You can get them from Amazon quite cheap. Here is the link of all the DVDs http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dmovies-tv&field-keywords=LeapFrog&x=0&y=0. It would be cheaper to get them all as a set rather than individually.

IMO LeapFrog Phonics farm would be the best video to start off before introducing the other ones since I feel it is more geared towards infants and toddlers.

I bought the DVD for my 2 year old a couple of days ago. I have all the LeapFrog DVDs and both myself and my daughter are big fans of all the LeapFrog products. However, LeapFrog: Phonics farm really disappointed me.

Firstly, I feel that it shouldn't have been called "Phonics Farm" since none of the animals would be found on a farm. Secondly, It did not hold her attention long at all and she really loves animals! I might have liked it more if they also talked about each of the letters at a slower pace rather than going through them all so quickly.

I was also surprised by the animal introduced for the letter U (not mentioning the animal so I'm not spoiling it for those who have not yet seen it), It's an animal no kid will ever have heard of (some few perhaps), maybe even the case for adults. The animal is certainly not how it looks in real life form, to an extent, it's rather exaggerated, though I understand it's was mentioned to represent the letter it starts with rather than it's real appearance.

My daughter didn't really seem to like it.

Thank you for your replies

She was last vaccinated at her 12 month check-up. I know it's more detrimental to her health to be obsessive compulsive about cleanliness so I'm not OTT about a speck of dust or keeping her in a bubble like environment. She plays in dirt, gets all dirty but I'm very strict especially when handling/touching animals and such though. My daughter would get nothing more than a runny nose that would last only a couple of days but now it seems to have changed since getting sick in September.

She is on a special diet due to "unknown" food allergies. Allergy testing starts from 5 yrs of age in France. Doctor said absolutely no chocolate or sugar and very small amounts of certain foods. I have been cooking only fresh meat, fresh vegetables of frozen depending on the fresh availability, and only ever offer whole grain bread. She is eating everything that we eat except I have an allergy to coconut so we use only olive oil when cooking though of cause she eats all the other things I am allergic to.

I noticed that it seems to get worse not long after eating something, today her cheeks are light rosy pink, so I am thinking maybe it might be allergy related?. She was diagnosed with Atopy last month. The doctor doesn't seem to think it's all allergy related though.

I use Mustela facial cream and apply it frequently or when needed.

My 2 yo has had persistent very bright red, very dry, rough like cheeks, runny nose and cough for the last few days now and the shade of red is changing in colour from red to bright red. it has been like this the last 2 times when she became sick. She was never really like this before when she would get sick as a baby. It is winter now (I think) and really not that cold here. My husband is sick too, he may have been first.

I asked the doctor and he said that it's because she is wiping her hand across her face when her nose is running causing them to become red and dry and she is only coughing because the mucus is going down her throat causing her to cough and not to do anything because she is "healing". Then shouldn't she always have had this reaction in the past when sick?

My LO last got sick late September and lasted to mid-late October and now is sick again. She goes to daycare but I never see any of the kids sick like her that persists for more than a week, nor with bright red scaly feeling cheeks, in fact, she seems to be the only one going that gets sick!.

Could it be something else causing it or I really just don't have much faith in doctors? Thanks in advance

My sister has 3 kids all under 4. In her opinion, she says it gets easier when they are around 4 but IMHO I think it all depends on the child and the parenting techniques used on the child and whether or not there are other siblings. My 2 year old is a very good 2 year old. My niece at 2 years old (now 3 1/2) was a little terror as she was often provoked by her then 3 year old sister and the oldest would often play up to get attention. My sister works from home and has 3 kids at home and I always see she has a spotless home, the kids all organized, dinner done, everything else done and I envy her sometimes!

I'm tired because I never stop running around and very rarely had a break in 2 years, only had about a days worth of rest, but it's not just because I have a 2 year old. I have to cook, clean, educate & play with my child and so on. I'm not so tired anymore because she is in daycare now 3 days/wk.

In France, as I have been told, people often look down on mothers who stay at home to look after their child/ren, only lazy mothers stay home, so for me to ask for help if I need a break, I will not get it. I stay home every day, how could I possibly be tired?! My husband is no better, he's quite OCD about everything and makes me more tired!

It does get easier but that all depends on the child's temperament I reckon.

