Nurture Young Minds

Our motto is that "it's never too early to plant seeds of wisdom" - and this has to be a new record!

We are chuffed to be supporting the month long #readathon at the Royal Hospital for Women's Newborn Care Centre in Randwick, where they care for sick and premature babies from all over the state.

#Reading helps with brain development even at that tender stage - and is something parents are actively encouraged to do.

Shoutout to RN Jane Healy for helping source the books for her families - no doubt in her own time.  Wishing a lifetime of wonder, wisdom & joy for your little charges.

"New research from HarperCollins UK, however, has found the number of parents reading aloud to children is at an all-time low.

Fewer than half of parents of children under 13 said reading aloud to children was “fun for me”, while fewer than half of 0- to 4-year-olds are read to frequently."

Of all the things busy parents could be de-prioritising, #BedtimeStories shouldn't be one of them ...

My hot tip: If the books that you are reading feel boring, try looking for titles that have been developed with the long suffering parent in mind e.g. (plug incoming) our "Willow the Wonderer" series.

Threaded within our 'kids' books' are seeds of wisdom and metaphors specifically for the grown-up in the room so that they too may get enjoyment and learning out of the experience - even if it is the 100th time they are reading the book out aloud!

We wanted Willow the Wonderer books to be engaging, enjoyable and educational - but we also wanted it to convey some valuable life lessons in the hope it makes things a little bit easier for the next generation... What life lesson would you share with your little ones?

Do you get theatrical when reading out your Willow the Wonderer books? I thought I'd record a quick video to share some insights on how I write and some of the creative choices we have made as we developed the series that hopefully inspire you to put on a bit more of a performance at the next storytime :) Poetry, after all, is meant to be performed! It may help you little one become more confident readers and who knows, even turn into performers themselves :)

Here's the blog on the topic that provides a bit more insight: https://www.wiseasstories.com/post/poetry-is-meant-to-be-performed-how-to-read-aloud-our-rhyming-books