Just Us Kids Online’s Blog

From 12 – 18th September is Enviroweek, and I’ve decided to be a part of it this year. I’ve created a sponsor page to hopefully raise at least $500 for this fantastic cause. The charity I’ve chosen to give my donations to is coolaustralia.org. They specialise in educating the Australian kids about our environment and what they can do to protect it. As I’m a true believer in education and that saving the earth and our land starts with us educating our young, I think, Cool Australia is a fantastic organisation to support. Here’s where your donation will go to:

• $25 – Sends 4 Cool Australia information kits to schools
• $50 – Plants 12 trees to restore native bushland
• $100 – Creates 4 new online environmental resources for www.ourcoolschool.org
• $200 – Supports regional education tours

Of course, it’s not just about donating. I’ve also set myself up a challenge to help save the earth. My challenge: to save energy around the home. Sounds easy…well, here’s what it entails:

• Turning off the lights when it’s not needed
• Switching off appliances that I don’t normally use – at the power point
• Dressing for the weather (in the house!)
• Taking shorter showers (doing that already)
• Not using the clothes dryer

Why don’t you try and take up the challenge too? And remember to help us raise the funds. Oh and before I forget, 10% of our sales on our Just Us Kids Online E-Shop will go towards this sponsorship too!

Nightmares, everyone has them, kids, us, and yes, anything scary really is considered a nightmare. From my experiences with my children, I have to say how much has changed in the content of nightmares. I don’t know about you, but, when I was a kid, what constituted as scary were ghosts, you know the ones like you see on “The Ring”, the deadly faces with long messy hair wearing white…and of course a lot of other demons that would scare the pants off an adult even. How did I know what those from the netherworlds looked like? From movies of course. I remember how I used to be able to watch such scary movies at such a young age. And when I say young, I mean about 5 or 6. Now, I don’t think we would even dream of letting our children watch such horror some, scary movies.

Ask a child who has had some scary nightmare nowadays and they would describe the scary character as – alien like, monsters from cartoons, evil witches or warlords from Harry Potter movies or the like. Yes, it seems that nightmares have gone through some kind of evolution. Amazing, but true. To a child in this day and age, a ghost is something white, like a bedsheet, flying…you know, like Casper?

I wonder if it’s because of the ratings given for films that makes us think not once, not twice, but many times before letting our children watch such scary movies? Me, personally, would rather NOT show them what I used to watch as a child, because I just don’t want to have to deal with, a) really scary nightmares for more than a week, b)unnecessary stress that I would then have to deal with after having watched such a movie, c) “I’m too scared to go to the toilet, etc” and so, trouble myself in the end.

So for now, yes, bring on the “cartoonish” nightmares. It’s easier to handle, it’s not real, you can explain it easily and yes, less hassle for me! Sounds selfish, but your child will thank you when they grow up. What about you? Do you let your child watch movies that are too scary even for yourself (although honestly, not much around nowadays)? Do you find their nightmares are pretty mild compared to what you used to have? Do you think it stems from what they watch in the media? Share your thoughts with us.

With Spring nearly here (about 3 days away?) it’s a good time, if you haven’t already, start planting and get into the gardening for the Spring blooms. Why not encourage your child to join in and learn to enjoy nature and the science of nature with these great products.

Green Watering Can Set

• Green Watering Can Set – This set comes with a spade, rake and watering can, with an image of a bumble bee on the can. Suitable for boys or girls and great for them to use for help around the garden. Why not have a little patch just for their special plants? Like cooking, kids love seeing their handy work come to life.

Flower Press Kit

• Wooden Flower Press – This is a great way to encourage your child to explore the different plants and flowers. The process of pressing and drying the plants and flowers, will teach them how you can actually preserve the beauty of nature through other ways.

Rules of Nature Experimental Cube

• Rules of Nature – Give your budding Scientist an opportunity to explore the extrinsic wonders of nature. They will learn about the days and seasons, humidity, subaqueous volcano, evaporation and so much more.

Meteorology Experimental Cube

• Meteorology – Does your budding Scientist often ask about the weather? Are you sometimes stumped for words explaining the weather? Why not try explaining with these fun experiments covering every aspect of meteorology. Great way for both you and your child to learn about the different aspects of weather.

Cath Connell owner of Leaf

I’ve always been a HUGE fan of stationery. Each time I go to any store that specialises in stationery, places like Officeworks, Kikki K, Smiggle (well, not as much), it would feel as though I’m in a different world! The different range offered, the designs of each notebook, notepad, pencils and the list goes on. I don’t necessarily purchase them, unless I’ve really fallen in love with something. Hmm…I guess I know where my girls got that stationery loving bug from! My girls are the same. This is even more so since they started school and started writing. They probably realised the multitude of media available to help them create whatever it is they wanted to on paper! Scented pens (or as my 8 year old calls it “smelly” pens because they have a nice smell!), notebooks with cute and quirky designs on them, highlighters, erasers…I could go on.

Recently, I came across a Melbourne based business specialising in everything paper - Leaf . They’ve got journals, mini visual diaries, and their speciality, the Story Starters. Their products are designed and printed in  Melbourne from forest certified paper as well as 100% recycled paper. The designs are simple, quirky yet vibrant at the same time, making it fresh. The quality of their products are high, and so, you can be rest assured that your journals, mini diaries and even Story Starter would last and make good keepsakes.

• Journals

The journals are made from sturdy laminated cover. I love the fact that they have wiro binding that folds flat, making it easy for you to write – be it if you were left or right handed. There are section dividers with suggestions and ideas on what you can write about. Included in there are colourful stickers and a small envelope, which you could store some of your precious moments (eg. tickets to a first concert). Leaf has 2 designs available, one for the kids and one for the parent. This makes a great gift for that new parent or growing tween or teen, to record memorable moments in their lives.

Mini Visual Diaries

• Mini Visual Diaries

My kids love their visual diaries. Made with sturdy printed cover and with 120 blank pages for your child to create and write with. Great for those still in kinder and love to draw. This would make a useful tool for your younger child to use to express his emotions, by encouraging them to draw how they feel or what they did that day, a great way to see the world through their eyes, without words. For the older school children, let their imagination run free by encouraging them to use it as a diary, not just by writing, but drawing too. There are 5 adorable designs to choose from, making it a great gift for a boy or a girl.

Kids Stuff Story Starters

• Story Starters

Their Story Starter is such a great innovation. Story Starters are a pack of cards, with different themes and descriptive words or sentences. This is a great tool to use for breaking the ice, when you have dinner parties, when you hold networking events, or even for that party planner who would love to start warming up their guests and hostess before beginning their party. Sentences such as…My greatest embarrassment…and words like Carols, from their Christmas Story Starters pack, would conjure up many interesting stories that would help keep the party going.

With their Kids Stuff Story Starters, use it as a game that you can bring on those long car trips. Kids can be as creative with the stories they can come up with, or share their thoughts with us with the words or sentences chosen from the cards. The Kids Stuff Story Starters can also be used to help them with their writing. Encourage them to write narratives or recount their week with the story starters. The choice is endless with these fantastic Story Starters, your only limit is your own imagination.