back to top BEST STARTS FOR KIDS Best Free Links For Self-Isolating With Kids If you're looking for great free websites that provide passive learning activities for your child you may like to check out the following links: ​ 3-6 Year Olds Sesame Street ABC Kids https://www.abc.net.au/abckids/shows/sesame-street/ This provides a range of engaging games that will keep your kids entertained while teaching them language and maths concepts. ​ 4-12 Year Olds ABCya https://www.abcya.com/ This is likely one of the largest range of free games you can access and kids love it. ​ 4-10 Year Olds The Fact Detectives https://www.kinderling.com.au/music/programs/the-fact-detectives/ants I love this as an input to encourage kids to want to learn more about science subjects. If your kids are interested in science it's really worth checking out. 5 Years + Highlights Kids https://www.highlightskids.com/ I really like this website as it caters to older kids too and it's not gimmicky. I think it would be best if you go through and highlight the areas of the site you think are particularly useful and then are available or nearby to assist your child the first times they use it. ​3-12 Years Learning Games for Kids https://www.learninggamesforkids.com/ This has some great games although it may need you to walk them through it. I was impressed with the quality of the games and the range of topics covered. ​ 3-8 Years PBS KIDS https://pbskids.org/games/ You will need to check this out first and find the games that suit your kids interests as there's a lot on this site. ​ 3-8 Years Starfall https://www.starfall.com/h/index.php There are a range of games you can access without logging in to the site although much more is available if you do log in. ​ 3-12 Years Learning Games for Kids https://www.learninggamesforkids.com/ This has some great games although it may need you to walk them through it the first time or so they play it. I was impressed with the quality of the games and the range of topics covered. Thanks Mrs M, Mrs I, Mrs B & Mrs B for your wonderful input. N.B. After consulting with a number of colleagues these are some of the best free websites we've found. But this doesn't imply that they're the full list of best sites available, or that you may agree that every game on every site is consistently the best. If children are online there are inherent risks. It is important that you supervise them to maintain control over what they have access to and who has access to your kids. Share this page with friends If you're looking for great free websites that provide either active activities your child can do or ideas you can use, go to the following links: ​ 2-12 Year Olds (although many activities could be fun for the whole family) 87 Energy-Busting Games & Activities For Kids (Because Cabin Fever Is No Joke) https://whatmomslove.com/kids/active-indoor-games-activities-for-kids-to-burn-energy/ I LOVE these activities and I think the adults will likely enjoy many of them as much as the kids. They are really worth checking out. ​ 2-6 Year Olds Cosmic Kids Yoga https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga This link provides a great range of activities to keep young kids entertained and moving. And best of all you don't need to be involved so can work while your kids are being both entertained and exercised. ​ 4-6 Year Olds https://busytoddler.com/2018/09/post-it-math/ A simple way of practising maths skills in a novel way. Just for Parents ​ Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/ I have LOVED Khan Academy for around ten years now. It allows kids to learn at their own pace and caters well for those who require remediation and extension. It now requires a parent sign up. I have supplied the following link for parents to access information for Children Of All Ages Across all KLAs https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/learning-from-home/teaching-and-learning-resources This website can give you much greater insight into what your children are learning. If you're self isolating with kids the following tips will help: 1. Set up a predictable routine... The key to success is providing a variety of activities: Some active, some passive. Some challenging, some relaxing or easy. Some creative, some chores. ​ 2. Maintain clear boundaries for behaviour and explain what is expected ahead of time. If you're working you will need quiet time to be able to work. Set aside quiet time ​ 3. Notice the positive where ever possible and reward positive behaviour. What you notice you'll get more of. ​ 4. Be consistent. What you let your kids get away with shouldn't be determined by your mood. ​ 5. Be a leader for your family. Provide a good example. Kids are quick to spot hypocrisy. For hundreds of great ideas on keeping kids happy and occupied while self-isolating go to the following link Things To Do: Self-Isolating With Kids Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. It highlights what successful parents do differently to those who struggle. Best Parenting advice.com provides free online resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice on: how to give kids a best start in life, better tips for parenting toddlers, effective child rearing strategies, behaviour management tips, successful goal setting and organizational strategies for successful families, easy family dinner recipes, self-care tips for time-poor parents and free kids learning games. The aim of Best Parenting Advice.com is to provide quality practical parenting tips and advice to best help children and families succeed, using the convenience of a website. ​ This website provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. Best Parenting Advice.com does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or with every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this website to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Similarly users of this website are advised to follow any recommendations for seeking professional advice as all information on this site is generic. Best Parenting Advice.com is an independent website and is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

FUN READING GAMES Reading Game 2 Although the games are different and can be used for revision purposes at any level, you will need to work through them each in order to access the words used, as the learning is sequential and cumulative. Reading Game Cards Assessment Sheet To continue with Fun Reading Games click on the next level link below. For other fun games click on one of the other links below. Level 3 Micey Dicey Game Fun Phonics Fun Maths Games Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice possible on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. The best parenting advice regarding creating engaged learners is to make learning as much fun as possible. That's why games work best to revise new information. Children practise skills over and over in play situations, yet aren't even aware they're doing it. Best parenting advice.com provides many examples of quick and easy games to help develop both early reading and maths skills. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

