Well maybe  www.kidstickers.co.za can help out.  Take a look at their website and you will find all kinds of labels you can personalise. From book labels to shoe stickers to ringtags for their togbags. The iron stickers are a great and easy way to label all the school clothing. So no need to stress about the lost property any more. Just label it!

Don’t forget to check out the gift stickers. Great way to personalise vouchers and envelopes!

EQUAL ZEAL: FAMILY FUN DAY SAT 20 NOV

WHEN: Saturday, 20 November 2010, 12:00 a.m – 5:00 p.m

WHERE Maritime Bushveld Estate, 71 Romney Avenue, Chartwell North

WHAT: Bring your picnic basket, brollies & blankets and join us for an afternoon of family activities for all ages on our eco-estate with nature walks, buck and prolific wildlife!

COST:Enter our “Zeal for Life® Challenge” at R50 per family and be prepared for lots of adventure, fun and laughter… with prizes for the winning teams!

THEME: “Dare to be different!”
Get up, Dress up and show up in your wildest wackiest gear to show your family spirit!

Bring your picnic basket or buy food from our stalls and theme your picnic spot to win a prize.

ALL AGES WELCOME

To gain entry to our family fun day please contribute a Christmas Day picnic hamper for a disadvantaged family.
To RSVP or for further details email info@equalzeal.com

Through hosting this road show throughout the country it is our goal at Equal Zeal® to elevate the importance of healthy and well balanced lifestyles in families. For us this unique family seminar will connect children and their parents to healthy information, products and services that will enable them to make informed decisions about their everyday lives as well as about their futures. Join us on

5 Sep (Muldersdrift, JHB),
12 Sep (The Breakers Resort, KZN),
19 Sep (Menlyn Park Shopping Centre, PTA)
26 Sep (The Riverclub, CT).

R295/adult, R95/teenager and children < 13 years FREE. Bookings through Computicket. Open your heart and show kindness by donating towards a charity project exhibiting at the event. Visit http://equalzeal.com for more info.

By Janneke van Ysendyk

Recycling is the third of the three Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle). So before we list the four reasons to recycle, we need to remind you that …

■The first step is to try to reduce the amount you consume – if you don’t need it, don’t buy it – and you’ll reduce the amount of waste you generate.
■When you do buy something, choose a brand that has the least amount of packaging or the kind that can be reused, recycled or composted. And look for products that are as Earth-friendly as possible.
■Look also for products that are made from recycled material, if there’s a demand for recycled plastic products, for example, more plastic will be recycled and less will end up in landfill or polluting the oceans. Also less virgin material will have to be mined or grown. Remember, what you buy influences what’s made.
■Before you throw something away, think first if there’s any way it can be reused. Can you grow seedlings in it or use it to hold paper clips or wrap a birthday present? Can it be given to a charity shop or a children’s home? This may sound obvious, but we’ve been living in a disposable culture for so long that some of us forget to ask these kinds of questions.

To find out four good reasons to re-cycle visit:

 http://www.treevolution.co.za/guide-to-recycling-in-sa/

Janneke van Ysendyk

We wish Melanie great success with her recently opened After School Tutoring and Homework Facility!

Urban Scholars is an after school Homework supervision centre. With pick up from schools . There will be tutors in 3 days a week giving tutorials and helping with homework. Conveniently located on Blouberg

Read more here

 My son is five and a few months ago, while playing soccer after school, he was told by his soccer coach to “either keep up with the team, or go and sit with the babies…”

 My poor darling was obviously very upset and it took a lot of coaxing to get him to go back to soccer. Secretly, I was horrified and ready to have words with the guy. Who does he think he is talking to a five year old that way? Isn’t sport supposed to be fun at their age?

 I had a chat to my father (an old Wynberg Boy) about it – who laughed! My son is going into Grade 1 next year at SACs and as my father pointed out, he’s going to have to toughen up if he wants to survive at big school.

 That got me thinking. On the one hand we need to encourage our kids to play sport, and at that age it is supposed to be a fun, positive experience. On the other hand team work is part of that experience and my dad is right, I don’t want my child to be bullied or laughed at when he gets to the more competitive arena of an all boys school next year. Perhaps it is better if he ‘toughens up’ now?

