Art By Kids-Fundraising Idea
19th March 2010
By now, many of you may have been encouraged to join fundraising committees for your child's school or pre-school.
Many schools and pre-schools like to stick to the fundraisers they know, but if you would like to think outside the square to avoid the chocolate box fundraiser, here is one that will be loved by parents and children alike.
Art by Kids is not only a fundraiser that provides your school or pre-school with additional income but also allows the children to show their creative side by providing their loved ones with an artistic keep sake. Each child will be able to decorate individual cards each with their handwritten name stamped on the bank. As the cards come with a blank message inside, they have multiple uses for grandparents, parents and special friends such as thank you notes and birthday cards.
The cards are supplied in a gloss finish and although landscape is the preferred orientation, portrait orientation is available upon request. Your school has an option of offering high quality colour on white note cards in both quantities of 10 and 20. All card orders also come with matching envelopes and packaged in a clear plastic sealable bag.
The school or pre-school will have a potential of earning up to 33% on each order with the way the prices are structured.
For 10 A5 colour on white cards, the schools purchase price will be $12 allowing you to sell them for $18 (making $6 a set) or $15 (making $3 a set).
For 20 A5 colour on white cards, the schools purchase price will be $20 allowing you to sell them for $30 (making $10 a set) or $25 (making $5 a set).
To request a fundraising kit for your school or for more information CLICK HERE.
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When is the right time to consider a tutor for your child in a particular or all of their subjects? Is grade 1 too early?
My son is appearing to be following in my foot steps...loves reading...hates maths!
I was a child who if I didn't understand the concept I would tune out and dislike the subject I struggled with. Now coming from a famiy who's siblings studied 4 unit and 3 unit maths, the pressure was on.
There was many a time where my brother and sister tried to "tutor" me on several occasions resulting in fights. Sometimes having a parent or family member assisting results in lack of tolerance and frustration and having a resource outside of the family unit who is impartial, sometimes provides the best results.
"Tutor Finder" is a website that provides the most comprehensive list of tutors, teachers and educational services in Australia. Newcastle is included in the regions they cover and provide a range of tutors that cover most subjects, levels and abilities. The website is very easy to use with a page where you enter your criteria and it will give you a list of tutors available listed by area, subject, gender and hourly rate. Categories include Academic, Languages, Music, Dancing and Business. Special needs tutors and teachers are also listed on this website.
To find out more about "Tutor Finder" go to www.tutorfinder.com.au
I have been extremely lucky so far not to have had to seek childcare arrangements for my children as my family are close by. When I had to go back to work for a short time when my son was 5 months old, my mum took on the role as carer but many do not have this luxury.
In some areas, due to the shortage of Childcare centres, you may even have to put down your child's name when you are pregnant. How is this possible when putting your child's details down on the enrolment form may result in "Feotus Smith", "Peanut Brown",or "Jellybean Jones"?
The 'My Child' Government website is a resource for parents seeking childcare in their area. It details everything you need to know about childcare centres, Government assistance and useful info on child health and immunisations. There is also a child care estimator that allows you to estimate entitlements on Centre Link, Family Assistance, Child Care Benefits and Child Care Rebates allowing families to budget their childcare costs.
If you are struggling finding a long or occasional day care centre, vacation care, family daycare, or before or after school daycare, you can type in the location you are looking for and 'My Child' will give you a list of centres, some that list vacancies, fees and contact details.
For more information go to www.mychild.gov.au
With the addition of another family member or with the new child restraint laws coming into effect on March, you may have to consider another vehicle to transport your family around in.
With the addition of our last child, we had to upgrade our car to a vehicle that could fit three carseats across the rear passenger seats. I had to jump onto various websites to look at car dimensions and look at various vehicle reviews to get a feeling for what we needed in a family car. I knew I didn't want a people mover, or a 4 wheel drive but knew safety was a number one priority as I would be carrying precious cargo. We ended up with a Volvo XC70 which feels like a tank to drive but has some good safety features and fits three child restraints across the back.
Familycar.com.au is a website that can assist with all the questions you may be facing when selecting a new car for your family. Familycar.com.au is owned ad run by mum-of-two Melissa Pye and is a resource that features reviews on family vehicles, child restraints and a great safety section that features tips for pregnant women on how to wear the seatbelt safely and general facts on pregnancy and driving.
