The theme for the month of July at 4Mothers is Learning at Home. We have shared some of our favourite activities to do with the kids that inspire learning, discussed Richard Louv’s belief that many of our children are nature deficient, and we introduced you to our guest Catherine Ross creator of the blog Learning is Fun!
Originally I had planned a post with a literacy extension activity based on the novel Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, the book that I read aloud to the boys this month. Much like Carol’s boys, they were anxious to try their hand at making chocolate a la Mr. Wonka, but circumstances got in the way and our plans have been postponed.
This week has been busy for me as I try to juggle the demands of motherhood, the unstructured nature of summer and this blog while maintaining my mindful choice of being less rigid with the schedule. It hasn’t been easy!
I was invited to preview the holiday collections for PC Home, Joe Fresh and Indigo in addition to the back-to-school line-up from Staples. These events are crowded with media professionals, all tapping away on their smartphones, fluent in the language of hashtags, hacks and handles. The verbiage flies over my head but it doesn’t matter all that much because I find myself engrossed in the stories behind the products.
Why would PC Home choose to make that bowl from melamine? What was the inspiration behind the romantic peach and mint colour scheme that dominate these ornaments and paper products? Where are these items manufactured? How are they made? Who are the people behind these lines and more importantly I like to ask myself, would I use this? Would a 4Mothers reader want to know about this?
Before I know it, my phone is buzzing and I am buried beneath hundreds of tweets, pins and ‘grams all posted by the tech-savvy professional whose elbow I just rubbed. Seconds ago. And I am still fumbling to enter my correct password.
I went home from the events feeling a wee bit overwhelmed by all that I don’t know. I am not proficient in the language of Pinterest or Instagram, that are touted by the blogging community, but true to the theme of this month, I am going to learn. I am going to push myself to try something new: struggle to get the hang of it, learn the lingo, and hopefully find my stride.
I am taking the advice that I often dole out to the kids, “just try your best”.
Maybe you could try too?
It’s not as challenging as you may think, and it’s kinda fun!
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Disney Vacation Education is also going to be entering that new territory by learning Twitter. 🙂 Best of luck, Beth-Anne!
Thank you for your kind words. It’s always a pleasure to read your comments.