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Recently my daughter and I have been on a bit of a Roald Dahl binge. It started with ‘The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me’ and slowly we have worked our way through a large array of them with more to come shortly:
- The BFG
- The Witches
- Matilda
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Fantastic Mr Fox ( one of my daughter’s favorites)
Since my daughter was very little (in fact from the time she was born) I have been reading to her. Its amazing how reading to your child at such a young age, even is he or she does not understand the wording at the time, extends their vocabulary at a rapid rate. I will never forget the day she came to me and said her first proper full sentence, it was “Mommy, the flower is beautiful” she was just over a year old at the time and it was one of the proudest moments of my life and it just keeps getting better. Why just yesterday, my daughter’s teacher came to me and remarked on her fantastic behaviour in the middle of the mayhem that transpired (I don’t have the exact details on this but it sounded pretty raucous). She got up, removed herself from the situation, quietly sat down and read a book until things calmed down with the other kids. I don’t know if I have mentioned it, but we don’t have DSTV or even normal free stations on our TV set. In fact the last time I watched TV was in March of this year. So we keep a large array of movies instead. Perhaps that is helping the interest in books along?
Besides Roald Dahl though, we have managed to sneak in a few lovely illustrated books which my daughter truly loves including:
Winnie the Witch who goes on the most absurd adventures and has the two of us shouting abracadabra every time we turn the page.
My Granny was a frightful bore( but she isn’t anymore) , one of my all time favorite story books, on finding this book in my local exclusive books I felt a sense of nostalgia creep over me, and it was as if my heart jumped. An absolute classic and a must have! If one day I am able to do even one of the things this granny gets up to at age 82, it would be amazing. The book has a bit of a rhyme to it and is a lot of fun to read together.
The Gruffalo’s Child , every bit as good as the Gruffalo itself, ‘The Gruffalo’s Child’ takes you on a journey through sights and sounds and descriptive words that your child will pick up easily due its rhythm and easy to read style of writing.
Now that she is getting older, and to encourage her to read on her own more, another little idea that recently spawned in my head was to buy her several colourful and illustrated encyclopaedia’s. Every evening now instead of her catching half a movie, I ask her to find out about something new, yesterday it was about Inca’s and today’s topic was Ancient Egyptians, she does this while I make supper and then we discuss it at dinner. It then becomes a family discussion and the resulting conversation brings us closer together as well.
A love and passion for reading and literature is a wonderful gift to give your child and something alot of kids are missing out on to easily these days due to being exposed to, too much electronic media, too young.
We are always looking for new books to read though, so my question is, what are you reading to your kids at the moment? What are theirs, and your, favorite children’s books and why? Sharing is caring after all, so please leave a comment for us to share with other mom’s ( and me too).
Hi Bianca
Thanks so much for arranging this on short notice. Please find attached pop.
Astrid
and,
Morning Bianca,
I am going to fax you a copy of the contract today. The original I’ll have to post;
So nice to be sorted out with home support so that I can actually get some work done! I have already recommended your company to a friend of mine.
Kind regards,
Alexandra
Hows that for a feel good way to start your day? Certainly put the shine back into mine even though it is overcast and raining.
I seem to have induced an insatiable need to write tonight and perhaps a little self induced insomnia? You have probably noticed, I have been a little quiet lately.
This tends to happen in Winter for just about every year, as far back as I can remember. We are just so busy, even though its been quiet season there have been a thousand things going on and every little job we do, requires the same top treatment and energy from me and the team to be placed, whether its simply a babysitting booking or an au pair placement, from an hours work to 30 or more per job, what to do? What to do! I am always amazed what sitting behind a computer screen does to me when its cold and raining! I just cant, and don’t want to move. I tend to get lethargic about exercising ( when you work behind a PC screen all day this can happen to easily) and my diet goes on a binge for all things scrumptious. From red wine and pasta dishes to really anything that’s loaded with carbs.
Now that Spring is finally in the air though, and I am waking up early again without needing 3 alarms and a cup of coffee. To top it off, today we also started our annual detox. That means; no wheat, no red meat, no refined sugars, no alcohol and worst of all no dairy ( okay, I always end up cheating a little when it comes to dairy, but at least I try) for the next 10 to 14 days. I know it will be worth it though ( hopefully so will the sudden need to clean everything until it shines).
