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Tag: TV

  • FEATURE: Li’l elephant takes to the dance floor

    FEATURE: Li’l elephant takes to the dance floor

    Dancing diva Ella after her first dance lesson

    PRINCESS Ella is not the most graceful of dancers.

    In fact, she inherited her dad’s flat feet, which means she struggles to grasp the concept of “dancing on toes’’ – she’s more like Babar the Elephant than Angelina Ballerina.

    However, she reached the stage where she knew all the moves on every dance-related DVD she had, so we decided it was time to start dance lessons.

    Many regular readers will have already seen the bloke in The Shed’s account of gearing up to take Ella to her very first dance lesson in The Beginning of the End.

    So what happened?

    Well, there’s always that fear that maybe she’ll just stand there, too shy to participate.

    The instructor obviously knew this to be the case for many so offered for mums to take part in the class too. Fat chance. The last time I danced in public was under the influence of a bottle of wine and Lionel Ritchie. Hmmm.

    Thankfully, my dancing wasn’t required. Ella took to the class like Victoria Beckham to dieting. It may have helped that she had a li’l friend along with her, which gave them both the confidence to stand right up the front.  She likes the spotlight (check out her diva moment in the video from two years ago).

    These are some of the golden moments from her first lesson:

    • When asked to twinkle her fingers in the air, she responded loudly with: “Look, my mummy painted my fingernails with nail polish. See?’’ The dancing had to be halted while everyone looked at her fingernails.

    • Each dancer had to choose an imaginary horse. Ella’s friend decided to bring her horse over to her mummy to “show’’ her. When the dance instructor later queried Ella’s friend as to whether she’d already chosen her horse, she replied: “yes, I left it over there near mum’s chair’’.

    • Ella’s eyes lit up when she was asked to “jump like a kangaroo’’. Earlier that morning we’d discovered a frog in the house (not something we’ve ever encountered before), to which Ella responded with “look dad, he’s jumping like a kangaroo’’. Needless to say, she was proud to show off her kangaroo skills for the second time that day.

    • Accidentally chest bumping another dancer footy style and then pretending like nothing happened. Ella barely moved; the other girl bounced and hit the floor.

    • Half the class being named Sienna and hearing an echo of:.“that’s my name, too’’.

    So, how did your little one adapt to their first dance lesson (or footy match)? What moments made you laugh?

  • FEATURE: The top 10 Aussie kids’ shows and how they’re affecting your child

    FEATURE: The top 10 Aussie kids’ shows and how they’re affecting your child

     

    Wherever there's face painting, Ella will request to become a fairy.

    DAY two of the 31 Days To Build A Better Blog challenge? Write a list post. So here goes…

    BEFORE children we vowed our kids would not be subjected to The Wiggles or Hi-5.

    Within six months of Princess Ella being born, that went out the window – along with “we will not let them eat chocolate’’ and “we will not take them grocery shopping’’.

    While books and craft take precedence in our household, there’s always time for a li’l TV each day.

    Here’s 10 of our top Aussie kids’ shows and how they’re affecting our children (not to mention doing a mother’s head in):

    1. Playschool – Watch for puzzled looks on children’s faces. While we wondered why our parents were laughing at John Hamblin’s adult humour all those years ago, now our children are wondering what’s so funny about Rhys Muldoon. “Ah, nothing, darling’’.
    2. The Wiggles – These four skivvy-clad men have taught children that it’s OK to scream “wake up Jeff’’ to a sleeping baby. Sheesh!
    3. Dorothy The Dinosaur – Children are learning to sing opera and dance ballet. However, as you’ll see in the YouTube video, it’s also creating divas who like to hog the spotlight.
    4. Hi-5 – Similar to Dorothy, this one has taught them when Teddy Bear or Monster Dance comes on, Mum is not to sing the lead, only back-up vocals.
    5. Magical Tales – Just because Sparkles and William can say “Spellaroo’’ and the Star House is cleaned up instantly, doesn’t mean it will work in real life. After attempting this one three times, it resulted in a very disappointed preschooler.
    6. The Fairies – Children must have a fairy dress, shoes and wand with them to be able to dance properly. If they can’t find their fairy dress, all hell breaks loose.
    7. The Kingdom of Paramithi – “Every day is a special day’’, except on days when you throw a killer tantrum. And mum doesn’t respond to: “Genevieve? Can you do a dance for me?’’ while twirling your finger.
    8. Toy Box – Has learnt a new way to sing the alphabet that’s far more annoying than the time-honoured version. It also means now that “T’’ is our favourite letter.

      Ella and Kellie during a meet and greet with Dorothy in 2008
    9. Zigby – Just because you can hear Playschool favourite Justine Clarke singing, doesn’t mean you can see her. “Quick mum, it’s Justine.’’ Runs from the kitchen to the lounge. “Oh, where’s Justine?’’ Yes, sorry, just a stupid zebra (once known as a stripy horse).
    10. Bindi The Jungle Girl – Teaching our children it’s OK to pick up snakes, spiders, rats … oh, and crocodiles. A real education.

    So, what shows do your children watch? And, more importantly, what are they learning?