The Gift of Time

This week has been a big one for me “doing my bit” and I was inspired for my blog by the influx of people close to me who have also been “doing their bit”.

I believe, one of the greatest gifts you can give someone, is your time. You can splash out on fancy presents or give expensive cash and vouchers to people, but the one thing that is free and comes from the heart, is your time. Spending time with a child doing something fun, spending time with your family chatting, spending time with your friends catching up. These are things you can do for free, that will build your relationships and enrich your world…and theirs.

So this week, I really noticed that so many people close to me have been giving their gift of time to the community. My mum has been involved in her local school council contributing towards the direction and success of the local school; she has also been volunteering her time to run some fundraising events for the school. One of my sister in laws has just taken on a voluntary role at a community parent centre in a local shopping mall. It’s only 2 hours a week, but with 4 young children, that is a wonderful commitment from her to give something back to the town she lives in and help others. My uncle gave his time, with that of his band members, to play a concert at the local school in his town to raise funds for their school supplies and materials. I attended a great movie night last week with a friend who had organised it as a fundraiser for cancer research. And I have been inundated by kind people donating books to the fundraiser that I am running for literacy programs for disadvantaged kids in remote communities of Australia. People who I don’t even know, as well as my close friends and family.

There is no shortage of people out there who are willing to give their time to help causes that they truly believe in, and I think this is a beautiful thing we can teach and share with our children. As parents, grandparents, extended family and friends we are the role models that our children will look up to, and aspire to be like when they grow up, and don’t we want them to grow up being caring, giving, generous individuals?

There is so much that a child can learn from volunteering; there are the obvious literacy and numeracy skills that they can build on running a market stall or baking cookies from a recipe. But there are the skills of customer service, of sharing, of acceptance and tolerance, of contributing to society in a meaningful way and giving something to their community without any expectations of recognition or reward.

So my suggestion for this week, is to look around you, see what is out there that you love, find an organisation or a cause that is dear to yourself and your children, that inspires you or interests you and get involved! Give the gift of your time, and that of your kids and a make a difference to your community. If you love it, it will be fun, and if you’re having fun, your kids will too. Learning that’s fun. That’s what it’s all about.

See more ideas like this in my book Learning that's Fun

Day Tripping with the Kids

I finally managed to plan some time into a hectic schedule to visit the National Gallery of Victoria (the main gallery in my state). Having been before I didn’t bother with the regular displays, but went straight for the Napoleon Exhibition. As I arrived I had just finished a discussion with a lady I met on the train, and the answer to her questions were “no I’m not a big Napoleon fan” and “no I don’t know anything about France”. But I do love art, and now I actually am quite a Napoleon fan, and know way more about France than I ever did before and am definitely adding some of Napoleon’s past haunts to my itinerary for travelling to Europe next year!




Get to the point...here it is. Take your kids to the gallery! If you live in a tiny country town, head down to your local community centre where local artists can display their works, or where the historical society displays sketches of days gone by. If you live in a bigger urban centre you will likely have a larger gallery with some local and international works; you might even have a couple of really famous artists on display in your home town. And if you live in a big city, you are the luckiest of all having access to bigger galleries with international and national collections and probably lots of artefacts and historical displays. Turn your trip to the gallery into a full day event. Take a picnic lunch and take advantage of any discounts you may be entitled to. Many galleries and museums have low income discounts, student discounts, family discounts, travel club discounts, kids under certain age free and lots more.

But what has all of this got to do with learning? Well as I said, I knew nothing about Napoleon, and had no idea about any of France’s history other than what I have seen in “The Man in Iron Mask”(which I'm pretty sure is all made up). But by the time I was done I had enjoyed some beautiful, magnificent art works, seen some gorgeous displays of artefacts from Napoleon’s reign and felt enlightened about a time in history that actually had such a great impact on the history of my own country, Australia. I learnt that the French Revolution saw the removal of the monarch, I learnt that Napoleon of was of Italian descent but changed the spelling of his name to suit his home country of France, I learnt that over time he built his credibility to the point where he was sworn in as Emperor, and then appointed himself as a sort of monarch all over again until he was exiled in 1814. I also learnt that he was married twice, had an obsession with all things Australian, and was reading Captain Cook’s journals when he died.

All this from a one hour visit to the gallery.

