I’m always on the look out for clever toys.  When I say clever toys, here are some of the things I look for:

• Toys that don’t require batteries
• Toys that stimulate imaginative play
• Toys made from quality materials
• Toys made from natural materials
• Toys made with an environmentally friendly focus

I find these sorts of toys last, occupy my children for logner and I hate changing batteries. HA!

Let me introduce you to Finlee & Me, a shop that sells many toys that tick many of the points above. I loved many of the products and have pulled out my three favourite to review in this post.

Dancing Silk Ribbon Ring

The Dancing Silk Ribbon Ring is made from beautiful materials, and that is what I love most about it. The wooden ring is polished with beeswax and the silk ribbons are soft to the touch. The rings jingle when moved thanks to a few bells.  The Silk Ribbon Ring is perfect for dancing, or course, and we used it in different ways too.

1. Movement

Dance, jump, sing, wave, skip, run.

2. Mobile/Hanging Decoration

I made this stunning pressed bouganvillea flower mobile to brighten up my daughter’s room.  The wood, silk and flower combination made me happy.

To use the dancing ring into a mobile, simply use laminated pressed flowers (as I have), or cut out any cardboard shapes you like. Then punch a hole in the top of each shape and tie on to a ribbon, at different lengths, allowing the remainder of the ribbon to hang behind. This way, you can easily turn it back into a dancing ring if you like.

3. Outdoor Cubby

On a fine day, hang the dancing ring on a branch in a tree to help create a magical play space outside.

Peek-A-Boo Bags

Peek-A-Boo Bags are fantastic for the pram, long drives shopping trips and at home. It’s like having a treasure hunt inside a mini bean bag! The Peek-A-Boo bags each have a snap tag with all the items you can find through the vinyl window. The bags also feel good to hold and squelch.  They come in three different types: Rough N Tough (pictured below), Sugar N Spice and Everything A to Z.

Balloon Cover

These Balloons are so clever! Simply blow up a balloon inside the cover to turn it into a ball.  This both protects the balloon so it lasts longer (and you can use it on grass), plus it’s safer for toddlers and washable. Not only is the balloon cover wonderful for home use, it’s great for travel too: pop a  balloon cover  and a few balloons in your bag and you’ll always have something up your sleeve for the kids to play with.

Perfect for travel:

Put a few balloons and the balloon cover in a zip lock bag and throw it in your handbag so you always have something up your sleeve for the kids to play with when you travel.

Cute designs

Giveaway

I’m happy to be able to giveaway 1 x Balloon Cover, 1 xPeek-A-Boo Bag and 1 x Dancing Ring on the blog today thanks to Finlee & Me.  There will be three winners, one for each product.  The winner will be able to choose whatever colour/design of the product they like.

To enter, all you need to do is like Finlee & Me on facebook (like button below) and leave a comment the space below this post about what you look for when you buy toys for your child/ren.

Finlee & Me Facebook Page

Terms: 1. Australian residents only  2. Winner will be notified by email. 3. If the winner does not respond to the email within 48 hours, the winner will be drawn. 4. Winner will be drawn via random number. 5. Giveaway will close 4 February 2012. 6. Read my disclosure policy.

I like having ideas in my head to keep the kids occupied when we are out and about. One of the things we like to do is to make leaf faces.  Here is one we made at a local park. It’s made of a gum leaf, gum nuts and a wild flower/weed.

Leaf Faces

Using the same concept, we created our own leaf faces with items from our garden. The Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi) leaves are fun because you can make a perfect fingernail slice shape for the eyes and mouth. A small stick is a great tool for piercing leaves too. Any leaf can be used, just look for a shape you like.  We added a little seeds for the nose and a flower to decorate.

Leaf Drawing

Materials

Craft glue

A4 Cardboard (for best results) or paper

Drawing materials

Leaf Faces

My daughter (8) used the leaves as heads and drew the rest of the body. I just LOVE her drawing!

Three Friends

The other siblings wanted to join in once they saw her picture.  Here is Miss 5′s drawing (almost 6).

