Blog

By E K Wills Unusual times call for a new approach to schooling. During the lockdown, we are not officially obliged to keep our kids at home if we are essential workers, but many are deciding to keep kids out of school where they can. (Please, teachers, be kind to those parents who do not have an option to do so if kids are too young to stay home alone: just as others need to consider you are also at the forefront of this crisis.) If your children are old enough to stay h

By EK Wills Its birthday season again, so you can create the best science party ever, in your own backyard filled with erupting volcanoes and more experiments than you can pack into a party period. The Laboratory Set the scene with lab coats (we used disposable protective gowns, disposable protective eye wear and gloves. It’s usually one size fits all but that’s half the fun!). Safety posters and the periodic table can help set the scene. Set up your lab bench for the experim

By EK Wills I don't practice a particular religion but I have a strong sense of family, which I tend to feed especially in holiday periods: Easter is no exception. As our nuclear family grows, we’ve developed a few ways to join with our various extended families, including other communities such as friends, schools and colleagues. Below is a list of child friendly activities we enjoy at Easter time. Perhaps you have done one or some of these or can add them to your activities

By EK Wills canoes in Sydney harbour Last weekend we attended our son’s scout Christmas party at the beach. Unusual you might say, but this was the sea scouts and it is water based. We recently moved close to the water but hadn’t had the opportunity to engage in water activities till that day: life has a way of distracting you with work, setting up house and preparing for Christmas. This was the first chance we had to force ourselves to stop and enjoy what we had moved there

By EK Wills No matter what activity you decide to engage your children in they will not generally thank you. No matter how much you may encourage them to persist, a time will come when they will berate you for not choosing what they later want or that you let them quit something they weren’t prepared to persist with. We recently discovered this phenomena with music. The youngest is learning drums and he has now revealed that he doesn’t like loud noises which would explain why

By E K Wills Holiday time is when you let your guard down and let the kids have some fun. This is particularly true in Australia where they have a long break and the year comes to a close. But sometimes this can backfire when it comes time to going back to school. It means they have to stick to a routine again and may even need to do homework depending on what age and school they go to. In our household, they will need to help out to keep the family unit running smoothly, as

By EK Wills Step 1: Where to build your party and who with? A lego party is better when it’s larger than life so consider whether you can buddy up with another child’s birthday to share the load. And hiring a local venue means more space for games (especially if you live in the city) and no mess at home as a bonus. Plus you can pool your lego resources for decorations. Step 2: What materials do you need? To boost your collection of lego, second hand items can be purchased onl

by EK Wills When your heart skips a beat for a prospective partner, all you care about is your feelings for each other. You probably think a little further to what it would be like to have a baby together and even what sort of parent they would make. But do you both share common goals for the future? Are you both prepared to make sacrifices to achieve those goals? And what are those goals? How many children do you want to have? Do you want to raise your family in the city?

by EK Wills Ever wonder how to survive a 10 hour trip in the car with young children - without an electronic babysitter? Sounds challenging, but it is not impossible with some surefire ways to keep them entertained and interested. Now we are heading into the travel season, it’s the perfect time to think about the practicalities of the upcoming trip with support of handy travel tips. We regularly drove to Byron Bay from Sydney in the Christmas break utilizing these self help p