I’m back after my hiatus, with a little vlog for you today.
Packing our bags from Sharon Alger on Vimeo.
Tag Archive: video
Flowers are red
Welcome to the June Teach/Learn Blogging Carnival, ‘Kids and Learning.’
The Teach/Learn Blogging Carnival hosted by Science@home is for anyone, because we are all teachers and learners all the time. This month our theme is “Art” which doesn’t just mean doing craft – it includes music, performance art and appreciation as well! Our bloggers have come up with many different thought-provoking takes on this theme. Please read through to the end to find links to the other participating blogs.
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Hey guys! I’ve done a little experiment with my kids and videotaped the results for you to watch. It’s all about structured art activities versus open-ended ones. Please bear with me, as, apart from my sponsored review videos I’ve done and little home videos, this is my first ‘put together’ video, just for you. In a few places, it’s wrongly cropped, in many places, my hand is unsteady, but I’m please to have finally built up the courage to give it a go. My kids and I also had a lot of fun doing this. I look forward to your reactions, so please share!
I hope you will go check out all the blog posts in this great carnival.
Flowers are red from Hear Mum Roar on Vimeo.
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Visit Science@home to find out more about the Teach/Learn Blogging Carnival. 
Please take the time to visit the other participants and check out their posts on “Art.”
- CatWay at Adventures With Kids is getting the most out of a trip to the art gallery with ideas of how to prepare children and interest them while they are there.
- Mamapoekie from Authentic Parenting argues for the importance of art and why we should be encouraging it as our children get older.
- Miss Carly from Early Childhood Resources talks about how to create an environment that encourages young children to explore art.
- Sharon at Hear Mum Roar has done a fantastic video post by getting her children to do an activity two different ways and letting you see the very different results.
- Amanda at HomeAge has been admiring art with her daughter since she was a baby, taking her to several art exhibitions and reading books.
- Kate from Picklebums talks about why art is important for little people and has a huge list of activities you can try.
- The Planning Queen from Planning With Kids has tips for visiting the art gallery with kids, including links to different galleries and some ideas for activities afterwards.
- Colin Wee at Super Parents is thinking about his son’s musicality as he learns to play the violin.
- Deb from Science@home has her children investigating materials while making sculptures and bravely let the 2 year old use a hot glue gun.
- Leechbabe from Stuff with Thing started out looking at patterns in nature, but the activity changed because she followed her children’s lead.
- Monique at Your Cheeky Monkey has used an indoor activity, giving her children magazines to cut out and create collages.
Thanks for visiting, we hope you enjoy some of the posts in our carnival.
New toy from Mattel – Peek a Boo clock
Sponsored by Nuffnang
It’s time for another Mattel review! Last time it was the adorable Flip Phone, and this time we were lucky enough to receive the Peek a Boo clock in the post. You can imagine how excited my little ones were. In case you can’t imagine, you can watch Missy Two’s reaction below.
The Peek a Boo clock is so cute! It has so many surprises for children to enjoy. This toy is aimed at children aged six months to three years old. You can press the green button on the top of the clock to see a little bird pop out of the door (just like a cuckoo clock) and light up brightly. Each time it pops out, it makes a different sound. Some of the sounds are:
Peek a boo! I see you!
Cuckoo!
Hello! Then when the door closes again, good bye!
It also plays a variety of songs when the bird pops out. My daughter also likes to pull the door open to make the bird pop out, and this is easy to do, as it has an indent for little fingers.
Little kids can turn the handles on the clock, and in the centre of the handles, is a little light-up button. This also plays a huge number of songs, Mr Three’s favourites being the alphabet song and the counting one. He enjoyed reading the alphabet displayed along the top of the toy, and counting the numbers on the clock.
There is a little disc on the side at the top, that displays a sun and a moon as you turn it, to represent day and night. Of course, this cool clock takes it one further, and actually says ‘day’ and ‘night’ at the right times! There is a little spot on the other side with little sliding shapes for the younger babies to play with; my two year old still enjoyed looking at those, too. On the other side is a key that makes a rewarding clicking noise when the child turns it.
I found even Missy Nine really thought it was cute and enjoyed playing with it, too. Her and Mr Three took turns at holding it facing each other and saying, ‘now I’m going to put on a show with the clock, who wants to watch?’ In this household, the more kids who enjoy one toy, the better. Because there’s a large age gap between Missy Nine and the younger two, it’s nice when no one feels left out. Plus, I always feel if all the children get some enjoyment out of our toys, then we’re getting good value.
