I am a strong advocate of the importance of play in a child’s life. I think it is very easy to become serious about life and have high expectations of children. Childhood to me seems to becoming shorter. The new stage of tweens seems to have children growing up much earlier than previous generations. Homework workloads now begin early in primary school and the volume of work consumes time that would have once been spent playing.

I was then happy to read the following article in the New York Times:

The article is based on a new study which has been published in the Official Journal Of The American Academy of Pediatrics.

This study examines the amount of recess that children 8 to 9 years of age receive in the United States and compares the group classroom behavior of children receiving daily recess with that of children not receiving daily recess.

The key finding was that the children having better class behavior scores as rated by their teacher’s. This finding may make teachers rethink their discipline strategy whereby the keep children in at recess as a form of punishment for poor behaviour.

As the lead researcher, Dr. Romina M. Barros, a pediatrician and an assistant clinical professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine summed up this situation:

“Recess should be part of the curriculum,” she said. “You don’t punish a kid by having them miss math class, so kids shouldn’t be punished by not getting recess.”

The article then looks at other related studies, one in particular which looks at the importance of play in a child’s life. They quote psychiatrist and founder of National Institute for Play, Dr. Stuart Brown who has collected more than 6,000 “play histories” from human subjects:

Teachers feel like they’re under huge pressures to get academic excellence to the exclusion of having much fun in the classroom. But playful learning leads to better academic success than the skills-and-drills approach.

It is worth reading the complete New York Times article. (You may have to register, it only takes a minute and access is free.) I hope that educators will use this new research and take into consideration when looking at the way they teach this generation of children.

Technorati Tags: children, parenting, play

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Time to take a look at what I achieved in February and what I would like to accomplish in March:

Key Tasks for February

1. Settle the children into Term 1 at school.
   

   Work in progress. So far everything has gone quite smoothly. Possum loves school and is generally the first ready in the morning. She is very tired by the end of the week though, so we need to manage week end time well, so she returns to school well rested.

2. Post three times a week on Planning With Kids, keeping one week in advance.
   

   Done. I wrote recently about what process I am using to achieve this on Blog Time Management Tips.

3. Spend individual time with each child, as they adjust to the new family member.
   

   Getting there. Probably not as much individual time as I would like. This month saw the end of cricket season which means until football starts mid April, we will have one less after school activity and Saturday mornings free, so this should help free up some time.

4. Gradually start exercising again.
   

   I have made it back to the gym 2 - 3 times a week, doing post natal type exercises. It always feels good to get the body going and have a good stretch.

5. Send out thank you cards for the birth of our son.
   

   Half completed. They have been designed and I am now waiting for them to come back from being printed, so this item will remain on the task list for next month.

Key Tasks for March

Like last month, I will be keeping key tasks for March to a minimum. Even though they are self set goals, I still tend to feel stressed if I am not achieving the things I have set for myself. Therefore I have found it better to be realistic and set what is achievable:

1. Mr I and myself to go out for dinner (belated wedding anniversary celebration).
2. Continue posting three times a week on Planning With Kids, keeping one week in advance.
3. Organise the Christening for our new son J5 (throughout the pregnancy we referred to the baby as Junior No.5, which has now been abbreviated to J5).
4. Complete another bulk menu planning session.
5. Send out thank you cards for the birth of our son.

What is on your to do list for March?

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Technorati Tags: family organisation, goals

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The end of another month! Our first with five children and it has gone so quickly! Here are just some of the posts that I enjoyed reading this month:

Cooking

1. Weekend Goodies:: Snickerdoodles

Molly Irwin gives you a great recipe for Snickerdoodles complete with beautiful photos.

2. Choc banana with sprinkles

A bit of this and a bit of that… show you can make this yummy treat with your children.

3. 18 Everyday Hacks For Cooking From Scratch

Simple Mom gives great tips to make life easier in the kitchen.

Craft

4.
Repurposing Made Easy: Make Your Own Clipboard And Clips

The Crafty Crow shows how you can use old materials to make a cute cilpboard. Would make a nice gift for children.

5. For You

J Casa Handmade has provided freely her pattern complete with tutorial for the Kidlet Wall Pocket Tidy Tote.

Parenting

6. Steroid Parenting

Uncommon Parenting talks about how you can use the A-Rod steroid taking issue as a life learning for your kids.