If conserving the environment is your priority there is also a full eco cars section that details the top green cars and most fuel efficient cars which is also great for the family budget.
For more information when searching for a new family car go to www.familycar.com.au for all the latest reviews and advice on motor vehicles.
Huggies Bookclub
31st January 2010
I love how the world wide web holds so many little secrets but today I found one that I would like to share with you.
We are a big book family in our household and started reading to our children at a young age as suggested by the experts.
Each night the kids get two stories to send them off into the land of slumber but will also hopefully increase their reading capabilities as they get older. So in saying this, I am always looking for books at an affordable rate as we go through so many.
The local library is good but sometimes we like to have them in our bookshelves forever.
As well as having a plethora of information on various pregnancy & parenting issues, the Huggies website has various clubs on the site you can join to receive member benefits. One such club is the Huggies Book Club where you can browse through hundreds of great books on a huge range of subjects at 10% discount for members. The best thing about this is that delivery is free within Australia so you are still getting a very affordable book.
The range includes books for kids, books on pregnancy and parenting and home and health. The Huggies Book Club has also stated that if you can't find the book, they will get it in for you!
For more information go to http://www.huggiesbookclub.com.au/
www.myschool.edu.au
28th January 2010
Today saw many students returning to school (YAY) and many little children starting or waiting to start their first day of Kindergarten for 2010.
Today also saw the controversial Government's 'My School' website launching today. 'My School' enables you to search the profiles of almost 10,000 schools. Parents will be able to compare various schools performances when choosing a school for their child.
Last year our eldest child started school and for us the decision was simple, but for many parents choosing a school is sometimes a difficult decision. We did base our decision on a few criteria including adademic performance plus it was the school I attended so I knew the building, playground quite well. Many of his peer group were also attending the school so it was nice to go to school with some friends he knew.
The 'My School' website allows you to search for a particular school and then profiles it with information such as the school statement, general school facts and NAPLAN Results. The NAPLAN (National Assessment Program- Literacy and Numeracy) results are formed from assessment of students in Australian Schools in Years 3. 5, 7 and 9. The 'My School' website allows you to see how students in a particular school sit academically amongst the other similar schools in your area.
This website should not be the deciding factor when selecting a school but it is interesting to see where that school fits in the handful of schools you may be looking at. It is highly recommended to go to each school's open day where you can chat to teachers and see how your child may fit in, rather than looking at information online only.
For more information go to www.myschool.edu.au.
ABC 3 has now launched!
9th December
We don't like the kids to watch too much TV and if it is anything it is ABC Kids. The kids don't know much about Ben 10 or Transformers (thank goodness) and if they are tuning in to TV it is fun programs and not Adult theme related.
At the moment with the new multi-channelling that is occuring in digital land, you have kids programs on from 6am till 5.30pm on ABC 1 and 2 and till 8.30pm on ABC 3.
ABC 3, the new digital free-to-air channel, recently launched on December 4th and is targeted at school aged children 6-15 years. Personally I believe it is closer to 8-12 years with some of the programs that have been included and the style of presenters they have chosen to host the program.
ABC 3 will feature quality programming both on -air and online across a range of genres- dramas, adventure series, music, wildlife, quiz shows, comedies, indigenous programs news and sport.
For more information go to www.abc.net.au
Letters from Santa
13th November
In 1980 I received a hand written letter from Santa. Can you believe I still have this letter today?
It is still in pristine condition and this year i will bring it out to show my kids. The one thing that is significant about it is that it was handwritten in old fashioned running writing and was posted to me..my very own letter.
I think this letter was sent by "santa" as I started to disbelieve and my parents wanted to keep the dream a live for another year longer. That was great until I caught my mother carrying the Barbie Campervan through the front door...boy was I in trouble!
When researching what Santa letter opportunities were available I was disappointed to see that you could be sent an email from Santa. Boy has technology changed but to me it just doesn't deliver the same magic as a hand written letter. I had imagined Santa sitting down and writing this letter to me knowing what I wanted that year for Christmas and that soon he would be right here in my house!