I was so impressed with this clock. I love the fact that the volume can be adjusted, and that it explores the concept of cause and effect with my children. The most important thing to me is that my kids like it, and if you watch my little video below, you will see how much Missy Two loved it, and hear her squeals of delight.
Time to rediscover the old me
This has been destined to happen, and thank god.
Since getting a new car at the end of last year, I have put on more weight than I am happy with. There’s been many changes in my life. We’ve moved house to a small country town, and I’ve gone from a mother who used to spend two hours every weekday pushing a double pram to and from school (when my fiance was working, once he wasn’t I did the walk without the kids), up and down hills, to a mum who lives two minutes’ walk from a new school, and a partner who often takes my daughter to school for me.
It’s partly because I want to look better and fit my old clothes (and new size 8 ones!) but it’s so much more than that. I want to readjust my insomnia once again. That has always been a constant battle for me as long as I can remember. Exercising is a big part of my self-identity, heck, I studied it as a potential career all those years ago! Most of my adult life, I’ve been exercising, be it walking to work, TAFE, basically everywhere. I used to enjoy going to the gym and doing personal workouts at home, as well.
And now… well, I’m living the cliche that I hate. The martyr, who is too tired, too busy and doesn’t have enough time. Oh boo friggin’ hoo. Well, those excuses get a girl nowhere, except sore back and sore joints from carrying excess weight, and constant fatigue. I want my bouncy, energetic old self back, thank you very much, and this video below has given me just the push I needed:
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More parenting videos on JuiceBoxJungle
Through each of my three pregnancies, I exercised the entire way through them. At times it was tiring, but I found it so necessary. I’ve always found it pretty easy to get exercise when I have kids in a pram, too. But now I have two little ones who don’t use a pram anymore, I love taking them for short walks now and then when we go shopping, or to school, but I can’t really raise my heart rate at those times.
I’ve also found it challenging to adjust my need for exercise to the new town we’ve moved to. I’ve always lived where there’s plenty of hills, and it’s as flat as a tack here. I went for a half hour walk here (I’m used to a minimum of one hour) and was frustrated not to have the feeling that my legs got any work, also that there was no endorphin rush that I crave. I missed the sense of peace and invigoration that I’ve always felt after a good workout.
So, all this time, I’ve been thinking about what I could do out here for exercise, and drawing a blank. After watching this video, I’m thinking I will just do it as has always been my motto prior. Just find a good time in the morning to put an hour aside and go for a walk, however un-challenging it is. Do some workouts at home. I was going to wait until we buy a treadmill, but I don’t want to put off what is usually a big part of my life. I toy with the idea of running again, but I have to be sensible with that idea, and check with a physio first, find out if it’s safe for me, and take certain issues into consideration. But that can wait. What is important, is that I get my groove back on!
I hope this video inspires other parents to get into some regular exercise too. We are facing an obesity epidemic, and I for one, don’t want to be a part of it. I’ve always been a role model for my kids when it comes to exercise, and it’s not ok or fair on them that this has suddenly changed. I need to get back on track for myself, and back on track for my family.
Do you exercise regularly? What do you do, and how do you fit it into your family’s schedule?
I am Woman
On starting this blog with a brand new name, my nine year old daughter questioned me on why I named it, ‘Hear Mum Roar’. So, I told her about Helen Reddy’s song, ‘I am woman’ and explained how it is a play on words. It became clear to me that she’d never heard the song, and I decided I would be failing in my duty as a mum if she got to adulthood without seeing/hearing it on video. So, I found the above video on youtube and played it to her. Then I decided, what an excellent way to celebrate my new blog, and really drive home the message of my vision for this blog.
My daughter watched and listened. The reaction? ‘Meh.. it’s alright. A bit boring,’ and wandered off to play. Which pretty much sums up motherhood, doesn’t it? We do all the boring bits, we bite off more than we can chew, and we do it with a strength we never would have imagined we possessed until life threw all the challenges of motherhood at us. We worry and stress. We work tirelessly at giving our kids the best, and we all have a different idea of what is the best, but we all still strive to give it.
Our kids can be forgiven for thinking it’s all a bit boring, because we move heaven and earth to give our kids a wonderful childhood. Better they think what we do is boring than to have a boring childhood, right? Most of all, we do it all willingly. We do it with a bottomless love. So, for mothers everywhere, this blog is for you. If you like, let it be your sanctuary. When you think you have nothing left to give, but life won’t let you sit down and catch your breath, think of this song. Know that you are far from alone, but one of millions of inspiring human beings.
Other reading:
