If you are in Melbourne this weekend, there’s a book launch not to be missed. Friend and colleague, Ben Sanders, is launching his first picture book! Ben is a graphic designer and illustrator of serious repute. His work regularly appears in mags, newspapers, books and advertising. You’ve probably seen his cool design work without even knowing. But, after reading “I’ve an Uncle Ivan” with your kids – you’re sure to recognise his work in the future.

“I’ve an Uncle Ivan” is a free-wheeling rhyme illustrated in a nostalgic 1950s style that introduces readers to Uncle Ivan, his extended family and 14 different modes of transport. Ivan has a niece on skates, who has two hitchhiking brothers. They have a cousin on a scooter, whose sister drives a Mini… And so it goes until we meet the whole family, who are travelling to a secret destination on every form of transport from unicycles to bi-planes to trams! 

And yes, Ben really does have an Uncle called Ivan.

I love the endpapers in this cool, quirky book. There’s even a 3D model that kids can pop out, colour, and build so that they can retell the story and interact with the characters. Check it out!

The launch this Saturday is bound to be a hoot. Expect lemonade and fairy bread, balloon artist, activities and more. If you get along to it, tell Ben (and his wife and kids) I said hi…

*I received a copy of “I’ve an Uncle Ivan” courtesy of

Thames & Hudson

Author: Michelle Worthington

Illustrator: Sophie Norsa

Publisher: New Frontier

SquiggleMum’s comments:

This is a sweet story which will appeal to young girls, and in my opinion the best of Michelle Worthington’s work to date. What will Ava wear on a windy, yellow-dress-kind-of-day, when her yellow dress is nowhere to be found? Sophie Norsa’s illustrations are an absolute delight. A small percentage of the royalties go towards supporting children with Rett Syndrome.

Recommended for:

• understanding special needs
• discussing weather
• early childhood through to lower primary

Rating:

*I received a complimentary copy of Yellow Dress Day courtesy of New Frontier Publishing

Panflutes or panpipes are very old, and very simple.  They are pitched, meaning you can play different notes with them, and sound is made by blowing across the bamboo sections of varying length.

To make our panflute we first stripped the bamboo of leaves and cut sections of bamboo, which the kids ordered according to length. We wrapped string around the first section, joining it to the second, then the third, and so on. This was a bit fiddly. We then wrapped string around all of the five sections.

Finally, we wrapped in between each section. This helped to pull it all together tightly. We trimmed all of the ends and left them hanging at one side. Traditionally these were often plaited decoratively, or used to create a neck strap.

As you can see from the photos, our panflute is fairly rudimentary! We could have sanded the cut sections of bamboo, we could have sealed the ends with wax, we could have used a crossbar… If you want to try a more authentic method, instructables have a 50+ step DIY guide.

For us, the fun of this activity was in making something from nothing. We created a real musical instrument with string, secateurs, and a plant from the backyard. 

What could you and your kids create in the backyard together…?

]]> http://squigglemum.com/activities/activities-outdoor/bamboo-panflutes/feed/ 0 http://squigglemum.com/mums/the-children-who-loved-books/ http://squigglemum.com/mums/the-children-who-loved-books/#comments Fri, 15 Feb 2013 04:21:07 +0000 SquiggleMum http://squigglemum.com/?p=6234

Author: Peter Carnavas

Illustrator: Peter Carnavas

Publisher: New Frontier

SquiggleMum’s comments:

Pete is a friend and colleague. He continues to go from strength to strength with New Frontier, producing stories full of warm and sensitive characters. In The Children Who Loved Books, he challenges the notion that “stuff” makes us happy. The two children in the story, Angus and Lucy, don’t have very much – but with books and each other they have pretty much everything they need.

Recommended for:

• Lower primary
• Family reading, followed by discussion about wants vs needs
• Community story telling, particularly in lower socio economic areas

Rating:

*I received a complimentary review copy courtesy of New Frontier publishing

On our holiday we saw lots of signs while driving around, including some that were new to us. Interpreting the road signs was a great early reading experience for the kids, especially for Mr4 who is still in the pre-reading phase.  Signs with added information provided a great reading opportunity for Miss6 as well.

Signs written in multiple languages were even more fun to read, and allowed for great conversation about the purpose of the sign, how important the message was, and who the audience might be. This is the beginning of critical literacy. (image link)

While we drove through the Daintree rainforest to Cape Tribulation, we were all on Cassowary watch. I so badly wanted to see a cassowary in the wild. Sadly, no matter how hard we looked – the only cassowaries we saw were the ones on the road signs. Mr4 pointed out every. single. one of them.

One cassowary sign is famous in these parts. The speed bump sign has had a little editing…

You can look for interesting signs with the kids anywhere, not just on holidays. Try asking some of these questions (depending on the age of your child):

• Have you seen any other signs that colour?
• What could that symbol mean?
• What number is that?
• Why is that number on a sign?
• Are there any letters from your name on the sign?
• Is that a sign that you have to obey, or just a suggestion? How do you know?

My favourite memory from our recent trip to Far North Queensland was an afternoon spent on the beach at Cape Tribulation. Cape Trib is across the Daintree River by barge, as far north as you can drive in a regular vehicle. It’s literally the end of the road, though it feels more like the edge of the world. So beautiful.

With no toys and no plans, the kids enjoyed an afternoon of free play with only the things they found on the beach. Here’s what they did:

Collect.

Investigate.

Imagine.

Discover.

Balance.

Jump!

Build.

Be.

Hello again! It’s been very good for me to take a break from blogging for the past few months. At first I felt guilty, then relieved. Only after that could I really think about what I want to do with this little patch of the online world.