Back to Top SELF CARE FOR PARENTS Stage 3 Time Saving by Planning Meals Ahead Making Family Life Easy 3 ​ The time and money used for ongoing planning of meals and small shopping trips can be instead used for something more worthwhile: e.g. Home renovations/ housework Education/ self development Fitness Assisting child success Socialising and relaxation: engaging in fun activities that help build relationships Paying off a mortgage much earlier Having savings that would otherwise not exist The creation of choice ​ Online shopping can be a great advantage if you're organized. ​ You may really benefit from using my menu planning system to outsource your biggest monthly shop. I realized if I used the almost three months I saved by not dropping in to the shops and used the saved time for something for myself e.g. exercising or reading, my quality of life was better. Also if it cost me only $5 in fuel to get there that can be an additional cost of $10400 over my working life. And that's a really good holiday. ​ Now while this may sound really pedantic I've used simple data to illustrate that it's the cumulative effects of what I did, on a regular basis, that made a huge difference to our health, finances and quality of life. ​ I can't tell you how many friends and family I've shared my organizational strategies with over the years because they saw how well they worked and asked me for them. Share this page with a friend ​ For those who need meals on the table within minutes of walking in the door click below: ​​ You may be able to congratulate yourself because you know that you don’t waste food; however you may have to drop into the supermarket more often because you run out of something. This usually means a detour of around twenty minutes (at least) by the time you park the car, walk in, locate the items, get through the checkout walk back out, drive home, unpack the car and then unpack the items. And realistically it's likely to take you much longer than that. ​ ​ TIME SAVER: Just for interest sake (one day when I was feeling a little bit too pedantic) I worked out if I didn't stop off at the supermarket, (just once a week,) over my working life, I would spend a minimum of 84 working days less grocery shopping (based on just a 20 minute diversion on the way home.) ​ That's nearly three months of my life. ​ But how often can shopping take much longer? I know this 3 month estimate is really conservative And this 84 days is in excess of the times that I already did the grocery shopping. Now you might be feeling that you don't have the energy to put this meal organization in place to eat healthy and I get it. I felt exactly the same way. But for me the long term benefits far outweighed any short-term inconvenience. ​I also found on days when I was working late, and needing dinner prepared 'super fast,' it posed yet another huge set of challenges for me. If that's how it is for you, I'd suggest looking at 'Healthy Meals on the Table in Minutes.' You may find ideas there before continuing with planning your menu. They address organizational aspects specific to overcoming planning healthy meals when you're arriving home late. The Real Cost of Takeaways And I encourage you to consider the Real Cost of Takeaways. ​ Some of the other links below give insight into what worked well for me. You can use them as is, or as a springboard for your own ideas. ​ Making Family Life Easy 4: Next Meals on the Table in Minutes More Meals on the Table in Minutes More Meals on the Table in Minutes Corned Beef and Corn Fritters Easy Healthy Recipes Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. It highlights what successful parents do differently to those who struggle. Best Parenting advice.com provides free online resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice on: how to give kids a best start in life, better tips for parenting toddlers, effective child rearing strategies, behaviour management tips, successful goal setting and organizational strategies for successful families, easy family dinner recipes, self-care tips for time-poor parents and free kids learning games. The aim of Best Parenting Advice.com is to provide quality practical parenting tips and advice to best help children and families succeed, using the convenience of a website. ​ This website provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. Best Parenting Advice.com does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or with every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this website to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Similarly users of this website are advised to follow any recommendations for seeking professional advice as all information on this site is generic. Best Parenting Advice.com is an independent website and is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

back to top FUN LEARNING GAMES Fun Phonics Single Sounds Upper Case Capital letters are used because they indicate importance. They are used: At the beginnings of names and places At the beginnings of sentences To draw attention to something e.g. in advertising, slogans, etc ​ Before progressing through Single Sounds Capital Letters go to Single Sounds Lower Case for fundamentals Back: Level 1 Single Sounds This page contains the following information: The purposes of capital letters Capital Letter Game cards Rules for playing Fun Phonics Capital Letters Anchor 1 Level 2: I usually teach capital letters at around the same time as Complex combinations and Bossy e. ​ Capital letters are used less frequently in general reading than their matching lower case equivalents. Although on signage they're often used to attract attention: shops, advertising posters, pamphlets, catalogues, flyers Stop signs, Give Way signs, street signs, buildings etc. ​ As a generalization, capital letters are usually learnt more quickly than some of the other single sounds as they often resemble their lower case equivalent. For example: C J K M O P S U V W X Y Z are very similar so these sounds can be treated easily by saying something like: ​ 'This is the Capital letter for S and other than it's size, it looks almost the same as the s you already know...' ​ The following large cards are designed to be cut along the lines into individual letters for you to use with your child. ​ You can either screen shot them, copy them on your phone, download and print them or if on a desktop you can click on the image, press save image option then print it. If you're having difficulty with either you can contact me for pdfs to be sent to you at your email address. (You can rest assured that your information will not be passed on to any other parties.) Explaining Capital Letters ​ Capital letters show that something is important. For example: Your name has a capital letter because you're important. And because everyone else is important too they have a capital letter at the start of their name as well... We have capital letters at the start of a sentence because it shows the writer has something they want you to know (it's important to them) so they use a capital letter at the start of the sentence to remind you to pay attention.' ​ Notice below how placards often use capitals to draw a viewers attention. These new Upper Case sounds can then be added into the snap game as one of the two new sounds introduced for the day. Capital Letter Cards: These add to lower case letters game sheets Playing Fun Phonics Capital Letters ​I found introducing sounds that are obviously different work best and especially sounds for the beginnings of names that are important to your child. For example family member's names, school friend's names, places they like to go, etc ​ ​ Ensure when you present the letters they're facing the child the right way up (even when playing games because children can't tell the difference between M & W unless they're the right way up.) ​ I would begin Capital Letter recognition activities by introducing one of the easier letters, especially if also introducing a beginning blend on the same day. Some of these could be: C J K M O P S U V W X Y Z because they're very similar to their lower case equivalent. An additional Independent Activity that could be used as a reward. ​ Take your child to your desktop computer to view the keyboard. Note how all of the letters are capitals. ​ Go to Word or an equivalent. Make the font size 18 (so its easy for them to see each letter and later draw around them.) Let them type out every letter on the keyboard first in lower case and then in upper case . Ask them to put a circle around every letter they already know. ​ They could write them on a whiteboard as below: Sit opposite your child ready to play The Fun Phonics Game. If both of you sit cross legged on the floor it gives your child the best line of sight. IMPORTANT: Ham it up and make it fun. Before you begin, say things like 'You were too good for me yesterday but I'm going to get you today...' And laugh. Prior to introducing any new sounds, flip each known sound (for one second only) down in front of your child, one sound on top of the other to play the revision game. ​ If the sound isn't known move it to the revise pile or is moved to the revise pile. ​ Repeat the process until all single sounds and beginning blends covered to date have been checked. Keep the revision game fast moving. (The entire process should take a minute, two at the absolute most. ) ​ Sounds that are causing any difficulty need to be put back from the Revision Pile into the Snap Pile to be revised. ​ Begin any game with sounds that may have caused some difficulty to ensure they're known before introducing any new capital letters. ​ Revision Idea ​ You could sort all the different capital letters from the alphabet biscuits and count which letter is the most common. ​ You may also like to add a word beginning with each letter you find. ​ Anchor 2 How to Play Fun Phonics and Make it Fun I begin by laying out three letters close to each other in a row, (each the correct way up for the child.) 