A Little Play Goes A Long Way
August 2008
Dear Clients & Colleagues
“Because they have such a difficult time seeing any purpose for play in their own lives, adults also discount play as unimportant in children’s lives. Play is often subverted to meet teacher-parent needs for productivity.” Fred O Donaldson, Playing By Heart (1993)
The Big Kid Fun workshops have been a hit with parents of older children (8+) and we have had to lay on a few extras to cope with demand. We played up a storm and it was been a good reminder of the opportunity play provides for parents to press the pause or stop button. Taking time out to play a game with your kids is a good excuse to take a break from whatever you are doing. Play can be such a grounding experience, bringing us into the present moment and enabling us to forget about past and present for a while. This is what Parenting on the Run and Big Kid Fun delegates discover at the workshops.
The first of my new games for big kids, Indahoo and Sketch-a-Story were delivered over this period, and by the end of August you should be able to find them in most toy shops and chain stores nationally. We have stock so if you have difficulty finding them, just email us at . For more info about these fabulously fun games, click here.
In addition, much time has been spent wrapping up my book (co-authored with Dr Graeme Codrington) called Future-proof Your Child. It goes to print this week and will be launched by Penguin later this year in October!
I am looking forward to spending the last week of August running a series of workshops for schools and corporates in KZN. For info on these and the new Gauteng workshop dates, read further down this email.
Suffice to say that this has been a hectic few weeks and balancing deadlines and motherhood has had its challenges. We have had one or two emotional wobblies, especially the day my children missed their bus home from school! Thank goodness for friends who step into the breach! These busy times are actually the ones where a little play goes a long way, which was the lesson I got loudly and clearly. Fifteen minutes of bowling to my youngest son in the driveway before running a workshop one evening was proof of the profound effect of play. In just 15 minutes of having my full attention, Matthew’s emotional cup was full. For my eldest it was an hour in the shopping mall that filled his cup. Even though I really didn’t have the time for it, it was time well spent. And, in the middle of a frenetic day handling dozens of last minute details for my book, can you believe that I decided to bake a cake with Matthew and his friend Josh!? Insane or what? It was because it was exactly what they needed to anchor them (and me!) for the day. (Yes, you guessed it – I bake to ground myself and de-stress – my form of play.)
THE LESSON: when your children’s cups are full and not wanting, they are able to merrily go on their way and amuse and entertain themselves without constantly pestering, nagging or interrupting you. A little play does indeed go a long way! Even if you are really busy it may be just the perfect time to press that pause button and go and play with your kids.
FORTHCOMING TALKS & WORKSHOPS – GAUTENG
19 August 2008, Tuesday, 7.30pm Douglasdale, Parenting on the Run© talk
R120.00 per person. Suitable for parents of children from 2 – 7 years. Minimum of 20 people required for this workshop.
Come and learn how to cheat time in this interactive 1 hour workshop. Leave armed with over 50 creative and practical ideas for converting what you would normally consider wasted time with your children, into quality time. If you want the full 2 ½ hour version of this workshop, read further down.
4 September 2008 Thursday, 9 – 11.30am Douglasdale, Big Kid Fun© Workshop
R300 per person. Suitable for parents of children from 8 years and up. Minimum of 7 people required for this workshop.
Big Kid Fun© is for all those parents (and grandparents) who have been asking “What next? What do we do with our children over the age of seven?” Big Kid Fun© is a workshop designed for families with 8 – 99 year olds who love to have fun. It is a very interactive workshop that will consist of a small amount of theory – the importance of play and staying connected with your children – and a lot of Big Kid Fun©. Yes, you will play a lot including some hilarious games you have never heard of! For more info click here.
6 September 2008 Saturday, 9.30am – 12.30pm Douglasdale, Big Kid Fun© Workshop R300 per person As above.
12 September 2008 Friday, 9am – 11.30pm Miele Gallery of Fine Living Peter Place, Bryanston, Parenting on the Run© Workshop
R250.00 per person. Suitable for parents of children from 2 – 7 years primarily, but all activities will still be of benefit in the later years too. Minimum of 25 people required for this workshop.
Come and learn how to cheat time in this interactive 2 ½ hour workshop. Leave armed with over 100 creative and practical ideas for converting what you would normally consider wasted time with your children, into quality time. Far more detailed than the one hour talk, and includes my ever-popular suggestions for what to pack when travelling. For more info click here.
27 September 2008 Saturday, 9.30am – 12pm Douglasdale/Bryanston TBC, Nuts & Bolts© Workshop
R250.00 per person. Suitable for parents of children from 2 – 5 years. Minimum of 9 people required for this workshop.
A fun, interactive workshop covering the specific perceptual skills your child needs to acquire within the first 6 years of life in order to be ready for school. Learn how to be creative with your classic educational toys such as: shape sorters and stackers, threading and pegging games, matching and association games, puzzles, gross motor equipment, construction toys, etc.
This workshop takes parents well beyond what’s in the instruction leaflets. Put your own stamp on your child’s play experiences by using your imagination, adding love letters, breaking the rules and combining games in order to create more games! Come prepared to play. For more info, click here.
TALKS AT SCHOOLS: Please do not leave bookings until the last minute. You need to contact me well ahead of time. From October 2007 I will have a new presentation available for schools called Future-proof Your Child. It is a one hour multimedia presentations that all 21st century parents need to experience. Click here for the full synopsis.
MY VISIT TO KWAZULU-NATAL
My Parenting on the Run© presentations at the National Bioproducts Institute and The Wykeham Collegiate are private functions, however, Cowie’s Hill Pre-Primary will be hosting two of my presentations on Wednesday, 27 August and visitors are welcome. Should you wish to attend please call (031) 702 3753 or email chpps@webstorm.co.za as soon as possible.
27 August 2008 Wednesday 2 – 3.30pm, Connect the Tots© Workshop
R80 per person Suitable for parents of 1 – 7 year olds.
A fun and interactive workshop about the importance of constructions toys. You will never look at a packet of Jelly Tots or a bag of building blocks in the same way again! Click here for more info.
27 August 2008 Wednesday 7 – 8.30pm Noise & Clutter© talk followed by discussion R80 per person Suitable for parents of children from birth to 12.
Today your children are literally born with a mouse in one hand and your wallet in the other! An eye-opening multimedia presentation for all parents about the backdrop to parenting and child development today – the noise of technology and the clutter of consumerism. Click here for more info.
GREAT FIND – FABULOUS LEGO TABLE!
Now here’s a find! If you have ever been looking for a perfectly sized table to permanently house your child’s Lego, train set, Scalectrix or any other toys that require a hard surface to build on, that is big enough, and one that they can leave their creative constructions on without cluttering up the floor surface in your home (oh, and then you can store all the pieces in the drawer underneath too, and the whole thing is on castors), then this is for you! Click here for a picture, dimensions and options. Contact Michelle at shimuweni@hotmail.com.
Keep on playing and connecting with your precious children!
NIKKI BUSH
The Bright Ideas Outfit
www.brightideasoutfit.com
