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Tag: books

  • The writing of a Pick-A-Path post

    The writing of a Pick-A-Path post

    Girl eating sandwich
    Back when a sandwich was tempting

    EVER read those Pick-A-Path books (also known as Choose Your Own Adventures) when you were a kid? I was so obsessed with them, I even wrote a couple myself. I was about 10 at the time, so they were stellar reads. One was about a birthday and never actually went anywhere. No wonder a publisher didn’t pick it up.

    Anyway, last night I felt like escaping my world for someone else’s. My day had consisted of taking Princess Ella to the doctors after her condition saw her not eating for nearly 24 hours. Finally throwing nutrition out the window to concentrate on sloppy, but highly desired food by a pre-schooler, I opted for Snack Packs. Remember those from your school lunchboxes? Yes, we’re stuck in the ‘80s today.

    Well, it seems, when a snack attack hits you, you know you’ve got the facts, ‘cause nothing does it to you like a. Snack. Pack. True story, because Ella ate the lot.

    Anyway, back to wanting to escape my world. I’ve stumbled across a version of those Pick-A-Path books, but in blog form. It’s not exactly genius, but this is how it works. You pick your path via whichever comment on a post most appeals to you. Who knows where you’ll end up.

    Laney from Crash Test Mummy

    Laney stops at a roadside cafe, sitting in one of those big vibrating massage chairs just as bub needs a boobie juice. So she whips one of her girls out. Can you guess what happens next? Click to find out. Then, either pick your favourite comment from her comment section or come back and follow my choice. Which path will you choose?

    Di from Mummy Di-alogue

    Laney’s friend Di feels she’s losing her cooking mojo after overdosing on too much Junior Masterchef. Aren’t we all! She recalls those days when someone’s cooking ineptitude was equated to not being able to boil an egg. Or water in some cases. One morning she tried to cook a boiled egg and failed. Twice. Do you know what she ended up having instead? Go read her story, then decide if you’ll continue with one of her commenters or come back. Choose your path.

    Anne from Domesblissity

    Di has a friend, Anne, who likes to kick up our heels – with kids TV/movie songs. You’ve Got A Friend In Me from Toy Story 3 is on her happy feet list. Just excuse me for a while I have a little listen…. OK, back with you. Can you guess what else might be on there? Go see if your fave’s on there, then pick your path.

    Jennifer from A Sampler

    Anne leads us to Jennifer, who continues in the arts sphere. Jennifer steps inside her own neighbourhood to share a piece of street art. Not hers, by the way.  One of the messages written on the wall is “Rest in Piece’’. Like Jennifer, I’ve got no idea if ‘Piece” is a spelling mistake or some new term going down with the youth today. I’m still stuck in the era when things were “rad’’ and “sick’’. Can you tell what “Rest in Pieces’’ means by looking at the art work? Feel free to keep picking commenting paths and make your own journey. For me, this is the end of the road tonight.

    It seems “narly” art and muddled spelling were all I needed to brighten my night. I chose just the right path for me. Till tomorrow night’s journey…

    Did you read Pick-A-Path books? Where has your blog comment hopping taken you lately?

  • The launch of a new eZine – Play Grow Learn playzine review

    The launch of a new eZine – Play Grow Learn playzine review

    FORCED to stay indoors due to falling under the spell of the snotty-nosed monster last week, we three princesses were thankful the wonderful Christie Burnett of Childhood 101 had sent through issue one of her inspiring Play Grow Learn playzine to review.

    Play Grow Learn playzine

    Most of you already know who Christie is. But, just incase your internet connection’s been down for the past two years, Christie’s a mummy blogger and early childhood educator. Her blog Childhood 101 has become our regular haunt. What appeals most is its focus on learning through play – it’s this point that was the clincher for the school we’ve chosen for Ella. So it’s easy to see why the quote:

    “What seems to have been forgotten is that play is essential to the development and learning of young children. Not optional…essential’’.

    from the playzine stood out for me.

