Blog

After yesterdays power failure, many of us got up this morning and continued on to school and work as usual. Weather and News reports are suggesting that we are due to be hit again with strong wind gusts and heavy rain from 3 pm. 

Please remain vigilant on the roads during school/childcare pick ups. Poor visibility and current road conditions can make for a long journey, remember to hold onto your children to and from your car,  keep a safe distance from the cars in front, reduce speed when necessary, keep your lights on and be careful at intersections that have lost power! 

Stay Safe Adelaide! 

Finally the sun has realised it's spring! Our Kindy children ate their snack outside today to bask in the sunshine, we hope you got to enjoy some too! 

Today our kindy Children started their very first worm farm!

Spring is a great time to get children interested and invested in their outdoor environment. Planting quick to grow plants, herbs and vegetables is a great place to start and what better way to keep these fertilised than with your very own worm farm!

Worm farms are a great way for pre-schoolers to learn about composting from start to finish, how the scraps in the kitchen can be re used instead of thrown into the bin, feed the worms who in turn produce great fertiliser for the garden both liquid and soil.

We have attached a link to a step by step guide on putting together a worm farm. (Worm farms can be purchased from most hardware stores or you could have a go at making one yourself!) 

Instilling awareness about the environment and how to care for it at a young age is a great investment in all of our futures! 

http://www.foodwise.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Worms-ONLINE-1.pdf  

Anyone with small children can probably understand the stab of fear you feel in the pit of the stomach when you realise you simply have to go to the shop/grocery store etc and you just know that your little one is really not up for it today – that a meltdown is inevitable.  

Some children just don’t like shopping, some are tired, some are bored, and some want everything and don’t like the word no. Whatever the reason when your child has a full on, lie on the floor screaming/yelling episode in public, it can be very stressful for both parents and the child.

Sometimes the hardest part of it is learning to ignore the looks of disapproval or sympathy and sometimes even “friendly, helpful advice” (“maybe he need’s his nappy changed?”) from onlookers that we get as parents.

A couple of us here at Northgate have recently been to some “Positive Parenting” seminars, based on dealing with such episodes and general behavioural issues aimed at both parents and carers. I have attached a link to Positive Parenting Approaches on the Zero to Three Website for anyone who cares to take a look.

It has tips on dealing with not only the dreaded shop, but how to deal with toddlers irrational behaviour (“I want the red bowl”), time outs – helpful or harmful and how to deal with your own emotions.

Parenting is a tough gig – but the rewards are endless! Happy Parenting!

https:///www.zerotothree.org/parenting/positive-parenting-approaches