Have you read Peter and the Wolf to your kids yet? If not - why not get a book out from the library (perhaps with a CD) or check out the following links. It's an absolute masterpiece by Prokofiev and a such a fine example of how music and instruments can be used to paint characters, describe moods or even convey what happens in the story!

Recently Se-ma-for Studios (Poland) have done an award winning animation of the story, check this out!

"Being a Great Dad For Dummies" - the new bible for 21st century dads. Our latest book delivers the most comprehensive guide yet for a new generation of fully involved fathers. Packed with loads of resources and tips to help dads engage with their children right from birth. "Being a Great Dad For Dummies" is the perfect gift for new fathers and an absolute MUST for dads who are already familiar with other "For Dummies" books.

After the success of our first book "Call Me Dad" we were looking to take practical fathering guides to the next level - so we teamed up with Wiley and the For Dummies series to deliver a "no bull", super-easy to understand and practical guide to fatherhood.

If you've run out of ideas on what to do with your little one, your toolbox typically provides a welcome relief to find new things to play with for a while. I just discovered that you can keep a 3 year old entertained for several hours by letting him play with a standard tape measure (the ones that roll up automatically). He discovered seemingly endless ways to use it - measure stuff, see how far it goes, work out how to lock it in position, see how fast the blade rolls up or holding down the hook and letting it roll up across the floor / table.

So far he hasn't managed to break it (yet) ... and the novelty hasn't worn off either. What more can you ask for?

Enjoy

-Stef

Congratulations to Mikaela Bowmar who won a copy of "Being A Great Dad for Dummies" in a competition Plunket ran for us this week. Her response to the funniest lines new dads came up with got chosen as the winner by Plunket's Facebook fans.

Mikeala's story: "I got two lines on a pregnancy test and my husband said, 'Oh wow, we're having twins!'. The baby turned out to be nearly 10lbs at birth so we had a running joke for a while that he ate his twin."

If you want to get your own copy of Being a Great Dad for Dummies and support Plunket, head over to the new Plunket shop and buy the book online.

Best wishes,

Stefan

Great talk by Rowan Simpson about lies, lying and cheating. Very entertaining and a gentle reminder for all of us parents to take the higher ground with our children and not just follow old traditions and the beaten path of social conventions.

Enjoy,

Stefan

DIYFather's second book "Being a Great Dad for Dummies" has been officially launched and is now available at high street retailers and online bookstores. Following the success of "Call Me Dad" (DIYFather's bestselling first book) "Being a Great Dad for Dummies" delivers a comprehensive no bull guide for the next generation of dads with practical information and tips from pregnancy to school-age. Here's the release description from our publishers Wiley & Sons:

Be the coolest and calmest Dad on the block!
Whether you're about to become a Dad for the first time or you're a father wishing to become more actively involved in raising your children, Being a Great Dad For Dummies is your new bible! Packed with loads of resources and tips for engaging with your child right from birth, this user-friendly guide to fatherhood is written by fathers for fathers.

Here's a simple idea for an hour of boredom-relief on a rainy day when you're stuck inside with a pre-schooler. Get them to practice their hand-eye co-ordination with a few rounds of indoors golf or indoors basketball. All you need is a small soft ball (or anything that's light, small and can be thrown without causing damage), a bucket / pot and a few large cups.

Indoor basketball with pre-schoolers:
1) Clear some space in the living room and place the bucket next to a wall
2) Take a few steps back from the bucket location and mark a spot from where you're going to throw the ball
3) Show your little person how to throw the ball into the bucket and get them to do it as well

You can vary the difficulty by increasing distance or using smaller buckets / pots.

Indoor golf with pre-schoolers:

Here's another project from our friends at makeitruby.com - make a personalised canvas beach bag! Join the movement & design your own beach tote bag. A canvas tote bag is an environmentally friendly alternative to paper or plastic.

What you need: canvas tote bag, fabric paint, washable glitter paint, fabric markers

1. Pick a canvas bag you like (you can buy them in crafts & materials shops, fabric stores, some conveniences stores etc)
2. Decorate your tote with words, phrases & drawings that SCREAM you.
3. Trace over your design with a washable glitter paint to make it sparkle

Done!

By MakeItRuby.com

Did you know 80 per cent of children’s learning happens visually? So being able to focus clearly on the blackboard, computer screen and school books is crucial to your child’s development. Did you also know that an estimated one in five New Zealand primary school children may have an undiagnosed eye condition stopping them from doing just that?

Oamaru optometrist and EYEPRO professional, Brian Denny, says nearly 100,000 Kiwi kids have vision-related learning difficulties which can affect their writing, comprehension of visual information, concentration and behaviour. Current Ministry of Health vision screening for kindergarten and primary school children is not targeted to pick up those other vision problems that can cause a child’s fine motor skills (needed to read and write) to work incorrectly.

I just found this gem of a toy the other day - a mini table tennis set. It is JUST BRILLIANT! You can use it with children from the age of 3 ... but you can also use it on a Friday afternoon in the office for a round of office Olympics (show your co-workers who's daddy! ... or at least who is good at mini table tennis). The sets typically come with two paddles, a little net and net poles and a table tennis ball. All you need is a table. The poles have got suction cups so should work on all smooth table surfaces. It's all about half the size of a normal table tennis table (except for the ball) so don't actually need a lot of space.