What’s good! what’s not! what’s genetically modified! what’s organic! (and notice how I have used exclamation marks, not question marks) because everyone who publishes their ideas, whether it be in a book or just on the internet, shares it with such conviction that its hard to know who to trust and listen to.

As a mum I want to know that I am informed and doing the best thing for my family and I was starting to feel overwhelmed with it all this information! So, I decided to tackle one thing at a time, learn about one aspect of food per week. And, I didn’t want it to just be me, I wanted to learn as a family so that each person knew and understood why we would be eating this way.

So, I pin point one area or eating habit a week and we go out to find information about the pro’s and con’s of the habit. Then, for that week we focus on trying to put the good information and practice into action. This way I’m not feeling overwhelmed with trying to change everything all at once and its not a shock to everyone’s systems!

Food or Eating Habits that we have researched are:

• Chips (how bad are they?)
• Juice (what’s it doing to my teeth?)
• Sweets/Lollies (how often or how many is ok?)
• What vege’s are high in calcium?
• Juicing of Fruit and Veges – What are the benefits? (watch the blog for more on this on Friday!)
•  Starches and Carbs (What role do they play in our diet?)

The list could go on, and each parents questions will be different. The idea though, is to start asking! Start a habit in your family of “Learning Together” and being informed and interested about what you eat. Sometimes we have eating habits that we have no idea are bad! So, don’t just question the “Bad” habits, like the obvious sweets and chips. Research everything! Knowledge is power and the more you practice asking questions and learning together as a family the more empowered your children will be to make the right eating choices!

As the saying goes, “YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!” And who doesn’t want to know what they are becoming!

He’s only three and already he huffs the same way I do when he’s frustrated with something that’s not going right.

She’s a little socialite. He’s a little performer. She points her finger at people when she is not happy with something they have done. He tries to make people laugh when they are sad.

My children are watching my EVERY move and although I know this, I still forget it and still (at times) act in ways and say things that I probably would rather my children didn’t do or say!

So, the other day while I was sitting watching my children play and feeling a little that I was watching myself in a mirror, I asked myself, “Am I the person I want my children to be?”

I know they will have their own personality and traits that will be a strong part of who they are, but if I am the person they spend most of their time with, the one they are learning the important life skills from and imitating from day to day, then am I being the role model of characteristics that I would want them to possess?

Which lead me to my next lot of questions! What were these characteristics that I wanted my children to possess? Was it the same for each child and were they all things I could teach them?

I decided that I would make a list of these characteristics that I wanted my children acquire and put them on a list beside my bed, so that each morning when I got up I would be reminded of the person I wanted my children to see in action that day. And, each night when I went to bed I would see the list again and ask myself how successful I had been.

If I felt there were attributes on my list that other people could teach my children better than I could, then what was I doing to make sure my children were around and associating with people who did exude these qualities.

I have also tried to start using the words on my list in my conversations with my children, such as, “That was not a respectful way to talk.” or “you were being really caring by reading the story to your sister.” By using the words/qualities in context, my children are beginning to understand what characteristics and qualities we value in our home.

I’ve always had ideas of qualities floating around in my head that I wanted my children to develop, but I had never sat down and consciously made a list, or thought about how my day to day actions could and would influence how and if they would acquire them. I found it a really interesting little exercise!

What qualities would you put on a list for your child?

Here is a free printable with a little activity to help encourage children to use different levels while they are moving.

polkadots_printables_dancelevels

Happy dancing!

My friend (also an ex wannabe ballerina super star) and I finally set up a date on Saturday to watch it. Two words. In. Awe. It was so inspiring and gave me such an appreciation for the hard work, sacrifice and dedication that the dancers and their families put in in hopes of achieving their dreams. My friend and I were talking non stop throughout the movie (we would be terrible to watch this with) and constantly comparing our own experiences to the dancers in the movie and what our own hopes and dreams were when we were youngens. It bought back some great (and some not so great but mainly great) memories back. There are some really gifted children out there tell you what!
I think dancers and non dancers will enjoy it.

Here is the blurb (IMDb) ‘A documentary that follows six young dancers from around the world as they prepare for the Youth America Grand Prix, one of the most prestigious ballet competitions in the world.’

You can watch the official trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_cOwCKODgs

It is currently showing in Auckland at the Rialto in New market: http://www.flicks.co.nz/cinema/rialto-newmarket/

Hapy Dancing everyone!

Its enough to put your brain into a spin, in fact, most of the time it does! Children just seem to have this innate ability to know how to push our buttons, the buttons that make us want to go back to our childish ways and get upset or angry when things don’t go our way, to sometimes go as far as yelling and screaming and throwing things on the ground! In our heads we are thinking, “Look at what you are making me do! Look at how you are making me act!” But actually, you are the only one who can CHOOSE how you react to any given situation!

