I have another lovely guest blogger today – Play Therapist Janet Wrench.  Janet is really one of the loveliest people that I know.  And she always has nice things to say about my kids – so that means she earns extra points

But seriously – Janet has great insights and goes about things a little bit differently to what I hear tell of most professionals.  She really does believe that as moms (and dads) we are the best gauges for when something is wrong with/for our children.

Let me know what you think of what she has to say.

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Hi Everybody

I am Janet Wrench. I am a Gestalt trained Play Therapist. I have a Master’s in Play Therapy. I have two children who are teenagers. My son is 19 and my daughter is 16. I enjoy motherhood and I enjoy my children.

When You Think Something is Wrong, You’re Usually Right

If you spend a reasonable amount of time with your children, and you have a fair sense of what is going on with them, you are in luck. Those nagging concerns you have felt about your 12 year-old, or about your 4 year-old are probably correct.

Mom’s instincts are incredibly good. A relatively inexperienced mom can often tell when something is not right with her child. She may not know everything about the developmental milestones through which her child should be going. She may not have read the latest and the greatest books on parenting, but she has done the most important homework of all. She has a good relationship with her child, and she is realizing something isn’t right.

When moms phone me they may be vague about their concerns, but with sufficient thought, the fuzziness clears, and all of a sudden, I realize why mom is worried and how easily she is able to give me a lot of the information I require to help her child.

I don’t feel that it is adviseable to give a list of ‘symptoms’ indicating a need for therapy. Symptoms can be misleading and confusing.

What I feel could be helpful to consider is some questions surrounding whatever your concern is about your child:-

1. What is it exactly that concerns you (besides your instinct that something isn’t right)?
2. How does this issue manifest itself in the child’s behaviour?
3. Do your concerns affect you and the way you treat your child?
4. If so. How?
5. Are there some of your own fears that are playing themselves out in all of this?
6. When, in your opinion did the problem start? (Try to narrow down the time as closely as possible)
7. Were there any events that occurred at that particular time? (Think of anything that happened around that time)
8. Include in the list of events, things that created a change in the family, or that you may feel affected you more than the child.
9. Consider the nature of your family life as you think through events which may have affected you child.
10. A change could include a child maturing and becoming aware of discord between his parents.

Don’t spend your life worrying about what everyone else will think or say (easier said than done, I know). Trust your own instincts. One of the best things an Educational Psychologist said to me when I had to take my daughter for assessments was “moms are usually right”. Remember that. You are the best help your child can have in terms of someone close to them knowing that they need help.

Today I have a guest blogger, Marian Bailey, the founder and teacher of the Raising Reader Courses in Johannesburg.  I have attended her Emerging Reader course and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Aside from an evening out of the house with adults (hehe), she gives a lot of great tips for setting the stage to help your little ones become avid readers later in life; able to read with excitement, comprehension and retention of information.  These are essential skills to doing well in school and in being able to enjoy reading too.

If you would like to book for one of her amazing courses, please contact me (orders@edukits.co.za) as Edukits will be hosting a monthly Raising Readers workshop at our Johannesburg premises.  You can also book online through the Edukits shopping site.  To learn more about Marian check out her website

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Reading is the foundation for all future learning. Raise your ‘little ones’ to love reading.  Did you know that as a parent you are your child’s first and most important teacher?  Many parents don’t realize the importance of reading aloud in helping their children become successful readers. Reading aloud to your children is the most important activity you can do to prepare them to be enthusiastic readers and good or even excellent scholars.

Reading aloud to babies from birth – 2 years increases vocabulary, language and literacy, which leads to later school success. In other words reading aloud to your child from a very young age is directly related to school success. However it does not end there! Reading aloud to your little one has many other benefits too.

20 minutes of bedtime reading is a great way to spend quality time and bond with your child. For the very young child, just the physical closeness of mom or dad whilst being read to, is enough to embed the association that reading is a positive and wonderful experience. Just as food is an essential sustenance so too is reading, reading is emotional and intellectual sustenance that your child just cannot do without. It feeds the soul and mind. Learning to read is not just about cracking the code of letters and sounds, but actually more about confidence and having a desire for knowledge.

In order to learn to read a child must first love reading and books. This begins with you reading aloud everyday to him. “The more you read, the more things you will know, The more that you learn, the more places you will go” – Dr. Seuss

Reading is a journey that begins at home. Make sure your child becomes a reader for life Here are some great tips for moms and dads to do at home to ensure your child becomes a reader for life and learns to read easily.

