10 Things About Me

1. I'm 32 years old and I have a little sister who is 9!

2. I live with my husband of 3 years (we've been together for 10) and our little cat April who lost her tail in an accident last year.

Photo Courtesy of Infocus Photography Ballarat

3. I'm an aunty to 22 nieces & nephews aged between 0 and 16.

4. When I was a kid I wanted to be a hair dresser.

5. I'm scared of heights and the dark.

6. My favourite book ever is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I'm a sucker for a bad boy story and a brooding romance. I have 7 different copies of the book (so far). Funnily enough though, we chose an excerpt from Jane Eyre for our wedding ceremony. Death & despair didn't really cut it for a long term marriage.

7. I have a 1969 Holden Monaro that my parents bought for $600 when I was 16.

Photo courtesy of my cousin

8.  My favourite smell & taste is vanilla. Anything vanilla! Yum.

9. In pre-school someone told me that my horse drawing wasn't a horse, and I've spent years trying to get over that damage to my self-confidence in having my work critiqued. Until about 2 years ago, if I couldn't do it perfectly, I wouldn't do it at all.

10. I'm terrified of being a fraud or imposter, or having people think that I am here telling them how to bring up their kids when I wouldn't know the first thing about being a parent. Which is true, I'm not a parent, so I have no right to tell other people how to raise their family. But when it comes to education, that's where I want to help. There are so many kids out there struggling through the school system, falling through the cracks and missing out on valuable funding or getting the right help they need and it's just not fair! So my mission in life is not to give parenting advice, but to make learning fun for everyone so that no kid has to slip through unnoticed by their school and can get the chance at a bright and successful future even if they don't get the right help at school. I'm just here to encourage everyone to look at the everyday learning you find if you dig a little deeper, or ways to twist the traditional education system to make it more interesting. If the system won't help you, I will do my best to fill the gap! So if you ever find me telling you what to do as a Mum (the best job in the entire world .... I know cos my Mum is totally the best in the whole wide world!) pull me up and remind me why I'm here. To Make Learning Fun!

I was the crazy aunty fairy at my niece's 1st Bday.

You can call me Aunty Lou. I get to come over for a visit, have fun, bring over a present somethings, make a mess, then pack up and go home!

Happy Learning!

By the way, did you know that I wrote a book on Learning that's Fun? If you'd like to check out the eBook visit Amazon.com or click here to have it delivered direct to your door in Australia.

a-MAZE-ing Kids

I've yet to meet a family who didn't have kids that were polar opposites of each other. One is an avid reader, does really well at school and just gets it. The other doesn't get it, takes a lot longer to learn and grasp the ideas than the others and reading is like a chore, rather than a pleasure.

This is life, everyone is different, we all learn at our own pace and in our own ways. And frankly, some people just don't like reading for pleasure...it's not fun for them. Weird I know!

Image courtesy of Surachai / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I won't jump on my high horse today and ramble on about the importance of NOT comparing them, and making sure you don't call them names that reflect their ability, or inability. Don't refer to them as the one who's good at school and the one who's not good at school.

But I will focus on reinforcing what they are good at instead! And some activities that those who aren't so great in the classroom might really enjoy. And I mean REALLY enjoy!

Mazes, puzzles and games!

There's all the talk out there about left-brain, right-brain, creatives and intellectuals and frankly I struggle to remember which is which. But for those kids who are more tactile learners, who really find visual and hands on activities more engaging, mazes, puzzles and games can be a brilliant way to educate while having fun.

Mazes

Come in all shapes and sizes. Paper ones, 3D real life ones you can walk through, mirror mazes at the circus, trying to find your way through a shopping centre, directing your family trip through a new town on a map. They are everywhere. But they really encourage problem solving, thinking ahead and quick response.

Puzzles

Again, come in all shapes and sizes, pictures, photographs, getting the ball in the hole, the shape in the right section, rubik's cube, moving pieces to pull apart, lego, building blocks, beading to make patterns, cross stitch...all require putting pieces together to make something. Some have readable instructions, others are mind benders, but they are all stretching the imagination and encouraging those little brains to get stimulated.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Games

So games is a bit generic, but think Board Games like scrabble, pictionary, trivial pursuit, operation, uno, bingo, snakes & ladders, tic tac toe, connect 4, battleship...all those games you used to love! And then think family games you can play together like charades, hang-man, celebrity heads. All of these games have elements on learning in them, but are more engaging than sitting reading the times table chart or memorising spelling words. They have elements of reading, increasing vocabulary, numbers and maths, counting, spelling and general life skills like competition and sportsmanship.

