Throughout January my Google Reader would sit on over 1000+ items for days at a time. But the beauty of using a reader to manage my blog subscriptions, is that when I can then find the time, I can catch up on what has been going on at my favourite blogs.
Here are some highlights from what I read in January:
Parenting
(1). Ten Ways to Stay Cool with Small Children.
The creative Kate at Picklebums has a very timely post (for Melbournians anyway!) on ways to stay cool and entertain small children in the intense heat.
(2). Print Awareness
If you are wondering where to start on introducing reading concepts to small children, this post will give you great ideas on how to go about it.
(3). Torn Paper Rainbow
If you have small children and haven’t visited the Crafty Crow before, allow yourself some time to check out all their inspirational ideas. This rainbow is a great way to reinforce colour identification with preschoolers and below.
(4). A new school year: What is success?
With Australian students returning to school, the sentiment of this post is something that I wish we would hear from the main stream media:
a child’s worth and successful education is not simply about reading levels or a benchmark.
(5). My New Favorite Game
A Montessori inspired blog which provides lots of inspiration for activities to do with preschoolers. This game helps to reinforce one to one number matching in a very tactile way.
(6). Young Writer’s Workshop
This blog is a new find for me and I am so glad to have come across it! It is written by Jennifer who is a pediatric occupational therapist and gives fantastic ideas on how to get young children to write in an enjoyable way.
Social Issues
(7). Slum children to have share of ‘Slumdog…’ profits: director
I managed to see Slumdog Millionaire the week before our beautiful baby boy was born. I loved this film, as hard as it was to watch in places. It made me realise the squalor and poverty that some children live in around the world and how lucky my family is. I sincerely hope that some of the profits from this film make their way to those in need in India.
(8). Stop planning for prisons and start betting on schools
Although based on American schools and prisons, I am sure that the trend would be similar in countries like Australia. Just one more reason why it is actually cheaper to invest early and a lot in education.
(9). Top 10 Misconceptions About Mommy Bloggers
For those of you who blog, you will find this post amusing. For those of you who don’t it will give you an insight into the phenomena of the “Mummy Blogger”.
(10). Who you are and what you do
One of things that I love about Seth’s blog is that it is always straight to the point. The posts are succinct but with meaning. He sums up this post beautifully about online interactions in the last line:
Be clear, be generous, be kind. Can’t hurt.
Hope you enjoy these posts as much as I did.