Easy peasy small world play

My four year old daughter loves all kinds of sensory play. In particular, she loves playing with sand, but we don't have a sand box in the back yard for her so when she does get a chance to play with it she enjoys it even more. This small world is a fun project that she and I made together using a small wooden tray as a mini sand box with some extra bits and pieces we had floating around the … [Read more...]

Once upon a time… Easy Peasy Crowns & Tiaras

  These simple crowns are created from paper scraps so they are cheap to make and you can feel good about recycling at the same time. Of course, we added a few fancy bits and pieces like feathers and plastic jewels but anything goes with this project. This is how we made them...   YOU NEED • Paper scraps, of all shapes, sizes colours and patterns. Some will need to be the … [Read more...]

Easy Peasy Kids: Apple Print Painting

Here's something that we enjoyed creating on a cold and rainy day.  There wasn’t anything particularly special about this activity; to be honest they may not even make it to the fridge display. It was as simple as providing the materials and watching my girls explore and create happily. Create they did, some simple yet wonderful Apple Print Paintings. Why apples? mostly because they were looking … [Read more...]

Child Behaviour: To be kind you have to see kindness daily

      You have full permission to print and download this image for free or donate any amount you can afford to Foundation 18 … [Read more...]

Easy Peasy Glitter Sponge Cakes for Pretend Play

Last week, in honour of our 1st Bloggiversary,  we decided to make some sponge cakes for a pretend tea party. I must say that as far as my own kids go this has been one of the most popular crafts we’ve ever done. Miss R’s little friend, Miss B, came over to play and they all made a platter of cakes each. They are a bit of a special one-off craft for us because it uses up a lot of materials in the … [Read more...]

After school activities: The over scheduled child.

Working with children takes every ounce of energy I have and then some, with possibly a glass of red at the end of the day. Their enthusiasm never ceases to bring me right into their moment, of course it helps that my career is centred around children and their behaviour. After twenty years I still have nothing concrete to give you, no magic answers. I see patterns, I see uniqueness and I see … [Read more...]

Building Empathy in children: Do you have kind eyes?

  Kind eyes doesn't mean you are a soft touch. Kind eyes doesn't mean people can walk all over you. Kind eyes simply mean you care. You care about yourself and you care for those you meet. Care doesn't mean you love or even like them. Care means you take a moment to perhaps think of the bigger picture in that you haven't walked in their shoes and you don't live their life. Kind eyes grasp … [Read more...]