Much of Early childhood was spent entertaining our children so they would be ‘happy’. At some point, we recognised that they needed independent play and unstructured play. Now they are school age there’s a shift again in how they are playing and experiencing life. When they were younger we introduced Lego, Puzzles, Soft play, imaginative play items, we even played… View Post
Holiday Season Life Skills Activities for School Age Kids
Life skills naturally pop up all year round and don’t stop for holidays. Traditionally there’s a focus on life skills during the summer months as there is lots of time but the holiday season is a good time to plug in school age kids into reworking life skills and learning some new ones. Being an active part of the household… View Post
Rituals for Parents
This episode we are looking for the good in the stage we are in. We love to look back and remember fondly especially when times are tough in our current stage. If you’ve ever been stuck looking back and worrying about the future this is the episode for you to see how to move positively forward with your school… View Post
Peaceful solutions to minimize family strife when things just aren’t working
There can be 101 reasons why the homework doesn’t make it to school or why one child is the last one to leave late. We can guess. But we can’t always fully know what is really going on. When things just aren’t working If you’ve ever had a chore system you made and presented to the kids you’ll know… View Post
How to completely change how school kids study for quizzes and tests
Did you know there are six scientifically better ways to study and prepare for tests and quizzes that will help kids learn? As kids are starting back to school many are experiencing those words, ” Study for the test on Friday!” and coming home and reading through their work the night before ( morning of!) believing that this is a… View Post
Things Middle School parents Need to know {2}
Middle and Secondary school means changes to the family routine. It’s also a time when relationships start to change. This is the second part of the series of things middle school parents need to know. Read the first part here. You’re not alone yet it’s the time when we see less of the other school families at the school gate… View Post
Remember this one thing to change your interaction for good with your children
When was the last time you had a longer deeper conversation with your school age kid? This longer deeper conversation was a two way conversation that they participated in. There might have been laughter, a smile the excitement meant you talked over each other or time flew by. At the end of it, there was a positive emotion embrace or feeling…. View Post
Mindfulness practices for families to have peaceful homes
School age kids have a lot of big feelings. Dr Carla Naumburg from Carla Naumburg shares mindfulness practices families can do that help develop skills of listening, paying attention and empathy. Mindfulness sets the stage for dealing with stress and managing big feelings. Growing Nimble Families podcast encourages the celebration of school age kids traveling through middle childhood… View Post
Confident parenting in the school years
All parents want to feel confident during the school years and with a few of these ideas you’ll be well on the way to having structures and systems to lean on. There’s typically a lot going on in the household of families with school age kids. If we’re not careful a lot can fall into the lap of one… View Post
Positive Phrases all kids should hear
May is the season of testing. With testing comes stress and anxiety. And that’s just the parents! Just kidding. Well not really. There’s a different tone in the house as each child in the family prepares for tests. Whether they are elementary or Primary kids who just go in and test or middle and secondary students who need to study… View Post