    Each article provides enough information to answer the “why’’ behind each play activity, along with detailing the actual play ideas themselves.  The only point I’ll make is it’s probably best to set aside some time when you’re minus children to read it. Or you could inadvertently become hooked on an article, prompting someone to get rather impatient with you.

    play grow learn Childhood 101 playzine

    Some of the highlights for us (and particularly Ella) were:

    • The full-colour printable set of Snap cards. Ella asks to play Snap endlessly, so the opportunity to have a special set of cards is all too exciting.
    • The photo of the magical play space. This one set imaginations running wild. Guess what we’re doing this week?
    • With the arrival of Spring, there’s seven pages of outdoor play ideas.
    • The 30-plus baby play ideas have been particularly useful for Baby Holly and I on those days when Ella is in childcare.
    • The Playing with Maps article. Our family became close to a Swedish exchange student, who has only just returned home. Ella has a fascination now with knowing how far away he is in relation to her grandparents in the next town over. It was a great reminder that we need to get her a map to enhance her geographical knowledge.
    • Eight classic play ideas that take less than 10 minutes to prepare – perfect for a particularly impatient little girl.
    • The article on Creating Memorable Birthdays. With both girls marking birthdays in the next two months, this article was particularly useful. There are some fabulous ideas I’d like to implement for the girls’ big days.
    • A quick no-sew superhero cape tutorial. Need I say more.

    Beautifully photographed and designed, it also combines the writing talents of some fabulous mums and teachers, including:

    The incredible part about the whole thing is it’s a meagre $4. Yes, only $4 for 62 full-colour pages of indoor and outdoor play ideas for children from birth to five years. When getting to a newsagency to buy a magazine becomes less likely, this is a perfect alternative.

    For more information, visit the Play Grow Learn page. You’ll be thankful you did.

    Linking up with the lovely Kate Says Stuff’s Thankful Thursday. Click on the link to find out what others are thankful for this week.

  • Revisiting the book that stopped me crying

    Revisiting the book that stopped me crying

    WONDER Week 37 has come complete with the return of The Diva. The fussy, crying, clingy, sleep-challenged full-on Baby Holly. Yes, move over Diana Ross.

    As explained in my last post, The Wonder Weeks is a book by Hetty Vanderijt and Frans Plooij which has uncovered the eight “fussy’’ phases in the first 14 months of bub’s life and shows you how to turn them into magical leaps forward.

    The problem is I thought the bittersweet Wonder Week 37 had been and gone. Sure, there was the li’l cold and the emergence of the rabbit teeth, but the little bit of cranky during that period was surely the developmental leap. It seems not. On the weekend, we hit week 39 and Baby Holly’s delayed reaction to Wonder Week 37. Kind of like Charlie Sheen’s delayed reaction to now being a nobody. And this Wonder Week’s a doozie. Again, just like Sheen.

    This sixth developmental stage – and by stage I mean mega Opera House-sized stage considering the drama that’s ensued – is called The World of Categories. Baby Holly is:

    • Learning about things belonging together. The example given is “a banana looks, feels, and tastes different than spinach, but they are both foods’’.
    • Her language skills are also continuing to develop, picking up “Ella’’ but still not “mum’’. Hmm. Through her speech development, she’s also beginning to understand a lot more of what I say to her (except for “please, please, say mum just once’’).
    • She’s understanding names and objects, so when I ask her where something is (like Ella), she looks for her.
    • Is mimicking what I do. After patting her on the back the other day when she was coughing, she started patting my shoulder in response. She then laughed when I started coughing.
    • She’s trying to master the art of crawling. She gets up on all fours, does a bit of a rock, tries to get her limbs to move forward and then nosedives. Cue: crying. Thanks to the WW there’s a lot of this happening, especially when it comes to settling of a night.

    Here’s what we’re doing to help her development during Wonder Week 37:

    • Giving her blocks in different sizes to play with
    • Reading her touch and feel books and material books
    • Helping her stack the rings on the pole
    • Playing in and next to her tunnel toy. This helps her learn about space.
    • Sitting in front of the mirror and talking together

    Afterwards, babies are expected to have a greater awareness of their surroundings and can often be more independent.

    I’ve already posted about Week 26, provided a copy of the Wonder Week chart, reviewed the book and had author Frans Plooij guest post. There’s more about the new expanded version of the book on the official Wonder Week site. But to learn more about the Wonder Weeks themselves, buy the book (affiliate link).

    How do you cope with your children’s fussy periods?

  • 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?