Reading Reading Reading

As a one-time school librarian and avid reader, I am naturally very keen to see my children reading. My twins will be entering Grade 1 next year and both are begining to read and write. I consider reading and writing to be the two most important skills my children will ever learn, and I want them to get it right from the start, so I won't rush them but I will try to support them as much as possible. Today (it being Day 2 of the school holidays), I set them to creating little booklets about the long weekend we spent in the Drakensberg with their grandparents. They drew pictures and I wrote out descriptive sentences which they copied below their pictures. Then they wrote thank you letters to their grandparents, which we will post this afternoon.

I have read to my children since they were born. We have always read a mix of basic 'baby' books, picture books and longer stories. My daughter is a great fan of the Milly-Molly-Mandy stories, while my son prefers tales of knights and dragons. Both enjoy The Famous Five, anything by Roald Dahl, and the wonderful picture books by Jeanette Donaldson and Axl Schaeffer. We read Harry Potter, The Wind in the Willows, the William books, and many other classics aloud. We encourage the children to sit quietly with a picture book or two for half an hour in the evenings. Even though they can't properly read these books yet, they know the stories and can make out some of the words. We occasionally go to bookshops and allow the children to choose their own book to buy, and they both use the school and public libraries regularly. Both have bookshelves in their rooms filled with their favourite picture books and a number of other books that they will only read for themselves later on. And finally, but perhaps most importantly, both their father and I read books ourselves - the more your children see you reading books, magazines and newspapers, and enjoying it, the more they will want to read for themselves.

There are many wonderful websites to help your children learn to read, answer your questions about learning to read, and recommend excellent books for children. Exclusive Books have published a lovely Children's Best Books Guide for just R6, which features a number of my favourites and has introduced me to some wonderful new titles.

Starfall is a great website with alphabet and reading games for children of all ages. My children have gone through two levels of this site so far, and I am really very impressed with it.

The Family Education website has a very informative and useful section on reading.

Reading by 9 is a wonderful initiative by the LA Times that publishes a fantastic yearly parent's guide. You can access the guide online or download the pdf version.

Your Child magazine published a great article about reading in their September 2008 issue, and they feature a really good list of Best Books for Kids on their website.

Party Games

We list a number of classic kid's party games on PartyInvites, but I thought I'd share a few websites that have more games, interesting variations on the classic games, and some tips for successful party games. You really don't need to spend a fortune on party entertainment - kids love playing games, and if there's a small prize to be won, all the better. Remember to make sure that each party guest goes home with a prize - it's not the size of the prize but the winning of it that makes them happy. This means a variety of games, and a little creativity in distribution of the prizes. For example, pass-the-parcel needn't have only one prize in the middle, you can add a small gift for every layer or every third layer.

Some great websites with instructions for games:
Amazing Moms gives handy tips on games as well as some classic and new ideas.
Let's Party has some great tips on getting older children organised, and fun games for them to play.
Party Directory has a long list of games, grouped by type (and including some fun baby shower games).
Kaboose gives easy instructions for a number of fun games.
Party Game Central has some great original ideas.
Party Game Ideas has some great games for 3-6 year olds.
Kids-Party lists many games, and gives simple instructions.

Montessori Schooling

Montessori schooling is so in tune with modern educational theory that it is hard to believe this comprehensive educational system has been around for so many years. What’s more, the system fits perfectly with the critical outcomes of the new national curriculum in South Africa. Children in a Montessori school are enabled to think and learn both independently and in peer groups, to care for their environment and others, and to take an active, responsible role in maintaining the order and atmosphere of their classroom. Maria Montessori’s own view of learning as a life-long adventure is echoed in South Africa’s curriculum and the goal of creating ‘life-long learners’.

As Montessori schools have become more popular with parents seeking the best options for their children, they seem to have popped up all over the place. One disadvantage to this is that a school does not need to be accredited to advertise itself as a Montessori school. It is thus difficult to know whether a prospective school is actually following the Montessori method. However, a visit to the school and a chat to the Directress (as teachers are known in the Montessori tradition) should allow you to judge very quickly.

My son attends Follow-Me Montessori, in Gillitts, KZN. There, you will not find the bright primary colours and alphabet posters of a more traditional classroom. Instead, the airy room is lined with shelves, all at child-height, with the enticing Montessori equipment set out for children to make their choice of today’s exercise. Cages and bowls hold the class pets. Framed prints of famous artworks decorate the walls. In the kitchen area, a child-sized counter holds glasses and jugs for practicing pouring and mixing. A separate library, furnished with comfortable miniature armchairs, provides a quiet space for reading and learning. Outdoors, a bike track circles a herb garden, while the adventure path leads to a miniature jungle.