1. I call out a new sound (say M) and both players attempt to snap the sound before the other player. ​ 2. I call out a different sound (say D) and both players attempt to snap the new sound before the other player. You might introduce a third sound here because if they're very similar to the lower case equivalent, it's easier than usual. ​ 3. Repeat the process using different sounds. (say S, M, D, M, D, S, S, M, D, etc) getting faster. You might even change the letter positions to make them think. ​ Share this teaching game with a friend 4. The game continues until you're reasonably sure your child knows the three sounds involved. ​ 5. Then remove the sound they appear to know best. Introduce a 'new' sound (that looks different to the others) in its place. For example E. And continue the game again. Or you can revise an old sound that continues to be a bit of a problem. ​ 6. Repeat Step 5 over and over again increasing the number of known sounds. ​ For more Fun Phonics go to the Links Below: ​ ​ NEXT Beginning Combination Sounds Complex Combination Sounds Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice possible on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. ​ The best parenting advice regarding creating engaged learners is to make learning as much fun as possible. That's why games work best to revise new information. Children practise skills over and over in play situations, yet aren't even aware they're doing it. Best parenting advice.com provides many examples of quick and easy games to help develop both early reading and maths skills. This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

back to top PARENT SELF-CARE What To Do When Bad Stuff Happens: 2 When you pare everything back, you really only need shelter, food & water. If you can notice & appreciate the simple things of life: Love, family, friends& comfort you'll feel better. Over time you may even begin to question a consumer driven lifestyle, and learn to live happily with less. ​ 1. Take some time to process what's happened. Do one thing, each day, to improve your situation. I sat and thought about what options were available. Then I did the one thing that created the biggest immediate improvement in our financial situation for the least amount of time expended. It reduced the feeling of the wolf at my door. For you that could be: ringing a family member for short term financial assistance, asking friends with businesses if they can employ you short-term (or part-time,) selling something to supply cash for food and necessities, following up job opportunities, lodging an intention to access welfare payments, etc 3. Then I did what would create the biggest improvement to our medium term-financial situation: You could consider accessing some of your superannuation if you're really, really desperate (although this can have major long term repercussions and may affect sickness and death benefits for some.) In our case we cashed in our kid's scholarships (worth $6000) which helped with our medical bills. Sometimes, you may have assets you've forgotten about, you can cash in. And we set up retraining for my husband, to return him to the workforce as soon as he had some independence. ​ Long term we chose education that would make both of us more marketable. 4. I filtered my experiences: I was very careful to notice the good things in our life and feel genuine appreciation for them. I made much more of the simple things. And I increased the weighting of time on the things that enriched me. And every day I made sure I set goals for myself and achieved them. ​ Teaching had always been my passion so I continued to learn and build my craft. Parenting was another passion so I tried to be the best at it I could be. And over time I succeeded at both. ​ I filtered the experiences I had, so that I could focus on every positive thing that came my way. And as a part of that, I reevaluated some of my relationships. I knew I didn't have the emotional energy to spare. ​ There are people in your life who have your back. And they're the people you need in your life right now. Seek out relationships with those who help build you, or see the best in you... Those who see your potential. Not where you are, but where you can be, with time and a plan. You can get through this... I know because I've done it (and there's nothing remarkable about me.) Share this page with a friend When you feel like your life is spiraling out of control: Know it's okay to grieve losing your 'old life' Realize you can get through just about anything, one day at a time Work out what will give you the greatest return for any time expended Look for ways of eating more cheaply Identify a plan to make the biggest difference to your medium term situation. This could involve retraining Set daily goals and keep them Seek out those that have been supportive of you in the past for assistance Risk being told 'No' Realize everything isn't perfect at the moment, but some income can assist in the short term. And upskilling can assist in the long term Know all things are possible, with time and a plan Dust off your dreams and think big. 2. I trialed repeating menus for the purchase of food that made the best use of my time and very limited money. ​ As I said previously, our food budget was between $40 and $70 a week for a family of four. And this went on for about six months, only being supplemented with fruit and vegetables others gave me. Although I did have some non-perishable food in the pantry and the freezer at the outset which helped a bit. Go to the link 'Managing Money in a Crisis ' to learn the principles. 5. I also took many more risks. And I'm still willing to fail, as many times as it takes, to get something right. I really stretched myself. It didn't matter if I couldn't do something, I gave it the best go I could. And even if I wasn't terrific at it, with time I got better. Sometimes I really surprised myself with what I was capable of. And it'll be the same for you if you give it 100%. Give yourself permission to give 100%. If you don't have to be perfect, it'll change your life. ​ e.g. I've built this free website, with no technical knowledge because I truly believe if parents know the information on this site, the chances of their child having a successful life are greatly increased. What is your dream to drive you... ​ Managing Money in a Crisis: Next ​ ​For more Tips on Surviving a Crisis go to the following links: When Bad Stuff Happens When Bad Stuff Happens 6 Tips for Home Schooling Tips for Home Schooling Finding Money During a Crisis Finding money during a crisis Money Saving Tips During Pandemic Ways of Saving Money During Pandemic BLOG: Thriving With Kids Thriving With Kids Best Free Links For Self-Isolating With Kids Free links while self isolating with kids Tips on Explaining COVID 19 to Kids Kids and Covid 19 Kids and Covid 19 Unusual Tips: Giving Up Smoking Giving up smoking to improve your child's life chances Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. It highlights what successful parents do differently to those who struggle. Best Parenting advice.com provides free online resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice on: how to give kids a best start in life, better tips for parenting toddlers, effective child rearing strategies, behaviour management tips, successful goal setting and organizational strategies for successful families, easy family dinner recipes, self-care tips for time-poor parents and free kids learning games. The aim of Best Parenting Advice.com is to provide quality practical parenting tips and advice to best help children and families succeed, using the convenience of a website. ​ This website provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. Best Parenting Advice.com does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or with every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this website to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Similarly users of this website are advised to follow any recommendations for seeking professional advice as all information on this site is generic. Best Parenting Advice.com is an independent website and is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