This is the magic of discovery that your kids could experience in a trip to the gallery too! Many art galleries now have children’s programs that are run especially to teach kids artistic skills and art appreciation. During the school holidays you may find your local gallery advertising sessions that your kids would absolutely love, but you may never have thought of before. These sessions are sometimes free, but most require a small charge to cover materials. Imagine having 2 hours all to yourself during the holiday period to go for coffee or peruse the gallery yourself, while your kids are learning about the history of painting and creating their own works of art.

Many galleries these days also have audio aids or iPod tours, where for a small fee or no charge you can take a device and headphones and have a guided tour around the entire gallery. Now tell me…what kid wouldn’t love to have their own iPod guide them around the gallery? The best one I’ve seen so far was at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania which was sensor driven, and somehow just magicially knew where I was and which piece I was looking at. If you are in Hobart with your kids…take them there! It is amazing!

So keep an eye out in the local papers or sign up to websites to see updates and notices of holiday programs or special kids events or exhibitions that your kids would love. If you have a daughter obsessed with Princess Kate take her to see a royal exhibition, if your son loves Ben 10 take him to the museum to see the  “old fashioned” gadgets pre-Ben10.

Not only can your children learn to appreciate art and improve their own artistic skills, but they can learn so much about the world, about general knowledge, history and society. They can learn new words, new phrases, why things are the way they are today and where we came from in the past. Art isn’t just pretty pictures, a picture tells a thousand words! And wouldn’t you love your kids to know those words?   

Find more ideas like this here to make learning fun for your kids!

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The Beautiful Art of Handwriting

Some might start to argue these days that handwriting is no longer an important skill and we don't really need to teach it anymore because we have arrived in the digital age. But I would challenge the idea that kids don't need to learn how to write.



I think a person's handwriting can have just as much impact on making an impression as the way you dress or how you brush your hair. Other than doctors, very messy handwriting can be difficult to read, hard to interpret and can be frustrating. But reading the writing of someone with beautiful lettering can be a pleasure and can really show of their creativity or interest in making an effort.

The actual practice of writing by hand is a really hands-on approach for kids to learn to read and spell while they are forming their own words on paper. From an early age young children begin to learn the shapes of letters and as they put those letters together they start to form words. While writing the words they start to learn the basics of punctuation and gradually move in to story telling and reporting. Taking the time to write the words gives them time to process what they are writing and understand it, as opposed to typing where they are simply repeating patters and can be reliant on spelling and grammar checkers.


For me personally, I love to write. I mean physically get out a pen and paper and write things down. Every day I write lists, notes to myself, notes to others, drafts of ideas and things I want to do. I love practicing my hand writing and re-writing important things to make them neater and more logical as I go. But the biggest reason that I write by hand, is because as I'm doing it, I make an imprint in my memory, and I often find that later on I don't need to refer back to my notes because I can see what I've written in the back of my mind. Others may need to refer back to their notes often in order to remember, but better to refer back than to never write them down and forget!

So with all of this, why not make handwriting a fun activity in your home? It will encourage your children to pick up a pen and practice their handwriting and give them a fun way to practice their spelling and reading. I've put together a few ideas for you to get your kids writing at home, in a way that will be so fun they won't even know they are learning!

• Have them write out your grocery list
• Keep a note pad handy to jot down things you need as they run out
• Make a post box out of a cardboard box and leave "mail" for eachother
• Write a letter to Grandma, an Aunt or Uncle, or long distance cousin
• Find activity books that have sections for handwriting
• Put up a whiteboard with pens or blackboard with chalk for writing & drawing
• Print out handwriting sheets with topics that interest your kids (e.g. Justin Bieber, Ben 10). Just google and you'll find a heap of sites.
• Spend time writing activities and appointments in a diary or calendar
• Staple some blank sheets of paper together and write & illustrate their own stories
• Write messages on greeting cards for birthdays and christmas
• Recycle computer paper and make your own notepads for the kids to write on
• Get in on the act yourself and start keeping a journal of your thoughts or notebook to jot down your own ideas. If they see you writing, they will be begging you to get their own notebook!

There are so many ideas you could come up with; but the more they practice, the more confident with their handwriting and their spelling they will get, so why not do some of these ideas and give your kids the opportunity to be the one with beautiful and neat handwriting that shows off their intelligence and creativity.

If you have any other suggestions, go ahead and leave a comment with your ideas! Or send us a story or picture about the ideas you have used in your home! We would love to hear about them and share with our friends!!!

Find more ideas like this here to make learning fun for your kids!