I was getting tired of feeling angry with my children when ever they did something wrong, or repeatedly did something I had asked them not to do, even when I had taken the time to nicely explain the reasons why it wasn’t ok. I felt like the only way I was going to get my point through to them was to raise my voice. Going to for the “Shock Value” approach! But I found that the more I did this, the more my children would push my limits, as if waiting for me to hit the top of my crescendo!

Then, one day, I had an epiphany! (I have epiphanies quite often!) I am the one who chooses how I react, I am the one who chooses my attitude to a situation. So, I decided that the next time my children were doing something that started making me feel frustrated I would say to myself, “How are you going to respond? Its up to you, not them!” Just taking the time to say this alone put my brain back into proper thinking and acting mode, rather than reacting mode.

So aften the frustration in these moments come because we are concerned with what others might think of us, or because we are in a rush and we don’t have time to deal with it, or because we are tired and have had enough. I have tried to come up with one liners that will help get me through without loosing the plot! For example:

“The ones who care don’t matter, and the ones that matter don’t care!” – Thats to help me stop thinking about what other people think of me in those public moments!

“Just give them a minute, a minute won’t set you back!” - This line is to remind me to stop and talk to my children about options and consequences when I’m in a rush and am brushing them off and as a result making them escalate more.

“You’re tired stop and take 10 to recharge” – Often we feel like we don’t have the time to stop and recharge, but more often than not, our productivity and ability to deal with minor situations is hindered and lessened because we didn’t!

In short: I’m trying to learn my triggers, be aware of my mood and the circumstances that may be effecting my children and myself, and preplan how I am going to respond in certain circumstances. I’m trying not to let person, circumstance or stuff dictate my mood, feeling or life! I CHOOSE!

(Help us to spread the FREE Polkadotty Love by Pinning, Tweeting and Sharing this Activity!)

Children are constantly learning the capabilities of their body, and this includes the use of their voice and how it can be used as an instrument. The more children get to play with and use their voices, the more confidence and control they will develop. Through this game, children will learn how to explore new and repetitive sounds while developing an increasing ability to imitate variations in music, such as changes in tempo, pitch and volume! And not to mention character and personality!

Materials Required:

PRINT the Polkadots Control Dial and follow directions to assemble.

Make song cards by writing favourite song titles on cards to use in the Lucky Draw.

One Dice

 Activity Instructions:

• Show your child how the Voice Controller is used to change the way they sing each song. eg. If the arrow points to the ‘Upwards’ arrow or to the word “High” then their singing should get higher. If it points to  ‘Monster’ then they should make a voice they think sounds like a monster.
• Have your child pick a song from the Lucky Song Dip to see which song to sing.
• Next, have them roll the dice to see how many spaces the arrow on the controller needs to move. Eg. Roll a five then move five spaces on the chart, starting from the top. Each different control title or image is one space. Keep rotating the arrow up and down the voice controller list.

 Extension Ideas:

• To add movement to the activity, have your child dance to the song they are singing in the same way they have been told to sing it by the Voice Controller.
•  Using the concept of the Voice Controller, this game can be played while driving in the car.
• You can make up some more variations of voice control, different animals, different tempos, characters! Get creative and have some fun!

 Tot Talk:

• “We have discovered lots of different ways in which we were able to change our voices.”
• “The more you practice controlling the way you use your voice, the better you will be able to use it as an instrument to make music for others to enjoy!”

I know there is nothing wrong with this and it is a totally age appropriate stage of development, but the inner teacher and Polkadot in me couldn’t help but think, “There has to be a song that I could teach him to help him learn his numbers!”

I couldn’t think of one off the top of my head, so every time I was in the car I would try and make up a numbers song (LOL – Lets just say I wasn’t blessed with the same song writer abilities as Dionne.) I just couldn’t seem to get one that would flow or that Ashton would get excited about singing. Then one day when we were pulling out of the drive way, I had an idea!

EVERY SINGLE DAY Ashton asks me if we can play the Transformers theme song in the car. So, when he asked me on this particular day, I told him, “Ashton, I have a surprise for you, are you ready!?” I then broke out into what we now call, “TRANSFORMER NUMBERS!” (Basically me singing the numbers to the tune of the Transformer Theme song – and let me tell you, the look on his face told me, I just won the “Coolest Mum Award!” Since then, every day he sings his Transformer numbers, he happily performs it for anyone who is willing to listen and although he’s not 100% on singing them in the right order yet, he has definitely improved A LOT!

So, if there is something you really want your children to learn, find a song that they love and sing the key points to them – I know that Polkadot Dionne will often sing instructions to her girls when she is trying to get their attention and it works a treat!

