Our latest craft contributions for Inspire Book Box

Did you know that I'm one of the regular contributors to Inspire Book Box? Every second month I'll come up with an art and craft activity that ties in with the theme and key text from that month's book box. I really love how children's reading and literacy is being extended into the arts (and cooking too!) through these comprehensive packs. Here's my previous post with my very first activity contribution + review.

Inspire Book Box is so much more than a book delivery. It's almost like a mini unit of work carefully curated and themed to match the picture book perfectly, and that's why I'm so proud to be part of the team. It really warms my heart to see other children all over the country enjoying my activities after their Inspire Book Boxes have arrived in the post!

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My Epic Fail {Growth Mindset Guest Post}

Growth mindset. There's a lot of talk about it amongst schools and workplaces at the moment. We are being encouraged to train our minds to embrace challenges, look on the positive side, find solutions and problem solve. The simplest example that comes to mind is to add the word "yet" at the end of the statement "I can't do it". 

Today's guest blogger is Bec from Square Peg Tutoring (you know that expression - square peg round role?). Well Bec is all about helping those square pegs to learn in their own way and at their own pace through her tutoring business. She's sharing a really personal story from her past experiences in the classroom - her "epic fail". Something I'm sure we have all found ourselves doing at one stage or another. I applaud her for so bravely sharing and for allowing me to publish her story here and share it with my community of teacher types. 

Welcome Bec.

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When Should Your Child Start School? {Guest Post}

My daughter will be starting school next year! It's such an exciting time for our family and we are really looking forward to it. She'll be four when she starts, turning five in early March. There was no doubt in my mind that she would be ready. Not that I have pushed her to do any of the educational activities you've seen on the blog or Instagram - I really do try to take her lead and follow her interests of when she wants to do writing, drawing, reading, numbers, sensory or imaginary play. As well as being academically ready (in my opinion), her Preschool teachers agree and she is so used to the daily routine of a 7:30 - 4pm day that I think she'll cope with school life really well.

However in my chats with family and friends, it can be a difficult decision to make for March & April babies who will either be 4 turning 5 when they start (making them one of the youngest in their cohort), or 5 turning 6 when they start school. And in many cases you need to have a plan the year prior to decide if they will commence sessional kindergarten or not. A really good piece of advice I heard from a friend (she read it in a book) was to ask yourself; "Will they flourish? Or will they just cope?". Parents often do not regret their choice to wait another year before sending their child, but some who choose to send them 'early' do.

So to help you navigate this big decision and to give you some food for thought, today I welcome Aly from Grow to Know. She's a teacher of the Early Years like me and her website Grow to Know is all about preparing children for school. Aly has some really clear dot points for your to consider to decide if your child really is ready...

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Celebrating Science Week with STEM Nest Activity Kits

It's Science Week, hooray! Term 3 is always a busy one for us with lots of things happening but Science Week is one of my favourites - especially since it's the speciality subject I've been teaching this year in my part time role. You may remember this post I wrote recently on an introduction to STEM, and I wanted to share more of the fantastic activity kits you can get via a subscription with STEM Nest for all different ages.

This is a sponsored post for my Brand Ambassadorship with STEM Nest. 

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Be Inspired by Inspire Book Box

I'm a big fan of monthly subscription packs for kids, and I've been lucky enough to review a few of them on the blog (I'm actually planning a round up post of all of them!). But this month I actually got to contribute to one! Roxanne from Inspire Book Box contacted me to see if I'd be interested in partnering with her business to come up with a book inspired art + craft activity to be included with the July book boxes. I have always said that a child can never have too many books - so I thought this subscription program was a fantastic idea! This month's theme was friendship and the key text was "Oliver and Patch" by Claire Freedman. So I got my thinking cap on and got to work...

Kindly gifted for the purpose of this review (not sponsored). 

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8 Ways to Keep Your Family Organised & Have More Time to Play! {Guest Post}

Hi everyone! How are you at organisation? I always thought I was pretty good at it - but with two kids, working part time and just the general chaos and busyness of life it's not always easy to keep your household running like clockwork. 

Today, guest blogger Erin (you may have read my interview recently) has some fantastic organisational tips to keep the household running like clockwork, ultimately leaving you with more time to actually play with your kids!

