I've only recently discovered Alice Zaslavsky's children's food book Alice’s Food A to Z. It was the first cookbook to be given a Notable Book award by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. That says something! Alice is a former School Teacher, MasterChef contestant (2012), culinary correspondent on ABC News Breakfast, author of In Praise of Veg and soon to be food columnist in The Weekend Australian Magazine (replacing David Herbert). "This book is about encouraging kids to dip into the world of food and splash around to see what they can find. It aims to pique their curiosity enough... Read more →

Finding good affordable artwork for our spaces can be challenging. We have been enjoying these beautiful images in the Australian Dreaming - 2022 Wall Calendar. I find that children are drawn to images of animals so I like using the Kangaroo and Brogla in our family spaces. But all of these are stunning. Each picture has a description which I've found useful for sharing the story and teaching my children about Indigenous art. There are other good options here. The First Scientists: Deadly Inventions and Innovations from Australia's First Peoples was released last week. I knew I'd love it, I... Read more →

It's National Science Week here in Australia and next week is Book Week. To celebrate both, today I'm sharing four really fantastic books about MICROBES!! These books are for children around 5-10years but I still read them to my preschooler. These books are really rich in scientific language. The illustrations help children learn about the world around them, their environment, and what is happening in their bodies. Let's start with Tiny Creatures. Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies. The illustrations are so charming! To help children understand the scale of microbes first the comparison is made of... Read more →

Have you tried making pasta with your children? It can be a bit messy and the children may need a little help, but it's worth giving it a go. I've seen pasta being made in Peta's toddler class! It's absolutely possible to make pasta with young children. We use 250 grams of 00 flour, but all-purpose or plain flour will work, a pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 whole eggs, and 3 egg yolks. We use a little more flour to flour the table and the pasta machine. Sometimes we need extra flour on the pasta dough... Read more →

Our family loves to read poetry. We read all kinds of poetry. I like to have at least one poetry basket out for my three-year-old. We also have poetry books, we like to perform or recite poetry on our family fun nights and occasionally we will write poetry. The theme for our next Friday Family Fun Night is Michael Rosen, my children love his writing. You will know Michael Rosen from We're Going on a Bear Hunt. He has also written books for older children and for adults. Our favourite Michael Rosen poetry book is A Great Big Cuddle: Poems... Read more →

We've been reading Busy Little Hands Activities for Preschoolers: Food Play by Amy Palanjian. Amy has a refreshing approach to food and this is reflected in Food Play. I love the article on Yummy Toddler Food about the importance of exposure "We can expose kids to a wide variety of foods by eating it ourselves, by having them be involved in the preparation of it, by taking them to the grocery store. We can expose them to a lot of foods without putting that insane pressure on ourselves.". The conversation about the five internal drives to eat (hunger, togetherness, curiosity,... Read more →

In the last couple of weeks, we've been trying out two new children's kitchen and chef knives. Of course, I want to share them with you! I've also included in this review two children's knives that are made by small Australian businesses. So if you are in Australia, I've got you covered. All these photos were taken in one day so this will also give you a good idea of how we use children's knives in our home. For a review of Children's Kitchen and Chef knives worldwide (EU & US) read here. "Arranging the cooking and dining areas for... Read more →

Life has changed for everyone in the last twelve months. We've all been isolated in one way or another. In Sydney, we've had lockdowns and closed state borders separating us from loved ones. Some of our toddler and preschooler classes have been canceled and others are running with restrictions. When attending a class it's been relatively easy for us to follow new requirements (check-in, hand sanitiser, social distancing) but it's been harder to navigate playdates where they are no rules. In the Montessori classic The Joyful Child, author Susan Stephenson tells us that "Gregariousness (being with others)" is a child's... Read more →

I love the idea of creating something new using what we already have at home. It's the ultimate in creating because you have to be resourceful and smart. Today I'm sharing a semi-successful dying project using materials we already have and that is safe to do with children. Have you tried tie-dying with your children? We've tie-dyed before using a kit but the children needed to be extra careful with the dye and wear gloves. Recently at our Bush School class, the children tie-dyed using found items (leaves, wild berries) and mud. The mud is said to be high in... Read more →

Today Otis (9yrs), Otto (3yrs), and two friends used Glass and Porcelain Markers to decorate plain white plates. The decorated plates would make lovely gifts for Grandparents or other family members. Our friends will later wrap their plates and give them to their parents as surprise gifts for Christmas. Decorating plates (or bowls, mugs) is a fun group activity as younger (3yrs+) children can participate as much as the older children and it doesn't require a lot of time or set up. Otto enjoys drawing and was really into it. The finished plates were so individual and completely adorable. We... Read more →

Are you looking for Christmas themed snack or food prep ideas? Here are a few snack trays we have used over the last week. Some of these snacks my children will eat straight away and others they will put on a plate and share. All of these are easy to make and have some festive element! Star Cheese on Crackers - my three-year-old loves to use cookie cutters, here we've used Christmas themed cookie cutters to cut shapes out of cheese slices and then put them on to crackers. For variety and colour we've used pink Beetroot Crackers. Grape &... Read more →

I've started to look for a journal for Otis (9yrs) for the new year. Otis likes to use a journal, he doesn't write a lot but he likes checkboxes and he makes lots of little comic drawings. Journals and importantly gratitude journals can be a wonderful way of connecting with your child, and for them to unwind and reflect on their day. I've found that a gratitude journal helps: make gratitude a priority in our home establish a gratitude ritual provide a space for open communication between parents and children promote record and memory keeping the child unwind and de-stress... Read more →

Yesterday we launched our very own Children's Street Library. A Street Library or Little Free Library is a small box you put on your street to share books with your neighbours. It's a wonderful way of supporting the circular economy and building connections within your community. To begin the process we spoke with our neighbours and friends on our street to share our ideas. Otto and I visited six or so Street Libraries within walking distance of our home to see what they look like and to see what books they stock. We wanted to make ours a Children's Street... Read more →

I love Montessori Continent Boxes. As Otto (3yrs) isn't attending a Montessori preschool this year I want to set up some Continent Boxes at home. Continent Boxes are nice materials to have at home as you can personalise the contents and make them relevant to your family. The Montessori Continent Boxes are as much about Culture as they are about Geography. We show the child the physical location of the continent through maps and the globe. We share the culture of the people through photographs, models and artefacts. In a classroom, the Continent Boxes are likely to be complete. We... Read more →

Have you ever sought professional advice for a reading list for your children? Perhaps your children are happy finding and exploring books on their own? Teachers and librarians can be really helpful in finding good books for your children, especially if they know your children well. While Otis (9yrs) reads he isn't really 'in love' with reading. I want to help him find books he is enthralled by, that captivate him and totally draw him in. I was also looking for a book list, not just one book idea, or the next book to read. The school holidays seems like... Read more →