News
KICK IT UP A NOTCH
Looking for an independent review of our products? Yoyomama recently reviewed The Nogs of Notch Hill. Here’s what they thought of us.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS CONFERENCE
We are excited to announce that we will be at the ECE BC Conference, May 27-29 2010 in Richmond.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS – WITH MOM
Article in the Vancouver Province Click Here to read it
PASSION FOR LITERACY FUELS MOTHER – DAUGHTER BUSINESS
Article in the Globe and Mail Click Here to read it.
BC HOME SCHOOL CONVENTION
We are excited to announce that we will be at the BC Home School Convention Trade Show, June 4 & 5 2010. Guildford Rec. Centre, BC
ABCs and 123s
We received a great review by Savvy Mom. Click Here to read what they thought of the Nogs Of Notch Hill.
BABY EINSTEIN
Did you get a Baby Einstein DVD and are looking for more information about the recall? Full details can be found here . Kudos to the Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC) for their work on this. The reason for the recall was that there was no evidence that the DVD’s increased intellect. Furthermore there is mounting evidence that any television under the age of 3 is harmful for children. See blog post.
A couple of years ago, I heard Julie Aigner-Clark, the Mom who designed Baby Einstein give a speech on the origins of the product. She started Baby Einstein with good intentions, to create something wholesome that kept her kids attention, long enough for her to have a shower. She seemed like a good soul who had no idea that her baby would bloom into a multi million dollar business owned by Disney.
Here is the very Coles Notes version of her speech.
GIVE YOURSELF A PAT ON THE BACK DAY
In contrast to the last article I wrote, Scottish Widows Insurance recently published a couple of studies. One says that nearly 2/3 of families with children rely on a double income to make ends meet. In the other report 1/5 of parents and grandparents believe they are not prioritising their children or grandchildren enough.
In Yesterday’s Vancouver Sun there was an article about parent’s spending too much time with their children and how it is good to sometimes put your marriage before your children and go on dates with your partner.
Sigh.
Does the media make anyone else want to scream? I hear by announce that today is International “Give Yourself A Pat On The Back” day. Let’s assume that every parent on the planet is doing the best job that they can. We all have pressures and we all are trying to balance a million things to create the best nurturing environment we can for our children. Today is all about you, the parent, celebrating that you are most likely ignoring the media , following your instincts and doing a great job at developing the next generation.
Here’s to you!
OVER-SCHEDULED AND OVER-WORKED?
I read an article in the Vancouver Sun recently about the fine line parents walk between providing an enriched education for our children and over scheduling them. The article like so many I read in the paper these days played heavily on the negatives. If you read the article you would believe that parents are mean tyrants who spend their lives dragging their children kicking and screaming from one extra-curricular activity to the next.
The article then goes on to discuss how children in these situations feel pressured and often begin to fall prey to anxiety related illnesses like stomach problems and depression.
Last week I was assisting a friend teach a public speaking class to a room of grade 4 & 5’s. One activity we had them do was ask their neighbour what they did last night and what they will do tonight. They then stood in front of the room to relate what they had heard.
The results were interesting to hear. 1/3 where what I would describe as very busy – by very busy I mean that they didn’t just have one activity after school. “Karate then Choir” as one girl put it. 1/3 were moderately busy – they just had one activity after school and the remaining 1/3 said that they played with video games last night and planned to play video games tonight.
It’s hard to figure out a balance of up time and down time for your child. Especially when your child clamours to take part in every opportunity that wafts past. Each child is different, two activities a night may not be appropriate for many children, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not appropriate for some. Obviously the answer is to watch your child and follow his or her cues.
Don’t discount the power of unstructured play time. Children learn through play and need to spend a lot of time playing without adult intervention, preferably with other children. Through this chaos they learn order and practice the skills they will need as adults – sharing, patience, diplomacy etc.
One thing though…the less time a child spends in creative play, the harder it will be for them to get started. You can assist by providing props – a costume box or a puppet, something to help them start Imagineering.
So what’s the best schedule for a child? One that is balanced between fun activities and free creative time. Listen to your child, but do push for some free time even if your child resists a little.
FAMILY LITERACY DAY
Happy Family Literacy Day every one!
Here’s a fun idea to celebrate – find a well loved book that has the same number of characters as there are in your family and have a family play. It doesn’t matter if you have an audience or not, as I guarantee that most of the fun will be in the preparations. Costumes are a must, the best ones are scavenged from around the house.
I remember doing this as a kid. My much older brother landed the part of a bee (I seem to remember that it was the main protagonist). As his only line was to say “Buzz” he made a comic strip type bubble out of card and wrote “Buzz” in it. I thought that it was wonderful!