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One of the most important skills your child can learn is reading. Besides counting, it is probably the first intellectual skill addressed in the school systems. However, it's beneficial for your children to give them a head start so that they are already beginning to read upon entering school.

What advantages do kids have when they begin reading prior to entering school, and just how far should you go in teaching your child to read?



A Head Start for Children - Educational Benefits of Reading to Kids

While it is certainly not expected that a five-year-old in kindergarten could pick up a Stephen King novel and read it, it's a great idea to put your child in a position to be ahead of the average child in his or her reading ability. Progressing beyond The Cat in the Hat is certainly not frowned on, though your child may then be bored by kindergarten reading assignments. A good teacher for this age group recognizes that kids are at different levels and adjusts for each child's needs.

By teaching your own child to read, you are assuring that he or she gets one-on-one attention and a customized curriculum, if you will, so that progression can occur at the desired pace. You can also make sure that your child finds reading fun, which is important. If it's not fun, they won't want to do it! Plenty of educational benefits are gleaned from material that is also wildly entertaining!

By learning to read early, children are set up to pay more attention to other aspects of school, including learning social skills, teamwork, and other such necessary traits to succeed in daily life. Getting a head start allows a child to progress further as well, so that later in life, the individual's vocabulary is extensive and far exceeds the average individual in both reading and speaking ability.

Well-read individuals, especially those who can credit their success to the diligence of parents who were willing to take time and teach them as children, are known to progress farther in school, in college, and in the workplace. Often, because their knowledge is broadened by the range of topics on which they've read, they are also more socially involved, with the ability to engage in conversation with others on a wide variety of topics in an intelligent, informed manner.

Starting your child off with the ability to read early is one way to set him or her on the right foot to begin the journey through school and through life. The more you teach them, the less likely they are to struggle in the future, and the more self-confidence they'll have in themselves and their abilities.

Article by Lorraine Grula
Lorraine Grula, also known as Mamma G, is an avid children's books enthusiast. Books helped her grow up and later helped raise her daughter. Mamma G thinks reading to kids is the single best thing you can do for them. She promotes children's books at [http://www.Read2Child.com] Source

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Posted in: Entertaining Baby

What to do for Your Child's 1st Birthday

So, your child is about to turn one year old and the time has come for you to think about shopping for 1st birthday supplies. How can you get this done without it being a complete nightmare? Well, the whole process of throwing your child's first birthday party can put you under a lot of pressure, since it is a very special occasion. After all, your baby only has a first birthday once.

Arranging 1st birthday parties are not difficult. It is a special occasion in the life of a baby and a parent. You and your child will cherish these precious moments in the future. So, you need to make it really memorable. By seeing the photos of his/her 1st birthday party, your child will definitely feel good. It is wise to capture the moments with your camera so that your little one can cherish the moment in future. You can even select a theme that you like to make the birthday more special. You need to keep in mind certain important things before arranging 1st birthday supplies.

Actually, you don't need to let yourself get into a state over this. It can actually be pretty good fun once you start to get into it! The best way to start is by choosing a theme. Think about your child's favourite toys or cartoons. What makes your baby smile? Choose something that brings your baby happiness, and make that the theme for your party.

Then you will need to make your list of 1st birthday supplies. This will be when you decide on decorations such as balloons, streamers and signs. You will want to centre everything on your theme, even the cups, bowls and plates. You should also try to get invitations that go along with your theme too.

Children's 1st birthday supplies are available for just about any theme that you might think of. Almost everyone has a special theme in mind for their little ones 1st birthday party. When shopping online you will find so much choice that you might have a tough time selecting a suitable one but you are sure to find something that matches your child's personality to a tee.