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...so if you are anything like me, you are always on the hunt for fresh ideas to keeping the home, routines, family as organised as possible. Today I am sharing eight ways to help keep your family organised so you have more time for play. These ideas are nothing new, we didn't create them (other than our version of #8), these are ideas that we have seen and/or adopted from various experiences and influences. Some we have changed to meet our needs and others we have simply followed in the original form. By using these systems, we have found there is more opportunity for family adventures and PLAY!

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An Introduction to STEM in the Early Years

STEM is huge in schools right now, but from what I hear many parents don't really know what it is or why it's so important. And some teachers may be not sure how to tackle it, where to fit it into their timetables and how to come up with engaging STEM activities into their classrooms.

This is a sponsored post as part of my Brand Ambassadorship with STEM Nest. 

STEM is an acronym for the subject areas;
S - Science
T - Technology
E - Engineering
M - Maths

To elaborate on these subject areas, in STEM we explore the science of how things work, we keeping up to date with new technologies which are ever evolving, we get to be mini engineers to design and construct our own machines and finally we use mathematical skills to do it all!

You may have also heard of the acronym STEAM with the addition of A for Art, and I recently came across METALS (where the L stands for Literacy).

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Teacher By Day {Melissa - Paper Halo}

Hi everyone!
Today's teacher by day is an Adelaidian like me and I'm so pleased to have her here on the blog to share a bit about her biz. Meet Melissa from Paper Halo. She knows all about weddings, parties and events and creates gorgeous invitations and stationery. 

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How I Got Started with TRIBE

Have you heard of TRIBE? If you're a blogger, influencer or a brand and haven't heard of it, or you'd like to know more about it and how to get started, please keep reading!

TRIBE is an app which connects brands with social media influencers. It's a way for people like me (sometimes referred to as a micro-influencer) with a reasonable size social media following to be paid to recommend brands they use and love. The example below was a post for Chux Superwipes which was right up my ally! They were looking for messy play activities with the Chux Superwipe being used to clean up afterwards - like it never happened!

Chux Superwipes Messy Play Campaign

Rewind to this time last year, and I first heard about TRIBE on The Project, and signed up immediately. Then was the painstaking climb to get to 3000 followers on Instagram to be able to get started. But I got there. And today I'm at 10.4k and growing by about 100 followers per week.

Instagram is my jam and I've been able to make it work for me.

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Teacher By Day {Nappy Cakes by Erin}

It feels like the perfect time to sit down and post another instalment of the Teacher by Day interview series - a cozy winter afternoon at the end of a long week. Little Man is asleep and the heater is on! Today's Biz Mum Erin is a fellow member of the Mums With Hustle Biz Club and creates nappy cakes - perfect for baby showers! She isn't currently teaching, but plans to return later in the year. Erin also has a Facebook group dedicated to sharing and celebrating play ideas which I'm sure many of your will be interested in joining. 

Welcome Erin.

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Teacher By Day {Jenny - Eckles Invites}

It's been a while since my last Teacher by Day interview so today I'm really pleased to introduce you to Jenny from Eckles Invites. Turns out her hubby is a teacher too (how great would that be to have 12 weeks off as a family each year??). They live in the most beautiful part of Australia and I am serious jealous of the year round stunning weather they get to enjoy. 

Read more about Jenny's #teacherlife and her stunning custom invitations and stationery she creates over at Eckles Invites...

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A First Pen Pal {Jack the Wombat}

Encouraging children to read and write in a fun way, from an early age can be so instrumental to how they'll flourish at school. Whenever I come across a brilliant product, brand or business which is trying to do just that, I can't help but share!

(Not sponsored)

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Little Lion Boutique {Feature}

This post is kindly sponsored by Little Lion Boutique. All opinions are my own :)

I've been so pleased to feature some beautiful local Adelaide businesses lately - and today I'd like to introduce you to Little Lion Boutique. They have some lovely things for babies, toddlers and preschoolers including clothing, play mats, toys, teethers, blankets and more. I recently blogged for them and shared my 5 favourite educational toys from their website - check it out here.

