By Amber Greene  www.mamamoontime.com

Celebrating a birthday is a time-honoured ritual.  It is a day to recognise our birth, and the ongoing biographical journey we undertake.  It can be a time for reflection on the growth and change we have experienced over the past 365 days and perhaps, to make adjustments to our course.  It can be a time to peer through the looking glass into the future.  A birthday can act as our own personal ‘New Year’; a time to set goals for our dreams, quietly and unobtrusively.  A birthday also offers our closest family and friends an opportunity to acknowledge the important role we play in their lives. They are given a chance to spoil and share with us. It is a time to gratefully receive nourishment and nurturing on our own significant day in the year.  We too, can do the same for others. 

Yet today, many of us find that a birthday celebration is not what we had hoped for or doesn’t meet our expectations.  Sometimes, birthdays pass by with a token Happy Birthday song and perhaps a cake.  A recent phenomenon is a birthday wish through Facebook or via email. Kind, yet slightly impersonal for such a momentous day.  Children fare better.  Parents continue to make the effort, even if it involves packet mix or pre-bought cakes or a “Drop and run” party at the home of the yellow arches for less than $10 a child.  Birthday parties at home are often becoming a chance for families to out-do one another with the latest jumping castle, clown show or fairy make up party extravaganza.  Budget blowouts are common and the material spend on a child enormous as they receive commercial toy after toy after toy…

It seems that something had been lost in the translation.  Inspired to create something more meaningful for my own children, I reminisced on my childhood to find that the gifts are long forgotten, but the experiences linger.  Inviting my best group of girls over for my first slumber party, wearing my favourite blue striped dress on my 8th birthday get together,  eating fairy bread (o00hhh, yum!), playing pass the parcel and going with the family to my favourite Spaghetti restaurant as a treat; these were good days. 

Alongside my quest to return to simple values and long held traditions, I discovered, through my involvement with Steiner education, that a Birthday Ceremony could be SO MUCH MORE than I had ever dreamed!  In this place, I found people truly honouring the individual spirit of each birthday girl or boy, child or adult, in a multitude of ways.  The common thread in every celebration was a chance to honour the individual birthright and destiny path of that child or adult, with beauty and simplicity.

A Steiner-inspired birthday celebration acknowledges that the child has willingly entered into this life contract with a preconceived purpose.  It is the task of the child/adult to unravel that mystery as they set foot upon the path of life.  A birthday then, becomes a chance to give support to, and give gratitude to this brave individual as they navigate through the ups and downs of life.  It is also a chance for us to see beyond the outer exterior of a person and fish a little deeper.

As an early-childhood teacher, I was involved in the creation of celebrations for 4, 5 and 6 year olds.  The celebratory aspect of the birthday would depend upon the age and maturity of the child, their attention span and their ability to join in the celebration.  One celebration from Steiner folk-lore was an imaginary boat journey to the Birthday Island, where the class group sat alongside the fairy and elf folk peering in through the ‘windows’ of the castle as the child travelled over land and sea to reach their destination.  Another celebration invited parents to bring along a photo of the child at every age of life to this day, and share a story of significant moments during each years passing.  Each of us who listened to these stories forged a deeper understanding and love of the Birthday child through this process.  A Six year old celebration involved every class member having to think of a ‘wish’ gift they would like to bestow on the Birthday child. In return, the Birthday One gifted each member of their class with a pre-prepared birthday token, made in the weeks leading up to their celebration at home in conjunction with their parents.  Each child received an gift- a handmade drawing, a seedpod bracelet or a banana leaf basket of flowers- something individual and truly reminiscent.  The gift giving was a chance for some mutual nurturing and a reminder of the delightful celebration they shared with their birthday friend that day.  In every way, the celebrations were a simple recognition of our ‘birth-to-earth’ day and the fact that we all, as spiritual beings with an individual soul, “come from the stars”.   A simple crown and cape worn by the child for the entire morning highlighted the fact that the child was King or Queen for the day. It is hard to believe that children could long all year to receive their crown and sit on their ‘golden throne’,  but it truly was a highlight, making a fond memory of their time in kindergarten.   At the completion of a ceremony, the birthday child would receive a simple gift, such as a silver paper box or a tiny doll brooch, made by the loving hands of the teacher. These often became monumental treasures, guarded and respected for years to come.

A simple meal offering was shared among friends.  Sometimes, the children and teachers prepared fruit and nut platters, or muffins for one another.  At other times, parents provided the treat.   The birthday child was encouraged to share out the offerings, friend by friend.  In this simple exchange, two children could meet for a instant and share a heartfelt greeting of joy and congratulations.  I am in big favour of simple, nutritious but well-presented foods for birthdays.  Dried and sweet fruit can be arranged so artfully and a cheese platter is a real treat. A big bowl of fruit punch or homemade lemonade quenches the thirst too. Of course, at home, I do love a bit of fairy bread too!

The simplicity of the celebration enhanced the significance of the birthday event, and it is the paring back and storytelling aspects that have influenced my homelife the most.   My children receive one main gift such as a fishing game or a handmade doll or a bike.  Where possible, this item has received the loving creative touch of a close family member or friend.  At times, the gift has been accompanied by a handmade pictorial book, a treasure hunt or has been the impetus for a story.  In preparation for Ned’s first birthday, I enrolled in a cake decorating course to gain the skills I needed to make his “African animals” cake to tie in with the images on the party invitation.  This was my heartfelt contribution.  It is our family tradition that the Birthday One chooses their favourite meal and dessert, and I prepare this for dinner.  A handmade Happy Birthday bunting appears on the morn of every person’s special day.  A special birthday candle, different to our daily one,  is lit for the meal blessing too. 

Simple traditions, that flow over the years, building life long memories are the support act to the events of a Birthday day. I wish you many heartfelt birthday celebrations in years to come!

Hello, Charlie! is off to Europe in two weeks. We’re off on a buying trip, visiting one of the big European trade fairs and searching out great new products. We’re combining the trip with a family visit back to the UK, and we’re taking the children …

Which brings me to the theme of this week’s blog- travelling with children. The Hello, Charlie! children are seasoned travellers, so we thought we’d share our tips and ask for some of yours. Thank you to everyone who posted tips on the Hello, Charlie! facebook fan page. They were so great, we’ve included them below.

Before You Fly

Talk to the airlines, and check out their websites for information about travelling with children.

Make sure you have good travel insurance.

Allow yourself plenty of time to get to the airport. It’s no fun to be haring across the terminal to get to checkin with two crying children, all the bags and a carseat, as I did last Christmas!

If you have older children, talk to them about what they can expect. Be positive, and do it with a big smile on your face so they know it’s not scary (even if you’re not great with flying!).

Older children can help to pack their carry on luggage, and then ask them to carry it.

Pack a small bag with one nappy, a few wipes, nappy bag and nappy cream. Place it into the seat pocket to make life easy.

On The Plane
Take lots of snacks. Food is a great distraction, and if you have your own food with you, you can choose when to give it to them. Try to keep the snacks healthy, as children with a sugar rush in a confined space is never great! Our favourites:

• dried fruit - sultanas, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped apricots, chopped apples are all good and not too sticky;
• nuts and seeds - sunflower seeds and pepitas are great, and you could add almonds, hazelnuts and cashews if your children are okay with these;
• muesli bars - those mini Carmen’s muesli bars are perfect;
• crackers - my children love vitawheats with butter and vegemite, and they’re smaller than sandwiches.

Drink lots of water to keep them hydrated, and avoid sweet drinks that are going to send them hyper.

Have lots of activities - crayons, stickers, books, magnetic games (new stuff that they haven’t seen before is good as there is the novelty factor) as well as the favourite teddy or blanket.

Older children will do well with an iphone or ipad that you have preloaded films or games on to. Let them play educational apps - our current favourite is the Montessorium app, but memory games, shape games, any of these will help pass the time.

Talking books work, too. For example, Charlie & Lola have CD and book sets that you can load onto an iphone.

Take a dummy or a bottle. For older children, chewable or suckable sweets, which will help with ears.

A scarf, shawl or pashmina is invaluable as an extra blanket, a curtain, a screen for breastfeeding, a towel, or a pillow

Take at least one complete change of clothes, and lots of extra wipes, even for older children.

Use the entertainment screens - on the plane is not the time to limit screen time!

Get up and walk around on the flight. As babies, my two loved being carried around the plane, and now that they’re older, we walk up and down with them. It’s hard for children to sit still for a long time.

If you have some time on the ground during a long haul flight, find a quiet corner of the airport terminal, and run around with your children. The run around will make you feel more alert, and will allow them to stretch their legs, use up some energy, and hopefully settle down to sleep for the second leg of the journey.

On Holiday

Babies and toddlers do best with familiar items. A pop up sleeping tent, or a very lightweight travel cot can be helpful. Use it as much as possible before you go, so that your baby sleeps in a familiar environment even when they are away.

Try to keep their routine as much as possible. I know a holiday is supposed to be a break from routine, but keeping mealtimes and bedtimes the same will mean that you’re not dealing with overtired and hungry children.