Back to top SELF CARE FOR PARENTS Stage 2 Setting Up a Repeating Menu & Linked Shopping List Making Family Life Easy 2 This page contains the following information: A simple fortnightly menu How to determine accurate ingredient amounts to help you create a permanent shopping list How to develop a permanent shopping list LINK: More timesaving ideas Depending upon your family's tastes and schedule you can prepare a menu around what might work for you. If for example you don't get home until late during the week, having some meals already prepared might be best. Or you could have ingredients pre-prepared ready to cook as soon as you walk in. I've included a menu I've used to show you how I did it. And while you may not like the meals I prepared, the principles are the same regardless of what your menu is. By knowing what was planned over the next few days I could have meat thawing out in the fridge. Or I could cut up vegies in the morning, ready for when I walked in that afternoon. I can't express enough how much difference using a repeating menu, and linked shopping list, made to our lives. It automated the process, meaning I didn't have to think about meals. I was less stressed & we ate much better. If you could do something once, that'd save you years of free time, support healthy eating and help you pay your mortgage off years earlier, would you do it? Creating a repeating menu is a smart way to create healthy meals because you're doing the thinking once, rather than fortnightly, weekly or daily. ​ You can more accurately predict the amounts of foods you'll need, saving money ​ You'll have everything you need to cook the meal you want ​ You'll have the flexibility to swap meals around within the fortnight, or month, if needed ​ If you plan a healthy menu you eat better ​ If a menu is displayed, the first person to walk in the door can begin meal prep N.B. You will benefit greatly from going to Stage 1 Timesavers for Healthy Meals before you proceed with creating your own menu and shopping list as it shows how to determine portion amounts. Here I've supplied the fortnightly menu I used for when my boys were around 10-14 years of age. It worked well at the time, because they were both big eaters. However my current menu uses much less meat. Anchor 1 WEEK 1 MONDAY: Hamburger Night BBQ Meat Pattie/ Onion/ Lettuce/ Tomato/ Grated Carrot / Cheese/ Pineapple/ Beetroot TUESDAY: Lamb Chops/ Mashed Potato/ Beans/ Carrot/ Broccoli/ Corn WEDNESDAY: Honey Soy Chicken Sliced/ Rice Noodles / Stir Fry Vegies THURSDAY: Chicken Kiev/ Baked Potato/ Sweet Potato/ Peas/ Corn/ Carrot/ Broccoli FRIDAY: Italian Sausages, Zucchini/ Fresh Pasta / Snow Peas/ Carrot/ Beans BOIL RICE FOR TOMORROW NIGHT SATURDAY: Chicken Korma Curry/ Fried Rice (Bacon /Onion/ Mixed frozen vegetables ) SUNDAY: T- Bone Steak/ Onion/ Lettuce/ Tomato/ Grated Carrot / Cheese/ Pineapple/ Beetroot WEEK 2 MONDAY: Baked Leg Lamb/ Roast /Sweet Potato/ Pumpkin/ Beans/ Carrot TUESDAY: Left over Lamb Curry and Brown Rice WEDNESDAY: Mexican Steak Taco s / Salad/ Yellow Rice THURSDAY: Spaghetti / Pasta vegies included peas FRIDAY: Chicken Fillets/ Chips/ Beans/ Carrot/ Cauliflower SATURDAY: Chicken Kebabs/ Brown Rice / Salad/ SUNDAY: Chicken Nachos/ Chilli Con Carne Salad/ Yellow Rice ​ If for some reason we didn't eat a healthy meal at home, I added some of the leftover vegetables into a curry. Anchor 2 Working out the Amounts of Ingredients Necessary Using this method meant I didn’t buy unnecessary vegetables or other perishables. I was able to have meat/chicken thawing out at least one day ahead in the fridge. Plus I knew when to prepare other parts of meals ahead for meals on following days. E.g. Cooking extra rice for fried rice the following night. ​ You'll notice that I didn't always include fruit or desserts because I chose the fruit that looked the best on a fortnightly basis. And the reason I didn't choose desserts was I didn't want them in the house making them easier for me to access. ​ To begin: I worked out what I thought family portions of vegetables, chicken and meat were for each healthy meal. Then I used the Family Menu to work out how many times over the week I used family portions of each specific item e.g. 4 potatoes or 2 carrots, etc and I recorded them in a grid on their respective days. You'll notice that I always recorded it in family sized amounts. ​ It wasn’t really very fancy the first time I did it. I didn’t have the time to think about ways of setting it up to reuse over and over; I just did it simply on a piece of paper. When you scroll down it shows you how I did it. I used a series of strokes next to food item names and totaled them up at the end. ​ And it doesn't matter how messy it is. This way of recording quantities is accurate and therefore reduces wastage resulting in cost savings. My original didn’t look very good to share with you so I formalized it below by making a simple table in Excel with 16 columns (one extra wide to record food items in, and one wide to record total amounts of food items) with 44 rows below to record days of food used. You can take a screen shot, and print it, scribble over it, and adapt it until you have time to create your own. Or you can log in, leave your details and I can send you a PDF. All good either way. Recording Amounts to Create Healthy Meals Including Lunch (Check how I do this to guide your own list) Then over a period of time I expanded my non-perishable menu to be done once a month MONEY SAVER: You can become involved in a cooperative for fresh fruit and vegetables. This can give you cheaper fruit and vegetables. ​ I however chose not to do this because I couldn't portion plan. If you have more time available than I did, this may however be a useful way of saving money for you. Or even better grow your own vegies, especially herbs. Growing herbs can save you heaps. I still use the same shopping list like the one above (for the Winter Menu for a family of four.) As my children left home I simply adjusted the amounts which reduces waste, while still saving my time. ​ The portions for the above shopping list are designed for a family of four with two teenage boys who hoover their food. If you wish you can reduce the amounts, particularly meat/ chicken if your families don't each as much. Considering my goal was to provide healthy home-cooked meals, having leftovers was preferable to them eating processed snack foods, as they were a more healthy alternative. ​ For example: If you choose to follow the Winter Menu, and use this provided shopping list, you could reduce your chicken fillet purchases from 8 for a meal to 6 or even 4 (if you're not feeding teenagers.) ​ ​ TIME SAVER: I would always buy multiple family-sized portions of chicken or meat rather than one whole lot which I have to re bag or repackage to freeze. ​ ​ MONEY SAVER: At supermarkets there can be a difference in price between prepacked chicken and in purchasing it straight from the deli. I've seen a difference of double when chicken fillets were on special ($5.49) in the deli for half the normal price, yet prepacked were the normal price ($10.99). ​ ​ TIME SAVER: You can always place your order for multiple lots of specific deli items and come back at the end of your grocery shop to pick it up. Anchor 3 Creating your own Permanent Shopping List ​You can also easily substitute other meals instead of ones I provided. Say instead of wanting grilled chops and