I have been preparing for this annual migration to my favourite ‘food time’ of the year, spring+ summer= fresh fruit and veg= alot more energy. It may sound weird but about a month ago I started my Multibionta onslaught of multivitamins in preparation for today ( I found their 30 day challenge really useful with the free daily sms reminder, take the challenge on www.30daychallenge.co.za). Finally my daughter and I went shopping with a list as long as my arm. We had so much fun browsing for anything fresh from strawberries to baby carrots and making up recipes for the week as we shopped. For tonight I put together a fantastic rye pasta dish with mushrooms, chicken , spinach, tonnes of fresh herbs and ( oh dear I have been naughty already) a dash of cream.
It was surprisingly lovely and we all enjoyed it. Even my hubby did and he doesn’t take well to rye or fresh anything. Usually he gets through detox on roasted nuts, bananas,white meat and as few greens as possible.
I wonder how many other people out there also go through a similar phase at this time of the year?If you happen to know of any good recipes that I should try to make our detox time a little more exciting ,please let me know. I love cooking and would love to hear your favourites dishes ( links welcome).
Anyway seeing as it is back to school tomorrow, I guess its time for a good night’s rest, honestly if I don’t get to sleep soon I might need a midnight snack, and if I have a snack now, its another 30 mins on the treadmill tomorrow.
Hope you all have a fantastic week that puts spring back into your step!
Sometime ago Sitters4U produced an article for our clients “Maintaining a good relationship with your au pair” which is sent to each and every one of our clients. Many go through this guide and tend to have fewer issues with their au pairs. Others do not and we unfortunately cannot do much about that, except to simply assist as we can when issues arise. We have just loaded a new article to our website, it is a guide that will make your relationship with your employer and your job as an au pair a little easier, more pleasant and long lived.
Click here to read : Au pairs: How to Maintain a good relationship with your Employer
I am ecstatic! Finally, months of work, sleepless nights and barely any social activity finally bears fruit…I am watching as I am typing this, our new website go live. Features include forms for every service, navigation that ensures you know where you are always, and some other wonderful features on our Content Management. Over 200 pages all neatly tucked into their individual spaces and all fully, easily navigable!
Like I said I am ecstatic. Check it out www.sitters4u.co.za
So you have probably been wondering, why so quiet lately? Well I have been extremely busy on our updates for Sitters4U’s major website update coming to your PC in what will evidently be no time at all ( seeing how fast the year has moved).
So much has happened, I have spent extensive hours working out all the kinks with our current system and finding what works for our clients. Well apparently what everyone has been loving the most is our application forms and request forms being online, no need for faxing or emailing, unfortunately this is a very expensive update which we will be applying to all of our services soon with new forms online for every service we offer. However this means an increase or a slight change in a number of our policies, the number one being our registration fee for services. It is sad how so many clients have taken advantage of this system over the last year, filling in the form, we find the candidates we have available who are appropriate and interested in the position and we never hear from them again or if we do its months later when all of those staff have already been placed and we need to start from scratch! We need the clients interest as much as they need ours, if they do need it that is. So the saying is true, a few bad apples spoil the lot.. and we will now be requesting an administration fee instead of a registration fee before a client is assisted, how else are we going to afford the convenience our clients crave?
On a lighter note though, its been an amazing hard month for many especially my family and I, we moved homes and our offices all in one go, my daughter finally started swimming (which makes me want to jump up and down and shout “Hooray!!”), we welcomed a number of new staff to our listings and they are working well, and 2 close friends of mine welcomed their new bundles of joy into the world ( a boy and a girl), most of the written updates for the website have been completed (well, now its just the technical side, which apparently could take until the end of March or longer) and even with all this I can say I feel good giving myself a pat on the back for sticking to the Taebo Kick boxing!
Bring on March 2009! Im ready to make this month the best yet! Having stuck to almost all of my New years resolutions thus far is definitely leaving with the sense of accomplishment I have been craving!
Water safety is of extreme importance at this time of the year. More children die from drowning in South Africa than vehicle accidents, statistics report approximately 3 children die daily from drowning and more than 2 per week in pools at home. So this should make it severely obvious as to how important water safety is. Water is the silent killer and it can happen in front of your eyes in as little as 30 seconds, children playing underwater games in the pool, or running around the pool, swimming in a river or ocean after lunch, a strong current, that’s as little as it can take, I personally drowned at age 2 and had to be given CPR by my mother ( this is one of the reasons I am so vigilant about first aid) So what can you do to protect your child?