With older children, it’s helpful to divide the day into doing something you want to do first, then doing something the children want to do. They’ll put up with your activity because they know that theirs is still to come. If you do their activity first, there’s no incentive for them to do yours!

Take a digital camera for older children - they can put together their own holiday album when they get home.

Finally - my best tip would be to keep your temper, smile sweetly and ask for help when you need it. Most people are sympathetic when you’re travelling with children. That’s one of the best things about travelling with children - it’s so easy to get chatting to people!

Hello, Charlie! will be blogging about the upcoming trip with the children, so stay tuned!

Just found a very useful blog that I thought I’d share:

http://www.positiveparentingsolutions.com/blog

There’s some interesting stuff on here about consequences, using the ‘Time Out’ and helping children to become responsible for themselves.

Have a look and let me know what you think!

By Amber Greene   www.mamamoontime.com

My first introduction, to Steiner Waldorf education, was in a first year education subject where three friends and I were given this topic for a small research project.  Purely coincidental? From where I stand, I think not.  From there, it was small steps- coming across gorgeous handmade things on a craft stall advertising a fledging school, participation in craft classes, attendance at interesting talks and participation in a playgroup.  But it wasn’t until I left a full time teaching job to work as an apprentice to a Kindergarten teacher that I had any idea of the much bigger picture of what Steiner education can be. 

The common theme one finds is that the education nurtures the head, the heart and the hands.  This poetry captured the attention of my artist within, but I wanted to know exactly what was meant by this statement and from that day on, my path has traversed along beside Steiner education and the encompassing philosophy of anthroposophy.  I love it.

So, in a nutshell, here is some of what I learned.

“Steiner education” is based upon the growing stages of a child into adulthood.  Articulated as well as possible, it strives to help a child develop their skills and capacities at times that coincide with natural human milestones.  The content of the curriculum is aimed at meeting the child at the point of their inner nature and conundrum.  (For example, Class One pre-reading and mathematics is taught through the context of fairytales as the majority of six year olds live in this kind of ‘fairytale’ world, believing or wanting to believe in Santa Claus, Tinkerbell, the Easter bunny and the Tooth Fairy.  But in Class Two, this kind of inner life changes and children begin to question magic and mystery so the context alters to Irish and Aboriginal tales to meet this need)   

The most important thing is that the education is health based, meaning that everything is done with the full intention of providing a health giving foundation that will support the child to live a well balanced, nourished and imaginative life with the full use of their faculties.  In a perfect world, teachers work alongside doctors and health practitioners to allow the child to experience their best possible future.  The education itself acts as a homeopathic drop, building strength, resilience, courage, sensory integration, love and caring in the child through immersion in bold folk tales, rhythmic song and circle times, movement games and artistic endeavour.   These things allow and encourage a child to love learning, and this is more than half the battle in engaging children at school. 

The Head, Heart and Hands refers primarily to the teaching modalities in the primary and high school, but can also reflect a picture of a child in perfect harmonious balance.  The head refers to the academic learning that requires fresh thinking, the hands to the practical tasks and outward action, whilst the heart is reached when the content of the curriculum is truly meeting the needs and desires of a child at every life stage. In the early pre-prep years, the daily and weekly rhythms provide opportunities for all children to be met via the three faculties. 

Steiner/Waldorf teachers as a whole are people who believe teaching can be more than just a job.  They want to immerse themselves in community life, be included in the lives of the children and their families beyond the school fence, and value and view teaching and learning as an opportunity for their own personal development. A great Steiner teacher is one who strives to be the best role model for imitation they can possibly be.  They strive for good health and find a point of balance by immersing themselves in artistic and creative lifestyles outside of their work.  They find nourishment and replenishment in these pursuits that allow them to engage and be fully engaged in the classroom and with the children on their biographical journey. 

My primary field of interest is that of Biography. It is an opportunity to look at life through the eyes of the seven year cycles, and in this, find meaning and understanding.  Taking stock of key moments and turning points and things that are common to all humans at certain times encourages a sense of empathy and tolerance.   It is through the study of Biography that my love of the (first) three stages of Steiner education has grown exponentially.  I now can see the bigger picture, and it entralls me.  

Steiner education is one part of a greater cosmos and schools and individuals will have varying degrees of connectedness to biodynamic farms and food, anthroposophical medicine, spiritual architecture, nutrition practices and wellness centres.  The wonderful thing about all of this is that many of the ideals of a Steiner/Waldorf school, such as the need to build strong community, to grow and eat chemical free food, to nourish people using the arts, to value and love Mother earth and to be understanding of the power of natural rhythms, are crossing boundaries and entering mainstream thinking and media.  This can only be a good thing!   If you are interested in practical spirituality, and a love of a natural kind of life, then Steiner education and anthroposophy might be for you too.

