School Holiday Fun

Well Term 3 here in NSW has drawn to a close and we are in school holiday swing now! I love school holidays for the simple fact that we all get to wind down, re-charge and most importantly spend more time together as a family.

Many of my students' parents dread the school holidays simply because they get the constant 'I'm bored' statement countless times a day! So I decided to share my go to idea for school holidays.

Way back when I first starting teaching in the mainstream classroom I always revelled in the school holidays for the obvious reasons but also because it meant I could create a to-do list (oh how I love my lists! I am definitely a list kinda gal!) of all the things I wanted to achieve over the break. More often than not my list was longer than I care to share but it didn't matter so long as I had a list to refer back to all was good in the world! My list had everything and anything on it from what I wanted to organise, re-organise, clean, create, visit, bake, sew, garden and the list goes on :)

Like I said I have done this to-do list business for years but little did I know that great mummy bloggers out there do the same thing and call it many different names! Whatever you call it doesn't matter all that matters is that you create one! With the kiddies of course!
I have done these to-do/bucket lists back when I was teaching in the classroom to tutoring my students and even now with my own little man. Of course I adapted and changed them accordingly each term/holiday/season.

Now that I have been blessed with my own little boy I get even more excited to create these lists of things I want to do together and let me tell you my list sometimes seems endless! Haha One thing I am doing a little differently since having my little man is break my list into the four seasons. For example right now I have a Spring Bucket List of all the activities and adventures I want to share with him this Spring. Obviously he is too little to sit and brainstorm ideas with but he doesn't need to worry because his mamma has a list all ready to go!

So in a nutshell to prevent the 'I'm bored' statements even surfacing create a bucket list of things to do over the holidays. Sit with the kids, get a large sheet of poster board/paper, coloured textas/crayons, put your thinking caps on and start brainstorming all the things you and the kids want to do together over this two week break. Write down everything no matter how big or small. Obviously they need to be realistic ideas that can be achieved but let the kids go with their imagination, add ol'skool activities, indoor and outdoor ones....have fun with it!
Then as you complete each activity tick it off the bucket list and every time the kids come to you complaining they are bored send them to the list and let them pick something to do. You may or may not achieve every single item on the list but that doesn't matter! Make the list a tradition, maybe do it each Summer holidays like the inspirational Erin@SunnySideUp or do it each holiday break that we get here in gorgeous Australia! I can assure you that once you start this list of sorts with your kids they will be reminding you to do it again and again each break you get!

Jump on my Pinterest page to get some cute and creative Bucket List ideas.

Our Spring Bucket List so far.....got my inspiration for this layout from Erin!

Ticking off each activity as we do them.....even though some are ticked off we will still do them time and time again during Spring. An example of this is gardening, we have spent numerous hours in the sunshine getting dirty and messy in our garden!

We currently have it posted to the wall of our Playroom!

Laugh and Learn Favourites

I have a new found love. The Melissa and Doug hand crafted toy range. I am currently obsessed with these gorgeous toys and puzzles!

I bought my son his first puzzle many months ago and my goodness does he adore playing with it! He knows his colours and shapes and matches them now with ease so of course I decided it only right to buy him one or two more! I got him a latch puzzle and a magnetic fishing puzzle both of which are providing him hours of fun and learning which makes us both happy! Each puzzle encourages colour recognition, hand-eye co-ordination, fine motor development, number identification and animal recognition.

The Melissa and Doug range is huge and many are hand crafted which I absolutely adore! In my opinion they are a mamma and teachers dream....they are bright, colourful, fun, encourage so many vital learning and developmental skills and most importantly let children Laugh and Learn at the same time! What's not to love, seriously?!

A well loved and well used Shape Puzzle! 

The Magnetic Fishing Puzzle. 

Encourages so many crucial skills for littlies.

The Latch Puzzle

Such a beneficial puzzle for fine motor development and hand-eye co-ordination! 

Love Love Love it!

I have so many useful posts coming up soon that I am so excited to share with you all. Be sure to share and like our Facebook page for updates!

Gardening 4 Kids

Earlier this weekI had the absolute pleasure of spending a few hours with a long time friend of mine and her adorable kiddies! In essence we had a little play date! The kids had fun playing and we had fun catching up!

This sweet friend of mine lives on a property of acres and in many ways is becoming more and more self sufficient. She has a thriving veggie garden and a bunch of chooks that provide her with fresh eggs daily. She has been growing some tomato seedlings in her mini green house and was kind enough to give me a few. She always has great tips and has such a green thumb!
You can learn more about her gardening expeditions and get some useful tips on her cute blog thelittlepottingshed.blogspot.com. Needless to say after visiting with her I felt extremely motivated and inspired to get into my own little patch which is exactly what I did this breezy Spring afternoon! 

