Do you mean Mandalas to colour in?

There are many free colouring pages out there, such as

http://www.coloringcastle.com/mandala_coloring_pages.html

There are also mandala creation programs (some free) such as

http://www.colormandala.com/

http://www.mandaladrawerer.com/

And you know you can take your creations, put them in an ebook and give them away from a blog, or sell them on Amazon Kindle.

It's actually the number one selling Kindle book for ADULTS these days (says a lot about adults, really. I cant believe adults are colouring in when they could be working online to create a lasting legacy for their children.
I buy self-help books off Kindle and cant believe they arent the most popular books out there! But I guess I'm just a driven kind of person.

Thanks guys! Finding Minecraft was her undoing - some youtuber named Stampylongnose or Stampylonghead - she is addicted to his channel.
Minecraft is a real problem for many kids these days.

Infact, many homeschooled kids do MInecraft activities as part of their homeschool learning. I know this as I'm in homeschool groups and when I started homeschooling was the exact same time she discovered Stampylongnose. So I tried getting her involved with local homeschoolers, who it turns out have Minecraft meet-ups where they all meet at a library to get on their laptops or ipads and do MInecraft gaming.

And you can google "using Minecraft for homeschooling" or "using Minecraft for children's education" and you'll find it's a popular topic.

Thanks to Minecraft, And Stampylonghead, I put her back in school and gave up on homeschooling - so she could socialise with REAL KIDS and REAL ADULTS in the REAL FRESH AIR and REAL SUNLIGHT.
Yes, she did that while homeschooling but a lot less than she did (and does) when going to school.

And get exercise. That's a problem with computers. They cut down on the exercise time and playing outdoors.
You cant just let them walk to the park or pool anymore and it isnt practical to  take them all the time.

Are there any apps out there that combine a full Montessori curriculum like the resources found at Montessori Print Shop with Doman encyclopaedic knowledge/tweedlewink style Bit flashcards - AND that is somehow engaging rather than just flashing?

I absolutely love preschool (Kindergarten)  - I put my children in a daycare kindergarten program if it was available (sometimes - or some centres) part-timers couldnt get the kinder program - they just got "daycare" - but even that still had different learning activities in it, and still socialising with kids and adults. In Australia the childcare training is very stringent and the carers are now all called "educators" to reflect the effort they go to to teach the kids things and extend their learning in lots of areas. They're always changing the layout of the room and the activities set up (weekly or fortnightly so part-timers dont miss out) and have different daily activities like making biscuits or visit from a firetruck etc.

Basically I made sure my kids got Kindergarten from 3 years old - sessional centres and long daycare. I have tried homeschooling but my experience has been that the parents often dont turn up to activities or meet-ups, and so my kids missed out on socialisation. They were lonely, basically. (And trying to make friends via the internet - with goodness knows who - So I put them back in school.)

They dont use flashcards or Montessori (unless its specifically a Montessori centre- I did a childcare training placement at a Montessori centre once and I think it is sadly lacking compared to "normal" kindergarten) - so I choose traditional kinder over Montessori after that ( a combination would be OK, but Montessori alone - it's SO boring. The poor kids were trying to play with the resources (using their imagination) but kept getting told off for doing it wrong. And when trying to socialise, where told off "find some work to do!"

So any Doman training would have to be done by you at home. I think in Australia they are trying to go the Reggio Emilia approach now and using beige equipment rather than colourful things - they find kids learn better with natural colours and textures like wood apparently (so I did all the colourful plastic stuff at home).

I feel like my kids thrived at preschool and really came out of their shells - were more outgoing and not clingy. But I started them at daycare earlier so they transitioned OK into Kinder. And then OK into school.

My nearly 8 year old is totally addicted to Tablets and computer things...like Animal Jam, Minecraft and more. I let her use my Samsung Note phone and I can barely find my alarm clock or camera on it due to all the apps she has downloaded.

She sneaks things into her bed to do under the covers when I think she's asleep.

So be careful - it can be a real headache and a real Battle

BabyPlus uses drumbeat noises that could well be very echoey in the womb. I know they drove me mad and I hated having to listen to the  noise. I'd have preferred ABBA....an felt sorry for my baby thinking it would probably be as bored as I was...

Hi All,
I came across something on the internet and then found others saying the same thing.  That there were reports that Babyplus had been causing deafness. (Some people said that it had happened to their child.
I used BabyPlus with one of my children (I have 6).
And that child is partially deaf in both ears.
The audiologists insist her mild-to-moderate high frequency hearing loss is congenital (she was born with it - conceived with it -inherited in families) and that her full-blood siblings would likely have the same condition.

