PLASTICSFOR

AFRICAwww.plasticsforafrica.com

SHOP 20, SOMERSET VALUE MART, SOMERSET WEST

Tel: 021-8524007

THE ORIGINAL PLASTICS SHOP

Sand and Play Tables

Educational Toys

Educational Puzzles

Playtime Arts and CraftsEducational Books

Party Buckets

Kiddies Tables R168Kiddies Junior Armless Chairs R 38.95

Valid until end of March 2012 – while stocks last

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Early development is child’s playHELAINE SPIES­KRUGER

FROM a very young agechildren feel the need to

move, explore and develop.Parents often compare

their children’s developmentwith other children the sameage – and if their babydoesn’t walk on time, theyget worried. But when is yourchild just a late bloomer, andwhen must you start toworry about your child’s mo­tor skills?

As children differ in theirphysical abilities, so do theydiffer in their motor develop­

ment process and needs.Certain factors may hindertheir development; for ex­ample, a difficult birth canmake your child a slowlearner, non­achiever or latedeveloper.

It is very important thatyour child take part in amotor­development pro­gramme from an early ageto enable him or her to opti­mally develop motor skills(such as coordination,rhythm, balance, laterality,reaction time, agility andspatial orientation); fitness;social skills (taking turns,

sharing, workingtogether, develop­ing leadership);psychologicalwellbeing(healthy self es­teem and com­petitive spirit);and intellectualand perceptualskills (problem­solving, eye fit­ness, concentra­tion, listeningskills).

HSK Kinetics& Sport Skills isa local com­pany that useschild kineticsas a scientificprogramme to

enable children to work withtheir peers, in a group andindividually.

The aim of child kineticsis to help your child reachtheir full potential, and pre­pare them for any kind ofsport or academic pursuit.

To follow is some adviceto help your child’s brain de­velop:

) Avoid TV as much aspossible before the age of12. Select programmes care­fully. Watch and discuss thecontent with your children.Afterwards, go outside andgive your eyes a break.

) Read, talk and play withyour children. Encourageyour older children to reada book before watching amovie. Taking time to talkwith your children is ex­tremely important.

) Children’s senses get

over­stimulated byeveryday noise and brightlights, so let them out intonature. This teaches themabout sounds, textures,smells and tastes, amongother things.

) Develop your child’sgross motor skills by encour­aging them to run, jump,climb and use a skippingrope. Household chores,cooking, baking bread, knit­ting, woodwork, fingergames, painting, drawingand other such activitieshelp develop fine motorskills.

) Most importantly,make time to relax with yourchildren.

You can contact HelaineSpies­Kruger of HSK Kinetics& Sportskills on0 076 618 7061 for moreinformation.

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PlaytimePlaytimefavouritesfavouritesTOYS are not only for fun

and entertainment –they’re also useful to chil­dren as they stimulate im­agination, enhance creativereasoning skills, teach basicmathematics and word rec­ognition, and, through dra­matic play, can illustratehow to deal with variousscenarios life presents.

Obviously, most childrendon’t think of those thingswhen they drag out their fa­vourite doll or car. The onlything on a child’s mind is tohave some fun. DistrictMailasked a few children fromthree Helderberg pre­primaries – Talanja, Playwayand Bizweni – what their fa­vourite toy is and why.

Luke Rule (4) from SomersetWest: “I like motorbikes be­cause they are fast! I don’thave one but I would reallylike one for Christmas.”

Jessy Jooste (4) from Som­erset West: “My Dora the Ex­plorer doll is my favourite. Ieven have the Dora clothes,towel, blanket and pillow.”

Arno Kellerman (4) fromSomerset West: “My mommyand daddy bought me theseLego warrior men with zebra­skin jackets. I like them be­cause they have no shoes andwalk barefoot.”

Zayna Dollie (5) from Som­erset West: “My toy box is fullof Bratz barbies, and myfriends and I have lots of funwhen we play with them.”

Dewald Foster (6) fromSomerset West: “My favour­ite toy is my PlayStation be­cause I have a lot of games.I have Spiderman, Ben 10 andTransformers.”

Emily Duminy (4) from Som­erset West: “I love my Barbiedolls because I can dressthem up the whole day.”

Nikyle Hoskins (5) fromSomerset West: “I like myhelicopter because itflies high up in the sky.”

Audrey Khununi (4) fromSomerset West: “I love mydolly, Piggy, because she hastwo bags and a lot of shoesand clothes.”

Jordan Slamat (4) fromSomerset West: “I play withmy Ben 10 puzzles everyday.I have two but I would likemore because I have to takethe puzzle apart and rebuildit every time.”