This year my two older children are at an age that Christmas really excites them and the word 'Santa' seems to be on the lips every 5 minutes. So...I will be organising "Santa" to write to them so they can experience the same joy as I experienced in 1980. We have already sat down to write their Christmas letters and only for a few finishing touches will be ready soon to send.
Australia Post will once again ensure that all letters that are addressed to SANTA NORTH POLE 9999 will be delivered to Santa and will be guaranteed reply from Santa. Children are encouraged to write their letters early to avoid the Christmas rush. All you have to do in address the letter to the above address, place a 55 cent stamp on the front and put your address on the back. To print off some special Christmas letterhead go to http://www.auspost.com.au/EDP/0,1398,CH3484%257EMO19,00.html.
There are other businesses that will write a letter to your child at various costs. For more information go to;
Australian Baby Card
3rd November
 
In the current financial market, it can be hard raising a family no matter how many children you have, so guaranteed discounts can help any parent ease the financial stress.
The Australian Baby Card is a discount card for parents with young children aged 0-10. The products and services listed in the directory are targeted mainly to this age group. A variety of companies have teamed up with Australian Baby Card from Online stores to Holidays with kids and party entertainment to offer parents some great discounts.
The Australian Baby Card costs $30 and with the card not only can you get great discounts on a range of products and services, you can; discover where to shop online, get great ideas on bringing up baby, how to run a successful party or prepare for motherhood.
To take advantage of these great family discounts go to www.abcbaby.com.au to purchase and register your card now.
Life Education
29th October 2009
 
My kids are only little but I do tend to worry about their future with peer groups, influences and decisions they are likely to face in life as they go through their teen years and beyond.
My son is not as confident as others and this encourages him to follow the behaviour of other children. At the moment it is mimicking silly noises, games and other boyish behaviour but where will this lead when it comes to other more serious issues?
Currently Life Education is visiting my son's school encouraging the children to develop positive self image, self esteem and a sense of uniqueness which will assist them in making positive healthy choices later on in life.
Life Education is the nations largest not-for-profit provider of preventative drug education in schools. The Life Education program is used extensively to complement school's drug and education program. Life Education's philosophy is that prevention is better than cure. Life Education aims to assist schools with their drug and health education programs by working in partnership with state education departments, pre-school,primary and secondary school professionals and the general community.
Healthy Harold (the happy giraffe) is Life Education's travelling companion who assists in teaching children positive choices including food. To assist with this education and to make it more fun for the kids, there is a Healthy Harold website full of games, activities and downloads. For more information on Life Education and Healthy Harold, go to http://hunter.lifeeducation.org.au/hunter or www.healthyharold.org.au.
As Life Education needs funds to carry on it's fantastic work with school children they continue to hold fundraisers across the country. One such event is the 'Worlds Biggest Car Boot Sale' that will take place on Sunday 23rd November at Energy Australia Stadium. To register your stall or for more information contact Hunter Life Education on 1300 554 246 today. Support Life Education today.
Jinky Art Photography returning in December
28th October 2009
Recently we were one of the lucky families that signed up for the Alphabet Street Jinky Art photo session in Newcastle and as you can see from the photos above, the results speak for themselves. (My little muchkins are featured in the top row).
Although most of the families had rain, Barb managed to work around the bad weather to secure some fabulous shots for everyone.
Barb was fantastic and the kids loved her. She brings out the natural side of the children in every shot and with our selection of photos, I am finding it very hard to narrow it down to what photos to choose. The colours are amazing and Barb has captured my children's personalities through her amazing photography. This is a memory we will cherish forever.
Barb loved Newcastle so much (and the numerous antique shops she loves to pick up fabulous props along the way) that she has decided to return in December, and to make up those photo sessions who missed out due to bad weather. If you are interested in securing a photo session in December of your loved ones, email jinkyartstudio@gmail.com and mention Alphabet Street to the 'special offer' session.
Stay tuned for a great Jinky Art opportunity for our November competition!
Babysitterdirectory.com.au
26th October 2009
I am very lucky to have my parents in the next suburb but for many of my friends who live away from their birth country, they find it tough to get good help with their children.
