Kids in the City Magazine - Brisbane - Issue 11

www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

Raising an entrepreneur

Inspiring creativity

ISSUE 11 May/June 2015 BRISBANE

Creative classrooms

How to grow a green kid

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All kids’ activities and entertainment free

SU N DAY 31 M AY 20 15 9A M-2PM 7TH BRIGADE PARK, MURPHY ROAD, CHERMSIDE Travel green! Show your Green Heart and come by bus, bike or on foot.

Visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/greenheart for bus and bike info.

Major Sponsors

11 Contents ISSUE

May/June 2015

Costume created by the fabulous Ligre from www.facebook.com/ storksnestdesigns

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FROM THE EDITOR

6

THE SOCIAL GATHERING

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WHAT’S NEWS

10 FEATURE: Raising an entrepreneur 16 CHECK THIS OUT 18 PARENTS TALK: Do you enjoy playing with your kids?

22 CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Find out what’s happening in Brisbane during May & June 24 EDUCATION: Creative classrooms 30 THE P FILES: Inspiring creativity 33 PARENTVILLE: The evolution of motherhood 34 TEENS: Ploughing a clear path 36 ONLY NATURAL: How to grow a green kid 38 YOU: Make Mum feel special 40 CONVERSATION: Meet Kate Knapp 42 REVIEWS

Rylan, 4yrs

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS: MEGAN BLANDFORD, MARIANNE CONNOLLY, SANDRA SMITH, ROBYNA MAY, KERRYN ANKER, LARA CAIN GRAY, NATASHA HIGGINS, EVA LEWIS COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: VERVE PORTRAITS

Printed with vegetable/soy based inks on paper supplied using pulp sourced from sustainable forests and manufactured to environmentally accredited systems.

WE ENCOURAGE RECYCLING. Please keep this issue for future reference, pass onto your friends and family, use for craft projects or place into the recycling bin. www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

MAY / JUNE 2015 – Kids in the City

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mother

WELCOME

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kids on the coast | in th

MEDIA PUBLISHED BY Mother Goose Media PTY LTD PO Box 491, Eumundi QLD 4562 PHONE: 1300 430 320 FAX: 07 5442 7253 ABN: 86 473 357 391 WEB: www.mothergoosemedia.com.au

This edition of Kids in the City is all about creativity and we have some wonderful articles to share with you. Kids are naturally creative, finding wonder in a whole host of ordinary objects and situations, and this innate creativity is such an important quality to nurture. Having our sofa turned into a pirate ship and not having any serving spoons for a few days is a small price to pay for sparking their rich imaginations!

To celebrate this edition we’ve brought some extra creativity to our cover. We love the cardboard box dinosaur creation worn by our cheeky cover model. I still remember my mum turning an old cardboard box into a much loved ‘raindrop’ dance costume when I was little. Share your cardboard creations with us on Instagram and don't forget to tag us @kidsinthecitymagazine so we can see and share it!

As discussed in our ‘Inspiring Creativity’ P Files article, creativity is so much more than being good at art, singing or writing a story. Personally I have never considered myself a very creative person, but I do believe that everyone – yes, even me – has a creative spark within them that just takes a little work and practice to uncover and develop. Simply engaging in creative activities is a great place to start to encourage the creative mind to develop and work more freely.

And you’re bound to have fun at the same time!

Creativity also has an important place in the business world and the entrepreneurs of today are younger than you think. In our feature article we meet the business-minded kids who are taking Queensland – and the world – by storm. The importance of nurturing and teaching creativity from an early age is now being realised within the traditional education system, and our education article looks at how schools and teachers are embracing and encouraging creativity in the classroom.

Keep an eye out in May for our Education eGuide for the latest news and resources pertaining to all aspects of education – from day care through to high school plus a range of extracurricular educational activities and support.

Before we know it, it will be the end of June and the start of the next school holidays when we’ll share another school holiday guide full of heaps of ideas for holiday fun.

AVAILABLE

MID-MAY

T IO N EDUCA eGuide

MAY 2015

As always, we have a mountain of content online including topical news stories daily, blog posts, new articles and reviews on products, books, movies and more.

Please do stop by and a have a read.

We’d love to hear from you on our Facebook page too. Please feel free to contact our team via Facebook.com/kidsinthecitymagazinebrisbane, our website or email and don’t forget to sign up for our What’s On eNews that comes out weekly at www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

- in the city - on the coast

Natasha Higgins, Editor

BEHIND THE SCENES … at our Verve Portraits cover shoot

www.kidsonthecoast.com.au www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

EDITORIAL / PRODUCTION PUBLISHER: Toni Eggleston PRINT EDITOR: Natasha Higgins GROUP EDITOR - DIGITAL: Eva Lewis ADMIN: admin@mothergoosemedia.com.au SOCIAL MEDIA: Eva Lewis PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT: Phoebe Browning production@mothergoosemedia.com.au DESIGN: Michelle Craik & Phoebe Browning PRINTING: Print Works, 07 3865 4433 All editorial and advertising in Kids on the Coast and Kids in the City publications are published in good faith based on material, verbal or written, provided by contributors and advertisers. No responsibility is taken for errors or omissions and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. All material in Kids on the Coast is subject to copyright provisions.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Feedback/ comments/suggestions? Send to: editorial@ mothergoosemedia.com.au. We aim to reply to all correspondence but don’t guarantee to do so. Letters to the editor may be edited for length or clarity.

DISTRIBUTION Distributed directly to parenting hotspots across South East Queensland.

Kids in the City (Brisbane edition) is a free publication circulating over 20,000 copies from North Lakes to Springwood and covering all suburbs to Jindalee.

Separate editions cover the Sunshine and Gold Coasts.

Kids on the Coast (Sunshine Coast edition) is a free publication circulating over 20,000 copies from Caloundra to Noosa, including hinterland.

Kids on the Coast (Gold Coast edition) is a free publication circulating over 18,000 copies from Tweed Heads to Coomera, including hinterland.

For distribution enquiries phone: 1300 430 320 or email: admin@mothergoosemedia.com.au

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Lights, camera , action!

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Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

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MAY / JUNE 2015 – Kids in the City

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The social gathering

by Eva Lewis

Daily conversation, inspiration and information

www.facebook.com/kidsinthecitymagazinebrisbane

plus.google.com/+KidsonthecoastAuKidsinthecity

We want to meet you so let's get social

kidsinthecitymagazine

Snippets from our first ever live Facebook chat on bullying

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WE’VE BEEN OUT AND ABOUT THESE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS AND HAVING LOADS OF FUN. CHECK OUT WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO ON INSTAGRAM...

KITC SAID: IT SEEMS AS THOUGH BULLYING IS QUITE COMMON. IS IT ACTUALLY GETTING WORSE IN AUSTRALIA? Stymie.com.au said: Bullying is getting worse in Australia. In 2010, 1 in 10 kids were being bullied. We are now up to 1 in 4. In only 5 years. We can thank social media and technology for that. Too many kids are left to their devices on their own devices.

Ligre said: My daycare lady told me last week that my 3-year-old daughter gets left out at daycare by three other 3-year-olds, apparently they also run way from her and pull faces at her so she spends most of the day playing alone, she asks them to play but they say no or just run away. Have you come across bullying at 3 years old?!

I mean to me it sounds ridiculous, surely they can't know that they are bullying?

What can I do to build my daughters confidence?

Stymie.com.au said: It is happening at a very young age. Most of these behaviours are learned from older siblings, television and the flow on effect is awful.

Stymie.com.au said: In terms of building your daughter's confidence it is important for her to know that there are other kids. And you know, kids are always going to be awful to each other, this unfortunately is not necessarily bullying but something many kids go through.

Event Cinemas Chicks at the Flicks

y Day of Positivit for Kids Helpline

You can also read the Cinderella movie review on our website

OUR MOST POPULAR

ARTICLES

You certainly couldn’t get enough of these articles over the past two months!

Have you read them yet?

Stymie.com.au said: The main thing that parents can do is be aware of what your kids are up to. I can't tell you how frightening this point is. Parents are not being responsible or active enough in their boundary setting and supervision of kid’s internet access.

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Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

Beth, one of our very happy prizewinners and a definite Barbie fan!

A TRAUMATIC FIRST BIRTH EXPERIENCE AT GOLD COAST UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Scan to visit our website

There are always great prizes on our website.

Visit to enter. www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

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Whatsnews Stay up to date with your local community news. If you have any unique news that you’d like to share, please contact our editor at editorial@kidsonthecoast.com.au

Visit our website for more news, www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au/news

MOTHER’S DAY WITH A SPECIAL MEANING FOR THE NAPPY COLLECTIVE

This Mother’s Day, the Australian public will be able to donate desperately needed nappies to mothers in shelters and families in crisis. From May 1 to 15, The Nappy Collective will hold its largest drive yet, collecting leftover unused nappies around the country including Brisbane. At the conclusion of the drive, the nappies (mostly destined for landfill) are then collected, sorted and donated to mothers in shelters and families in need in each locality. The concept behind the Melbourne based organisation is simple: many parents have a stash of outgrown nappies gathering dust in their cupboards. At the same time, mothers fleeing family violence often struggle to provide for their young children, often changing their babies less frequently or forgoing other basic essentials to afford sufficient nappies. The Nappy Collective’s solution is to give parents an opportunity to collectively help families in crisis by donating their handful of nappies. For more information on where to donate, visit www.thenappycollective.com

NEW RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WHOOPING COUGH BOOSTERS IN THIRD TRIMESTER OF PREGNANCY Recently The Australian Immunisation Handbook for Pertussis (whooping cough) was updated to recommend that women have a whooping cough booster during the third trimester of every pregnancy. A representative at Northern Rivers Vaccination Supporters stated on their Facebook page that although it is still very important to have all who are in contact with the new baby, such as friends and family, to be vaccinated (cocooning) as it offers about 50% protection for babies, administration of third trimester boosters in every pregnancy offers an even better level of protection (about 90%). The handbook states that the boosters are most effective when given between 28 and 32 weeks, as this gives an adequate amount of time for the mother’s body to produce antibodies and for these antibodies to cross to the placenta to protect the baby. The handbook also states that the booster is safe to give up until birth and that a booster should be administered during every pregnancy for maximal protection to every infant, including pregnancies that are closely spaced. For adults, boosters should be given every 5-10 years because immunity does eventually wear off. For comprehensive information, visit the Immunise Australian Program website www.immunise.health.gov.au.

The Australian Immunisation Handbook for Pertussis can be found at www.health.gov.au

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Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

LOCAL MOTHER & DAUGHTER TEAM GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY

DID YOU

KNOW Students who study art are

4 times

more likely to be recognised for academic achievement.

PICASSO COULD DRAW BEFORE HE COULD WALK AND HIS FIRST WORD WAS THE SPANISH WORD FOR PENCIL.

None of the Beatles could read music.

A ONE-WAY TRIP ALONG THE ENTIRE RIVER NETWORK

BY A BRISBANE CITYCAT TAKES 85 MINUTES.

Lyn’s label, a Brisbane based luxury baby accessories company, are on a mission to make a difference. Inspired by those around them, Marnie and Lyn continue to develop their charity fundraising looking at new and innovative ways to work with the community. To raise much needed funds for various charities, the mother-daughter duo launched the Lyn’s Label Healthier Families Charity Fundraising Events centre in November 2014. “We are passionate about giving back and making a difference, connecting people, businesses and charities through our products and events are a way of doing this.