Some time ago I got my veggie garden up and running (a long time wish of mine since we turfed our yard!). I thoroughly enjoy the short moments I spend pottering around with my little man by my side always helping wherever he can :) but I also revel in the fresh produce we receive! I simply love popping out to my garden and picking vegies for our meals and knowing I am feeding my little family wholesome, organic, homegrown produce is such a satisfying feeling!

I find spending time in the garden (if only even for a few short moments!) to be so therapeutic and peaceful and as a teacher I cannot stress enough how important it is for kids to get outside and play the ol' fashion way! 

Children these days just don't seem to spend the same amount of time in the great outdoors as we once did growing up. Being outside just playing, kicking a ball, getting dirty and running around is fantastic for the overall development of our kids emotionally, physically and mentally.

Sometimes it easy as adults to get caught up in the day to day runnings of life - needing to make dinner, putting a load of washing on, cleaning, finishing off bookwork or programming just to name a few.
I have always been big on taking time out and being 'fully present' with my students when they are engaging in a hands on learning experience, not only do they get so much more out of the experience but quite often I do too! Since becoming a mother myself I am even more aware of just how important it is to do this as our little ones grow up far too quickly and time is gone before we realise it! Time is of the essence as they say :)

So with all that said and done, today my goal was to revel in the outdoor fun with my little man :) I encourage you to do the same some time this afternoon. Whether it be now while the kids are home from school outside playing, during bath time or even reading a book together before bed....it really doesn't matter when it just matters that you stopped for even a few minutes and take the time to be 'fully present'....you won't get these years back.

My little patch :) 

Broccoli on the right with shallots and celery in the middle and far too many carrots on the left (which I need to thin out again!) A few other veggies in between which are hard to see....need another little garden bed this summer time!

So proud of my little broccoli plants...they have really taken off the last two weeks!

Lettuce

My tomato seedlings....so much pressure to make these little guys survive knowing they were grown and gifted especially for me! Haha

My favourite garden accessory at the moment...my little wind chime. LOVE hearing it chime in the late afternoon as the sun is coming down and the afternoon is setting in.....makes everything seem so peaceful :) Next on my list is a bird feeder!

In his element....outside playing in the garden!

Stay tuned for an updated Gardening 4 Kids post.....a how to on getting children outdoors and interested in gardening! In the mean time check out and follow my Pinterest page to get some great gardening ideas just 4 kids!

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Number Puzzles

Like many people these days, I have been caught up in the busy-ness of everyday life and have been a bit slack on the blog lately but I am determined to try and get back into posting more regularly!

Life lately just seems to be passing me by, which, is something that really bothers me and I am making a concsious effort to make some changes to just slow down and treasure the simple things in life.....will keep you updated with this!

Recently, I have been working with one of my school readiness students on identifying the numbers 1-5. This is an area this particular student has struggled with for some time so the last few weeks I have been trying various activities to try and help her better retain the numbers we have been focusing on.
In true Laugh and Learn style I wanted something that was both meaningful but fun too use so I created these cute number puzzles!
Due to her young age, my main goal was to get her to identify each individual digit. The word and object identification will come later. This activity was simple, I gave her the mixed up puzzle pieces and asked her to put he puzzle back together.The use of different colours for each number did make the task some what easier. If using this activity with older Kindergarten aged children I would definitely recommend  using the same/like colours so that the task would be more challenging.

This activity is available for purchase. Please email for info@laughandlearntuition.com.au further details.

Social Media Update!

Just a quick post to let you know that you are now able to connect with us! 

I am beyond excited to announce this, as I am quite proud of myself for managing to link these buttons to my blog!!!! As one of dear friends knows all too well I am not the most tech saavy mumma around so for me this a HUGE step especially to have worked it out all by my little self! Haha 

So, please head on over to the right of your screen to like and follow us on Facebook and Pinterest 

By doing so, you will receive exclusive updates but most importantly more ways to Laugh and Learn with your children/students!

I'd even love if you sent us an email just to say hello :) 

Our Father's Day

First off apologies for such a late Father's Day post. I was hoping to have this post up earlier so that you could get some more Father's Day gift ideas but unfortunately time got away from me!

Father's Day for us this year was a little bit different in that my husband and I had to work at night as we have recently taken more of a hand in the family business. 

The morning started with me making the most AMAZING husband and father I know, a delicious breakfast feast while watching a dvd I had specially made for him...showcasing photos and videos of him and his little mini me across the last 18 months with a sweet Daddy song to accompany it. Needless to say he loved it and I cried more than once! Haha! Even our little man was mesmerised watching himself and his Papa on screen! Too cute! We then had the present opening which is always fun and got ourselves dressed and ready to head to my in laws for a big Italian feast followed by an Italian  afternoon tea with my family before heading off to work! 

