Building our Community

Some Handy Parenting tips - Some for big kids and some for small!

Handy Tip 1: Switch off and get your brain ready for school

No technology in the morning (TV/devices). Teach independent organisational skills by putting a checklist on the fridge to see if everything is done and ready!

Handy Tip 2: Books at bedtime

Read with your child every day. Talk about the story. Ask questions. When they’re older, read one page aloud (modelling) and listen to one page being read by them.

Handy Tip 3: Dinner time chats

Turn the TV off, ask open ended questions (not yes or no answers) to promote conversation.

Handy Tip 4: In the car

Ban the devices until everything else has been played! Games: I spy, Car Cricket, I went to the shop & bought an egg… Point out significant landmarks. Talk about historical areas. Teach the names of towns. Children get a great geographical perspective and learn when they’re near their destination.

Handy Tip 5: Bored is a wonderful opportunity

Allow your child to come up with their own ideas of what to do. This stimulates creativity. Set the expectation that children shouldn’t always be ‘entertained’.

Handy Tip 6: Building writing ideas

Make up a ‘sensational start to a story, ask your child to think of a character and a setting to suit the story. Take turns in making up the content of a story.

Handy Tip 7: Social expectations

Take pencils and paper everywhere with you. Children can draw/write in restaurants and friend’s homes.

Handy Tip 8: Play dates

Invite friends over. Children who build relationships outside of school often build wider networks and confidence at school.

Handy Tip 9: You as a role-model

Be aware of how much time you spend on your own phone. What kind of message are you sending? Be actively participating when you’re with your children. Save Social Media for when they’re not with you.

Handy Tip 10: Watching movies

Is a movie appropriate? Talk through any misconceptions. Use situations as good talking points. Think before you watch. Scary images and sounds can get stuck in children’s heads.

Handy Tip 11: Getting ready the night before

Have a ‘Ready Set Go’ box/area in your child’s bedroom. What needs to be prepared the night before to avoid the morning rush?

Handy Tip 12: Cooking

Cook with your children! It’s a wonderful reading and mathematics opportunity!

Handy Tip 13: Create a gallery

Hang a piece of string across one wall of your child’s bedroom or other area of the house. Peg pieces of art or writing on it. Look for where improvements have been made to celebrate learning.

Handy Tip 14: Parenting ideas

Look for seminars/guest speakers or books to help you through the next stage of your child’s development.

Handy Tip 15: Craft table/useful box

Set up a small craft table at home with paper, scissors (if appropriate), pencils, glue etc. Encourage your child to use the Craft Table to create! Set up a kitchen drawer or cupboard spot with a ‘useful box’ if you don’t have room for a table.

Handy Tip 16: Family games night

Play board games as a family before allowing TV. Uno is terrific for maths! Scrabble (Junior version) is great for literacy! Have a board game night instead of a movie night with special food.

Handy Tip 17: Get outside more

Have you heard of Geocaching?? It’s a fantastic outdoor activity where a GPS or mobile phone is used to seek and find containers called ‘geocaches’ or ‘caches’ at mystery locations. Once you’ve found one, you enter its location into a log book and people from all over the world can see. Google how to get into it.

Ride/walk in your local park.

Handy Tip 18: Roles & responsibilities

Setting clearing the table. Stacking/unstacking the dishwasher. Feeding the family pet – whose job is it?

Make a roster and have ‘reward’ stickers. After a nominated number of stickers, celebrate in some way.

Handy Tip 19: One to one hot chocolate dates

Stopping after school for a hot chocolate/ice-cream, is a great way to spend some quality time with your child. It also teaches them important social skills. Grandparents can join in by taking children on special dates.

Handy Tip 20: Learn a skill or do an activity together

Try knitting or finger knitting. Do some woodwork and make something interesting. There is a great sense of achievement in this. Do puzzles together. Enlist the help of those Grandparents again to help out.

Handy Tip 21: Become a local library regular

Local council libraries are a wonderful resource. Visit your local library regularly and help your children find a variety of fiction and non-fiction books that they will love. They also hold wonderful activity sessions!

Handy Tip 22: What’s out the window

Become experts at looking out the windows and noticing what you see…the moon rising, trees moving, bird, planes flying over, the shape of clouds, people you can see. Talk about it…