Learn and Grow with the New Officeworks Range

Don't you just love wandering the aisles of Officeworks? All that pretty colour coded and matching stationery makes me feel like I could be the most organised teacher ever. Miss M shares my love of pretty stationery and is always so excited to simply just buy a new pen or notepad, but Officeworks recently launched their new Learn and Grow range, opening up a whole new world of kid's products and I'm sure it will fast become one of their favourite shops too!

Please note, this is not a sponsored post, although we were lucky enough to be invited to the launch of this new product range which included a very generous goodie bag! I couldn't help but show you some of the products in more detail here on the blog. 

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Teacher Carry All Review + GIVEAWAY!

One thing that most teachers have in common is that we seem to cart everything except the kitchen sink to and from school. Folders, planners, student books and papers to mark, picture books, toys, resources, laminating, art supplies, ingredients, materials, storage, not to mention our lunch and drink (because, you know, we need to remember to eat and can't survive on coffee all day!)

I was in desperate need of a new teacher bag, so I was thrilled to recently discover the Teacher Carry All! Keep reading for all the info AND a sneaky giveaway that's happening over on my Instagram RIGHT NOW!

Kindly gifted for the purpose of this review. 

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10+ Ways to Learn Numbers with a Hundreds Board

The hundreds board is one of the most fundamental mathematics resources for Junior Primary. It perfectly demonstrates the base 10 number system to young children, encourages counting and makes number patterns easy to find and identify. There are so many ways to use them so I've rounded up my favourites to share with you today!

Sponsored by Teach Starter as part of my Brand Ambassadorship. 

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"Nothing Without Joy" - Reggio Emilia Explained

If you've been following me on Instagram (first of all - thank you!), you would have heard me talking about the Reggio Emilia approach and how we are incorporating this teaching philosophy into our Early Years classrooms this year. I am so excited about this path we are heading down, and I really want to share more about it with you all!

Back in 2016, I had three lovely guests join me here on the blog, to explain the Montessori, Reggio Emilia and Waldorf educational practices, and it turned out to be my second most viewed post EVER! (Here it is again incase you hadn't seen it - but after you'd read it please come back!).

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How to Customise and Create Your Own Teaching Resources

Do you ever find that when you're scouring the Interwebs for teaching resources, you just can't find what you're looking for? I mean, every class is different and is likely to have different needs. Not to mention that within each class are students who also have individual needs. Rarely would there be a "one size fits all" approach to your worksheets or lesson plans.

So your first stop could be the Teach Starter "request a resource" option if you are looking for something in particular. The community then gets to vote on the resources they would also like to see created and each week the Teach Starter team creates the top 10!

But today's post is more about the custom worksheets you can make yourself using the Teach Starter widgets. I've had a play around with handwriting, sentence starter writing prompts, maths worksheets, and word searches to give you a bit of a sample of what you can create.

This is a sponsored post as part of my ongoing Brand Ambassadorship with Teach Starter. 

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Diary of our Summer

I have really treasured these summer school holidays for a number of reasons. Number one being that Miss M is off to school very soon! So I've been wanting to make the most of this time with her (especially the days that Little Man is at Child Care and it's just the two of us).

As always, I love to share these little snippets of our daily life and beautiful city here on the blog. We did so much and has a great variety of things to see and do over the five weeks (as well as Christmas and Little Man's birthday of course!).

I seriously cannot believe we are nearly at the beginning of her school journey. She really is so excited and I'll be sure to share how it all goes over the next few weeks. School also means that on the days I'm not working, I'll get some special time with the Little Man to take him to Kindergym, Play group, swimming and the Library.

So here's just some of the summer holiday activities that we got up to!

Kid and Hub

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Helping your child learn to read with Reading Eggs

Learning to read is one of the most important skills your child will learn. Naturally as a parent you want to know how you can help them learn to read at home. The first thing I always recommend is reading aloud to your children every night, but as they begin to show an interest in letters, words, and 'having a go' at reading themselves - I'd suggest you grab your device and give Reading Eggs a try (Right now, they are offering a limited time 4 week free trial when you sign up at www.readingeggs.com.au/teachertypes before 20 Feb!) 

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own :)

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How to be SUPER organised for back to school

Well, Christmas is well and truly over and we have all celebrated the start of a new year. Teacher types around the country and probably relaxing and enjoying their breaks, while some of us are starting to think about getting organised to head back to school (we are a bit like that, us teacher types).

This is a sponsored post as part of my brand ambassadorship with Teach Starter. 

My friends at Teach Starter have so many amazing resources to make it easier for you to be super dooper organised for 2018. If you haven't already got a teacher planner, consider printing your own! There are some gorgeous designs and options that Teach Starter has created, and I wanted to show you the "chalkboard" series. It's all completely customisable as a word document if there's anything about it you wish to change. We all work differently, so it's great to be able to craft your planner - just the way you like it. Here's just a few sample pages...