7. 10 Minutes

Remodelling this Life notes practical advice for when family life overwhelms you - it only takes 10 minutes to do most things for example “10 minutes to chat about my daughter’s day at school, 10 minutes to clean the kitchen sink, 10 minutes of picking up toys”

8. Reading and Eating

itty bitty love presents a gorgeous way to increase and encourage independence in preschoolers - allowing them to prepare and eat their own snacks.

9. ABC Brings Us The ‘Sadistic Bitch’ Method Of Parenting

Strollerderby reviews the controversial documentary currently screening on Australia’s ABC TV, Brining Up Baby. They are particularly critical of the harsh 1950s method of parenting used by Claire Verity. (I personally was moved to tears in this show when she made the mothers leave their newborn babies to cry.)

10. Gentle Baby and Toddler Sleep Tips

PhD in Parenting gives some really practical strategies on the difficult sleep issue.

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1. Pumpkin slices, 2. I love summer - I love sweet corn, 3. Organic Zucchini, 4. Yams

March is the start of Autumn in the southern hemisphere. After having such a devastating summer, I am sure that there will be many here in Victoria who will be happy to see the end of it and the new cooler season begin.

The following fruits and vegetables listed below are in season and at their best and cheapest this month. These lists are for Australia, but if you live in the UK you can see what’s in season at Eat the Seasons UK and for North America Eat the Seasons US.

Fruits:
apples - aba, cox’s orange pippins - gala - jonagold - jonathan - mutso, banana, berries - raspberry - strawberry, breadfruit, feijoa, figs, grapes - cardinal - currant - muscat - purple cornichon - sultana - waltham cross, guava, kiwifruit, lemon, limes, mango, mangosteen, melons - honeydew - rockmelon, nashi, nectarine, nuts - almond - chestnut - hazelnut - pistachio - walnut, orange - valencia, papaya, passionfruit, peach, pears - beurre bosc - howell - josephine - packham - red sensation - williams, persimmon, plums, pomegranate, rambutan, rhubarb, tamarillo.

Vegetables:
asian greens - bok choy - choy sum - gai laan - wonga bok, avocados - fuerte - shepard, beans - borlotti - butter - green - snake, capsicum, celery, chilli, cucumber, daikon, eggplant, leek, lettuce, okra, olive, onions - brown - red - spring, peas, potato, pumpkin, shallot, silverbeet, spinach, squash, sweetcorn, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini.

Our Family Menu Plan for this week.

Baking: Anzac Biscuits

Monday: Roast Chicken and Vegetables

Tuesday: Easy Fried Rice

Wednesday: Meal from the freezer from our wonderful baby bundle.

Thursday: Home Made Hamburgers And Salad

Friday: Tuna Carbonara

Saturday: Souvlakis

Sunday: Chicken Lasagne

If you like the look of this family menu plan, then you use this Shopping List created by The Planning With Kids Free Menu Planner or you can select your meals yourself and print our your own shopping list from the Free Menu Planner.

If you would like to have one of your recipes added to the menu planner database, just be one of the first two people to leave a link or actual recipe in the comments section on my regular Menu Plan Monday Post. I will add it to the database and then email to let you know it has been included.

For more menu planning ideas head on over to Laura’s place at “I’m an Organizing Junkie“.

Technorati Tags: free menu planner, Recipes, seasonal fruit, seasonal vegetables

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In the weeks before and now the weeks since the arrival of our beautiful fifth child, I have found that I have significantly less time for blogging that I used to. This has meant that I have had to become far more efficient when I am online. I thought I would share a few things that I have found helpful in increasing my effectiveness of time spent on the blog:

1. Determine Realistic Goals

I needed to work out how many posts a week that I could manage with the time that I would have available. For me this was three posts a week on Planning With Kids.

2. What Themes To Write On

Knowing that I was aiming for three posts a week, I determined what days I would publish on - Sun, Tue and Thu, and then set a theme for each day - Menu Planning, 10 Tips, General Planning respectively.

3. Write A Blog Post Plan

I sat down in December and wrote a three month post plan. Using an excel spreadsheet with the dates in one column, topic in the next and then any additional notes or references in the last column. Once I started on this process, I found it actually helped me to have an organised approach to what I was going to write about.

