imagining kindness, sharing, abundance, and equality

imagining kindness, sharing, abundance, and equality

ages 2 years to adult
In The Power and The Glory, Graham Greene wrote: “Hate is a lack of imagination.” Perhaps it follows that love is an abundance of imagination. There’s plenty of both to go around in the world just now, so I suppose the thing to do is notice imagination, encourage it, and let it build.

Sometimes we think of imagination as the stuff of fantasy worlds—The Lord of The Rings scaled down to everyday life, if you like. And that’s a wonderful way to imagine. But John Lennon’s Imagine reminds us that there’s more to imagination.

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a movie + 3 books to delight a little dancer

a movie + 3 books to delight a little dancer

ages 2 to 5 years
Ivy has been obsessed with dance over the last six months—she wants to watch, read, do and live dance. It started when she saw the movie Ballerina and, although I think she might be almost ready to move on, these three books have had a good workout!

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Ada Lovelace's brilliant combination of imagination, maths and science — the first computer programmer

Ada Lovelace's brilliant combination of imagination, maths and science — the first computer programmer

ages 5 to 10 years
......... Ada is known as the first computer programmer as a result of a paper she published with Charles Babbage—he was the official author, but the footnotes were credited to her. Well, her initials were on them anyway: 'She was afraid her work wouldn’t be taken seriously if people knew it was written by a woman.'

Her life is captivatingly told, from her early years as a child fascinated with flying, to her marriage, her friendships 

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a charming and satisfying fairytale retelling

a charming and satisfying fairytale retelling

ages 14+ years
I have no idea how I came across The Changeling Sea—one day it was just on my bookshelf (probably purchased in one of my many book buying sprees back before kids—when my book budget was unlimited). No matter how it got there, I’m just glad it did. It’s a charmingly well written changeling fable, a classic fairytale story with a fresh and original twist. 

When Peri was fourteen, her father was lost at sea and her whole life changed—her mother was lost to heartache and she (Peri) had to take care of herself.

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bouncing balloons, fizzing sidewalk paint, milk explosions—3 down, 98 to go. We LOVE this activities book!

bouncing balloons, fizzing sidewalk paint, milk explosions—3 down, 98 to go. We LOVE this activities book!

As you can probably tell from some of my other posts, we LOVE making/creating/experimenting at home. Besides being great fun, our crafty times educate, strengthen relationships and encourage communication and vocabulary—plus they're great for fine motor skills.

I’m always on the lookout for new inspiration and, although there are millions of activities on offer on the internet, I prefer to use books.  ..... this one is chock full of boredom busters, crafts, games and simple science—there's no end of inspiration

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a selection of 'freedom' books to celebrate 9 November—the day on which the Berlin Wall fell

a selection of 'freedom' books to celebrate 9 November—the day on which the Berlin Wall fell

When Jesse was about 8-years-old, listening to Joan and I reminiscing about watching the fall of the Berlin Wall on television, she lamented: “I wish I lived in interesting times". That wish has come true, hasn't it!

But, even with the seminal events that have happened since that conversation, the fall of The Wall in 1989 still shapes the way we think about history and our hopes for the future. Its stories are deep and complex, with political undertones that are as important as the grassroots swell of demand for liberty—and so worth celebrating.

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reading with grandchildren who live far away – Imogene’s Antlers

reading with grandchildren who live far away – Imogene’s Antlers

ages toddler to 5-years
Ridiculously, 4 of our grandchildren (including newborn Ezra) live in Cairns and 2 are in Tasmania. That’s pretty much opposite ends of the country and at least a two hour flight each way.  So weekly or even monthly visits just aren’t an option. But Samantha suggested this great app—Marco Polo. It’s probably not the original intention, but it works really well for reading stories.

I record a story (dodgy lighting and shuffling pages are no big deal), it uploads, and the grandkids look at it whenever their parents are ready to give up their phones for a few minutes.

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