vegetables, you substituted Pesto Tuna Casserole from the recipe section of this site, you'd just reduce the shopping list accordingly. Therefore, you'd need eight BBQ chops less, 4 potatoes less, 1 floret of broccoli less, 2 carrots less, 4 ears of corn less and 1/5 of a large bag of beans less. You would instead need to ensure that you have a large tin of tuna, a bottle of pesto sauce, a bag of bow pasta, some grape tomatoes and a packet of shaved Parmesan cheese instead. When everything is planned like this, substitution is very easy. This process can be repeated over and over once you know your menu and quantities. ​ While this may seem like a lot of effort to set up you may be interested in the following. ​​ ​MONEY SAVER: I was surprised to learn that if I threw out on average say $10 dollars’ worth of food every week over my working life (that passed use by dates or went off ) that would have added up to at least $15,600 dollars for absolutely nothing. Now that's the equivalent to a good second car for the family for when your children begin driving. If this process saves you just 10 minutes every day, that frees up enough time to ensure your child is reading to you daily: which can be the difference between your child being a good reader or not. If it saves you just 20 minutes a day, that can give you enough time to keep your washing/folding/ironing up to date, so your weekends are washing free. If it saves you 30 minutes a day, that's enough time to exercise, watch a favourite T.V. programme, keep housework up to date so weekends can be housework free. ​ But I found it saved me heaps more time than that. Because I did one huge grocery shop once a month, and one supplementary one there was a four hour saving every month just there. And now online shopping can save an additional 4 hours a month. Then, when I could pull a frozen meal, like a curry, spaghetti bolognese, stew, etc out of my freezer, that saved me at least 3/4 of an hour of food prep on those days. (3 times a week weekly 2 1/4 hours ) Share this page with a friend Click on the following links to learn more: On the days we ate fresh food, because I had vegies pre-prepared in bags, that saved me another 10 minutes of food prep, 3 times a week (weekly 1/2 hour. ) ​ Totals 195 hours yearly. ​ But multiplied by 35 years of a working life became 6825 hours over a working life. And if I had been able to delegate the actual shopping to online shopping that would have been another 1680 hours. ​ ​ But why am I telling you all these numbers? ​ By using this system I had the capacity to free up around 8500 hours, that was either earmarked for other activities, or would have been used on food preparation. And do you know how many hours there are in a whole year... There are 8760. I freed up almost an entire year's worth of 24 hour days over my working life. ​ But considering working days are usually 8 hours, I saved nearly 3 years worth of free time, over my working life. ​ The difference this simple time saving strategy made to our quality of life was incredible. Making Family Life Easy 3: Next Stage 3: Planning Meals Ahead The Real Costs of Take Away Stage 1: Timesavers for Healthy Meal Meals on the Table in Minutes More Meals on the Table in Minutes More Meals on the Table in Minutes Corned Beef and Corn Fritters Easy Healthy Recipes Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. It highlights what successful parents do differently to those who struggle. Best Parenting advice.com provides free online resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice on: how to give kids a best start in life, better tips for parenting toddlers, effective child rearing strategies, behaviour management tips, successful goal setting and organizational strategies for successful families, easy family dinner recipes, self-care tips for time-poor parents and free kids learning games. The aim of Best Parenting Advice.com is to provide quality practical parenting tips and advice to best help children and families succeed, using the convenience of a website. ​ This website provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. Best Parenting Advice.com does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or with every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this website to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Similarly users of this website are advised to follow any recommendations for seeking professional advice as all information on this site is generic. Best Parenting Advice.com is an independent website and is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

Back to Top FREE KID'S LEARNING GAMES DISCOVER ​​Did you know for example that around 50% of every piece of writing you will ever read uses some of the same 100 words. These are called high frequency words. ​ (Some of these high frequency words are marked here in bold to illustrate what I am talking about. ) ​ I have devised some fun reading games so you can find out and practise these high frequency words with your child. There are also assessment sheets included which you can screen shot, copy and print off. Or you can contact me and I can send you a pdf with the information on it. ​ For example in the piece written above 60/102 words are high frequency words. During my lengthy career in education I've had the opportunity to observe and refine, what quality teaching and learning look like. I've found learning is most effective when you link positive emotion to it. ​ Learning opportunities can be child directed, free and totally play based. But they can also be highly structured experiences, encompassing drill exercises involving the opportunity for frequent repetition. Or they can be anywhere in between. ​The free learning games I've developed are based on fast-paced engaged play and they are quick to complete. Fun Phonics can take just two minutes a day to revise. And the results are astounding. Not only are these games highly effective learning tools due to the numerous opportunities for repetition play provides, they help build positive family relationships because they're fun. Fun Reading Games My favourite game is Shark Park because it can be used to practice more words than those listed, although my own kids loved Iranaconda best ​ It's been my experience while some children learn a new concept relatively quickly, others can take much longer to retain it. Even a child who learns well rarely learns by being exposed to a new concept just once, even if it's pitched within their level of proximal development. It usually takes them two or three goes to grasp it. ​ But for many children of good average ability they're looking at being exposed to new information between five to fifteen times before they can retain it independently. And for children who have difficulty learning you can be looking at forty or fifty repetitions, maybe more, before they can independently recall new information or skills. ​ It makes sense to provide opportunities for repetition. ​ But how do you help your child be exposed to the same concept over and over without them becoming bored or resentful? The answer is through structured play, ideally the type that engages positive emotion. What we attach emotion to... we have a greater chance of remembering. Play, at any age, gives us the opportunity to practise and refine new skills and knowledge without even realizing we're doing it. And it's fun. The added bonus is it helps build cooperation and relationships with those we're playing with. Fun Phonics Games This is a fantastic fast-moving game for kids to learn all of their phonics. If you play it properly, and make it fun, you'll be amazed at the results. Beginning Single Sounds Lower Case Next Beginning Combination Sounds Digraphs With Beginning Combinations Single Sounds Upper Case Often Done Incidentally Complex Combination Sounds Digraphs Level 1: Snapping Turtles Game Snapping Turtle icon Level 2: Crunch Crocodile Game Crunch Crocodile Game icon Level 3: Micey Dicey Game Micey Dicey Game Icon Level 4: Lion Dancing Game Lion Dancing Game Icon Level 5: Iranaconda Game I Ran a Conda Game Icon Level 6: I Can Toucan Game You Can Toucan Level 7 Squirrel School Squirrel School Game Icon Level 8 