Music comes naturally to toddlers. You might hear your toddler singing to his teddies, tap his feet to the rhythm of nursery rhymes, and enjoy his parents singing to him - even if the parents can’t quite carry the tune!

Music is very important for children. It’s a part of their sensory environment, helping to forge neural connections in their brains. Listening to music helps these connections, but actively participating in musical activities has a much bigger impact.

Studying music has been shown to help develop:

• concentration
• counting and other maths skills
• listening abilities
• self-discipline
• cooperation
• language usage
• memory and recall skills
• creativity
• spatial-temporal reasoning
• abstract reasoning
• physical coordination - both gross and fine motor skills

There’s lots of great stuff you can do with your child to get them actively participating and experiencing music. 

Songs with Actions

Nursery rhymes are an obvious start. Try singing ‘action’ nursery rhymes, where your child can march, clap, touch, turn, stomp, reach and jump. There are classics like, ‘Incey Wincey Spider’, ‘The Wheels on the Bus’, ‘Heads and Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ or the ‘Hokey, Pokey’. Go to your library or bookshop for books of nursery rhymes for inspiration, or watch ‘Playschool’ with your child and do the actions and the songs together. The Wiggles have great songs with actions, too - watch a couple of episodes and you’ll be singing with the best of them! 

Make up silly songs with your children. My children love it when I take a song they know and change the words and the actions. The sillier the better, especially if I can manage to make it rhyme!

Dancing

Put the radio or a CD on and dance with your children. Sing along if you know the words. Even tiny babies will love the rhythm and movement. Dance with your baby in your arms - it’s guaranteed to get them laughing. When they can stand, children love to dance to music, even if they’re unsteady they still love to jig along. It doesn’t even matter what the music is. I can remember a friend walking into my kitchen one day to find me and the children dancing along to The Pixies, and her amazement that the children enjoyed that kind of music.

Put on some classical music - two favourites in our house are ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ from Peer Gynt by Edward Grieg, and ‘Peter and the Wolf’ by Sergei Prokofiev - and wave a scarf, a chopstick or bat a balloon in time to the music. These are great pieces of music to dance to with children, as there are a lot of tempo changes to keep it interesting.

Rhythm Games

Clap in time to music, and ask your child to clap along to. Alternatively, clap a beat without music and ask your child to copy. For very young children, you could introduce musical instruments that are easy to shake, such as maracas, tambourines or bells, and ask your child to shake them to the beat. Older children with more coordination might like to bang a drum or cymbals, perhaps castanets. Change the pace of your clapping and see if your child can change pace, too.

Tap a beat onto different surfaces: a wooden floor, a pillow, a saucepan lid, and listen to the sounds that different surfaces produce.

Two to three year olds may like to try simple wind instruments, like a recorder, pipe whistle or kazoo.

Music for Comfort and Routine

Don’t forget that music can be soothing and comforting, too. I lay no claims to being musical, yet I found that singing to my babies came naturally. My two children, when tiny and fractious, could always be soothed with a softly sung, repetitive song and rhythmic bottom patting. Far beyond the age when they need patting to sleep, both my boys will ask for a pat and a song if they’re feeling in need of comfort.

Songs are great for routine, too. Try introducing songs for daily activities. There is a Playschool song about brushing your teeth that we sing at home, and you can sing ‘Here we go putting our toys away’ to the tune of ‘Here we go round the mulberry bush’. We have another Playschool song for buckling seatbelts in the car, and a Justine Clarke song about books when we’re choosing a story. You can use a simple tune to make up your own songs about daily activities. It’s such a fun way to do routine tasks.

Introduce Different Music

I have to admit that I’m not a great fan of children’s music. We have a couple of Playschool CDs, a Justine Clarke CD and one Wiggles CD that I’m prone to hiding because I just can’t bear to listen to it again! Early on, my husband I decided that we weren’t going to listen to children’s CDs in the car all the time, because we’d go mad. We both have very different musical tastes, so from an early age, our children listened to a wide variety of music.

Both children like classical music with a story, such as ‘Peter and the Wolf’, and they’ll listen to opera if I put it on. They’re also keen on Green Day (selected songs, carefully chosen so as not to include any swearing!), The Pixies, Pink Floyd, Nina Simone, The Gypsy Kings and Leonard Cohen. They ask if I will play The Killers, David Gray, Temper Trap and Pink. Yet they also love to listen to ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ and ‘The Teddy Bears’ Picnic’. Exposing them to a lot of different music has given them a tolerance, and indeed a love, for lots of different music.