So when you're out getting books for your little bookworms, be sure to grab some puzzles, games and mazes for your little creative mind too, or look for them in the papers or magazines, borrow from a friend. Start a game / toy swap with your close knit friends so you've always got new games and puzzles to play with the kids but don't have to spend a cent! Christmas is coming soon too, so keep them in mind for presents!

The quality family time, plus the added learning might just be the key to see your little bud really blossom.

Happy Learning!

P.S. Did you know we've got a few other posts about board games, and other fun learning ideas? Sign up to the email list here to get your regular dose of Learning that's Fun.

Kanban for Kids

Getting organised can be difficult for most of us, especially in these times when it seems like everyone is "busy." We watch TV while surfing the net, we're always going somewhere, doing something, and it seems like there's just not enough hours in the day!

But for children, especially those with learning difficulties, diagnoses like ADHD or just those who find it difficult to concentrate or keep up any kid these days could really struggle with organising their daily routine, their extra-curricula activities, their free play time, chores plus all their projects and assignments as they get older and receive more & more homework.

The traditional diaries, calendars, reminder notes from teachers are all great prompts. But we have to go searching for them, sifting through piles of paper to find what comes next. And if memory serves correctly, many of those notes will get left in the school bag until the morning it's needed!

Image courtesy of scottchan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

But again we are often talking about kids here who may not be great at writing and are more tactile learners, looking for visual prompts and hands on learning. Visuals are great! You can get up in the morning, see what's on today and know straight away what you've got to do.

In my "other job" we use a concept called KANBAN. I have no idea what it means, or where it comes from, but it's a software development idea for programmers to keep track of all the things they need to get done to build a program! It's tactile and it's great fun. At the beginning of a project, everyone gets together and takes a sharpie & a pad of sticky notes and writes everything that needs to be done to complete the project. Then they get sorted into categories and pulled off the wall when they are finished.

It's a great way for everyone to see, on a huge wall, how far through the project they are, and who needs to do what each day. Some serious programming teams even have a 5 minute "scrum" in the morning to cheer eachother on and get going for the day! They take a couple of sticky notes each and go work on them.

Isn't that just the coolest idea you could use at home with the kids?

Work Board

So you need 3 things!

1. A felt tip pen (or more for each of the kids)
2. A pad of sticky notes (you can use different colours, shapes, sizes etc)
3. A big blank wall or window

So decide what you want to keep track of? Is it homework, chores, daily routine stuff, after school activities, or everything?

If you want to track everything you could use different colours for different types of items? Pink for homework, green for chores...you get it.

Get together in a "scrum" and write all the things down. One thing per sticky note.

Then sort them into columns.

1. NOT STARTED
2. IN PROGRESS
3. FINISHED

So every day, or every week the kids can see the "not started" stuff that they have to do.

Once they've started, simply move the sticky note into the "in progress" column.

And once it's finished, move it into the "finished" column.

It is so motivating to see things moving through a process like that. And you might be surprised at how quickly the get things done just because they want to see it move through the chain and get to the end!

It's not rocket science. It's quick, simple and cheap, but could have a huge impact on your family and homework time! Wouldn't that be nice???

Happy Learning!

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Fire Safety at Home

This morning while I ate my breakfast I sat to watch the news and brought to tears by the terrible stories of 3 overnight house fires in states across Australia. The most poignant one broke my heart the most, a 15 year old girl home with her brothers & sisters, a 2 year old nephew sleeping in another room. While she was cooking dinner for them, the oil caught fire, she tried to put it out with water and made it worse. The older kids were able to escape the flames, but the 2 year old toddler was unable to be rescued and his little life cut short. I can't even begin to imagine the pain that family is feeling right now. Perhaps the parents were at work, trying to make ends meet for their family, perhaps they were visiting or shopping. 15 is a reasonable age to leave the children home, many baby sitters are younger than this. So we cannot lay any blame on anybody for anything in this tragedy. A horrific accident.