SHARK PARK Shark Park Game Icon Level 9 Choo Choo Zoo Choo Choo Zoo Game Icon Fun Maths Games Fun Maths Games 3-5 Years How to Make a Fishing Game Fun Maths Games 5-7 Years Stop watch to learn tables Fun Maths Games 8-10 Years Calculator Game ​ So how do we as parents set up structured play opportunities when we're so busy? These ideas not only give you advice on how to work out what your child can do but how you can build upon their skill levels by incorporating learning opportunities into some of the things you're already doing. ​ ​Can you imagine just how much easier reading would be for your child if instead of having to sound out each and every word they encounter, they know these high frequency words as sight words. Practically speaking, that would mean they already know around half of what's on the page. Not only does it increase their fluency, it increases their word attack skills because they can better predict what might come next. For example. I am go ing to the shop. 5 out of the 6 words they encounter they already know. Even if they've never seen the word 'shop' before, they can take a good guess at what it might say, especially if they've got some sounding ability as well... I am going to the sh-o-p. ​ The Importance of Counting Learning Maths Incidentally Proximal Development is Important Girl looking at physics model ​As you would be aware there are some excellent computer based programmes that teach reading. ​ However I wanted my children to learn through fun active play experiences (using cooperative games) rather than on a computer. ​ I've been increasingly concerned about the amount of time young children are spending in front of screens. Many, many children are currently exceeding guidelines recommended by the Australian Department of Health. Share this page with a friend "For children two to five years of age, sitting and watching television and the use of other electronic media (DVDs, computer and other electronic games) should be limited to less than one hour per day." And for children younger than 2 years: "Evidence suggests that TV watched in the first 2 years of life may be connected with delays in language and short-term memory development and poorer social skills." ​ Quotes taken from The Australian Department of Health Website: https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/gug-carer-toc~gug-carer-sedentary ​ NEXT Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want best practical advice on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. One of the best pieces of parenting advice to help support healthy cooperative families, is to provide regular nutritious meals, eaten together as a family as often as possible. Best parenting advice provides a range of quick and easy family dinner recipes supplied by busy working parents. These are the recipes asked for: because they taste great, they're quick and easy they're family friendly and they're foolproof. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

back to top EASY HEALTHY RECIPES EASY FAMILY DINNER RECIPES: BEEF Honeyed Meatloaf by Deb This is a really easy inexpensive dinner that you can cook quickly for children. It's good for a mid-week meal for when you want something simple to make and then leave to cook itself. Ingredients 500 grams of good quality minced beef 1 onion finely diced 2 eggs 1 tablespoon mixed herbs ​ For glaze 2 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons tomato sauce ​ Method Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan forced Mix minced beef, diced onion, mixed herbs and eggs together Place mixture in baking dish lined with baking paper and cover with foil Cook for approximately 30 minutes in oven. Remove foil and add glaze. Cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until meat appears golden brown Serve with oven cooked chips, beans, carrots and cauliflower HINT: This recipe also works very well in the microwave. You can add glaze to the top of meatloaf from the beginning of cooking allowing cooking on high for 20 minutes Share this recipe with a friend For more Easy Tasty Recipes go to the following links: Easy Healthy Breakfasts easy healthy breakfast baked eggs and beans delicious Easy Tasty Cakes and Desserts peanut butter fudge Easy Healthy Soups Easy Healthy Fish Recipes salmon easy healthy fish recipe Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes chicken, pea and rice casserole delicious and easy to make Easy Healthy Lamb Recipes More Easy Healthy Beef Recipes best ever corn and corned meat fritters Easy Pasta and Pizza Recipes Easy Healthy Rice Recipes Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want best practical advice on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. One of the best pieces of parenting advice to help support healthy cooperative families, is to provide regular nutritious meals, eaten together as a family as often as possible. Best parenting advice provides a range of quick and easy family dinner recipes supplied by busy working parents. These are the recipes asked for: because they taste great, they're quick and easy they're family friendly and they're foolproof. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

Back to Top BEST STARTS FOR KIDS How to Best Read a Book to a Four or Five Year Old This page contains the following information: What are The Concepts of Print? Why children need to predict Letters make words, words make sentences & sentences make stories: Constructing Language While some of this following content may seem simplistic I've included everything, because as readers, we forget how much we take for granted. Read often and make it interesting and enjoyable ​There are many skills and knowledge a child needs prior to being able to learn to read themselves. There is a starting position on a page and we read in this order: From front to back From top to bottom From left to right ​ Prediction is an important skill to develop as it aids comprehension. Images help children predict ​ Letter sounds help children read, letter names do not. Encourage kids to sound out ​ A sentence is one complete thought. A full stop indicates the writer has finished what they have to say... Until the next thought. Anchor 1 Concepts of Print IN ENGLISH WE READ FROM THE FRONT TO THE BACK... 1. Discuss and Predict: The front of a book is called the Front Cover and the back the Back Cover. ​ You can discuss the picture on the cover and encourage your child to predict what they think the story might be about. You can also introduce the words Title and Author and discuss what they mean. ​ For example: One of the author's writing I'm particularly fond of is Julia Donaldson. ​ 'Room on the Broom,' 'The Gruffalo' and 'Sharing a Shell' are some of my favourites because of her humour, use of rhythmical language and use of rhyme in some of them. I feel they are great for helping children to hear word families. e.g. room, broom, cat, hat, spat, etc Books need to face the right way up to be successfully read in English and images help highlight which way is up. ​ Inside the Front Cover is a Title Page that usually contains the same text as the Front Cover and this highlights the name of the author and illustrator. 