I saw this link on twitter yesterday and firstly was blown away by what a fantastic and engaging speaker Patricia is - whilst she clearly has a passion for her specialist field, I am sure she could be very popular on speaker circuits.
However the topic was very dear to me. My linguistic skills are poor, as a child and as an adult I have tried to learn other languages - for my backpacking trip round Italy - I spoke enough to get by, but sadly it just doesn't stick, perhaps I am more of an immersion person...
For my son I would like to have him grow up speaking more than one language, or at least with a grasp of a second language. I have been 'doing' French with him daily ABC's, 123, Animals... however my mastery is poor. I'd had some ideas about a half day a week of day care in a French speaking environment and also once a week in a Mandarin. We live in Canada, so French is a given, Mandarin will be a prominent language by the time he is a school leaver...
Do watch this ten minute enthralling clip and then come back.
http://www.ted.com/talks/patricia_kuhl_the_linguistic_genius_of_babies.html
Patricia Kuhl - Great speaker, great subject!
As the site says 'Patricia Kuhl shares astonishing findings about how babies learn one language over another -- by listening to the humans around them and "taking statistics" on the sounds they need to know. Clever lab experiments (and brain scans) show how 6-month-old babies use sophisticated reasoning to understand their world.'
The prospects as Patricia put it of increasing our own ability as adults to learn, based on this research is wonderful and exciting.
Whilst I am saddened that my French efforts which are computer based with me singing and talking along are probably having zero impact at least on his ability to learn it as a language - that is because I have no accent, so no statistics for him to lay the blue print of learning the language. Hmmmm have to re-think my strategy as we are coming up to 9months, it's perfect timing to review it all, maybe those daycare options, or find a foreign speaking friend might be an option. I will let you know how we progress.
Breadwinner and Breadmaker
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Seeds of thought
What a wonderful time of the year! Now, I know Christmas has been and gone and January/ February is full of winter blues, but I do love this time of the year when I sit down with my seed catalogues and consider what to grow for the year ahead...
This year, more than any other, means so much to me. Whilst I love pulling up a carrot, rubbing the dirt off it and taking a sweet bite in the early morning (I find this the best time to harvest, as if you harvest later in the day, the sun warms the carrots, making them more aromatic and therefore attracting more carrot fly), this year I can be sure my son will be eating locally grown, organic and sustainable produce and that has been harvested at its peak!
Nothing beats potatoes from ‘fork to fork’ in under 20 minutes. I say fork, but I usually grow mine in old compost bags and then tip the bag out when it’s time to ‘harvest’. It saves space, time and you can move the bags when and where you choose to take advantage of hot or even cooler spots depending on the weather!
Read more...
These are my re-useable potato grow bags (I even use compost bags too) if the day gets too hot - I can move them etc and it makes harvesting them so easy - just tip the bag up somewhere convenient and rub through with your hand and collect handfuls of yummy, nutritious potatoes - served fresh and not put into storage with chemicals applied repeatedly, but that's another story....)
This year, more than any other, means so much to me. Whilst I love pulling up a carrot, rubbing the dirt off it and taking a sweet bite in the early morning (I find this the best time to harvest, as if you harvest later in the day, the sun warms the carrots, making them more aromatic and therefore attracting more carrot fly), this year I can be sure my son will be eating locally grown, organic and sustainable produce and that has been harvested at its peak!
Nothing beats potatoes from ‘fork to fork’ in under 20 minutes. I say fork, but I usually grow mine in old compost bags and then tip the bag out when it’s time to ‘harvest’. It saves space, time and you can move the bags when and where you choose to take advantage of hot or even cooler spots depending on the weather!
Read more...
These are my re-useable potato grow bags (I even use compost bags too) if the day gets too hot - I can move them etc and it makes harvesting them so easy - just tip the bag up somewhere convenient and rub through with your hand and collect handfuls of yummy, nutritious potatoes - served fresh and not put into storage with chemicals applied repeatedly, but that's another story....)