But from the absolute terror and devastation of this family, we can take a lesson that ALL children, regardless of their age, must be taught fire safety precautions, and what to do in the event of a fire. It's a matter of life & death!

I spoke to local CFA volunteer and First Aid Trainer Ian Stanley-Eyles about what we can do to teach our kids fire safety.

What is your role in the community?  

For over 14 years, my life has revolved around public safety. I have been a volunteer fire fighter for over 11 years and was an ambulance first responder for nearly eight and a half years. Now I teach first aid to give people skills in dealing with situations calmly and clear thinking.  

Ian from Key2Act

What is fire safety and why is it important? 

It is important that both adults and children understand that fire can be extremely dangerous but that they can be safe around it if they understand more about it. Knowing what fire is and how it functions allows us to deal with emergencies with minimal panic. I have met many families who have dealt with fire where the kids were able to play an active and important role in fire safety. 

How can parents teach their kids about fire safety?

Fire is not inherently evil but it is dangerous and should always be respected as such. Parents can help their children by teaching them to respect it. Talk to them about what fire can do in a non-scary way. When kids see that their parents are calm, they will also remain calm. 

• Sit down and make your fire safety plans together. 
• Give each of them a task to do if should a fire occur. 
• Remind them about keeping safe. 
• Practice your plans at least four times per year making sure that everyone know it is a practice. 
• Plan what they are allowed to take if you need to evacuate. 
• Set up a visit with your local fire station when they are training to see how the fire fighters will handle a fire. 

What can we do at home to make it fire safe for kids?  

Think through how you are going to discuss fire safety with the kids. 

• Have them help you check your smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, fire blankets, first aid kits, and test your fire pump (if you live in the country). 
• Review all of your power points ensuring that they are not overloaded. 
• Consider getting an electrician to add more power outlets if too many items are being plugged in at one point. 
• Get a registered plumber to check all gas appliances and an electrician to test all electrical devices. 
• Set up protective guards around heaters. 
• If possible, choose fire resistant, natural fibre clothing and keep the kids a safe distance away from heaters.

Are there any resources you would recommend parents look at?  

Talk to your child's school about what education sessions that they may have already arranged. Every year the Country Fire Authority's Mobile Education Unit travels the state visiting school to discuss fire safety and they may be in your area soon. 

If you would like to learn more yourself, head to the Kids & Schools, and the Plan & Prepare for fires pages of the CFA website. 

*** Like Key2Act on Facebook to find out more about Ian's first aid training ***

So when I was young we had a regular fire drill, everyone had to practice getting out of their bedroom windows, ensuring the locks were able to be opened, and meet up at the letter box. We knew about stop, drop and roll if our clothing ever caught alight and I learnt early about fire safety from my own experience. At about age 8 I was cooking toast in the grill and left the tea towel on top of the stove. It caught fire and I called out for Dad who quickly threw it out the back and left it to burn out. Which it did, although it landed on my brother's gumboots and melted them. We laugh about that story now but it was a valuable lesson, and very lucky that the outcome was just a gumboot and a tea towel. 

Please stay safe everyone. And ensure you have these important conversations with your kids. 

Over & Out.

Finals Fever

Here in Australia it's that time of year again! The AFL and NRL finals are upon us and football fever is going nuts in the media. But for many of us, we just don't care that much. I mean I do enjoy a good barbeque or friendly get together on Grand Final day, but the fever is lost on many families who just aren't that into it.

Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

I ask you this though, do any of your kids really love football? Or just sports in general? Do they madly follow a team or really want to be a superstar themselves one day? Maybe they just like to kick a ball around the yard in their free time.

If that's your child, for the next couple of weeks I'm asking you to embrace it. Even if you don't love the games yourself. Take a step back and have a look at the value in following the sport? A dream to follow, a role model to look up to. And THEN, look deeper for the educational values in following a sport. They might be hard to find at first, but I promise you they are there!

If you really can't see them, I'll make it easy for you and list some of them here :)

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Reading: Even if it bores you to tears! Get them to read to you. Especially out loud.

