Homemade Musical Instruments

Ok so what kind of kid blogger does homemade musical instruments with her three year old while the 6 month old baby is asleep??

Me that's who!

Oops.

Apart from the fact that we woke the baby up with our instrument playing, this activity was so much fun. I'd been wanting to do it for ages. I had been gathering and collecting materials, and finally had the time this week. 

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{Guest Post} 5 Reasons to Choose Wooden Toys

If you hang out in Instagram land - you've probably noticed that I'm a brand rep for an eco toy hire + shop Mr Kipp and Little Jimmy. Jane is my guest today and she shares her 5 main reasons for being in the biz of wooden toys and why she is so passionate about it. 

You have the floor Jane!

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My journey to a state of better health began 4 years P.C. (pre children) and amongst my research I discovered the toxins that may be present in children’s plastic toys! At first I filed that away for a later date but 11 years and three kids later that discovery has now become my passion: to inspire Mums to reduce the toxic load on their families lives. So what exactly did I discover? Read on to find out why you should buy wooden toys. Yes they are more expensive than their plastic counterparts but the pros far outweigh the cons.

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You Have to See it to Believe it! {Crayola Color Alive Review}

This post is brought to you by Nuffnang and Crayola. 

Today I get to review a super cool new product from Crayola. Miss M is so into colouring and drawing at the moment that I jumped at the chance to give Crayola Color Alive a try for ourselves. It's not just your average colouring book + crayons believe me!!

This is what we got...

These were our faves...

And this is what happens...

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The Marvellous Mister Maker LIVE Show

Today Miss M and I headed on the train (as we do) to the Adelaide Festival Theatre to see Mister Maker LIVE! If you read this blog, I'm sure you can imagine that I was just as excited as her!

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The Amazing Bloggers I've Met in Real Life

In celebration of my recent meet up with awesome Perth Instagram superstar Say Hello Jo + hilarious Adelaide writer and insta-bestie Eenie Meenie Miney Mum I thought I'd put together a post about the totally awesome bloggers I've met in real life...

...because bloggers are awesome! And so is the blogging world. You can make Internet friends everyday and feel like you actually know them. Are you reading this right now feeling like you know me even though you've never met me?

Anyway, when you meet a blogger friend in real life, you feel like you've already got so much to talk about - like you're just picking up from where you left off from a blog comment or an insta-chat. So when Jo from Say Hello Jo told me she was coming to Adelaide and wanted to meet for coffee, and perhaps even be her photo taker while she rocked some cool Adelaide street art walls - I of course said YES! WHEN? And invited the awesome Liv from Eenie Meenie Miney Mum along too.

Coffee meeting spot, Hey Jupiter on Ebenezer Place. 

Taken by random stranger who Jo told not to run off with her phone after giving him photography instructions.

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When it's Time to Move from Swaddle to Sleeping Bag

I really love writing about baby things on my blog - even though I've obviously been through it all before with Miss M I didn't have my blog back then. There are so many milestones that seems to all happen at around 6 months; growing out of the capsule, moving to a car seat, changing the pram around, using the high chair to eat solid foods, first tooth (still waiting), sitting up, rolling over and so many more wonderful things.

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10 of The BEST Bedtime Stories

Aaaahhhh bedtime... A struggle for most parents at some stage in their parenting journey. We all know that a bedtime routine can really help little people know what comes next and what to expect in that wind down time to sleep. In our house it's dinner, bath, ABC kids until the goodnight song at 7pm - then off to bed for a book with dad, followed by cuddles and a chat with mum. But it's not as simple as it sounds - that whole procedure can take ages! No matter how much time, effort and patience I give her, she always wants "just one more hug" or "one more story".

So it really helps us when the bed time story we choose is one that encourages sleep - I always like the ones with a relaxing tone and where the main character falls asleep at the end. Here are 10 of my recommendations...

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Inspirational Play Spaces {and where to get help if you need it!}

This post is brought to you by The Whole Child Interior Design.

I've had so much fun over the years putting together the kids rooms and play area in our family room. Ages were spent browsing Pinterest, Etsy and some of my favourite blogs to find inspiration. You have to think about the theme, furniture, wall colour/colour scheme, wall decals, prints, flooring, bedding, decorations, and toys of course! Amy from The Whole Child Interior Design believes that children's spaces should not only be beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, but have educational benefits and foster learning through play.

So, you may recall when I shared Miss M's big girl rainbow themed bedroom a while back. She (and I) still love it and it's functioning really well for her. We gained a family heirloom dollhouse since then, and she spends time in there usually with her dolls and teddies reading to them, dressing them and putting them to bed. She loves her secret hiding spots in the IKEA shelving too.

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Terrific Teaching Resources from Twinkl

I have two go to websites when I'm looking for new teaching resources, or something for a particular topic, lesson or activity.

Teachers Pay Teachers and Twinkl (actually three if you count Pinterest. Teachers - what did we DO before Pinterest?? LOL!).

At Twinkl you will find so many amazing resources (much more than just worksheets, but I'll elaborate on that in a minute). The website is easy to use and navigate with ages, learning areas and various headings. My favourite feature is the 'save' disc icon. At first glance you may think this means to save the resource to your computer, but it's like a 'like' button, where you can save something to your profile to download later allowing you to continue to browse.

During my browsing, I found play dough recipes with all sorts of creative combinations of colours, scents, flavours and textures like strawberry sparkle, coconut cloud and ocean marshmallow! Plus, great play dough activity mats to go with these recipes as well. Just print, laminate and play! We practised making letters and numbers on ours (obviously these come in colour - but we don't have a colour printer!!)

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I'm Being Featured Somewhere Very Special Today!

Hi there!
As regular readers may know, I write all over the interwebs these days, not just here at Teacher Types. You can always find them listed on my I've Been Featured page - but they don't always get their own blog post.

Until today.

*Insert "woo" here

Today I'm like a "woo girl" from How I Met Your Mother (all time favourite 30 minute TV show amiright?)

Because... this cute little rainbow rice tea party is being featured along with five other fantabulous toddler activities over at...

FAT MUM SLIM!

See I told you I'd be as excited as a "woo girl". Can you almost hear me through your screen?

I'm so grateful for the opportunity from the ever so inspirational Chantelle to have my words and photographs over on her blog. Highlight of the 2016 blogging year!

I've learnt this year that if you put good things out there...good things will come back. Back yourself. Hustle. Be positive. Be authentic. And be unique.

So what are you waiting for? Go there! Go there NOW and celebrate like a "woo girl" with me.

Lauren xx

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10+ Cool Activities to Keep Busy this Winter

Ok confession time. This blog post has been sitting in my drafts folder for a whole YEAR! I had this idea that I'd do two wintery themed blog posts - one about Fun Activities to do Indoors which actually got published (but could do with an update mind you), and this one. So it's time to actually get - it - done!

I love seasonal themed learning, it's a great way for children to explore their changing world through their play. A four seasons round up post is also currently in the drafts folder!

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Snowflakes 

An oldie but a goodie! Miss M is obsessed with folding and cutting at the moment and she's finally learnt how to use scissors, so naturally she loved these. She took care of the folding, and I just held it for her while she cuts. Great for decorating windows!

Want more? Glue popsticks together to create a snowlake like this one at Childhood 101.

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