Wadelee Tolman (5) fromStrand: “I like riding my pinkbicycle, but my mommy saysI must only ride in the yard,not in the road.”

Blaze Roos (3) from Somer­set West: “I like playing withmy wheelbarrow because Ican put a lot of stuff in it.”

Grace Millard (5) from Som­erset West: “I have a monkeycalled Kerris George and heis adorable! I love him.”

Zihaad Pickering (5) fromStrand: “I have a very cool car;it is a five­wheeler with thebiggest tyres ever, and brightlights!”

Abigail Chevers (5) fromSomerset West: “I love mypuppy dog, Funny, becausehe is fluffy and snuggly, buthe isn’t real.”

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EAGLEEAGLEENCOUNTERSENCOUNTERS

WWW.EAGLE-ENCOUNTERS.CO.ZA

Bird of Prey Rehabilitation, Education & Eco-Tourism Centre

Have YOU been touchedBy an Eagle today?

Personal Encounters with OWLS & EAGLES

4 Unique & Interactive Falconry Flying

Shows Daily

Dancing Barn Owls

Children’s Playground & Parties

School Groups & Private Viewings

Visit us at Spier Wine Estate, Baden Powell Drive (R310), StellenboschTel: 021-858 1826 Cell: 084-584 3684 email: eagles@telkomsa.net

Have YOU been touchedBy an Eagle today?

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Lunchtime treatsLunchtime treatsSpoil your kids and

make their schooldays by packing theseeasy­to­make and deli­cious lunch­box treats in­stead of the usual sand­wiches.

According to chef Markdu Plessis from SomersetWest, his Hawaiian pizzarolls can be kept in thefridge in an airtight con­tainer for up to two days.You can accompany these

with some veggie sticks ornuts, or you can add tastyand healthy dried fruit andoat cookies for a snack.

Says Mark, “Oats haveslow­releasing carbohy­drates that sustain energylevels, and stabilise andraise blood sugar levels.

“Dried fruits, like apri­cots and peaches, areknown to add Vitamin C,Vitamin A, iron, and potas­sium to your diet.”

on trays lined with non­stick baking paper, about4 cm apart.

Bake in a preheatedoven at 160 °C for 15 to 18minutes, or until goldenbrown.

Transfer to a wire rackto cool completely.

Ingredients1½ cups oats⅔ cup brown sugar200 g dried fruit, cut asfinely as possible (I likeusing only the dried ap­ricots and peaches)1 cup plain flour2 T golden syrup1½ t bicarbonate of soda¼ cup boiling water125 g butter, melted

MethodPlace the golden syrup,

bicarbonate of soda andboiling water in a smallheat­proof bowl. Stir untilwell­combined. Set asidefor 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in the butter andadd the oats, sugar, driedfruit and flour. Mix untilwell­combined. Set asidefor 10 minutes.

Roll spoonfuls of themixture into balls. Place

Ingredients2 cups self­raising flour2 ml salt90 g butter, cut intocubes⅔ cup milkFlour, for dusting¼ cup pizza sauce1 cup cheddar, coarselygrated150 g ham, chopped intoblocks1 can pineapple pieces,drained on paper towel

MethodSift the flour and salt into

a bowl. Rub the butter intothe flour until it looks likebreadcrumbs. Add the milkand mix until the mixtureholds together.

Turn the dough onto alightly floured surface andgently knead until smooth.Use a lightly floured rollingpin and roll out the dough.

Spread the pizza sauceevenly over the dough,leaving a 2 cm borderaround the edge. Sprinklewith the cheddar, ham andpineapple.

Roll up the pizza firmly toform a log. Brush the edgewith a little extra milk andpress down firmly to seal.Cut crossways into 10 to 12equal portions, about 5 cmthick.

Place rolls on tray linedwith non­stick baking pa­per. Bake in oven, pre­heated to 210 °C, for 20 to30 minutes or until goldenbrown. Remove from ovenand set aside to cool.

Hawaiian pizza rolls

Apricot and oat cookies

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Sit down at meal-time!Sit down at meal-time!CARIEN MEYER

As a mother, a sit­down meal oftenfeels impossible. Many hours are

spent on the Internet, investigatingthe most appropriate foods and sup­plements to enhance the health andIQ of the little ones, and many creativeideas are put to the test to get it alldown their throats!