We have been overwhelmed by the support and generosity of so many and their willingness to be part of something bigger.” Marnie, mother of five-year-old Charlotte, recently followed in her mother Lyn’s footsteps relaunching her luxury baby accessories brand Lyn’s Label. Fast becoming known for their passion to do things differently and make a difference, they have gone beyond their unique range of stylish accessories. “Our next event will be a movie night at the iconic New Farm Cinema with champagne, nibbles, a special guest speaker and exclusive movie screening. We’d love the community to come along and show their support. Our chosen charity for this event will be Dandelion Support Network, a not-for-profit organisation that assists families in need.” To show your support, tickets are available at www.LynsLabel.com.au or email events@lynslabel.com.au

FEEL GOOD FIELD DAY

To help people realise the need for self-care, Soul Collective has organised a Feel Good Field Day on Sunday May 24 at the Victoria Park Golf Centre in Brisbane. The Feel Good Field Day is a oneday event that offers you the chance to press the pause button on your busy schedule and reconnect with the most important person in your life…you! The event is a fundraiser for beyondblue and 100% of the proceeds of the event will be donated to the charity. It is anticipated this donation will be $5000. Featuring an impressive line up of psychologists, life coaches and wellness experts, participants will learn new skills and tools to take control of their happiness, leaving the day feeling motivated, connected and empowered. The $130 ticket price includes a full day of workshops, morning tea and lunch. Tickets can be purchased online at www.soulcollective.com.au www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

ADVERTISEMENT/LOCAL BUSINESS

Straight Teeth the Natural Way! Today about 80% of Australian children are growing up with crooked teeth.

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Craniofacial dystrophy can be evident in the first years of life and can be treated at that age. It is best treated in the growing child. The improvements in tooth position, jaw size, jaw relationship and the airway are a consequence of the improved craniofacial development.

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Traditional orthodontic methods such as braces and extractions focus on moving teeth without regard for the underlying cause – it is not surprising that the vast majority of orthodontic treatment relapses without lifetime retention. The poor muscle and breathing patterns that originally caused the teeth to become ‘crooked’ put the teeth back into that position when the retainers are no longer worn. Most orthodontic patients stop wearing retainers and see their tooth position relapse.

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Dr Flutter believes that every child has the potential to grow straight teeth!

Dr Flutter opened his practice in Brisbane in 2007 focusing treatment on the growing child. He has lectured on ‘Myofunctional Influences on Facial Growth and the Dentition’ in various countries as well as publishing articles in journals throughout the world, including ‘The Negative Effects of Mouth Breathing’ in the International Journal of Orthodontics (published by the International Association for Orthodontics).

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MAY / JUNE 2015 – Kids in the City

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FEATURE

Raising an entrepreneur

by Megan Blandford

‘KIDS THESE DAYS’ IS A SAYING THAT NO LONGER NEEDS TO BE FOLLOWED WITH A LAMENTING SIGH, REPLACING THAT INSTEAD WITH A TONE OF WONDER AT THE AMAZING THINGS CHILDREN ARE ACHIEVING. Defined as managing an enterprise or business, entrepreneurship is rife in Australia and is set to become even more so. Generation Z is being described by researchers as the generation of digital entrepreneurs, with a prediction that there will be more people running businesses than ever before.

Some, though, can’t wait until adulthood to do this, choosing instead to practise their entrepreneurial skills during childhood.

Entrepreneurial kids are taking their future into their own hands, working hard to earn their own way, learn new skills and give back to their communities. And the adults in their lives are recognising these passions and making every effort possible to encourage them.

Why? Well, when you know it’s improving your child’s creativity, engagement, confidence and life skills, the question really is, why not?

So, does your child have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Well, to begin with they need to have the right resources at their fingertips, with online platforms a strong basis for building a creatively managed business. The other thing they need is encouragement from us as parents, including helping their creativity flourish, giving them the chance to follow their passions and exposing them to different ideas. Even something as simple as not buying your child everything they want can encourage them to initiate a creative way to earn money. And, as the parents we’ve spoken to prove, the downsides are minimal, as long as children are supported in balancing their businesses with good old-fashioned play.

THE NEW WAY TO EARN POCKET MONEY When Michelle House’s daughter Kate asked for an iPad, she was given a simple one-word answer: no. Like most kids, Kate didn’t

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Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

like that response, so she started thinking of ways she could raise the funds to buy one for herself. The answer lay right in her bathroom, where her mum’s homemade beauty creams got Kate thinking about making her own bath and shower products.

“I have a business background, so as soon as I saw her interest, I ran with it,” Michelle explains. “When kids are interested in something, I think you have to get as much out of it as you can.”

The nine-year-old now sells her wares – under the name Sweet Kisses – through a Facebook page, using her business-like hobby as a way to fund her own pocket money.

Michelle sees this as a great educational experience. “She’s learning business skills, confidence, organisational skills and learning her strengths,” this Brisbane mum says. “I’ve shown her how to buy the containers and compare the price between buying them in a store and buying them in bulk and, at nine, she can read a profit and loss statement.”

The benefits of her daughter having an entrepreneurial interest are, Michelle believes, not just about using her creativity but in having time to use her brain without limitation. “It gives her that time to be in her own space and not be overstimulated by activity,” Michelle says. “She has her own project and her own plan that she’s doing in her own way and in her own time. I think that’s really important for children; it’s downtime to engage her brain in activities she’s chosen.”

What’s next for Kate? Well, this smart kid has life as a solopreneur in her sights. “I invested some capital to get her started: $100, so I’m a shareholder!” says Michelle. “She’s trying to buy me out now.”

www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

FEATURE

www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

MAY / JUNE 2015 – Kids in the City

11

FEATURE

WORKING WITH SCHOOLS Club Kidpreneur is one organisation that’s working with schools to take children in Years 5 and 6 through a real business experience.

“Each kid gets a backpack with the tools to build their own business,” explains general manager Deanna Coleman. They’re taken through basic process such as what their business does, how it fills a need, what the business name will be, designing a logo, prototyping their product, pricing strategies and goal-setting.

The program not only includes literacy and numeracy development that works with the curriculum, it’s also funded by the kids themselves. “On average, they’ll earn between $150 to $300 and the first $75 goes back to the foundation,” Deanna says.

The kids also donate some of their earnings to charities, giving them a taste of how it feels to give back to their local community.

“Kids love the idea of global citizenship,” says Deanna, “and if you teach them at a young age then it becomes part of who they are.”

Programs like this encourage kids to not just dream big, but to act on those fantasies too. “There are two sides of the coin,” says Deanna. “One is about following your dreams and passions, but you really need some skills around that. You can’t run an amazing business unless you’ve built some business skills. Then following that dream seems more realistic. Even if you’re a singer or a dancer, if you understand a bit about business fundamentals you’re probably going to be more successful.

The benefits to teaching entrepreneurial skills, she says, are endless. “The basic skills of business are not rocket science, and if you can remove some of that mystery around business while kids are young, that’s an amazing skill they can have throughout life.”

THINKING GLOBALLY Sunshine Coast brother and sister Ash and Ailish started their entrepreneurial efforts five years ago with a competition run

by Australia Zoo. Their video came second in the competition, and spawned a series they called Planet You, highlighting environmental issues to other kids.

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Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

It was in the evolution of this interest that the magic really happened. “They set out to record this video series,” explains their mum Cate Bolt, “and what happened was they started finding out about a lot of pretty crappy things going on in the world, and I guess they felt trying to fix the problems was more important … and the video series became secondary. The outcome was about $45,000 being raised for various charities.”

Their focus has since changed again, with now 19-year-old Ash focusing on his music (with a twist on raising money for charities and spreading important messages) and Ailish, 11, volunteering to help community causes whenever she can. But with a mum who runs an orphanage in Indonesia and is a strong human rights campaigner in her own right, it’s certain that the ideas of global community will always be in this pair’s minds. Certainly, Cate has worked to teach her children that an element of giving back to the community is always important.

Still, it can be difficult to be a bystander as your kids carve out their own path. “I think the hardest thing as a parent is letting kids make their own mistakes, because you want to protect them – and this is really fairly similar,” Cate explains. “I try to let them do their own thing as much as possible without interfering.”

Having entrepreneurial abilities is an important parenting value for Cate to share with her kids, having been passionate about it her whole life. She says, “I’ve raised all my kids to believe that there are options other than ‘working for the man'. It takes a lot of hard work and you really need to back yourself, but … I just believe kids should believe that they are capable of doing anything, whether that means their dream job or changing the world.”

In this family it seems entrepreneurialism could be contagious; Ash and Ailish’s younger brother, Charlie, has caught it and hopes to make a video series raising awareness of bugs. “I’d like to think that this video series is going to be finished, but it’s entirely up to the kids,” says Cate. “I won’t force them to do it.”

, ng hi yt an ng oi d of e bl pa ca e ar ey th at "I just beliethveerkithdats shmeaounsld betheiliervedretham job or changing the world.” whe

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MAY / JUNE 2015 – Kids in the City

13

FEATURE

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES

CREATIVITY AND FAME

When Bernie Kelly was asked to be involved in new Sunshine Coast initiative Generation Innovation he jumped at the opportunity.

Working with several teams of aspiring entrepreneurs aged 15 to 25, Bernie’s role was that of motivator and facilitator, and he says the talent at the recently run initial workshop astounded him.

For Gold Coast mum Simonne Kelly, allowing her daughters Charli, 9, and Ashlee, 6, to pursue their entrepreneurial efforts is simply about encouraging their interests. The only difference between her and any other parent giving their children the space to pursue a hobby is, it seems, the traction this one has gained.

Working with mentors to work through a business start-up, the young teams take a business from concept to pitching in an effort to receive capital and get those business ideas off the ground.

Operating through community micro-financing, founder Ted O’Brien says there’s nothing else like this happening globally.

The Kelly girls’ YouTube cooking show Charli’s Crafty Kitchen started three years ago when their aunt (who has her own YouTube cooking channel) suggested Charli might enjoy this outlet. Charli’s Crafty Kitchen began with then six-year-old Charli taking control and her little sister, then three, getting into the action whenever she could. “Charli is very creative and Ashlee just loves food!”

Simonne laughs, as she speaks of the roles each of them plays.

Bernie adds, “The reality is that for some of them, this could give them a business. The real question, though, is what is that going to do for some of these kids? This is going to give them a feeling of self-worth, that even if this particular business doesn’t work they now have the process and the experience to apply to another business idea. For them, they’ve launched a journey of possibilities that’s not only related to the current business they’re looking at but maybe future businesses.”

For those who don’t get as far through the process, coming out the other side without a real life business shouldn’t be a disappointing ending, Bernie says. “They’ve been in a positive environment of acceptance and belief,” he explains. “They’re gaining from it just from being part of the process, whether they get seeding or funding or not.”

There’s more to it than a competition to pitch for funding, with a bigger picture at play. “It’s a win all round,” says Bernie, “and the win for us is that we are initiating a formula that can create belief and self-worth in kids to the point where we can help and assist them to create businesses and answer the unemployment problem on the Sunshine Coast.”

This is life-changing stuff. Bernie says, “The kids that walked out were very different to the kids that walked in.”

ways to encourage your kidpreneur

consider a program 1. Ask your school to ur. such as Club Kidprene ey ildren about how mon 2. Speak with your ch is earned. such as the Sunshine 3. Seek opportunities ovation workshops.

Coast’s Generation Inn izenship and how 4. Talk about global cit hers. we can give back to ot an interest in 5. If your child shows with it! entrepreneurship, run 14

Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

Their YouTube channel now receives around a million views each day. They have fans at school, get recognised on the street and sign autographs, making this a hobby with a life of its own. “We never really expected it to go so well,” says Simonne. “It was just a hobby – two kids mucking around in the kitchen – and it took off.

At first I was a little bit nervous about it, but the girls are loving it.”

For parents, there’s often an internal battle between seeing your children stick to an activity and wanting them to have free time for playing. That’s why Simonne and her husband take on all the behind-the-scenes work for Charli’s Crafty Kitchen, so that it doesn’t impede on the kids’ free time much at all. “The part of it that the girls do is quite quick; they’re having fun in the kitchen once a week,” Simonne says, adding that the bigger workload is on them as parents. “The editing, the admin and the social hosting all falls on us.”

That doesn’t mean the girls don’t have a say in what happens on their YouTube channel. Quite the opposite actually. “Charli is the boss of the channel,” her mum says, “and both girls get a say in what they do, and when other opportunities come up they get to say if they want to do them.” In fact, Simonne sees this as the greatest benefit of her children’s entrepreneurial endeavours. “The most important thing with this channel has been to let the girls have some creative input into the channel and to take ownership of it, within reason. We don’t do anything they don’t feel comfortable with. At this age there has to be a lot of parental control, but Charli and Ash get a lot of say in the decisions we make.”