Mum and Me

Miss 10 is into dragons so created this picture.

Dragon

Even son (4) gave it a go.

People

I have these pictures stuck all around my kitchen.

Nature Collage

Materials

Craft glue

A4 Carboard (for best results) or paper

Drawing materials

A collection of nature collage materials

You don’t have to stop at leaves; sticks, twigs, clay, flowers and anything else you can find can make for a wonderful collage pictures.

A Tree

Love this one from Musical Al’s son.

Nature Art

Leaf Tracing

Materials

Different shaped leaves

Paper

Crayons

A common activity for kids is to trace the pattern of a leaf by placing the leaf under some paper and rubbing the side of a crayon over the paper to create a patter.

Leaf Pattern

This series of posts follows Fi and her family as they plan a 6 month family getaway to Uluwatu, Bali. If you want to know more or catch up on previous entries, visit the first post in the series here: Family Tropical Adventure in Bali.

Guest post by Fiona from Destination Bali

It’s all in the timing.

After a wonderful chat with a writer friend,  a weekend away, and a book loan (Why you are Australian by Nikki Gemmell), the idea of this blog, and what this 6 month trip to Bali is all about, is a lot more consolidated.  Although consolidated is a seems a very staid word and it’s a lot more exciting than that.

Initially when I started this journey, I thought the challenge would be actually getting the idea off the ground and taking the plunge.  So that means, checking the finances, finding someone to mind the house  and making sure the pets are happy and cared for.

The concept of a 6 month family holiday to Bali is turning into so much more than just a list of particulars. We had the offer to visit an orphanage, and possibly send the children to a local school  for a few days.  The correspondence school programme here in Australia looks amazing, and I am keen to try it too.

I have noticed we tend to think of life as before Bali and after Bali. It has been a watershed year for us as a family. We have come to the end of a decade of nappies, babies and toddlers; our family has grown and we have adjusted with all that comes with it. The next decade will be about watching the children grow into the people they will become. This is both exciting and daunting; it all has happened so fast!

The cat is almost out of the bag with so many people mentioning the trip when the kids are around. The aim we give them each a journal, a passport and a handwritten letter about our plan for after Christmas. Never has Christmas felt so far away!

I’m off to another passport interview on Monday. Five applications! What are the odds they all get through?

Posts in the series

1. Family Tropical Adventure in Bali

2. A Walk: 6 Months on a Tropical Island

3. A Tree: The Journey Begins

4. A Place: The How and The Why

5. A Scare: The Highs and the Lows

6. A Drama: Lemonade from Lemons

7. A Mistake: Why not easily fixed?

8. A Preview: Of things to come

9. A Penny: Economics 101

10. An Escape: And a Special Moment

11. A Box: Small, Smaller, Smallest

12. A Chat: It’s All in the Timing

There’s nothing quite like a splash of perfume to make me feel a little girly. It gives me a spark of confidence as I enter the day or step out in heels at night. To me, perfume is a fine mist of personality. I love wearing it but I’ve been using the same perfume for 15 years. 15 years! Trying different perfumes is far down the priority list (actually, its not even on the list!) so I always fall back on my steady staple. However, I feel ready for a change; I’d love to find a new perfume but it’s hard to know where to start.

My 15-year perfume identity is Red Door by Elizabeth Arden. I still love it, but I’ve outgrown it. I’m keen to fnd a new perfume that reflects more of who I am now. Me as a mother, a wife, a woman; all the many things I am, that I’ve become. Does that sound weird? Essentially, a new perfume identity will help me feel a little fresh — you know? A little luxury. A little flounce of femininity. A little bit of personality. A little something for me.

{My first perfume was Red Door by Elizabeth Arden — and I’ve been wearing it ever since}

“To me, perfume is a fine mist of personality”

On a recent trip to Thailand, I had the opportunity to interview perfume expert Chandler Burr, Curator of the Centre of Olfactory Art the the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. We were primarily talking about home fragrance, which was fascinating, but I was desperate interested to hear about Chandler’s favourite fine fragrances (to help me get out of this perfume rut). When I asked Chandler where to start when looking for a new fragrance, he said it comes down to these two things:

• Trying different perfumes
• Asking for recommendations from others.