I can see that neither of my children are musically gifted. They’re never going to make their mark on the world through their musical talents. Yet they both find such great satisfaction and enjoyment out of singing, dancing and playing the few instruments that we have at home.

Music can bring such richness, joy and laughter to your life. It’s never too early to start sharing music with your child.

It was my youngest son’s birthday yesterday. Birthdays are lovely, especially for children, but in the rush and tumble of everyday life, it’s good to remember exactly why we celebrate birthdays.

Both my husband and I run our own businesses, so it’s fair to say that we’re pretty much always working. We don’t often create the time to reflect on what’s happening in our lives and with our families. I’d organised presents, baked and iced 36 cupcakes for sharing at school, planned a birthday party, sorted out the birthday dinner and cake and was rushing to the classroom to drop my birthday boy off, when one of the other parents asked if I had the photos ready for the birthday ceremony. Of course I hadn’t - I’d completely forgotten.

I rushed off to work and spent an hour trying to find suitable photos on my laptop, printing them up on the colour printer, all the while thinking about all the other stuff I ’should’ be doing while I was at work. My husband and I rushed back to school, photos in hand, just in time for the birthday ceremony. Our eldest son was already there, looking terribly excited. I should explain here that my eldest son goes to the same Montessori school, but as his birthday is bang in the middle of summer school holidays, he’s never done this ceremony.

My children go to a Montessori school, and Montessori has a special way of celebrating birthdays. At our school, the children sit in a circle, and the birthday child sits with parents and siblings as part of the circle. In the middle of the circle is a candle, to represent the sun, and a small globe. The birthday child picks up the globe and walks carefully around the candle, representing the passing of his first year. While he is doing this, all the children sing, ‘The Earth goes round the Sun, the Earth goes round the Sun, the Earth goes round the Sun, and _____ turns one’. 

The parents then show photos of the child in his first year, and talk about what happened during that first year.

The birthday child then picks up the globe again, and walks around the candle to represent his second year, while all the other children sing again, this time finishing up with ‘turns two.’ The parents and siblings then talk about the child’s second year, and so on until you reach the age that the child is turning.

Never having done this ceremony before, I hadn’t realised how important all the children think that it is. Children are very visual, so having photos of the birthday child is great - they can all see how much everyone grows and changes. I could see in my youngest son’s face how seriously he took the birthday ceremony, and the silence and concentration on the face of the other children confirmed this, too.

At the end of the ceremony, we all sang Happy Birthday, and shared the birthday cupcakes. It was lovely.

Last night, sitting quietly with a cup of tea at the end of an extremely busy day, I thought to myself how important it is to have ceremonies like this. It’s important for the child’s sense of self, for them to get a grip on how momentous it is to be growing up, and how far they’ve come. They are happy to be growing up, becoming independent and being able to do stuff for themselves. They feel a sense of connection to their past and their family, and they don’t look at birthdays as just a way of getting presents. A birthday for a Montessori child is an important milestone.

For parents, especially when we’re all so busy and have so much other stuff to be doing, it’s a way of spending a little time looking back at our children, of saying, ‘Do you remember when …’

Even though my initial thought on having to get photos together was, ‘I don’t have time for this,’ I really enjoyed looking at the photos with the children and my husband, and seeing how sweet and tiny they were, and how big and capable they are now. Seeing what lovely little people they are becoming. Celebrating their Birth Day, not just their birthday.

After the birthday ceremony, my son didn’t want us to leave without him, and asked if we would take him home. My husband and I looked at each other, both thinking about all the work waiting for us to get back to, but said, ‘Of course we’ll take you home’. We switched our phones off, and spent the afternoon playing with the new board games and building legos. We baked the birthday cake together, and cooked the birthday dinner. At the end of the day, when I asked my son what his favourite part of the day was, it wasn’t the new toys and games, it was the birthday celebration. ‘Oh, and playing games with you and daddy.’

There’s definitely a lesson in that one for me.

_____

And by way of a P.S. - my eldest son will definitely be doing this ceremony this year, even if we do it at home!

A very timely piece in our school newsletter this week has reminded me of all the tasks that little ones can do around the house.

I’ve taken this directly from the Plenty Valley Montessori School newsletter, and credit goes to Greg Steers-Carter, who has written exactly what I have been thinking about lately. Thanks, Greg!

The age groupings are a guide only, and it may be developmentally appropriate for your child to complete tasks from different age groups. Why not keep the list in a prominent place in the kitchen for those times when your child asks what they can do to help?

