Finger Exercises for Kids learning Handwriting and How to Hold a Pen Correctly.

Sep 23, 2015


Handwriting is something that takes children a while to master. 

It is a skill to coordinate a pen/pencil in a controlled manner to produce an exact result and one that develops over time and experience. 

To develop good handwriting, you require good fine-motor skills, hand/finger muscle strength and a good pen-grip/hold.

Being a trained teacher, since my children started holding and drawing with writing tools (pens, pencils, markers, crayons, paintbrushes), I have been encouraging them to adjust their grip to hold their writing implements with the three correct fingers that allow for good handwriting down the track.

Many children don't practice holding a pen using the correct 3 fingers until they get to school and then it's often a matter of trying to correct the natural hold that they have developed. 

Whilst children (and adults) are able to write using other various holds, the time-tested method below, once mastered, is the most comfortable way to write, allows for ease of movement and is the least likely to cause muscle strain or discomfort, especially when writing for lengthy periods of time.
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5 fun indoor balloon party games

Sep 21, 2015

This post is sponsored by Illooms Ballons

Balloons are often synonymous with parties for decorating and adding a burst of colour and fun, quickly and easily, but there are so many more things that balloons can be used for! 

There are a huge number of balloon games, fun activities with balloonsballoon crafts and even science experiments using balloons that you can try.

Playing balloon games is great for encouraging gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, balance, concentration, focus and movement

Balloons don't cost a fortune, they're easy to store and transport (we take some with us in our kids travel kit) and they can be played with by people of all ages, making them an ideal material for all sorts of occasions.

It seems that now the humble balloon has become even more fun with the introduction of the new ILLOOMS balloons. Unlike your average balloons, these contain a fixed LED light in each balloon, which illuminate for up to 15 hours when activated with the easy-pull tab!
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Watercolour Paper and Markers. Process Art for kids

Sep 17, 2015


We love experimenting around with various creative materials and seeing the different results that can be produced using these different materials and processes

In today's arty activity, the steps involved are simple enough for children of all ages, but can vary dramatically in results depending on their design. The results that we obtained ended up looking quite beautiful, but it was the experimenting with different designs, colours and the dramatic change that occurred when water was added, that really made this a stand-out activity.

Ages: 2+
See the bottom for Handy Tips
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Best Educational Toys for Kids. Magna-Tiles

Sep 7, 2015


Magna-Tiles. Are they really worth the money?

This post is sponsored by Finlee and Me

There are so many toys out there available for purchase, that it can be hard to know what is going to be of real value. We have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to review a number of fabulous educational toys over the years. We're often asked to promote or review toys for kids but the reality is that only a select few make it on to the blog and into our hearts as a toy that we absolutely love.

For a toy to make it into our top toys list, it needs to:
  • be fun
  • be educational
  • be appealing
  • be open-ended
  • allow for creativity
  • be able to be used for many years by multi-ages

Magna-Tiles ticks all these boxes and their aesthetic beauty combined with their ease of use and ability to allow for creativity, problem solving and imaginative play have firmly entrenched it as one of our favourite toys of all time.
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