With that parental control comes a constant monitoring of whether it’s the right thing for the kids, too. “I don’t want any pressure on them to do it for any reason other than fun,” says Simonne. Having said that, she adds, it’s like a modern day public speaking practice that gives them skills that will take them into the future. “It teaches them a lot and gives them more confidence. Charli says it makes her feel more confident in herself and feel like she can go on stage and perform.”

Simonne says she’s happy to let Charli and Ashlee keep going with their show for as long as they’d like to. “It’s a lot of fun for the girls,” she says. “As long as they’re enjoying it we’ll keep going.”

RESOURCES Club Kidpreneur: www.clubkidpreneur.com Generation Innovation: www.generationinnovation.com.au Sweet Kisses: www.facebook.com/pages/Sweet-Kisses/644700985560415?ref=hl Charli’s Crafty Kitchen: www.youtube.com/charliscraftykitchen www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au Planet You: www.planetyou.org.au

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CHECKthisOUT Seriously cool products to encourage kids to create, imagine, draw and play!

BLANK CANVAS GIFTS

Blank Canvas Gifts are beautiful handcrafted gifts for children who love to paint and create their own designer art. Each pack contains a high quality, pure white ‘blank canvas’ matched with premium fabric paints and/or markers. The ‘canvases’ are things children can use every day like library bags, cushions, tees, shoes, etc. With an inspiration booklet, reusable calico bag and gift tag, the packs are an affordable, quality gift priced between $30 to $45 for single packs. Duo and party packs are also available. www.blankcanvasgifts.com.au

HIPPY AT HEART PUPPETS

These funky and colourful little monster puppets by Hippy at Heart are handmade with love from all sorts of crafty materials. Imagine the hours of imaginative play you and your little one will have with these crazy creatures and the fun stories they will create. Available at Podie Pie, an artist collective of handmade treasures located in Howard Street, Nambour. RRP $20.

If you can't get to this great little shop visit their facebook page www.facebook.com/PodiePie

16

Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

LOCK ACTIVITY BOX

The Lock Activity Box is a wonderful way to amuse young and curious minds.

Watch the delight on your child's face as they explore the different latches and openings to discover what is behind each door. This superbly crafted solid hardwood lock box is perfect for developing fine motor skills and dexterity during free play and also provides opportunities for parents to join in with fun memory and hiding games. The carry handle makes it a perfect toy to take along on outings. The lock activity box measures 31cm x 13cm x 12cm and is recommended for 3 years and over. Available online through various retailers.

OSMO GAMING ACCESSORY

Osmo is a unique educational gaming system that fosters social intelligence and creative thinking by opening up the iPad to the endless possibilities of physical play. Simply attach the reflector and stand to your iPad to transform the physical space in front of the iPad into a digital game board. Arrange tangible puzzle pieces into matching on-screen shapes; guess and spell out the on-screen hidden word by tossing down real-life letters using the onscreen picture as a clue; or use inventive objects such as a hand-drawn basket, Dad’s keys or anything around you to guide falling on-screen balls into targeted zones. Suitable for everyone from 6 years – bringing kids and families together in the real world! www.playosmo.com

SPARROW & B CUTE COSTUMES FOR KIDS

Sparrow & B cater for all the costume wishes your child could ever have!

Are they a rainbow bird, a stripey tiger or a purple owl? Or maybe a viking, a queen or a strongman? Sparrow & B design and stitch dozens of different costumes in their Melbourne studio using mixed fabrics of fabulous print and texture. The costumes are super cute, fun, comfortable to wear and best of all, will last the distance when it comes to hours of play. Custom orders are welcome – the sky is the limit to your child’s imagination and theirs! www.sparrowandb.com.au

DIY EMBROIDERY HOOP KITS

These DIY mini embroidery kits from dandelyne are great for beginners (ages 7+) and include everything you need to get started and create beautiful mini embroidery masterpieces – fabric, needles, floss, design ideas, transfer paper, basic stitch instructions. The ‘Fun Starter Embroidery Hoop Kit’ has everything you need to stitch up to four special designs for your miniature embroidery hoops. You can also purchase a special kit to frame your stitchy designs to wear as a brooch or necklace. The options are endless! Check out the range at www.etsy.com/shop/dandelyne

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PARENTS TALK

TALK

Some of the best-loved parenting bloggers in South East Queensland join Kids on the Coast and Kids in the City to discuss the topics that matter to you.

Parents

We asked our group of parenting bloggers: Do you enjoy playing with your kids?

RENEE WILSON

LISA BARTON-COLLINS

Mummy, Wife, Me

Mrs BC's House of Chaos

Absolutely. I must be a kid at heart because I love sitting down with the kids to colour, play Barbies or dance to The Wiggles.

I love spending time with my children, and I also think it’s important for their development to spend time playing alone and with each other. And my personal development demands alone time too!! I always tell them that only boring people get bored, and I love to see them stretch their imagination. Together they play made up obstacle course type games that seem to involve a lot of weaponry, and this is not my cup of tea at all.

It is more than that though. When we spend time playing together we are all happy. We are working on our bond and everyone is more relaxed. I love seeing the joy on their faces when I play with them.

I love watching them grow and learn and see their personalities shine through.

When my youngest has her daytime nap, my four-year-old and I make up stories and turn them into books that we can read together later. We also love to play memory games and other board games.

Four is a great age because she is able to play games that interest me also. We are still learning how to be a good sport though.

With my two-year-old, we play blocks, blow bubbles or dance.

If you were to ask my husband, he would say I spend too much time playing with the kids and they need to learn how to play more independently. My two-year-old is good at this, my four-year-old not so much.

There are certain activities I can’t stand of course. Play dough being one of them. I die a little inside every time they ask to play with that.

I was one of those anti-gun mums, right up to until I had boys. Now I’ve just accepted my fate, and get out of their way so they can get on with it. Sigh! I also have no patience for craft and its associated mess, which works out well because neither do they (the craft obviously, they have zero issues with mess). Occasionally on a rainy holiday they might make robots or masks or weapons out of stuff in the recycling bin, but we are not the house that is full of glitter and paint creations.

What we do like to do together is play games. I am one of those boring educational mums so I love Bananagram, which is similar to Scrabble, and Math Dice, which is a thrilling game where you have to create the most sums within a certain period of time. The boys like it but not for a long time. We love playing Eye Spy on long journeys, as well as Twenty Questions and Build a Story – one person says a sentence, the next person adds a sentence, and so on. It makes for some bizarre conversations!

One of their recent game creations was Paper Rock Scissors Wildcard, which they invented during a very long time spent queuing for a ferry. It is an extension of Paper Rock Scissors, but at the end you add a wildcard of your own choosing, and then the wildcard item must battle with whatever the other person has chosen. So a rock might be doing battle with a Kraken, or a Laser Ninja might be doing battle with a giant starfish, or a pair of scissors might have to battle an invisible penguin. It is fun to play, and entertaining to watch – at least it was for the rest of the people in the queue!

LAUREN MATHESON

SHARI BREWER

Create Bake Make

Teenage Survival Coach

Ooh this is a tough one! I have to say it really does depend on what the activity is and how long I'm expected/ required to play – I know that sounds terrible! I'm more than happy to sit on the lounge room floor constructing elaborate Lego Duplo towers only to have them immediately destroyed, drive matchbox cars and trucks around on the tiles or dig in the sandpit – for short periods of time.

At the risk of being sent straight to the naughty corner, I must admit playing with my children is not something that has come easily to me.

I do it because I want to be with them in their world, but I will often find myself distracted by mental grocery lists or just a nagging desire to be sleeping.

Don't get me wrong, I genuinely do enjoy playing with my boys and I love watching my three-year-old beginning to construct elaborate scenarios and stories which he includes his little brother in, but I don't want to (and honestly can't afford to) spend my entire day playing with them. The time they spend playing together is my opportunity to clean up the kitchen, put some washing away or even take 10 minutes to sit down and have a HOT cup of coffee.

While I'm open to most games and activities, I'm not a huge fan of (or overly comfortable with) wrestling with them or their latest obsession of cannon balls off the couch, and I happily leave these activities in the capable hands (I hope) of my husband.

Please don’t misunderstand – I love, adore and cherish my children. Truly, I do. I’m just not one of those mums with an innate knack for play dough, glitter or Lego. I’ll stick my hand up to own it right now and let you know most activities involving a glue stick, feathers and paddle pop sticks make me scream and then shrivel a little bit on the inside.

At one stage I was resentful and angry at myself for not enjoying playtime more, but I’ve come to accept the realities of parenting are such that there is no ‘right’ mum prototype.

When my teen boys were little ones, I admit to having much more energy and therefore trips to the park were fun, sandpits were bearable and playing chase was something I could partake in knowing it would have the double win of tiring them for an early bedtime. But many years on, I’m not physically as agile. So maybe it was just lucky my third and last was a little girl. She’s still super energetic and there’s been no gender play engineering … but I am coping a bit better with imaginary cups of tea, nurses and dolls than I did with space machines and sword fights.

Real-life activities such as cooking (usually badly) or exploring and hunting with the kids is much more enjoyable than imaginary play is for me. I also like to cuddle up and read with them, though the almost 18-year-old is not so keen on this anymore.

Join the conversation...

Look for Parents Talk topics at www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au/articles 18

Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

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TALK Parents

Some of the best-loved parenting bloggers in South East Queensland join Kids on the Coast and Kids in the City to discuss the topics that matter to you.

Join the conversation...

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MAY 15 TO 17

MAY 9 & 10 Where: Flipside Circus Training Centre, 117 Mina Pde, Alderley

KLIMEK’S DANCING NUMBERS

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Where: QSEC Parklands, Caboolture Like no other festival experience in the country, Urban blends a distinct mix of country and indie artists. Check it out for yourself!

Details: Tickets from $50. www.urbancountry.com.au

URBAN COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL

MAY 1 TO MAY 3

Where: Centre Stage, Toombul Shopping Centre Time: 11am ‘Yummy Mummy’ & 1pm ‘Catwalk to Closet’ Our fashion experts Lucy Hendriks and Louise Hayes are back to get you ready for winter with their FREE fashion workshops! View seasonal trends, learn how to dress for your body shape and create a capsule wardrobe.

Details: Free. Customers who pre-register will receive a FREE goodie bag and one-onone speed styling session. Pre-register at Customer Service on 07 3266 7122. www.toombulcentre.com.au

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BROOKFIELD SHOW

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MAY 15 TO 17

Where: Kangaroo Point Cliffs Park, Kangaroo Point Time: 5:30pm – 7:30pm Experience the thrills of climbing at Kangaroo Point under the safe instruction of qualified instructors.

Details: $5. Bookings required.

Contact: bookings@vertecadventure.com.au http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/whats-on/ events-listed-type/sports-recreation-programs/ active-parks-events

FREE FASHION WORKSHOPS

TWILIGHT ROCK CLIMB

MAY 15

Where: Brisbane Arts Theatre, 210 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane Time: 11am Tuesday to Friday / 2pm Saturday & Sunday Come meet Ariel, Flounder, Scuttle, Prince Eric and Ursula and sing along to the hit songs ‘Kiss the Girl’ and ‘Under the Sea’.

Details: $20 all ages. $16 for members and groups of 10+. www.artstheatre.com.au

MAY 7 TO 9

Where: Tivoli Drive-In Theatre Details: $10 per car www.tivolidrivein.com.au

FAMILY DRIVE-IN

Where: Walkabout Creek, The Gap Time: 11am & 1:30pm Join a ranger from Walkabout Creek to learn about our iconic park and meet wildlife up close. Catch a glimpse of the elusive platypus and say hello to some creek creatures.