2. Starting Position: ​​As you read to your child show them where you expect to start your story. See if they can tell you where to start on subsequent pages or books. ​ Some books are more difficult to work out as the text may be in a single line across the bottom of a page or sometimes it may be midway on a page. ​ ​ You'll need to discuss the concept of where the TOP OF THE TEXT is as opposed to the top of a page, as they may be two different things. Finding an author kids like can make locating other books they might like easier . You can identify examples of rhyming words once you've read the story... Initially see if your child can hear the two words that sound the same e.g. (cat, dog, rat, ) or (ball, fall, me) ​ As they get better introduce a variable like having two of the words beginning with the same sound e.g. (cat, rat, call) or (small, tall, sit) ​ From here you can identify other rhymes in songs, poems, nursery rhymes and stories. IN ENGLISH WE READ FROM LEFT TO RIGHT FROM THE TOP OF THE PAGE TO THE BOTTOM AND BEGINNING FROM THE TOP LEFT HAND CORNER 3. ​Show with your finger how you follow a line as you read and how you return to the beginning of the next line Take particular care to show that you begin at the beginning of the next line to continue with the story. AT THE END OF A LINE WE DROP TO THE BEGINNING OF THE LINE IMMEDIATELY BELOW IN WHAT'S CALLED A RETURN SWEEP. ​ Where there's split text, it needs to be highlighted that you complete all of the text on one page before progressing onto the next. ​ GO FROM TOP TO BOTTOM THEN GO TO THE NEXT PAGE AND TOP TO BOTTOM AGAIN. Anchor 2 The Importance of Prediction when Reading ​Predicting what's going to happen next is a great skill to encourage. Images give clues to what the text might be about. ​ If you're reading with your child ask them what they think might happen next before you turn the page. Then once you turn the page ask them if they want to change their mind. You can read the text and see if your guess was what the author chose. ​ You can also look at alternative stories within stories, as one day your child will be writing their own stories and there's no 'one story line' that is the only correct one. ​ Encourage your child to look at the pictures when beginning to read (if they can't work it out from the words alone.) Pictures scaffold reading for sense. The example of the train above provides a clear example of obvious return sweep before progressing onto the next page. ​ However the double page example written in the middle could be less obvious if it were to continue and meander across the page. ​ Sometimes text can split across differing levels, but even then, it's always left page first, from top to bottom, and then right page, top to bottom. Show your child, writing is made up of a collection of letters, that put together, make up words that express meaning. You could say something like, 'I wonder what these three letters might say if I put them together?' M U M ​ Anchor 3 The most important thing to remember is you're trying to develop a positive attitude to reading, so only cover one concept at a time. Discuss concepts of print incidentally. Repeat information and build skills slowly. ​ Remember: You're creating an attitude to reading for life. You can show simple examples of words that can be sounded out easily and show them how you sound them out. ​ e.g. C A T roll the sounds together into one word CAT. ​ Always use the sound a letter makes not its name when you are attempting to illustrate how sounding works. Letter names do not show children how to sound. For example C (See) A (Ay) T (Tee) phonetically makes Seeaytee when you use letter names to join together. But sounds C- A- T produce cat. When we put a group of words together that tell us something, we call that a sentence. ​ A sentence can be made up of just one word through to many words. It usually tells us only one thing at a time unless it has a joining word (or conjunction) in it. e.g.: and, but, because, so, then, etc ​ When we've finished telling one thing we use a full stop to show we've finished. I sometimes used to read children's stories who didn't use full stops correctly and I would read them as they had written them and I would go blue in the face as the text continued on and on and they would start to laugh. Full stops are important because they provide someone with an opportunity to pause, take a breath and think. They say to a reader 'I've finished what I have to say.' Expose your child to the joy books bring and the rich vocabulary they provide. You have years to expose your children to how text works. Let The Importance of Proximal Development guide you and show you the pitfalls of exposing children to information that's too hard. ​ ​ For more information on learning to read go to the links below: Steps To Learning 1: Next Share this page with a friend The Importance of Proximal Developme I Love Reading Fun Phonics Sleep Routines How to Get your child to sleep. Boundaries Help Raise Good Kids Setting Boundaries Why Natural Consequences? The Value of Natural Consequences Back to Things to Do With Kids Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. It highlights what successful parents do differently to those who struggle. Best Parenting advice.com provides free online resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice on: how to give kids a best start in life, better tips for parenting toddlers, effective child rearing strategies, behaviour management tips, successful goal setting and organizational strategies for successful families, easy family dinner recipes, self-care tips for time-poor parents and free kids learning games. The aim of Best Parenting Advice.com is to provide quality practical parenting tips and advice to best help children and families succeed using the convenience of a website. ​ This website provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. Best Parenting Advice.com does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or with every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this website to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Similarly users of this website are advised to follow any recommendations for seeking professional advice as all information on this site is generic. Best Parenting Advice.com is an independent website and is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

Back to Top YOUR STORIES Cute Stories About Little Kids 7 cute short stories: New and Amazing I'm Not a Tillity Oh Wonder Preschool News Time Nothing But the Truth Hello Sam Clever Mr Fox For Links To Other Funny Story Pages Older and Much Less Cute 5 Funny Stories About Kids & Teachers New and Amazing My twelve- month-old stood on the lounge next to me and looked out the window into the night sky. He pointed upwards and said, 'Ball ... Sky ... Mummy.' ​ And I saw through his eyes what it was like to see the moon for the first time. Anchor 1 Anchor 2 'I'm Not a... ' My two-and-a-half year old son and I were sitting in the park together, watching the traffic pass us by. ​ My son pointed at one vehicle and said, 'Look mummy. It's a car truck!' 'It's called a u- tility. I emphasized the first sound so it might help him to remember it. ​ He frowned and looked me straight in the eye. 'But I'm not a tillity,' he said. Oh Wonder... ​ ​I left my toddler on the potty near rolls of toilet paper. He unrolled three or four rolls completely and then proceeded to rip them into tiny pieces. ​ What I saw looked something like this ... Anchor 3 Anchor 4 Pre School News Time ​ Shakeela: 'Good morning children.' Class: 'Good morning Shakeela.' Shakeela: 'My mummy got a new bed.' Teacher: 'That's nice.' Shakeela:' Yeh, cause she got a new boyfriend.' ...But what he saw, was this. Nothing But the Truth ​ I'd always prided myself on explaining things fully to my kids, according to their level of understanding. ​ And on this particular day my three - year-old and I got to discussing how babies were made. ​ After about twenty minutes and answering every question honestly , even to where mummy's eggs were stored in my tummy, it progressed even further. I explained conception by saying 'Daddy fertilizes mummy's eggs with a special part of his body and that makes the egg grow into a baby.' ​ 'Oh.' he said. 'But what's daddy's special part?' ​ I pictured him, at three years of age, explaining exactly how babies are conceived at preschool news and I choked. 'Awwwh... you'll have to ask Daddy,' I replied. " He'll be home in an hour." ​ And it must have been one of the few days I prayed that my husband went for a surf on the way home rather than coming home to help me in the hope my son would forget all about daddy's 'special' part. Hello Sam ​ Our car had broken down in Goondiwindi and the only place we could find to stay was next to the highway. Every time yet another semi-trailer roared through, dust swirled up and all around us. ​ So I took our kids, Sam and Nick, to our caravan to escape. I tried to amuse them, while my husband went for a walk to see if he could possibly find us some takeaway. ​ But while checking the place out, he came across a cockatoo. 'Hello Sam... Hello Sam,' it went. ​ My husband laughed and rushed back to get us all. ​ And when we saw the cockatoo it started up again. 