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 Grimm's Products for Under $40

You probably know by now how much I love Grimm's wooden toys and I'm always adding to our collection. Some people assume that these gorgeous products are out of their price range - (first of all let me assure you that they are totally worth it due to their uniqueness, quality and open ended play opportunities). But if you're looking for something a little less expensive than the trademark large rainbow (which is usually around the $130 mark) and you still want to start your Grimm's collection, then I've found some gorgeous ideas for you! All from my favourite Grimm's stockist The Creative Toy Shop who I'm proud to say I've been working with since they opened!

This post contains affiliate links. 

Click to shop

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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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"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..

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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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This Month's STEM Nest Activity Kits

You all know how much I love STEM right? Well it's time for another update on what we've been doing with our monthly STEM Nest activity kits. We have got to experience so much already - constructing, designing, building, experimenting, recording, freezing, melting, pouring, mixing, stacking and exploring our senses. Incase you missed them - check out my previous posts here...

• New Exciting Products from STEM Nest
• Teaching STEM to Preschoolers
• Celebrating Science Week

This month was all about living things - in particular, germinating seeds!

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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?

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New Exciting Products from STEM Nest

Over the past four months, we've been sampling the STEM Nest and Little STEMies activity kits. I've been so impressed with the variety of activities. and learning opportunities in which they have provided. This month, Karlie, the owner of STEM Nest (also from Adelaide) has expanded her online store range to include some fantastic educational products, toys and resources to encourage STEM thinking.

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

Here's just a few of my favourites...(well my top 5 actually) but there are many more on the site!

Firstly are the Neoformers magnetic shapes. You may have seen similar products to this one around (but this one is much more affordable) and it's such a great construction toy. The shapes cleverly attach together with magnets making structures more stable. This set comes with triangles and squares which allows for many possible structures and shapes. Learning about magnets is more certainly a part of science, however this toy pretty much ticks all of the STEM boxes.

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Tips for Teaching STEM to Preschoolers

There's been a lot of talk about STEM and STEAM on my blog lately, and for good reason! I've been working with a new small Adelaide based business called STEM Nest who are all about bringing STEM into your everyday life at home - no matter the age of your child! You may remember my post on school aged children's activity kits and I'm so pleased this month to be able to give you an idea of what Karlie from STEM Nest is able to provide to preschoolers (or "Little STEMies"). It's all about hands on learning, exploring materials, sensory play and encouraging our little ones to be little innovators before they've even started school.

Sound like something your little one might like? Read on!

This is a sponsored post as part of my Brand Ambassadorship with STEM Nest. These products were kindly gifted.

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Our Top 5 Weekly Activities & Lessons

There are a lot of activities, classes, lessons etc. available to babies, toddlers and preschoolers to keep their days busy before they go off to school full time. From discussions I've had with other parents, sometimes it's hard to know which ones to choose for your child. I think it's important not to be overcommitted and find the balance between keeping busy and giving the kids opportunities to develop a variety of skills but also having enough time to relax and play at home.

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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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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!

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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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Toy Storage Ideas With Play Pouch

Is this story familiar to you?

Kid digging through the huge tub of lego.
"Mum, I need the skinny red piece..."
Mum helps kid to find the exact piece they want.
1 minute later...
"Mum, I need the blue square piece."
Mum helps kid to find it
"Mum I can't find the ..."
*Tantrum imminent
Kid tips out entire tub of lego to find the piece they want. 
Later on mum ends up stepping on lego, followed by cleaning it up when kids have gone to bed. 

Well I've discovered a solution to this ever so common problem of where and how to store your gigantic collection of Lego and/or Duplo. Introducing the Play Pouch!
*Kindly gifted for the purpose of this review

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Fairytale Inspired Imaginary Play {With Little Peggys}

It's been a while since my last small business product review so today I'm really pleased to introduce you to "Little Peggys". Hand painted peg dolls ideal for imaginary play and perfect for little hands. We were lucky enough to sample the Goldilocks set + The Three Little Pigs set and I watched them unlock a whole heap of pretend play possibilities, language development and story telling. Both of my kids love playing with them.

*Kindly gifted for the purpose of this review.

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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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Games & Story Telling {My Little Set}

Hi everyone!
The blog has been a little quieter than normal this month, I've been busy at work taking on some extra relief days in a variety of classes across the school (which I've been loving) and of course the kids can be a handful when we're at home!

So today I'm pleased to bring you another brilliant product review with a focus on early learning (by the way if you're ever interested in browsing the other product reviews I've done, just look for the "review" label on my side bar, or if you're on mobile, scroll to the end and you should find it). 

We were recently sent two "My Little Set" sets of wooden discs that I'd love to share with you (kindly gifted for the purpose of this review).

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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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