Details: Family $17.10. Adults $6.80. Children $3.30. www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/experiences/ connect-with-nature

WILD ENCOUNTERS

SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS

Where: South Bank Plaza, Stanley Street, South Brisbane Time: Saturdays 10am – 9pm / Sundays 9am – 4pm The new Collective Markets includes arts and crafts, home wares, object design, photography, furniture, food, fashion, jewellery, vintage Where: Dreamworld, Pacific Highway, Coomera Time: 10am – 5pm

THE COLLECTIVE MARKETS STORMTROOPERS WEEKEND AT DREAMWORLD

EVERY WEEKEND

Where: Chinatown Mall and Brunswick Street Mall, Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley Time: 8am – 4pm Showcasing various stalls selling vintage items, fashion, bric-a-brac, natural organic produce, and an eclectic range of arts and crafts.

Details: Free

VALLEY MARKETS

EVERY WEEKEND

Where: Hamilton Wharf, Northshore, Brisbane Time: 4pm – 10pm Eat Street is a wonderment of the senses from aromatic international cuisines and vibrant textiles to the enchanting sights and sounds of live performers. www.eatstreetmarkets.com

EAT STREET MARKETS

EVERY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

Where: Hockey Qld, Lytton Rd, Morningside Time: 9am – 1pm A boutique family market providing quality, unique products and services, which are not mass-produced or easily found in shops. www.themummytreemarkets.com.au

THE MUMMY TREE MARKETS

JUNE 14

Where: Everton Park Hotel, Flockton St, Everton Park Time: 9am – 1pm A boutique family market providing quality, unique products and services, which are not mass-produced or easily found in shops. www.themummytreemarkets.com.au

THE MUMMY TREE MARKETS

MAY 30

Where: The Ipswich Turf Club, Brisbane Road, Bundamba Time: 8am – 2pm Excellence in Making-Baking-Growing. Up to 70 stallholders – why not jump on the Swanbank Steam Train after some lunch and a spot of handmade shopping.

Details: Free entry. Free parking. www.thehandmadeexpo.com.au

THE HANDMADE EXPO MARKET – IPSWICH

MAY 16 & JUNE 20

MAY 23 & 24

Where: Dreamworld, Pacific Highway, Coomera When: 6:30pm – 10pm Get ready to scream yourself silly as Australia’s favourite theme park opens its doors after dark. www.dreamworld.com.au

SCREAMWORLD

MAY 23

Scrap the car, leave the bike at home and grab your walking shoes! By walking to school, you reduce traffic and promote a healthier lifestyle to our children. www.walk.com.au

WALK SAFELY TO SCHOOL DAY

MAY 22

MAY

Where: Event Cinemas Relax and catch a movie at the Bring Your Baby sessions. www.eventcinemas.com.au/EventsPromotions/ BringYourBaby

Where: Event Cinemas Time: 10am Looking for something to do with the family?

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Details: $6 a ticket. www.eventcinemas.com. au/EventsPromotions/WeekendFamilyFlicks

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Where: Sacred Heart Primary School, Brighton Rd, Sandgate Time: 2pm – 6pm Retro chic and vintage hip. Billycart Markets are a unique boutique market shopping experience. www.billycartmarkets.com

BILLYCART MARKETS

MAY 16

MARKETS

- CALENDAR -

REGULAR EVENTS

ne a b Bris

www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

Where: Yowoggera Park, Albion Time: 9:30am – 11:30am Have fun learning how to paddle a 12-metre dragon boat and see the city from a different perspective.

Details: Come prepared to get wet, including footwear. For ages 8+. www.brisbane.qld. gov.au/whats-on/events-listed-type/sportsrecreation-programs/active-parks-events

DRAGON BOATING

MAY 10

Where: The Parlour, State Library of Queensland, South Brisbane Time: 10:30am, 1pm & 3pm For anyone who wishes they could fly. The tale of a cheeky, lively swallow on his way to Egypt meets the golden statue of a Prince.

Details: Part of the Anywhere Festival. Adult $15. Family $50. http://anywherefest.com/ buy-tickets/the-happy-prince

THE HAPPY PRINCE

MAY 9 & 10

Time: Saturday 5pm, Sunday 11am & 2pm Endless, unexpected and visually amazing patterns reveal the bond of art and science.

An incredible display connecting art, patterning and the unassuming juggling ball.

Details: Part of the Anywhere Festival. Child $15. Adult $20. http://anywherefest.com/buy-tickets/klimek

Where: Sciencentre, Level 1, South Brisbane Time: 2:30pm – 5pm A special event for children with autism and sensory processing difficulties. For this special afternoon, the Sciencentre will turn the sound down and create an engaging and fun space for children to share with their families.

Details: $10. Book early as tickets are limited. www.sciencentre.qm.qld.gov.au

SCIENSENSORY DAY

MAY 18

Where: Cultural Forecourt, Southbank Time: 8:30am registration, 10am walk One of RSPCA Queensland’s most popular outdoor events for animal lovers and their furry friends. Get involved by enjoying a healthy walk with your four-legged friend and enjoy the entertainment, food and stalls.

Details: Adult $25. Family $60. www.millionpawswalk.com.au/Queensland/ Walk_locations/Brisbane_-_South_Bank.htm

MILLION PAWS WALK

MAY 17

Celebrate the critical role of families in Australia. Check the website for events in your area. www.familiesaustralia.org.au

NATIONAL FAMILIES WEEK

MAY 15 TO 21

Where: Anglican Church Grammar School, Oaklands Parade, East Brisbane Time: 10am – 2pm Discover what it is like to be part of the Churchie community.

Details: Free www.churchie.com.au/enrolments/open-day

CHURCHIE’S OPEN DAY

MAY 28

Take a break and help fight cancer. Host your morning tea at work, at home or with your local community group. www.biggestmorningtea.com.au

AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST MORNING TEA

MAY 28

A time to celebrate respectful relationships and reflect on our shared histories, contributions and achievements. www.reconciliation.org.au

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK

MAY 26 TO JUNE 2

Be lured to the dark side as Dreamworld is taken over by Star Wars bad guys. www.dreamworld.com.au

Where: Woolcock Park, Red Hill Time: 10am – 12pm Do you love dressing up and being the centre of attention? Come and create your own circus character complete with wonderful dress-ups and face paint, and finish with a creative showcase for family.

Details: Free. Bookings required. www.bazilgrumble.com.au

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Where: Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, South Bank Discover all you need to know for you, your pregnancy or child with greater access than ever before to the latest advice and products.

Details: Adults $20 www.pbcexpo.com.au/brisbane

PREGNANCY BABIES & CHILDREN’S EXPO

JUNE 19 TO 21

Where: Perth Street Park, Camp Hill Time: 3:30pm – 4:30pm Introduce your child to sport in a positive and happy way. Your coach will build confidence in sport through teaching basic physical skills while improving your child’s social skills.

Details: Free. Ages 3-5 years. http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/whats-on/ events-listed-type/sports-recreation-programs/ active-parks-events

SPORTS FOR LITTLE KIDS

JUNE 15

QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY

JUNE

- in the city

June/July 2015

“ Things to do, places to go!”

inthecitymagazine .com.au

www.kidsonthecoa st.com.au | www.kids

Guide

HOLIDAY

- on the coast

t

Sunshine Coas

WINTER

Brisbane

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AVAILABLE JUNE 26

KEEP THE KIDS BUSY THIS WINTER HOLIDAY!

Gold Coast

Where: The Workshops Rail Museum, Create a LEGO masterpiece and get the family to help too! Including a DUPLO area for the under threes. Search the model railway layout for hidden LEGO pieces and enjoy LEGO inspired craft.

Details: Adult $20. Child $11.50. Family $59. www.theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au

BRICK KIDS

JUNE 27 TO JULY 12

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RED NOSE DAY

JUNE

Don’t miss out on any events!

Where: Brisbane Arts Theatre, 210 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane Time: 11am Tuesday to Friday / 2pm Saturday & Sunday A princess is cursed by an evil fairy and falls asleep for 100 years after pricking her finger on a spinning wheel. Can Prince Goodhearted save her and her kingdom?

Details: $16 all ages. $13 for members and groups of 10+. www.artstheatre.com.au

SLEEPING BEAUTY THE MUSICAL

CREATE-A-CIRCUS

JUNE 13

Where: Wynnum Foreshore, Wynnum Time: 2pm – 9pm Wynnum’s foreshore will come alight this winter with the Illuminations Festival. Entertainment includes a lantern parade, tree illuminations, twilight market and a fire sculpture.

Details: Free www.illuminationsfestival.com.au

Where: Little Stanley Street Lawns, South Bank Time: 9am – 1pm Bring your babe along for an early-learning music program with a therapy focus.

Details: Free www.visitbrisbane.com.au/south-bank/whatson/free/boppin-babies-music-classes?sc_ lang=en-au

JUNE 6 TO AUGUST 15

ILLUMINATIONS FESTIVAL

JUNE 13

BOPPIN’ BABIES MUSIC CLASSES

JUNE 4

JUNE

WORLD ENVIRNMENT DAY

5

JUNE

Visit www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au for more events

BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL’S ACTIVE PARKS PROGRAM OFFERS ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES AT MORE THAN 50 LOCAL PARKS. CHECK OUT WHAT IS ON NEAR YOU! www.brisbane.qld.gov.au

Where: Kalinga Park, Clayfield Time: 10am – 12pm Come and make your own set of juggling balls that you can keep. Then have a ball getting active and healthy while learning the basics of this fun and highly entertaining skill.

Details: $5. Bookings required. www.bazilgrumble.com.au

JUGGLE-A-RAMA

MAY 3

www.rockleashow.com

ROCKLEA SHOW

MAY 3

Where: Newstead House, Newstead Time: 10am – 4pm Calling all little historians, check out this fun day just for you! Dress up and bring your imagination to Newstead House, get your hands dirty in the garden and help in the kitchen.

Details: Perfect for ages 5 – 12. Family admission $20. www.newsteadhouse.com.au

LITTLE HISTORIANS FESTIVAL

MAY 3

JUNE 29 TO JULY 7

THE 26-STOREY TREEHOUSE

MAY 8 TO 19

PLAY SCHOOL LIVE IN CONCERT – ONCE UPON A TIME

- in the city

QUT Gardens Theatre www.gardenstheatre.qut.edu.au

THE GRUFFALO’S CHILD

JUNE 9 TO 13

Brisbane Arts Theatre www.artstheatre.com.au

SLEEPING BEAUTY THE MUSICAL

JUNE 6 TO AUGUST 15

* We publish information based on what is supplied to us - to the best of our knowlegde all details are correct at the time of printing, however we do recommend you check event details with the organisers

Concert Hall, QPAC, South Bank www.qpac.com.au

MISTER MAKER

JULY 7 & 8

QUT Gardens Theatre www.gardenstheatre.qut.edu.au

Brisbane Entertainment Centre www.brisent.com.au

See website for locations and dates www.kidspromotions.com.au

DISNEY ON ICE 2015 Big Top, Hamilton www.cirquedusoleil.com

JUNE 27 TO 29

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL – TOTEM

APRIL 10 TO MAY 24

Brisbane Entertainment Centre www.brisent.com.au

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS

THE LITTLE MERMAID Brisbane Arts Theatre www.artstheatre.com.au

JUNE 21

APRIL 4 TO MAY 30

showtime

www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/whats-on/venue/library-events

Libraries are a great place to find free events, classes, workshop and activities.

Check them out here:

LIBRARY EVENTS

and pre-loved clothing, unique wares and accessories. www.southbankmarket.com.au

EDUCATION

Creative Classrooms

by Marianne Connolly

ACROSS THE GLOBE, NOTED EDUCATIONAL EXPERTS AND THOUGHT LEADERS ARE CHALLENGING THE WAY CHILDREN ARE BEING EDUCATED. THE STUDENTS OF TODAY ARE HEADING TO A VERY DIFFERENT TOMORROW, AND WHAT WAS ONCE CONSIDERED THE EPITOME OF EDUCATION IS MOVING. Sir Kenneth Robinson, English author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts to government, non-profits, education and arts bodies, boldly states, “Creativity now is as important in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status.”

