threelilprincesses.com

Tag: activities

  • FEATURE: Hunt is on for Easter Bunny

    FEATURE: Hunt is on for Easter Bunny

    THE countdown to the fella with the fluffy ears and tail is well and truly underway here. So much so, we spent yesterday getting in the spirit of Easter. For morning tea, we indulged in chocolate hot cross buns. Later that afternoon I looked in the mirror, only to notice I had it all around my mouth. No wonder the mailman wouldn’t look me in the eye.

    We then scoured the pantry with the intention of making some Easter Candy Bark but, alas, there was no chocolate. Some gremlin ate it all while blogging late at night. Hmmm, who could that be?

    Instead, we went and got out this little creation made by her dad back in January.

    White Rabbit-come-Easter Bunny

    A couple of weeks ago this very hat became rather famous after making an appearance on Mrs Woogs’ blog Woogs World. She sent a call out for Easter hat creations, so I submitted the above photo (yes, they are pink undies) and this description:

    Princess Ella, wearing her bunny hat, painstakingly made by her dad, (painstaking, because it’s held together with a pink ribbon and 1000 staples). He originally made it as part of a one-year-old’s Alice In Wonderland birthday party in December (yes, that’s one serious birthday party). Ella, obviously being the white rabbit. Not really the crafty type, hubby was so impressed by his own efforts he put it away ready to reuse at Easter

    But this all wasn’t quite enough. We needed to make something “Eastery’’ and so we headed to the doodle drawers – I mean, craft drawers – and discovered some red felt. The idea was to make a basket to put eggs in during her Easter egg hunt to come Sunday morning.

    Ella got into the spirit of things by donning the hat while we did our craft. But be warned, she ain’t no Easter Bunny. She told her dad this week she can’t use a proper toilet seat. Why? “Because I don’t have a big fat bum’’ You see? How on earth could she be an Easter Bunny? (And, by the way, she takes after her Mum in that department).

    Anyway, here’s our step by step guide to making an Easter basket:

    Get a square piece of felt
    Cut slits from the corners midway to the centre of the square
    Interlink the sides and glue together. We had no craft glue, so used sticky tape. Yeah, doesn’t quite have the same appeal!
    Cut a strip of felt and glue to make a handle
    Decorate. This is Ella’s version of a cat face. Why a cat? I have no idea. Then add eggs.

    Oh, and reveal the full effect of the hat (which makes her look decidedly like Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland).
    Although, I was lucky to even capture these photos, considering how fast the egg was devoured.

    Then, patiently wait for Easter Bunny….

    So, what Easter craft activities have you been up to this week?

    I’m linking up with FlogYoBlog Friday over at Where’s My Glow?
    FYBF

  • PHOTOS: 16 tricks to capture perfect photos of your children

    PHOTOS: 16 tricks to capture perfect photos of your children

    Catch them unawards!

    SINCE starting Three Li’l Princesses there’s been two recurring questions. The first: how did I start the blog (and did it cost me a lot of money) and the second: how do I capture such great photos of the girls?

    The first question I’ll leave for another post. However, the second question I will tackle today. Please bear in mind that, while I have had some professional training many moons ago and did take photos as part of my job as a journalist, I am by no means a pro. You’ll need to visit someone like Carly Webber from Mamma-razzi or Darren Rowse from Digital Photography School for that.

    So, here is my experience with photographing babies and children:

