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You might find this hard to believe. But I am bor You might find this hard to believe. But I am borderline introverted (50/50). I know I know 🙈 if you watch me teach LIVE masterclasses, in-person workshops, or even just when I do IG stories or IG lives, you’ll probably go “You are NOT an introvert!” “You have too much energy” 🤣 Whilst that is true, I am honestly one of those sitting right smack in the middle and I have tendencies for both personality traits. Which usually means that after a big event or project like the most recent PPA enrolment where I’m constantly talking to people, I just need to withdraw into my own little corner and just BE with me, myself and my own thoughts. This is also true in my day to day life of being a mama to 3 little girls who are constantly chatting and in my face and on my body #ALLTHELIVELONGDAY And because I know this about myself, the fact that I need to recharge, I know that at some point in the day after giving giving giving and talking talking talking, I just NEED to withdraw and not talk. I NEED to not have to engage with any of my children and just have the time and space to be by myself, even if it’s only for 10 minutes, sitting in the same space as my child, her sisters napping, she playing independently and me folding laundry haha. #YouTakeWhatYouCanGet She did ask me if I could play with her and I said I will play with her IN 10 MIN (I asked her to watch the clock and tell me when 10 min was up) I am not going to feel guilty about NOT wanting to engage with her. I am not going to feel guilty about NOT wanting to talk to her. I am not going to feel guilty about wanting 10 minutes for myself. I NEED this personal time for ME, and for THEM, so that I can show up BETTER for them in the rest of our time together. If you’re anything like me and need some “alone” or quiet time in the day to recharge, please don’t feel guilty that you have to say no to your children at times to say yes to yourself. Saying no to them doesn’t make you a bad mum. Saying yes to yourself while they are around doesn’t make you a bad mum. If anything, it makes you a better mum, because you are INTENTIONAL about creating boundaries to ensure you can continue to give ❤️
If you’ve been following me for longer than 3 mi If you’ve been following me for longer than 3 minutes, you’d know that I’m a firm believer in the importance of setting up a space that would encourage children to play creatively and independently, and knowing the role YOU play in helping them to engage more meaningfully in their play. It’s NOT about setting up more activities to ENTERTAIN your children. It’s NOT about keeping them occupied, less bored, out of trouble or DISTRACTING them from bouncing off walls. Rather, it’s about levaging the benefits of having A PREPARED SPACE so children feel the magnetic pull of engaging in meaningful play. It’s about giving them the gift of experiencing the JOY of self-discovery and self-directed play. The gift of experiencing the WONDERS of learning through play in a meaningful and authentic way. This weekend, I’ve put together an incredible BUNDLE of 4 of my best and upcoming resources to help you set up the environment and clearly know your role in helping your children to engage in play. 1) The Comprehensive Guide to Raising Creativity Kids through Having a Home Art Space (ebook) 2) 31 Invitations to Create (ebook) 3) The Art of the Invitation (ebook) 4) Authentic Learning (online workshop on 26 Mar) I created these resources for the parents who desire to create a more playful, open, safe and imaginative environment for their kids’ CREATIVITY and INDEPENDENCE to flourish and help them LEARN in the process. THIS WEEKEND ONLY, get ALL 4 resources for over 50% off!! Link in bio 🙂 p.s. share the love and let a friend know!!