1. Why you must read • Reading develops the 3 Ls of reading – the LOVE of reading, LISTENING and LANGUAGE SKILLS

2. When you must read • Read at the same time everyday • Do not read when a child is hungry • Read when it is quiet time, for example, before a nap. • If your child is very noisy or unhappy or over excited one day for whatever reason (birthday party that afternoon, etc) read a story to calm the child. Recite nursery rhymes with the child during the day (an excellent way to calm a child, distract or engage a child when getting ready for an activity). • Remember to talk to your child as much as possible. As the day unfolds tell them what you are doing, what is going to happen next, etc. Please use the correct word, NO BABY WORDS! • As you talk to your child ask questions. • As you talk to your child name things in their environment so they learn language from very early.

3. Where you must read • Somewhere comfortable (couch, bed), • Sit close to your child, put your arm around him or her • All around must be quiet • There must be no distractions, like a cell phone ringing or TV on. Always read the story from beginning to end before doing something else.

4. How you must read • Do your best on the day rather than not reading at all. • Before you start to read tell your child the name of the book (title), name of the person who wrote the book (author). • Sit up straight. • Make sure your child can see the book. • It is optimal for your child to stay sitting during the story and not walk around or lie down during the story. • Use your voice well as you read to keep your child interested and paying attention. Speak loudly. Speak softly, pause and make sounds. Setting good reading habits at home from a very young age (as young as 3 months) will go a long way to ensuring that your child develops a love of reading that will make learning to read that much more enjoyable and painless when the time comes.

We often, as parents, underestimate what our children are capable of. I encourage you to be fully involved in your child’s reading from an early age and enjoy reading with your children. You will reap what you sow!

What are life skills?  and why are they so essential for kids (and adults) to master?

Well, life skills are – simply put – those skills that we need to get through life.  Mastering them makes life easier and more enjoyable.  They also make us more responsible as well.

They are the things that we as adults often take for granted; we forget just how hard it is to fasten buttons, to pour juice without messing or to remember to turn the taps off properly.   Some of the essential life skills that we need to acquire are dependent on different things like dexterity, fine motor control and co-ordination, midline crossing, maturity (social and emotional) and other physiological developments that generally come as we get a bit older.

So what are the life skills that we should be teaching our kids and how can we go about doing this without seeming like a nag?  I have put together a list that is by no means conclusive or complete – Feel free to comment and add to the list or suggestions on how to teach these skills.

Toddlers need to start learning things like: sharing, taking turns, saying please and thank you.  They can have lots of fun learning how to use a fork and eventually a knife correctly.  They can learn how to throw and catch a ball, tidy up their toys, look after their belongings, set the table and so on.  The other essential skills are learning colours, shapes, numbers and enlarging their expressive vocabulary.  Most toddlers will enjoy being given the chance to try and pour juice from a jug, pulling their own pants up and down as they achieve toilet independence, carrying their own bag to and from the car and can even start to develop the fine motor skills required for later schooling – glueing, colouring in, painting, threading and so forth.

Pre Schoolers and foundation phase learners can learn all of the above skills and will have great fun asserting their growing independence as they start to figure out doing up buttons and zips, brushing their own teeth and washing their own bodies.  They will enjoy being shown how to help in the kitchen, make their own beds and fold their pajamas up.  Simple things like being responsible for the environment, conservation, healthy eating and living are also easy and fun to introduce at this stage.  A few of the more essential fine motor skills would include cutting with scissors, measuring out ingredients, getting ready to write and completing puzzles or mazes.  Don’t forget the essentials like learning birthdays, full names, telephone numbers, the weather and other useful information.

Older kids need to start learning about the world around them, their place in that world and everything that goes with that – eco awareness, national pride, family heritage are all topics worth exploring with your child.  Obvious life skills here would include telling the time, personal hygiene, emotional awareness in self and others, constructive and polite self expression and handling money as well as developing the essential self awareness and confidence that is needed through these changing years.  Part of this is learning to work on their own and how to actively find out the information that they are looking for.

So how do we make this all fun?  well, we do it by introducing, teaching and reinforcing these things through play and games – TOGETHER with our children.  The more they see us doing these things, the more they will understand them and want to join in too.  In the process we also build happy memories of time together, we get to guide their development and learning and most excitingly, we can actually watch them “Get it” as the lightbulb switches on in their brain.  And this is really the most exciting bit for us as parents and caregivers – we can see their brains churning as they figure it out.  And they get so excited when it works for them.

