This post was sponsored by Amazon as part of an Ambassador Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
It’s 2019 and somehow I have an 8yr-old and two 3 yr-olds. How did that happen? It’s easy to reflect on parenting struggles, but I also want to make an effort to evaluate the wins. I’ve decided to take a little time to consider both, and make some educational and personal goals with the kids for this year.
With the New Year comes a renewed burst of optimism. We have a big year ahead and I want to make sure the kids are on board with their own personal targets. As part of this, I’m sitting Elsie down to set educational goals on her Fire HD 8 Kids Edition Tablet and making the most of digital and traditional activities.
Health & Fitness
Between the Twins’ gluten allergy and starting preschool, last year was not good on the sickness front. Alongside a push for better eating, we’ll be encouraging the kids to spend more time exercising. Elsie’s health and fitness
Technology & Screen Time
The kids absolutely love the tablets they were given last year. The Fire HD 8 Kids Edition Tablet is bursting with educational and entertaining content my kids love. They have access to over 20,000 books, educational apps, and games… all age-appropriate and hand-curated by the Amazon FreeTime team.
It is however important we have a family conversation about screen time limits, and I hope Elsie as an 8yr-old can consider what is appropriate and be involved in choosing FreeTime settings for her and her brothers.
The Fire HD 8 Kids Edition Tablet allows parents to set limits, adjust age filters, enable/disable web browser access, and choose whether to allow in-app purchasing via the Parental Control settings in Amazon FreeTime. You can also use
With Elsie on board, and using the Parental Control on her Fire Kids Edition tablet, we have chosen to set a limit of 2hrs of screen time per day. Within those 2hrs, she has educational goals to use 30mins of educational apps, such as the 3rd Grade Learning Games mentioned below. We also set a goal for 15mins listening to
Manners & Modesty
All three of my kids are confident, loud and hilarious. They are social and chatty but could do with working on their please, thankyous and general etiquette. Now the Boys’ speech is progressing, they are perfectly able to offer their own version of
Big sister too… she’s extremely polite but can be a bit of a slob! She needs to take more responsibility for how she tidying her room, personal
Reading, Speaking & Core Skills
The Twins started preschool last year and it has really boosted their progress with speech development. I feel optimistic about moving forward from their Apraxia of Speech diagnosis, and will be looking for new ways to encourage these skills at home.
Big sister’s reading skills are incredibly advanced beyond her age, and she loves to read. Math
We have recently downloaded two educational apps to support Elsie’s school work. One is called 3rd Grade Learning Games (which is her year group) and we also downloaded the one for 4th Grade. This way she can continue to progress in areas she excels while catching up and practicing areas she struggles with. The apps have been a total hit and it’s fabulous to see her using her Amazon Fire Kids Edition screen time wisely.
Interests & Hobbies
Elsie is becoming more focused on what she loves which is a pleasure to see. She adores comic books, sports, games and cooking. All great interests and hobbies for her to focus on.
The Twins are starting to develop their own interests too and in 2019 I aim to encourage them more in specific activities. George loves to draw and paint, Arthur is more of a music lover. George has always been obsessed with ball games while Arthur is a puzzle master! We hope they can start some of their own activities this year because on reflection I really wish I had got Elsie started on sports earlier.
Lastly, a Parenting Goal for Mom
The last couple of years have been tough. Parenting toddler twins in no joke! This year I aim to be better to myself, travel more and enjoy life. When Elsie was young we
This year we have booked a
I recently took the kids’ on a road trip and I must say the journey was a huge success thanks to their Fire Kids Edition tablets. Fire Kids Edition Tablets are the #1 kids’ tablets in the U.S. and come with a kid-proof case and a two-year worry-free guarantee—if they break it, simply return it and Amazon will send a replacement for free, no questions asked
Good luck creating your own personal and educational goals with your children. Here’s to a fabulous year ahead!