Hi,
What an awesome year it's been!
We've had such a fun time with your little kickers and have plans to develop the fun even further, including an Auckland wide Mega Kickers tournament later in 2014.
2014 Enrolments
Classes return on Jan 31st and many of our classes are already full. If your child isn't currently enrolled and you're looking to return in the new year I strongly advise you e-mail (info@littlekickers.co.nz) or call us (09 815 8607) and get your child on the wailtist for your preferred class time so you don't have to wait too long.
Some classes will be taken outside, your coaches will let you know if this is looking to take place and then we'll ask for sunscreen, hats and plenty of water to be at the ready.
Coaching Updates:
Mt Eden: We would like to congratulate Coach Kathryn on getting a paid job as a Lifeguard, she looks to return with us once the summer season has finished. The lovely Coaches Merren and Raj (on his return from Singapore in Feb) will do a great job having a ball with your kids.
We are sad to see Coach Raphael leave us as he follows his dreams to become a Policeman. Both Rapha and Gabi, his wife, have been such a pleasure to have on-board and will be surely missed by all that have being coached by them and worked with them.
I would like to thank all our coaches for all the hard work they put into making our classes so much fun, we can't thank them enough for their commitment to Little Kickers and love of what they do.
Office Update
The lovely Jo who was our Office Administrator has gone on early Maternity Leave with pregnancy complications with her twins - you'll be pleased to know the twins are still growing well inside and all is well with both Jo and the twins. I enjoyed coming back into the office and answering e-mails and speaking to many of you and now we've recently welcomed on board Gina who I call our calming influence in the office. You'll be hearing from Gina in the office via e-mail and phone from now on so please take a moment to welcome her on board.
On behalf of our wonderful coaches and those in the office we wish to thank you for all your support this year and all the lovely feedback which always makes us smile.
We hope you have a special Christmas and summer break,
Yvette
Director Little Kickers ACW & NZ
Showing posts with label toddlers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toddlers. Show all posts
Friday, 6 December 2013
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Player Profile - Stella & Julia - 4 & 2yrs
Player Profile - Stella & Julia - 4 & 2yrs
We have 2 player profiles in one post this month, sisters, Stella & Julia, who attend our sessions at Takapuna.
Name: Stella & Julia Burns
What’s your favourite healthy food?
Stella: Spinach lasagne & spaghetti bolognese
Julia: Porridge
Age: 4 & 2
Venues of Little Kickers attended: Takapuna
How long have you been coming to Little Kickers?
Stella since she was 2
Julia since she was 18months (Total 2 yrs for Stella and 1 yr for Julia)
Stella since she was 2
Julia since she was 18months (Total 2 yrs for Stella and 1 yr for Julia)
What is your favourite little Kickers game?
Stella: Big kicks and being the goalie
Julia: Big kicks and jumping
Stella: Big kicks and being the goalie
Julia: Big kicks and jumping
What do you like best about little kickers?
Stella: Seeing my friends and the coaches
Julia: Wearing my goal shoes!
Stella: Seeing my friends and the coaches
Julia: Wearing my goal shoes!
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Stella: A mummy
Julia: A fireman
Stella: A mummy
Julia: A fireman
What’s your favourite healthy food?
Stella: Spinach lasagne & spaghetti bolognese
Julia: Porridge
Who is your favourite coach? Stella & Julia: Daddy, Nicky & Lisa
What do you love?
Stella: Reading books
Julia: Staying up late
Stella: Reading books
Julia: Staying up late
Parent says:
We love taking the girls to "goal" each Saturday morning. They always enjoy themselves and we have watched them learn not just skills like big kicks and little kicks but also colours, counting, and more importantly, how to follow instructions, listen to teachers, and play well with others.
Saturday, 4 September 2010
Blue September 2010
My father is one of the lucky ones. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer and lives to tell the tale. It seems most people have had someone close to them be diagnosed with cancer and it’s definitely not a ‘it won’t happen to me’ scenario as it’s just all too common now.
No longer can you just be a bystander to this diagnosis, if we can all help each other and ourselves with understanding early diagnosis and taking precautionary measures the more lives we can save.
“In New Zealand, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. About 2,500 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year.” (http://www.prostate.org.nz/) ‘Men’ are husbands, fathers and grandfathers who affect even the youngest generation. It is Blue September 2010 (Prostate Cancer Awareness month) and it seems many men have a dislike for acknowledging that something isn’t quite right or if they do acknowledge it they don’t want to act on it. It’s often up to those around them to push them to go to the Doctor and get a check up.
Now you may wonder what this has to do with us at Little Kickers and preschool football?
A study (‘NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study’) carried out over 6 years shows clearly that overweight and obese men are more likely to die from prostate cancer than men of normal weight, though no more likely to actually develop the disease.