Somewhere between these investi­gations, creations and real life, momneeds to eat. She often finds herselffinishing the leftovers of her children,or eating fast, before toddler takes hisdirty nappy off himself…

So here are a couple of suggestions:Eat at regular times. Regular

meals ensure your own energy levelsare regularly refuelled. The rhythm ofregular eating can help to distinguishbetween real, physical hunger and allthe other hungers (hunger for sanity,comfort, help, et cetera) that can trig­ger eating in the emotionally and

physically draining day of a mother.Regular times of eating further pro­

vide a way to give yourself permissionto eat and enjoy it, instead of eatingby default, grazing inattentively.

Plan your meals so you enjoythem. You might buy special Barneyyogurts or baby tomatoes for your kidbecause he likes them, but what areyou including for yourself? Instead offinishing half­eaten peanut buttersandwiches, you might enjoy some­thing you actually planned to have –something that satisfies your hungerand your tastebuds.

Sit down. Teach your kids to sitaround a table for meals and snacks,and sit down with them. Just the actof sitting can create some breathingspace. It creates an opportunity to payattention, chew, enjoy and be satis­fied, as opposed to gobbling up foodbefore the kids see you, and in theprocess often eating more than youintended without feeling satisfied.

Including yourself in the caringprocess is not selfish but essential.

) Carien Meyer is a dietician in pri­vate practice – and she’s also a motherof two. Get in touch with her via emailat cariencm@gmail.com.

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Give your child’sparty a twist

Fairy princess: Little Lené Leah Arendse celebrated her first birth­day on 14 October last year with a pink­tinged Tinker Bell fairyparty. “My daughter’s first birthday party was something I was look­ing forward to,” re­calls Lené mother,Valda Arendse. “It wasso exciting. Everyonewho was invited hadto dress like a fairyand wear wings. Eve­rything worked outaccording to plan,and it was such anamazing day; I willnever forget it.”

Celebrating your child’sbirthday with a theme

party can be a lot of fun, andan opportunity to be creativeand play dress­up.

But how do you go aboutplanning everything for youryoungster’s theme party?

Kids’ party­planning sitechildrensbirthdaypartyplanner.comoffers the following advice.

After deciding on the partylocation, time, and date, it istime to choose the theme. Youmay need to decide on thetheme five to six weeks aheadof the party date. This will al­low you time to find, make orsecure the party invitations, sothey can be mailed out threeweeks prior to the party date.

Choosing the theme mayseem simple, but bear in mindthat it may not be so easy tofind all the party supplies – in­vitations, decorations, partyfavours, costumes, entertain­ment, activities and games,thank­you cards, refresh­ments… You may need to re­think the theme based on yourlocation and the availability ofyour party supplies. However,any theme is possible as longas you are flexible, and in somecases crafty. Items can be lo­cated at your local departmentstores, party stores, or online.

It is possible and exciting tocombine two themes at once.A costume theme along with

your child’s favourite interestor a recent popular movie canbe a big hit.

A shortcut in deciding on atheme is to look at the loca­tion. Build on your location asthe theme (such as bowling).

It may be easier and cheaperto use a popular holiday asyour birthday party theme ifyour party location is alreadydecorated for the holiday. Thedecorations and supplies tendto be plentiful.

However, keep in mind thatpeople tend to have tradi­tional customs of being at acertain place or with a certainperson during the holidays.

Theme party balloons canbe bought in advance fromvarious stores. Many stores willblow up your balloons with he­lium for a minor fee.

Mylar balloons with heliumare more durable and last upto several days. Rubber bal­loons may only float for sixhours with helium, but theycost less.

When ordering supplies, besure to think about the timerequired to receive them.Many online stores can typi­cally deliver your goods in oneto three days, while traditionalcatalogue orders may requireseveral weeks.

Point your web browser atchildrensbirthdaypartyplanner.comfor more information.

Start your engines : Saige Barry turned three on 15 January andcelebrated in style with a car­themed party.

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Email one photo per family

‘Winter Wonder’.

(in high quality jpeg minimum 300dpi format please – preferably taken by a professional photographer) of your little one/s, to – cover theme is Please state child/children & parent’s name/s and age/s (of child) in the email subject line. Child/Children in this photo must be between the ages of 0 – 9 years old. The top Photo’s will then be selected by District Mail to be published on

.

chantal.barton@media24.com

www.districtmail.com

To for your favourite photo, go to , register and

click on the Child’s Play 24 banner advertisement to view photo’s and

‘play’, ‘the number of your favourite photo’ to 45527. The winning photo will then appear on the cover of Child’s Play 24, 15 000 copies will be inserted into District Mail

thedition of 14 June 2012!

vote

SMS

www.districtmail.com

Photo Submission Deadline: 30 March 2012Voting Opens: 19 April 2012Voting Closes: 3 May 2012

Go to www.districtmail.com and click on the Child’s

Play24 competition banner to view photo’s

To vote: SMS PLAY, photo number

To 45527

Unlimited votes per participant will be accepted.