Monday, February 14, 2011
Where's Sophie 2?
Can your little one see Sophie?
Feel free to send in your pictures. We are looking to offer competition prizes in the future and will enter all entrants into the first draw. Watch this space!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Hip hip hooray!
Hip hip hooray for the hipseat!
I've had this 'seat' a number of months and it's worked well at Christmas open house parties etc where I wanted to be sociable and mingle, but I needed the support whilst holding my not so wee one!
This wonderful gadget/ garment proved itself very worthwhile whilst on our recent trip, visiting friends and family.
The wonderful design fits snuggly above your hip, around your waist - with a very strong velcro fastening and also a clasp clip, for a secure hold. There is a padded foam 'shelf' for your baby's derrière, the design greatly reduces back strain and it is suitable for children aged 6 months - 3 years.
No need to explain - you need to hold onto your little one when using these!
Whilst I love my baby carriers and did use them on the trip - on the plane, travelling around London etc, your lower and in my case upper back really notice the strain. Whereas with this - I could wear it all day, that is if my guy sat still that long!
I've had this 'seat' a number of months and it's worked well at Christmas open house parties etc where I wanted to be sociable and mingle, but I needed the support whilst holding my not so wee one!
This wonderful gadget/ garment proved itself very worthwhile whilst on our recent trip, visiting friends and family.
The wonderful design fits snuggly above your hip, around your waist - with a very strong velcro fastening and also a clasp clip, for a secure hold. There is a padded foam 'shelf' for your baby's derrière, the design greatly reduces back strain and it is suitable for children aged 6 months - 3 years.
No need to explain - you need to hold onto your little one when using these!
Whilst I love my baby carriers and did use them on the trip - on the plane, travelling around London etc, your lower and in my case upper back really notice the strain. Whereas with this - I could wear it all day, that is if my guy sat still that long!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Where's Sophie?
After our wonderful trip where we went around visiting family, friends, London sights and eating out in restaurants etc I was pleased to return safely home with Sophie. For anyone who doesn't know who she is this is her. I had seen this squeaky giraffe around and wanted to ask people what and why, but never got the chance. Then my wonderful sister in law mentioned she had bought my boy one for xmas, but as he was suffering with his teeth at the time - she offered that he could have her earlier.
We accepted! Once here he seemed to like the look of her, but still it took about a week for her to magic her way into his mouth - I know odd for a baby! Anyway once there she has never gone far.
Not having had a favourite toy up until now (I had feared the idea of being somewhere and my little angel screaming for a forgotten toy) I was concerned about taking her with us, as her price tag is quite high - approx $25. Then I discovered the Sophie Saver - a local lady supplies these and they are the kind of genius that you wish you'd thought of. (Or in my case as with so many ideas thought of and then taken action over the idea... anyway!)
Now before going away and again lots whilst away I'd been thinking of creating a 'Where's Sophie' competition. In one of two forms 1) Each week 21st Century Mum publishes a photo and you have to find Sophie in the picture to win. 2) Each week you enter a picture of Sophie at some unusual location - top of a mountain, animal safari etc.
Later today will post the pick for this week's 'where's Sophie' - let your little ones have fun with this and see if they can see her. Then once I locate some prizes that I can give away, we will maybe go for the latter option of you dear readers supplying the best locations with Sophie photographed in!
We accepted! Once here he seemed to like the look of her, but still it took about a week for her to magic her way into his mouth - I know odd for a baby! Anyway once there she has never gone far.
Not having had a favourite toy up until now (I had feared the idea of being somewhere and my little angel screaming for a forgotten toy) I was concerned about taking her with us, as her price tag is quite high - approx $25. Then I discovered the Sophie Saver - a local lady supplies these and they are the kind of genius that you wish you'd thought of. (Or in my case as with so many ideas thought of and then taken action over the idea... anyway!)
