The Reading Pocket

Reading is one of the most important ways to enrich your child’s education. There are so many ways you can fit reading in to your everyday routine, whilst making it fun and enjoyable for you and your child. Reading can so easily be built into your child's night time routine, and become a part of the day that they really look forward to. As parents we often find it tricky to balance reading time between the kids, especially if they go to bed around the same time. Some stories can work for many age groups, more often than not, children are at different stages of their literacy development and hold different interests when it comes to reading. I know with my own two boys, one likes fiction stories and the other enjoys non-fiction books. Trying to give the boys my full attention while reading to them without the other interrupting was becoming a battle some nights. I needed to put a routine in place for our bedtime reading. This is when I found the very talented Ana from Le PetitPrincess, with an amazing creative flair and equally passionate love of books for children and she created The Reading Pocket.

How Do I Use The Book Pocket

After we have eaten our dinner, both boys go to the book shelf and choose two books that they would like me to read to them that night. They then put their books into their book pocket at the side of their bed, before we head off for bath time. After bath time, we clean teeth, say prayers and then both boys hop in to their beds and look through their books. I generally read to Master 3 first, while Master 5 looks through his books and waits for me. I read three books each night to each child, two that they have chosen and one that I have chosen. The book I read is one that I have chosen that is developmentally age appropriate, and also may have a theme or social message I'm trying to work on with that particular child. The book I choose is one that the boys have never seen. When we visit our local library I always borrow books that I choose for specific teaching points e.g sharing, loss of a pet, floods, starting school etc 

These colourful Reading pockets from Le Petit Princess are just perfect for promoting a love of books and reading with your child. There is a fabric for everyone, boys and girls, with a novelty print in 100 % quilters cotton and a block colour in 100% Cotton drill. A 1/2 metre slack tucks under the mattress making it easy to remove when washing your child's linen. Your Reading Pocket can be made personalised with yur child's name on it.These are available by ordering from Ana, lepetitprincess@live.com.au  for $20.

Celebrating Birthday's at School

Children in a New Zealand school have been banned from bringing cakes to share on their birthdays, due to new government healthy eating guidelines. As a teacher, I have had 14 years of birthdays (x30 children/per year!!) and as I have moved schools, states, countries and even hemi-spheres to teach, each and every school seems to have different rules and outlooks on celebrating your birthday at school with a cake. There are many pros and cons to what ultimately seemed such a lovely experience for a child in their school years gone by. Today's class teacher needs to not only be a teacher, but a personal pediatrician to all the children she teaches as SO many children have specific dietary requirements. Does this mean that the children who can have cake without any effects should miss out? I remember a lengthy staff discussion on this topic... a staff member pointed out that she herself had intolerance to specific foods and had done since being a child. She also went on to say that her parents had explained this to her as a young child, so she herself knew when to say no to party cake or treats at school. This she said was just part of her life style and no different to children who live with other conditions. I remember a childhood friend who was allergic to chocolate(yes that's right - chocolate can you imagine!) and at Easter time she would receive a marshmallow bunny from the Easter Bunny and her mum would give the teacher a small Mellow Bunny on the last day of school when traditionally we would all come back in from morning tea and the Easter Bunny would have hopped in and left an egg. Children are aware (or should be) of their allergies if they are THAT severe and know what they are / are not allowed to eat. Not everybody needs to miss out if it is handled well. Below I have my teacher hat on and have posted a few suggestions that help celebrate your child's birthday at school without too much fuss or disruption to the teacher's program or class.

Talk to the Teacher about the Birthday Party

Before making elaborate plans for kids birthday parties, you must speak to the teacher. Schools are creating rules and guidelines for birthday parties to help organise events and keep them from becoming outlandish. Class teacher's have crowded curriculum these days and often children have specialist teacher's towards the end of the day (music, French, sport etc) so check well in advance that the date suits the teacher. Allergies are a consideration as well. be sure to discuss with the teacher what you plan on bringing in and she/he can make you aware of the allergies within the group. ALWAYS make sure you have sufficient cake to go round.

