Talks
I offer a number of inspirational talks and interactive training workshops, as listed below:
BIG KID FUN™ (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! You will be reminded of all the fun to be had with a simple deck of cards, afterwhich I will take you through my top family games (classics and those that are hot right now).
Big kids of all ages still wanna play and have fun. Join us for an entertaining and inspiring 3 hour workshop.
TOY TALK™ (Talk or workshop)
They’re everywhere from cheap Chinese junk, to the Rolls Royce variety, from battery operated winking, blinking noisy toys to solid educational toys, to Play Station, computers and videos to balls, jungle gyms and pots, pans and wooden spoons. Do children need toys? What categories of toys are there? What are the classic toys every child needs? What’s new on the market? Where do hi-tech electronic toys fit in? How to select a toy, tips for storage, what to take on holidays, to restaurants and much more. This one and a half hour workshop is designed to help parents to make better choices.
PARENTING ON THE RUN™ (Talk or workshop)
Parents today are busy. Being able to parent creatively – on the run – makes your parenting journey easier and much more fun. Come and learn how to cheat time in this interactive one and a half hour workshop. Leave armed with dozens of practical ideas for converting what you would normally consider wasted time with your children, into quality time. Nikki Bush will show you how time spent in the car, doing household activities or waiting for appointments can be so valuable to both you and your child. She will also include her ever-popular suggestions on toys to pack for travelling, or when you are simply on the run. Connecting and communicating your child can be so easy.
CONNECTING WITH CHILDREN THROUGH THE NOISE AND CLUTTER (Talk)
Today’s children are born with a mouse in one hand and their parent’s wallets in the other. This multimedia presentation has been designed to help parents better understand how the noise of technology and the clutter of consumerism influence the way children are developing.
It touches on:
- Characteristics of the new kids on the block
- The disappearance of childhood
- The importance of imagination, creativity and play
- Television, computers and electronic games
- The most “wired” generation in history
- The rise of the child consumer
- The power of branding
- The 5 X Factors for your child’s future success
- How the X Factors are connected to the noise & clutter
- How to balance the noise & clutter in your child’s life
With knowledge and insight, parents can connect with today’s children despite the noise and clutter. With insight and knowledge, parents can connect with their children despite the noise and clutter. Staying connected is going to be the ultimate parenting challenge in the 21st century.
This presentation can be customised for teachers in pre-school and primary school as well as parents in pre-school and primary school.
CONNECT THE TOTS (workshop)
In a modern world where the winking, blinking, noisy variety of toys get most of the attention, real active learning can be found in good old-fashioned construction toys, from wooden building blocks, to toys with nuts and bolts, the click together variety or even magnetic ones. Construction toys lay wonderful foundations for problem solving, pre-maths and language skills apart from the fine-motor co-ordination and many other skills that are stimulated. After this one and a half hour workshop you will never look at a packet of Jelly Tots in the same way again!
BEYOND THE NAPPY BAG™ (workshop)
Through the acquisition of perceptual skills, the foundation for academic success is laid in the pre-school years. What are these perceptual skills and how can they be stimulated and developed in a non-stressful way through play? This is a three-hour workshop filled with fascinating information, fun and interactive process work. (This workshop was previously called Nuts & Bolts)
FUTURE-PROOF YOUR CHILD™ (Talk)
The world has changed. The future has changed. Childhood is changing. Raising children has never been more challenging – or potentially rewarding. This presentation is suitable for anyone involved in raising children, from parents to teachers, aunts, uncles, grandparents and even parents to be.
Nikki Bush, creative parenting expert and author, explores what you need to know about tomorrow’s world and what you need to do to prepare today’s children for a world that doesn’t yet exist. The focus is on understanding the future, creating appropriate structures and developing characteristics in your children (and yourself) that will help them face anything that life might throw at them.
Raising children who will “be talent” is to raise children who are going to have what it takes not just to survive this new world, but who will be able to shape and influence it too. To be successful in the future, our children need to be “future-proofed” by influential adults (primarily their parents and teachers) in the foundation phase of their lives – from birth to age 10 – before they enter puberty.
