Are you a part of a kinder, playgroup or even on the school committee? Would you like to earn some cash or products for your organisation? If your answers are yes to the above questions, then we might have something to offer you. This year, Just Us Kids Online is offering any organisations 20% of goods sold. All you have to do is have a catalogue fundraiser with us. Most of the items we will have in our fundraising catalogue will not be featured on our website and are catered especially to schools, kinders and playgroups. The prices are reasonable and the products featured are unique, fun and educational. If your organisation is in the Melbourne Metro area, we can also come down to make a presentation of what we have in store. It is an easy way to make some money or get some free products for your kinder, playgroup or school. Please contact us at contact@justuskids.com.au to get a free catalogue.
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MiQube This is a great game to challenge not only your child’s but also YOUR mathematical concept & spatial reasoning skills. It has 5 different games in one. Ages 7 and up. Game 1: Domination Dominate the board with your selected colour, while second guessing your opponents next move. A bit like tic tac toe really. Game 2: Advance Link each of your pieces as you ‘advance’ across the board, while fighting to capture both position and territory as you go. Game 3: Gridlock You can only use one game colour to prevent your opponent from making a move. “The last man standing” wins! Game 4: Connect Five A new twist to the traditional connect four! With 3D, this makes the game a lot make interesting! Game 5:Puzzle Try and assemble the 13 pieces into a perfect six sided cube. A tricky and new version of rubik’s cube! I don’t know if it happens in your house, but each time I ask my kids to clean up their room, desk, or put away their toys, I hear whinging, pure “awww….do we have to?” or “but that’s so boring!”. And then, I’ll hit them back with “imagine how I feel cleaning up YOUR things?” But, amazingly, they seem to do other chores with glee! Chores like doing the dishes, unloading the dishwasher, putting their folded/ironed clothes into their wardrobe, chores that I also abhor, ok, let’s face it, I just don’t enjoy doing any chores for that matter, especially when it doesn’t get appreciated. Not to say I want the family to say thank you, although that would be nice, BUT, to at least NOT mess it up within seconds of having them cleaned or put away. To not just roll up their clothes and dump it into their wardrobe after you have ironed and put them away nicely. So, with this in mind, I thought, why not take advantage of the fact that they LOVE doing the chores I don’t really enjoy? Now, I manage to convince them to put their own clothes away, whenever I finish folding or ironing them. Especially since I recently re-organised their wardrobe. My 4 year old now helps me with unloading the dishwasher by passing me the dishes and cutlery and at times putting them away in the appropriate drawers! Not only do I get my job done quicker, but the kids also feel a sense of importance being given jobs that they think are those that only adults can do. It also teaches a sense of responsibility, these are things we just HAVE to do anyway, so why not learn it earlier. Will it last? I don’t think so, but for now, I’ll take advantage of that thanks! Next on my list of things to delegate: dusting and the laundry. Well, at least sorting the laundry first.
I had my day all planned out- first, go to the nearby park in the morning before the day starts getting too hot and start my exercise regime by running…ok jogging around the oval while the kids cycle their bikes, then head home and start on the housework. The kids could do the general cleaning, like picking up their toys, cleaning their rooms while I dust, vacuum and mop. As an incentive, we would get to go to the movies on Monday! A boring but then again, in my opinion good plan nonetheless. Thankfully though, my friend of mine sent through an email inviting us and some other kids from my daughter’s class to go to the beach in the morning. Hmmm…jogging, and cleaning versus the beach…not a hard choice really! Bonus, not only do I NOT have to do the housework – yes I could do it after we get back, but really, it would be too hot – 36 degrees celcius…seriously, it’s just cruel to put a woman through housework in that heat, but I also get to meet up my friends and the kids get to have their fun too! Which did I choose? The beach of course! Never have I seen the kids get ready so early during the holidays and without any prompting at all! Food, water, sunscreen, towels and all other essentials packed. Off we went. Did we have fun? Yes! Anything beats doing housework! Besides, it’s the holidays, what are the chances that the house will stay clean, neat and tidy while they’re at home? Housework can wait. Beach tip: If you don’t want any sand in your car after a great day at the beach, remember to bring some talcum powder. Dust them on their feet (and yours) then either rub it off your feet or wipe them off with a towel. The sand would come off very easily! And no sand in the car means, no sand in the house later one either. We recently came back from Sydney and Canberra for a family holiday. Drove up from Melbourne all the way to Sydney and on the way back we stopped over in Canberra for a night. Travelling with children, in a car can either be a horrifying experience or a good one, it all depends on the “equipment” you bring along on these long trips. For us, we know what keeps them at bay – FOOD! Yes, food! So we stocked up on snacks for them while driving up and down. They also each brought along the toys, games and writing materials they could easily use. Their favourite music CD was also a bonus. Now, this can be pretty annoying if listened to repeatedly, so make sure you strike a deal with them to have YOUR turn in the choice of music too! Lastly, a DVD player or even your lap top with their favourite DVD. This is excellent when they do become bored towards the middle part of the trip. So, what are your tips on surviving the school holidays? Share with us, be it on travelling, while home or even outdoors and go into the chance to win a gift voucher worth $70 for your child! Either share with us under the comments section below or email us at contact@justuskids.com.au with the subject heading “Competition”.