    • Find when the best part of the day is for your child/ren. We schedule photo playtime for early in the day when the kids aren’t tired and the light is good.
    • Often the best shots are candid ones, when they’re totally unaware of the camera. Go to the park, play around with craft or get them to do some other activity they enjoy, then start snapping.
    • Use your zoom. By zooming in on your subject you create depth of field, which creates a beautiful blurred background.
    Use your zoom to create depth of field
    • Consider your background. Is it too cluttered and will it detract from the subject? Unless you’re trying to achieve the above point, in which a busy background can look quite effective, keep your background clean.
    • Avoid windows as a backdrop. It will play havoc with lighting and your subject.
    • If you struggle to get a baby to look in the direction of the camera, dangle a noisy toy above the camera. This can also achieve that “winning smile’’ you’re after.
    Use noisy toys to get bub's attention and produce a smile
    • Sometimes it can take 20 photos to get “the one’’. With the advent of digital, this is now no longer a problem.
    • Get down to your child’s level.  Taking a photo from your level only produces photos of the top of their head or distorted images. In saying this, sometimes it is fun to play around with different angles though.
    Experiment with angles
    • Think outside the square. Babies have the cutest toes, fingers and noses. Get up close and then zoom in on these features to capture something unique. If your camera has a “macro’’ setting, switch to this as it accentuates detail – exactly what you’re after.
    Zoom in on toes…
    … and fingers.
    • Use others’ photos for inspiration. My only disclaimer with this one would be to avoid Anne Geddes. Lovely as her photos are, she takes hours to produce one shot.
    • Have in your mind what you’d like the photo to look like. Often it comes out nothing like you predicted, but often it’s also a lot better!
    • When you get to the editing stage, consider changing the photo to black and white. Sometimes an ordinary photo can “pop’’ in black and white. It’s particularly ideal if your bub or child has the less appealing spots or scratches over their face, and can soften the look of a photo.

     

    In colour…
    and black and white
    • If you’re taking indoor shots in winter and light is a problem, try putting your camera on the low light setting, turn the flash off all together or bounce the light off a wall or ceiling to avoid washing out the subject.
    • Use the rule of thirds – that is, to break your photo into nine squares and place the important elements of your composition where these squares intersect. It produces nicely balanced photos that are easy on the eye.

     

    Putting the focus into the top third of the photo
    • Some days the kids just aren’t in the mood. These are the days when it’s best just to pack the camera away. Otherwise, you run the risk of them hating the camera all together.
    • My biggest tip would be to have fun. If you’re stressed by the whole thing, the kids will be too. Get out the bubbles, a ball, go for a run in the park, a swing or a slide and simply shoot.
    Having fun!

    I also attribute some of it to our camera, a Canon PowerShot S95, which I would highly recommend. Firstly, it’s compact, which means I’m more tempted to pop it in my handbag when I head out, as opposed to a full DSLR, which is too bulky for a mum struggling with two kids.  It has full manual capabilities, while also having the auto option. It seriously is one of the smartest cameras I’ve used. I may even write a review on it soon if anyone’s interested.

    What tips do you have for taking photos of your kids?

  • FEATURE: Get by with a little help from my (imaginary) friends

    FEATURE: Get by with a little help from my (imaginary) friends

    Ella is a social butterfly… with all her imaginary friends!

    PRINCESS Ella astounds me with the extent of her imagination. While once I would have been concerned that she was spending too much time at night reading books to her imaginary friends in bed, I’m now super proud. “Can you find the letter eeee, Teddy? Yes, that’s right. Good boy, Teddy’’.

    You see, this strange behaviour isn’t going to see her turn into Mel Gibson. Apparently, children with imaginary friends retain knowledge faster than other children, are more sociable and more creative. Or so I read somewhere. I’ll be whipping out our favourite Chocolate Brownie recipe and inviting more friends over, I think.

    Ella also walks around the house, pretend mobile phone cradled between her ear and shoulder, parroting an adult’s conversation to a “friend” on the phone. I’m guessing she’s either mimicking her dad or a child care worker. It couldn’t be me.

    The conversation usually goes something like this: “Oh, I know. That’s terrific. She’s been such a good girl today. I know. I’ll just write that down on a piece of paper (scrambles for paper and a crayon). Now, let me see. It’s e, u, h, k. I know. I know. Yes, I know.’’

    Mostly, her imagination has helped spawn incredible art work. Just look at this elephant she drew. Remember, she’s only three – and that long thing is its trunk.

