Displaying Special Family Memories

I'm sure I'm not the only mum that has absolutely stunning photos of my kids saved in folders on my computer - just waiting (begging!) to be put on display.

Photos of your kids are just so precious, and I must admit I have a few more around the house of Miss M than of Little Man - so that's why I chose this gorgeous photo of him (taken about a year ago mind you), to have printed on a canvas by CanvasChamp.

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Brand Meets Blog. 

58

Mother's Day Art, Craft & Gift Ideas

Well we are half way through the school holidays here in SA which only leaves a few weeks to get the Mother's Day gifts sorted! How quickly is this year going???

I've found some super cute ideas during my Pinterest scrolling that I really wanted to share with my teacher and early childhood educator followers. You might recall that last year my Year 2 students and I combined science with our Mother's Day gifts and created home made bath bombs. I also wanted to remind you of this post from the previous year - these ideas are super simple, perfect for dads to do with the kids at home.

Anyway, now for some new ideas! This first one is of course from Teach Starter which is always my first stop when looking for resources. This flower paper craft is so simple but so effective.

81

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!

49

"I Want to be an Artist" {My Creative Child Review}

You might remember when I took Miss M to an art class at Little Picassos last year. These beautiful art experiences for young children are held at Glenelg and Hyde Park studios (both of which are not near me!). So I was thrilled when I found out they are offering subscription art kits from their new side business called My Creative Child, because it means Miss M and I can create beautiful art together at home.

The February Art Pack was kindly gifted for the purpose of this review. 

Everything you need to create the art is included, already cut to size or pre-prepared, and the materials are of a beautiful quality (Miss M got her first set of oil pastels which she's so excited about, now that she's a school girl).

There are 5 activities included in the pack, all carefully planned out and tied in with a particular theme for that month. I noticed a similarity between the activities and the art classes themselves; let me explain more..

9

All the love heart eyes for these Valentine's Day ideas

Apart from going out to dinner with my husband, I've never really done much for Valentine's Day in the classroom or with my own kids at home. But lately I have seen some of the cutest, sweetest ideas on Instagram that I just had to share them and try some myself (or share with my teaching partner because she'll be the one in our room on the actual day). Valentine's Day has evolved to being more of a celebration of the special people in your life and recognising the things that you love. So with that in mind, I thought I'd share these oh so gorgeous activity ideas!

First up are these 2 ingredient clay dough glitter hearts which I could totally see being hung as ornaments on a twig tree in your classroom. They sound really simple to make - but plan to make them ahead of time if you want the children to take them home to give as gifts. They could also be repurposed as Christmas or Easter tree decorations! Making simple play dough hearts would also be a great idea. 

5

Christmas Gift Ideas for Babies, Toddlers & Preschoolers

Christmas is coming (again!) and every year I love to share my favourite picks from my favourite online stories and this year's is no exception. I've rounded up my top ten toys from babies up to preschoolers all from The Creative Toy Shop! Trust me - you are going to love this collection.

This post contains affiliate links. I was kindly gifted the Grimm's butterfly pictured towards the end of the post in exchange for this feature. 

Technically this Wooden Christmas tree puzzle would have to be an early present for your child to engage with in the lead up to Christmas, or it would be perfect for the classroom as you begin to decorate and celebrate Christmas. Great for fine motor skills, problem solving, balancing and creating and it's just so pretty. Can I have one please?

16

Fab Father's Day Crafts

I can't believe that another Father's Day has rolled around again! This year is just going way too fast. Before I know it I'll have a two year old and Miss M will be at school - eek! 

Anyway - just like last year, I've decided to bring you all some simple and sweet Father's Day craft and gift ideas. So if you haven't already planned anything - check these out!

6

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). 

4

Fantastic Father's Day Gifts!

Is it just me or did Father's Day sneak up on anyone else? It's about 3 weeks away, but if you're planning on getting anything online (especially if it's something personalised) you better hop to it! Which is why I'm smashing out this blog post tonight to get it out there to you all so you have enough time to get your orders in to some of these brilliant small businesses!

1

Homemade Bath Bombs for Mother's Day

Yay for May! It's Mother's Day month!

Being a teacher/mum means you usually need to plan a gift + card for your class to make to give to their mothers or special people in their lives for Mother's Day. During our planning meeting I had the brilliant idea of making bath bombs with the students, because it would tie in perfect with our Science unit on mixtures and chemical reactions. Yay for integrated learning opportunities!

So Miss M and I had a practise run, because I've never made them before and I wanted to be confident that they would work when I do them at school. She has decided to give them to her Nanna and Aunties for Mother's Day (she has loved bath bombs even since I bought one home from her from Lush - and I get her one every time I go to the city!). But making your own is faaaaar cheaper and an educational experience too.

10

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!

5

Fabulous Gifts for FOUR Year Olds

Believe it or not Miss M is almost FOUR! I started this blog when she was 9 months old so if you've followed me for a while you would have seen her grow up before your eyes. She is such a little lady now with amazing language skills, so chatty and really interested in learning. Her confidence has bloomed and she has surprised me with all the new things she's tried and accomplished over recent months. It feels like we've only just had Christmas and Little Man's birthday - but now it's almost time to give Miss M a special celebration!

I always love sharing gift ideas with you - especially for specific ages. Friends with children of the same age are always asking for ideas, and I stalked my favourite internet stores to bring you some fantastic new ideas that you may not have seen before!