World leading neuroscientist Dame Susan Greenfield states: In my view, an education worth having is one that: • provides a strong sense of one’s own individual identity (and to respect it in others) • provides a sense of individual fulfilment • encourages young people be useful to society.

Dame Greenfield goes on to say there is something that ticks all three boxes: creativity.

Teachers can’t keep doing things the way they always have!

Teachers are preparing students for a very different world to what they themselves grew up in. No longer is literacy and numeracy sufficient; they are nonetheless important, but students need so much more. They need teamwork skills, problem-solving abilities, resilience, the ability to communicate and collaborate and the ability to make connections and links from one area to

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Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

another. These skills will come from classrooms where creativity is embraced and the teacher empowers students to be a responsible component of the learning.

Creative classrooms will be required for students to develop their twenty-first century skills. Classrooms with rows of desks do not promote conversation, thinking or collaboration. They promote that the teacher is the font of all knowledge and the students are empty vessels. This classroom setup only stifles the ability of students to become thinkers. Creative classrooms need to be clever by design. They should naturally allow for group work, collaboration and communication to be practised. Does every child need a desk? Do they all need to be sitting? Should everyone be doing the same thing at the same time?

So not only does the structure of a creative classroom look different, so too does what happens in the classroom. Tasks are more authentic, they are interlinked in subject areas and should be student driven. This is and will be the biggest adjustment for teachers to make.

To move away from a place of dominance and control to one that allows students to drive the learning and be active participants in the design of the learning. The teachers need to be more of a facilitator and move away from the traditional approach.

www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

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NEWS, ARTICLES, REVIEWS, EVENTS, SPECIAL FEATURES + MORE

ip h s b i r n m e e o d d a e r C ve o r 2 0 0 , 0 00 * DON'T MISS OUT

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Counselling & Intervention Services

YLO (Counselling & Intervention Services) located at Underwood provides support and intervention to children, young people and families.

Services can be delivered within the following areas: • Individual therapeutic intervention with children and adolescents • Family Therapy • Parenting Support • Group Therapy Program • Assessments • Cognitive Assessments

• Psychological Assessments • Risk & Behavioural Assessment • Developmental & Adaptive Assessments • In-home Support Packages • School Consultations

A referral isn’t needed to see one of our Psychologists, however, Medicare Rebates are available for clients that have a Mental Health Care Plan from their doctor.

Phone:(07) 3341 4619 • www.youthlifestyleoptions.com.au/cis

BULK BILLING AVAILABLE

* Combined monthly readership from our printed publications, website, emarketing and social media channels

AVAILABLE

MID-MAY

We’re excited to present South East Queensland’s ultimate guide to education, an eGuide designed to offer local parents the latest news and resources pertaining to all aspects of education – from day care and kindergarten through to high school plus all types of extracurricular educational activities and support.

EDUCAT ION

eGuide MAY 2015

• Best schools, child care centres & educational service providers • Informative education articles

- on the coast

- in the city

• Handy calendar of Open Days

If you're looking for a school for your child in South East Queensland or just want to keep informed about what's happening in the world of education, then our Education eGuide is a must for you to

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TWO-WEEK FREE TRIAL Must Register by 11 May!

Trial the Kumon English or Maths Programme from 18–31 May 2015.

Find out how we can develop in your child • calculation and reading ability • concentration • a daily study and reading habit • the confidence to learn independently.

Terms and conditions apply. Contact your local Kumon Centre to secure your child’s place!

Call 1800 458 666 or visit au.kumonglobal.com for details.

MAY / JUNE 2015 – Kids in the City

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EDUCATION

A creative classroom will have a teacher that supplies diversity of experience, is able to adapt teaching strategies accordingly as students present with ideas and is open to allowing other experts or professionals into the learning. Their teaching practice will be underpinned by inquiry, problem-based approaches and higher order thinking skills.

At St Paul’s Junior School, creativity has been embraced and this is reflected in the Reggio inspired Early Learning Childhood approach which is slowly moving through the rest of the school. Teachers have started to think of creativity as a skill and provide opportunities in the program for it to be enhanced and acquired, just like any other skill.

Divergent thinking is allowed to challenge ideas and then move to convergent thinking to narrow down exploration.

Headmaster of St Paul’s School Dr Paul Browning states, “Our classroom environments foster creativity, where it is validated and shared and students feel safe to express their ‘novel’ ideas because there is a certain flexibility and safety around this. In fact students’ efforts in creativity are always acknowledged and recognised and ways are found to extend the learning opportunities beyond the classroom.”

In Term 4 last year at St Paul’s, the week-long Junior School Morphing Festival allowed every student from Pre-Prep to Year 6 to be submerged in a range of events to stimulate their thinking and creativity. Opportunities to perform, present, paint, play, produce, prepare, problem solve, promote, prototype and publish were given throughout the week, enabling students to present their knowledge in a variety of ways. With a strong focus on sustainability, recycling and natural materials students were put in the driver’s seat to develop activities that included making movies, writing songs, designing a chicken coop (that was then constructed) and creating light shows. Engaged and empowered learners produced authentic projects because they were leading their own learning whilst teachers framed their thinking.

In helping children learn, mistakes are always allowed for. As Sir Ken Robinson says, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”

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Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

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MAY / JUNE 2015 – Kids in the City

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EDUCATION

FAMOUS CREATIVE LEARNING QUOTES! “WE DON’T GROW INTO CREATIVITY, WE GROW OUT OF IT. OR RATHER, WE GET EDUCATED OUT OF IT.” ~ Ken Robinson

Current and future classroom design must support this philosophy.

The opportunity to have space to explore, design, make, gather to discuss and to investigate will allow creativity to flow. Students need opportunities to wonder and this requires teachers to develop questioning techniques to allow for that exploration of thought. The encouragement of curiosity will lead students to find inspirations from their world and teachers need to step into the student’s viewpoint to find out what motivates them.

Many may have the impression that creative classrooms will be unstructured and not have purpose behind the activity that is going on in the room, but this is not the case. In most instances, the teachers have provided things with purpose that are provocations for thinking.

Creative classrooms at times may look messy and unorganised but they will be underpinned with purpose and thinking. Creativity requires teachers to use new and different approaches and be open to and model what it is to be a lifelong learner.

In the job market that our present students will enter, it must be understood that students will have to be innovative and most likely create their own jobs. Teachers must focus on teaching particular skills or sets of behaviours rather than preparing students for specific careers. If this is the case then a creative classroom should no longer be a rarity; it should in fact be the norm.

"TELL ME AND I FORGET. TEACH ME AND I REMEMBER. INVOLVE ME AND I LEARN." ~ Benjamin Franklin "THE JOY OF LEARNING IS AS INDISPENSABLE IN STUDY AS BREATHING IS IN RUNNING." ~ Simon Weil “65% OF TODAY’S PRE-SCHOOLERS WILL GROW UP TO WORK IN JOBS OR PURSUE CAREERS THAT DON’T YET EXIST.” ~ Cathy N. Davison “IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE.” ~ Albert Einstein

Marianne Connolly is Director of Junior School, St Paul’s School.

St Paul’s is an Anglican co-educational school from Pre-Prep to Year 12.

St Paul’s School. 34 Strathpine Road, Bald Hills 4036 www.stpauls.qld.edu.au

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Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

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New Integrated Therapy Services open in Brisbane!

Getting the right support can set your child up for a bright future!

Book your consultation now (07) 3204 5200

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Assessment • Counselling • Parent Support • Individual Therapy • Group Programs

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Some of the best-loved parenting bloggers in South East Queensland join Kids on the Coast and Kids in the City to discuss the topics that matter to you.

Look for Parents Talk topics at www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au/articles

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MAY / JUNE 2015 – Kids in the City

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inspiring creativity

by Sandra Smith CREATIVITY IS SO MUCH MORE THAN BEING GOOD AT ART, SINGING OR WRITING A STORY. AT THE HEART OF CREATIVITY IS INNOVATION, INGENUITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING: SKILLS THAT ARE DEVELOPED IN CHILDHOOD. WHEN CHILDREN LEARN HOW TO THINK CREATIVELY, THEY BUILD INNER RESOURCES THAT PROVIDE FIRM FOUNDATIONS FOR ADULT LIFE. Psychologist Rena Toth says creativity is the process by which children come up with original ideas in order to make sense of their world. Creativity is far more important for children than adults, says Rena, because it promotes brain development and is crucial for the development of life skills, self-esteem and confidence.

feelings and needs. It engenders understanding, including selfunderstanding, and helps children be more productive.

“Children of all ages possess an innate creativity that far surpasses adults' creative possibilities,” says Rena. “Younger children particularly are, in a manner of speaking, a blank canvas and their creative sensibilities have not been biased or tainted by experience.”

Rena says creativity is part of everyday life and is not necessarily associated with art or creative pursuits.

Rena has worked with children using creative therapies and she says creativity enables children to communicate their ideas,

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Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

“Creativity is very important for child development and is integral to the learning and individuation process,” she says. “It nurtures independence, self-expression, diversity and acceptance in children.”

“We use creative processes in order to make decisions, solve problems, make choices, facilitate change and, most importantly, to have fun and explore,” she says.

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THE P FILES

CREATIVE PLAY Simple things that we take for granted can generate hours of creative play for young children as they become absorbed in exploring the materials. We’ve all seen the fun children have with natural materials like leaves, shells, sand and water. Children have rich imaginations and can easily construct something unique and magical from ordinary objects.

Unstructured free play can include creative play alone or with others, imaginative games and make-believe, or exploring play spaces outdoors and indoors, according to the Raising Children Network website. By engaging in this type of play, kids learn to improvise, solve problems and make decisions.

Spontaneous play is child-driven, so they naturally take part in ageappropriate activities, whether it’s making a cubby, ‘cooking pizza’ in a pretend oven or drawing in the sand on a trip to the beach.

Having time to play and imagine is vital for children’s healthy development, advises Australian author and educator Angela Rossmanith.

“The whole point of play is that it’s fun. There’s no anxiety about competing with others, and no anxiety about having to ‘get it right’,” she says.

There is a lot of pressure on children to learn skills, to perform and excel from a very early age, so they need to have downtime where they can just relax and be kids, without having the pressure of organised activities and schedules.

NURTURING CREATIVITY How do we help our children achieve their creative potential? Creativity can be encouraged and supported but it cannot be imposed on our children. All we can do is provide the right conditions, then step back and let children take charge. They need to be able to imagine and improvise, and do things at their own pace.

Rena recommends the following guidelines for nurturing children’s creativity: • Allow children freedom to explore and play in unstructured ways.

• Give children lots of choices and use open questions when trying to elicit ideas.

• Make the child's environment stimulating so that they are inspired to come up with creative play ideas.

• Offer children a variety of options and environments for play and exploration.

• Ask “What if?”

• Allow children to make decisions in safe and appropriate settings.

GUIDING CREATIVITY AT HOME Giving children the freedom to make choices helps them become creative thinkers. They may need adult guidance and support, but they also need to have some autonomy. Our role as parents is to ensure a variety of materials is available and to suggest options.

Whatever the activity, parents should show interest, allow children to express their feelings and ask open questions that help them extend their ideas. We can encourage them by praising the effort and the uniqueness of the creative process.

When children engage in a creative activity, there is no right or wrong way to do it. Creativity is about thinking outside the box, so children learn to express themselves as individuals.

Fantasy play allows children to extend their world and explore different experiences in a safe way as they become pretend characters through dress-up games and role-play. This kind of free-flowing creative expression is important for children’s cognitive development.

Local mum Jill says that when her two children, Jorgette, 8, and Kent, 6, are absorbed in imaginative play at home, she steps back and lets them play independently. She does chores and other things, because they happily play their own games. However, when the children are getting started on a new craft activity at home, Jill works with them and supports them.

“If they’re getting into a role-playing game, I’ll just leave them to it,” she says. “If I’ve got to introduce a craft activity or something, I’ll do that with them. They still need guidance with craft. You’ve got to give them a few clues and then they’ll go for it. You can’t just give them a box of craft and say ‘make something’.”

