Planning with Kids

Check out our guest post on Planning with Kids this month. This is a great site with plenty of ideas for kids including recipes and craft activities as well as some interesting articles on subjects like preparing for school and discipline strategies. As a mother of five kids, Planning Queen knows what she's talking about and her articles are really informative, plus she has some fun and quirky suggestions for things to do at home including lego capes and newspaper swords. So become a fan and start getting organised.

Fairies in the Gardens

Fairies at the bottom of the Garden
Enchanting garden magic, storytelling, singing and planting. Fairies, bunyips and elves encouraged to wear own costumes. Suitable for children aged 3 to 5 years.
Royal Botanic Gardens - Children's Garden
22, 24, 28 & 30 September 2010
10am - 11am
$12 per child

Wildflower Fairies and Elves
Fly through the gardens looking for fairies and elves before settling among the wildflowers for fairy crafts. Fairies and elves encouraged to wear own costumes. Suitable for children aged 2 to 5 years.
RGB Cranbourne
21, 28 & 30 September 2010
9.30am - 10.30am
$6.50 per child

Tesselaar Tulip Festival - Childrens Days

September 22nd, 23rd, 29th & 30th
357 Monbulk Rd, Silvan Victoria (Melways Map 123B5)
Open daily 10am to 5pm.

Did you just buy a new digital SLR? No, well I'm sure you know someone who has (rest of Melbourne it seems) so grab them, dress the kids in their sunday best and go frolic in the fields of Silvan this month at the Tesselaar Tulip Festival. On a sunny day this could offer some fantastic photo opportunities and, with a great schedule of kids activities lined up, it sounds like a great day out with the kids.

Daily timetable
•Paul Jamieson 'The Music Man' 11.45am, 1.45pm and 2.45pm
•Black Snake Productions presentations at 10.45am and 12pm
•Fairy Monica 11.30am, 1.30pm and 2.30pm
•Animals on the Move 10-4 (breaks timetabled on the day)
•Linda Kent Pottery, Mez’ Card Works, Face Painting, Crazy Hair, Stax the Didgeman, Kids Artworks – various crafts.
•Donuts, Fairy Floss stall, Dutch food stall, our foods, party pies, kids sandwiches, hot dogs, funny faces etc. Icy poles and juices, ice cream stall.

Adults $18, Concession $15, Under 16 free
(Groups of 10 or more $15 each person)
Bookings available online
Food + Drink available, Free off street parking, Wheelchair friendly, Dogs on leads welcomed and most of all dont forget your camera

Also see my post on Children's Week at Skyhigh Mt Dandenong as there are some days that these two events overlap.

Children's Week at Skyhigh Mount Dandenong

Head to the hills during the second week of September school holidays and check out Skyhigh Children's Week at Mount Dandenong. The following children's activities are scheduled, dependant on weather.

Saturday 25th September
Black snake productions - Reptile displays 2pm-5pm
Bouncy castle from 10am to 2pm

Sunday 26th September
CFA display, fire engine and badge making. 10am - 3pm
Igor the Giant’s Treasure Hunt from 10.00am to 5pm

Monday 27th September
Half price maze entry from 11 am to 5pm.
Igor the Giant’s Treasure Hunt from 10.00am to 5pm

Tuesday 28th September
Pony rides from 1pm-4pm
Igor the Giant’s Treasure Hunt from 10.00am to 5pm

Wednesday 29th September
Adventure Walk with Parks Victoria 12.30pm & 2.00pm
Igor the Giant’s Treasure Hunt from 10.00am to 5pm

Thursday 30th September
Story Telling & Magic with Fairy Sarah 2.30pm – 4.30pm
Chalk drawing with Andrew the gardener @ 1pm – 3.00pm

Friday 1st October
Igor the Giant’s Treasure Hunt from 10.00am to 5pm
Didgeridoo Lessons with “Stax” from 12pm to 2pm

Gate fees apply but children's events are free. For more information on Children's Week, visit the Skyhigh website.

Also see my post on the Tesselaar Tulip Festival as there some days on which these two events overlap.

If possible, drive up via The Basin and visit Hand-me-Downs (see post under Shops category) and give the kids a play at the great playground across from the main group of shops there.

Playbooks

Black & White - Tana Hoban
This fold out playbook is a great way to entertain your bubs in their cot or on the floor during tummy time. It folds out accordian style and has pictures on both sides, black on white and white on black, so perfect for those early months when they are still finding it difficult to distinguish between colours.
(photo from greenwillowblog)


Baby Touch Books
We've had several books from the baby touch range and our kids still love them as toddlers. The Playbook is particularly good as it has mirrors at different levels so when they are doing tummy time they can gradually lift themselves up to the higher mirror. Baby Touch books also have different textures, shapes and colours for babies to explore as their senses develop, and words and sounds for toddlers to learn. This makes them perfect for siblings to look at together.

Both of these playbooks are available from Borders.

Name Labels

There is something a bit special about seeing your baby's name in print which is why name labels are a great gift for new parents. Stick on labels are great for labelling bottles & food containers and one pack lasts for ages. There are plenty of companies doing them but I've always ordered from That's Mine and I find their labels stay on bottles even after plenty of washes. Their pack of 56 medium sized labels in assorted brights costs $20. Postage is free for orders of $20 or more, but costs $4.95 for orders under $20.

Time to get out

With the arrival of Charlie last month we have been doing very little as of late. Not only has it been especially cold, but the whole process of getting out the door with three kids requires a level of effort and organisation that is a bit beyond me at the moment. As a result Matilda and James have been busy discovering new ways of entertaining themselves and making mess. James' latest game involves pushing rice bubbles into the heat vent and watching them fly back out, whilst Tilly has tried on every item in her wardrobe in increasingly eccentric arrangments. Yes I think cabin fever has definitely set in and maybe its time to brave the cold.

That being said we have done a couple of outings to some old favourites recently. Maisy's Birthday Party at Dymocks was fun last Sunday, followed by a play in the Birrarung Marr playground. Check out my post on Dymocks Events in the Free or Events category - the Wonky Donky is coming up. We also went to the zoo when my husband was on paternity leave and it was as enjoyable as always despite the cold - check out my zoo post in the Attractions category.

As for new suggestions, I am working on a Things to do with Babies post, so watch this space