The start of the day can be harrowing, especially if you have kids of different ages who need to get to different places!  The only way I know of getting everyone out of the door on time and with everything they need, is to establish good routines and stick to them.  Routine charts can be incredibly helpful for a child’s growing independence.  Young kids who can manage a few steps independently in the morning, become kids who are responsible for their own school materials, and then become teens who are capable of managing their own timetables.

I chatted with Liam, Robbie and Jo on air this morning about routine charts on Brisbane’s 96Five.  If you missed it, check out the podcast!

Summary points:

• Don’t confuse reward charts with routine charts
• Move from photographs, to pictorial symbols, to words and symbols, then finally to timetables
• Keep it age appropriate (a 4 year old can probably manage a 4 step morning routine… a 6 year old can manage 6 steps)
• Remember that the aim is independence! Let them be responsible for their tasks.

There are three ways to go about starting off a new routine chart for your child.  You can make it yourself from scratch, use one that others find works for them, or buy a ready-made one.  The advantage of making your own is that you can truly personalise it for your child.  Photos are especially effective for young kids.  Take a photo of the breakfast cereal, the kindy bag, the school uniform, the sunscreen… whatever!

If you’d like to use a routine chart from other mums, try one of these:

Childhood101 – I highly recommend Christie’s FREE printable routine cards for young kids. Photos ready to go!

Living Locurto – This simple set of 4 FREE routine cards for young ones is print-ready.

The Organised Housewife – Print out Katrina’s FREE morning or evening routine chart for primary school kids.

Buttoned Up – Try this FREE weekly schedule for kids in middle school. Laminate it, then fill it out together at the start of each week with a fine whiteboard marker.

Little Billies – I reviewed these charts a couple of years ago but sadly they are no longer available

(Photographic routine cards from Childhood 101)

Do you use routine charts in your home? What works for you? Know of another printable worth sharing…?

This week on air with The Family Show on 96five I spoke about birthday parties, and shared my top tips for hassle-free parties.  If you missed it, here’s a summary for you:

• Invitation etiquette usually becomes an issue at school age. Either limit the party to 2 or 3 “special friends”, or invite all of the girls/boys in the class, or invite everyone!
• As well as stating a start time, include a finish time.  Two hours is usually long enough for a kids’ party.  Let parents know whether you would like them to stay for the duration of the party, and if siblings are invited.
• Go for activities rather than games, especially for younger children. Three year olds will be engaged for much longer with playdough than with a pinata.
• Try not to leave yourself with too much to DO during the party. You want to celebrate with your child.
• Keep party bags simple!

Of course, the reason I was talking about parties was because my big girl turned FIVE!  She has been planning her rainbow birthday party for a looong time and it was so delightful to see her share the occasion with all of the girls from her prep class.  Here are a few colourful shots of the party:

The Rainbow Girl

And all the yumminess

The Rainbow Food!

Do you have a top party tip to share?

I didn’t choose The Wiggles, even though Dorothy rather considers herself a dino-ballerina.

I didn’t choose Justine Clarke, even though she’s hands down my favourite children’s entertainer.

I didn’t choose a Playschool album, or a Jimmy Giggle album, or any other children’s album.

So what DID I choose?

Haydn, Rimsky-Korsakov, Schubert, Tchaikovsky and Grieg.  Yes, classical orchestral music by some of the world’s best composers.  Despite my love for good qualitychildren’s music, I fear that at times we do our kids a disservice by not exposing them to music beyond this.  It is valuable for little ears to hear different sounds from different places and different times.  Rock music, classical music, folk music, jazz music, choral music and more.  (Of course there is much adult music that is inappropriate for children so you may need to check any lyrics before you push play!)

I spent many hours rehearsing and playing in orchestras myself as a child and as a teenager, and I still enjoy cranking up the volume of a great piece every now and then.  I can’t expect my kids to enjoy classical, or jazz (which I also love) with me if I never give them the opportunity to listen to it.  Or dance to it.

Which genres of music do you enjoy,

and do your kids listen, sing or dance along too?

Blob.

Swirl.

Squelch.

Slide.

Blend.

Marvel.

Explore.

Create.

Delight!

What is it?

ART not Craft is a downloadable, 53 page ebook in a pdf format.  Instead of buying a paper-and-cover book, you purchase an ebook and either print it out, or read it on the screen.  It is in full colour and contains lots of great photos of young children in action with a variety of mediums.

How much is it?

Using an e-format keeps overheads low, so you can purchase it for $15.95 (and you get a bonus gift).  If you could book an early childhood consultant to sit down over coffee while you pick her brain about all-things-art, it would cost a fortune!  This book is kind of like that.  Oh, except Christie is totally a tea drinker…

What’s in it?

Loads of information on why we approach art in the early years the way we do, and great ideas for you to try.  ART not Craft is broken into sections on drawing, painting, printmaking, collage and sculpture.  Christie gives suggestions throughout for learning, doing, seeing, and talking with your child as you go.  It is a resource you will go back to many times.

Who should buy it?

If you have ever given your child a blob of playdough, or put a paintbrush into their hand and thought, “Now what…?!” – this is a book for you!  Many parents want to be creative with their kids, and want to provide creative learning opportunities, but just don’t know where to start.  It’s also a great resource for anyone working with under fives.