It is important that you have appropriate, child sized tools before you ask the child to do the job. For example, if you are going to ask your child to sweep, you will need a child sized broom. 

Two and Three Year Olds

• Pick up toys and put them away in the correct place.
• Put books on a shelf, magazines in a rack and newspapers in the recycling area.
• Sweep the floor with a child-sized broom.
• Set the table.
• Clean under the table after meals with a dustpan and brush.
• Choose between two different foods for breakfast and lunch.
• Carry dish and cutlery to the kitchen after meals. Scrape the plate. Place it on the counter or in the dishwasher.
• Brush teeth, wash and dry hands and brush hair. You will need to supply a sturdy stool or step(s) in the bathroom so your child can see himself in the mirror.
• Undress himself. Dress himself with some help.
• Mop up spills or accidents.
• Put away boxes or cans from the supermarket on lower shelves.
• Accompany you to the recycling centre and carry items from the car to the various bins.

Four and Five Year Olds

• This is a good age to begin using a goal chart. Choose jobs together and put them on the chart. When the jobs are done, the child and parent(s) enjoy a special treat together. Please note this is not about rewards or bribes but an acknowledgement of cooperative achievement. It may be as simple as sitting down and having a “cup of tea” and a chat together or going out to visit the library or the park.
• Help with grocery shopping and suggest food to purchase.
• Polish shoes.
• Feed and water pets.
• Assist with raking, weeding and planting.
• Help make his bed.
• Help vacuum with a lightweight cleaner.
• Help fill and empty the dishwasher.
• Dust furniture.
• Begin some food preparation, such as pouring his own drink, spreading butter, etc on bread or toast, pouring cereal, adding topping/jelly on ice-cream, tearing up lettuce for a salad, adding ingredients to a dish mum or dad is cooking, hold the electric mixer to mash potatoes or combine ingredients for a cake, prepare plates for the family dinner, clean up afterwards.
• Bring in the mail.
• Polish silver, help polish the car.
• Sharpen pencils.
• Dressing on his own, including choosing an outfit for the day. (Please don’t fling open the wardrobe and say help yourself – have a limited number of sets that are appropriate for the time of year so he then chooses for success.) Low shelves and drawers facilitate this.
• Learn to tie his shoes.
• Scrubbing the sink, toilet and bathtub.
• Cleaning mirrors and windows.
• Separate the wash into various loads.
• Folding clothes and putting them away.
• Learn to answer the telephone and how to dial emergency numbers.
• Help clean out the interior of the car.
• Take out the rubbish and recycling.
• Begin learning social skills - sharing toys with playmates, asking before going out to play, etc. The child should be able to play for short periods without adult attention. (Make sure your environment supports this.)
• Begin to suggest family activities he would enjoy - to be taken from the “entertainment fund”.
• Begin handling money – paying for small purchases in cash and receiving change.

Six and Seven Year Olds

• Water house plants and outdoor flowers.
• Sweep the patio or deck.
• Begin using sharp knives to peel vegetables and using the stove and microwave to prepare simple food.
• Carry in the grocery shopping.
• Prepare his own school lunch.
• Gather wood for the fireplace.
• Take his dog for a walk (if the dog is not too big).
• Give the dog a bath.
• Be responsible for bandaging minor injuries.
• Wash out the rubbish and recycling bins.
• Wash walls, mop floors.
• Straighten or clean the cutlery drawer.
• Hang his own clothes in the wardrobe (rail need to be at an appropriate height for him to achieve this).
• Do simple ironing.
• Leave the bathroom in order – hang up towels, put dirty clothes in the washing basket, etc.
• Care for his bicycle, including locking it when not in use.
• Care for outdoor play equipment.
• Use an alarm clock to get himself up in the morning. Go to bed at night on his own.
• Carry lunch money and notes to school.
• Run errands in the neighbourhood when parents ask.
• Take telephone messages and write them down.

Print the list up, and add to it as you think of tasks.

Have faith in your child

My seven year old recently asked me if he could walk to the shop and buy milk, on his own. I knew he was capable of doing it, but I was incredibly nervous about letting him go. The distance is short, but he has to cross at two separate sets of traffic lights. I let him go, but I followed him down the hill, hiding behind trees and parked cars so that he couldn’t see me watching him. Of course, he did it perfectly. He waited at the traffic lights, bought the milk and got the correct change, then did it all again coming back.

On his return, he was justifiably pleased with himself, describing in detail how he’d managed each part of the journey. He even assured me that he’d said, ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ when asking for the milk. I praised him, and feigned nonchalance at the whole episode. He’d really done well.