4

Teacher by Day {Rin}

Hey everyone and happy Monday! I got such an awesome response from my first Teacher by Day interview (and because I have some really exciting interviewees coming up) - I've decided that I can't possibly wait a whole month before publishing my next one.

Today's beautiful lady is one of the most special souls you'll meet on Instagram. You probably already follow her, and you may not know that she's a teacher by day. I would love for you all to meet Rin from Papered Thoughts. She's the girl who paints rocks with motivational messages and is all about spreading kindness around the world. I was so excited that she agreed to be here today! I love what she's about - and her shop is only open for 2 more weeks before she goes back to full time work PLUS study. So if you want to get your hands on her rocks or any of her other products, now is the time!

2

14 Things to Make and do with Salt Dough

Move over play dough - salt dough is our new favourite sensory play + craft material! Play dough has probably been the activity Miss M spent the most time doing in 2016 - but the thing she loves with salt dough is that she gets to keep and preserve her creations.

So it's the week leading up to Christmas and it's a great time to make some Christmassy bits and pieces using salt dough, either as a gift for family members or just for the fun of it!

I brainstormed (and then browsed Pinterest) for as many different things to make with salt dough and we tried to make as many of them as possible!

This is pretty much a fool proof recipe - just don't make any plans to leave the house because they take about 3 hours to bake and dry out in the oven (very low temp - around 120).

• 1 cup plain flour
• half a cup of salt
• half a cup of warm water

8

2016 Christmas Gift Guide! {Educational Christmas Gift Ideas}

November means... Christmas gift guide time! I've got an epic collection of ideas here for you today that I have spent weeks gathering. Many of these products are on Miss M's wish list that she'll be asking Santa for this year. As ever the focus is on education and encouraging a child's development in all areas.

This year, more people than ever are shopping from their lounge rooms rather than hitting the shops - and why wouldn't you? (I saw a meme today - that said "Instagram is like the biggest store in the world"). So true!

Disclaimer: some (not all) of the products in this guide have been gifted to me, or I have had a previous collaboration with the brand. I received no payment for any brands to appear in this gift guide. All opinions are my own :)

14

10 Ways to Use Your Honey and Co Club Canvas Bag

You may have already heard of Honey and Co Club subscription kits - I've featured them here on the blog and Instagram from time to time, and they've made a great gift to give some of my friend's kids this year. I love how every month is a different theme and all the little goodies come in the loveliest canvas bags which can be used over and over again for so many things (and every month is a different funky pattern too - we've got a collection of 4 already!).

Today's post is giving you TEN ways to reuse your Honey and Co Club canvas bag. They come in so handy as you'll see...

3

Tailor Made Tales {Personalised Books for Kids}

There are so many nifty little products for kids out there these days, you just need to know where to FIND THEM! That's where I (and lots of other bloggers) come in. We love to discover unique and personalised items for your kids that you won't find in shops, try them out, and share them with you. We also love helping out small biz mums to get their awesome products seen by more eyes!

So today's product review is a pretty special one. It's a personalised story book, made by Kim from Tailor Made Tales. It's not just an ordinary photo book though, Kim will actually write a unique story especially for your child based on the photos you send her. I just love this idea, and I was so happy with what she came up with for Miss M (kindly gifted for the purpose of this review).

"The Big Adventures of a Big Sister"

I even love the title!

6

Dear LUSH - Thank You For Making Me Feel Human Again

Ok, so before you say "What do Lush cosmetics have anything to do with early learning and parenting? Hold on Lauren you are not a beauty blogger no matter how many times you dress up and pretend to be!"... I couldn't not share and write about my awesome night out at the special sneak peak opening of the new Lush store in Rundle Mall.

L is for Lush

20

An Apple for the Teacher {End of Year Gift Ideas}

OK OK so I know that Term 4 has only just begun here in SA, but everything happens a bit earlier in the Internet world and the 'Mums with Hustle' tell me that businesses are organising their Christmas stock, and blog posts are being written so that you can order and receive your products in time!

I'm so excited to bring you this post today - it's an awesome collection of end of year teacher gift ideas (and I'm totally allowed to share this because I'm on maternity leave and this isn't a hint to my parents at school to buy me this stuff!! But teacher friends - feel free to share!).

Your child's teacher works so hard over the school year, and it's not that we expect a gift (sometimes a lovely message inside a card is all we need), but if you do like to get your child's teacher a gift, or perhaps the class is all chipping in a few dollars to get something special - look no further than my list of unique and special teacher gifts.

Thanks to the awesome 'Mums with Hustle' who have contributed their products to this post. (Not sponsored, just love to #supportlocal and #shopsmall)

--------

Prints and Posters

9

What To Do With All Those Special Baby Clothes?

Are you a keeper of all your little one's baby clothes? Do you organise them into sizes? Store them in nappy boxes? Tuck them away in a cupboard for if you have another baby or to give to a friend or family member to make use of? Or do you regularly purge and make trips to the op shop?

But what if you aren't planning to have any more children? What about all those super special teeny tiny items of clothing that you feel you must keep? Would you love to do something special with them instead of leaving them packed away in that cupboard to be forgotten about??

I was so pleased to meet Nicoleta via the Mums with Hustle biz club FB group. She turns those special baby clothes into keepsake softies that are just as cute as pie :)

Here's what I sent her...

16