Well to start off with no child under the age of 14 should be alone or even with peers in and around a pool, river, ocean or any body of water for that matter, not even children who are thoroughly competent swimmers. A small child can drown in only 4 cms of water so even the bathroom or a bucket can be fatal for our little ones. I urge parents, make sure that your child knows the dangers and never goes near water without you.
At home ensure to limit access to the pool and bathrooms, install a pool net and make sure that you have a pool alarm ( visit www.kindersafe.co.za or www.4akid.co.za , both pages are also accessible from our moms link directory on Sitters4U.co.za). Another thing one should be aware of , which a lot of parents do not think about, is warm water, I call it “warn water” and it is the most dangerous, drowning area, a jacuzzi, a bath, anywhere with hot water. Think about it, the hotter the water, the faster your heart rate and the greater the need for oxygen to the brain. In warm water it is easy to pass out, and drowning is far more damaging, you will be less likely to perform a successful Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR ( even if you are able to do CPR, the child will have irreparable brain trama and damage not to mention the rest of body). So always be with your children near water. Don’t swim after eating, and teach your children the dangers, talking to your child could save his or her life, even if they are the strongest swimmers they are not safe if you are not watching them.
Have a happy, safe, water fun filled summer folks! Till next time..
Bianca
Its been a long holiday and finally the big day has arrived! Across the Western Cape learners returned to school and many are now enjoying their first day!
For my daughter it was a momentous occasion. Looking adorable in her uniform, dress hanging way below the knees I have never seen anything so cute! Having finished Gr.1 at a Montessori environment last year and in fact having always been in that environment, we finally took a leap of faith to mainstream! I have always been a great fan of the Montessori system and it has done my daughter the world of good! The way they are allowed to decide what to learn and the mixed age group of her last class ( Gr.1, 2 and 3) has allowed her to develop to a point where she is the one reading me the bedtime stories, not bad for a 7 year old.However there comes a time when you really need to take a look at your child’s needs and how they are developing in order to decide what type of school system is going to work for them. The options vary from Public to Private, from Montessori to Waldorf, so knowing what the school offers is of the utmost importance!
With my daughter, although she progressed rapidly academically speaking, she is fiercely independent, social and loves sport and while her acedmic and independence needs were being met with Montessori, the rest of her her needs were just not being met by the 18 children in her class and lack of sport… it was time to move on!
The point I am trying to make here is that different schools and learning systems suit different children. Some children like my daughter need the discipline, large numbers of children and sport to thrive, whilst others may well prefer the small social circle and artistic and creative approach. So when you see that a school isn’t working for your child, ask yourself why, from your child’s perspective, what needs are not being met? If you find the answer to be the style of teaching or the classroom set up or the activities offered, look around for a school that will suit your child’s needs a bit more. Each child is an individual and not all systems work will work for your child. So take your time, make an informed decision and reap the benefits!I wish all the new and old learners the best for 2009!
PS. If you are looking for information on the different schools and teaching styles available in SA take a look at these websites:
http://www.privateschooling.co.za/
http://www.saprivateschools.co.za/
Why would you want or need an au pair? Its a good question! Personally speaking I want to know that my daughter always has the care love and attention she deserves, but we understand that with the hectic schedules of modern day life, as a parent one cannot always be by their side 24 hours a day. Parents play the important role of primary provider and an au pair can play a vital supportive role in our children’s lives, making the time we spend with our children, quality time.
In the traditional sense, an au pair, is defined as a young person living with a family abroad caring for the family’s children and doing light house work.
However in South Africa, today, an au pair is much more than this. An au pair in South Africa, is a professional, responsible, experienced and even trained person who cares for the child’s entire welfare whilst in his or her care. An au pair is expected to do a lot more than just supervise the children.
It should be remembered that the parents should always be the primary care providers and role models for their children and au pairs can support the parents in achieving this goal by contributing to the childrens vital support network. An au pair helps with daily activities related to the child’s needs, from lifting to helping with homework, preparing healthy snacks and filling the children’s days with fun, age appropriate activities. This leaves time for mom and dad to relax with their children and enjoy a healthy relationship which ultimately will provide the basis to develop the communication and trust needed between children and parents as they get older.