In saying that we have my parents around the corner, they are not as young as they used to be and we are therefore reluctant to call on them too many times.
My husband and I have considered having a night out on our own but are hesitant on who to call, who would the kids feel comfortable with and who are especially trustworthy. We have had neighbours in the past ask if we would consider their 16 year old daughter for babysitting services but I have certain criteria that needs to be met before I put my children's lives in someones care.
- First Aid certificate is a must
- Police Check would be great
- Definitely non-smoker
- Have own car
- And certainly someone that isn't going to spend the night on the phone to their friends or invite them around.
So where do I find someone that has all these requirements other than word of mouth?
www.babysitterdirectory is a national directory that lists babysitters and nannies for parents in the location you are in. It connects you directly with the nannies/babysitters who have advertised and shows you in a snapshot what qualifications they have and rate per hour in the daytime, afternoon and night. When you type in your postcode, a list of babysitters/nannies will come up in your area.
When you sign up you can contact them directly and if there isn't a particular babysitter you require, you can post an ad on the site at an affordable rate.
For more information go to www.babysitterdirectory.com.au
School Fundraisers
14th October
  
Each term we have many flyers that come home in school bags asking parents to support their latest fundraiser. We have had a different selection of ideas from chocolate boxes to movie nights. Some great and some just not suitable for young families due to one reason or another.
If you belong to a pre-school, school or sporting committee that is looking for different fundraiser ideas, we have listed a few that may appeal to parents;
- Fiona Kate-A little bit of old school gorgeous & of course practical. These folders are A3 and lightweight and finished off with grossgrain ribbon. They are available in red and white. Easy to stack and are the perfect Christmas gift full of your little ones artwork. Just pop in your school/pre-school's order (minimum order of 15) and you will get 30% back on all sales. At $19.95 each, you can't go wrong. For more information go to http://www.fionakate.com.au/detail-folders.php
- Billy G's Gourmet Cookie Dough- This product has been specially formulated to meet the school's nutritional guidelines for the AMBER category and is peanut free.
Supporters will love the convenience of the cookie dough. Simply scoop from the tub, place on a sheet and bake. 52 cookies can be made from the 1.3kg re-useable tub. The cookie dough can be refrigerated for 4 weeks and frozen for a year. Flavours include; ginger, triple choc, white choc macadamia nut, anzac biscuits, choc chunk, oatmeal raisin and golden light. Your school will make $4 from each tub sold. For more information go to http://www.australianfundraising.com.au/fundraisingproducts/BillyGsCookieDough.aspx
- Tat Your Tot- has a wonderful selection of products you can fundraise on including, identitats, write on tats, and many more. Your school will receive 20% of total sales. All you need to do is email contactus@tatyourtot.biz to find out more.
- Boo Boo Buddy Kid's Gel Packs-This easy-to-store and easy-to-handle non-toxic gel pack is a must for every home. Its small size enables small hands to hold it and heal scrapes, bumps, bruises, insect bites and fever. Great for adults too.
Choose from 12 cool designs that kids will love! The Boo Boo Buddy can also be used as a warm compress. The cost to the fundraiser is around $5 and with a RRp of $9.95 you can make approx $4.95 per Boo Boo Buddy. For more information go to http://www.coolkidz.net.au/
Shoal Bay Resort & Spa-Occies Kid's Club
Christmas Holiday Destination
12th October
 
In 6 days time it's the start of Term 4 and before you know it, we will wizz through term 4 and Christmas will be upon us for another year. The quickest way to remind yourself is just by walking through the major department stores that have been transformed into a Christmas wonderland. It's scary.
And if Christmas is not too far around the corner that means that Christmas holidays are also around the corner.
We never end up having a Christmas Holiday for a number of reasons and for me the two main factors are;
- Budget- after the Christmas shopping there never seems to be anything left over for a holiday destination. (yes I tend to go overboard but this year after an extensive home reno, it may be a very LEAN Christmas.)
- I have always been last minute when doing things so by the time I have gotten around to book a holiday, everything ends up being booked out.
So, if you are thinking about a summer holiday...HURRY...BOOK NOW....DON'T HESITATE!!!