Hi LeoSmolka,

This question regularly gets asked on this forum. If you do a search on the forum it will come up with a lot of good recommendations for French DVDs, books etc

This might not be what you are looking for but this site is great for anyone looking into learning French, especially online

For children learning French home page http://www.lepointdufle.net/enfants.htm

home page in French http://www.lepointdufle.net/cours-de-francais.htm
home page in English http://www.lepointdufle.net/french-learning-material.htm

I stumbled across this great Homeschool site that's based in South Africa. They offer some wonderful FREE homeschool/teaching resources and also very affordable ones as well and more. They also talk about the important concepts Preschoolers should learn before starting Kindergarten and how to best teach the concepts with suggestible activities to practice and/or enhance those necessary skills.

www.staidenshomeschool.com/

I have had a look at my Time & Money book. It is very detailed in explaining the hour, minute, seconds etc. This is the book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Time-Money/dp/1561895008. Ages 5-8. I love the series on different subjects. I have quite a few of these books.

My DD has the same problem but at her daycare and also when we have attended mothers groups. My daughter was trying to do an activity labelled 3+ and a child but the daycare providers told her she wasn't allowed to do it because she was too little. My daughter has the same activity at home and is quite good with it.

My dauDD learnt many required skills by 18 months and talks very clear with 95% understandable vocabulary, has a large vocabulary and speaks using 6-8 words sentences and she is 2. Her peers at daycare are older by just a tad few months. None of these children know how to say more than moo or baa, give milk, me tired go but my daughter was unable to attend preschool at 2 because they said she wasn't ready although she has all the necessary skills and mature attitude to attend and my daughter misses out because she loves learning and is more than ready for preschool.

Children don't start learning the alphabet and numbers until kindergarten (from 5 years) but my daughter already knows everything she should be learning at preschool except not a fluent reader though she is trying to read. I came to the conclusion that so long as my daughter is not misbehaving at school, I will be the one to teach her all the things restricted to her by age or for another reason, so she isn't missing out or keep looking until I find a place more accepting. In France, early learning is not something you will ever really hear people talking about and not many people are kind to me about it.

If you can look around for another gym that might help even if it will cost you more in fees or travelling distance. Or at least talk about negotiating a trial to give your child a chance to prove capable?

I know this is not geared towards toddlers or young children but I think khan academy http://www.khanacademy.org/ is the best place for you to have a look around and familiarize yourself with higher levels of maths and then perhaps you could create activities yourself that will hold your child's level/interest particularly using PP presentations and collecting ideas from other websites and blogs. My 2 year old loves to watch a few clips off this great site. Just an idea!

The Complete Series and Get Ready For series are great and can be used from Pre-K +. I have a few of these books for different subjects and will let you know if the time and money book is any good for the Complete series as I have to find it on my Skydrive. I have come across a few blogs that are activity based specifically in teaching counting by the minutes and a few things you can try make yourself for teaching time. I'm not sure on how well they in teaching the time but hope these ideas help. Here are some blog posts and telling time games/printables

http://stepintosecondgrade.blogspot.com/2011/09/telling-time-to-minute.html
http://littlestlearners.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html
http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/jennydz/flower-clock
http://2ndgradeponderings.blogspot.com/2011/07/time-practice.html
http://www.littlehandsbigwork.com/2011/10/telling-time.html
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/search?keyword=telling+time&seltype=0&seltype=4&pr=1
http://www.teacherweb.com/SC/bells/madden/apt5.aspx
http://debbiediller.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/how-to-tell-time/
http://www.mrprintables.com/printable-file-folder-games-clock.html
http://stepintosecondgrade.blogspot.com/2011/07/getting-crafty.html

I'm so glad I'm not the only one. Funny thing is every time I call my hubby at work he just says how quiet and easy his job is and only feels tired because it's very dark by 6pm. I think he just wants to avoid parental responsibilities and have more time for his computer and xbox. Boys will be boys as the saying goes. I agree that taking a break is very important. It will do more harm than good pretending to be super mum and that is why I decided to have 3 days a week to myself. I feel so much better now.

It's hard when both parents work but I would suggest to any parent feeling tired to either ask for less hours whether the husband or wife or both or find a different job more suitable to your needs and split up the parental duties like you (the wife) can be the one to cook all the time but you and your husband take turns in the cleaning, laundry, bathing,reading to the kids and changing them etc. Can prepare food in bulk and freeze the rest for later or have some help from the ILs if the relationship is good, let them have the kids for the day on the weekend or come over after work and help a little.

