10 Great Blogs for Parents with Under-Fives

I recently wrote a piece for my masters on mummy blogging and in the process I discovered some great blogs with fantastic ideas for under-fives. Blogs are usually something you come across in a search for something in particular, or are recommended by friends, so I thought my readers might find this list useful.


1. Irresistable Ideas for Play-Based Learning
Early childhood educators, Donna Burns and Sherry Hutton, provide consistently good ideas for pre-school children. My favourite posts include Colourful Bubbles and I-Spy Jars



2. The Artful Parent
A U.S site that has some great art activity ideas for young kids. I love the Rainbow Stained Glass Window



3. Childhood 101
Early-child educator, Christie Burnett, provides loads of great information and ideas for parents of young children. She has some useful tips on creating great playspaces for kids at home



4. Squigglemum
Catherine Oehlman, aka squigglemum, is another teacher/mum with some great ideas for entertaining kids. I like her Backyard Treasure Hunt.



5. Planning With Kids
Mother of five, Nicole Avery, is one super-organised woman. She has some great ideas for making motherhood more manageable. I particularly like her party planning ideas.




6. Bronnie Bakes
A friend of mine, Bron, has a great blog on baking sweet treats with kids. As a mother of three girls under five, her patience in the kitchen is to be admired and her animal cupcakes are so cute



7. Dad's Club
Father of two, Dave Woolbank, created Dads Club to provide dads with fast, useful information in a language they could understand. I particularly like the quick craft ideas.



8. Kids Travel Blog
Friends Donna and Andrea regularly have me craving a holiday with their blog on travelling with kids. Check out their reviews for Victoria.



9. My Book Corner
This is a great kids book review blog with age appropriate suggestions. Also, it links to Book Depository which offers competitive prices and free delivery worldwide. Our latest purchase is Imagine by Alison Lester.



10. Picklebums
Kate has four kids, lives on a pickle farm and regularly blogs about her life. She makes me laugh with posts like Thousands of Bicuits and Playing with Sticks.


A couple of tips;
- If you enjoy a particular blog, look at the links they follow or suggest. This is a great way of discovering new blogs that you might find interesting.
- Don't be concerned about signing up for a google account in order to follow certain blogs. In the three years I have had my account, I haven't recieved any additional junk mail to my email address. Same applies for newsletter & RSS feeds
- If you're interested in a particular blog, follow it or like it on facebook. This is the only way to keep the blog going.
- If you areinterested in starting your own blog, just do it on Blogspot or Wordpress (it takes 5 minutes),or consult Nicole Avery on Blog Coaching Boost

Some other special mentions for Melbournites are;
- Little Eats (Eating Out with Kids)
- Curious Kate (What's On in Melbourne)
- Lady Melbourne (Fashion)
- Melbourne Gastronome (Food)
- The Design Files (Design)
- Only Melbourne (blogging directory)