So bake and cook and clean and repair with your kids.  Let them try and do things that they want to try – watching, guiding and where necessary giving them some help.  (try and let it seem as though they are doing it on their own though – this will build the self-confidence to keep trying).  Encourage them to try new things, to step out of their comfort zones occasionally and let them see you growing and learning too.  Point out when you are trying or learning something new, and express how it feels to try, to achieve and to master a new skill.  This will also help them grow the expressive vocabulary that they need.

As always, remember to encourage and praise honestly their attempts and mastery of these essential skills.  Using a reward chart is a great way to positively encourage growth in these areas.  You could also offer a time-based reward – where they get to choose a family activity, or get to spend an uninterrupted hour with you doing the things that they want to do.

Give them the space to grow and learn and watch as they soar!

Fine Motor Control: Developing the correct pencil grip in kids of differing ages and stages through fun games and activities.

Some kids naturally hold a pencil the correct way for writing from a very young age.  Most though, develop this through a series of natural learning steps:

1. The fist grip is generally favoured by toddlers.  They then use their entire arm to make marks and scribbles on a page.  First the do random lines, then curves and dots and then eventually are able to start connecting curves and lines into shapes.  Finally they are able to start copying shapes and lines and patterns.  They occasionally still switch hands for writing/drawing.
2. Toddlers/pre schoolers then move ontosmaller arm motions but still using the fist grip.  They will then start fine tuning their artwork, which naturally requires better control of the writing instrument they are using.  This is the start of the correct pencil grip emerging as they experiment with the grip that will produce the best results.
3. As they realise that the pencil grip works best in giving them ultimate control, they need to practice with a variety of writing instruments until they perfect this.  Most younger children will favour the Jumbo Triangular pencils for writing until their hands are big enough and strong enough to use the smaller hexagonal and eventually the smooth, round pencils.
4. Even once they are comfortable with the pencil grip, they will continue to experiment with arm positioning, other hand positioning and full body positioning at a desk and in the chair before settling on a style that suits them and feels the most comfortable for longer writing periods.
5. The correct scissor grip starts to develop around the same time, but will usually emerge before a fully mature and comfortable pencil grip.  (More on this at another time!)

It is best not to rush or force this, especially in boys who are slower to all fine motor control activities than their female counterparts.  Instead, focus on some of the below activities to help your child develop their pencil grip while still having heaps of fun.

These may not seem like they will have any bearing on it, but they all strengthen the fingers and muscles required for developing the correct and a strong pencil grip. They are also a lot more fun than sitting and practicing writing and you will most likely get these done more easily.  Your child will also just think you are playing heaps of games with him, so that’s an added bonus AND will give you loads to do on weekends and in the school holidays.  These are also great to get Dad and other family members all playing together:

• Playing with playdough – pinching, squeezing with thumb and forefinger. Who can make the longest snake?  Can you make a snail from your snake?  Can you make a slug?  Can you make a spider out of playdoh?  Use Edible Doh for a total fine motor experience.
• Craft doh – get a pack of DAS clay from CNA or any art shop.  Let him use this to make animals, or a cup with a handle or just to play with.  Dry them and paint them for something to keep as well.  (If they are older check out the Volcano making kit, with a fun science kit included for exploding volcano action)
• Threading – beads, pasta, straws. Make necklaces with macaroni that he has painted or coloured with kokis, thread popcorn on a very thick needle and wool as well for a tasty treat.
• Sewing: teach him to thread a thick needle and to sew felt together to make all sorts of interesting things like a wallet, finger puppets etc.  You could also thread leather strips and use them to sew the felt together.
• Fine motor control – Picking up small objects – use fingers to sort mixed colours and types of things (peas, cheerios, corn kernels, diced carrots) then move on to using tweezers (start with jelly tots, then move to jelly beans and smarties.  you can also do this one with the mixed frozen veggies – ask him to sort them for you by colour and type)
• Finger rhymes (“here is the church, here is the steeple” or “tommy thumb” for example)
• Water play – using spray toys and spray bottles. Create a home room spray and let him spray the rooms with it.  Or mist for the plants on hot days.
• Hand based craft activities: Use glue sticks and paint brushes, do origami, make a collage with lots of torn paper bits, decorate artwork with small sequins.  Cutting and glueing activities, cut out shapes to use for creating pictures, make egg cup creations and so on.
• Piped Icing – use a plastic dispenser to push and squeeze out the icing.  If you don’t have one, cut a hole in the corner of a small plastic sandwich bag and let him decorate with this filled with icing.  (let him mix the icing by hand first, divide it into dishes and colour them all different colours.  Spoon into different bags and let him decorate away.  You can decorate cupcakes, marie biscuits and finger biscuits in this way, or even let him write a message onto wax paper in the different coloured icings.
• Hand Strengthening activities – swinging from the climbing frame, rock or wall climbing, monkey bars, wheelbarrow walking, monkey walking, play loads of crawling games on the grass and carpet; form a tunnel with all your dining room chairs – let him crawl over them in a row, then under them all back to the start.  Time him, let him retrieve beanbags and get them all back to the start etc.
• Beanbag games: toss the beanbag into buckets, to another person etc.  (For more on beanbags buy our beanbag set of 10 beanbags and 10 games and activities to play with them.  Includes a sturdy container for easy storage)