Chandler gave me a wonderful list of fragrances and a glimpse into what makes them special. I’m excited to see which brands I can find at my department store. Christmas wish list maybe?

Frederic Malle

Frederic Malle: What he does is goes to the best perfumers in the world and says, “I want you to create a perfume that you dream of, and we are going to work on it. Use any amount of money that you want.”

Lipstick Rose

Lipstick Rose by Frederic Malle: It’s very fun. It is the smell of rose scented lipstick. It’s absolutely ingenious.

L’eau D’Hiver

L’eau D’Hiver by Frederic Malle: This one is beautiful and very subtle. It’s like the smell of the fog in San Francisco, absolute silence, with a very, very faint astringent aspect of the unseen eucalyptus trees. It’s brilliant. It’s absolutely brilliant.

Tom Ford Black Orchid

Tom Ford Black Orchid: It’s strong. You just don’t use a lot. Put a little on and wait 10 minutes for it to calm down.

Missoni by Missoni

Missoni by Missoni: You will love this! This is a perfume is a hazelnut gnash chocolate, surrounded by fruit floral popiuage (not sure how to spell that) and it’s incredible.

Pleasures by Estee Lauder

Pleasures by Estee Lauder: It’s brilliant. Absolutely great.

Michael Kors Original

Michael Kors Original: It’s a tuberose. It’s absolutely wonderful.

Marc Jacobs Original

Marc Jacobs Original: It’s like Michael Kors but it’s more of an invert floral that I think is very well done.

Mark Jacobs Lola

Mark Jacobs Lola: This is if you like a fruity floral. It’s more overt. It’s more of a statement.

Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana

Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana: It’s teriffic.

Chandler tells me “all of these are easy to wear”. The only potentially difficult one is Tom Ford — Black Orchid. The trick is to only use a very small amount.

Do you use perfume everyday? What perfume do you wear?

Guest post by Janice from Learning 4 Kids

“Out in the school playground there are small groups of girls sitting cross legged playing hand games, singing songs or rhymes, while boys are bouncing balls, tackling other boys and racing around with no apparent purpose.”

This is a common vision that comes to mind in regards to boy and girl differences, raising the question, “Do girls and boys really play differently or do we expect boys and girls to behave in certain ways?”

The Debate

There have been several studies on this question and there are two main arguments; firstly that girls and boys are biologically hard-wired differently to behave and play in certain ways and then secondly that these differences are learned behaviours and shaped by society. This is also known as the nature verses the nurture debate.

Nurture

The nurture debate suggests that girls and boys are not that different but society treats them differently forming the male/female stereotypes. From the colour of the nursery, choice of toys and activities, to the emotions that is considered acceptable for that gender.

Nature

The nature view point insists that there are significant inborn differences, such as the types of hormones present and neurological differences between girls and boys.

No matter which side of the fence we sit, I feel it is important that we understand how our children are gender-specifically different as it is a valuable tool for teachers and parents. It arms us with knowledge to helps us make better choices and decisions within our teaching and parenting.

Differences in Boys and Girls Play

Although there may be some play differences between boys and girls they are also alike in basic ways and overlap in their play interests and choice of toys.

This table isn’t to say that your child is locked into to one of these categories or gender stereotypes.

What should we do?

• Be mindful and have an awareness of both nurture and nature debates. This awareness will help us to parent better and make good choices for our children.
• Provide girls and boys with a variety of toys and opportunities for play.
• Provide a mixture of toys- non-gender specific and opposite gender playthings.
• Be mindful of labelling toys as ‘boy’s toys’ and ‘girl’s toys’.
• Children learn from their role models, the men and women around them. Be an example of cross gender roles.
• Provide opportunities for girls to kick around a football and let boys know that it is okay to cry.
• Support our children in their choices whether it is stereotypically a boy or a girl thing to do.
• We can often reward children who follow the sex roles we create for them while we fail to reward children who don’t conform.