    Then, only two days ago, while I was trying to get Baby Holly to sleep, she was busy with her craft and card making. I came out to find she’d made this rabbit for her cousin’s birthday. All. By. Herself.

    She proudly showed it off to me by lifting it up to my face. At this point, the taped on ear flopped downwards. “Oh dear, mum’’ she said, in a rather sad voice. “He’s got a floppy ear’’.

    However, there is a downside to having a child with a vivid imagination. A couple of weeks ago she had a play date with her cousin of the same age. The pair ran around the house, laughing and squealing because a monster was chasing them.

    Then, suddenly, everything went quiet. No, don’t worry, the monster didn’t eat them. Wondering exactly what mischief they might be into, her mum and I started searching through the house. Here the girls were, in my bed, in the nudie rudie playing hairdressers, doctors …. and massages. Worrying, or what?

    How do you foster your child’s imagination? Does your child have imaginary friends?

  • FEATURE: Top eight infant books and how they’re affecting your child

    FEATURE: Top eight infant books and how they’re affecting your child

    THE O’Brien house is filled with books. Every room has a book or bookshelf of some sort. There’s even a book over there in the middle of the kitchen floor at the moment (must pick that up in a minute).

    Now that Ella is three, she’s looking for more advanced stories. She likes her big thick book of fairytales (Jack and the Beanstalk is her fave) and her Winnie the Pooh chapter book. It’s meant the rule of three or four books at bedtime has had to be cut to one or two, otherwise we’d be reading ‘til midnight.

    Despite Ella becoming a “big girl’’ and wanting to take over the reading role (more on that in a later post), we’re discovering all those baby books Ella so loved once again through Baby Holly.

    Following on from Top 10 Aussie kids TV shows and how they’re affecting your child, here’s my list for Top eight infant books:

    1. Where is the Green Sheep? – For some time Ella believed my blue knitting yarn came from a blue sheep, the green from a green sheep, the red from a red sheep etc. Hmm.
    2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar – If you eat a lollypop, ice cream cone, chocolate cake and cherry pie you may just turn into a beautiful butterfly. Sorry darling, try hippopotamus.
    3. Dear Zoo – Learnt she can have a camel as a pet, if she so wishes. However, it’s likely to be just as grumpy as mum. Mum, on the other hand, scored the cute little puppy dog. Or was that the naughty monkey?
    4. Dr Seuss series – Apart from speaking in rhymes and riddles (if she wasn’t already) she has, on one occasion, requested green eggs for dinner. I refrained from getting out the food colouring.
    5. Peepo – Mickey Mouse existed in the olden days, but didn’t quite look as shiny as he does on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (check out the toy box in the kitchen).
    6. Spot (the dog) series – If you’ve lost something, it’s more than likely hiding under a flap.
    7. My First Book of Nursery Songs (illustrated by the rather talented Trace Moroney) – Her mum is one damn fine singer. OK, maybe not! But we can dream, can’t we?
    8. Each Peach Pear Plum – There’s no need to panic if her baby sister’s cradle gets shot out of a tree and she ends up drifting down a river.

    So, what books are the top reads in your house? Is there a book you suggest we introduce Baby Holly to?

  • FEATURE: Our kids give us a sign

    FEATURE: Our kids give us a sign

    THIS post could easily turn into one of those brag sessions about your kids. God, don’t you hate those parents? The ones who go on about all the wonderful things their child can do, while yours is sitting there scratching their bum?

    However, this one has to be told because, if anything, it just proves how incredible these little sponges are and why we shouldn’t underestimate what they’re capable of learning.

    Princess Ella is three and, thanks to child care, has learnt skills she couldn’t learn at home – basically because her mum just ain’t that clever! Sure, I could have taught her to click her fingers and whistle, but it’s not something I imagined she could do at age three. But she can, because of her childcarer.

    However, what’s blown me away most is her learning a new language. Sign language. And I’m not talking about flipping the bird – that’s still a few years away.  It’s strange to have her teaching me how to do something and then responding with: “Good girl, Mum. That’s really wonderful. You’re doing a great job’’. Patronising, or what?