Think Individual Thoughts

Rather than bringing a cake to school, think of serving the children individually. Large cookies or cupcakes are much easier to handle than a sheet cake that would have to be cut and served. Sheet cakes also present problems for teachers who must deal with the inevitable bickering amongst students over who gets the edge pieces and who got the pink flower versus the yellow one.

Always Include Napkins
When you go to serve your treats, you’ll be listed among the teacher’s mortal enemies if you forget napkins. Bring colourful birthday napkins for serving and cleaning up crumbs, but as those flimsy napkins arn’t especially effective at wiping up icing or other sticky messes, include a roll of heavy duty paper towels as well.

Stay and Help
Arrive just prior to the time with the treat and then stay and help serve and clean up.

Easy Step By Step

1. Talk to your child’s teacher about birthday party policies.
2. Plan to serve individualised servings of the treat.
3. Include napkins and any other plastic utensils necessary.
4. Stay and help with the clean-up.
   

Some of the schools I have worked in have not allowed cake/treats to be brought in. Below I have some suggestions of other ways to celebrate your child's birthday at school:

• ask the students to donate a NEW book to their class as an alternative to bringing in treats to share. They sign the inside of their book with their name and birth date.
• if you're lucky enough to have a summer birthday replace cake with ice-blocks (bought/handmade) that can be eaten outside under a shady tree. A lovely way to end the day for the class.
• give the kids a pencil, rubber, small play dough pot or something school related
• Have a great big box wrapped up in 30 layers of paper with each child receiving an organic lollipop each time the music stops. Once the last layer is opened have a big birthday card for the birthday child signed by all his/her classmates. I did this in one class and the parents prepared the game at home and brought it to school all ready to go, it was great fun. I had a standard card that I used and just inserted a photo of the birthday child on the front, very quick and simple.
• stickers (always a winner!!)
• have the birthday celebration just before morning tea and arrange with the teacher to come in and make fruit kebabs with the children earlier that morning. Your child will also love the fact that you have spent the morning at school with them on their birthday!

Sugar-free Cupcakes
Make cupcakes with honey or maple syrup instead of processed sugar. A basic cupcake recipe with honey includes 1 cup honey, 1 1/2 cups applesauce, 1/2 cup butter, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 cup raisins and 3 cups whole wheat flour. Mix the dry ingredients together and the wet ingredients together, and then combine everything. Mix well and bake the cupcakes in a muffin tin at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. After the cupcakes cool, frost them with a homemade whipped cream frosting (sweeten the whipped cream with maple syrup instead of sugar while you are whipping it).

This topic has been talked about and discussed over and over in classrooms for years. Like so many things in life it depends on individual schools, classes and children. A very good friend of mine, and ex-colleague from my years teaching in New Zealand had this to say:

I've been teaching a while now he he 10 plus years and have taught both in Decile 1 and Decile 10 schools... so have seen and experienced both sides of the argument.In the Decile 1 school, there was no ban on bringing cakes to celebrate birthdays... in saying that there weren't many that did or could afford to bring in something. When they did bring something in, it was usually bags of lollies and/or a bought cake.... money that lots of those families could not afford. Those that could not afford to bring food in often felt embarrassed on their birthdays that they had nothing to share.In the Decile 10 school, cakes etc were banned. I initially thought this was WAY over the top and took away from the 'giving' 'sharing' and 'fun' side of the class... BUT I have changed my opinion and now agree that cakes/lollies etc don't belong in the class for a few reasons....

1. It became extremely competitive... parents were always trying to outdo the last cake that was brought in.. it got ridiculous! bigger, more expensive, flashier etc just got way out of hand.