A Montessori classroom should be an open space, with sturdy, child-sized furnishings and all the equipment necessary for a child to progress as their development allows. Children must have the space to spread out the exercise they are working on without disturbing others or feeling cramped. There must be clear separate spaces for different types of exercises, so that the children are able to see everything clearly and work easily. Outside time must be allowed for, with practical and inspiring outdoor equipment in a safe environment.

If you’re looking for a Montessori school in your area, you can contact the South African Montessori Association for a recommendation.

Safety at home

Yesterday I had a migraine. I don't get them very often but if you are a migraine sufferer you know that once in a while is often enough. By the evening, with my children at home, I was feeling somewhat better but still quite groggy. And then I started feeling faint. At that point I realised that I had not taught my children what to do if it was just us at home and something happened so that I could not help them. We have panic buttons in our home and they know to press one if there is a break-in, but what if I had fainted? Would they have known what to do or would they just have panicked? I didn't faint, but I did go straight to my computer and print out in large print the cellphone numbers of their father and grandmother (my mother lives close by). I sat with the children and went through how to dial the numbers and what to say if there should be a problem. I stuck the numbers up on the wall by the phone. It might never happen, but I feel so much better knowing that I have prepared my children just in case.

Not so long til Christmas - Oh my!

Christmas is still 3 and a half months away, but at PartyInvites we're already thinking about it. Partly because we're planning a lovely range of Christmas Cards for Kids (watch this space) and partly because we like to handmake at least some of our gifts. We do this mostly because we love making things, but also because of cost. We don't want to cut down on how many gifts we give, especially to the many gorgeous children we know, but we can't afford expensive gifts for everyone.

I've found some lovely things over the past few weeks that I'm planning to make for family and friends.

For the babies, I can't resist these adorable little felt shoes and kimonos. For the kids, there's Sock Monkey or the delightful Molly Monkey. And then I'm going to go crazy making cute stuffed felt monsters. The kids will love boxes of these sweet new crayons from old (and they'll use up all those leftover stubs). How about a child-sized tepee tent?


For the grownups, how about a cute Retro Cocktail Apron, a clever Scrabble Tile Pendant, or one of these fabulous Recycled Book Handbags. I'm also planning to make sets of embroidered pillowcases, some with vintage-style floral designs, some with some funky cartoony designs. There's some great ideas and kits over at Sublime Stitching. Hmmm, those are mostly presents for my fantastic girlfriends... Luckily my husband is a great designer (he creates our wonderful designs for PartyInvites) and will be screenprinting interesting t-shirts for the guys (and girls) for Christmas.

Little Cooks

We've just launched our 'Little Cooks' range, inspired by a gourmet rat in a popular kids movie. Some time ago, we published an article on PartyInvites.co.za about how important it is for us to cook with our children from an early age. Encouraging your children to join in the meal planning and preparation for the family helps them to learn about healthy eating choices, and makes them feel more in control of the food they're eating. It's not unknown for a picky toddler to suddenly decide vegetables are 'Yummy' when she's chopped them herself and mixed up a delicious dip to go with them. Even quite young children can chop, mix and stir, so don't wait too long to get your toddler into the kitchen.

We recommend several websites for their excellent tips and recipes for cooking with children:

Cooking with Kids - The Online Edition of Kate Heyhoe's book offers some wonderful recipes.
Kids Cooking Club is for our readers in the US - a great club for kids that offers monthly recipes and great kid-sized cooking kits.
Read all about Making Food Fun with cookingwithkids.org.
Let your kids join in the fun by sending their favourite recipes in to Children's Recipes, and they can try out the recipes other kids love.

For a fun-filled cooking party, try the ideas on these great sites:

Kids Party Cabin
Family Fun
Groovy Kids Parties

Welcome to the PartyInvites.co.za Blog

At PartyInvites.co.za we are parents and have many friends with young children. We are always looking on the web for interesting new ways to entertain our children, ideas for meals, educational games and, of course, ideas for fabulous children's parties! We find so many wonderful things that we have decided to start this blog to share those with you. We hope that you will find them useful!

And remember, for unique, personalised children's party invites that take the hassle out and put the fun in, visit http://www.partyinvites.co.za.