The final word was left to him, though. ‘Mum?’, he said, as I gave him a hug and told him how big and capable he was getting. ‘Why were you following me and hiding?’

by Amber Greene  www.mamamoontime.com

When you are an eco-warrier, your eyes begin to open to the many ways that you can take eco-friendliness one step further. 

Eco-friendliness can go hand in hand with parenting and raising children.  It just takes a little forethought and pre-planning and you too can green your family life.

Here are a few tips!

1. Invest in a set of beeswax crayons.  Not only are they made from a naturally occuring material, a byproduct of bees making honey, the material is sustainable.  The vivid colours are from natural pigments unlike anything you’ll find in other crayon products.   There is no fancy wind-up gadget to break, or plastic casing- just a plain rectangular block or a crayon stick wrapped in paper and they come in their own reusable long-lasting tin.  The best bit is that you can use a drop of lavendar oil on a clean cloth rag to polish them and make them as good as new.  Remember to use a separate piece of cloth for each colour to help retain their original colour and vibrancy!
2. Wash out your glass jars and use them to store all kinds of things.  Cotton buds and cotton balls in the bathroom, pencils and pens by the phone and seedpods and shells in the home corner (be sure to supervise younger children in this play area).  Big old Maxwell House coffee jars are great for flours, sugars and pastas that you regularly use.  Why not steam them in the oven and use them for your own home-made jams and jellies?  These store well in the pantry over the winter months.
3. Buy one ream of good quality paper and encourage your children to draw/paint/collage their ‘best’ work each day.  Limiting them to one or two pieces of paper and showing them how to ‘fill’ the page with colour, doodles and drawings is one way to support conservation of our resources.  Pop their completed work into a special folder and every couple of months, spend an hour or so looking back on their work.  Displaying a particularly good piece (one they really love or that means something special to them) is another way of directing attention to quality work, rather than a proliferation of work!  I’m sure you too have had the experience of multiple artworks being sent home scrunched or folded up in the bottom of their bag, some of which may only be a few paint strokes on a page.  Make art meaningful by really valuing their output, rather than simply using it as a way to fill time in the day. 
4. Save your material scraps in a sewing basket and keep it nearby for when you are sewing.  Your young children love to play next to mum, and do what she does, so this offers them the opportunity of playing with and ’sewing’ a special piece.   4 year olds can competently manage a needle and thread.  Start by using an embroidery hoop to hold material steady and a thick thread.  They can decorate a piece of hessian or cotton with a running stitch which can be then sewn onto a cloth library bag or on the front of a recycled school bag.  I made a simple patch N E D and sewed this onto a re-gifted backpack for my son Ned’s toddler bag and it attracts lots of comments!
5. When the children grow beyond the cot, cut their cot sheets and muslin wraps into small squares.  Hem the edges and you’ll have instant superman capes (I call them hero capes!), cubby house ceilings, turban hats, butterfly wings and doll bed quilts.  

Reduce, reuse, recycle is the name of the game!

There’s no better way to teach children about healthy eating than to cook with them. I love involving the children with everyday tasks - it means that I’m spending time with them while I do something that has to be done, and I’m teaching them life skills.

There are plenty of ways that you can get your children involved in the kitchen, no matter what their age.

Ask children to help plan your weekly menu, and older ones to help write the shopping list.

Older children can read the recipe out, and measure ingredients.

Small children can tear salad leaves, mix ingredients, beat eggs, pat out biscuits and pastry.

Talk to children about food - where does it come from, which animal, what part of the animal, how does it grow, what does it taste like, what else can you cook it with? My son’s Montessori class uses spices to talk about history (when it was discovered, how important spices were), geography (where the spices originate from), maths (measurements) and biology (senses - taste and smell).

Explain why it’s important to have good hygiene when cooking, and make sure that they wash their hands before and after handling food.

Everyone should muck in and tidy up, too. That’s part of the process of cooking.

Adult supervision, it goes without saying, is essential when you are cooking. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that children are often capable of more than you think.

My (almost) four year old was recently begging to chop vegetables just like his seven year old brother. I have to admit I was nervous about giving him the knife, but I knew the knife wasn’t terribly sharp. To give you an idea, it’s fine for cutting the ends off green beans, but not sharp enough for tomatoes. I showed him how to do it, then gave him the knife, the beans and a sturdy chopping board. He was so careful about chopping those beans, and he was so proud when he’d done them.

My seven year old used the kettle for the first time the other day. He wanted to make a hot chocolate, so my husband showed him exactly how to hold the kettle: how far to fill it so it wouldn’t be too heavy, which parts were hot and mustn’t be touched; and how to pour it. My son was so proud of himself - it was the first thing he told me about when I walked through the door that night.