Once your child has started naturally progressing to the correct pencil grip, try a few ways to gently remind them:  “If a child needs reminding about grip, the ‘pinch and swing’ start is recommended. This method requires the child to pick up the pencil by the writing tip. While holding the tip, the child swings the top of the pencil over and onto the back of the hand between the thumb and index finger. This is the natural position for writing.” ~Maggie Parker-Heys~

You can also use the following activities to simulate and encourage writing without the pressure of sitting and writing.  These are all tactile and messy play activities specifically designed to strengthen and encourage the correct pencil grip.  Many of these can be done from toddler ages, from as young as 10 months or earlier if your child is ready to engage in them:

• Paint using an easel and large brushes.
• Draw on black paper with a white wax crayon.  Try all different thicknesses of the crayons and try with white chalk as well.
• Write or draw on an upright chalkboard – chalk is easier to grasp with the corrected pencil grip
• Use large sidewalk chalk for writing on your bricks or cement driveways.  Encourage large shapes and large letters.  Use this to teach your child hopscotch.  Let her draw up the grid, use a beanbag as a marker.  Let her keep score with regular chalk on a nearby wall.
• Dance with a ribbon in your writing hand. (or find a stick and use it as a lightsabre)
• Draw in the sand with your hands and then with a stick and then with a large and then a small stone.
• Finger paint with messy play substances (Flour painting, messing with cold tinned spaghetti etc)
• Pencil rubbings (bark, rocks, bricks, stones etc) are also a great way to encourage a natural desire to want to use paper and pencil.
• Let him feel and play with a variety of substances and textures – go on a nature treasure hunt and let him create art from what he finds (flowers, bark, stones, seed pods, feathers etc.  Use bostick glue on cardboard for this.
• Mosaic Artwork: create small mosaic projects for fine motor control and concentration at the same time.  Can be done from as young as 3 years of age.
• Create letters and numbers from sticks, utensils and other household and everyday objects.

Overall, the idea is that this should be a naturally progressing and fun skill to learn.  Allow your child the freedom to develop this as their muscles mature and as they feel the desire to start copying and creating letters, numbers and shapes on paper.  Do these activities often as a regular part of your child’s day and you will quickly see how their muscles and hand-eye co-ordination improve to allow for better concentration and control of writing implements.

If your child is happy to sit and practice writing, use the Priddy write and wipe series of books (e-mail me for the complete catalogue), or our number writing practice book.  If your child is at the pre school phase, try out the pre-writing practice book for a fun introduction on how to write alphabet letters.

Above all else, have fun watching your child play while they develop this essential life skill!  If you need any further activities or suggestions (even from baby days), please just let me know: lauryan@edukits.co.za.  Likewise if you have any other activities and games that you played to help develop this, please let me know about them!

This past Saturday saw the first ever Edukits Open Day, where everyone could come and try out the most popular products as well as learn about some of our newest products that are about to be launched.

It was very exciting to see the kids all playing with the Slime, getting messy with Purple Flour paint and then trying out the brand new Science Experiment: Making Snow from a snow polymer.