Hobbies are a great thing to have. Keeps you occupied without stressing you out, is what I think hobbies do. I have a multitude of hobbies, from something as simple as reading to something more time consuming like sewing, cooking and baking. Having a hobby is also a good way of showing your kids that there are better ways of spending your time other than watching the television or DVDs.In most cases, we can also share our hobbies with our kids. For instance, I share my love of baking with all three of my kids by letting them get involved when I’m baking. They either help with the preparation, stirring or in the case of cookies, cutting them with the cookie cutters. This not only teaches them the art of baking, but also the different measurements, technique and appreciation for how the different foods are made. To introduce them to the world of sewing, I have given them each a sewing kit, which has a template made of felt with holes already for them to “sew” their included needle through. The end product is usually what encourages them to finish their projects. So, if you have any hobbies that you can share with your kids, do so. This will encourage some valuable use of time to the kids.  Dolphin Sewing Kit $10.00  Kids Kitchen Apron & Rolling Pin Set $30.00  Flower Press Kit $13.95
Christmas is a time where I think the young enjoy more than the old. Well, why not? They only have to look forward to receiving the presents, eating the festive food, and meeting the cousins, and relatives they haven’t seen for a long while. For us adults however, there is the stress of getting everything organised. From getting the presents, to the decorations, food, sending out of Christmas cards and not to forget the end of year get togethers BEFORE Christmas. Then not only do we have to get the presents organised, but also have them wrapped up! That is one thing I don’t really look forward to. Wrapping. Wrapping the gifts up so nicely only to have them RIPPED apart within seconds! So, I was thrawling through a few blogs and came across one of my favourite craft blogs, which had the idea of having Santa Sacks! The blogger, who cannot be bothered with wrapping presents thought of a better way to present her gifts. A Santa Sack. A sack where you can put all the presents in. One for each person. Well, she made one for each of her children. Now, not only did she save time on wrapping, but she also helped save the earth! A recyclable item that can be used for the next few years! The construction is pretty easy really. Just like a sack. If you have no time to sew or just don’t like to sew, why not purchase one of those plain calico bags and have your children decorate them instead? They can draw on it with fabric markers, or paint with fabric paint or just paste some embellishments with fabric glue! Put the bags under the tree and come Christmas morning, it would be filled with presents. Saves you from wrapping the presents and clearing up the mess of wrapping paper afterwards too!