This thought provoking one hour multimedia presentation will introduce you to the X-factors required for success in 2020 and beyond, providing many practical ideas to help children to develop them from an early age. It will highlight the critical importance of making choices, having conversations and choosing to consciously connect with tomorrow’s children today.
This presentation can be customised for educators. It is called Raising Tomorrow’s Talent Today.
\”Why you need to future-proof your child on YouTube\”
RAISING TOMORROW’S TALENT TODAY
A customised verison of Future-proof Your Child, for educators. See synopsis above.
SPECIALLY FOR DADS (Talk or workshop)
A fun, interactive one hour presentation for dads starting off with hands on problem solving through brain-teaser games. It includes a basic introduction to how young children learn, what dads’ do best and how to include your children in the normal everyday activities that you do. The love and approval of a father is an important aspect of every child’s development.
GRANDPARENTS ARE GREAT / GRANNIES IN ACTION (Talk or workshop)
Grandparents have a very special role to play in the lives of their grandchildren. They also have the unique privilege of not having to live with them. This fun and informative one hour presentation will bring grandparents up to date on how young children learn and how playing with their grandchildren and spending fun, quality time with them, can help create solid foundations for life.
PASSION FOR PLAY (Talk)
This one hour talk is aimed at inspiring parents to view play with more respect, and to go home and play with their children, connect with them and reawaken the child within. Depending on the size of the audience and seating arrangements, one or two processes will be included.
PEARLS FOR PARENTS (Talk)
This one hour talk highlights some of the most common pearls of wisdom I have documented from the many interviews I have done with specialists over the years. These have resulted in hundreds of published articles on various aspects of child and parent development. Depending on the size of the audience and seating arrangements, one or two processes will be included.
THE CONNECTION (Workshop)
The miracle of the brain body connection and how your child’s fine motor development is so dependent to his gross motor development. A three hour workshop, packed full of fascinating information that will blow your mind as well as fun, hands-on processes to illustrate the details.
TRICKY FINGERS (Talk or workshop)
This one and a half hour workshop focuses on the fine-motor development of your child, which lays the groundwork for his ability to read and write when he goes to primary school. In this workshop you will be exposed to educational toys as well as “around the house” activities to stimulate fine motor skills development.
BODY BASICS (Talk or workshop)
This one and a half hour workshop exposes the importance of gross motor development and how it is the precursor to many of the perceptual skills your child needs to develop in order to be ready for school. This is an interactive workshop, come dressed casually and be ready for movement.
LISTENING WORKSHOP (Talk or workshop)
This one hour workshop, while linked to language development, focuses specifically on hearing and listening skills. Primary school teachers today complain about children’s inability to listen more than ever before. We live in a very visual world, one that has forgotten the importance of listening and yet is totally reliant on it.
ARE YOU PUZZLED? (Talk or workshop)
Pre-school teachers will tell you that puzzles are one of the finest educational toys available and yet they are least understood by parents. This one-hour workshop will take you through the myriad perceptual skills your child can learn by becoming a puzzler.
WHEN SELECTING A TALK OR WORKSHOP:
Please consider the following factors as they will influence the selection of the appropriate presentation for your group:
- Number of people : This will determine how interactive the presentation can be.
- Type of group : Provide info about your group so that the message can be accurately targeted, eg. Mostly mothers, mothers of under three’s or over three’s, mothers and fathers, expectant parents, full-time working parents, grandparents etc.
- Type of venue : School classroom, hall, auditorium.
- Type of seating: : Can seating be rearranged easily during the talk for process work? Is the seating fixed or tiered eg. In an auditorium?
- Allocated time : 45 minutes to one hour for a talk One and a half to three hours for a workshop.
- Outcome : What message do you want your audience to take home? Do you want them to acquire skills? Do you want a take home handout?
- Costs : Will vary depending on the type of function, number of delegates and the venue (out of town or local).
For discussion. Most of these presentations can be converted into shorter talks or longer workshops, depending on your requirements. The time allocation mentioned is just a guideline.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO MAKE BOOKINGS, CONTACT:
Nikki Bush
Tel: (011) 462-1828
Cell: 083 265 5754