4. Bulk Post Writing Session

On either Saturday or Sunday, I allocate at least 2 x 2hr blocks that I use solely for the purpose of writing the next week’s post. I make sure that the sessions are as early as possible during the day. Since I am operating on reduced sleep, I find that I am not very effective writing at night as I am too tired. Since doing this I have found that I have begun to write posts much quicker than I previously used to. I also close all other applications that I do not need for this purpose, to eliminate as many distractions as possible.

5. Limit Social Media Activity

I use social media like Twitter, Stumble and have over 100 blogs in my Google Reader. At this time in my blogging life, I have to spend time on these media, only once I have completed my weekly posts. There will be time to build up my profile later.

6. Enjoy What I Am Writing About

I do love blogging and want to make sure that this continues, by writing on things that I am interested in or like.

How do you keep up your blogging when you have less time for it?

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1. Action Zone

Action Zone is a collection of the latest in inflatable action amusement products. This is not a place full of jumping castles, but much more adventurous activities that will amuse your older children. I haven’t been there as yet, but am aiming to get there this month as I think my two older boys will just love it.

Opening Hours: Saturdays & Sundays 10.30am - 6pm.
Location: Waterfront City, Docklands
Cost: Challenger - $2 per attempt
Face Off - $10 for 3 battles
Bunjy Ride - $10 for 4 minutes
Base Jump - $8 for 3 jumps
High Wire - $10 for 3 attempts

2. Moomba Waterfest

The long weekend in March (7 - 9 March) sees the return of the annual Moomba Waterfest. If you were like me then you asscoiate Moomba with the carnival by the Yarra and the Birdman Competition. But it actually provides much more than that. Family friendly and FREE highlights from this year’s Moomba Waterfest are:

Children’s Garden presented by Ranger Roo. Running from 11.00am - 6.00pm at Alexandra Gardens from 7 - 9 March, there will be circus skills, petting zoo and acrobatics.

Moomba Waterfest at ArtPlay. Also running from 11.00am - 6.00pm at Artplay from 7 - 9 March “children can let their imaginations out to play at an Enviro Craft mask-making workshop. Use colourful foam (made from 100 per cent recycled materials) to create creatures from ‘The Waterhole’.”

3. The Great Australian Sunny Sizzle: 27th March 2009

This event is run at Federation Square by Interchange. Interchange Victoria is a community based, not for profit organisation that provides support to families who have a child with a disability.

“The Great Australian Sunny Sizzle is a celebration across the land which aims to raise awareness of the needs of young people with a disability and their families.”

4. ACMI Kids Flicks

March sees the film Sesame Street presents Follow That Bird. It is on Sun 8 Mar 2009, 10.30am & 1pm and Sun 15 Mar 2009, 10.30am & 1pm. Tickets are $5 for adults and children.

5. Australian Ballet Telstra Ballet in the Bowl

Telstra Ballet in the Bowl is on Saturday March 28. It is a free event with no bookings required, However once venue is at capacity, gates are closed. Gates open at 4pm, but the performance does not start until 8pm.

Featuring a selection of dazzling pas de deux from some of ballet’s best known works – The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Le Corsaire – plus show stoppers La Favorita, Spring Waters and Diana and Actéon, the evening concludes with Leonide Massine’s Les Présages set in 1933 to Tchaikovsky’s magnificent Fifth Symphony. This large-scale work is artistically striking and full of awesome ensemble movements.

6. Diamond Valley Railway Eltham

We have a train obsessed 2.5 year old in our house, so this is very relevant for us. The Diamond Valley Railway Eltham operates from 11.00am to 5.00pm on the following Sundays in March - 1, 8, 15, 22, 29. It is only $3.00 per passenger and children under 2 years ride free.

7. Earth Hour

Join millions around the world who participate in Earth Hour. Have an hour (or more) of candle lit family time when you join in millions of people around the world switching off the lights to increase awareness of climate change.

8. Playschool Concerts

“The Ever Popular Television Show! Live in Concert. Featuring two Presenters plus the toys from the popular television show. This show is full of active participation…..
The familiarity of the material and the presenters combine to totally engage the young audience for the 40-minute duration of the concerts.”
All tickets are $13.20 and children under 12 months on the day of the concert are free. Check website for locations and dates.