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Parents can support their children’s creativity at home by ensuring that the physical environment and resources will help sustain their creative project. For those quiet, introspective times, children need a space to create that is away from the television and electronic devices. It could be a corner of the room, made comfortable with a few cushions, or an outdoor area set up with a few simple materials.

Jill sets up craft at the kitchen table and packs everything away afterwards because of a lack of space. Like Jill and her partner Bob, most families don’t have the space for a permanent craft table at home. As a minimum, try to ensure paper and pencils are readily available so kids can draw whenever they want to.

Engaging the children in craft activities at home is easier if there is a basic toolkit of age-appropriate art supplies on hand; for example, crayons, glue, paint, cardboard, shells, beads and buttons. Keeping the supplies in good order and storing them in an accessible place also helps the process run smoothly.

Some arts and crafts tend to be highly structured with a limited scope and a pre-determined outcome; for example, colouring in. This type of craft leaves very little room for innovation or experimentation and may stifle children’s natural creativity. Instead, look for activities that are open-ended and focus on the process, not the outcome. The activity should ignite children’s curiosity and imagination.

CHILDREN OF ALL AGES POSSESS AN INNATE CREATIVITY THAT FAR SURPASSES ADULTS' CREATIVE POSSIBILITIES.

Allow children to experiment and have fun with the materials set out for them. If they have some autonomy in how they are going to use the paint, glue or glitter, they will become more inventive and resourceful.

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CREATIVE OUTDOOR PLAY

TIME FOR CREATIVITY

Parents and caregivers first need to plan the play environment and ensure the materials used are safe, then allow kids the freedom to explore, imagine and improvise at their own pace. While keeping kids safe is vital, if we’re overprotective, we may inadvertently be creating a risk aversion in our children. An element of risk is healthy and teaches kids tenacity and independence.

Finding time for creative activities can be difficult for busy families.

Jill says the kids have a lot of homework to do every afternoon after school, and there are after-school activities, such as dance and swimming lessons and soccer, so they have very little time mid-week for creative play.

Parks, playgrounds and nature walks are a wonderful resource for modern families. Jill often takes Jorgette and Kent to local parks, where they make up their own games and role-play with friends.

A swinging hammock becomes a ship that rocks in the waves and a tree they climb becomes a house.

Jill says her children also play convoluted, complex games in the family swimming pool with their friends. The children are given the opportunity to work things out for themselves, thus developing skills in solving problem, but Jill sometimes finds she has to intervene if there is a crisis point in a game.

“If you don’t put the suggestion in, it would all go pear-shaped and the younger one would get frustrated and cry and walk off,” she says. “So I mediate, but it’s easy to just throw in an idea and they go ‘oh, yes’ and go off on that tangent.”

CREATIVE ROADBLOCKS Psychologist Rena advises that parents and caregivers can block children’s creativity by hovering over them and being too close or involved when they are playing. Children need personal space to play freely without this adult intrusion.

While children may get frustrated with a creative project when they run into a problem, our role as parents is to encourage them to work out a solution for themselves. It’s healthy for them to make mistakes and learn from that. When children formulate creative ideas and execute them, they gain self-confidence and independence.

“Instead of playing in a park or being creative, it’s a structured environment, but at the same time it’s an awesome exercise,” she says. “They love it. Also it’s dancing and singing; it’s such a joy.

They’re learning a skill, and they get to learn to create, to move their bodies.”

Jill finds the best time to bring creativity into her children’s lives is on weekends and school holidays. She often takes Jorgette and Kent to Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) and the State Library of Queensland, where there are excellent art spaces and school holiday activities for kids.

During the last school holidays, Jill says the kids enjoyed a monster-themed craft session at the State Library, where they put on aprons and splashed paint around. When the paint dried they could search for a monster.

“It was a big mess of paint and they could do whatever they wanted – stomp through it and just be really, really messy and have fun with it,” she says. “That was awesome. So brilliant.”

Children feel empowered by this kind of creative expression and, what’s more, it’s great fun. When we support our children’s creativity like this, we are helping them unlock their potential to become resourceful, innovative thinkers and effective problem-solvers.

Other adult behaviours that inhibit children’s creativity include making decisions for them, focusing on right and wrong answers, and making play too structured, advises Rena.

“Television is a huge obstacle to creativity. Passive activities, including reading, are opposite to the mechanisms needed for creativity,” Rena explains. “Creativity is more about output than input and in our modern world, particularly in the last decade or so, we have become more reliant on being stimulated passively – that is, doing nothing and being stimulated.”

Jill allows her children a short period of technological play on games such as Minecraft, which does have creative elements, but she ensures the kids don’t spend too much time using electronic devices.

“My son is totally into computer games, so I try to keep him off it,” she says. “Unless you remove the iPad or the PlayStation, they will use that as the first choice. I just let them play for 20 minutes and then it’s gone. They have to play with something else then.”

THEY STILL NEED GUIDANCE WITH CRAFT. YOU’VE GOT TO GIVE THEM A FEW CLUES AND THEN THEY’LL GO FOR IT. YOU CAN’T JUST GIVE THEM A BOX OF CRAFT AND SAY ‘MAKE SOMETHING’.

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PARENTVILLE

The evolution of

MOTHERHOOD

by Robyna May A group of bewildered young women are sitting together in a coffee shop in a shopping centre. They are new friends – their babies born within a few weeks of each other. Some of those babies are asleep in the humongous prams their mothers are only just learning to drive. Others are cuddled peacefully in laps. Yet others are being fed. Those breastfeeding are anxiously looking around to ensure that they are not embarrassing themselves or anyone around them. Those bottle-feeding are hoping desperately that no one is going to judge them. And they ask each other the rhetorical question all new mother’s ask: “Did you think it was going to be this hard?”

Another young mother walks slowly past them. She holds her toddler’s hand and awkwardly pushes an empty pram. The toddler has insisted she walk and the ten-minute shopping trip has turned into a two-hour long adventure. That mother looks over at the newly formed mothers group and smiles ruefully. She remembers those days. How hard it all seemed then. She thinks, “You ain’t seen nothing yet ladies”. She looks back fondly on the days filled with baby sleep, cuddles, coffee and friends on maternity leave. Nowadays, she meets her mother friends (the few that have not returned to work) at the local park. Coffee shops are a nightmare with children who refuse to sit still. She checks her watch and realises that her parking will soon expire and hurries into the supermarket to pick up the milk that never lasts for more than a day.

There, another mother is arguing with her son. "I WANT IT NOW!" he screams and sits down in the aisle, stubbornly refusing to budge. This mother looks to the heavens and wishes the ground would swallow her whole.

Onlookers either smile understandingly or scowl, depending on how long ago they had to deal with exactly the same situation. She watches the sweet toddling little girl, who is gurgling to herself in a language of entirely her own making. She remembers those days. When everything slowed down to the pace of a fascinated child just learning about the world. When the new words and new discoveries delighted her and her son in equal measure.

When opinions weren’t as hotly contested and distraction was always the solution. She closes her eyes briefly and stands her ground. Her son eventually quietens, stands and hugs her legs.

Another woman, another mother, is waiting in queue and watching the scene unfold. She tries to catch the younger woman's eye. To convey some sympathy, understanding and acknowledgement of parenting well done. It wasn’t so very long ago that her own children were throwing tantrums in supermarkets. But they are in school now and their worlds have expanded beyond her. Her days are filled with ferrying children to and from school and sports commitments. She is searching for that elusive job that would allow her to work school hours.

She worries about grades and good schools, and her children making wise choices. She wonders what her life will look like now that she has the deceptively short hours of 9:00 to 3:00 to herself. She longs for the days when they were babies, toddlers, preschoolers. When she was the single brightly shining star of their life. When they were each other’s everything.

The lady behind the service desk watches the prams, the babies and the children parade past her every day. She hears the mewling cries of newborns, the delighted whoops of preschoolers, the demands of toddlers and the exhaustion in their mothers’ voices. She wonders if they know how lucky they are to have these children in their lives. She had always wanted a child, but life didn’t turn out that way for her. And she hopes that, even amidst the hardships, these mothers know the exact precious weight of the children bundled in their arms.

Robyna May writes at the Mummy and the Minx (www.themummyandtheminx.com), a blog dedicated to empowering mothers and inspiring minxes. She writes about getting the mojo back into your life after kids and expanding possibilities when they contract after having babies. Her passions are writing and creating beautiful things. She lives in a house full of boys (including the dog). She spends her days balancing running a freelance business, blogging, and taking care of her young children.

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TEENS

PLOUGHING A CLEAR PATH – THE COLD, HARD TRUTHS –

by Kerryn Anker A new parenting style has received a chilly reception from child experts, who believe ploughing a clear, unobstructed path for teenagers can in fact do more harm than good. Snowplough parenting has recently pushed aside the micromanaging helicopter and controlling tiger parenting, taking precedence as the popular parenting style of choice of today’s teenagers. Endeavouring to turn teenagers into achievement machines, the characteristics of this style of parenting sees the removal of all obstacles from a teenager's path to ensure optimum success and minimal failure.

MICROSCOPE ON SELF-WORTH University of the Sunshine Coast psychology lecturer and researcher Dr Rachael Sharman says snowplough parents don't just remove hurdles from the path of a teenager, they ensure the teenager never sees any obstructions in the first place.

"Over the last few decades there has been a strong push from society to continually praise a child, telling them how clever and special they are. This has resulted in a rise in parents obsessively protecting and inflating a child's self-esteem," she says.

"Due to this focus on self-worth, we've seen a real culture shift to boost a child's ego. This has been achieved by parents shielding their child from any sense of failure."

According to Rachael, an overprotective society and an everchanging social framework has resulted in a generation of narcissistic teenagers and fear-driven parents, for whom failure is seen as a very dirty word.

To ensure minimal emotional impact to a child's sense of self, snowplough parents are taking it upon themselves to clear all of the challenges and road blocks that may enter a teenager's path.

"A snowplough parent won't let their child on the monkey bars in the school playground. Sometimes they even go one step further to ask the school principal to remove them altogether," says Rachael.

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A recent study looking into the origins of narcissism, published earlier this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, found that parental overvaluation and parents’ inflated view of their child can develop into narcissistic behaviour on the part of the child.

PARENTAL TRENDS AND THE FALLOUT Snowplough parenting is just one of a long list of parenting trends that have cemented their places in households across the country.

Firstly, there is the helicopter parent who hovers over a child's every move, becoming heavily involved in their everyday life. This style of parenting is all about micromanagement and directing a child's behaviour.

A helicopter parent works under fear, taking control in an endeavour to minimise any feelings of disappointment a child may experience.

Then there is the controversial and fierce tiger mum who gets her claws out when it comes to setting extremely high expectations for her child to succeed. The spotlight was first shone on this style of parenting after the release of the book The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother in 2011 by Yale professor Amy Chua. Chua received worldwide condemnation for her memoir which outlined her extremely strict style of parenting. Chua believed that academic and musical success should take priority over social activities.

While tiger and helicopter parents' behavioural traits are based strongly on fear, a snowplough parent simply wants to make life easier on their child. Instead of micromanaging a situation, a snowplough parent removes the hurdle from the get go.

Although each individual style has its own framework of behavioural traits, the parents’ desired outcome to minimise any form of failure in a child's life is the common thread that weaves them all together.

Then we move to the other end of the spectrum to the much publicised free-range parent: a movement started by American author Lenore Skenazy who felt that parenting in modern society was based on fear, resulting in wrapping our children up in cotton wool.

www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

TEENS

FAILURE BUILDS TOLERANCE AND RESILIENCE. WITHOUT IT, THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS RESULT IN A GENERATION OF ADULTS WHO ARE HELPLESS, CAN'T COPE WITH DISAPPOINTMENT AND AVOID ANYTHING CHALLENGING AT ALL COSTS. Dubbed 'America's worst mum' after she allowed her nine-yearold to travel on the subway by himself, Lenore believes it is important for a child's development that they have the freedom to be unsupervised outdoors. She believes that giving your child greater freedom teaches them about responsibility and gives them independence to learn and grow.