Your year at a glance, for special events, birthdays etc...

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The First (and Second) School Visit

Last Wednesday was a very big day in our household. It was Miss M's first school visit!

The other night I took a look back through my blog archives and realised that I've documented quite a few major milestones in her life...

• The time we got rid of the dummy
• The time we moved her into a big bed
• The getting dressed everyday tantrums (this one even got a follow up and although she has improved, she still has some of the same quirks)
• Some funny stories about toilet training (and what worked for us)
• That moment I realised I was a mother of two (this one still brings a tear to my eye)
• And a bit about her journey and the time spent at our beautiful Child Care centre over the last two years (she is enrolled in the Kindergarten program they have there in case any of you were wondering).

If you have only recently started following me - I'd love for you to take a read at a couple of those stories - especially if you are experiencing one of those stages at the moment. 

And now, it's happening. SCHOOL!

She gives her school a big thumbs up!

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Following Up With The Sunshine Collective {GIVEAWAY}

Since I went back to work, Miss M has been super interested in "school work". She wants to know what the kids do all, day. I bring home spare worksheets for her to colour in and our dining table has quickly been taken over by "art". Endless pieces of paper, mini books, crayons and pencils, scissors and glue. And the best part is that she wants to learn! Her pictures are really starting to look like actual things with more detail. She explains what she's drawn and writes her name and numbers. She draws treasure maps and then we go on adventures in the back yard, and tick things off our scavenger hunt list as we go.


And she's almost four! It really is an awesome age!


Do you remember this product review I did for The Sunshine Collective? In particular we worked our way through the Preschool box, ideal for Miss M's age. Well on Friday afternoon we zipped to the post office before they closed to pick up our Foundation (reception/prep/first year of school) box to try out. Keep reading to find out how you can win one tailer made for your child.




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Back to School With Essential Oils {Guest Post}

One of my favourite (real life) blogger friends is here to guest post today! You may remember/recognise Sarah Poppy from Working Mums Collective (I interviewed her back in 2015). She recently handed the reigns of WMC over, but is embracing her new business with doTERRA Essential Oils and is going to share how they can help kids, parents and teachers during this busy back to school time. Trouble sleeping? Feeling anxious? Need to calm the kids down? Want them to focus on their homework better? As Sarah says "There's an oil for that!". 

Welcome Sarah. My blog is yours for the day! x

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Teacher Types Top Tips for Back to School

Not long to go now and the kids and teachers across the country will be getting back into school mode ready for another big year of learning! (Did you see my best back to school products post last week? You still have time to order some of these goodies!). Seems that some states go back earlier than others do... hmmm. Anyone know why they do this? We here in SA are back on the 30th of Jan :)

I've teamed up with a fabulous group of Aussie parenting bloggers to bring you the Aussie back to school blog hop! 11 awesome articles on a variety of back to school topics - we've got you covered (all links will be at the end of this post). Be sure to check them out and show them some love :)

As for me, I'm giving you my TOP TIPS for heading back to school

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Best Back to School Products for 2017!

Have you noticed all the 'back to school' displays at the shops lately? It's kind of hard to miss! The summer holidays are an amazing time for travel, beach hangs, movie days, play dates and family time. But if you're the type who likes to get organised early, you may already be thinking about getting your kid's back to school stuff sorted (especially if you want to order online you'll want to make sure everything arrives in time for that exciting first day of school!)

So I've found some awesome products from around the web. Some for kids, some for parents and some for teachers! READ ON!

*Not sponsored. 
*Just love sharing small businesses and helping families get organised for back to school time!

Zivia Designs Teacher Planner

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Keeping up with the Kid's Learning During the Holidays

You might not even be contemplating or thinking about this yet (in which case please save, bookmark or pin this post for later in January). On the other hand you may be fresh out of a parent teacher interview or you've read your child's report and want to know how you can keep up with their learning during the long summer holiday break. (You'd be surprised at how many parents would ask me for 'activity books' and worksheets to be sent home with their child during the last week of Term 4). 

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Encouraging Kids to Colour, Draw and Write

It all begins with toddler scribble, then comes more purposeful colouring, shapes become recognisable pictures, letters start to appear and it all falls into place!

Well, in theory!

Some of Miss M's art work #soproud

Children come to their first year of school with a wide variety of pre-existing skills. Some have never really held a pencil before, and others can write their name and colour in neatly. It really varies from child to child. Just quietly I think it's super cute when kids first start to draw pictures of people and its just a circle head with sticks coming out of it lol! I always say to them - "Do your arms come out of your ears?" 

If you want to encourage your preschooler to colour, draw and write before starting school (or if your school kid needs a bit more help in this area) I have some ideas for you!