When asked to comment on the book, here’s what I had to say:

“Children are inherently creative, and are capable of doing so much more than merely copying simple crafts. In this ebook Christie opens up a world of possibilities for you to explore with your child, or with a whole class of young children. I highly recommend Art Not Craft to parents and educators who are looking to provide rich, creative and artistic opportunities for the children in their care.”

BONUS!  Purchase Art Not Craft: The Process of Learning Creatively and you will receive ‘A Wish For All Children’ poster as a downloadable, easy to print A4 PDF. Hang it in your home to inspire and remind you of the importance of children making art.

______________________________________

*Yes, she lives in Perth and I’m in Brisbane. We share virtual cuppas. And yes we squealed like teenage girls when we got to meet in Sydney and be roomies for the Australian Blogging Conference…

My son surprises me constantly because he thinks so differently to me. When I asked him to sweep up the cornflakes he spilled on the floor recently, he ran off to his toybox to find a truck.  Just as I was about to rouse on him for going to play instead of cleaning the mess – I realised what he was doing.  He swept the cornflakes into the dustpan, tipped the dustpan into the dump truck, drove the truck over to the bin, and emptied out the contents!

Instead of being cross at him, we all laughed and I took a quick photo.  For me it was a moment of learning.

Sometimes in my impatience I step in too early.  And if I’m honest, perhaps I also assume my children will do things my way.  I say that I want to raise the kids to be independent, to be good problem solvers and to be creative.  But I wonder if my actions speak louder than my words.  Am I actually communicating completely the opposite?  I have to give my children the time, space and opportunity to do things their way.

Even if it means cleaning the floor with a dump truck.

]]> http://squigglemum.com/kids/boys/doing-it-their-way/feed/ 13 http://squigglemum.com/kids/simple-pleasures/ http://squigglemum.com/kids/simple-pleasures/#comments Tue, 22 Mar 2011 20:53:41 +0000 SquiggleMum http://squigglemum.com/?p=4955

Childhood is full of simple pleasures:

Tossing autumns leaves

Jumping in puddles

Blowing bubbles

Catching rain on your tongue

Collecting shells

Chasing butterflies

Spinning until you fall down.

*   *   *

It’s a shame we have to grow up.

Or do we?

This week I did something I thought I would never do: I sent my young daughter to school with makeup on!  It was class photo day, and she had an absolute shiner of a black eye.  It was every shade of green and yellow and black and blue you can imagine! The bruising (as a result of playing around in the loungeroom and bumping into a cupboard corner) was still visible.  I just took the edge off with a bit of pressed powder.

I don’t mind really that she had a black eye for the photo. She’s a kid. She plays and laughs and lives and bruises like a kid. It’s all part of the package.  That said, I still felt the need to cover it – just a little.

I shared on facebook, and asked whether other mums would cover a black eye, or leave it.  The response was mixed, but lots of mums jumped in to give their thoughts..

One reader shared that some school photographers are now offering to photoshop “blemishes” from your child for a fee.  This is where it crosses the line for me.  Even if I had the option to photoshop my daughter’s bruise out, I wouldn’t.  I’m ok with covering it with a little foundation, but I don’t want to pretend things aren’t there.  And more than that, I am really, really concerned about the message this might send to my kids.   My children are not blemished. Not in any way. Not even with bruises!  I don’t think anyone’s children are blemished. I don’t think anyone is blemished. We are who we are, and we are all beautiful.

What do you think? Would you have covered the bruise a little, like I did?  Would you have left it in all its colourful glory? Or would you go so far as to select the “photoshop blemishes” option if offered?

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Whoa. Check out this big branch that fell down!

I’m going to move it up there to build a cubby with it.

All. By. Myself.

Hmph. I can’t do it.

(sigh) Please can you help? We could do it together?

I’ll hold this end. You hold that end. We’ll pull it up there, ok?

HEY! That’s not helping…!

Come up here and we’ll drag it together.

HOORAY! We’re moving it!

Now we can take it wherever we want to…

*   *   *

I loved watching my kids as they solved this problem together. I’m so very glad I didn’t jump in and just move the branch for them. All kinds of good stuff was going on:  investigating, formulating a plan, admitting the need for help, trial and error, working cooperatively and more. Child’s play is serious business!

And why have I not included a photo of the finished cubby? Because like most things in early childhood, the process was so much more important than the end product.

Would you have let your kids play with such a big branch?

]]> http://squigglemum.com/kids/the-big-branch/feed/ 4 http://squigglemum.com/activities/play-tray/ http://squigglemum.com/activities/play-tray/#comments Tue, 08 Mar 2011 06:29:10 +0000 SquiggleMum http://squigglemum.com/?p=4872 Step 1.  Hammer the wood.

SquiggleDad helped, of course.

Step 2.  Make your purchases.

Green rocks. Small plant. Mini trolley. Happy boy.

Step 3.  Arrange the tray.

We used wooden offcuts, smooth pebbles, sticks and banksias.

Step 4. Invite the locals.

Dinosaurs were the first residents of our play tray.

Step 5. Innovate.

Long pieces of bark make great roads. Dinosaurs out. Trucks in.

Step 6. Enjoy!

So. Much. Fun.

Do you have a play tray?

Do you allow your child to make purchasing decisions?

Would you let your two year old use a hammer?!

Do you think this looks like fun?

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