e-Update January 2012

FOCUS ON> School Transitions, New Friendships, Back to School Tips and Essentials, 'Colour Blindness'

Welcome to our January/Back to School issue!

Enjoying the summer holiday break?  It seems the festive season has only just finished... and now we find ourselves gearing up again for the new school year....

How is your back to school shopping list looking?  There is still time to order online, and we can show you some great sites for school bags, lunch boxes, drink bottles, notebooks, pencil cases, and more... many of which can be personalised!

Some kids will be experiencing education milestones, new schools or new areas of their school, and we have some great resources and expert articles to help with these school transitions and friendships.

We also explore education issues surrounding 'colour blindness', a condition which is more common than you may think!

Coming Soon... research skills, getting your kids crafty, first aid for kids...

Don't miss!... World Wetlands Day, Safer Internet Day, Random Acts of Kindness Week... poetry, writing, photographic competitions for kids... and more! See 'event listings' and 'kids competitions' below.

There's still time to be involved as a Parent Advocate for Asian Languages and Studies... Parent Advocates from 75 schools nationwide will undertake conversations and projects in their school communities about the benefits of the study of Asian cultures and languages! Click here to learn more

Preparing Kids for a Healthy School Year- by the Editor

As long summer days of fun in the sun and family holidays come to an end, families are preparing for the start of a new school year.  ‘Back to school’ is a frantic time for parents with so many things to organise, but the start of a new school year is also a great time to start afresh with healthy resolutions...

Making Friends at a New School: A Guide for Parents- by the Editor

At this time of year many children – and their parents - will have not only a new school year to look forward to but also perhaps starting at a new school.  Maybe the family have moved neighbourhoods, states or even country and so in December it was ‘Goodbye’ to old classmates, well known corridors and familiarity with the school rules...

School Transitions: Parents Do Make a Difference- by Angie Wilcock

Whether our children are moving from pre-school to 'big school', primary to secondary, or secondary to tertiary or the work place, parents ALWAYS have a role to play - significantly different in each phase, but a role nonetheless...

A Lesson in Colour: Is your Child Colour Blind?- by Dennis R. Overton

Imagine as a child not being able to read off a screen or board or out of a book and not know why? Not being able to pick up a coloured pencil and colour the little frog red; or unable to distinguish ripe or unripe fruit or follow colour coded instructions on a web page...

On Now: The 'Tintin' Competition

Enter for your chance to WIN one set of 3 Tintin character books (one copy of Tintin, one copy of Captain Haddock, one copy of Snowy)! Full of fascinating information, these books are a delight to behold, and include Herge's brilliant early sketches of these famous characters.

...ends January 27.

On Now: The 'Skills Handbook' Competition

This clear and concise Skills Handbook is aimed at helping students in Years 6-8 to plan, research and complete their school assignments and projects.

...ends February 17.

Just login, and click for your chance to WIN!

Congratulations to:

P. Watters, of Port Macquarie, NSW, the winner of the YourKidsEd 'Table Topics' Competition; and K. Crowe of Budgewoi, NSW / K. Young, of Rippleside, VIC / and F. Christmass of Ballajura, WA, the winners of the YourKidsEd 'Big Book' Competition

Thank you to all our members who entered the draws!

What's On over the next 4 weeks?

• 2012 - National Year of Reading, Australian Year of the Farmer, International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
• Healthy Weight Week - January 22-29
• Australia Day- January 26
• Summer Reading Club - All Summer
• World Wetlands Day - February 2
• Safer Internet Day - February 7
• Random Acts of Kindness Week - February 13-19
• Library Lovers Day - February 14
• Galileo's Birthday - February 15

Go to Events and Exhibitions

Competitions and Challenges for Kids

• Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon 2012 - various dates
• Adelaide Plains Poets Poetry Competition 2012 - entries Close January 27
• Summer Sizzlers - Summer Holiday Writing Competition 2012 - entries close January 27
• Lens Mist Photographic Award and Exhibition 2012 - entries close 31 January
• Rio+20 Global Youth Music Contest 2012 - entries close 15 February
• Laura Literary Awards 2012 - entries Close February 17

Go to Kids Competitions

This month's featured kids link

Teen Reads This website has some great resources on reading for teens, latest books, blog, book reviews, author bios and some guides to help teens lead a good discussion with their friends...

• Price Hikes Contribute to High Cost of Education...
• Digital Education Revolution Update for New Year 2012 ...
• Australian Students Abandoning Science in Years 11 and 12...
• Extra Help for Families with Teenagers Who Stay in School...

See all our latest posts!

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