I have the DVDs and all 7 workbooks. My daughter is still way too young for any of the workbooks but I have them for the older children I work with. I like the DVDs and I do let my young daughter watch them but she walks away after 2 minutes or will turn it off. I mostly think that is because she has been introduced to other educational DVDs and software like leapfrog and reader rabbit so her interest wanders off.

The only thing I don't like about the workbooks is the activities are quite repetitive until you get to workbook 5 and doesn't offer a more learning opportunity for kids who are already quite familiar with phonics and might get bored easily as they will find the activities not very challenging and quite simple. The children I am working along side are just learning so they go crazy over it but I still think there is better out there.

So, IMHO It would be best to get these products when a child is just starting to learn to keep them interested. overall 7/10

Hi all,

For those looking for teaching their littles ones the basics, here is another site found.

http://literacycenter.net

Just going through the other links i've found to ensure they are suitable for babies and toddlers then i'll post them if they are..

 

When I first found out I was pregnant, the only person I told immediately was my sister because she has kids and could easily relate as she had many miscarriages and has 3 kids as well. I didn't tell my other family and friends until after the 1st trimester.

I didn't tell people before because I didn't want to get them all excited incase something went wrong as my sister announced 2 early and lost them both before 11 weeks.

If I could turn the clock back, I think it probably would've been a better Idea not to have told my very unsupportive mother until AFTER the birth, though living with her at the time, would've been hard to have hid it.

Hello all,

Here is a site that enables you to dowload the stories and music for free. For those who don't speak French, click télécharger to download 

http://www.iletaitunehistoire.com/

My sister told me about the tooth paste a while ago, but I can't use anything to clean my walls, I would have to paint the wall. even just a gentle scrub from a soft bristle toothbrush would scratch the white paint away and leave a black mark instead, so, I hope that if my dd shows interest in the walls, I can find the wall sheet thing. I wish my Australian house had wings and could fly long distance! French houses are a bit of a nightmare  >

Waterdreamer, thats great! I had my daughter in daycare and when I saw that they weren't doing any activities with the children at all besides from letting them play with their toys and play equipment, "unsupervised", I had to take her out and doing it all myself now, we're having a lot more fun together. After this experience, I wish I could run my own childrens activity centre. I think this daycare had that attitude because they are underpaid and understaffed and that is such a poor and unprofessional attitude to have.

TmS, these are some great Ideas I must give them a try. How old is your son? My daughter is only 13 months but i'm guessing she really loves music because she heard it A LOT while in the womb and still does. She prefers heavy metal over childrens songs, definately taking after me in musical tastes.

She has her toy piano, it's her absolute favourite, she "sings" and "dances" along with the rythmns of the sound from the piano or her other musical toys and the music she hears from me. Do you know if they sell proper musical instruments specifically for young kids that you can buy online and shipped anywhere? instead of the toy ones that have their own built in tunes at local stores.

I'm not sure where you are from so maybe not familiar with Toys r us but they actually sell large proper drum kits for kids aged 3+ (France store, not sure on the others), I know my daughter isn't 3 but I'm hoping to buy her that this christmas instead of paying triple the price for the adult sized one, as i'm sure no musician, but I can't find any other types of instruments that are similar, they are all the really plastic cheaply made hand sized ones with its own built-in tunes.

I'm very interested in hearing what you all do, I'm hoping to get my little one into a music class as soon as she is at the appropriate age to be accepted, but as I recently moved to France, i'm not sure where to start looking  So if there is anyone from France on this forum, please let me know of any lessons they may have.

Thanks

Hi everyone,

I've never thought to share it until now. There is a free software that you can download to convert files to any of the formats that enables you to play them as a video or convert videos to mp3 formats.

With the use of Format Factory, I can download clips and convert them to MP3 and then I can store them easily on Itunes especially if I don't want film clips. I store video files on a USB stick and use it on the TV for my little one as well. Storing it on a hard drive or USB enables you to easily take it to others places and can easily convert to a PSP (if you have one) and can let your kids watch short clips or listen to their favourite songs in the car etc. I don't burn onto a CD, I find they get damaged very easily.

For those who are not aware of how to download off youtube, here is a free software, to enable it: http://youtubedownload.altervista.org/

For Format Factory http://www.formatoz.com/

If anyone has any problems understanding either one, feel free to PM me

Cheers

Thanks for sharing this great link! my dd adores babyTV, I never thought to check the website.