You are welcome! glitterusagi stated somethings I was trying to communicate more clearly but unfortunately I'm losing my English vocabulary and couldn't find the right words!

My 17 month old did understand the differences, I could tell only by her negative/strange behaviour, as she couldn't talk, which was very unlike her, but I guess that really depends on how different or similar the two cultures are because many find it unbelievable that my 17 month old understood but French culture and way of life is very different to Australian in all aspects.

Every foreign child will usually behave this way but how long it takes before they finally accept their new surroundings, varies for each individual.

How old is this child? I don't know if it is possible but maybe he is making up these stories in the hopes that his mum will take him out of that daycare and stay home or wants to make her feel guilty? I don't know but hopefully things will improve soon.

Only speaking from my similar experience, I would agree with this child's mother, especially if he is on track with everything else. He sounds completely fine to me. My daughter was only 17 months when we went to Australia but the experience was terrifying for her, she understood that she was far away from home. She knew the language, the people, the climate, the food - she understood that she wasn't home and nothing made sense to her,.

She was always crying as soon as one would make a loud sound from having fun playing and the only people she would take to was grown-ups because they were less daunting to have to deal with. They treated her how she was used to being treated, gently and patiently.

When she met them (her cousins) for the first time, my nieces were very loud and typical "kids" not much older than her, my DD was very frightened of them and was at that time very shy and quiet, not very active. My nieces kept playing rough with her or kept wanting to play with her but she didn't want to because she was scared.

French kids on the other hand, I wonder if they are even allowed to talk or act like kids, they all seem so quiet and reserved, strictly disciplined, strangely well mannered for kids and play quietly in the park - this is all what my daughter knew for 17 months. I noticed the big cultural differences when I was in Australia, Oh how I miss watching kids be just that, kids!

It took my daughter some time to finally realize that that's how kids are there, more outgoing and loud. Since our return to France, my DD is like the foreigner, she became just like her cousins. Everybody noticed how different she became upon her return.

Unless you've been in that situation before, it's not easy to put yourself in someone else's shoes, actually I believe that's impossible. It's just as daunting for a 2 year old as it would be for a 50 year old. Kids need familiarity to feel safe. People assume what life must be like for me as a foreigner but I don't bother to argue with them about how wrong they are - it's not the same seeing a Country as a tourist.

My daughter's daycare question my parenting all the time, I just say, sorry I'm not French and move on. Theses are people who have never left their own Country, let alone have had experience dealing with a foreign parent or child. There are some things my daughter isn't doing that a typical French child her age should be doing but in Australia, these are things kids her age aren't meant to be doing so I'm never concerned. I keep trying to explain cultural differences but that just goes through one ear and out another.

I hope my ramble helps a little

I have been a SAHM for 2 years now and I am always physically tired. My DH always says to me, "how can you be soo tired, you do nothing all day! How come you didn't clean this, how come you didn't do that" AARGH!!". It really angers me, his family say that I am very lazy because I choose not to work and also think I do nothing all day but sit on the computer. When my daughter is home, she is into EVERYTHING and is very cheeky, non-stop on the go, although very few tantrums. When daddy comes home, she is very placid - complete opposite to what I have to deal with, so he thinks she is like this all the time. I know she is like this because by the time he gets home, she is soo tired from running around all day. If he was the SAHD, he'd know it's not easy. If I was working hours like yours, I would be EXTREMELY tired and no matter what, every parent should/does feel tired, I'd be a bit concerned if one wasn't tired at all - are they even spending time with their child?.

Although my DH loves our DD, I feel like I'm a single mum! He expects me to do everything and he just pays the bills. I pretty much do everything, every now and then he'll contribute, whether giving her a bath or holding her when she wants to be held, but it doesn't come without whinging on his part. I go to bed very late each night, as I am creating a home curriculum for my daughter and I feel guilty spending time on the computer when she is home awake, usually around 1-3am depending on how I feel and wake up 8am so tired. If I sleep in on the weekends, my husband complains because he works 8.30am - 17.30pm everyday and I have an easy job so I should be the one up early to look after our little one on a WE. Because of all this and the fact that in 2 years, I've never had anyone babysit my child besides from when she started daycare in September this year, I am drained as I've never had time to sit down and rest properly but I have to keep going because my DH is lazy (sorry darling!).

You seem to be doing a great job, keep it up