What to Look for in a Pre-School

At some point, you are likely to send your child to a daycare, nursery school, creche or play school. This is a scary step for both parents and little ones but, for most, a necessary one. When you do take this big step, you obviously want to make sure that you are sending your child somewhere where they will be safe, happy and appropriately stimulated. 

Sadly, while there are some great schools out there, you also hear lots of terrifying horror stories, so it is important to check that the place that you are considering is up to scratch. To a large extent, your requirements will depend on your personal circumstances, eg. whether you work full time your child's personality, whether you are looking for a school that is more play focused or more academic etc.

Of course a visit (preferably during school time when you can observe) is mandatory before making a decision. Besides this, here are some of the things that you should consider:

First things first- is the school registered? How long has the school been running? Do they have a proven track record? Have all staff members completed first aid courses?

Do you like the staff members? Do they seem trustworthy? What did your instincts tell you when you visited the school? Did the children LOOK happy? Your gut feel is crucially important here. 

Do you know any other parents who have their kids at the school? If not, ask around and get their views on the school.
 
Do their hours suit your requirements? For example, if you are at home and have younger children, you may want a place that you can send your child a couple of times a week for a few hours. If you work, you will need somewhere that opens early enough and closes late enough to enable you to do pick ups and drop offs. (Remember that with younger children, drop off's can sometimes kill a good fifteen minutes).

Are the facilities clean, well looked after and appealing to little ones? Are there any safety hazards? Look at things from a child level when considering this one. Are small toys kept where younger children can access them?

How many children are there?  With very large classes your child might receive less attention and be more prone to catch bugs. Are smaller children kept separate from the older ones?

Who will be looking after your little one? What is the ratio of caregivers to children.
What is their daily schedule like? Do the teachers have the necessary qualifications? Look into the different methodologies out there, eg. Montessorri, Waldorf etc and consider what would best suit your child.

What are the fees like? Can you afford them? While good child care does come at a cost, pricier does not always equate to better. Consider whether there are extra costs, for example stationary, meals, excursions, extra-murals, inhouse health checks, special clothes for certain activities etc (these can all add up). Also, bear in mind that some schools expect you to send basics such as toilet paper, tissues, soap or plasters. Work out what all of these items will cost you before labelling one school as being cheaper than the other.

What is their philosophy with regards to raising a child? What is their approach to discipline and does this align to your own moral code?

What are their processes in a scenario that your child falls ill or gets injured? 

Are meals provided? Are any dietary restrictions catered for? Besides meals catered by the school, what is the approach when food is brought in by other learners for bakers days, birthdays etc? 

Is the area safe? Is security adequate? Are there cameras? What policies are in place in terms of who is allowed to fetch the child? Ironically, too much security is also a possibility in Johannesburg- the first school we sent Noodle to had boom gates and three fingerprint checkpoints before you could get near the children. While we were certain the children were safe, it did feel a bit like the little ones were in prison and they also didn't allow anyone but the parents to pick children up under any circumstances, which was a problem if we were in a fix for whatever reason. 

Is the school in a convenient area for you? If you have to drive there, how long will it take you to get there in traffic? Consider doing a test run before enrolling your child if getting to work on time is on your priority list. Is there  sufficient parking for parents?

What is the daily routine like? How much of time is spent indoors versus outdoors? What activities are there for the little ones? How much of parental involvement is required? For example, I love the school my son is at right now but I honestly do not know if I could keep up with all the extras parents need to do and send if I were working full time.

How does the school keep you updated with regards to your child's progress and daily events?

What is the nap time regime?

What is their approach with regards to nappies/ potty training/ toilet routines? Are the toilets clean? Do the children get enough assistance in the toilet? (This was another gripe that I had at a previous school- two year old's were expected to go to toilet alone unsupervised). What are the nappy change facilities like?

At the end of the day, you will know best what is best for your little one, but hopefully this list will help you to make an informed decision. 

36 Smart Show and Tell Ideas

With a grade R daughter who has to do show and tell weekly (yes... every single week) and a two year old who has to do it occasionally, I have been trying to think very hard about ideas for show and tell (because lets face it, while the little ones do the actual presentation, it is usually mommy who has to come up with the bright ideas). 

What constitutes show and tell differs a little for the two kids- Squish can pretty much take any object and tell his class about it. For Noodle, it has to be a demonstration of some sort (they have an entirely different day of the week when they have to take an object and talk about it).

So here are some ideas, in no particular order. These should be suitable for little ones between around two and seven. This may depend on their capabilities and specific school requirements, eg. they may require that is has to be a demonstration or it has to be something from nature. I have not included instructions for any of these as they should be simple enough to figure out but I will be happy to give instructions for any of these if needed.

1. For younger children, taking a favourite toy and talking about it or showing how it works is an easy option.

2. Also popular with the little ones is to take a pet to school. I would recommend checking with the teacher before doing this one and taking care of any logistical issues surrounding it (I would never be brave enough to let my kids opt for this one- there were some horror stories last year). 

3. Younger children can talk about their bodies and what the different parts of their bodies do. Demonstrate with a doll or teddy bear.

4. Do a demonstration of how to ice and decorate a cupcake or plain biscuit, make a sandwich,  milkshake or fruit salad.

5. Talk about the different seasons and take items of clothes for each season.

6. Younger children can take objects such as leaves, shells, pine cones or feathers and talk about it.

7. Make a kite. 

8. Make a bracelet or necklace.

9. Make a paper fan, paper flower or paper aeroplane.

10. Make a snowflake cut out. 

11. Put on a puppet show. 

12. Demonstrate how to plant a seedling. 

13. Do a song and dance. 

14. If the child has a hobby or sport that they take part in, they can talk about that and take the equipment that they use (eg. a ballet tutu and slippers or a tennis racket and tennis ball). 

