The Joy of Giving

Wow!! Can you believe Christmas is only a few days away!! I have been busy trying to get everything done before the big day - all of the baking and picking the perfect gifts for all of my loved ones and all the other little labours of love that make for a lovely Christmas. I especially enjoy sending and receiving Christmas cards, but what a hassle it has become just to post them on time, not to mention we all have to be a lot more eco-conscious and what a waste of trees. That is why I was so happy to find this wonderful website where you can find the most amazing animated Christmas cards and other greeting cards beautifully illustrated with tasteful musical accompaniment. The cost is very reasonable and they even offer a few freebies, such as the Winter Wonderland e-card which features the music from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" You can preview all of the Christmas cards before you send them, so you can make sure to find just the right one for each of your loved ones.

Happy Parenting and a very Merry Christmas from kidsgoals.

Storybooks on your iPhone

Today we'd like to share with you something a little bit different and delightfully festive - a Christmas fairy tale brought to you by "2 Little Piggies".

Anyone with a small child will enjoy watching the little one’s face light up at this delightful fairy tale. It’s a simple storybook app, but unusually beautifully done. What a great way to keep the kids entertained and happy while waiting in the Christmas shopping queues or stuck in the snow!

A Christmas Fairy Tale tells the story of Otto, a young and handsome count with a heart of stone. Follow Otto as he meets the fairies at Fairy Well, where a magical transformation occurs…

The story app has three different modes: “Read myself”, which is a simple book format with nice sound effects; “Read to me”, which combines narrative with word highlights for beginning readers – they still control the speed of page turning, which is important; and “Auto play”, which acts more like a video slideshow for the kids to watch.

The fairy tale also provides super little interactive animations – your child can tap on a shimmering star to start a mini-animation, and gets a chance to decorate the Christmas tree in the Great Hall with all sorts of sparkly wonders.

All in all, this is an adorable little app that will bring a festive glow to children and adults alike!

How to Raise Smarter, Happier and Healthier Kids :)

Good morning all!

According to the June 2006 Time's article, you can help improve your kids grades, as well as their health and happiness by ensuring your family eats dinner together on a regular basis. According to the article, "Studies show that the more families eat together, the less likely the kids are to smoke, drink, do drugs, get depressed, develop eating disorders, consider suicide, and the more likely they are to do well in school, delay having sex, eat their vegetables, learn big words and know which fork to use." Wow, seems like a lot of benefits for a little nightly family togetherness. :-))

Of course you know that the dinner part or what you serve for dinner has nothing to do with the benefits, rather it is the conversations and communicating with your children that does the trick. If conversing with your younger child or teenager seems a bit alien to you, we at kidsgoals found this great way to get the ball rolling. Check out Raising Smarter Kids with PAZ Talk Cards Cassie and I are firm believers in making learning fun and these cards seem to fit the bill nicely. - "PAZ Talk Cards are designed to get your family talking in a way that everyone will enjoy. Designed to resemble 'trivia questions' from your favourite board games, each card asks a simple (yet important) question to get families talking." How cool is that!!!

Happy Parenting, :))

Monicka and Cassie