Make sure you don't go overboard with the decorations. Too many streamers, masks, balloons and anything else that might make noise can make baby frightened and nervous. Make sure you use Mylar balloons rather than the latex balloons which are a choking hazard and should never be a part of a baby's party. There are plenty of children's party supplies for you to choose from so you can surely find something according to your tastes. Also, when planning your child's 1st birthday party make sure that you do so around your baby's usual routine and not around his or her nap time

With the internet technology today, you don't even have to run to your local stores with your baby in your arms to pick your 1st birthday supplies. You can shop from the privacy of your home whenever you have some time to spare and your youngster is asleep. No more wasting endless hours in town looking for the perfect invitations, decorations, cups, plates, cupcake decorations, edible cake images and everything else that you might need as part of your kids 1st birthday supplies. You will even get a better price online as the online store has lower overheads and does not need showroom space or even sales people to wait on you.

Article by Gayle Harker

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Posted in: Entertaining Baby,Party Planning

Sensory Stimulation Activities For Infants

Did you know that up to 80% of your child's brain potential develops before age three? Your baby's first three years is a period of amazing brain growth. It's in this once-in-a-lifetime event that millions of brain cells will be created.

However, research has proven that our intellectual skills not only rely on brain cells, but ultimately depend on the existence of connections between these cells. The more connections created in early development - the more power the brain will have to process information and effectively solve problems in the future. 

Developmental studies indicate that Sensory-stimulation is an effective exercise for increasing the number of brain cell connections infants and toddlers. Sensory stimulation refers to the impact the environment has on our minds and bodies as we receive information through our sensory organs.

These sensory activities can be delivered through soothing activities that involve touch, sound, sight, vestibular activity and smell (aroma-therapy). Some of the most popular exercises include the following:

• Touch: Let your child experience the touch of various cloth textures while you massage him/her after a bath. 
•  Sound: Sound is a powerful channel. Many parents report that exposing their babies to smooth music during the early years has helped in their intellectual development. The "Mozart effect" has proved those children with exposure to classical music attain a higher IQ than those who lack this stimulation. Try playing a classical music stimulation CD and watch your child react! 
•  Sight: Vision in babies is limited and is the last sense to fully develop. As a result, they tend to prefer high contrast colours, particularly red and black. To best stimulate your child's vision, create flashcards by drawing and colouring various sharp pattern pictures (geometric forms). Introduce these cards during play-time and watch how your child responds to this visual stimulation. 
•  Vestibular Activity: Rock your baby while listening to his/her lullaby. You may also want to try simple hand-eye coordination games and other activities that require motor skills (fine and gross). 
•  Smell: Smell is one of the most powerful senses. Learn to stimulate this sense by using various aromatherapy candles. Each child has a unique sensory-profile, so learn to experiment with smell until you find the right scent. 

Remember that sensory stimulation is about exposing your child to DIFFERENT stimuli. Therefore, don't feel afraid to vary and experiments with activities.

Article by James Nicholson

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Posted in: Entertaining Baby

Ducks Like Rain & Toddlers Too!

Yesterday, it was so hot for this pregnant Mum, that we just stayed indoors and tried to find things other than tellie to amuse us. By late arvo, I caved and on came Play School. When Jay & Karen began to make duck feet and sing songs, Ty and I decided to get a little silly and creative ourselves. Mum cut out to duck feet--just like Jay--and we both waddled about the lounge room singing Ducks Like Rain. It was good fun for twenty minutes or so.

If you'd like to make some duck feet, we just used simple construction paper, drew a free-hand sketch of a webbed foot and cut it out attach the paper feet, all we used was plain old scotch tape. So easy!

Here is the song with lyrics---ENJOY!

Ducks Like Rain

Quack quack quack quack quack...

Ducks like rain
Ducks like rain
Ducks like splishing splashing in the rain
Ducks like rain
Ducks like rain
Ducks like the rainy weather
Water running off their feathers
Ducks like splishing splashing in the rain

Quack quack quack quack quack...

Ducks like rain
Ducks like rain
Ducks like to widdle waddle in the rain
Ducks like rain
Ducks like rain
Ducks like widdle waddle
Water knee deep in a puddle
Ducks like to widdle waddle in the rain.

