Shoelace tying techniques – teach your child to tie shoelaces
There are so many shoelace tying techniques out there that it can be difficult to find the one that is easiest to teach. Thankfully, they all come with different stories to aid in your child’s learning process. Knowing the individual steps to any technique is important, as once we have been tying shoes for so […]
8 school holiday activities to suit every child
Can you hear it now? Over and over like a broken record – “I’m bored, I’m bored, I’m bored … I’m BORED!” Must be the school holidays! Some parents dread school holidays. You will wonder how your child could possibly be ‘bored’ when surrounded by gaming consoles, television, apps, toys (indoor and outdoor) and maybe […]
School holidays – how to keep the kids entertained
Ah, the school holidays … I remember them well. Three weeks of anticipation, four days of excitement and the rest of the time walking circles around our dining room table telling Mum that “I’m booooored” over and over again. She must have really looked forward to that! So, the school holidays can come with a […]
Schooling and education in Australia
It might seem like a long time before you have to enrol your little one in school, but it pays to be prepared. How old do they have to be before starting BIG school? What is their first prep year called? What are the cut-off dates? Leaving it to the last minute can cause unnecessary […]
4 things to do NOW to prepare for the teen years
Most parents approach the teenage years with a little bit of dread. The fear of the unknown can be our worst enemy, and fill our mind with questions that are impossible to answer when our children are under 10. Will she be as rude to me as I was to my mum? Will he try […]
Packing the ideal school lunchbox
How do you pack the ideal lunchbox and how do you make sure it gets eaten? Dietician and mother of two, Kate Di Prima, says it is all about planning. “Lunch is one of the most important meals for school age kids, and it often comes home untouched,” she says. “With a bit of forethought […]
Should you be worried about NAPLAN?
It is NAPLAN time again this year. In the second full week in May, students in Australian public and private schools, in grades 3, 5, 7 and 9, do NAPLAN. They are tested over three days. NAPLAN tests skills essential for your child’s progress through school and life ahead – reading, writing, spelling and numeracy. […]
My top 5 TV-free activities …
We moved house recently. And though moving is always an upheaval, this move irrevocably changed the dynamic and landscape of our household, because (completely unintentionally), we moved to a house that didn’t have TV reception. As such a simple thing, it’s not something we thought to check for in a city rental. It was nonetheless […]
Christmas tags and wrapping paper craft with the kids
How’s this? A cute Christmas tag idea you can make with the kids and it looks fab to boot! All you need is a colour scheme and you’re halfway there. The little guy and I were cutting some paper with his new lefty scissors and by the time we were finished we’d made gift tags […]
Knowledge is power when it comes to sex education
When the time comes to explain the birds and the bees to your child, it can feel somewhat overwhelming. For many parents this conversational can of worms is a dreaded thought. There are indeed many creative ways of dodging the talk for a year or two, but eventually you are going to have to sit […]