Little Kickers is about starting that all important task of introducing daily movement as a lifestyle behaviour and if this can be done through the beautiful game of football (soccer) that they love to play than that’s even better.
The importance of being active comes with it the recognition of keeping healthy and awareness of your body in a positive way (even at their young age). We start off getting children to enjoy being active. We keep our sessions light hearted and fun without putting undue pressure on succeeding at what they are doing. We support your child’s effort whether their ‘big kick’ off the sandcastle (aka coloured marker) was actually a small kick or they missed it completely. It doesn’t matter to us, we’ll get them to keep trying and give them plenty of high fives along the way. Their enjoyment at the sessions is the most important thing.
By introducing the love of sports into their lives we hope to instil the love of healthy living which leads to a healthier lifestyle. This in turn leads to a healthier family environment and generations of healthy families.
If we can start this process at pre-school age we are more likely to succeed.
More information about Prostate Cancer and Blue September:
http://www.prostate.org.nz
http://blueseptember.org.nz/index.php
No longer can you just be a bystander to this diagnosis, if we can all help each other and ourselves with understanding early diagnosis and taking precautionary measures the more lives we can save.
“In New Zealand, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. About 2,500 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year.” (http://www.prostate.org.nz/) ‘Men’ are husbands, fathers and grandfathers who affect even the youngest generation. It is Blue September 2010 (Prostate Cancer Awareness month) and it seems many men have a dislike for acknowledging that something isn’t quite right or if they do acknowledge it they don’t want to act on it. It’s often up to those around them to push them to go to the Doctor and get a check up.
Now you may wonder what this has to do with us at Little Kickers and preschool football?
A study (‘NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study’) carried out over 6 years shows clearly that overweight and obese men are more likely to die from prostate cancer than men of normal weight, though no more likely to actually develop the disease.
Little Kickers is about starting that all important task of introducing daily movement as a lifestyle behaviour and if this can be done through the beautiful game of football (soccer) that they love to play than that’s even better.
The importance of being active comes with it the recognition of keeping healthy and awareness of your body in a positive way (even at their young age). We start off getting children to enjoy being active. We keep our sessions light hearted and fun without putting undue pressure on succeeding at what they are doing. We support your child’s effort whether their ‘big kick’ off the sandcastle (aka coloured marker) was actually a small kick or they missed it completely. It doesn’t matter to us, we’ll get them to keep trying and give them plenty of high fives along the way. Their enjoyment at the sessions is the most important thing.
By introducing the love of sports into their lives we hope to instil the love of healthy living which leads to a healthier lifestyle. This in turn leads to a healthier family environment and generations of healthy families.
If we can start this process at pre-school age we are more likely to succeed.
More information about Prostate Cancer and Blue September:
http://www.prostate.org.nz
http://blueseptember.org.nz/index.php
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
Full-time versus Part-time mum
I recently got back in contact with an old school friend who I found out was pregnant with her first baby. She messaged me back asking if I was lucky enough to be a ‘full-time mum’ i.e. a stay at home mum. It took a while for me to get my head around that question and how I would answer it.
I could have easily asked the same question to expectant friends prior to having children myself but my views on the ideals and benefits of being a stay at home mum versus a working mum drastically changed now having kids.
Pre-kids I had a lot of patience, in good health and had good energy levels. I am fortunate enough to have my husband work a 5 minutes drive away with the leniency to come home if required and an understanding boss who happens to have 2 sets of twins! When my boys (twins) reached around 15 months old I was finding it increasingly hard to keep up my energy levels and patience to survive day on day. It became regular practice for me to call my husband up once a week pulling my hair out wondering how I was going to survive the next hour and it’s not as if my boys are different to any other toddlers. I soon realised something needed to change maybe it was time to look at some part-time work. I love my boys to bits but I felt like I wasn’t being the best parent that I could be.
I actually find my self luckier being a ‘part-time mum’ than a ‘full-time mum’ and I don’t mean in terms of finances, I mean in terms of energy levels and patience.
We were lucky enough to stumble across Little Kickers which has been my saviour in life in terms of how I care for my kids and in a way my sanity!
We started off with an independent nanny who luckily the boys adored to bits but unfortunately she left with minimum notice and left us stuck as to what to do. It felt like ages that I spent discussing the pros and cons of day-care and whether we should investigate this option further. I had only recently read a report from one of the boys’ paediatricians Simon Rowley who wrote about the negative impact of day-care on children under the age of 2 so I was even more reluctant to go down this route. My main concern was the boys’ happiness as I thought they may be stressed or uncared for versus a nanny. My pre-conceived understanding on day-care was that there wouldn’t be enough carers to properly care for of all the children.