9. Push Over 2009

“With music, amusements, artist signings, market stalls, food to suit everybody’s tastes and preferences and the fantastic $30 ticket price, Push Over 2009 is a no-brainer for all young Victorians who love their music.” Acts include Kate Miller-Heidke, Dukes of Windsor and Dash and Will plus loads more.

Date: 8th Mar 09
Time: 12:00pm - 8:00pm
Venue: The Abbotsford Convent
1 St Heliers St
Abbotsford VIC 3067

10. Artplay - Westisde Circus

“Learn the tricks of the Big Top with Westside Circus, using scarves, hoops and juggling balls. Get involved in creative games and perform jumps, balancing, tunnels, handstands, forward rolls and other challenging activities in the circus circuit. This energetic workshop will have you moving like a real circus performer!”

Date: Saturday 28 March
Time: 10.30am to 11.30am; noon to 1pm
Age: 3 to 5 years (all children must be accompanied by an adult)
Cost: $15 per child (adults FREE!)
Bookings are essential and can be made either online, or on 03 9663 3440. Alternatively you can leave a message on (03) 9664 7900. These sessions do book out quickly, so if you are interested, I suggest getting in quickly.

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Posting this week’s menu plan early, so I can also post this recipe! This Tuesday we celebrate Shrove (Pancake) Tuesday, the day before the beginning of Lent. The children also celebrate this at school, by bringing some pancakes or pikelets from home to share with their class.

My children tend to prefer pikelets over pancakes. I think the smaller size, but greater thickness also makes them easier for the children to manage. I have a very basic recipe that I use. It makes about 20, which is never enough for us, so I always double the recipe.

Basic Pikelets Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1/4 cup castor sugar (super fine sugar)
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking powder)
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk (approx)
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• Then what ever toppings that you like, my children like butter or lemon and sugar.

Instructions

1. Sift sugar, bicarb of soda and flour into a bowl (large if doubling recipe).
2. Pour egg, milk, vinegar and combine well.
3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in about 90% of the combined milk liquid.
4. Using a beater mix until smooth. Add as much of remaining liquid ingredients as required. I like the pikelet mixture to be quite thick, but it can have all the milk in and be thinner and still taste great.
5. I add a small amount of butter to a frying pan on medium heat.
6. When melted I drop large spoonfuls of mixture into the pan, allowing room for spreading.
7. When bubbles appear, turn the pikelets over before they burst.
8. The pikelets take less time to cook on the second side. Using a spatula to lift the pikelet, check that the bottom side is golden, then remove from the pan.
9. Add your favourite toppings and enjoy!

Our Family Menu Plan for this week.

Baking: Pikelets

Monday: Chicken Schnitzel and Salad

Tuesday: Meal from the freezer from our wonderful baby bundle.

Wednesday: Tomato and Basil Gnocchi

Thursday: Chicken Korma

Friday: Left Overs

Saturday: BBQ With Friends

Sunday: Sausages and Salad

If you like the look of this family menu plan, then you use this Shopping List created by The Planning With Kids Free Menu Planner or you can select your meals yourself and print our your own shopping list from the Free Menu Planner.

If you would like to have one of your recipes added to the menu planner database, just be one of the first two people to leave a link or actual recipe in the comments section on my regular Menu Plan Monday Post. I will add it to the database and then email to let you know it has been included.

For more menu planning ideas head on over to Laura’s place at “I’m an Organizing Junkie“.

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I find it hard to believe that my little baby is already four weeks old! I would like to thank everyone for their lovely comments and emails that I received upon the arrival of our gorgeous son.

In my offline world I have been so lucky to have had such a supportive and generous network of friends and an amazing school community.

This Tuesday the above was what I had dropped to my home by my eldest son’s classroom co-ordinator. It is what we call a baby bundle. Families contribute food to help families with new babies. On top of what is in the photo, I had another few meals dropped in later that day by mums who had also freshly made the meals for us.

It was touching to receive a gift that was so practical, delicious and so very generous. And this was not the first meals that had been dropped into our house. Only a couple of days out of hospital and a good friend dropped in a lovely meal for the freezer. A neighbour bought us the most delicious pie and our baby boy had been showered with the most beautiful gifts.

Another friend brought this basket of goodies below in the first fortnight.