Cost of SMS is R 1.50

Enter your photo for the next Child’s Play24 th

14 June 2012 Cover SMS Competition !

February 2012Cover Competition Finalists

Congratulations to Wendy & Justin Swart

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4

2

5

3

6

Justin Swart - Wendy Swart (mom)

9 months old Marizaan Nortier - 5 years oldNatasia Nortier (mom)

Andrew Caleb McCreadie - 2 years oldSandra McCreadie (mom)

Kayla Nel - 13 months oldNicolette Nel (mom)

Mikah Henn - 4 months oldDelmaine Henn (mom)

Child’s Play 24Child’s Play Competition Page24

Marizaan 5 yrs, Shari 6 yrs & Pierre 6 yrsNatasia Nortier (mom)

Competition photo’s can be taken at Digital Moment studio. Special package R 180.00 for 6 edited photo’s on CD. Please use Child’s Play24 June edition Competition as reference when booking your photo shoot with Digital Moment. Tel: 021-851 8063.

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Courses forDomestic Workers

Domestic, Parent and Nanny TrainingDomestic, Childminder and Nanny Placements

Domestic Worker CoursesóChildcare and StimulationóFirst Aid and Home SafetyóHousekeepingóCooking and BakingóLooking after the elderly

PlacementsóPlacement of best trained,óCriminal checked, óReferenced staff, Permanent, Temps or AD Hoc

Au Pair, Daymother,Nursery School Assistant

& Parent courses021 839 1412 / 083 504 4545edubabe@edubabe.co.za

www.edubabe.co.za

“We understandyour concern!”

Wen boeke vir die jongspanEEN gelukkige DistriksPos­le­ser kan elk ’n kopie van dié kin­derboeke wen.

Om in te skryf, SMS die boekse titel, saam met jou naam enkontakbesonderhede na34421 voor 30 Maart. Elke SMSkos R1,50.

Down on the farm: Helpthe farmyard friends look forthe baby lambs playing hideand seek. Turn the wheel somore friends can join thefun!

First words: Little ones willhave fun learning to readtheir firstwordswithTillyandBig Big Grandpa Bear. Chil-dren learn best when theylearn through play. To helpyourchildgain themost fromthis interactive learningbook, show them how thewheel turns and the slidersmove. Read the story usinglots of expression in yourvoice; your child will want tocopy you, and join in. Pointto the words as you saythem, then ask your child torepeat them out loud.

Moemin en die maanligavontuur: Kom kuier byMoemin indieMoevallei.Joutonegaankrul van lekkerkry.“Jippie! Dis ’n lekker dag vir’n avontuur!” Die son skynen Moemin is opgewonde –hulle seil vandag na die Een-same Eiland om ’n skat tegaansoek.Maarwanneeral-mal uiteindelik reg is, is dital nag. Sal hulle die skat indie maanlig kry?

Waar’s Willie nou?Willie isterug. Soek hom waar hy sypad oopveg deur antieke Ro-me, ’npaarharigeseerowersteekom en partytjie hou inParys... Wanneer laas wasGeskiedenis soveel pret?Ontdek waaroor die Kruis-vaarte gegaan het, waaromsamoerais vlaeophul rûege-dra het, en wat sal gebeur asjy met ’n Asteek moeilikheidsoek. Kom geniet hierdie wil-de Willie-avontuur.

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Investing in the HolisticDevelopment of Children

• Baby Massage Baby Stimulation Gross Motor Remedial Sport Development

•••

AFTERNOON PROGRAMME

Kim Barnard 072-2810058Matt Watson 083-5616316

www.kinectkids.co.za

DAGSORG/DAYCAREand

THE FLYING EAGLES PREPRIMARY

LANGUAGE: double mediumAfrikaans /Engels

AGES:BabiesTwo to Three yearsThree to Four yearsFive to six yearsSix to seven years: Preprimary

LEERPROGRAM/CURRICULUM:Preprimay approved progran Dept of Education

Aanvangfase/Reception Phase- Edufriends Computer educational programmes

Contact : Erika Mostert34 Ocean View, The Links, Somerset West

021 8514057/ 084 5400500www.somersetwestdaycare.co.za

THE STORK'S NEST

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Child’s Play 24Child’s Play P t tos I24

Bowled over:Young JoshuaJohnson (7) of Som­erset House lovesplaying cricket.Here, the youngsports star can beseen in action forhis school’s u.8 Ateam. Joshua is alsopart of SomersetHouse’s swimmingsquad, and playshockey and rugbyfor the A teams inhis age group.

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