One of the BIGGEST myths about play is that “Pla One of the BIGGEST myths about play is that “Play is a child’s work” and so given a bunch of toys or activities, they should just happily go play for hours no? . “I feel crazy thinking that it hadn’t occurred to me that I’d have to teach him how to play with these items despite teaching him everything else like brushing teeth and dressing. Mad that I just thought he’d see them and know what to do.” (DM I received). . “This idea of my role in playing with my child, it was like a breath of fresh air, as the common knowledge was - let them get bored and they’d start playing on their own. But that didn’t work with my child. She would just end up playing in non-constructive ways. When I spend time with her, she learns, she takes what she wants from that and she is much more engaged after. Thanks for sharing that insight Jules!” (DM I received) THE TRUTH IS while play is a child’s work, play is also a LEARNED SKILL and is dependent on the amount of experiences and exposure given to children. For example, all children can and will learn how to talk and walk in their own time. You cannot rush it. You cannot force it. But, it’s often the case that a child learns to walk or talk because a loving parent is there holding their hands and supporting them to take the first few steps or repeatedly encouraging them to say “ma ma, can you say ma ma?” . Doors to PPA are closing at midnight tonight!! I’d love to show you how you can clearly understand the role YOU play in your child’s play and how to help them LEARN and engage in SUSTAINED SELF-DIRECTED play. Click on the link in bio to sign up now :)
So my husband Dan and I recently did something we' So my husband Dan and I recently did something we've never done before! We went LIVE together and I interviewed him!! Mums often reach out to me saying "I love the things you share about play, but my husband/partner is NOT on board" "My husband hates messy play" "My partner doesn't want the living room to be cluttered with toys" And so, Dan kindly came on LIVE with me and shared his perspective 🙂 The first thing he said was "I don't like it too!" But then he continued, "But I know it's beneficial for the kids and that's what I'm gonna go with!" Throughout the LIVE, he also shared many more of his honest perspectives, some of which I laughed at, some of which I was shocked at! But the biggest GEM of the night has got to be this story he told at the end where he shared a recent encounter he had with a friend. His friend asked "You guys have 3 kids, how do you make sure you're not SCREWING UP your kids?" And my amazing husband's response? "When you ask that question, you are coming from a very defensive mentality. Instead of preventing the worst, as parents, shouldn't our hearts be to help our children BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE and reach their fullest potential? We should adopt a WINNING mentality!" #HeIsSoWIse #CantBelieveIMarriedHim I just absolutely love what he said and I can't agree more!! That IS the parent heart isn't it?? To give our children the best To give them the best version of us To help them BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE and step into their fullest potential And that is really my heart behind my program Playful Parent Academy I want to help you give your children the very best! I want them to experience THE JOY of being able to engage in SUSTAINED SELF-DIRECTED play! I want them to experience THE WONDERS of learning through play in such an AUTHENTIC & meaningful way And for you mama, I want you to experience the most ABUNDANT & FULFILLING motherhood you can possible have!! Because these little years go by so quick and our children are such incredible sponges during these formative years. Doors to PPA close Mon 3 Feb 11.59pm AWST friend! Link to sign up is in my bio. I can’t wait to welcome you & walk this journey of playful parenting with you!☺
Can I be real for a minute? You may or may not be Can I be real for a minute? You may or may not believe it but every single day, I’m still a little bit in shock that this is what I GET to do. I get to coach mums on how to engage with their children meaningfully through play and have them play independently for hours so that they can enjoy this season of motherhood they’re in. When I first fell pregnant back in 2015 and was getting ready to be a SAHM, I honestly thought that was it. And I was so excited about it! I was and still am the kind of person that would be completely happy and fulfilled just being a SAHM. But as the days went by, a message started to grow inside of me and as it grew stronger, I knew it was a message that I needed to share with the world. But there was a problem. I didn’t really know how to get my message out. I had so many limited beliefs within myself and I was basically stuck. And that’s when I decided I needed to INVEST in people who have the knowledge or skills, or the experience of having walked the path I wanted to walk so that with their guidance, I could get to where I wanted to go more EFFICIENTLY and do what I wanted to do more EFFECTIVELY. With @mumswithhustle, amongst many other things I learnt from her, I learnt to show up, feel the fear and do it anyway. I think I accomplished that this week when just before I taught a LIVE masterclass to over 300 parents from all over the world, I threw up in the bathroom from nerves haha #BetYouCouldntTell With @hopscotchbrandingstudio, I learnt the difference between brand and branding, how to communicate my message effectively, and that it’s so much more than visual branding. And finally with @songyknox, I learnt how to NOT try and appeal to the masses with a diluted message. My story and my work is not for everyone, and that’s ok! So I honour these incredible ladies, for how brilliant they are in their respective fields and for how they’ve each invividually played a massive role in where I am now in my business, and for giving me the gift of being able to walk in alignment with my life purpose. Do you have someone you’d like to honour today? Tag them and let them know 👇🏼☺️