It is also thanks to Little Lion Boutique that I discovered (and fell in love with) the brand Make Me Iconic. The coolest funkiest and uniquely "Aussie" toys I've come across. Firstly this 4 piece watermelon puzzle is magnetic and there's a super cute surprise inside which adds an extra element when your child is putting it back together.

Watermelon Puzzle - SHOP HERE

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Lovely Blocks By {The Little Wooden}

It makes my heart happy to support a local biz mum who hand makes her products. Erica from The Little Wooden and I met up at a play cafe last month and our little ones had a lovely time (she is also expecting number two which is very exciting!). We got to sample her story blocks and geo pattern blocks (gifted for the purpose of this review) and I'd love to share a few of our play and activity ideas!

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Teacher By Day {Kate}

Today I'm sharing another Teacher by Day interview. The fourth one so far! I'm just going to dive right in, because the first question is kind of like an intro in itself. Everyone, meet Kate from Happy Ella After + Name it Prints...

1. Kate I’ve followed you for so long now! Even since before you had Hudson I think. You were one of the first bloggers I reached out to via email to connect with. So tell us, how old are the kids now and what kinds of activities are they loving?

Oh Lauren thank you so much! The blogging community certainly are like a family. Many of whom I feel like I know, but have never met face to face (like you!). My Ella just turned 5 last weekend. Five years old! I can’t believe she has grown so much, and this blog – her name sake – is five years old too! Hudson is two and a half. They are such a joy and fill our lives with such happiness. My kids couldn’t be more different if I wanted to them to be. Ella is a quintessential girl who loves ballet, art and craft and anything pink. She is very creative and whilst quite shy at first, shows her true colours within minutes, dancing, twirling and singing as though she is on stage! Huddy is like a hurricane. He is the energiser bunny. He never, ever, ever stops. He loves construction, building things and smashing them down. Trains, trucks and tantrums! That said, we adore them to bits!

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How To Stop Sabotaging Your Child’s Sleep

Sleep!! It's the holy grail of parenting! We all talk about it. We ask each other "How are they sleeping?", "Are you getting enough sleep?". We all want that magical (sometimes mythical) 'slept-through-the-night' night. I'll start by saying that of course every child is different, and they can be complete mysteries, impossible to figure out and you may be constantly questioning your decisions. I'm so glad to have an expert on this topic to be here today! Meet Bianca from Hush a Bee, a certified sleep consultant to share her tips with us. 

Currently we have a 4 year old who is very energetic at bed time and takes a while to wind down, coupled with a hungry 14 month old who is in the bottle-to-go-back-to-sleep phase (and who also sometimes wants to start his day at 5am). So I am definitely taking note of Bianca's suggestions.

 Oh my Little Man when he was so tiny and he slept all the time, any time any where. 

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From High Energy to Calm {Guest Post}

Know that feeling either at home or in the classroom when your kids are bouncing off the walls? Don't we all? Kids have a lot of energy (obviously) and it's important that they have opportunities each day to expel that energy is a positive way. It's also important they have opportunities for calm and quiet time as well (especially if they no longer have a day sleep). On a typical day at school I always try to calm the class down after recess and lunch breaks by taking a few deep breaths, a high five breathing (which I found here at Childhood 101) or a few moments of mindfulness. The art of practicing mindfulness is a hot topic within schools at the moment and we are becoming more aware of the benefits. My guest blogger today Beth from Kids Mind Body Spirit has some great ideas that we can do to bring a little more calm into our kids' day.

Thanks for being here today Beth!

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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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Teacher by Day {Eliza}

I'm loving my Teacher by Day interview series - and today's teacher biz mum is Eliza from Healthy Active Mums. We connected in the Mums with Hustle Biz club and I just love what she's all about. Meet Eliza!

How long have you been teaching for? 

My first year of teaching was in 2011. I was really fortunate to gain a full time teaching role in PREP in Mackay-8 hours from home. I was then transferred west of Mackay to a very small town called Dysart a mining community. I spent the next two years teaching Prep and Year 4. Since 2014 I have been on Maternity Leave. I returned to work at the end of 2014 to continue teaching as a relief teacher. My degree is a Bachelor of Education Middle School-Majoring in lower primary. I am qualified to teach grades Prep-10.

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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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