The Price of Children

This post is actually an email I received recently but it sums up my beliefs in why we have children and the joys of children. I hope you agree......
xxx

The Price of Children

The calculated cost of raising a child, from birth to 18, was calculated at R1,681,470.00 (for a middle income family). Talk about price shock! That doesn’t even touch university fees!

But R1, 681,470.00 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

· R 93 414.93 a year

· R 7 784.49 a month

· R 1 796.34 a week

· A mere R 254.52 a day!

· Just over R 10.50 an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is: “Don't have children if you want to be rich. Actually, it is just the opposite!

What do you get for your R1,681,470.00?

· Naming rights. First, middle, and last!

· Glimpses of God every day

· Giggles under the covers every night

· More love than your heart can hold

· Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs

· Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies

· A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.

· A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites

· Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day

For R1,681,470.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:

· Finger-paint

· Carve pumpkins

· Play hide-and-seek

· Catch lightning bugs

· Never stop believing in Santa Claus

You have an excuse to:

· Keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh

· Watch Saturday morning cartoons

· Go to Disney movies

· Wish on stars

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother’s Day, and cards with backward letters for Father’s Day.

For a mere R254.52 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:

· Retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof

· Taking the training wheels off a bike

· Removing a splinter

· Filling a paddling pool

· Coaxing a wad of gum out of hair

· Coaching a rugby team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless

For R10.50 you get a front row seat in history to witness the:

· First step

· First word

· First bra

· First date

· First time behind the wheel

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you’re lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice,  communications, and human sexuality that no university can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God.

You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, So one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

That is quite a deal for the price!

Finger Biscuit Cars!!!

This week at preschool our theme was Things That Go. We did all the necessary colouring in and sticking but then us teachers decided it was time to be really creative with food!!!! So, on Thursday all the children made one of these -

Finger Biscuit Cars! 

Aren't they cute? Easy too. Here's how:

Mix up a little icing sugar with some water and a couple of drops of food colouring.

Sandwich two finger biscuits together with the 'green glue'.

Spread green glue on the backs of four mini biscuits and stick on the sides for wheels.

Spread a little green glue on the top biscuit and decorate with sweets - we used jelly babies for the drivers but we had to cut them in half to make them stay on.....of course eating the other half was great fun!

So, if you're looking a rainy day project look no further! You could make a veritable garage showroom of these lovelies. Here are some of mine waiting to dry.....

Needless to say, the kids had great fun making them and eating them so it's a definite fixture now on our Things That Go syllabus!

Hope you make some too!

Til soon.

xxx

Let the children play ......

٠ let the children play ٠ stamp in puddles ٠ climb trees ٠ dig in the dirt ٠ go on a bug hunt ٠ make mud pies ٠ roll down a hill ٠ build a camp ٠ make a daisy chain ٠ look for fairies ٠

Playing outside makes kids –

٠ smarter

٠ healthier

٠ happier

Recently I was chatting to a  friend of mine who is also a teacher and we remarked on how little children seem to play outside these days. In our youth (we were both born in the 1960s) there was no television, no computer games, no playstations, no fear of 'bad people' and life was pretty carefree. We played indoors on wet days but if the sun shone we played outside, ALWAYS.

We played in our sandpit .....

We sat on benches in the sun.........

We made camps in leafy glades......

We trained for the circus.......

Outside play is so important. For strengthening little arms and legs, for making young imaginations soar, but most importantly for the feeling of the sun on their skin and the wind in their hair. It's all around them and it's free.
Til soon.
x

Kids Zone - Playdough.....

At the preschool where I work, we've just done our first term parent/teacher interviews. These are very informative sessions for both parents and teachers but I noticed this time that many of the parents asked me for my recipe for playdough (we make our own for our classes as we find it lasts much longer than the shop bought stuff). It got me thinking that maybe I should do a Kids Zone post about playdough, including my foolproof recipe!

So, what is it? In a nutshell, it's a mixture of flour, oil and water which forms a rubbery type of  goo that kids just LOVE to play with. It can be moulded into almost any shape and when the kids are done playing, you push it into an airtight container, snap the lid on and it's all ready for next time! Genius!