Strangely, we all have fine hearing.  (Its not inherited at all - she's just a one off). Noone even in the extended family either side have any hearing issues.

But this child was different. She didnt move in the womb - just parked herself head down ready to be born many months before birth and just wiggled her hands and feet. Like she was stuck. I was repeatedly told it was normal and not to worry, but I knew it was NOT normal. Though she came out fine and is healthy and intelligent - just has hearing problems.

When I read about links between BabyPlus and deafness I thought back to when I had used it. I had missed the first 4 kids as I didnt know about it then, then used it on baby 5 (this one) but had misplaced it before I had the next baby so didnt use it on him.
And the one child I used BabyPlus on has to wear Hearing Aids all her life, and has to see a speech pathologist. When I think where I put the monitor (down low at the front) and where her head was all that time - meaning the drumbeats would have been very loud in her ears and she couldnt get away from them - I really cant help but think the connection is very alarming.

Has anyone else made this connection? Or know of anyone who has used BabyPlus and has a child with hearing issues?

I dont know what the effects are on kids so young (they're like sponges but forget a lot of things, but if exposed to things repeatedly they learn it) but the big issue is... he's not going to stop. Or if he does stop watching it outrightly, he's not going to care if the child overhears. And he's likely to act out these things with his girlfriend, and potentially his child.

This guy is a creep, one of those individuals who cant control their testosterone and whom the world is better off without - and who would be better off castrated.

I wouldnt rest until that child is away from them - the girlfriend isnt great parenting material being in a relationship with a male of that calibre. This child is in danger and if I were you I would have as much contact with the child as possible and ask questions - and record everything. get any disclosure recorded via your phone...keep it on recording in the background when you have conversations. And keep hounding DHS to keep it at the top of the pile of things they have on file.

I hope they didnt just kick him to the curb for his request of a 14 year old. That is a reportable and arrestable offence... was that done? if they didnt do that, and DHS find out, or the 14 year old tells a teacher, they can get in big trouble for not doing enough. They will be reported to DHS and have that on file.

Has anyone seen this video doing the rounds of the internet?

A 14 week gestation baby (that is 12 weeks from conception as we are all 2 weeks pregnant before the day we conceive, due to the silly method doctors use for dating pregnancies) is CLAPPING to "if you're happy and you know it!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5MTdPW6C8o

I just saw this article and it reminded me of my third daughter - she clearly said hello at 10 weeks, witnessed by my older kids. And she kept repeating it.

Unfortunately I didnt get it on video.

My next daughter didnt repeat that, but turns out she has a hearing loss. And my son barely says anything at 18 months, like his older brother. He'll probably just unlock at 3 like and suddenly come out with sentences like his brother did.

It's unusual for boys to talk early, so saying hello at 7 weeks is astonishing.

https://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/practical-parenting/baby/a/26607413/baby-says-hello-to-mum-at-just-seven-weeks/

it would be great if there could be more of this in third world countries...education is the key to escaping poverty but costs a fortune to most poor people who cant afford books, pencils, uniforms, fees and transport etc...so education that speeds children along academically would help their families not have to pay out so much by not having to pay out so many years.

Hi I didnt realise I'd had any replies as I had no email notifications.
I tried mediation but one brand makes me vomit for 2 days straight and the latest one makes me sleep all the time, so I just cope without. I do thing family support and not having too much on your plate are the s. I have little family support, and too much to do. O find there really isnt much support out there.

Hi, seems i'm now battling the beast that is Post natal depression (or post partum depression). just wondering who else has experienced this? I've had pre-natal depression with all kids, but usually not being pregnant anymore and actually having the baby to hold fixes that.

I found mine is situational rather than chemical....what are other women's experiences...and how hard or easy is it to shake off?

its very difficult working around older children. My little one is a bit over 4 months and its difficult to do anything for him with all the visual and auditory distractions. Soon they'll be back to school and kinder so I'll utilise that time. My last child wasnt interested in Brillkids or YBCR or anything...turned her head away...turns out she had glue ear, and a hearing loss underneath that. So she may have been trying to listen.

I was sure my now 6 year old was left handed. She did everything left handed...I mentioned it before in the forum. but when she got to school she switched..the teacher told her to use her right hand. When I found that out I asked her which hand she preferred to write with and she said right hand!! my 4 year old also seems left handed...but I know now that she may still end up writing with her right hand when she gets to school. I wanted them to be left handed as it's more unique, until I heard on the radio a statistic///left handed people live on average 7 years less than right handed people.