Hi Zaa, If you want a list of websites with lots of crafts and ideas, PM me and i'll send you my very daunting list of websites!

TmS, that is great your child is so well behaved, my niece is the only child and has a SAHM and gets a lot of positive attention and reinforcement but she is very jealous and "demands" constant attention to the point she wants to follow everyone when they have to go to the toilet. We're baffled by her strange behaviour and it's not separation anxiety.

I don't mind if my daughter scribbles on the walls, she hasn't yet. I wouldn't discourage it for the walls that are white and for furniture that can be easily repainted but there is 2 walls that can't be painted and that is the only problem and concern. However I'm not a big fan of this activity, I think it's great for building on their stregth and for short activites but i think it's better to work on a table or a floor as kids seems more confortable that way.

My hubby actually suggested putting large wall stickers in light colours, all around the skirting boards and make sure it stands taller than her and let her scribble on that when the time comes as it's harder for her to pull off. I never thought about this one before....she still is only interested doing things on the floor for now so will give it a try when/if the time comes.

I know there is drawing and things like that but what do you guys do with your kids to enhance their creativity using music? I sing songs and rhymes, have instruments and make our own, play a lot of music too and my little one is a passionate music lover but i'm not sure what else there is that I can do to provide more possibilities to explore music? My Lo is a vivid music lover and any suggestions would be great, thanks!

No worries, You can find the recipes here to make your own paint and other things: http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com/craftrecipes.html

TmS  gave some pretty good advice but many people will tell you different things. At 10 months, he may preferably feel more comfortable laying down or sitting at a table rather then stand up but if you feel comfortable sticking things on walls then you can try that too, though, I doubt he will understand not to draw on walls, at least for a while.

I wouldn't put things up on my walls for her to draw on 1. I'm renting and 2. my daughter likes to rip things off the walls so I know sticking it on would be a waste of time and she wouldn't see the difference and start scribbling away. My niece is 3.5, and still draws all over the walls and furniture even though she understands not to do it, most of it won't come out. Though you can repaint walls, you can't repaint certain furniture and surfaces. .

I give blank art paper and large multi-coloured craft cardboard and we both draw or scribble and then stick them up on display around the house. I print off colour-in pages and make a poster theme and let my LO colour them in and then I add some details I.e gluing white cotton balls in a cut out of a cloud etc for an extra touch. You can make home made play dough, glue, paint and crayons instead of spending a lot of money on already made products. I make all my recipes, not to save money but to enjoy making things together (bonding) as well as teaching maths at the same time (whilst preparing the recipes).

At just 10 months, he isn't really going to have a lot of understanding, nor enough strength - then again, i've never raised a boy! maybe they are even born strong. Pretty soon, I'm going to buy one of those standing chalkboards so my daughter can start experimenting with chalk but while her muscle strength is still a little tender, I'm sticking with the "tools" that are easier to scribble with, chalk doesn't really stand out so much on certain "coloured" paper, surfaces etc unless you apply a lot of pressure, for most light colours in all the writing "tools".

Paper mache is another thing he may enjoy doing as well. You paint it white, let it dry, then give him a paint brush and some coloured paint and let him paint it himself then when it is finished, you can make it into a farm animal or a piggy bank - my daughter loves doing this.

Once children start preschool/kindergarten, they really start building up on their craft skills

Hey everyone,

Just came across this great website for flashcards covering general topics such as colours, days of the week, meeting and greeting etc and includes pronuncation and pictures too. Not sure if you are all aware of this site, just thought i'd like to share it with you.

Link: http://www.byki.com/

Cheers 

Hi Ishaa,

10 months isn't too early, I think it is a great idea that you are introducing your son to new things. As long as you are always supervising him to make sure he doesn't chew/eat them or draw on walls or furniture, by all means, go ahead. My daughter starting doodling around 9 months with non-toxic writing/colouring tools and I never took my eyes off her.

I bought large pieces of blank art paper and sticky taped them to the floor (preferably tiled is better) and let her have her way with it. Having large paper on the floor hopefully prevents them from drawing on things they shouldn't be drawing on.

It may still be some time before he can hold it correctly in the mean time, guide the crayon by holding it in his hands to get the idea of how it works. Let him have as much time as possible exploring and doodling on his own as well. It's not something I think a parent should rush upon, it will all come naturally when he builds up his hand muscle strength.