Kinder

Important Dates

Tuesday 20th June - Lasiandra Pyjama Day

Friday 23rd June – Last Day of Term 2

Monday 10th July - First Day of Term 3

Monday 17th July - Lasiandra Photo Day

Tuesday 8th August - Banksia Incursion

Thursday 10th August - Wattle Incursion

This term seems to have gone so quickly!  Only one week until the end of term.  Just a reminder that our kinder sessions run at normal times for the last day of term.  

We are looking forward to a fun Term 3.

Bed Time Routines

Sleep is by far the number one issue for parents of young children. One consistent research finding is that having a bedtime routine not only helps make bedtime easier but also helps them sleep longer and better. Having a consistent bedtime routine is directly related to better sleep: Children who have a regular bedtime routine fall asleep faster, have an earlier bedtime, have fewer night wakings, and sleep longer than children who do not have a regular bedtime routine!  The benefits of a good bedtime routine spill over into other aspects of your child’s life as well. Research shows that a consistent bedtime routine benefits parent-child attachment, language development, and emotion and behavioral regulation.

Here are four tips for creating a bedtime routine:

1. Make Your Bedtime Routine Consistent

Do the same steps in the same order and have the same 3 to 4 steps every night. For example, bath, massage, story, and song.

2. Start Your Child’s Bedtime Routine at the Right Time (and earlier than you think)

The average Kindergarten aged child needs somewhere between 10 and 13 hours sleep.  So work out what time you need your child to be up in the mornings and work back from ther as to when your child needs to be asleep by.  You will then need to work out how long your bedtime routine takes.  A bedtime routine does not need to be lengthy, just as above, consistent.

3. Keep Your Child’s Bedtime Routine Short and Sweet

Your bedtime routine, whatever it is, should be short and sweet. The key is consistency. 

4. What to Include in Your Bedtime Routine

• Bedtime Bath - Baths are multi-sensory and affect core body temperature, both of which can be a signal to the body to wind down.
• Bedtime Massage/Mindfulness - a calm experience like a massage or mindfulness exercise helps train your child on how to relax their body. This is such an important skill for emotion regulation.
• Bedtime Stories - including a bedtime story as part of your bedtime routine is not only about better sleep but also cognitive and brain development. 
• Bedtime Song - We have been singing to our children for centuries. The is something soothing about lullabies/songs for both the parent and the child.

Lunch Box Ideas

Everyone's budget is getting tighter, it can make getting a good amount as well as a balance of nutritional foods in the kids lunch boxes tricky.  Here are some cheap, tasty and most importantly healthy-ish lunch box ideas ideas to help save money and maybe to introduce some new foods.

• Rice with canned tuna made in balls, if they don’t like tuna add finely shredded chicken
• Zucchini slice
• 90c packet cake mixes with fruit or choc chips added, makes loads of mini size cupcakes, perfect for lunch boxes
• 1 Pancake shake bottle, 400ml milk - pour into oiled mini muffin tray, bake for 10mins at 180 - makes approx 60 mini picklets. (you can add berries or choc chips too)

If you have some great lunch box ideas for families, please feel free to send them to us and we can share them in the newsletter for families.