There are many many recipes out there and I think I've tried almost all of them. Many are complicated, many are time-consuming but the recipe that I use is simple and quick. Here it is:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 sachet cream tartar (14g)
1 teaspoon (15ml) oil (I use vegetable oil)
1 cup boiling water
a few drops of food colouring and / or glitter

Add the food colouring to the boiling water.
Pour all the dry ingredients into a bowl.
Add the oil and then add the water/food colouring.
Mix thoroughly until a dryish dough forms. (The dough should leave the sides of the bowl clean.)
If too wet/sticky, add a little more flour and knead well.

As you can see, it's almost too easy but I can promise you that it works like a dream! It lasts 3-4 weeks in an airtight container which is a bonus and if you make two batches of two different colours you can alternate them each time the children play. For something different, you can add glitter to make it sparkly, rice or lentils for texture, or a few drops of scented oil to give it a sensory twist. Just be careful not to make it smell too yummy as then the little darlings are very prone to eating it!!!!!!

To me, the most important reason to make playdough for your children is that it's FUN!!!! Most kids love getting sticky, mucky and yucky and whilst playdough is not quite the same as mud-pie making in the garden, it does come pretty close! There are, however, other benefits which include, strengthening the muscles in fingers and wrists, encouraging the imagination (playdough can become almost anything), and being a great stress reliever (try it yourself next time you feel stressed)!

Once it's cooled and ready to use try and think 'out of the box' with regards to tools for your kids to use with it. Obviously the bulk standard cookie cutters are great as are rolling pins and plastic knives but sometimes it's great to give them things like matchsticks (without the heads) so they can make porcupines and hedgehogs, marbles (which they love to press into the playdo so the marbles disappear), kiddie scissors (let them make a sausage and cut it up) and even kitchen utensils (my kids love using the potato masher and the garlic crusher)! Tea sets are also good as are plastic plates, bowls and containers. I try to keep all the plastic packaging that food comes in so that way I'm recycling as well!

As a teacher and as a parent I think playdough is one of life's joys. It's cheap, it's easy to make and it will keep your little ones amused for hours. For long car journeys you can take some in a container with a kitchen tray - just be prepared for some to get mushed into the upholstery....!

So, if you want a little ''mummy time" make some as soon as you can. You won't regret it, I promise.
Til next time.
xxx

Launch of Kidszone - Quick & Easy Easter Egg Hunt Bag!!!

Having been a preschool teacher for many years, I've accumulated masses of files, books and interesting articles all about children! I was wading my way through it all the other day when I suddenly realised that my blog would be the perfect place to share it all!!!  Whilst most of these posts will be aimed at children aged 3-5, I'm sure that many of them can be 'adjusted' for children either older or younger.

Good idea? Bad idea? Waste of time? What do YOU think????  Please let me know your thoughts......

I thought for my first Kidszone post I would do something crafty (and by that I mean something to make, not something sneaky or sly...) and something Eastery (is there such a word?).  But what to post? As usual in times of dilemma the children in my class came to my rescue. This week we've been discussing all things Easter and today we made Easter Egg Hunt Bags for the very exciting Easter Egg Hunt we're holding tomorrow morning!! Needless to say, as far as the children are concerned this is the MOST thrilling thing since Christmas and there was much discussion in my classroom as to whether the Easter Bunny comes down the chimney like Santa or whether  he/she (the sex was never identified) pops out of the ground like a normal bunny.....!

Whilst this terribly important and animated discussion took place, we made the bags as follows......

First they coloured in bunny faces. This bunny face is in fact on white paper (not grey)....I'm not too sure what my camera was thinking of but I'm sure you get the idea......

Then I cut out the faces and the children stuck them onto smallish brown paper bags -

Then they added cardboard handles -

And there you have it, a gorgeous Easter Egg Hunt Bag absolutely and totally ready to be filled with masses and masses of lovely chocolate........

I really hope you liked my first Kidszone post. Do you think I should do some more or should I quit whilst I'm ahead.....

Til soon.

x