Quack quack quack quack quack...

Article by Emma Lewis

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Posted in: Creative Play,Entertaining Baby

Tips for Planting a Children's Garden

In today's electronic age, it is easy to think that children will take no interest in an activity that does not involve cell phones or DVDs. However, gardening continues to remain one of the most practiced at-home hobbies in America and there are many good reasons why. By planting a children's garden with your kids, you are teaching your children valuable survival skills, educating them on healthy easting habits, providing a connection to their science class, and encouraging them to get exercise outdoors in the fresh air. Yes, gardening with your children has countless benefits. If you would like to plant your own garden with your children this year, use the following tips to get started.

Start small.
A children's garden definitely does not have to mean that you uproot your entire back yard and add in a raised bed. It can be something as simple as a window box filled with herbs, or a few ceramic pots on your patio with heirloom tomatoes or edible nasturtium flowers. Whether you have an shaded backyard or a sunny apartment balcony, there is a way that you can have a garden. Even just a potted mint plant can be a garden. Don't be afraid to start small.

Choose easy to grow seeds.
How do you know which seeds are easy to grow? Generally speaking, the larger the seed, the easy it is to grow. So for edibles, pick veggies such as peas, beans, and corn. Squash, greens, beets, radishes, peppers, broccoli, and tomatoes are all good choices as well. For all fruits, flowers, and vegetables, consult your seed packets for information. If you see phrases such as "spreads easily" or "prolific reseeder," this means they will be easy to grow.

Look for plant extremes.
To interest your children in gardening, select plants that either grow very tall and sprawl, or stay teeny-tiny. They are sure to be enthralled with the extremes. Sunflowers are an excellent choice for children's gardens, since they grow to be quite tall, and produce large, heavy blooms. Another bonus is that you can roast and eat the sunflower seeds.

Be creative with containers and props.
Don't worry about making the garden look perfect. Try making it look playful and interesting instead. Encourage your children to sow plants in unusual found objects, such as an old pair of rubber boots or a coffee can with holes poked in the bottom. Climbing plants such as green beans can climb up a zany cage made out of sticks, or a teepee made of bamboo. Attract critters such as toads with overturned clay pots, and butterflies shallow dishes of water.

Don't be afraid of a little dirt.
Your kids probably know that they are not supposed to get too dirty outside, or track mud into the house. But when it comes to the garden, try not to set too many limits. Allow them to get their hands dirty- it will feel like a special privilege. Purchase each child his or her own set of garden tools, and allow them to work away.

By all means, eat your wares.
This can be one of the most rewarding things about working in a garden with your children. When you harvest your fruits and vegetables, make sure to savor them. Even if your children do not usually like carrots, they may find that home grown carrots not only taste different, but that it is rewarding to eat them after tending to them for weeks. You can also find purple or yellow carrots, which put a surprising and unusual twist on what your kids expect to find on their plates. Look for creative ways to serve the veggies from your garden, such as slicing them thinly and baking them in order to create homemade vegetable chips.

Don't miss an educational opportunity.
To us, it may seem like common sense that chicken meat comes from a chicken, and a cucumber comes from a cucumber seed. But most children have only seen the end product on a grocery store shelf, and do not know where these foods come from. Therefore, planting a children's garden gives you a very valuable educational tool. Don't miss the opportunity to explain that a whole growing, living plant sprouts up from a tiny, dormant seed. To kids, it almost seems like magic!

Foster responsibility.
Allow your children to take over the primary responsibilities in the garden. Create a plan for watering, pest monitoring, and weeding- this is basically getting your children to do chores in disguise. Allow your kids to pick ripe fruits and veggies, and cut blooming blossoms. Your children will begin to take ownership of the garden, and take pride in their new responsibilities. Make sure to maintain an organic garden so that one of their responsibilities is not being exposed to chemicals!