How wrong was I, after visiting 5 centres I found the perfect centre for my boys. The carers were so loving and understanding: they kept to their routine, fed them healthy lunches and had more than enough energy to keep up with them.
I spent 3 days with the boys at the centre until I felt as though I could leave them alone. There were a few tears at the start (by them) but once I was around the corner and out of sight they soon stopped. They now attend day-care 3 mornings and 1 short day a week and what a better parent and person I am for it.
I feel like a new person and I know I am a much better parent for it. During my working day I get to speak to other business’s, parents, suppliers, employees and generally feel like I exist as a person and not just someone’s mum. When I pick the boys up from day-care I have this rush of love for them. I especially love it when they don’t know that I’ve arrived and I get to see them playing with the other children and then when they do see me I get an assortment of emotions from them. These range from running away from me because they want to stay and play to dancing around in excitement and giving me huge hugs as they wave goodbye to the carers (even if I’m not ready to go yet).
Once home I put work aside and use all my energy in interacting and playing with them, I adore hearing their giggles and now have the patience and energy to deal with their terrible two’s better. I love that they come home from day-care having learnt new words or actions to songs and seeing them develop socially.
I’ve realised my life needs more than just kids to make it complete and being a ‘part-time mum’ works perfectly for me, I actually feel lucky that I can be one over a ‘full-time’ mum. I am sill a wife, business women and a friend and to add to that a loving mum who is trying to find that perfect work/life balance.
My hat goes off to full-time mums as I often feel you don’t get enough recognition for what you do in today’s society and how hard your days can be.
Yvette; mum, wife, business partner, coach, friend....
I could have easily asked the same question to expectant friends prior to having children myself but my views on the ideals and benefits of being a stay at home mum versus a working mum drastically changed now having kids.
Pre-kids I had a lot of patience, in good health and had good energy levels. I am fortunate enough to have my husband work a 5 minutes drive away with the leniency to come home if required and an understanding boss who happens to have 2 sets of twins! When my boys (twins) reached around 15 months old I was finding it increasingly hard to keep up my energy levels and patience to survive day on day. It became regular practice for me to call my husband up once a week pulling my hair out wondering how I was going to survive the next hour and it’s not as if my boys are different to any other toddlers. I soon realised something needed to change maybe it was time to look at some part-time work. I love my boys to bits but I felt like I wasn’t being the best parent that I could be.
I actually find my self luckier being a ‘part-time mum’ than a ‘full-time mum’ and I don’t mean in terms of finances, I mean in terms of energy levels and patience.
We were lucky enough to stumble across Little Kickers which has been my saviour in life in terms of how I care for my kids and in a way my sanity!
We started off with an independent nanny who luckily the boys adored to bits but unfortunately she left with minimum notice and left us stuck as to what to do. It felt like ages that I spent discussing the pros and cons of day-care and whether we should investigate this option further. I had only recently read a report from one of the boys’ paediatricians Simon Rowley who wrote about the negative impact of day-care on children under the age of 2 so I was even more reluctant to go down this route. My main concern was the boys’ happiness as I thought they may be stressed or uncared for versus a nanny. My pre-conceived understanding on day-care was that there wouldn’t be enough carers to properly care for of all the children.
How wrong was I, after visiting 5 centres I found the perfect centre for my boys. The carers were so loving and understanding: they kept to their routine, fed them healthy lunches and had more than enough energy to keep up with them.
I spent 3 days with the boys at the centre until I felt as though I could leave them alone. There were a few tears at the start (by them) but once I was around the corner and out of sight they soon stopped. They now attend day-care 3 mornings and 1 short day a week and what a better parent and person I am for it.
I feel like a new person and I know I am a much better parent for it. During my working day I get to speak to other business’s, parents, suppliers, employees and generally feel like I exist as a person and not just someone’s mum. When I pick the boys up from day-care I have this rush of love for them. I especially love it when they don’t know that I’ve arrived and I get to see them playing with the other children and then when they do see me I get an assortment of emotions from them. These range from running away from me because they want to stay and play to dancing around in excitement and giving me huge hugs as they wave goodbye to the carers (even if I’m not ready to go yet).
Once home I put work aside and use all my energy in interacting and playing with them, I adore hearing their giggles and now have the patience and energy to deal with their terrible two’s better. I love that they come home from day-care having learnt new words or actions to songs and seeing them develop socially.
I’ve realised my life needs more than just kids to make it complete and being a ‘part-time mum’ works perfectly for me, I actually feel lucky that I can be one over a ‘full-time’ mum. I am sill a wife, business women and a friend and to add to that a loving mum who is trying to find that perfect work/life balance.
My hat goes off to full-time mums as I often feel you don’t get enough recognition for what you do in today’s society and how hard your days can be.
Yvette; mum, wife, business partner, coach, friend....
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