• Read newspaper articles on their favourite team or players
• Read the team names from the ladder board
• Read the statistical guides in the paper
• Grab a copy of the latest magazines on the sport and read articles from it
• Even reading the player names listed in the teams is a great exercise. I spent years thinking my friend's name (Maher) was pronounced MAY-HER, when it was really just MAR.
• It's Christmas coming up soon, get them a book on the sport or their favourite players to read 

Image courtesy of cooldesign / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Maths: Nobody likes maths right? WRONG! Sport lovers LOVE maths. They just don't know it! 

• Keeping score is maths, especially if you follow the AFL. One goal is 6 points, and a "behind" is 1 point. Keeping track of that is hard in anybody's language, so it's brilliant for working on your 6 times tables.
• All those player statistics in the newspaper and magazines that you skip over to look at the pictures? They are maths. The odds, the possessions, the scores, the number of games, injuries, all those numbers are maths! 
• Player of Year Awards are even maths. I don't know what they call it in NRL, but in the AFL it's "Brownlow Medal Night". Sitting and watching those officials read out the votes for every match in every round can be as boring as watching paint dry. But keeping a track of the vote counts, and working out how many votes a player needs to get, and how many rounds they have left is a great way of working out who's going to win before they get to the end. So for one night a year, let them stay up late and watch, and encourage gently to work out those numbers. 
• You could even sign them up for one of those Super Manager games online? Coaching is a great way to start looking at numbers in sport.
• Or open up the computer or download a free app on the phone/tablet and do start making charts from the stats in the paper. You can do some really cool looking charts and graphs with the templates in those programs now.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER HERE!!!
DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT tell them you are encouraging all these things for educational value! If they even sniff a whiff of school type stuff here, they will bolt like horses! You can't force this kind of stuff, but you can be open minded to it :)

General Life Skills

Then there's the general stuff that kids can learn from following sports. They learn to watch how teams "play" together, analyse the on-field and off-field behaviour, morals and ethics, look up to people they admire and want to follow in the footsteps of.

Footy Finals Fever is a special time of year for some, and the bane of others' existence, but if you have a little one in the family who loves it, don't put a downer on it. Embrace the learning benefits and get caught up in the moment of seeing your kids excited and happy :)

Happy Learning!

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Learning thats Fun for me

WOW! Is about all I can say right now. 

And not because of the champagne! 

I've just had the most incredible experience at a conference for Bloggers in Australia. My brain is in absolute overdrive, I'm totally exhausted, and my backside is in agony from all that sitting. But WOW! I've come away with so many great ideas and possibilities for growing Learning that's Fun and my new venture Blossom Connect. It's just incredible. 

You know when your heart is really in it, you will just do everything you can to soak up as much information as you possibly can? Grown ups are no different to kids, when you're interested, when it's fun, it doesn't even feel like learning. I've been to a lot of conferences and seminars for my day job, and I can tell you...conferences about IT are about as exciting as watching paint dry. This was ACE!

I took a trip to the airport and travelled with the lovely Dorothy from A Blog of Her Own.

By half through the first day I had almost completed my entire notebook! 

I completely overindulged in a huge array of sweet delicacies. The cake bar, the candy bar, the icecream van (INSIDE the venue!)

'

Met some most amazing and wonderful new people. Am I really that short? I don't think so, I really was sinking in the sand! 

Got to experience my first ever grape crushing to make wine. 

And even had the pleasure of being taxied home by my own Dad. 

But best of all, it was just such a pleasure to hear about the world of blogging and the opportunities it has and can create for people. Giving people the freedom to do what they love, write about things they are passionate about and build a life that they could only dream about. 

My dream for you guys is to make Learning that's Fun a great community. To build it up so much that I can give up my day job and do it full time and dedicate myself to create somewhere for people to come when they are looking for a little help, or inspiration. Somewhere to feel safe to ask the silly questions, or share the amazing moments in their family. And most of all, to make a difference. To reach out to those in need, to come together and help each other through the struggles, through the tough times and help those little buds to blossom. 

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to each and every one of you for following, being a part of the community and helping to build it into something great. Without you it's just not possible.

So thank you. 