Now one place that is close enough for a holiday break and caters for families is the Shoal Bay Resort and Spa. Not only is it situated in one of our favourite places, Port Stephens, it is extremely family friendly which is most important when holidaying. (No more romantic B & B's. It's all about kid's meals and kid's clubs)
Shoal Bay Resort and Spa is a 4 and a 1/2 star accommodation facility that encompasses over 200 luxurious self contained apartments, villas and suites and is situated on the white sands of Shoal Bay.
The Shoal Bay Resort and Spa has an 'Occies Kid's Club' that operates during the NSW school holidays. It provides children with a range of fully supervised activities, games and entertainment.
This facility is available to resort guests aged between 3-12 years (NB: they have to be fully toilet trained)
Activities in the 'Occies Kid's Club' include; circus workshops, craft sessions, beach volleyball, pirates and fairies disco, cartoon drawing lessons, interactive challenges, face painting, kids club bingo night, pizza nights, noodle art, movie afternoons, and cooking lesons. So there is no excuse for the kids to be bored!
As of the 12th October, accommodation is still available for the January period but is booking up very quickly. For more information go to www.shoalbayresort.com or phone 1800 18 18 10.
"Dad Dates"
23rd August 2009
A parenting expert and author, Dr Bruce Robinson has recently stated that fathers don't spend enough time with their kids. He states that dads leave it up to the mother to interact with the kids, despite research suggesting that those children with uninvolved dads are more likely to abuse drugs later.His recommendation is to go on "dad dates" with each child one on one.
My husband is the best advocate for this suggestion. He ensures that each child has equal time one on one with both mum and dad to create a bond. And it all starts now when they are young as you can't form the same bond when you haven't created this time from day one.
Obviously when dads are working, this one one one time has to be scheduled around the working week. My husband says that when our girls are older, he will take them out on dinner dates to find out more about what is happening in their lives. That's if they aren't too embarrassed to be dining with dear old dad.
Some of our favourite one on one places for dad to have dad dates are;
Thomas (nearly 6)- Frontline hobbies, parks, Gregson Park, foreshore for bike rides
Isobel (3 and a half)- Anything girlie (Diva to look at jewellery), nurseries to look at flowers, Gregson park, foreshore for scooter rides, parks.
Matilda (1 next week)- Well she just loves being anywhere where dad is at the moment so any location is good.
As mentioned it starts when they are young and Parents as Teachers have a special 'Dads Play"sessions scheduled each week where dads can play with their toddler and interact with other fathers. This session is on Wednesdays from 4pm and is for children 1-3 years. Cost is $3 and no booking is necessary. For more information go to http://www.hamilton.ps.education.nsw.gov.au/pat/dads.htm. A great way to bond one on one and to also give mum that well earned break!
Book Week 2009 22nd August-28th August
20th August 2009
Book week is the longest running children's festival in Australia, celebrating it's 64th birthday this year.
Book week starts on Saturday and runs until the 28th August. During this time many schools and public libraries from all over Australia spend a week celebrating books and Australian Authors and Illustrators.
Classroom teachers, teacher librarians and public librarians develop activities, offer competitions and tell stories relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading. This year's theme is 'Book Safari'.
Each year during book week, the Children's Book Council of Australia awards are presented from a shortlist that has been collated and was announced on the 31st March 2009. The awards are broken into categories including; Older Readers, Younger Readers, Early Childhood and Picture Book of the Year award. Some of the best picture books on the shortlist include; Big Little Book of Happy Sadness by Colin Thompson and Sunday Chutney by Aaron Blabey.
Locally, our local Libraries will be celebrating this event across the week (see our event calendar next week) but on the weekend Borders at Westfield Kotara will be running Free Story Time and Craft both Saturday and Sunday from 11am upstairs in the children's books. Story time will be run intermittently depending on numbers and then a craft session will also take place. Duration is about an hour.
On Monday 24th August, Wallsend Library will be showing a musical adaptation of one of this year's short listed picture books, 'Nobody Owns the Moon' by Tohby Riddle and will be presented by Tony Bones Entertainment. This will commence at 6pm and bookings are essential. PH: 4985 6680. Cost is $5 for adults and children and is suitable for all ages.