Putting new information to a rhythm, beat and melody gives the brain a new point of reference and helps them to be recall the new information faster. If you just use the same voice you always use to teach your child something new, it will just sound like everything they hear every day, it won’t stand out them. So, when teaching something new, figure out something you can do to grab their attention, whether its a dance, a story, a different voice or a song! Try it, I bet it works!!!

Have you done anything creative and different to help your child learn something new?! Please share, you never know your idea, might help another parent!

Before we start our sharing session a few tips on sensible and responsible app usage:

• Always know the apps that your child is using – play it yourself, so that you know what they are getting out of it.
• Try and think of ways that you can show your children how the things they are learning from the apps they play on relate to the real world.
• Set a time limit for their time on the apps. Have an egg timer or set the timer on your phone when you give it to them, so you know and they know this is not something they can just do mindlessly for hours on end. (Even though it can be tempting because they do sit so still and quiet!!!)
• Try and download apps that cover a variety of different curriculum concepts and learning.

Now, we’ll start with the apps we love and then we want you guys to add on from there!

Kids Apps we like (a mixture of educational and just for fun apps)

• Duplo Jams – (build and control duplo blocks)
• ABC Go Go (Transportation)
• Cookie Maker (Cooking)
• Bugs and Buttons or Bugs and Numbers (Science & Maths) $4.19 (but very cool)
• Clicky Sticky (lots of different versions available)
• Squiggles (Drawing)
• Play School Art Maker (Especially the make your own movie feature)
• My Kids Piano (Music Skills)
• Alphabet Car (Drive the car into the letters to make words)
• Disneys – Pirate School (Based on Jake and the Neverland Pirates)
• Chuggington Roundhouse (Fine Motor Contol & Stories)
• Rainbow Cars (Colour & Pattern Matching)

Children’s Book Apps

• Monster at the end of this book
• Dr Seuss ABC
• The cat in the hat – space
• The tale of Peter rabbit (pop up version)

Adults Apps we like

• Instagram – Photo sharing & editing App
• Instaquote – Create your own Memes/Quotes with great fonts & backgrounds
• Voxer – Walkie Talkie App
• Shazam – Helps to identify and note songs (Title and Singer)
• TED – (Inspirational talks)

This is just to name a few, we could go on for a lot longer, but we want to hear what apps your children like to use and that you feel are educational and worth while for their screen time.

For more children’s app recommendations check out this website http://www.smartappsforkids.com/

(Help us spread the Free Polkadots Love and PIN, TWEET & SHARE this activity)

Since we are all about play this week, we wanted to give you a game that could present lots of laughs and possibilities! When looking for good toys or games I always try to think whether the toy or the game can have more than one way of using it or playing it

Animal Mix & Match Activity Ideas

Materials Required:

• PRINT Polkadots Animal Mix and Match Cards. (download link at the top of the page)
• Laminate them for durability if you can

 Activity Instructions:

• After printing and laminating the Animal Mix and Match cards, cut them up along the dotted liness.
• Have your child match up the three different pieces to create the correct animal images.
• Once you get a full image encourage your child to make the noise of the animal or even act like the animals.
• You could even turn on some music and dance like those animals.

Extension Ideas For Younger Children:

• Have your child choose an animal they would like to match up first, while looking for the right pieces to match up, purposefully pick up the wrong piece and try to match it, ask your child, “Is this the right piece?”
• Make a joke about matching up the wrong pieces.
• Keep changing the piece until they identify or find the right piece.

For Older Children:

• Have your child mix and match up the pieces to make their own CRAZY ANIMAL CREATIONS!
• Have them create a story or funny facts around their Crazy Animals
• Have them make up names for their Crazy Animals.
• Have them make up the sound they would make.
• What food would they eat?
• Where would they live? etc
• You could even have them write a little book with illustrations around the story they created of their Crazy Animals!

I was captivated by his presentation. Not only does he stress the importance of children playing for their overall social, physical, intellectual and emotional development but how important it is for adults to play as well. Seems like the very best combination if children and adults (parents) can play together.

Brooklyn and I were playing the other day. Her mum, Dez, has created some little stuffed fabric toys she calls ‘Boshies’, so Brooklyn and I made a game of thinking of places that Boshies come from. I asked questions and Brooklyn came up with all sorts of wonderful ideas of how Jungle Boshies would eat and play and how Farm Boshies would live. I seriously think we could have gone on for hours and all this while we were drawing as well (Boshies) of course.

Not only did we create a whole new world, I got to see Brooklyn’s perspective on so many things through our conversation.

When we had to do something else, she said, “Thank you for playing with me.”

When was the last time you really got down and played?

What are your favourite games to play with your children/grandchildren?

From a Polkadotty Grandma called Pamela