2. Children were putting too much pressure on their parent sot provide something for the class on their birthday.

3. ALLERGIES!! These days on average I would have at least 4 children in a class with some type of food allergy... meant that then parents felt like they had to provide an alternative for those children.

4. Learning time!! Sharing a cake would take a good 10-15 mins of the children's learning time..

I think that a birthday cake etc can be something that is shared with family and at a birthday party. Singing happy birthday to a child in class and making them feel special for that day is enough I reckon :-)

Choosing The Right School.

Master 4 is half way through his first year at Pre-School so we are just beginning to think about schools. Choosing the right school for your child or teen is important as it can have a big impact on their happiness and well being as well as how well they do at school.

The Federal Government’s launch of the controversial Myschool website on 28th January has reignited the age old debate over public versus private schools and choosing the best option for your child’s education. Whilst some parents are being distracted by the debate over public versus private, I feel parents should consider a range of factors when a making decision about their child’s educational future. The key for parents is to consider this question ‘What is your vision for your child?’ By vision I mean, what kind of person are you endeavouring to raise? What kind of person do you want them to become? Not just in terms of academic results but character traits. The clearer the vision, the easier the decision will be on which school fits.

Below I have suggested some processes you could work through with your child or teen to help make the right decision

List schools to consider
Make a list of schools near your home and any others you might want to consider.

http://www.australianschoolsdirectory.com.au/

When deciding which schools to consider, here are some practical things to think about and discuss with your son or daughter:

• What schools are their friends going to? Does the school you’re interested in have a Parent Teacher’s Association? How does your local school foster interaction with other students and members of the wider community?


• Are there any schools that family or friends have recommended?


• How will your child or teen get to and from school? Be practical where possible, with the time involved in getting to and from school. Your child will spend 78,000 hours at school from K-12. Adding to this unwanted travel, will not instill in them a lifelong commitment to learning.


• Is there a safe route to walk or cycle, or is someone available to pick them up? Or will they be catching a school bus?


• Will your child be able to meet up with friends after school? Will they need to be supervised before and/or after school?


• Does the school have a uniform? The environment, in which your child learns and grow, will play a significant role in their attitudes, beliefs and behaviour. Does the school you choose for your child share the same values as your family? What is the policy in place regarding behaviour, punctuality and dress code? Make sure these same values are bolstered in the home.


• What are the costs to attend the school?A practical consideration, but obviously very important. There will always be costs to consider – not just school fees, over the course of your child’s school years there are uniforms, textbooks, excursions, and extra-curricular activities.


• Is there a school zone and do you live in it?

List your education priorities
Your priorities may vary depending on your child or teen’s talents and needs. What are you prepared to compromise on, and what are your `must haves'? Here are some examples of priorities that you might see as important:

• A strong emphasis on a particular curriculum area of interest to your child or teen, eg music or sport


• Additional support for special needs or talents. For example, your child or teen excels at maths or is learning English as a second or additional language
  a bilingual


• Particular subjects offered at senior level which support your child’s career or academic aspirations.


• Openness to Spirituality. This will be an important consideration for some parents, and is not necessarily limited to religion, but also about raising open-minded children who are interested in seeking knowledge and learning about spirituality.


• Discipline. What are the procedures regarding the schools disciplinary issues? How is bullying handled? How will I be notified as a parent if my child has behavioural issues or is a victim and what can I, as a parent do to support the school in these matters?

Make a shortlist
Based on your priorities, narrow down your options to one or two schools. Then, to finalise your choice:

• talk to other families whose children go to those schools


• look at the reports for the schools - available online


• request each school's enrolment information, eg enrolment package, information booklet, prospectus and check out their websites


• visit each school with your child or teen. You could make an appointment to talk to the principal or take a walk around the grounds during the weekend. You'll get a feel for the school and see what facilities are available.


• attend the schools' open days or information evenings


• for secondary only, check out results for the schools

Taking the time to choose the right school together will benefit your child or teen in the long-term – both for their education and general well being.