I must admit that I probably wouldn’t have shown him how to use the kettle, I’d have been too nervous. When I watched him do it again, though, I realised that I had underestimated him. He is perfectly capable of using the kettle, as long as it is under supervision.

Sometimes you have to let your children step outside your comfort zone. In both these situations, the children were keen to carry out the task. They were shown how to do the task in a safe manner, and they were supervised while they carried out their tasks. Which is not to say that my heart wasn’t in my mouth a couple of times while my three year old was chopping, but I was close enough to step in if I had to. I didn’t have to - and his happy, proud little face was a lesson to me.

I was in the supermarket yesterday with my two children, doing my weekly shop. Ahead of me at the checkout was another lady with her two children.

In my trolley was full cream milk, a whole free range chicken, a bit of fruit, a few veggies, butter, cream, full fat plain yoghurt, free range eggs, dried pasta, rolled oats, a packet of dried peas for soup, Weetbix, some dried fruit, dark chocolate and a box of Carmen’s muesli bars as a treat. For me, a fairly standard supermarket shop. I buy meat at my excellent local butcher, and do my best to buy fruit and vegetables from the greengrocer, and grow a few veggies and herbs at home.  

By way of contrast, the lady in front of me had a trolley that was full of packaging. Apart from meat, I couldn’t see one thing in her trolley that wasn’t processed. Even her potatoes came frozen or in tins. The children and I watched as she unloaded soft drinks, chips, cakes, biscuits, frozen dinners and tinned food.

I was aghast. Not one item of fresh food in what was clearly a weekly shop. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the whole family. I know that when I eat badly, I’m sluggish, lethargic, and can’t sleep properly. My children behave badly, and can’t concentrate on tasks in front of them. What must this family feel like if they eat this way every week?

A couple of days later, I came across this interview in The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/01/interview-michael-pollan

I’m a big fan of Michael Pollan, and I love his latest book, Food Rules. It’s so simple, sensible and practical. Each page has a rule, with a short explanation. To give you an idea, below is an extract from the book.

#11 Avoid foods you see advertised on television.

Food marketers are ingenious at turning criticisms of their products—and rules like these—into new ways to sell slightly different versions of the same processed foods.
They simply reformulate (to be low-fat, have no HFCS or transfats, or to contain fewer ingredients) and then boast about their implied healthfulness, whether the boast is meaningful or not. The best way to escape these marketing ploys is to tune out the marketing itself, by refusing to buy heavily promoted foods. Only the biggest food manufacturers can afford to advertise their products on television: More than two thirds of food advertising is spent promoting processed foods (and alcohol), so if you avoid products with big ad budgets, you’ll automatically be avoiding edible foodlike substances. As for the 5 percent of food ads that promote whole foods (the prune or walnut growers or the beef ranchers), common sense will, one hopes, keep you from tarring them with the same brush—these are the exceptions that prove the rule.

#19 If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.

#36 Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.

This should go without saying. Such cereals are highly processed and full of refined carbohydrates as well as chemical additives.

#39 Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.

There is nothing wrong with eating sweets, fried foods, pastries, even drinking soda every now and then, but food manufacturers have made eating these formerly expensive and hard-to-make treats so cheap and easy that we’re eating them every day. The french fry did not become America’s most popular vegetable until industry took over the jobs of washing, peeling, cutting, and frying the potatoes—and cleaning up the mess. If you made all the french fries you ate, you would eat them much less often, if only because they’re so much work. The same holds true for fried chicken, chips, cakes, pies, and ice cream. Enjoy these treats as often as you’re willing to prepare them—chances are good it won’t be every day.

 #47 Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored.

For many of us, eating has surprisingly little to do with hunger. We eat out of boredom, for entertainment, to comfort or reward ourselves. Try to be aware of why you’re eating, and ask yourself if you’re really hungry—before you eat and then again along the way. One old wive’s test: If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you’re not hungry.) Food is a costly antidepressant.

#58 Do all your eating at a table.

No, a desk is not a table. If we eat while we’re working, or while watching TV or driving, we eat mindlessly—and as a result eat a lot more than we would if we were eating at a table, paying attention to what we’re doing. This phenomenon can be tested (and put to good use): Place a child in front of a television set and place a bowl of fresh vegetables in front of him or her. The child will eat everything in the bowl, often even vegetables that he or she doesn’t ordinarily touch, without noticing what’s going on. Which suggests an exception to the rule: When eating somewhere other than at a table, stick to fruits and vegetables.

 Excerpt from Food Rules, by Michael Pollan. Published by Penguin.