Sunday 17 January 2010
January might as well be called Slimming Season. Marketing campaigns for dieting companies and products go into overdrive, cashing in on our holiday guilt. I for one feel NO guilt about enjoying special foods at Christmas or about taking the pressure off myself in the kitchen during the holidays. This doesn’t mean my daughter is immune from the marketing messages though. “New year, new you” type campaigns are all over the tv, and meal replacement bars and shakes are in the supermarket aisles!!
This week we borrowed “Rosie – the Cow Who Wanted to Slim”...
Tuesday 08 December 2009 -
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I think it’s so important that we choose appropriate books for our kids. Appropriate in terms of content, length, language and more. But I also believe it’s important to stretch our kids a little. It’s easy to fall into the trap of only buying and borrowing “toddler” books right up until formal schooling starts! Don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying we should read novels...
Monday 23 November 2009 -
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On the weekend my kids and I went to a wild rumpus in the park hosted by Cradle Fables. We roared our terrible roars and gnashed our terrible teeth and rolled our terrible eyes and showed our terrible claws.
The wild rumpus was of course inspired by Maurice Sendak’s classic picture book Where The Wild Things Are. The story which has enchanted generations of children is about to be released as a feature film,...
Monday 09 November 2009 -
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Children learn so much from stories. I love the way they take details from books that adults would likely skim over,and apply it to their world.
I remember one night a few months ago my three year old came forlornly out of her bedroom at night and asked for some parsley. My husband looked at me with raised eyebrows while my brain scrambled to make sense of my child’s request. A light bulb flicked on in my...
Friday 23 October 2009 -
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Sometimes a book just captures your heart. A couple of weeks ago we were delighted to find “How To Heal A Broken Wing” on the shelves at our local library. This book was shortlisted by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) this year, and went on to win Book of the Year in the Early Childhood category.
Prominent Aussie author Bob Graham tells the story of Will, a young boy who nurses an...
Wednesday 16 September 2009 -
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"Very Hungry Caterpillar" stones
Mumblers launched this week! It’s a melting pot of great online content relevant to Aussie mums. I’m a regular blogger on the team, so I’d love you to follow me over there once a month or so. Here’s a snippet from my post about story stones. My daughter and I have had a wonderful time in the garden with these simple stones, so I hope you give them...
Friday 11 September 2009 -
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"Ideal Bookshelf 1" print by Jane Mount
I know that soft covers are cheaper, but I just can’t go past hard cover picture books. I love that their hard exterior protects something special inside. I love that they have a physical substance to match their literary one. And I love that they have a spine.
My three year old noticed that there were “words on the side of the book” we chose to...
Wednesday 09 September 2009 -
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Many of our little friends have great cubby houses and forts in their backyards which are lots of fun to visit. We live on a steep slope, so a wooden structure is unlikely to happen in our yard! If budget, space or terrain prevents you from building a fort, it doesn’t mean your kids can’t have a cubby. How about this idea?
We chose a spot in our yard where several trees are grouped together close to...
Monday 07 September 2009 -
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What could be more fun than a day at the beach?! With Queensland having unseasonably warm weather, we took the kids to the Sunshine Coast for some quality family time. We all had a wonderful time, but for different reasons. Here’s what we did to prepare for our mini-stay and get the most out of our beach trip.
In the week leading up to our beach holiday the kids and I went to the library and borrowed some...
Monday 31 August 2009 -
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When it comes to books and babies, there is one tricky question other mums often ask me. Should we, or shouldn’t we let babies put books into their mouths? There really are two schools of thought on this one.
To Eat – putting things into their mouths is one of the ways babies explore the world around them. They especially enjoy “mouthing” toys and items they love. Some people feel that...