Final Word and My Experience as a Mum and Teacher

I think that the differences between boys and girls become apparent in early childhood and can be seen in the different ways girls and boys play and learn. I believe that these differences are influenced by both social and biological factors.
Although girls and boys play differently they are alike in many ways. Both need a variety in their play to grow and develop healthy lives. They need to experience a wide variety of play opportunities involving playing with other children, playing alone, playing actively and playing quietly.

As parents, arming ourselves with the knowledge and understanding of gender specific differences will help us to make better choices and decisions in our parenting. It is important to parent each child as an individual and look at their personality, their strengths and weaknesses and the way that society impacts on them.

Regardless of age, gender or personality traits, I believe the most important thing to remember is that your child/ren feel valued and loved for the person that they are and feel free to explore their interests and passions in life. I will leave you with a thought provoking scenario:

“If you gave footballs to 100 girls and dolls to 100 boys, within an hour the boys would be kicking dolls and the girls would be nursing footballs.”

{Source link}

Do girls and boys really play differently?

About Janice

Janice is a stay at home Mum of three amazing kids and a Primary School Teacher.  She is very passionate about learning and teaching and absolutely loves playing with her kids.  When she became a mum, she found that her teacher brain never switched off and was creating and developing new playtime activities all the time.  Learning 4 Kids focuses on the importance of learning through play and provides nurmerous fun activities for families as play time is a valuable tool for learning and developing young minds.

Sponsored by Nuffnang

Trains have become a big part of our family life. This is mainly because FunDad is fanatical passionate about trains. It’s been interesting to see how my husband’s love for trains has become something we share as a family (and I love that!). Below are some of the ways we incorporate my husband’s passion into our family life:

• Watch passing trains at train crossings
• Look for different types of trains and name them
• Go on train rides
• Visit train museums
• Read train books
• Play with train toys

{Riding on a steam train at Spring Bluff (near Toowoomba) in Queensland}

{Thomas the Tank Engine garden sculpture at Laurel Bank Gardens, Toowoomba}

{Riding on The Valley Rattler, starting from Gympie}

{Turning the train – The Valley Rattler, Gympie}

I can already see a strong bond forming between my husband and the children as he shares this passion of his. It’s a special thing, and I know the children will have many wonderful memories from the times spent with their Dad.

Linking Toys to Real Life Experiences

I look for ways to link toys to real life experiences. For example, pulling out the plastic animal figurines after a trip to the zoo and linking my husband’s love for trains with play at home. In this way, I hope our family can connect the dots as we live life, leading to using products for their value, rather than purely for their existence.

{my son riding on a train}

{my son playing with trains}

Thomas the Tank Engine toys are wonderful for open ended play which allows my son to incorporate his own imagination as he plays. I was fascinated as I watched him play for a few minutes (which is something I don’t do often enough!).

Thomas’s Trackmaster Tongue Twister

When Nuffnang told me about the search for Australia’s Little Trackmaster, I thought it would be a fun opportunity to incorporate into an activity with my son. We set the track up and enjoyed watching him play. Then my son tried the Thomas’ Trackmaster Tongue Twister. HA! We had a few giggles along the way, I can tell you.

“Thomas runs clickety clack on Trackmastertrack that I click clack.”

Australia’s Little Trackmaster

Thomas the Tank Engine is looking for Australia’s LittleTrackmaster. The idea is to video your child saying (or trying to say) the Thomas’s Trackmaster tongue twister below.

“Thomas runs clickety clack on Trackmastertrack that I click clack.”

Find out all the details on how to enter at the website: Search for Australia’s Trackmaster

Check out the wonderful prizes here: Search for Australia’sTrackmaster Prizes

Giveaway

To celebrate the search for Australia’s Trackmaster, I’m giving away a Thomas the Tank Engine Train Set. To enter, simply leave a message in the comments (below) about a train experience you’ve had with your family (or one you would like to have).

Terms:

4. Winner will be notified by email. If the winner does not reply within 48 hours, the prize will be redrawn.