FAILURE IS NOT A DIRTY WORD Despite so many styles dominating the parenting skyline, the mindset of a snowplough parent is to protect their child to ensure that they don't experience any of life’s pitfalls.

Snowplough parents aren’t malicious or evil, but instead want to protect their child from experiencing any form of failure or disappointment, similar to what they may have experienced themselves.

Rachael says that by ploughing through any obstacle in your teenager’s path, you may limit their ability to problem solve and stand on their own two feet. She believes that allowing a teenager to experience failure teaches them to cope with adversity and how to adapt and re-approach a task, providing them with an opportunity to better improve themselves.

"Failure builds tolerance and resilience. Without it, the long-term effects result in a generation of adults who are helpless, can't cope with disappointment and avoid anything challenging at all costs,” she says "For teenagers of snowplough parents, the lack of effective coping strategies and resilience can in fact increase anxiety. They have no idea about the concept that your actions can have consequences.”

"It’s also important that parents help their children develop a true sense of their own strengths and weaknesses."

Research shows that it is in the early stages of our childhood that we first form a view of ourselves. A consistent and positive approach to a child’s upbringing can encourage a healthy sense of self. Having confidence in a child to be able to do certain things for themselves will encourage them to be more willing to give things a go despite the challenges they may face. It is important that parents praise children for the effort that they put in and not focus on the final result. This will motivate the child to continue trying at a difficult task.

Matt adds that teenagers with a healthy sense of self are more likely to make friends easily as well as be happy, cooperative and successful at school. He says that these types of teenagers are able to deal with stress a lot more effectively and are generally a lot more fun to be around.

"It’s equally important for the development of healthy self-esteem that children learn how to deal with disappointment, such as if the child is not chosen for a sporting team,” he says.

"Rather than simply reassuring children that everything will be alright, parents should let them know they understand their disappointment. They should work with their children to find a reasonable way of dealing with that disappointment.”

Rachael adds that by giving your child the opportunity to fail, they learn to pick themselves up again and that the world will not crumble from one single roadblock.

PROMOTING HEALTHY SELF-ESTEEM

"Earlier on in life, parents can give their child a task that has a 50/50 chance of failure and success, like a jigsaw puzzle," she says.

Director of the Parenting and Family Support Centre, University of Queensland, and founder of the Triple P: Positive Parenting Program Professor Matt Sanders says it is counterproductive to teach your child about the highs in life while shielding them from the lows.

"As a parent, we can help guide our children. Ask them what worked and didn't work in a particular situation and tell them that it is okay to not excel at everything. This is what builds true character and becomes a valuable life lesson."

"The potential problem of this style of an approach to parenting is that, by trying to ensure their child’s success, parents are also limiting the possibility of failure," says Matt.

RESOURCES

"The important thing to remind ourselves is that part of growing up is learning to do things for ourselves. Children need to be allowed to make mistakes because they learn through experience. Life is all about living, occasionally making mistakes, learning from them and not repeating them.

Unfortunately there is no manual when it comes to raising teenagers, and everyone's parenting journey is unique. With studies indicating a rise in the level of fear and anxiety among parents, it's no wonder we've seen the snowplough style become more prevalent. Experts believe, however, that creating a balance and nurturing our children, while giving them the ability to experience some of the hurdles life presents them, can actually set a strong and positive foundation for their adult life.

The Triple P- Positive Parenting Program: www.triplep.net University of the Sunshine Coast, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Business: www.usc.edu.au Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America: www.pnas.org Free-Range Kids: www.freerangekids.com Amy Chua, author of The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother: www.amychua.com

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ONLY NATURAL

How to grow a

GREEN

KID

by Lara Cain Gray

WHY TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN TO REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE IS GOOD FOR THE PLANET – AND GREAT FOR YOUR KIDS! Kermit famously said ‘it’s not easy being green’, but kids seem to have a natural way of making environmental activism part of their everyday lives. Whether they’re rescuing a wayward snail or asking curly questions about why the sky is blue, our children can often teach us a thing or two about paying closer attention to nature.

If you can harness this natural curiosity and encourage children to appreciate the planet and take action to protect it, you’re empowering them to feel they can make a real difference to the world around them. From easy garden projects to little days out with a green twist, there are many ways to encourage kids to reduce, reuse and recycle – and have fun while they’re at it.

EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION With issues like global warming, water conservation and pollution management regularly in the news, our children can’t fail to be aware that our world faces major environmental challenges. Even as an adult, warnings about climate change, biodiversity or finite resources can be frightening and confusing, making it essential for us to talk about the issues sensitively with our kids.

Luckily, while politicians toss the climate change football back and forth in the media, kids across Australia are still connecting with nature and learning practical ways to go green thanks to environmental education in schools, recycling programs by local councils and nature play initiatives. Queensland’s Sustainable Schools program, for example, rolls out resources for educators so they can lead by example, engaging students in water conservation projects, food production, and waste management in classrooms and playgrounds.

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Environmental education, however, needs to go beyond the classroom. According to the Sustainable Schools website, each Australian family produces enough waste per year to fill a 3-bedroom house; that’s around 1.9 tonnes of waste per person.

But the trouble with scary statistics like this is that they can feel so overwhelming that they numb us into inaction. Children can become depressed about the future of the planet when faced with ‘doom and gloom’ predictions about environmental disasters.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) associate professor Julie Davis has written extensively about education on sustainability, with a focus on nurturing young children's capacities as agents of change. Julie says that making a child feel depressed or helpless is not good sustainability education. Rather, good teaching in this area should focus on positive, empowering opportunities to be “an active citizen for sustainability”; simple things like using the half flush in the toilet to save water can be explained to young children helping them feel engaged and empowered about ‘making a difference’.

And this sort of education doesn’t just benefit the planet – there are real benefits for kids too. Julie says that kids “get short-term benefits such as feeling good about protecting and caring for the planet” along with beneficial longer-term education. “They are establishing foundations for sustainable habits and ways of thinking that contribute to their own more sustainable futures,” Julie says.

So, what can we do as parents to provide positive messages about environmental awareness and help our kids to grow up green?

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ONLY NATURAL

GREEN LIVING AT HOME

TAKING IT TO THE STREETS

One of the best lessons we can teach our kids is that environmental activism doesn’t have to mean making enormous personal sacrifices – and that little things add up to big changes.

Kids can help out every day with small but significant adjustments to household routines that benefit the environment.

If you need a little extra inspiration, keep the environmental agenda in mind on your next family day out.

• Be energy efficient. With water and electricity rates on the rise, it makes good financial, as well as environmental, sense to work smarter around the home. Teach kids to turn off the tap while they brush their teeth, water the garden sparingly or use the half flush function on the toilet to conserve water. Switch off lights when you’re not in the room, use energy-efficient light bulbs and don’t leave the television on standby when you go to bed. You could even create a roster or checklist for a ‘green audit’ of the house and get young activists involved in your progress.

• Reap what you sow. There’s something about homegrown veggies that just tastes better than anything you’ll find in the shops. And with the resurgence of interest in home cooking and nutrition, your local garden centre can show you lots of great ways to develop a kitchen garden with the kids. Why not encourage the children to plant a ‘pizza garden’ with easy to grow plants like tomatoes, basil and capsicum that can be harvested for a tasty, healthy meal down the track? Or have a growing race where each child adopts a seedling – whose plant will flower first? Worm farms and compost bins are also a great way to use up scraps and let the kids get hands on in the dirt.

Whether you end up with a fertile urban farm or just a few herbs in a window box, you’re teaching kids about the origins of their food and setting up healthy eating habits for life.

• One man’s trash. One easy way to reduce your household rubbish pile is with creative upcycling of boxes and packaging. Egg cartons are ideal for growing seedlings, for example, or as paint palettes for an arty afternoon. Margarine tubs can be cleaned out and stacked up to separate Lego or loom bands. Let the kids go wild with stickers and labels to personalise and organise their treasures.

Cut out pictures from magazines and catalogues to make creative collages. Or try this one: draw a person on a piece of paper, then mix and match outfits using magazine clippings, like old-fashioned paper dolls. Store sweet wrappers, bottle lids and twisty ties in an ice cream container and pull them out for wet weather craft projects.

And if you have bigger boxes lying around, it takes nothing but a little imagination to invent a cubby, racing car or shop. When it comes to household waste, get the whole family actively involved in sorting rubbish and reusing or recycling where possible.

• What better way to pique your child’s interest in the environment than by simply letting them play in nature? Climbing trees, swimming in the sea and looking at stars activate our children’s natural curiosity and help them understand why our planet is worth protecting.

• Make a note of national days of action on environmental issues and get involved. Every year Australians celebrate Earth Hour, Clean Up Australia Day and National Recycling Week, for example. You’ll find events taking place both online and in local parks and beaches that you can join with the family.

• Take advantage of environmental education programs at local museums and national parks. Local councils across Australia offer regular opportunities for kids to get up close and personal with wildlife in the area or explore local bush tracks or wetlands.

• Take the kids with you next time you visit the local tip. This is a great chance to discuss what happens to our rubbish, why we need to be concerned about landfill and why we separate our rubbish for recycling.

•M ake recycling creative and enjoyable by looking out for arts and crafts workshops involving natural or recycled materials.

In Brisbane, Reverse Garbage Queensland runs imaginative workshops for kids using recycled industrial junk.

Lillian Shewring coordinates the workshops at Reverse Garbage Queensland, a not-for-profit co-operative that repurposes industrial discards. She says that the hands-on nature of her children’s art workshops helps kids to visualise and remember what they’ve learned about recycling, as well as helping them think outside the box when it comes to repurposing the stuff that some people think of as rubbish. “They get to make and construct things, get their hands dirty and make a bit of a mess, which is always great fun,” Lillian says. “I guess one of the main positive things that the kids take away from our classes is the realisation that sustainability, recycling and reusing materials is not something that is beyond their capacity.

Actually they can easily do it at home, at school, anywhere really.”

By creating an awareness of environmental issues using positive, encouraging teaching approaches and hands-on activities, your child can learn to appreciate the planet and want to do more to protect it. Going green is good for the earth, but great for our kids too, who feel empowered by the chance to make a real difference.

Encourage your child to respect the planet – and have fun at the same time.

After all, the future really is in their hands.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION VISIT: Sustainable Schools Queensland: www.sustainableschools.qld.edu.au | Queensland National Parks Connect With Nature Program: www.nprsr.qld.gov.au

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YOU

MAKE MUM FEEL SPECIAL ON MOTHER’S DAY AND EVERY DAY…

“IN A CHILD'S EYES, A MOTHER IS A GODDESS. SHE CAN BE GLORIOUS OR TERRIBLE, BENEVOLENT OR FILLED WITH WRATH, BUT SHE COMMANDS LOVE EITHER WAY. I AM CONVINCED THAT THIS IS THE GREATEST POWER IN THE UNIVERSE.” – N.K. Jemisin

“MOTHERHOOD: ALL LOVE BEGINS AND ENDS THERE.” – Robert Browning

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Cut out & keep

Madeline Pendant $595 solid 9ct gold and sterling silver pendants Sophie Pendant $50 sterling silver pendant

If you could choose a piece of jewellery that reflects who you are, what would you choose? Would it be a beautiful pendant, a delicate bracelet or do you prefer something a bit more edgy – a leather cuff set with a silver disc that sets you a part from the crowd? Whatever your tastes, the dynamic sister duo Stacey Clayton and Lisa O’Keefe that are Koolaman will have something that you’ll want to make yours. With a passion for creating bespoke jewellery which has a stylish functionality that sees it simultaneously suited to country-casual and urban chic, Lisa and Stacey happily admit they’re invested in Koolaman, heart and soul. The personalised stamped designs that make every piece uniquely personal are inspired by the sisters' desire to celebrate life's special moments. Clearly, this is an idea that’s shared by many other women. A large proportion of their customers are mothers, wanting a special piece of jewellery that celebrates their children and keeps them close to their hearts. www.koolaman.com.au 1300 789 524

Treat your mum to a beautiful high tea at Room with Roses, one of the most individual dining experiences in Brisbane, located upstairs in the heritage listed Brisbane Arcade. Spoil Mum any day of the year or book for their Grand High Tea on Mother’s Day at 10am or 2pm – enjoy decadent sandwiches, scones and savouries at the table as well as luscious homemade sweets from the buffet, accompanied by a glass of French bubbles or signature raspberry punch.