I love being a blogger and I’m not ready to give it up yet. It has been a huge blessing in my life and I’ve had so many wonderful experiences and opportunities through blogging. That said, in order to create space for the “other” writing I do (children’s books – the reason I started blogging in the first place), I need to make a few changes.

Here are some things I will NOT do in 2013:

• general PR posts
• check stats
• compare my blog
• say “yes” without really thinking it through

Here are some things I WILL do in 2013:

• post weekly (weekly-ish)
• review new release picture books
• submit more of my own manuscripts to publishers!
• say “no” without feeling guilty

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, but I do think a new year provides an opportunity to assess our lives and consider the direction we are heading. I’ve noticed a few other bloggers and friends have chosen a word for the year. One of my closest girlfriends has embraced the word nourish.

I think my word for this year will be blessed. My husband and kids are an incredible blessing. I’m blessed by friends, my job, our home, our church, the blogging community, and so much more. If you follow me on facebook, twitter or pinterest, I’ll be using the hashtag #blessed.

So what about you? Which word will you aspire to in 2013?

• I wonder if it is now helping or hindering my journey as an author?
• I wonder if, after 400 posts from me and 5,000 comments from you (thank you!!), this blog has simply run its course?
• I wonder how long my children’s stories are mine to share? They are growing up so fast!
• I wonder if the endless requests to promote this and attend that have finally taken their toll? I am grateful for the wonderful opportunities blogging has brought me, but my inbox is a constant stream of PR requests and I turn down 95% of them.
• I wonder if it is time to launch something new? And if I do, I wonder if you’ll come with me??
• I wonder if taking the time to wonder is more important than we realise?

(image source)

While I am happy to share my perspective as an educator and a mother, I am not a child psychologist myself, so I was delighted to be able to interview Dr Paula Barrett about this topic.  Here are her thoughts on the risky business of childhood.

(Yes, my kids are playing with sticks…!)

Paula, why is it important for children to be allowed to take risks in their play?

There are several reasons but mainly because children learn and gain resilience through challenging experiences. If a child only ever does things within their comfort zone, where they completely understand all the potential outcomes, they don’t learn how to deal with not always achieving the right result or potential disappointment, which is extremely important in later life. Children learn the most when they are challenged.

As parents, how do we know what is reasonable risk, and what is dangerous? 

Risk needs to be determined dependant on the particular child and what is developmentally appropriate. For example, a very young child may be able to climb a tree but doesn’t actually yet have the muscle strength for a successful climb – which can result in a dangerous situation. It is very useful to listen to your support networks to help guide you on this, such as grandparents who have great experience and parents with kids of a similar age as they may have dealt with similar situations.  There are also other networks you can rely on who have studied in this area, for example, child care workers, sport coaches etc – they can often make a valuable contribution to your questions.

Have today’s parents become too risk averse?  Why do you think this has happened?

There are so many reasons for this but I think the main ones are:

• Parents are more isolated when bringing up children than they used to be. Involving your support networks can help you better evaluate risk by including those with experience, like grandparents or parents with kids of similar ages.
• There are just so many rules – which are good in that they protect society at large however they can also inhibit children to take risk.
• Kids time today is increasingly over-structured with too many scheduled activities – which minimises the opportunities children to be challenged outside of being told what to do.

What should we do to encourage children who are not natural risk takers?

A great way to encourage children who are not natural risk takers is to help them form friendships with children who are.

And, as parents you can reassure them through modelling the behaviour– go outside with them and get involved.  You can try a step plan where you encourage them to face challenging situations in small steps – maybe once a week or once a fortnight, only moving them to the next step when they are ready.  It helps to reward them but not with things that you buy – it is more powerful to dedicate time to something that they love doing e.g. take them to the beach or build a cubby house with them.

Is there any evidence to suggest that encouraging kids to take risks in play might lead to risky behaviour later in life? 

No, there is none at all! Children taking risks during play build self-confidence, whereas developing good judgement or self-regulation is another issue all together. Risk taking in adulthood is more about personality and life choices.

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Many thanks to Dr Paula Barrett for answering my questions about kids and risk, and the team from MILO for arranging the interview. I am proud to be a MILO Play Ambassador!

Here are five reasons why I’m a fan:

1. She’s Australian. Sure, there are wonderful artists overseas as well – but I appreciate the Aussie accent and Aussie content in her work. When my kids sing along, they aren’t singing about zeeeebras or wellies
2. She writes great songs!  I have heard so many other mums say that if they HAVE to have kids music playing in the car, they would rather it be Justine Clarke than anyone else. I have previously shared some thoughts about her music here and here and here.  Oh, and here. Her music isn’t dumbed down for kids. It’s sophisticated musically while still being age appropriate.
3. She performs “real” concerts. I enjoy seeing a real artist performing with real musicians, and I think kids do too.  Her setup is never OTT, and it doesn’t need to be because the music speaks for itself.  A live gig is a new experience for most kids.
4. She cares about her little fans. She might walk the red carpet and receive nominations for acting awards, but she is never too busy for her little fans.  I’ve seen her stick around for a long time after shows to meet little ones, pose for endless photos, and accept lovingly drawn pictures of The Gumtree Family.
5. She’s a mum. Just like us, she juggles her dreams with raising her kids.

Would you and your child like to go to Justine’s Pop Up Tour? Just leave a comment sharing what you like about Justine Clarke! One entry per person please, Aussie residents only, two winners will be drawn at random Sunday 29/7/12 8pm Qld time. Justine will be performing in Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne.

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This comp has now closed. Congratulations Ainsley and Glowless! 

Hope you and your kids enjoy Justine’s Pop Up Tour.