Louise XXX

Aunty Lou

If there's one time in life when you get to be fun, it's when you're an Aunty! Aunties are the ones who get to be cool, do silly things and make inappropriate jokes without being as embarrassing as parents. They are the ones who laugh when you burp. They get excited over the little things. Be there for you when Mum and Dad just don't get it (I mean what would they know, they're old?). They can laugh at you when you get in trouble. They are allowed into your private bedroom to read your poems. You can show them your favourite music and they won't tell you that kids today have no taste. They always have something special to eat when you go to visit. And they just have cool stuff you can look at. 

Aunties are like real life mentors. I have an Aunty who I thought was soooooo cool when I was a little kid. Big hair, cool cars, tight jeans. I ended up with the coolest car of them all! I always wanted to be just like her! I have another Aunty who had a drumkit. I ended up with a kit of my own and played in school bands for years. I have another Aunty who is just the centre of her family, always putting on a great spread and bringing everyone together. Too much food is good right? And another Aunty who didn't have kids of her own, so we more than made up for it when we went to visit! She is definitely where I get my obsessiveness to catalogue, list and note everything! 

Aunties teach you so much in life, sure they can help you with your homework or your school project. But they teach you about life. I mean Mum & Dad can talk until they are blue in the face, but unless Aunty X says it, it's just no true, right? Parents are so old fashioned, but Aunties....well they are just fabulous. But once you grow up to be an Aunty you realise just how amazing parents really are. And you realise that WOW, your own Mum must've been an Aunty to someone too. Maybe in the eyes of someone else, your own Mum was that really cool, silly Aunty who always had something yummy to eat in her cupboard. It might be the most mundane of things, but at someone else's place it's GREAT!  And you realise that the Aunties you adore are Mums to other kids, your cousins, and well, they probably don't see your Aunty quite the way you do. 

But hey, back on that homework deal. If you're ever in need of a tutor, someone to listen to the kids read, inspiration for the next project that comes your way....ask an Aunty (or an Uncle)! They are heaps cheaper than those tutoring companies and they do it out of love. Can't get much better than that. Now that's Learning that's Fun! 

A couple of Aunty Lou snaps: 

Would you believe there are 2 aunties in this picture? Aunty Lou (at age 30) and Aunty Hannah (at age 7). Little Mason is just about bigger than Aunty Hannah these days (And Aunty Hannah is nearly bigger than Aunty Lou, so it's all relative really). 

When you're an Aunty you get to dress up and be the party fairy! 

And when you're an Aunty you get to have parties, fill them with food & drink, do fun things and then send them home. This way, you get to hold on to your "cool" reputation. 

Showered with Books

My beautiful friend Michelle knows what books are all about. 

This afternoon I had the pleasure of attending a shower for her first baby to be and it excited me greatly to read my invitation asking us each to bring a personally signed book for the unborn little one to grow their own library and be surrounded by books from birth. 

During an afternoon of light hearted fun with Baby Shower guessing games, craft decorating, plenty of food and lots of laughs we were treated to watch her unwrap her many thoughtful gifts. From bibs and bonnets to booties and bath accessories, these gifts will come and go. But it is the books that will stand the test of time as this new baby is born and grows into a little adult. 

It is these books, chosen with love and hope for the his/her future, that will sit on the shelves for years to come. They will come out in times of quiet, boredom, desperation, bribery, joy, and family memories yet to be created. 

Nobody knows what the future will bring, but there is one certainty, that this little bundle of joy will be surrounded by a loving family and a ready-made library of books that the proud new parents can begin to read as soon as their new arrival appears. Heck, they could start today if they wanted to. 

There is no science in love and family. But there are plenty of people and studies out there who believe reading to children from birth can have a huge impact on their literacy later in life, and with the beautiful collection of books given with heartfelt joy today, there is no doubt this little one will grow up loving their books. 

I wish Michelle and her new family all the very best for the next stage of their life and am more than happy to donate lots of reading time with Aunty Lou xxx

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Next time you attend a Baby Shower you might like to give a book as a gift. Let us know what your favourite baby shower gifts are? Or how old your children were when you began to read with them? 

If you would like to contribute to helping a child in need receive their own gift of books see our previous post about United Way Ballarat to find out more about the Imagination Library. 

And if you would like to purchase a copy of Learning that's Fun, complete with simple and low cost activities for fun family learning please click here.