Article by Mike D Walters

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Posted in: Entertaining Baby,Gardening With Kids

Sensory Box - Explore With Baby

Touch is powerful. We all know this the moment our darling bub is placed on our chest. Touch is how your little one explores and processes the world before sight, comprehension of sound or any other of the human senses fully develop.

A sensory box is a fun way to share the world with your little one, teach them soft and hard, smooth and rough, long and short. You get the idea. So what do you put in your sensory box? Here are few safe ideas (depending on the age of bub):

• feathers (sterile), pipe-cleaners, pom-poms or cotton balls to name a few soft items.
• metal spoon, plastic lid, stone, or anything hard you may have about the house.
• sandpaper, a small brush (new), textured paper like egg carton or correlated cardboard.
• polished stone, shiny paper, velvet or some likeness in cloth.

You could create a series of sensory boxes for the kiddies with the focus on different lessons as the child grows. For example, instead of sensory opposites, what about a box of coloured items, items to count, maybe even taste if your up to the task. The box can become a fun family game and evolve with your child's growing curiosity.

Article by Emma Lewis

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Posted in: Entertaining Baby

My, Look How It Grows

Filled with year-round fun gardening with your little ones can be a rewarding experience for the entire family. In addition, a small flower or vegetable garden is a great way to start teaching your young ones how plants grow and provides hours of outdoor entertainment.

For the under-three crowd, focus on keeping the garden experience simple. Just a few easy-to-grow plants with showy blooms or delicious fruits will be enough to start your child's garden off and inspire further explorations. Its a great time to teach about organics and good nutrition when children experience planting vegetables for themselves--who knows, it might even get them eating their greens at mealtime!

So how you get started?
Your kiddie garden patch does not need to be big. If you are short on space you could recycle an old washing tub or other bin to plant your garden. If you have more space, consider outlining the area with wooden planks or rows of stones to mark the child's space. This'll make them feel special and take ownership over the space.

Whether you start in the ground or in a tub, it's always a good idea to till the soil and add some composted manure or organic compost to the area. Good, rich soil will give the seeds a great, strong start and help the children learn that all living things need good nutrition to grow big and strong. Just like they do!

Now that your area is prepared, here are some easy to grow plants to start with:

• Allium: from the onion family, produces an umbrella of showy, fragrant silver-pink flowers that make a delightful presence for weeks at a time. A kiddie favorite!
• Beans: packed with good nutrition with their super easy to handle large seeds, green beans grow fast and will delight the little ones with fresh, crunchy beans within less than 9 weeks.
• Capsicum: vibrant red, yellow or green, these sweet fruits change colour as they mature and offer a great chance for children to learn their colours.
• Dahlia: produce a small bush of colourful blossoms throughout summer. Planting the large tubers is super easy plus its fun to watch for the first sprouts of leaves. 
• Gladioli: are another showy bulb that is easy for little hands to plant and produce colourful blooms.
• Lettuce & Spinach: are super easy to plant and grow very quickly. You may even get your finicky eater to finally eat her greens if she played a role in growing her own salad.
• Lillium (lily): are another easy bulb to plant for kids and produce showy, scented flowers to enjoy.
• Marigolds: are the perfect companion plant for the edible garden. The pungent foliage deters pests while the vibrant yellow-orange blossoms are a show-stopper for the toddler set.
• Nasturtium: grows from a large pea-like seed and bursts into continuous bloom. The leaves can be used in salads and taste peppery, while the blossoms can be stuffed and are edible.
• Peas: juicy peas for shelling usually mature in 65 days and are a garden favorite. Snack off the vine!
  
• Pineapple Sage: herbs offer children the chance to explore scent. This variety of sage adds a yummy, fresh pineapple flavour to cool summer drinks ice-creams and sorbets. Rustle leaves to enjoy the scent.
• Poppies: with their big, floppy petals and vibrant shades of red are sure the catch your toddie's eye.
• Pumpkin: a classic for kiddie patches with big easy to plant seeds producing large plants and huge fruits. If you have the space try growing one of each of the green, orange or striped varieties.
• Strawberries: with their bright red berries and crisp, green leaves are a delight to any child.
• Sunflowers: will tower over your kiddies and delight them with their tall stalks of yellow or orange blooms. Come harvest-time, the seeds baked with rock salt make a great, healthy snack!
• Tulips: are a super easy to grow and offer a wide variety of colours for children to choose from.

