Bubble and Bean’s

19/06/2026

17/05/2026

As long as they are safe, our job isn’t to clear the path. It’s to be the reason they believe they can walk it, and to add our warm, steady presence, so they never have to walk it alone.♥️

21/04/2026

17/04/2026

So no, it’s not that you hand a child a stick and they instantly play for 30 minutes.

But they can get there.

And the shift isn’t in the child. It’s in us.

When we stop jumping in, stop rotating materials, stop feeling like we need to keep things “new,” children start to go deeper. The same stick becomes something different each time they return to it. More ideas, more connections, more imagination.

That repetition is where real learning happens.

When we constantly add more toys, more activities, more stimulation, it actually works against that. It pulls them out of depth and into distraction.

Less really does give them more.

Space to focus.
Space to create.
Space to build something that comes from them.

Connection still matters. Join them. Be present. But it doesn’t need to be constant or directed. Even 20 minutes of real, undivided attention goes further than anything we could set up.

And this is exactly what we’re going to unpack in the webinar.

Why children today are struggling with overstimulation, what it’s doing to their regulation and attention, and what they actually need instead.

The Overstimulated Child: Why Boredom Matters More Than Ever

📅 April 29th ⏰ 12:00 PM EST

Three ways to watch...

Free Access – Live Webinar Only
Join the session live on April 29th.

$4.99 – Webinar Replay + Presentation + Certificate of Attendance
Get access to the full recording and presentation after the event and receive a Certificate of Attendance. Available till noon on the day of the live webinar.

$9.99 – Webinar Replay + Presentation + Professional Development Certificate
Receive the webinar recording, presentation, plus a Certificate of Professional Development, ideal for educators seeking formal professional learning credit.

Sign-up now: https://www.weskoolhouse.com/event-list

17/04/2026

When parenting feels heavy, we often lean into logic or discipline to find our way out. But some research suggests that laughter does more than just lighten the mood—it actually shifts our brain chemistry.

Why humour helps:
• Lowers Stress: Shared laughter can reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) in both you and your child.

• Builds Safety: Humour signals to a child’s nervous system that they are safe and loved, even in moments of friction.

• Encourages Cooperation: It is much harder to maintain a "power imbalance" when you are both giggling.

A gentle reminder: You don’t have to be a comedian. Sometimes, just a silly face or a playful word is enough to turn a "problem" into a "signpost" toward a solution.

For an older age-range of 13-17:

Humour helps parents connect with teens by reducing tension, humanizing the adult, and opening doors to sensitive topics. Hunour can significantly reduce the perceived power imbalance between adults and teens. It is important that it is authentic and not contrived. Poorly timed or unamusing humour can backfire.

We wish you a bit of humour to help bridge a gap today. 🩷

References:
A. Baldassarre, “Adult therapist in the adolescents group,” Jan. 2004.

A. Blackmore, “TO JOKE OR NOT TO JOKE – some upper-secondary school students’ perceptions and experiences of humour in the classroom.,” Jan. 2011.

K. Qin and F. Beauchemin, “‘I Can Go Slapsticks’: Humor as Humanizing Pedagogy for Science Instruction With Multilingual Adolescent Immigrant Learners,” Literacy Research: Theory, Method, And Practice, vol. 71, no. 1, pp. 304–322, Aug. 2022, doi: 10.1177/23813377221114766.

05/04/2026

Family Day Care Vacancy!

Monday to Wednesday 930am to 530pm, Ballina Area. CCS eligible, accredited teacher. Registered with rated exceeding FarNorth Coast Fdc. PM for more information! Current position for 20 months +

https://www.facebook.com/share/1TAVHC113V/

18/02/2026

Family Day Care Vacancy!

Monday to Wednesday 930am to 530pm, Ballina Area. CCS eligible, accredited teacher. PM for more information! Current position for 20 months +

https://www.facebook.com/share/1TAVHC113V/

16/02/2026

Austin Appelbee is 13 years old.

He recently failed his swimming assessment because he couldn't swim 350 metres continuously.

Last week, he swam about 4 kilometres through choppy ocean waters - where sharks are known to frequent - to save his family's life.

When their inflatable paddleboards drifted out to sea off the WA coast, Austin's mum - with her heart in her mouth and as a last-hope desperate prayer - sent him back in a leaking kayak to get help. When that failed, he ditched the kayak and then the life jacket (it was slowing him down) and swam.

For four hours. Through waves and wind. Who knows what was in the water. In open ocean.

He told himself, "Not today. I have to keep going."

When his legs buckled on the sand, he ran another 2km to call emergency services. His family was rescued just as darkness fell.

Police called his efforts "superhuman." (His swimming instructor probably wishes they'd seen this side of him.)

This is a heroic story. I love it. But I'm sharing this because:

Austin didn't become a different kid in that moment. The same determination, grit, and love that got him through those waters was already there. The crisis just revealed it.

I'm constantly reminding parents - you don't know you're resilient until you have to be resilient. And being resilient doesn't usually feel resilient. It feels like "I can't" far more than it feels like "look at me being awesomely resilient".

We spend so much time worrying about whether our kids are ready for life's challenges. Whether they're tough enough. Capable enough. Whether we've done enough.

Austin's story reminds me that kids have reserves we can't always see in the everyday moments. And that when it really matters, they'll find what they need.

What an incredible young man.

16/02/2026