March 7th, 2012 10 fun places to read aloud with the kids Posted by Melitsa in Education, language, play activities, Roundups, Seasonal play, Sites to visit

Cuddled up on the sofa is our best place to read aloud together. But as they get more wriggly and jiggly we’ve discovered some other fun places to read aloud.

1. Bathroom- got to love the echo and the chance to ham up your story telling. Whether clothed and bringing in chairs or a bathtime treat.

• Local park- sitting on the rug surrounded by openness and a good book. Beware you’ll attract new curious listeners.

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March 5th, 2012 How do I find a read aloud for my multi aged children that will work with them all? Posted by Melitsa in Education, Media, play activities, Roundups

Reading aloud is one of those precious moments that many of us reserve for the end of the day when we’re putting the children to bed. This week on Wednesday 7th March is World Read Aloud day a global movement of literacy and reading aloud by LITWorld founder Pam Allyn.

Reading aloud is probably one of the most squeezed activities in our household because of the time pressures. It doesn’t benefit from enough time and thought. The amount of reading generally gets smaller as new siblings arrive and older children learn to read. It doesn’t need to be that way!

In this short extract we hear founder, Pam Allyn tackle this problem When you have more than one child how do you choose the right book that fits them all without giving up on Read alouds?

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February 29th, 2012 27 Parenting Podcasts for the 21st Century parents Posted by Melitsa in download, Education, Media, play activities, Podcast, Sites to visit

You can’t have failed to notice how many ways we can find information. Podcasts have become a really important way that you will learn, are entertained, inspired, take action and grow. Podcasts are produced by enthusiastic hosts passionate about their subjects. The parenting world has a range of podcasts which are a perfect way to listen to information and be part of a community connected without boundaries. They offer comment on current issues in a way that leaves you thinking long after the show is over and urge you to take some action.

Podcasts in general take a huge amount of time to produce and in the parenting world this coupled unpredictable nature of it with more kids coming along, new directions, maternity leave over and normal life there is a tendency to see your favourite show on hiatus or podfade.

The podcasts listed here are in no particular order. They were all current for 2012. Visit the website or better yet download a show and let the host know what you think. They will appreciate it.

Podcasts of 2012

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February 22nd, 2012 Solutions for tackling tricky toddler emotions Posted by Melitsa in Articles, Education, Media, play activities, Sites to visit, Thought of the week

Strong emotions are a big bug bear when you’re in a playful home or are they really? Our aim as parents surely is to train, teach and allow opportunities of growth. We allow ample unstructured playtime to build creativity; structured activities to encourage skills and further learning; outdoor skills to connect with nature and so on. However, since our children come with varied temperaments, there is that potential to clash. This power struggle of who wins and who loses is a big problem in most of our playful homes. Mostly because we rely on previous experiences and default scripts we are often surprised that really come out of our mouths.

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We can all think of a sticking point in our playful experiences at home and wish we had a tool or trick to just fix it, and fix it forever. Tricks don’t last over time. Although they can get you through situations they often start you down a path that leads to more problems. A better solution is to arm yourself with ideas, tools and solutions that you marinate with overtime and gradually introduce into your family.

Remember, you only have to succeed the last time. 
Brian Tracy

What we know to be true with toddlers

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February 13th, 2012 Setting up a play story to start a conversation Posted by Melitsa in Education, language, play activities, pretend play

• Toilet roll or bandage
• Soft toy
• Doctor kit ( optional)

Preparation: Carefully wrap up your soft toy so they look injured. Leave in an obvious place.

Set the scene using your surprised and concerned voice. ( Now’s the time to overact!)

We played out a scene of looking after our stuffed animal. Through lots of questioning we got to change bandages, lie down and sleep. Our toy also had a few cuddles and lots of blankets. We got him a drink and he ate a pretend cake.

By setting up the scene and the LO arriving upon it. Plus the surprise in my voice lead us to have quite time of play.

Setting up scenarios to start a conversation and begin the conversation about complex ideas like emotions are really important with children. They get a chance to try different ideas not just from the media and they’ve seen but they have the chance to adapt ideas and bend the rules.

Getting in there with them as they pretend play to encourage their play without dominating may take some time to master. But is well worth it.

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