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Little People Aren't Supposed to Sit Still {Fidget Toys Feature}

"I am in Preschool. I was not built to sit still, keep my hands to myself, 
take turns, be patient, stand in line, keep quiet all of the time.

I need motion, novelty, adventure and to engage the world with my whole body.

Let me play. Trust me I'm learning"

This quote has circulated the Internet many times and so I'm not sure of the original source - but it's at the core of what my blog post is all about today.

Miss M's favourite fidget toy - large elastic ball

Let me start by saying that we want young children to develop these skills; to be able to sit in a group and listen to a story is vital in the early years of school, to listen, to follow instructions, to not hurt others etc etc. But we as teachers and parents need to remember that it does not come naturally to all children and that it's our job to cater to their needs whilst encouraging them to display the desired behaviour of that particular setting.

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A Tutor in a Box {The Sunshine Collective Review}

As teachers, a child's learning is obviously our top priority, and for most parents, it's their top priority too. Parents are always asking me for ideas they can do at home to support what their child is learning at school. Not only if they are struggling in a particular area, but just to give them some extra help along their learning journey. You'd be surprised at how many students actually enjoy homework and want extra worksheets to keep them busy!!

Tutoring is one option that many parents consider, but what if that tutor could be packed into a box and delivered to your home throughout the year? A tutor in a box that would cover all areas of the curriculum and cater for a range of learning styles from Preschool until the end of Primary School.

Opening and unpacking our Brilliant Box! The mini paints are just the actual cutest!

Yes that's a sticker on her t-shirt #kidlife

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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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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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Give Your Child a Head Start with Reading | Back to School Series

I'm here updating an old post today - with everyone heading back to school, I hope you find this one useful!

All children begin their school journey with different skills, knowledge and backgrounds. However there are many things you can easily do in every day life to give them a little head start with reading. Hopefully these 7 tips will give you some ideas and also give insight in to what your child will be doing and learning when they start school.

1. Make Reading Fun! Reading should be a joy - not a chore.

First of all, if a child is not motivated or interested in books and reading, it will be that much harder for them to get started. Reading shouldn’t be a chore – it should be a joy! Your child will pick up on your vibes so be a positive role model and show them that reading can be exciting and fun! Let them choose the books they want to read based on their interests.

2. Read to your child. 

I cannot stress this one enough – reading to your child is probably the most effective way to teach them to read (especially their favourite books read over and over). I think that well known South Australian author Mem Fox explains it far better than I could.

“If every parent – and every adult caring for a child – read aloud a minimum of three stories a day to the children in their lives, we could probably wipe out illiteracy within one generation” (Mem Fox, Reading Magic, 2001, p11).

“Experts tell us that children need to hear a thousand stories read aloud before to learn to read for themselves” (Mem Fox, Reading Magic, 2001, p 14)

Click here to read more from Mem Fox, including her ten read aloud “commandments” as she calls them.

3. Learn the alphabet in a hands on way.

I’ve written many posts on my blog about learning the alphabet (see them all just by clicking here). Pictured above are some of my favourite ‘hands on’ and sensory experiences. Everything begins with the alphabet, and a good foundation here will assist your child greatly when it comes to sounding out words.

4. Bring favourite books to life!

Pinterest and Google can be your greatest resources to find ideas of how to bring your child’s favourite story books to life. ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and ‘Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you see?’ are two that come to mind. Create activities and play experiences based on these books to immerse your child in literacy and make real life connections to the books they know so well.

Here's by 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' small world as featured on Childhood 101!

5. Read in your environment.

Print is everywhere – labels, posters, number plates, signs, the list goes on and on. Talk to your child about the words and letters they see in their environment. Sound out the letters STOP when you see a stop sign, get them to help you read labels on the products you are buying at the shops or better yet they can try and read your shopping list!

6. Visit the library often.

Libraries are a beautiful place and a wonderful resource for families. Make it part of your weekly routine to spend some time together reading in the library and borrowing a variety of books to take home and enjoy. This will keep your child interested and always eager to find new books!

7. Model reading.

Heard the saying “Monkey see monkey do”? Well I believe the same goes for reading. Show your child that you enjoy reading books! I’ll admit we all spend a lot of time on our devices these days, but there’s something special about real books. If your child sees you reading, chances are they will be more likely to pick up a book and give it a go themselves.

How appropriate is this Dr Suess quote to remind us of the importance of reading in our daily lives.

Here's a link to my other 'Back to School' articles you might be interested in, whether you're a parent of a teacher. It's that time of year again when stationery is purchased and labelled and classrooms are decorated with care. Best of luck to all the little people starting school tomorrow (if they haven't already!).

Lauren

As featured on Adelaide Mummy Meetings.

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