Christmas is just around the corner, and for those of you who just hate fighting through the crowds at the shopping malls, like me, why not shop online? Ok, so we’re an online store, so you would think we’re trying to promote our store. Well, kind of, but seriously, I still prefer shopping online. For instance I went looking for my daughters’ gifts at the shopping mall the other day. Boy have I never felt frustrated shopping before! I usually LOVE shopping. But, when it comes to knowing or seeing an ad for the thing advertised, and then heading there NOT finding it, now, that’s a big annoyance! Not only was I wasting time that could be spent doing other things, but it was also tiring and a waste of petrol I say. I was actually looking for a particular toy – the Sylvanian Family collection. It was advertised that they would be at Target. No, not even a stand. So I got home and thought, why don’t I try the internet? Sure enough, there were plenty and even one site dedicated to selling just that collection – www.sylvaniancity.com! They are based in NSW and I thought, I would try buying a small amount to see how reliable they were. 3 days later, my package arrived – in mint condition! It was so easy. No hassle, no crowds, all in the convenience of my own home. I also got to “window shop” so to speak at the different online stores that had the collection and compare prices. So, if you want to save some time then I strongly suggest shopping online for things that you don’t need to try on. Make sure they are a secure site, and have contact details that you can actually reach should you need your queries answered quickly. Imaginative play to me is an essential part of a child’s development. It encourages the child’s creativity, especially when it comes to using the different toys and equipment as props that we adults would sometimes never think of! It also developes a child’s sense of imagination, when they create different “worlds” or scenarios with their toys and props. Imaginative play can start at a very young age, but when should they stop or should they even stop at all? My children love imaginative play, ok, so they LOVE toys, can’t get enough of them. The eldest will turn 8 early next year and the second one is 6. I don’t mind them getting (birthday presents from me) or buying (with their pocket money) toys like dolls, littlest pet shop, etc. To me, it encourages their imagination in forming the different worlds, and I also have a view of how they view the world too, through the language they use. I have a few family members however who have a varying view on this. To them, because the girls are in primary school, they should be playing “teachers”, doing writing, playing computer games and these imaginative play are considered childish. Of course being the person I am – I ignore those comments. They are after all my children and under MY care. But, what do you think? Should there be a limit to imaginative play? And this includes dressing up, and playing pretend too. What are your views? Share your thoughts with us. To some of you who have met me or seen my photos, you would see that I am an Asian, my whole family is Asian. But there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. Both my husband and I come from totally different backgrounds, he is a Chinese Vietnamese, while I am a Malay Singaporean. So, in Asian terms, our kids are of a mixed racial background. With this also comes the question of religion, maybe not so much in Australia, but very much so if you came from Singapore and is a born Muslim. The issue of conversion comes into play and hence, how we raise our children. My husband and I know the intricacies of raising a child in a predominantly Anglo- Saxon society, and have always tried our best to inculcate whatever cultural backgrounds we each have into the upbringing of our children. It is not easy to raise a child without having to think about culture and religion, imagine the two of us trying our best not to let our children forget where we came from, so that they can pass it on to the generations to come. As for religion, we have decided not to pursue those issues. Life is complicated enough without having to introduce them to the idea of God etc. We believe in raising our children to be honest, loyal, knowledgeable and sincere human beings. So how do we help foster the culture we both originate from? My religion celebrates Eid – the end of Ramadhan (fasting month), and with that celebration from my cultural background – we visit our friends and relatives and of course one of the most outstanding part of all cultures – FOOD! So, instead of focusing on the religious aspect of this celebration, we have the children dress up in the cultural costumes, I would bake the special cakes and cookies that we normally do in Singapore and also cook the special foods that are normally served. Rendang served with compressed rice, mixed vegetables in coconut milk, and much, much more! Recently I even invited my friends over to my house to have a taste of these fanfare. Another part of this celebration is the giving away of money to children or young adults who have not yet started working. It acts like a token, any amount is acceptable. The same goes for my husband’s culture. He celebrates Chinese New Year. To expose my children to this part of the culture, we would go for a reunion dinner with his side of the family and on the eve we would hold our own reunion dinner at our house, just the five of us. Here we would normally have steamboat – this is where we choose from an array of raw and marinated foods and cook it in simmering stock together. The children will also get to dress up and visit my husband’s family and get what we call “Ang Pow” or red packet, which is filled with money. The children love celebrating these special cultural occasions and it also opens up their eyes on the different customs that come along with it. We only recently started celebrating Christmas. Again, not the religious but rather cultural aspect of gift giving and getting together with friends and family. In part, I think it is important to expose my chidren to the different cultural backgrounds that we have not only in our family but in our society. By teaching them about giving more than the receiving, it gives them a more wholesome experience and deeper understanding of where they come from and where they would be going and are a part of. We can only hope these experiences will enrich their lives and be passed on to the next generations. So, how about you? Do you have any interesting cultural celebrations or customs that you might like to share? |
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