We know it takes lots of love, care and personal attention to develop a child to his or her full potential and every child deserves that chance. As children grow, so do the influences they are susceptible to outside the home. Having an au pair ensures that your children are cared for in the comfort of your home. The au pair will provide fun and learning opportunities in an environment safe for your children. What’s more, is that you will have more control over your child’s situation, you will get regular report backs on progress and activities, behavior patterns and this means that you will have a better chance of helping your children reach their full potential. Hiring an au pair provides you with the ability to spend your evenings/time with your children uninterrupted by homework, cooking and other child related chores. An au pair helps with the development of your child by balancing schoolwork, sport (extra-mural activities) and other activities of daily life.
Choosing an au pair is one the best things you can do for your child/children no matter how old they are. Children are influenced by friends, the media, teachers and other influential adults. Having some control over who these influences are, can only have a positive effect on your children’s lifestyle and over-all development.
I believe in this concept and would recommend an au pair for children of any age as long as you have thoroughly established your needs and done research to ensure that these needs can be met by a person capable of doing so.
So it’s that time of the year, Christmas is less than 20 days away!
In reflection, 2008 has been an amazing, trying and yet progress packed year for most of us including myself. Every challenge considered and so many lessons learned, it has all lead to progress in our lives and yet now it’s the time of the year that everyone needs a little quality family time. School holidays are going into full stride this week, and many are enjoying their annual leave. Summer has arrived and the sun is shining!
Now its unfortunate but true, its not very often where one has the opportunity to take exclusive quality time out with the ones we love, whether your children, parents, family or friends. Sure, all year round we have weekends and afternoons, bedtime stories, braais, picnics, walks, dinners and so much more fun time with those closest to our hearts on a day to day basis. All too often though, we end up spending this time with our thoughts a million miles away, distracted and wrapped up in work, technology, daily chores, bills, what we are having for dinner, and the many other aspects of life we need to worry about. This diminishes the value of these precious moments and after the last 4 days I have now come to the conclusion, that it needs to be reiterated that spending time out, time in the sun and time with the people you love most in the world is sometimes worth more than doing or thinking about anything else.
I must say thank you to all our clients and staff that bore with us for the last 4 days while we closed for the first time since we opened for business almost 2 years ago. I have honestly not taken a single day without checking, or at least having the ability to check email or receive phone calls, so much so that any and all time out, when we have gone away for a weekend was planned almost entirely around cell phone reception.
This year we decided on visiting Wilderness Nature Reserve, which is one of the most breath taking, captivating and somewhat magical places I have seen or had the pleasure of seeing in my life. I will admit, I was extremely uneasy about not having access to reception, I worried, perhaps I would let someone down, in hindsight I am so grateful for that time.The peace of knowing I could not check an email and that I could not receive calls, the clarity and silence in my mind suddenly felt like a dream, like being a child in a way, able to have a small and yet infinite amount of time without worrying about anything. What bliss, 4 days later I feel entirely reconnected to all of those in my life whom I love and cherish most.
We went canoeing, hiking, swimming in the waterfalls (surprisingly child friendly waterfalls) and the fresh water river, braaied and chilled. We went to visit Sedgefield (a tiny town just past Wilderness) on the Friday where I found the most stunning dress for my daughter and on our way back we stopped in at the fairy Sanctuary in Swellendam. If you ever are in the area, this is Swellendam’s claim to fame, and well worth a visit especially if you have a daughter with you.
While we were there I found 2 amazing books in their fairy shop, written by Dr Wayne Dyers:
• Incredible You! 10 Ways to let your greatness shine through
• Unstoppable Me!: 10 Ways to Soar Through Life
These books are brilliant, absolutely brilliant, books for children, teaching so much more than any other children’s books I know of currently, for children of any age. The pages and illustrations speak to you and your child, and the book end questions in the last pages, encourages your child to really thoroughly grip the messages being sent through these books.
Two exerts from Dr Wayne Dyers website describes both books perfectly ( click to visit site):
Unstoppable Me:
If you intend buying your child a book this year, even if it is only one book, I highly recommend both of these books for your shopping list.
All in all , being back home now, re-energized and ready for the new year was worth every second, so go on, take time out, leave your work alone for just a few days, don’t give yourself a choice in the matter and enjoy the time out to concentrate purely on the yourself and the ones you love! Happy Holidays!