The following new products were introduced and will be available to order from the site as indicated in brackets:
Skillz Ball – This build-it soccer ball bounces and can be built again and again for dexterity and fine motor co-ordination practice. Great fun for kids (and adults!) of all ages (available now)
Snow Science Experiment – Make your own snow – just add water. (available now)
Healthy Eating Magnetic Kit -Set of 30 fruit & Veg magnets to encourage 5-a-day family eating habits (available now)
Swing Bags – set of 2 weighted swinging bags for deep muscle movement, motor control and visual tracking. (available now)
Entrepreneur’s Kit – Teach your child to start their own business. Includes booklet, workbook and great ideas! (available 1 Oct)
Eco Warrior Kit – Includes booklet, recycling plan and equipment and a host of fab ideas to go green! (available 1 Oct)
Maths Snap -Card addition and subtraction game sets up to 10 (Bonds of 10) (available now)
Baking Set – Baking Starter Kit with a host of utensils and 2 x ingredient sets and recipes (available now)
Magnetic Reward Charts – Choose from Pirates, Garden, Princess or Space themes. A4 magnetic board with matching reward magnets. (available now)
Pin Boards Small (30×30) / Medium (30×60) / Large Rectangle (30×90) / Large Square (60×60) (available now)
Senior Magnetic Kit -Includes a variety of magnets with experiments to conduct (available now)
Large Threading Kit – With lots of different shapes and a few threads in a sturdy container (Available now)
Portable Obstacle Course (in handy drawstring bag) – For kids aged 18 months to 10 years, change this course to keep it fresh and exciting. (available 1 Oct)
Number Building Kit -Learn to construct and read numbers to 100 in this fun card game (available now)
Africa Flag Game (JHB only, collection/personal delivery only) – Polystyrene board game to learn countries and flags of Africa. (available now, only made to order)

I also introduced an entire new category of products to the Edukits range: an Interactive range of products that will ensure your child is learning while having fun on the PC, or on their very own handheld console!

The Leapfrog Explorer for kids aged 4 – 8 is one of the most exciting products I have seen in a very long time! With a touch screen, full colour graphics, and fully interactive learning games and software apps, this is THE gadget for all kids to have. Available in Green and Pink, with handy carry bags. Launch date for South Africa is the 22nd October, and I am very thrilled to say that Edukits will be one of the primary stockists. The kids were patiently taking turns with this on Saturday and loved the virtual pet, spelling and maths games and other incredible features included on it.

So check out our new products, and most especially check out the new interactive range of products.

I am excited to keep bringing you what you need to ensure your kids have the most fun while still learning! And if you couldn’t make the Open Day, not to worry, the prices reflected on the store currently are the special launch prices that will be valid until the 10th October.

Happy Learning!

My Toddler and Pre-Schooler love doing stuff. So I thought I’d invite you all to come and join in with us! Each morning includes a full program of fun, play and learning (plus snacks!) Each child will make something to take home with them every day too! (Book for 3 or more mornings and qualify to be an Edukits new product tester) Cost is R 80 per child (for each subsequent child, take R 5 off the price for each child)

The program for Wednesday 30th June will run as follows:
Wednesday 30th June. Theme: Colours
Toddlers
8:15 Arrive
8:30 Observed free play
8:50 Music and movement
9:10 Fine motor skills activity
9:30 Walk in the park
9:40 Snack and story-time
9:55 Let’s Listen
10:00 Obstacle course
10:15 Finger painting
10:45 Sensory table
11:05 Deep muscle movement

Pre-Schoolers
8:15 Arrive
8:30 Observed free play
8:50 Music and movement
9:10 Obstacle course
9:40 Snack and story-time
9:55 Let’s Listen
10:00 Colour Science
10:30 Painting
11:00 Colour treasure hunt

For the full program, e-mail orders@edukits.co.za Looking forward to seeing you there!

Like so many parents with little kids, I have been extremely vigilant of warning my little ones against the dangers of talking to strangers. I realised how pointless this is one day when we were in a shop and the teller enthusiastically greeted my oldest son and he just glared at her. I suggested to him that he be polite and say hello, when he bluntly reminded me that I had told him not to talk to strangers. Yes Well.

A few days later I was chatting to a friend about this, who also has two young children. And she posed an alternative point of view to the whole not-talking-to-strangers thing.

(I am paraphrasing her words and ideas here:) Every child is born with an internal radar of good and bad people: People that have intent to harm and people that are safe and people that don’t care for kids one way or the other. We see this in little ones who will naturally gravitate towards some people and scream like a crazed soccer fan at their team’s winning goal when others try and approach them.

Her idea is that instead of us adults trying to instill our fears onto our children (fears that are mostly born from societal norms), that we nuture and encourage their internal radars.

This means that instead of forcing our kids to talk to people we deem appropriate and shunting them away from the homeless woman asking for food, that we watch them and listen to them more in terms of who is trustworthy and who is not.