15. Demonstrate something arty- a handprint picture or leaf animals on paper. 

16. Make a diorama (an ocean, a forest or a beach are easy ones). You may want to prepare individual components of this at home.

17. You can do the old school volcano with bicarbonate of soda and vinegar (I think we all did this one when we were younger).

18. Take objects that smell different and explain about your sense of smell.

19. Let the kids talk about a holiday or special trip they have been on (take pictures with).

20. Decorate an egg (boil it first or you are likely to have a mess on your hands). 

21. Take a toothbrush and toothpaste and demonstrate how to brush your teeth.

22. Make something out of Lego blocks. 

23. Take a toy car, truck, train etc and talk about different modes of transport. 

24. Take paints in primary colours and demonstrate how they change colour if you mix them.

25. Make a chain out of paper clips. 

26. Do a flower arrangement.

27. Talk about exercising and let the class join in with some simple exercises.

28. Write or draw on a banana with a toothpick and show how the writing shows up a few minutes later.

29. Take a favourite book and talk about it.

30. Take some 'trash' and talk about recycling.   

31. Take different food objects and talk about healthy and unhealthy food. 

32.  Take magnets and demonstrate picking up metallic objects.

33. Make a bookmark.

34. Make something out of play dough. 

35. Take various animal figurines and talk about those animals. 

36. Prepare a chart with various textures (eg. sandpaper, cottonwool etc) and talk about how each one feels.    

Please share your best show and tell ideas. Also, let me know about the ones that went horribly wrong.

Introducing Frank and Miss- Little Threads For Little Ones

This weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the launch party for the exciting new Frank and Miss Clothing range, a beautiful new range of clothing for little people designed to be comfortable and practical, allowing kids to be kids while looking super cute. Most importantly- their pieces are priced very reasonably (bearing in mind that these are bespoke items). Here are some of their beautiful pieces:

Their range is a mix of baby stuff and clothes for older kids, both for every day and for special occasions- practical but different enough for your angels to stand out from the crowd. They also specialise in wedding attire- think pretty flower girl dresses without all the fuss and scratchy taffeta. They do beautiful everyday dresses too- just look at these!

The passion and enthusiasm that Elli and Claire, the two lovely ladies behind this proudly South African collaboration, is apparent. Claire's own beautiful pigeon pair were the perfect models for the range, sporting Frank and Miss couture at the launch party.

What I thought was quite a nice concept is that they also do matching sibling outfits, e.g. a dress for sister with a shirt with a matching bow tie in the same fabric for brothers. Noodle is going through a phase where she likes to match her baby brother (for example I dressed Squish in a nautical navy and white striped top for the party so she rushed to fetch her dress with navy and white stripes). I know the matchy-matchy idea would get her stamp of approval!
 
The party was a child-friendly event, set at the lovely Happily Ever Laughter in Bedfordview. If you are looking for a great child friendly restaurant in the East Rand, this one is sure to be a hit with the little ones- I know Noodle and Squish certainly enjoyed it! I think the live minion at the venue was a highlight for them (although Squish was a bit conflicted- he loves Minions but is a bit wary of characters in suits).

Thank you to Frank and Miss for hosting us!

Noodle and Squish left the party with their very own adorable Frank and Miss t-shirts, which they love.

I am sure you are dying to know where you can get hold of this stunning range for your little ones. You can order your Frank and Miss couture from their website (click on the link to be directed their online store). They deliver across South Africa.

Messy Fun with Marshmallow Dough

I was cleaning out the cupboards when I found a tin of (very) expired custard powder. I hate wasting food and as custard powder is essentially just flavoured, coloured cornstarch (maizena) and you will know by now that I use cornstarch for many things, from dry shampoo (see this post for directions), to nappy rash cream (make a paste with a little water) to goo (see this post for instructions). Today, I decided we would just have fun with it.

I found a recipe online using cornflour and shaving foam a while back. I do not remember what they called it but I will dub it marshmallow dough as it has that super soft, fluffy, powdery texture of marshmallows, but is just more stretchy and pliable. You have to feel the texture for yourself to understand just how soft and fluffy it is (but be warned- you will want to play with it too). 

Mine happened to have a sweet marshmallow-like smell thanks to the lovely vanilla fragrance of the custard powder. If you are using cornstarch and not custard powder, you could add a few drops of marshmallow essence (or any other fragrance).

INSTRUCTIONS:
 
So here is what you do.

First you add some shaving foam to a bowl (about the amount that a man would use to shave his face, if that makes any sense). The kids loved this part!!!

You can add a few drops of food colouring if desired. Noodle wanted pink and I added some pink gel colouring, but thanks to the yellow colour in the custard powder mine turned out more of a peachy-orange colour. Alternatively, you could leave it white (if using normal cornflour and not custard) and use it to create faux snow.

Now add the custard powder (or cornflour) a little at a time until you get the desired texture (I probably used about half the amount of the shaving foam) and mix. 

Then it is play time! Let the kids mould, stretch, pull, squeeze or poke to their hearts desire.

(WARNING: This might smell delicious but it is not edible). 

  
This gets messy as the dough is very sticky, so protect surfaces or play with it outside (like we did) and have a bowl of soapy water close by. You will be glad to know that it washes out very easily (due to the soapiness of the shaving foam I suppose).

Squish was covered in it by the time we were done and I literally needed to hose him off outside before coming back on the house. 

The bad news is that it loses its texture after about an hour one all the air inside the shaving foam has been squeezed out (well that was our experience anyway). It is fun while it lasts though!