Keeping kids reading as they get older can be a challenge at the best of times but through a tight and extended lockdown, the challenge is made even harder. We are lucky …
Adjusting to a new stage
Late January our youngest started secondary school. For those of you who have been reading this blog since the beginning, you might even remember his arrival. He came along a year into …
Is my child ready for school after this COVID-19 interrupted year?
Determining whether your child is ready for school can be a very stressful and challenging decision. With our kids, we have made our decision based on each individual child as opposed to …
Back to school 2019 – a collection of tips to help parents
I am not one to wish away school holidays. I love them and love having the kids around more. Yes at times they can drive me a bit bonkers, but on the …
Managing new stages with older kids
Today’s post answers a reader question. You can read previous answers to readers’ questions here. How do you handle the next phase of life ie kids getting older and transitioning from Primary to …
Monthly review – allowing space for growth
Having a single goal focused on parenting, has meant I have learnt much about myself as a parent this year. In the middle of this year, I wrote a newsletter titled Under …
Getting ready for year 7
Next year I will have more kids in secondary school than I do in primary school. This blows my mind (and makes me feel old!). Yesterday I saw a mum with a …
Monthly review – letting go
If you read my newsletter, you would have read the following a few weeks ago in relation to our eldest teenager: Restrictions on technology is by far the biggest issue we have. …
E-book review: Parenting in a Digital World: Stop fighting, start connecting
Parenting in a Digital World: Stop fighting, start connecting: The E-book is written by Martine Oglethorpe who blogs at The Modern Parent. Martine has a background in secondary education and is a qualified …
Managing technology with teenagers – what other families do
I recently shared how we manage technology with the teenagers in our house. I received lots of great feedback from readers on the post, via email and on facebook. I have collated …
Managing technology with teenagers
This post is really looking at how we manage technology with our 15 year old. I have learnt that managing technology with teenagers is so much harder than younger kids for two …
Developing kids’ independence
If you listen to my kids I am the only parent in the world who makes them do tasks around the house or do things for themselves! Of course I am aware …
May monthly review – learning to say less
Each month I review my progress (or lack of!) towards my personal goals for 2014. You can see my full goal list in this post here – Goal Setting For 2014 And …
Making it through a bad day
In many ways I think I prefer the tantrum of a toddler than that of a teenager! The teenager version is louder, often goes for longer and upsets the balance of the …
April monthly review – catch them doing the right thing
Each month I review my progress (or lack of!) towards my personal goals for 2014. You can see my full goal list in this post here – Goal Setting For 2014 And …
Supporting kids’ learning – study skills and prioritising
This week on the blog I will be featuring posts on the theme of supporting kids’ learning. Once you have kids in school it is often difficult to know: how much to …
7 tips for first time year 7 parents
Our second son enters year 7 this year. In Victoria, this is the first year of secondary / high school. When my first son went into year 7, I found the year …
Tips For New School Starters – Primary and Secondary
As I mentioned in a recent post, 2014 holds lots of new things for our family with regards to school. Our youngest is starting school, our daughter in year five is changing …