Since this garden is for the children, it is important to remember to allow your child to pick out some of the plants or seed packets when you are purchasing from the above list of flowers or veggies. Your child will be far more likely to take ownership when caring for their own hand-picked plants if they were given the opportunity to choose their own.

Let's get dirty
Now that you are ready to get digging, you'll need to buy your child age appropriate garden tools to work with or you can simply recycle some old kitchen utensils as a makeshift trowel and fork. Armed with the right tools, you can then move on to assist the planting process by helping the children to dig holes, lay the seed in shallow trenches and gently pat around newly placed plants. Walk them through it, but resist the urge to hurry them along or fix mistakes. Most plants or seeds will naturally right themselves once they sprout or take root.

For the children, this time is all about exploration, touch and feel, and experiencing organic nature. Let them play in the dirt for awhile, squish and crumble it in their bare hands, make a mud pie or two. This is not a task...it is the creation of a quiet, special green space just for them. Toddlers naturally use play to understand how things work, so if you're inclined to be a tad impatient, get out a padded kneeler and a cuppa-- let your little ones explore this new space as they see fit. Let them learn without interjecting that dirt tastes 'yuck'. Let them feel for themselves how worms feel squishy and wriggle in your hand, that ladybirds and butterflies fly away when disturbed. Its the experience we're after here. A place to play, explore and experience without rules. Who knows, you may find yourself watching the birth of  a little green thumbs on your hands or perhaps a future little scientist!

Article by Emma Lewis. View gardening gear that Bub Cafe Recommends

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Posted in: Entertaining Baby,Gardening With Kids

Get Your Toddler Involved in Gardening

Keeping your toddler constantly occupied can sometimes be challenging, particularly when you are trying to make her daily activities educational as well as entertaining.

One great way to keep your toddler happy is by involving her in gardening. Toddlers love to get messy and they will really enjoy the satisfaction that comes with making something grow. It will give them a sense of achievement and can act as a great opportunity to get her eating healthier foods.


One of the best ways to get your toddler gardening is by helping her grow her own mini herb garden. The best thing about creating a mini herb garden is that even if you have limited space, it is possible to make one. Mini herb gardens can fit on your kitchen windowsill or in the tiniest of back yards.

Make creating your childrens herb garden extra fun by choosing clay pots that can be painted. Your toddler can help you paint her pots in preparation for planting. When choosing your herbs, choose herbs that are easy to grow such as coriander, basil, chives and thyme. Coriander in particular is a fast growing herb that will allow your toddler to see results super quick. You can spice things up a little bit by growing an easy to grow vegetable, such as cayenne chilli peppers or quick sprouting lettuce.

If you have a bit of space outdoors, buy a gro-bag and use it to grow tomatoes. Tomatoes are sweet enough for children to enjoy and can be used in simple recipes so that you can also get your child involved in cooking. There are of course other fruits and vegetables that are simple to grow, such as strawberries (always a favourite with kids), courgettes, lettuce and potatoes.

Of course you won't always have the resources to help your little one grow their own plants and you may need other ways to get your toddler involved in gardening. Toddlers love nothing more than mimicking their mums and dads, even when it comes to the dullest of tasks, so why not buy them some childrens gardening gear and let them help you do simple gardening tasks. That way you will be able to get on with your gardening, whilst your little one is entertained.

There is no limit to just how involved your toddler can become in gardening and it is simply a case of using your imagination. You can involve her whether you have a lot or a little bit of space and rest assured that she is being educated in the process.

Article by LJ Mckeever. Source.

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Posted in: Entertaining Baby,Gardening With Kids