise. For Mother...
Friday 10 September 2010 -
10 Comments »
If you follow my updates or tweets you may have heard that my daughter is prone to picking up ticks when outdoors. I usually find them behind an ear or on the back of her neck, which can make them tricky to remove. Several times she has wound up requiring a local anaesthetic and small cut to remove them. It’s all a little traumatic for a young mum child. Recently she managed to get two ticks within a week...
Tuesday 07 September 2010 -
32 Comments »
Have you met dirtgirl yet? I knew I would like her the first time I heard about her, before I even saw an episode of the brand new Aussie children’s program. Dirtgirl is a gumboot-wearing, tractor-driving, veggie-growing girl who loves to sing and get grubby! My kind of girl.
Dirtgirlworld is a celebration of life outside! Each episode is packed with outdoor goodness and includes issues like recycling, composting,...
Friday 03 September 2010 -
3 Comments »
The sixth edition of the free publication Literacy Lava has just been released this week. It’s a fabulous resource for parents who want to be literacy-aware, and who want to encourage their children as readers and writers. This time I have an article included on Story Stones. Here’s a snippet:
Stones and rocks have been used in different cultures throughout the ages to tell stories to children and adults...