Did you know that how a toy, activity or experienc Did you know that how a toy, activity or experience is presented... matters? I call it the art of the invitation. To put it simply, it is essentially a way of offering activities and materials to children in an inviting way. Because it determines whether children notice an activity in the first place. It determines whether their interests are piqued and therefore whether they want to engage with a particular setup. It determines whether they actually see the limitless possibilities of open-ended toys and whether their imaginations are sparked. Now just a note that inviting does not mean an elaborate set up. It’s simply a way to ENTICE them to engage in play, by either using a prompt that’s related to their current interests, or setting up activities in a way that’s new, interesting or in a way that they’ve never been exposed to before and leaving it for them to discover or chance upon which they often do. It does not have to be fancy. In fact, the simpler the better. Children often derive the most fun from the PROCESS of creating their play from a simple prompt, rather than a fully decked out play scene that you have spent 20 minutes creating for them. Keep the set up really simple and minimal with a scene that’s rather open-ended to allow children to create their own storyline and add props to it as they wish. I’ll be sharing so much more of my secrets on how to get children to ENGAGE in play, and how to get them playing independently for longer during my free masterclass on Thurs! Almost 1000 of you have signed up already and I can’t wait to hang out with you guys in the class! It’s still not too late to join us and if you’re interested, the link to sign up is in my bio. See you there! ❤️
I first heard of this quote several years ago, quo I first heard of this quote several years ago, quoted by my pastor during a regular Sunday service and it’s stuck with me ever since. It’s one of those quotes that really resonated deep within my soul and it’s a reminder that I’ve firmly taken with me on my journey of motherhood, in particularly my stay at home motherhood. As the first generation of parents raising our children in the age of social media where “research says” abounds, where the lines between reality and highlight reels are blurred, it can be so easy for us to get caught up about DOING all the “right” things even when it comes to play. On how often we should rotate our toys, researching on the best open-ended toy to invest in, the developmental benefits of play, creating the most beautiful small world play etc, that we lose sight of the single most important and valuable thing that we can do for our children, and that is of simply BE-ING. BEING there to connect BEING there to listen and observe BEING there to play BEING there to JUST BE, without needing to turn every opportunity into a teaching moment. I’m not saying forget about learning more about toy rotation, or open-ended toys, or the benefits of the different types of play, or creating play invitations or watching out for those golden teachable moments for that matter. You know I’m all about those! But when we let the most important thing remain the most important thing, everything else will find it’s own place and purpose and it will be EASIER to do all the other things. So let’s go back to basics shall we, and be the human BE-INGS that we are meant to be. Who’s with me? ☺️🙋🏻‍♀️
A while ago, I had a conversation with a lovely ma A while ago, I had a conversation with a lovely mama & she said "I love the idea of play but I don't really like to play with my kids. I mean I like the idea of playing but I don't know how to engage them in play." And then she continued "The kids constantly only want my attention. I'm thinking why did I buy all the nice toys just to have them sit looking pretty on the shelf?" When I read that, I honestly just wanted to reach through the screen of my phone and hug her #TrueStory The FRUSTRATION she must be feeling from constantly having to entertain the kids, feeling like you’re doing so much yet seemingly not doing enough. The MOM GUILT she must be feeling from admitting that she actually didn't enjoy playing with her children. The PINCH of spending money on toys that seemed more bad investment than good, drowning in toys and yet feeling like you really don't have much. Thoughts of whether she was a good mum. But above all, I felt THE IMMENSE LOVE she had for her kids, reaching out to learn, grow in her knowledge of how she could be more effective in setting up the most conducive environment for engaging her children in play. Engaging your children in play doesn't have to be painful, boring or hard. It can and should be easy and simple. I was a fully qualified early childhood teacher for several years and learnt how to engage children in play. And then I became mum to 3 kids. In 3 years I might add! #BestJobInTheWorld Which meant I had to learn how to engage my kids in play on top of running a household semi-decently. #SoManyThingsToDoSoLittleTime I'm so excited to share that I've taken EVERYTHING I KNOW as an early childhood teacher as well as a SAHM of 3 kids under 4 and I’m sharing all my secrets in a FREE online masterclass, teaching you how to confidently engage in play with your child, connect with & get them playing independently for longer so that they will have a wonderful childhood and YOU mama get to enjoy your motherhood. I'm passionate about all the benefits that play brings and as a teacher I see it as my mission to bring awareness to the power and importance of play in the early years. 👇🏼
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