Call (07) 3229 7050 to book. www.roomwithroses.com.au

REDEEMABLE GIFT VOUCHER

REDEEMABLE GIFT VOUCHER

...BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME & I DESERVE IT!

...BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME & I DESERVE IT!

1 MOTHER’S DAY MASSAGE

1 MOTHER’S DAY BREAKFAST IN BED

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YOU

HAPPY HOMEGROWN GIFTS

Take your mum on a sky high, magical dining experience on the Wheel of Brisbane this Mother’s Day. Breakfast, brunch and lunch ‘on wheel’ dining packages are available including food and drinks, a one hour ride and a photo taken in front of the wheel. Book now to secure your cabin on (07) 3870 4933. www.thewheelofbrisbane.com.au

Homegrown Gifts brings together style, quality and environmental awareness, offering a range of Australian handmade gifts and ecofriendly gift baskets. The Kitchen Garden Basket makes the perfect gift for the keen gardener or cook. It contains a hand printed linen tea towel, two ceramic dishes, a ceramic jug, a native daisy gift of seeds and is presented in a gorgeous Zillpa rope plant hanger. $99. www.homegrowngifts.com.au

“Sometimes when you pick up your child you can feel the map of your own bones beneath your hands, or smell the scent of your skin in the nape of his neck. This is the most extraordinary thing about motherhood finding a piece of yourself separate and apart that all the same you could not live without.”

– JODI PICOULT Spoil mum this Mother’s Day with a 5-star buffet breakfast or lunch at Quay West Suites Brisbane. Adult meals from $34 for breakfast and $65 for lunch with children under 6 years free. For bookings call (07) 3853 6014. www.quaywestbrisbane.com

TOP TIP: Leave this page open for dad to see

Does Mum love thrills, giggles, romance or glamour? Then Event Cinemas have the perfect Mother’s Day offer for your mum. Take Mum to Event Cinemas on Mother’s Day and receive a FREE Lindt Chocolate for every ticket purchased.

If you’re really looking to spoil her, why not choose the luxury of Gold Class where she will also get a $25 gift card from Roses Only for FREE! Conditions apply. For further details visit www.eventcinemas.com.au/EventsPromotions/MothersDay

“MOTHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN ARE IN A CATEGORY ALL THEIR OWN. THERE’S NO BOND SO STRONG IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. NO LOVE SO INSTANTANEOUS AND FORGIVING.” – Gail Tsukiyama

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Photo by Natalie McComas. www.natmccomas.com

CONVERSATION

Meet Kate Knapp ILLUSTRATOR, ARTIST & AUTHOR

By Natasha Higgins & Eva Lewis IT’S A LOVELY MORNING IN BRISBANE WHERE THE BIRDS ARE SINGING AND THE SUN IS SHINING AS ILLUSTRATOR AND ARTIST KATE KNAPP STARTS OFF ON HER WALK TO WORK. THIS IS WHEN HER DAILY INSPIRATION BEGINS. AFTER PICKING UP A COFFEE ALONG THE WAY, KATE REACHES HER PERFECTLY POSITIONED TWIGSEEDS STUDIO IN THE LEAFY INNER CITY SUBURBS OF BRISBANE AND SITS DOWN TO LOOK OUT INTO THE TREES OF A QUIET NATURE RESERVE. It’s not just nature that inspires Kate; her art room is where she loves to paint, with a large table as the centrepiece and surrounded by lots of books and inspirational mementos. Kate is a self-confessed daydreamer and procrastinator, and her art room is often where you’ll find her in her ‘other world’.

Kate absorbs everyday life and her surroundings like a sponge.

As well as finding inspiration in nature, beautifully illustrated books and a heartening quotation, she is also inspired by the interesting quirks of personality and the journey of being. No sooner has she absorbed the wonders of life, she has an amazing ability to exude this into magical illustrations.

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Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

Under the pen name Twigseeds, Kate creates a nest of colourful, whimsical creatures who are loved by children and grown-ups alike and can be found adorning art prints, cards, stationery and books, in plush toys and on school book covers. Some are shy and timid, needing a little encouragement and a biscuit or three. While other, more flamboyant types, are thrilled to their twinkling toes with the attention. With wide eyes and smiling beaks, twitching whiskers and wagging tails, they take their sunny stories to the world.

Kate’s children’s book character, the white hare Ruby Red Shoes, shares her special world in the delightful books Ruby Red Shoes and Ruby Red Shoes Goes to Paris – and of course with equally delightful illustrations.

www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au

CONVERSATION

© Kate Knapp

Kate shares more of her life, artwork and all that inspires her…

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY.

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WORK.

I am so grateful to have a beautiful family of origin with whom I’m very close. For me family is a broad word, which includes all of the people, places, and animals I love.

I’m an illustrator and writer and nowadays work by hand in watercolour with pencil or ink. My illustrations appear alongside my own stories or the inspirational words from favoured authors.

I paint artworks that appear on a variety of products to brighten everyday life.

IS THERE A FAVOURITE CHARACTER YOU LOVE TO DRAW? I love to draw animals – birds and dogs most of all. I find both to be very humorous and honest. And of course drawing Ruby Red Shoes, the aware hare, is amazing. To me my characters are breathing and very alive. I find their vulnerabilities and authenticity pull me into their world which is literally a magical experience.

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY RELATING TO DRAWING? In primary school, my favourite thing to do was work on my poetry anthology. The books were poems I’d collected or written and painstakingly illustrated. Looking back on them, I can see how my love of illustrating to words began.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE DIRECTION OF YOUR ARTWORK AND WRITING IN THE FUTURE? I’d like to keep illustrating and writing and have creative ideas that will last me lifetimes. There are boxes filled with notebooks of scribbled ideas waiting for their moment. I think of myself as the air traffic controller and them as planes in a holding pattern waiting to land.

The next project is Ruby’s third book Ruby goes to London, which is written and about to be illustrated. It’s due for release November 2016 so for the next 10 months it will consume most of my artwork time.

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOUR ARTWORKS? My artworks are now seen on books, greeting cards and stationery, wall decals and tableware.

Greeting cards and stationery: www.affirmations.com.au/retail_default/twigseeds.html Wall decals: www.thewallstickercompany.com.au/brands/Ruby-Red-Shoes.html Ruby Red Shoes children’s books: www.harpercollins.com.au/cr-109455/kate-knapp A range of tableware will be released in August 2015 by www.ashdene.com.au

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WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST REWARDING EXPERIENCE – PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY? I love the collaborative process of creating a whole new product.

It’s rewarding to create something that is both beautiful and purposeful. I feel enormous pleasure when my work makes people feel better, happier or comforted. It’s satisfying for me to have created a business that fits my lifestyle and values.

Personally, I’m most rewarded by the relationships I have in my life.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST LIFE-DEFINING MOMENT? I’m not sure there’s any such thing as a life-defining moment for me. Every day feels like a life-defining moment. I’m in such awe of life in all its weather. I have seen sunny days and storms and know there is so much goodness and awfulness and I am grateful to be here ... some days that’s easier to say than others.

WHAT GENERAL ADVICE HAS HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOU? How you treat others is really how you treat yourself. Be respectful, work hard, be happy with what you have and frequently use your good manners. All the basic principles of life I grew up with and moaned at now make such sense.

WHAT LIFE MESSAGE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO IMPART TO OTHERS? Listen and love the quiet things in the world – such as your heart and trees. They have infinite wisdom and solace.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ROLE MODELS AND IF SO, WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT FROM THEM? My parents are my role models. They are truly wise and wonderful people. I have learnt about love and patience and humour from them.

To find out more about Kate and her work, visit www.twigseeds.com and www.rubyredshoes.com.au

Photo by Natalie McComas www.natmccomas.com

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REVIEWS BOOKS, MOVIES, APPS, GAMES

BOOKS THE ANTI JOURNAL David Sinden and Nikalas Catlow, Macmillan, RRP $19.99

MOVIES TOMMORROWLAND In cinemas May 28. Rating: TBC

APPS SPOT

By David Wiesner. (iPad) $6.99 Five fantastical worlds intertwine in this wordless book app devised by David Wiesner, three-time winner of the Caldecott Medal. Spot is a visual adventure – one that is never the same twice – which unfolds as you travel through spaces that transition into one another. With a pinch and a zoom on your iPad, you move through dazzling scenes, delving into worlds within worlds, each one a story in itself, all rendered in gorgeous original artwork. This beautifully-designed exploratory app provides settings and props to inspire curious kids.

Children of all ages can explore various worlds and characters, using their discoveries as the jumping off place to tell their own creative stories. Peek under an armchair and visit the dust bunnies in Lower Rügg where they’re waiting to be characters in your story. Wander among the robotic shoppers in the marketplace of Mekanikos, or watch the glorious cat parade in Katzaluna. Hotspots transport you from world to world, and it’s up to you to decide what happen next in the story! The useful parent and educator guide that accompanies this app provides creative storytelling prompts as well as unique writing activities to enhance the imaginative experience.

From Disney comes the riveting mystery adventure Tomorrowland, starring Academy Award® winner George Clooney. Bound by a shared destiny, former boy-genius Frank (Clooney), jaded by disillusionment, and Casey (Britt Robertson), a bright, optimistic teen bursting with scientific curiosity, embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space known only as ‘Tomorrowland’. What they must do there changes the world – and them – forever.

DISNEY PIXAR – INSIDE OUT In cinemas June 18. Rating: TBC Disney•Pixar’s Inside Out will take you to the most extraordinary location of all – inside the mind. Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it’s no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness. The emotions live in Headquarters, the control centre inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters.

Although Joy, Riley's main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school.

Also coming soon…

MINIONS (In cinemas June 18) JURASSIC WORLD (In cinemas June 11)

The Anti Journal is no ordinary journal – it’s journaling outside the box. In the Anti Journal you can doodle, cut, create, mess up and even throw things at the page. It’s all about creative discovery and seeing things differently.

It’s a journal for those who want to be creative and follow their own rules. When you see the name ‘Anti Journal’ you may wonder what’s so ‘anti’ about it. The fact is, it goes beyond the traditional journal and forces you to reach into your creative side and gain different perspectives by doing some crazy fun things. One of the first pages is a perfect example where you have to throw a wet teabag at the page! Flick forward a few more pages and you’re asked to open an unwanted book at random and cut the first word from each line – then rearrange them. If that’s not abstract enough, then what about another page for creating pets out of pocket fluff or creating patterns with a hole punch.

The Anti Journal is great for children and adults, and is the perfect way to change your mindset and reignite that creative spark.

THE GIANT BOOK OF CREATIVITY FOR KIDS

500 Activities to Encourage Creativity in Kids Ages 2 to 12--Play, Pretend, Draw, Dance, Sing, Write, Build, Tinker Bobbi Conner, Random House Australia (Shambhala), RRP $32.99 For parents who don't feel they are creative, this book provides an easy entry point for raising creative kids.

This book is your guide for being a creativity mentor, your handbook for raising kids rich with creative habits and skills, and your toolbox full of ideas and activities.

Creativity is an essential ingredient for a happy childhood, and this is the ultimate book of ideas for arts and crafts, building and tinkering, writing and rhyming, singing and dancing, and more. With 500 hands-on activities for children ages two to twelve, this book goes beyond the simple arts and crafts found in most kids’ creativity books and offers fun ideas for a generous range of imaginative and creative play – all in one giant book. There is a good mix of simple and more involved activities with an emphasis on fun for everyone, and even a practical ‘Creativity Guide for Parents’ that provides tips for guiding those creative endeavours.

To see more visit www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au 42

Kids in the City – MAY / JUNE 2015

www.kidsinthecitymagazine.com.au