Did You Know This About Me?

As well as being an early years teacher, I also have experience as a dance teacher...

Did you know??

Probably not because I haven't mentioned it on the blog before. Unless you know me in real life that is...

I started taking dance seriously during my high school and uni years, completing as many exams as I could, teaching as many classes as I could and learning as much as I could. The annual dance concerts were highlights of my teens & early twenties. I absolutely loved it and idolised my teacher. When I finished uni and started teaching, I finished up at my dance school to focus on my job, but of course the dancing didn't stop there.

There were many avenues in my job to pursue my love of dance - Wakakirri, the school musical productions, fitness with the Junior School, dancing with my own class of course, performing for Assemblies and open days, even teaching the older kids from time to time as part of their PE curriculum. I really loved it! For a couple of years I also helped out a friend at her dance school on Saturdays.

So naturally, I would love Miss M to get involved in dancing lessons too! She'll gleefully dance around the lounge room, or have a dance party in her bedroom with the radio turned up {see photos below} but is a bit reserved to try lessons just yet. "Maybe when I'm 4" she says. "Maybe I'll just go and look".

In the mean time, here are some ways we {and you} can enjoy dancing with your toddler or preschooler around the house - even if you aren't a dance teacher like me! LOL

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Helping Kids with Anxiety {Little Wuppy Product Review}

Today's product review is a really special one.

It's an adorable sausage dog, measuring 20 sweet little centimetres long. He's wearing headphones, he has a special red heart, he's soft to the touch, and he's very cute.

A little sausage dog especially designed to help children manage their anxiety and BIG overwhelming feelings.

Meet the newest member of the Hunt family.

Kindly gifted for the purpose of this review.

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10+ Ocean Themed Activities for Your Finding Dory Fan

It feels like the whole of Australia has gone underwater crazy for the release of Finding Dory! I haven't seen it yet - but really wanted to get this post out there ASAP for all those little people who can't get enough of the fishy fun!

Beach/Ocean Play dough

So simple but will keep them entertained for ages. Play dough + pebbles + fish and maybe even some shells if you've got them. Violia! Squishy sensory fun.

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20 Ways to Use & Play With Hello.Pear Alphablocks

I am so privileged to bring you this beautiful product today - the Hello.Pear wooden Alphablocks! 

Their dedicated creator Johanna is based here in Adelaide, which makes it all the more special for me to share. These blocks are hand made with painstaking love and care - you can tell when you hold them how many hours of work have gone into them. It's something special to #shopsmall #shoplocal and #shophandmade. You are giving back to a real person and making a difference (I'm a brand rep & our set of blocks was kindly gifted for the purpose of this review). 

So I got to thinking and Miss M got to playing and we came up with 20 ways to play (and use) our Alphablocks. 

Just Play (of course)

Use them in pretty flat lays (Johanna also stocks these cute prints!)

Tower building

Say Thank You

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The Magical, Enchanting Disney on Ice Experience

Yesterday would have to have been a highlight of Miss M's childhood. We went to Disney on Ice and it was AMAZING!

In her typical signature style, she was beyond excited the night before, all morning at home, talked to her Nanna on the phone to tell her she was excited, excited in the car...and then the shy little thing shrunk back inside herself with the overwhelming sense of the massive event. The beyond imaginable large Adelaide Entertainment centre, all the people, all the steps to climb and all the ice was a lot to take in. She sat quietly, watched, observed and took it all in. She isn't one to sing, dance and join in {unless she's at home}, but I watched her watching the performance and could tell how much she was captivated by it.

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{Baby Play} What Can You Actually Do With Them @ 4-5 Months?

Oh my heart! This little guy is 5 months old. I'm completely exhausted as all parents of babies are, still (almost) exclusively expressing, and just trying to make it through the days. A big difference I'm noticing in this baby stage with him compared to his big sister is the lack of time to actually PLAY with him. There's always something else to do and I feel like so often I'm just trying to 'put' him somewhere where he'll be happy so I can go and do other stuff.

I started this blog when Miss M was 9 months, so I didn't write about the early stages of baby play. A lot of mums always ask "What can I actually do with them at this age?" or "Am I doing enough?" - so allow me to answer!

Mat Time & Tummy Time

Lay them under the play gym with all of the things to look at and kick their little legs. This is when they practising rolling and develop muscle strength. Read this guest post from an OT about why Tummy Time is so beneficial and important for babies physical development. My Little Man has just rolled back to front by himself over the last few days!

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{SENSORY PLAY} How to make it cool for big kids

Sensory Play is a term define an activity or play experience that stimulates one or more of a child's senses; sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Common sensory play activities include play dough, rainbow rice/pasta/beans, finger painting and sand. It's often messy, and most children love it!


All images used with the Blogger's permission

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5 SA Biz Ladies you need to LOVE! #shopsmall

Something I'm really passionate about here at Teacher Types is providing a platform for local, small biz ladies to share their stories, products and services with my audience. I only ever share those that I absolutely LOVE myself and would recommend to friends. I think the #shopsmall & #shoplocal movement is really taking off as are market days, Instagram stores and handmade goodies.

So today, please allow me to introduce some special people...
{not sponsored just sharing the love}

Starting off with Renee from Mama & Bump

I was so lucky to have Renee take care of me throughout my pregnancy - when you feel like a whale and struggle to get comfortable, having a massage might be the only chance you get to relax. And it made such a difference to my sleep and how I felt overall. Renee is specially trained in pregnancy massage, but you don't have to be pregnant to see her! Based in Highbury, she has the cutest little shop with gorgeous gifts and goodies for mama's and little ones. Check out my beautiful teething necklace and teething toy for the little man.

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