Now before going away and again lots whilst away I'd been thinking of creating a 'Where's Sophie' competition. In one of two forms 1) Each week 21st Century Mum publishes a photo and you have to find Sophie in the picture to win. 2) Each week you enter a picture of Sophie at some unusual location - top of a mountain, animal safari etc.
Later today will post the pick for this week's 'where's Sophie' - let your little ones have fun with this and see if they can see her. Then once I locate some prizes that I can give away, we will maybe go for the latter option of you dear readers supplying the best locations with Sophie photographed in!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The Jury is out, the teeth are in and it's a thumbs up on amber to the rescue!
Well December 15th was a great day in this household, we survived teeth 1 & 2 coming and only a few days apart, but about a week later major teething issues started again!
We'd had 3 sleepless nights in a row and then the 4th night the necklace had arrived, we did the usual bath and bed routine and put the necklace on. I can honestly say DH was sceptical, whilst I was hopeful!
The next morning after a wonderful night's sleep I felt like cart-wheeling around the neighbourhood to celebrate, but was still met with scepticism and now family expressing concern over safety. (If you are worried about safety of your baby wearing a necklace - you can consider the bracelets/ anklets, however I know that my baby is safe in his even and most importantly at night!)
The reason I say it is most important at night is the body’s natural levels of cortisol drop at night and this further increases the pain levels felt. Cortisol is a chemical hormone produced by your body to manage stress, be it physical, mental or emotional.
Fast forward to now - teeth 3 & 4 are in. There have been some red cheek days, but nothing like teeth 1 & 2 coming in. So I am sure beyond all doubt that this wonderful necklace made a huge difference to my little guy and reduced the suffering he had to go through.
In preparing to write this I went back over the details as to how these amazing necklaces work and well I've been telling to incorrectly. But I am sure you will forgive me - when I first got this I was sleep deprived, but just knew somehow it would work for my little one. I'd said it was drawing the acid out of the body and creating healing that way (which I think is relevant to the Hazelwood necklaces.) Oh well, here is really how it works!:
Baltic Amber is a resin and as it warms when in contact with the skin it releases healing oils containing succinic acid in, which is then absorbed through the skin and carried around the wearer's bloodstream. It has been used for hundreds of years as a natural pain relief.
The beads are non toxic and the string that holds them is knotted at each bead, so you need not worry about them scattering if it breaks, which it should do if necessary. This is another reason to not worry excessively about safety. The wonderful screw clasp closer is great and makes sense to me immensely.
12" necklaces are recommended for 0-3 years. The best way to measure your baby's neck is to use a soft string of wool, drape it around, mark it, then when removed - measure the length. It should not be long enough to be able to get into baby's mouth.
You are advised to remove for bathing - we don't always but then we only use organic baby cleaning products in the bath anyway.
So impressed am I about how well this has worked for my boy - I am ordering some as gifts and also one for myself to help with the joint pain I have suffered with all my living memory.
Hazelwood products also help with teething, eczema, acid reflux, digestive issues, joint pain and challenges due to excess acid in the body. As my son only has experienced teething issues so far we have just stuck with the Baltic Amber range.
Words do really fail to capture how pleased I am with this product and that I would not hesitate to recommend it very highly. I am not a gimmicky person and I never imagined I would put jewellery on my son, but I am very happy that I did!
We'd had 3 sleepless nights in a row and then the 4th night the necklace had arrived, we did the usual bath and bed routine and put the necklace on. I can honestly say DH was sceptical, whilst I was hopeful!
The next morning after a wonderful night's sleep I felt like cart-wheeling around the neighbourhood to celebrate, but was still met with scepticism and now family expressing concern over safety. (If you are worried about safety of your baby wearing a necklace - you can consider the bracelets/ anklets, however I know that my baby is safe in his even and most importantly at night!)
The reason I say it is most important at night is the body’s natural levels of cortisol drop at night and this further increases the pain levels felt. Cortisol is a chemical hormone produced by your body to manage stress, be it physical, mental or emotional.