And I have had amazing help from a dear neighbour who brought my children home from school in the first weeks and helped with getting Little Rascal to his cricket commitments, another great friend who helped Thinker get to his cricket commitments and I have had so many generous offers of help.

I am glad to be part of such a wonderful community that so willingly supports others. I will always remember the assistance and generosity that I have received and look forward to the time when I can do the same for others. Thank you all very much, your efforts have been truly appreciated by the whole family!
____________________________________________________________________

I haven’t been on line very much over the last four weeks and haven’t been as active with responding to comments on the blog, nor getting around to commenting on other blogs. Thanks to Google Reader, I have still been able to keep with my favourite blogs, even if I haven’t been able to comment. It will still a while before I increase my on line presence, so please forgive my absence as I spend time with our new little man.

Technorati Tags: baby, birth, thank you

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Image by snaulkter

The age gap between our children is roughly the same, about 2.5 years, so we have always had a newborn and a toddler. In the early weeks when the newborn is breastfeeding frequently, I have found it helpful to be a little bit prepared in terms of entertainment for the toddler. Here are some things that I have found work well for us:

Children’s Playlist On The iPod.

All my children have loved listen to story CDs (audio books). The iPod now makes organising this even easier. I have imported a number of the toddler’s favourites and made a playlist for him. We have a connection from our stereo to which I can simply plug the iPod into and quickly start playing these for him, while I sit and breastfeed our beautiful newborn baby born.

Reading Stories.

It is always a nice time to read a story to the toddler, while I am seated and breastfeeding the baby.

Telling An Oral Story.

We are not always at home to have books and iPods available to entertain a toddler. I have found making up my own story and telling it to the toddler can amuse them greatly. I like to make the central character of the story the toddler themselves! The story can also have a moral to it - for example two toddlers having difficulty sharing a toy, but finally working out a solution.

Packed Snack Box.

I make the toddler a snack box and water bottle as part of my daily school lunch box routine. We walk to school each morning and upon our return the baby generally needs a breastfeed. The toddler can then access his snack box and have morning tea at the same time as the baby.

Verbal Games.

There are a number of verbal games that you can play with a toddler while breastfeeding your baby. The great thing about these games are that they can be done anywhere and do not require any preparation:

• I Spy - Modified version. For example, “I spy something red in this room”.
• Singing Nursery Rhymes - Ones that require participation, like saying the animals in Old Macdonald.
• Word Association Game - You say one word and ask the toddler to say what they think, for example I say “big”, toddler can say “small”, I say “yellow”, toddler can say “blue”.

How do you entertain your toddler while breastfeeding?

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Image by apdk

A couple of weeks in to the new school year and we are starting to get back into the swing of after school reading routines. At our school preps don’t receive a reader until term two, allowing them the first term to just focus on settling into school, making friends and getting used to five long days away from home.

Our eldest son loves reading and is an independent reader. I have him read sections of his novels to me so that I can obtain an understanding of what he is reading and can check that he is comprehending what he reads.

Little Rascal who is in junior primary (grade two), requires an adult to listen to (and assist where required) with his nightly reading. When busy with the after school activities, cooking dinner and caring for small children, it is easy to listen to the reading and move on quickly. I have found though, that it is really important to take an extra few minutes after the reading to discuss what has just been read. At this stage of reading, when they are concentrating on decoding the words and reading with expression, it is also critical to check that have comprehended what they have read.

It is possible for children to successfully read the text without taking in what is actually happening or understanding the story. Inspired by Little Rascal’s wonderful teacher last year, I have a list of questions that I draw from to determine that he has comprehended what he has read. I don’t ask all of these questions, just a few. How many exactly depends on how he answers. It generally only takes a couple of minutes to ask a few questions and have a discussion to assess Little Rascal’s comprehension of the story.

I have listed the questions below. These questions apply to fictional text:

10 Reading Comprehension Questions For Junior Primary

1. Who was the author and illustrator of the book?
2. Who were the main characters in the story?
3. Who was your favourite character and why?
4. How did the story start?
5. What happened in the middle of the story?
6. What happened at the end of the story?
7. What was the main feeling in the story (eg was it happy, sad) and why was this so?
8. Where was the story set?
9. How did the story make you feel and why?
10. Did you learn any new words from this story, if so what?

How do you check that your young reader understands his/her text?

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