What's a Doctor to do?

Sure, it's great fun to dress up as a doctor, put once the coat's been put on and the stethoscope's in place, the Doctor needs something to do!

The obvious thing is to see some patients, but that can't be done in the middle of a lounge room - not very professional at all!!

Dr Emily decided to put together her own surgery (with a bit of help from me of course!)


We got an old phone to make appointments, an upside down biscuit tray to use as the keyboard (when you push down on it, it makes crunchy, buttony sounds like a real keyboard) and an ice cream container as the computer screen.

Then we made a waiting room complete with magazines for the furry patients waiting to see the doctor.



Then we filled her doctor's bag with band aids, bandages, empty medicine bottles, medicine cups and medicine syringes.

When she was finished, there was not an ill soft toy in sight!

Separation Anxiety (Part 1, I'm sure!)

When you're a teacher and dealing with a poor little soul who is having trouble being away from Mum, it can be very difficult. Lately I'm finding, when you have a poor little soul who doesn't want to go to Kindergarten and you ARE the mum, it's even tougher still!!

Such is life with Ed at the moment. He just simply DOES NOT want to go to Kindergarten. He wants to stay home. He wants to be with me. Home is much more fun ....

And so, 3 times a week, I battle to get him there.

I've learned a lot about 'Separation Anxiety' over the years, but never has my learning curve been as steep as it is right now, as I sit on the other side.

So, what am I doing about it? A few things actually ..

1. Talking constantly to his teacher.

She needs to know what's going on at home so she can deal with upset times at Kinder properly and I need to know what's going on at Kinder so I can follow through at home too. It's important that Ed is getting a consistent message from both of us and that message is - "I know you're sad, but you have to go to Kinder".

2. Making sure he has plenty of rest.

He is miserable when he's tired so I'm making sure that on days when we're not traipsing off to Kindergarten, he can have some home time and get an afternoon nap.

3. Talking it up.

We're talking about Kinder a lot. Not in those times when I'm trying to get him there, these are times when I say "We've talked about this, you have to go". No, the discussions are happening when he's not emotional (and I'm not feeling beside-myself!). We talk about how all 4 year olds have to go to Kindergarten and that he has to find a way to make it a nice place to be. We talk about how great his teachers are and the fun things he gets to do there. We also go through some strategies that can help him to not feel so sad when he's there. Things like finding a new thing to do, finding a teacher for a cuddle and getting his teddy out of his bag. I also reassure him that if he gets really, really upset, I'm not too far away. These talks help to change his outlook and also give him a chance to voice his feelings and problems without being overly-emotional.

4. Encouraging friends.

His friendship with one other little boy is the only thing that gets us there some days. I'm making sure I help this friendship along as much as possible while also trying to encourage new friends.

5. Sending the bear along.

Fortunately, Ed's teacher has no problem with him bringing good old Yarji along with him and this has really helped. When you're young, a friendly, familiar face goes along way but Yarji's familiar smell and touch are hugely reassuring too.

6. Giving him something to look forward to.

I think all human beings need something to look forward to, particularly when they're faced with something they don't really want to do. Kids are no exception, so I try to have something nice for him when I pick him up - a little treat, a surprise, a trip to the park. I also try to plan nice things for his days at home. That way, we can focus on those nice, positive things instead of constantly talking about Kinder.

7. Sometimes letting him stay home.

I feel naughty even typing this. In my pre-children teaching days, I NEVER would have allowed this. You see, it teaches kids that sometimes they don't have to go, that it's not really that important and I have to agree, letting him stay home does send a bit of a mixed message. But, I only let him stay home when he seems really, really tired and he always has to go to bed and have a sleep when he's not going to go. To be honest, at this stage, I think getting enough sleep is more important and I know he copes better when he's not exhausted.

We've got 3 long terms ahead of us and I can only hope he makes some headway with his issues. I can't change my little man (and I wouldn't for the world). I have to accept him for the wonderful little love he is and try and give him the tools he needs to deal with what life throws at him. After all, he's got 5 days of school to cope with next year. I hope he stops needing so much sleep by then .......

Another Play Moment

A lot of play at our house involves caring lately. I think it's lovely. Children should be encouraged to model care and empathy. It builds the parts of our brains that deal with these emotions, making us more caring and sharing as adults.

I stumbled across his little play scene Ed had set up the other day.




Apparently it was rest time for the Lightning McQueen brigade and the little blanket was keeping them 'cosy'. Aaaawwwwwwwwww!

A Happy Compromise

One corner of my lounge room looks like this at the moment.



Ok, so it's not going to get my house into an issue of "Home Beautiful" any time soon, but this little space is really working for us.

As I've mentioned before, Em likes to set up her own play a lot at the moment. She likes to move when the mood strikes her and it helps to have resources and toys at her disposal.





Having furniture, accessories, doll's and animals accessible like this means she can play when it suits her and if she wants to leave things a little set-up and come back later, she can take up exactly where she left off without too much hassle. And in the meantime, I'm not left looking at a huge amount of mess which makes me a bit happy too!

A Beady Good Time

When Em had her 6th birthday, she had some friends round and I bought a few bags of beads to put into a large bowl so they could all do some threading together. Those beads got put into some containers and put into the cupboard and during the holidays, we re-discovered them again.

I got the box out, which was a great big mess, and left Em to thread on her own. She decided she wanted to sort through the beads instead, so I got out a bunch of plastic containers form the recycling box in the cupboard and we started to sort.

We sorted them into colours and had a great time looking at each one and talking about the shapes, sizes and colours.


After a while Ed joined in too.

When we'd finished the kids made some necklaces for their teddies.

Ed had never done anything like this before and I was actually surprised how much he enjoyed it.

Luckily, we still have lots of beads left to do some more threading soon.

Make Your Own Baby Book on KBR

When Em was little, I loved to take the time to make books and toys for her to play with. By the time Ed came along, I didn't have quite as much time to indulge in my crafty, creative side, but I still took the time to make him a few special things too. Things made at home have that personal touch to them that little, egocentric children find particularly appealing.

Today a favourite idea of mine -making a very simple "Baby Book" is being shared at KBR - "Kids Book Review". If you'd like to pop on over and read about it you can click here.

A "Play" Moment

Don't you just love it when you stumble accross a play scene that your kids have set up?

I know I do and I love it even more when you take a closer look and see a real insight into the way kid's minds work. Just the simplest scene can show such a depth of understanding or empathy or compassion. I always take a moment to stop and say "aaaah".

I want to share some more of these moments this year.

Here's one of my favourites from over the holidays.

It shows a game that a little boy and girl were playing together. A little girl who loves baby dolls and a little boy who love cars. Both children love having something to cuddle ........



I love how neatly the bed is set up. That they've remembered to give the baby a pillow and to set up all the things baby will need around her. I also love that they've tucked a little toy car under her arm to cuddle. It shows beautifully how kids can care, understand and show empathy - and how they can use their combined interests to work together.