A mother in a Facebook group recently asked for tips to help her perfectionist nine-year-old boy with his creative writing – to overcome his fears and get his ideas down on paper. This can be an issue for lots of children, but especially perfectionists (I have one of those) so I thought I’d share some ideas that I’ve […]
Three audio tools for peaceful car journeys with kids
If you’re anything like us when driving in the car with kids in the back seat, you avoid commercial radio stations in case of swearing or sudden news breaks, argue over whether to listen to Dad’s nineties metal or Mum’s classical music, and after half an hour, it doesn’t matter what you do, the children […]
Why we should avoid controlling what children read
It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but a lot of things have been going on behind the scenes. I’ve been working on a new middle-grade fiction novel – this will be my longest one by far and I’m so excited by it. I’ve also been working on various picture books – getting one ready […]
Getting Organised with Sensory Kids
I’ve been a bit quiet this week, on the blog and in my writing. I managed to submit a handful of manuscripts to two competitions early last week and so have been feeling less pressure on that front and have been slowly chipping away at a couple of picture book manuscripts. However, it’s a universal […]
Surviving Term Two with Young Children
Summer has gone, the Easter Bunny has been, we’ve commiserated with the ANZACs and the excitement of a new year of school has long passed. Our friends in the northern hemisphere are celebrating the first signs of spring and the approach of summer* while we’re well into Term 2 – when even the kids most excited […]
10 Picture books that encourage empathy (and one chapter book)
I do my best to as a mother to resist the rush rush rush that seems to be the norm for children these days. I limit their activities, I have resisted competitive sports and pursuits until they’re much older, they have no homework and I give them plenty of time to play and imagine and explore. […]
Tell Stories
We had my parents over for lunch a few weeks ago. My dad was telling jokes, the kind of “Dad” jokes that made me laugh as a kid. My six-year-old son was doing these beautiful big belly laughs that remind me of me when I was his age. My heart melts a little each time he does […]
What little boys love to read (4-7 years)
(Disclaimer: I do realise that much of this applies to girls. I was one once. I was also a tomboy and read “boy” books. I started my working life as a computer scientist. Even now I prefer spy thrillers over chick lit. I don’t mean in any way to infer that these are exclusively boy […]
Why bed-time stories are so important
It’s 7.15pm on a weeknight. Mr Ueckerman is out at a dinner. The boys and I have eaten and I’m cleaning up. I ask Mr 6 to help Mr almost-4 to put on his pyjamas and read him a book, though not entirely sure how that will pan out. He happily agrees; he loves being […]
Competition Win
As an unpublished author, one of the best ways for me to receive feedback on my work is by entering competitions for aspiring authors. This year I have faired pretty well in competitions and was delighted to win first place in the Secret Door Competition for my first junior fiction novel, “Atticus Jones’ Wand”. I […]