'Hello Sam... Hello Sam,' it said over and over again. ​ My four-year-old gasped. His jaw dropped. He clasped his hands to his face in wonder. 'But how does he know my name mummy?' he said. Anchor 5 Anchor 6 Anchor 7 Clever Mr Fox ​ I'd been trying to get my three-and-a-half-year-old son to pick up his toys by using a number of different strategies from: 'I wonder how long it'll take you to pick up your toys. You start and I'll count,' through to 'I'll see if I can pack away faster than you...' ​ After my many failed attempts he turned and just looked at me. He tipped his head to the side and said, 'You're just trying to manipulate me Mum!' ​ After I picked my jaw up off the floor , (he was only three after all,) I said, 'Yes, I am trying to manipulate you. I'm trying to manipulate you to be good.' ​ He frowned, pursing his lips in consideration. 'Oh!' he said, and nodded. Then went to pick up his toys. ​ Go figure, I thought. But as I was congratulating myself on finally achieving some success, a thought gripped my heart with icy fingers, and squeezed. Awwwh... What's parenting him going to be like when he's a teenager. DISCLAIMER: Any similarities in the stories on this page, to people living or deceased, are purely co-incidental... After all, you never let the truth spoil a good story. If you like it, your friends might too. Share For some more funny stories about kids check out the following links below: 5 Funny Stories: Kids and Teach Five funny stories about kids and teachers What's Funny About Tough Schools What's funny about teaching in tough schools. Drug dealer counting money As You Age Life Gets Funnier As you age life gets funnier: How Old are You All recipes on Best Parenting Advice.com are friends and families best recipes. They're quick, easy, delicious, healthy and they work, every time. Check them out. Chicken, Pea and Rice Casserole Chicken, Pea and Rice Casserole Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks Pumpkin & Chorizo Couscous Pumpkin and Chorizo Couscous Back to Parent Stories Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. It highlights what successful parents do differently to those who struggle. Best Parenting advice.com provides free resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice on: how to give kids a best start in life, better tips for parenting toddlers, effective child rearing strategies, behaviour management tips, successful goal setting and organizational strategies for successful families, easy family dinner recipes, self-care tips for time-poor parents and free kids learning games. The aim of Best Parenting Advice.com is to provide quality practical parenting tips and advice to best help children and families succeed. This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. Best Parenting Advice.com does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or with every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Similarly users of this site are advised to follow any recommendations for seeking professional advice as all information on this site is generic. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

back to top BEST STARTS FOR KIDS Using Public Transport Some of the types of transport you could use are: train bus ferry tram or trolley bus planes Using public transport can be a great way of exposing your child to new and interesting places and experiences without it costing you much money: ​ Some of the skills they will likely develop are: ​ increased awareness of the world we live in increased awareness of different types of transport an increased understanding of the use of environmental print: e.g. signage, directions, maps an understanding of how payments, tickets or access cards work turn taking waiting to board, access seats, etc appropriate behaviour and awareness of others awareness of rules pertaining to safety and respect of property increased vocabulary linked to the new experiences increased recall understanding of concept of how maps represent a 3D world increased awareness of time, time tabling and time devices Back to Things to Do With Kids Learning to Make Sounds Correctly Mother talking with a baby How to Best Read a Book Proximal Development is Important Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. It highlights what successful parents do differently to those who struggle. Best Parenting advice.com provides free online resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice on: how to give kids a best start in life, better tips for parenting toddlers, effective child rearing strategies, behaviour management tips, successful goal setting and organizational strategies for successful families, easy family dinner recipes, self-care tips for time-poor parents and free kids learning games. The aim of Best Parenting Advice.com is to provide quality practical parenting tips and advice to best help children and families succeed, using the convenience of a website. ​ This website provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. Best Parenting Advice.com does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or with every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this website to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Similarly users of this website are advised to follow any recommendations for seeking professional advice as all information on this site is generic. Best Parenting Advice.com is an independent website and is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

back to top EASY HEALTHY RECIPES QUICK AND EASY DINNER RECIPES: VEGETABLES Quick and Easy Lentils by Anne Maree ​ Quick and Easy Lentils would have to be one of the quickest meals to make ever... And it tastes terrific. Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion finely diced 5 rashers bacon cut into 1 ½ cm pieces 2 tablespoons mild curry paste 2 400 g cans brown lentils 1 810 g tin crushed tomatoes 2 cups frozen diced vegetables 2 handfuls fresh chopped coriander ​ Method 1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan 2. Add diced onion and diced bacon and cook until onion becomes transparent 3. Add 2 tablespoons mild curry paste and cook until it becomes fragrant 4. Add frozen vegetables and cook for approximately two minutes 5. Add 2 tins brown lentils (you don’t need to drain it) 6. Add crushed tomatoes and simmer for half an hour or until it becomes reasonably thick 7. Add a handful chopped coriander ​ Serve with white rice and steamed vegetables and sprinkle with chopped coriander Share this recipe with a friend My Favourite Recipes 7: Next For more Easy Healthy Recipes go to the following links: Easty Tasty Cakes and Desserts easy tasty cakes and desserts sour cream and apple slice by Sue delicious Delicious Healthy Pork Recipes delicious easy pork dinner recipes sang choy bow Easy Healthy Lamb Recipes easy healthy lamb dinner recipes baked kibbeh Easy Healthy Beef Recipes Easy Pasta and Pizza Recipes Easy Healthy Rice Recipes Easy Healthy Breakfasts Easy Healthy Soups Easy Healthy Fish Recipes Back to Top Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. This site provides free resources for busy parents who want best practical advice on: effective child rearing strategies, easy healthy family meals, self-care tips for time-poor parents and fun learning games to help best educate children while also encouraging positive relationships within the family. One of the best pieces of parenting advice to help support healthy cooperative families, is to provide regular nutritious meals, eaten together as a family as often as possible. Best parenting advice provides a range of quick and easy family dinner recipes supplied by busy working parents. These are the recipes asked for: because they taste great, they're quick and easy they're family friendly and they're foolproof. ​ This site provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. This site does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this site to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Best Parenting Advice.com is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems. Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.