The Babymoon-Peppers Convent Hunter Valley
7th August 2009
 
I finally finished a book I was given at Christmas (can you believe it has taken me this long?) called "The Babymoon" written by Australian author Melanie La'Brooy. It was fantastic but after I finished it I realised there is actually a prequel to this book giving me a background into who the characters were and how they came to be together in this book.
This book followed the journey of a woman's first pregnancy and all her fears and anxieties of having a child in a very humourous way. With all the fears and stress involved in the couple's relationship, a Babymoon is planned to North Queensland.
FRAN: '....I thought it would be a good idea for the two of you to go on a babymoon as well.'
ISABELLE: 'A what?'
FRAN: 'A babymoon. It's like a honeymoon, except it's the holiday you take when you're pregnant with your first child. Your last holiday as a couple.'
Well..this is unfortunately true and I have to say after three children and our last big holiday being our honeymoon...I highly recommend it.
Peppers Convent Hunter Valley offer a 'Babymoon' package that totally pampers the expectant mum or new mother. The package revolves around pure indulgence and if you can afford it, it's a perfect way to unwind, relax and share some special time as a couple before a house full of kids come along. Peppers Babymoon packages includes;
MIDWEEK PACKAGE
- Overnight accommodation
- full country breakfast
- pre-dinner drinks and canapes
- dinner for two at Roberts Restaurant
- 1 x one hour massage or facial at endota spa
- Luxurious basket of bath salts and crystals
DELUXE- $749 per couple SUPERIOR- $789 per couple
WEEKEND PACKAGE
- Two nights luxury accommodation
- full country breakfast each morning
- pre-dinner drinks and canapes
- dinner for two at Roberts Restaurant
- 1 x one hour massage or facial at endota spa
- Luxurious basket of bath salts and crystals
DELUXE- $1,209 per couple SUPERIOR-$1,309 per couple
Offer ends 30th June 2010
Mummy Cards
26th August 2009
  
There will times in your children's lives that play dates become quite a ritual in their lives. Whether it's meeting mums and their children at a park or new friends at school, it is always good to be prepared with contact details to exchange in your mums social circle. Instead of digging down hard in your bag for a pen (which I never have on hand) and a piece of paper (which always ends up being an old receipt) why not look like that organised 'yummy mummy' with your own personalised contact cards.
Mummy Cards combines the passions of creative director and mum, Alison Piro. Alison & husband Jon started Piro Creative, a design agency in 1999 and in 2005 purchased a printing business. Alison is mum to their gorgeous and energetic boys, Cameron & Jamie. Mummy Cards allows for the collaboration of all three passions – design, print and motherhood.
Mummy Cards are also not just for mummies...they make kid's contact cards too. You can pick from a selection of designs and are very affordable with 100 Mummy Cards costing $80 (incl GST) for double sided cards and $50 (incl GST) for 50 Mummy Cards which are single sided only and not celloglazed.
Jinky Art coming to Newcastle
28th July 2009
For many years I have dreamed of having my children photographed by Internationally renowned children's photographer Barb Uil from Jinky Art.
We are happy to announce that Jinky Art will be coming to Newcastle to not only to photograph my three children (woo hoo) but also to photograph any Alphabet Street readers who would also be interested in a baby, newborn, maternity, family or a children's photo shoot.
This is an opportunity not to be missed as Barb travels to most Metropolitan and International cities annually but has never photographed in Newcastle to date.
Barb Uil has been named one of the most sought after portrait photographers in Australia by Australian Better Photography Magazine. She will work exclusively with your family to create vibrant, energetic and soulful portraits that capture your family as they are today. Jinky's creative spark speaks for itself in her portfolio on her website www.jinkyart.com.au
Jinky Art will be in Newcastle from the 21st August-23rd August and sessions are available in the early morning (8am) or late afternoon (3pm). She is happy to shoot in your family surrounds or at a particular location your family or children might find extra special. The world is your oyster with finding a special location Barb has not shot at before.
If you are interested in this exclusive Alphabet Street opportunity, please express your interest by email info@alphabetstreet.com.au for more information and session fees on the wonderful Jinky Art Photography. Don't miss out as there will be limited spaces.
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