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July Issue 2010
Welcome to this issue of my free parenting
E-zine in which I bring you small snapshots of the joys and problems of
raising children.
SPECIALS
FEATURES
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SPECIALS
- When time is short
Time is something most people are
short of, especially when it comes to the non essentials. But what are the
non essentials? They will be different for each of us.
Big time gobblers are
-
housework( cooking, cleaning,
washing, tidying etc.)
-
paid work
-
caring for the kids
-
driving kids places and picking
them up
-
shopping
-
worrying
-
home entertainment such as TV or
computer.
Some of the above might be very
important to you and some will be of low importance. Everyone has different
priorities just as we have different approaches to home and parenting. From
time to time it is good to look at how we use our time especially if we are
frequently feeling rushed. Good organisers have more time. Here are some
helpful tips.
-
List the essential tasks you
should do each day
-
list one or two non essential
tasks also
-
tick off the tasks as you do
them, or at the end of the day
-
plan your menus for the week
-
write your shopping list as you
do the menu
-
do other town jobs on shopping
day instead of a few each day
-
do the main shop without the
kids in tow
-
keep email and computer tasks up
to date daily
-
organise your desk so things are
not lost in the clutter
-
fold clothes as you take them
from the line and put away immediately
-
plan your route so you don’t get
lost when going on an outing
-
read instructions well before
attempting new tasks
-
set time limits to spend on
tasks whether it be on talking on the phone, gardening, helping the kids
etc.
-
take time to relax and enjoy
life and don’t feel guilty when you take a break.
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FEATURES
Ages and
Stages-Acting together
Its great to do things together with your children whatever their ages. If
you start this when the children are young, it is easier to keep doing it
and so keep in touch with their interests and abilities. Once kids get to
school age, their peers take up most of their time and many parents stop
spending so much time together as families. Family times can be so much fun
when a couple of families join together for leisure activities. If your
child plays soccer or tennis, goes to little athletics, swimming or learns
ballet, there are bound to be opportunities for you to watch the children
side by side with other parents. Extend that casual meeting with the parents
of your child’s friend, and make a new friend yourself. You can
-
make the effort to socialise together at home or at some other venue
-
invite your child’s friends home at weekends or after school
-
offer to drive both lots of kids to sport sometimes
-
allow your child to have a sleepover
-
talk to your child about their friends
-
be positive and show you like their friends.
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Kids 'n Gardening-Growing
Cress and Mustard
The great thing about growing cress
and mustard is that it can be planted at any time of the year and it is
ready to harvest in four to six weeks. For kids who like quick results,
these are the plants to grow.
Prepare two or more boxes or pots so
that the seeds can be grown separately. Use a good quality seed raising mix
or soil and mix in some general fertiliser. Sprinkle the seeds liberally on
top, covering them with a fine layer of compost or vermiculite. They should
be kept damp until the seeds germinate – about a week in winter, but much
more quickly in warmer weather.
Don’t worry about thinning the
seedlings when they emerge, just place them in a sunny spot to grow. A spray
bottle is good to water these seedlings with – you can also use it to keep
the soil damp while they germinate.
Once these little plants measure
10-15 cm you can cut them off just above ground level with a pair of
scissors and add them to sandwiches, salads or stews. If you want to have a
good supply, plant pots of them successively – at about two weeks apart.
Copyright Bev Boorer 2010
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Kids
in the news -Born
to Read
I’ve just been away to Manilla, a
rural town in northern NSW, to take part in a special day called Born to
Read. Every child in the school came dressed in a special way to reflect
their interest in reading. Special activities were on all day that
encouraged reading, storytelling, writing digital stories using props and
cameras, and watching an aboriginal Dance Group. Parents were involved too and I was impressed with the time and
effort so many volunteers had put into making the day a resounding success.
The media attended thus giving the broader community a chance to see what
their young people are doing. I attended as a storyteller to junior age
groups and I was honoured to be part of the event. Days like this, Literacy
week, and Book Week are important days for all communities.
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Healthy Living –
Keeping clean
Now its winter time it can be quite
daunting even for adults to take off all ones clothes and shower or bath,
although the thought of plenty of hot water helps. Make sure the children
are washing as thoroughly as they do in the hot weather. Look at their
clothes too and make sure they are changed regularly. The washing takes
longer to dry, and sometimes a long spell of wet weather depletes the supply
of clean clothes.
Classrooms in particular can be
smelly places in winter if the windows are all shut. Shoes and socks are
amongst the worst offenders especially if the kids have to take them off for
music and movement or PE. Do the shoes at your place get washed or cleaned
regularly? Sports shoes can usually be washed but can be really offensive to
the nose. Airing shoes every day in fresh air or sun can help. Airing
jumpers and coats is a good idea too. Smoke and cooking smells get into our
clothes but the sun fixes the problem. Remember that clothes carry germs so
even when articles still look clean, they may be harbouring nasty cold
germs.
I saw a new ad on TV the other day
that showed someone vacuuming the mattress. Now that’s something I haven’t
done in a long time. I’d better get busy. There must be months of invisible
germs there even though the sheets are clean.
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Book Review -Queen Victoria's
Underpants
Jackie French, Illustrated by Bruce Whatley
Published by Angus and Robertson
2010
ISBN 9780732288228
In Queen Victoria's time women didn't have underpants.
Instead they wore layers of petticoats to keep themselves warm. when the
Queen heard about underpants, though, she had to have them. Just as in
today's world it was popular people who set fashions, and of course it
wasn't long before all ladies followed the Queen's example. Jackie French,
in her typical style, has taken an unusual bit of history and created a book
that will delight those of us who enjoy humour, history and fashion. You
will chuckle over the ideas the sewer's family had as they considered the
style the royal undies should be sewn in. You will love the way the Queen's
dogs carry on. the first pictures show other inventions that will interest
all readers too, perhaps sparking a visit to a museum. Children of five and
upwards will love this book as will their mothers and grandmothers.
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Play ideas
–Cooking together.
Children love to do things with
their parents and cooking together is something that you can do regularly.
Cooking with your child doesn’t have to be time set aside for making a
special recipe. There are many jobs in food preparation that children will
love helping with such as
Older
children can slice soft vegies such as zucchinis and cucumber, butter bread,
oil or grease the pans. Reluctant eaters are often encouraged to try
new foods when they help with the preparation. If your child has a sweet
tooth, balance preparation of special treats with preparing healthy foods.
Take some photos of your child helping with the cooking. These can be used
as story cards. Take three pictures of the stages of the cooking of lasagne.
Take a fourth picture of the family eating it. Ask your child to put the
pictures in the right order and tell you what each one is about.
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Click here to contact Helen
if you would like to make suggestions or have comments to make.
Copyright 2009
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Helen's books, Everyday learning about
storytelling and Simply Storytelling,
will help you to tell stories to your children. For Everyday learning, go to
www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au and look at the catalogue
For Simply Storytelling (ISBN 9780864588104 published
by Tertiary Press) go to
www.pearsoned.com.au/VetDirect
put the title in the keyword search and click.
Three of Helen's picture books are available as downloads or CD's from
Writer's Exchange at Reader's Eden. Children from 3 to 10 will love them.
Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/2hm2db
This will take
you to my author's page.
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