It was a super busy (and exhausting) day but it is just how we love to celebrate! Family is everything to us and not sharing such celebrations all together on both sides just wouldn't feel right for us. Even though the day is as much about my husband now that he is a father, it means more in our eyes to be with our two extended families on such a day. We are blessed to have both sets of families live in the same city which I know not everyone is able to have!

So with all that said onto my craft for this year's Father's Day. Anyone who knows me also knows I LOVE to celebrate special events and also love to do things a little differently ;) Despite the fact I know I tend to drive the ones around me a little batty :)

Since having my little man I love that we can do fun crafty things to celebrate events through the year. This year for Mother's Day and Father's Day I decided to make plaster plaques which I personalised and then had my little guy paint - we had a blast! I added two photos to each plaque of my little guy with the recipient just to add that personal sweet touch :) Along with the plaques we also gave them a few gifts to say 'Thank you'.

This was for my little man's Papa (Dad). We started off with blue and just finger painted to get into the fun of it!

We then mixed green to add a different dimension! Haha!

I Love You Nonno (Grandpa) for my Father in law. By this stage we decided to give the paintbrush a go. He was very particular about dipping the brush into the paint and painting like the big kids who come to Mummy's work studio!

Each plaque we painted had a soccer/football theme. This one ended up red and yellow as my Father in law supports AS Roma.

I Love My Nonno (Grandpa) for my Dad. He is a long time West Tigers Rugby League supporter so it was only right to do orange and black.

No 1 Compare (Godfather). Our little man's Godfather is an avid Sydney Roosters supporter. 

Celebrating the Godparents on Father's Day and Mother's Day is important to us for both family and religious reasons. We always get either Godparent on their day, something small to say 'Thank you' for taking on such an important and sacred role.

So, in a (long) nutshell there is our Father's Day craft and celebrations for 2014! If you would like more information about the plaster plaques or would like to purchase one, don't hesitate to email me!

Windowsill Herb Garden

As you all know I strongly believe Laughing and Learning go hand in hand therefore whenever I see an opportunity arise to give my students a hands on lesson I jump at it!

Recently, I have been working with one of my grade 3 students on Procedural writing (how to make/do something). This is one form of writing I love to teach as there are just so many options for hands on learning experiences that help children to connect with their real life experiences!

I had promised my student when we started this unit that we would make a mini herb garden of sorts and she was beyond excited! Each lesson she would ask when we were doing this this activity and Thursday I was finally able to say yes! She jumped up and down on the spot and I must say it warmed my heart and brought a smile to my face reminding me of just how rewarding my job can be :)

So, after a lot of prepping and clear instructions on what was and wasn't accepted while carrying this activity out, we jumped in and put our mini garden together.

I bought this little kit from Aldi and hope they still have them in stock when I go for my weekly shop this week so I can get another and do it with my little man!

I completely forgot to take a picture of the kit and all the materials before we started (not very organised of me I know!) but in a nutshell there were three pots, seeds, 4 round blocks of dirt and a piece of chalk to use for labelling. As I was rushed for my student to get the written part of this task done I also didn't get a chance to take a picture of the finished product BUT I plan to do an update of our little windowsill garden once it takes off! So, I will share some extra pictures then :)

To start, we placed the dirt blocks into a bucket. We added both boiling water and cold water and then simply mixed until the dirt until it thickened up.

Student T recorded the name of each herb we used on the pots.

Then she filled each pot with the dirt and added the seeds. She placed some extra dirt on top to fill the pots and then popped them on a window sill. It was easy as that!

After this fun hands on experience was complete we sat down and planned our writing task for it. I will share this part when I give the windowsill herb garden update ;)

Bath Time Fun

Decided to change up bath time for my little man tonight! Normally, he has his usual bath toys but I have started to notice that he has grown a bit bored of the same bath toys day in day out.

So, tonight I decided to switch it up and gave him some soft foam bath toys which he had a ball with! Each foam piece connects to another to make an animal...making it more like a puzzle for bath time. He loved it! The water against the foam makes them stick to any smooth surface when wet! Such a simple but fun bath toy that made for lots of games and entertainment during tonights bath time!

We got this fun toy from my little man's Nonna but after doing my own research I soon realised you can make your very own and then customise them to suit your child's interest! Pop on over to my Laugh and Learn 4 Kids Pinterest page to see some fun hand made ideas that I plan to give a go myself! The ideas are endless! Pop back soon to see what we make!