 As a parent you sometimes have to resist the urge to protect your child too much, yet still keep a watchful eye. It’s a fine line.

 Yours in Informed Parenting,

Biba Pearce

Editor – www.parentinghub.co.za

The Benefits of Sport for Kids

 There is no doubt that participating in sport is essential for growing children.  It encourages general health and fitness, develops the muscular skeletal system (builds muscles and creates strong bones), maximises the flow of oxygen around the body, helps kids to feel great (all those endorphins) and even allows them to experience team work and develop a sense of belonging.

Research has shown that children that participate in sport have power and performance advantages over their peers. They are generally fitter and get sick less often than kids who do not participate in any sporting activities.

Reasons to get your child involved in sport:

• To feel successful – regular exercise and sport improves self-image, self-esteem and self-confidence.
• To be able to play and share an enjoyable activity with friends and family members – the need to interact with friends and family socially and to spend time away from the daily challenges of life is met in this way.
• To experience a variety of physical activities – variety is the spice of life and this is the time to expose your child to as wide a variety of physically challenging exercises and sporting events. Specialising in one activity should be left for much later in life.
• To feel challenged (especially during the 8-12 year period) – keeping youngsters challenged to progress and not just perform, to set realistic goals and to help them achieve these goals is a valuable lesson in living a successful life at any age. However, parents and coaches must beware of “pushing” gifted children too much.
• To be part of a team – being part of a team makes a child feel socially accepted and opens up a wide variety of positive learning experiences – such as sharing and not just hogging the limelight; being responsible and not letting the team down by practicing hard and doing their best; and taking successes and the failures in their stride.
• To have fun and not necessarily compete – having fun is a healthy and positive way of letting off steam and getting rid of excess energy, stress and tension. However, adults should place more emphasis on participation rather than performance.
• To be allowed to progress at his own pace – the greatest gift a parent or coach can give a child is to encourage him to progress at his own pace. Children who are praised for their effort and hard work (not just their ability) and who are taught that “effort” is the key to success will keep on trying even after failure and will feel challenged to take on progressively more difficult tasks
• To be able to choose what exercise or sport they wish to participate in – being able to make choices gives a child a sense of control over her life. Parents can help by encouraging children to take part in as many different activities and new learning experiences as are practically possible. However, don’t manipulate, let them make the choice!

 Schools offer a wide range of sporting activities for growing children but reasons for joining in are very different in pre-schoolers compared to high school learners. Ask an 8 year old why he’s doing ball skills at school and he’ll answer, “Because it’s fun”. 

 It’s important for parents (and teachers) to realise that they should encourage children to participate in sport and allow them to enjoy themselves. It’s not about winning, it’s about having fun.

 A child’s first experience with sport should be a positive one.  If a child’s first sporting experience is a negative one, they’ll grow up reluctant to participate and view their poor sporting performance as a form of failure.

 On the other hand participating in a fun, team sport with lots of positive encouragement and feedback will be tremendously rewarding for kids as well has having a positive influence on their mental and physical wellbeing.

 I recently attended a workshop hosted by Equal Zeal and one of the guest speakers, Jeanne Viljoen of  Be Organised gave us some valuable tips on how to be more organised at home. Not just for us moms, but also how you can help your kids to be more organised.

Save time, be more organised, and spend more quality fun time together. Have a look at Jeanne’s website and I am sure you will find some useful tips.

Janneke van Ysendyk

The School Shop

The reason it grabbed my attention, is that I often hear mom’s complaining that their children just don’t want to read.

Perhaps creating a social event out of  reading would make it more attractive? Surely this works when it comes to many Mom’s that meet for regular Book Club meets.

Read the article here.

 ” I  run two book clubs for my kids and participates in a book club for my last kid.  My kids think that book club is their very favorite activity in the entire world.  I notice that there seem to be two schools of thought when creating a book club.  One version is a parent/child book club that tends to be a little more structured and literary.  My book clubs are more along the lines of an organized play group centered around creating interest in reading ……. read more

Nicky Panton

The School Shop Team

Read about Mariana de Sousa  and how The Rockstar Foundation  are helping this young lady achieve dreams that might not  have been possible.

The School Shop will be supplying Mariana with the sleeping bag and towel that she needs. We would love to hear from our Users and Facebook Fans in the Western Cape should they wish to add to this donation!