    Speaking to other mums about this via Facebook, it seems they all agree that if their child has a good grasp of the English language, why not allow them to learn another language. Ella picked up a little Spanish from, dare I say it, Dora the Explorer.  One mum admitted her daughter became so good at her “Dora-led’’ Spanish, she became extremely agitated when her mum tried to explain the colour was “blue’’, when clearly it was “azul’’.

    To end this post, here’s a video of Ella teaching me to sign. Bear in mind, she’s a three year old and, just as she keeps strangely pronouncing “hot poppin’ popcorn’’ as “hotta hotta popcorn’’, she may well be getting some of these slightly incorrect (`how are you?’ and `good, thank you’ look a little too similar). She also wasn’t in the most cooperative mood this morning, so it’s only a small taste of what she’s learnt. I’ll try and upload more of her signing later.

    If you want to learn to sign or teach your child, then visit the Auslan site.

    OK, you now have permission to brag. Has your child grasped a second language? Or do they have a skill you never imagined they could do at their age?

  • FEATURE: Activities for preschoolers

    FEATURE: Activities for preschoolers

    DURING the week, tweets kept popping into my @ThreeLil Twitter account by northern-based mums battling 30C-plus heat. Here we were rugged up like Eskimos as we toasted our toes by the heater.

    With summer momentarily disappearing, it enabled Princess Ella and I to rediscover our list of fun indoor activities. Today I thought I’d share some of our absolute favourites (even though the warm weather seems to have returned).

    Ella painting her toe nails

     Fingernail painting and pedicure:

    Ella constantly asks to have her nails painted. She also likes to take over and paint mine. Of course, there’s usually more colour on my feet than my nails. My three-year-old nephew loves this activity too, so don’t exclude the boys.

     

    Craft at the little table

    Craft table:

    The craft table, set up in the corner of the dining room, is constantly filled with pencils, crayons, paper, glue, sticky tape, pipe cleaners, pom poms and well, crafty items. Since Baby Holly came along, it’s been my saviour during breastfeeding. A fellow mum also set up a craft table, but had her house redecorated when the phone rang and her three-year-old ran, glitter in hand.

    Messy craft at the big table

    Sometimes Ella gets to play at the “big’’ table.

    Hair in a braid after playing hairdressers

     Hairdressing:

    Aided with hair brushes, combs, bands and clips, the conversations usually goes something like this: Ella: “How would you like your hair done today?’’. Mum: “Ah, a cut and colour, thanks Ella’’. Ella: “No, I’m not Ella, I’m a hairdresser. Would you like a pink and purple colour today?’’ Mum: “Yes please, hairdresser. That’s exactly what I was thinking’’.

     

    Cooking with Dad in her MasterChef outfit

    Cooking:

    Donning her MasterChef apron, Ella’s requests are usually M&M Biscuits (recipe to come soon), birthday cake (even when it’s not her birthday) and ABC muffins (Apple, Banana and … chocolate, of course).

     Knitting:

    This week Ella asked me to teach her to knit. Sound impossible? Quite the contary. She was thoroughly entertained with her needles and yarn, creating a beautiful big…

    …ending up in knots

    …knot! Our next step may be sewing (with glue, instead of needle and thread). She may just be the next international fashion designer.

    We also enjoy Play Doh, dancing to music, doing household duties (she loves finding the sock’ “mates’’ and using her vacuum), taking photos with her Dora camera (see some photos we took together for Sunday Selection), tea parties, babies (although Ella likes to be the baby more often than not), reading books (particularly from the library), singing songs (with pretend microphones), puzzles and playing cards (I taught her to play Fish, but accidentally called it Snap Now she refuses to let me teach her Snap “No mum, that’s not how you play Snap’’).

    Has this left you inspired? Please share some of your favourite activities with your preschoolers.

    Visit Be A Fun Mum’s Activity Ideas for Children 2-5 or check out her list for Activity Ideas for Children Under 2.