Fast forward to now - teeth 3 & 4 are in. There have been some red cheek days, but nothing like teeth 1 & 2 coming in. So I am sure beyond all doubt that this wonderful necklace made a huge difference to my little guy and reduced the suffering he had to go through.
In preparing to write this I went back over the details as to how these amazing necklaces work and well I've been telling to incorrectly. But I am sure you will forgive me - when I first got this I was sleep deprived, but just knew somehow it would work for my little one. I'd said it was drawing the acid out of the body and creating healing that way (which I think is relevant to the Hazelwood necklaces.) Oh well, here is really how it works!:
Baltic Amber is a resin and as it warms when in contact with the skin it releases healing oils containing succinic acid in, which is then absorbed through the skin and carried around the wearer's bloodstream. It has been used for hundreds of years as a natural pain relief.
The beads are non toxic and the string that holds them is knotted at each bead, so you need not worry about them scattering if it breaks, which it should do if necessary. This is another reason to not worry excessively about safety. The wonderful screw clasp closer is great and makes sense to me immensely.
12" necklaces are recommended for 0-3 years. The best way to measure your baby's neck is to use a soft string of wool, drape it around, mark it, then when removed - measure the length. It should not be long enough to be able to get into baby's mouth.
You are advised to remove for bathing - we don't always but then we only use organic baby cleaning products in the bath anyway.
So impressed am I about how well this has worked for my boy - I am ordering some as gifts and also one for myself to help with the joint pain I have suffered with all my living memory.
Hazelwood products also help with teething, eczema, acid reflux, digestive issues, joint pain and challenges due to excess acid in the body. As my son only has experienced teething issues so far we have just stuck with the Baltic Amber range.
Words do really fail to capture how pleased I am with this product and that I would not hesitate to recommend it very highly. I am not a gimmicky person and I never imagined I would put jewellery on my son, but I am very happy that I did!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Have baby - will travel!
We are back from our 12 day trip (2 lost to the actual travelling) we have had a wonderful time and our son was just an excellent traveller.
Whilst it was not easy, he certainly made it breezy! Coming back we had way more things than we set off with - as family and friends generously gave him presents. Our boy has a very good nature, but I don't think we can give all the credit to that....
The journey was well planned out, I tried to keep meal times on schedule and with the outbound flight, being a night flight, we brought bedtime stories etc. The return leg was a daytime flight and the baby carrier came in very handy for this and I did not feel guilty walking the aisles to help him sleep.
For his ears - we just gave him some baby tylenol 20 mins before take off and landing and gave him his soother and well he seemed to fair better than we did!
So rested and relaxed was he, that as we waited for those without children to disembark first, he smiled, giggled and generally cheered up all the passengers as they left the plane.
I am sure that the journey would have been a lot tougher without bringing all basic provisions and also with a less mellow fellow. All in all though we are all delighted to be back home, he is especially pleased to see all his toys that he has been parted from for nearly two weeks - I couldn't pack everything!
Will now get back on schedule with articles!
Whilst it was not easy, he certainly made it breezy! Coming back we had way more things than we set off with - as family and friends generously gave him presents. Our boy has a very good nature, but I don't think we can give all the credit to that....
The journey was well planned out, I tried to keep meal times on schedule and with the outbound flight, being a night flight, we brought bedtime stories etc. The return leg was a daytime flight and the baby carrier came in very handy for this and I did not feel guilty walking the aisles to help him sleep.
For his ears - we just gave him some baby tylenol 20 mins before take off and landing and gave him his soother and well he seemed to fair better than we did!
So rested and relaxed was he, that as we waited for those without children to disembark first, he smiled, giggled and generally cheered up all the passengers as they left the plane.
I am sure that the journey would have been a lot tougher without bringing all basic provisions and also with a less mellow fellow. All in all though we are all delighted to be back home, he is especially pleased to see all his toys that he has been parted from for nearly two weeks - I couldn't pack everything!
Will now get back on schedule with articles!
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