Some practical ideas on teaching our children danger and safety tips for being around other people could include:

1. Never go away from Mommy/Daddy without telling us where you are going and who with. This includes going to the loo anywhere else but at home.
2. No secrets from Mommy/Daddy. Again, we need to ensure we are not perpetuating secrets by getting our kids to comply with duplicitous behaviour on our part.
3. Your body, your rules. No one can touch or look at your body without your permission.
4. When out in busy places, hold onto the pram/trolley/our hand and stay near us. If you get separated from us, yell for us or ask the nearest person you feel you can trust to help you find us.
5. Teach your children your cell number and home address. Teach them their surnames and ages as well. If they cannot memorise these, then ensure that these details are pinned into your child’s jacket, in their bag, or get a permanent clothing stamp with their name and your cell number to mark your child’s clothes with. (I have a contact for these if you need – she ships all over SA)

And the most important one that my friend suggested, is that we replace the “don’t talk to strangers” with something more real to children:

If someone makes you feel funny in your tummy, then come and tell us straight away, or run away from that person. Don’t talk to them or go near them.

This is the instinct that we need to hone in our children and by so doing, we teach them to trust themselves and their intuition. We also show them that WE trust their intuition and that we respect their feelings.

Do you have any other safety tips to share? Let us know

Teaching specific things to children is an interesting topic to consider. The decision on when to start the teaching is in itself a huge undertaking. When is it right to start teaching manners? When is the right time to start earnest Potty Training? What about colours, counting, reading, directions, your address? Each of these (and any other topics of active learning) generally requires a certain level of understanding and the desire to learn from the child.

And from the parent? From the parent is required to be able to teach the applicable concept in a fun way that grabs attention and increases the internal desire of the child to learn.

So how do we do this? It would seem that the general consensus in teaching any concept to a child of any age generally follows a very similar pattern:

1. Ensure the child is capable of comprehending what you are about to teach. (Me Speak: Don’t try teach your 6 year old trigonometry unless they fully comprehend all the mathematical learning that leads up to this.)

2. Ensure your child WANTS to learn what you are about to teach. (Me speak: When your child indicates the desire to learn to read (for example) it’s generally the best time to start)

3. Keep it fun, keep it simple, let your child “win”. Kids like to be right. Kids like to play and have fun. Any learning system should (in my opinion) include these elements when teaching new ideas and concepts. Making a child sit and do repetitive sums or word lists over and over and over again is neither fun or productive. When learning new vocabulary / new maths ideas / new reading skills / insert topic of your choice here look for products and items that make it fun for both of you. (Like the new Edukits learning kits coming soon )

4. No pressure. Although you may desperately want your child to master this new information, don’t force your child to sit every day learning and practicing. Of course, a bit of gentle persuasion and incentive is not a bad thing. (And of course please bear in mind that most children need to be taught to follow things through), but when it’s not fun for your child or for you – then lighten up.

5. Repetition. Even repetition of new ideas needs to be FUN though. If your child is learning colours, make up games and activities that enable him (or her) to practice telling you the colours that he sees. Make sure to squeeze in a few at least that he does know. And this is where the letting him win bit comes in: For every few that you are teaching, push in a few that he does know. This sense of achievement will often increase the internal desire to keep going and to learn (play) more.

6. Self Exploration. Once you have introduced a topic of learning, look for games and activities that your child can do on her own to reinforce the principles being learnt. This again unlocks the internal desire to learn more and puts your child in charge of her own learning path.

And the most important thing any parent needs when teaching their child: Patience! By the bucket load! Even when a child is earnestly learning, they will have moments when they need to just be a kid. So if you get moments of silly noises amongst the learning – well that’s perfectly ok too.

The main thing is to enjoy the journey of learning that your child is on – Let them love and live life while they learn. Keep it fun, Keep it real and always keep it about them.

Got any specific things that always work for you when teaching your child new ideas? Please let us know about them.

At last we have our own blog! YAY! A space for me to share with you the excitement of Edukits as it grows and changes to best suit our children and their own unique ways of learning.

Since I found out that I was going to be a mom, I became fascinated with childhood development; with the way a little one learns and grows, and it is essentially this fascination that led to the start of Edukits.

I hope that you will enjoy the exploration of this exciting world of learning with me – I want to share with you what I am learning, how and when we develop new kits and products and most importantly, I want to share with you endless ways in which we can make learning more fun for our little ones. Because after all, that IS the Edukits focus: learning through play and having tons of fun while doing so!

What do you think? Can we make learning fun again? For our kids and for us, the ones teaching them?