Jules Sebastian Shares How She Helped Son Hudson Become School Ready PLUS Win 1 of 5 ABC Reading Eggs Subscriptions
Jules Sebastian Shares How She Helped Son Hudson Become School Ready PLUS Win 1 of 5 ABC Reading Eggs Subscriptions
Sending our little people off to school for the first time can be both an anxious and exciting time, for both them and us as parents. We want to ensure that they are emotionally mature enough to make the transition as well as ready to learn the basics like numbers and letters. Of course, there are a number of things that we can do as parents to help make the move to ‘big school’ a smoother one. We recently caught up with the gorgeous Jules Sebastian to chat about how she and son Hudson used ABC Reading Eggs program – the multi-award winning online reading program – and what a positive impact it had on his confidence and ability to recognise words before he started school.
Hi Jules! Welcome to Mums Lounge!
The life of a mum with two boys is always a busy one Jules, but you also manage to fit in being a stylist, blogger and host of the online series Tea with Jules. What’s your secret to juggling everything and staying sane?
I think prioritising is a huge one. You can only do what you can do. Even if things don’t get done that day, do it on another day and just give yourself a break. For me that’s a recent lesson, just to chill out with myself. I know when I go to bed at the end of the day I’ve done my level best to achieve everything.
I try to take a bit of “me-time” in my day. I will have a cup of tea, watch Netflix and try to get through the 485 books I have next to my bed! It also sounds a bit teenage, but I have started writing in a journal as well, just five minutes each day. It’s like a gratitude journal. However, if I could have a dream day, I’d go get a massage, have brunch with girlfriends, watch a movie, walk in the sunshine and just chill.
Your oldest son Hudson started school this year. How did you and Guy feel about that?
Hudson was four on the first day of school in February and turned five a month later. Knowing he would be one of the younger ones in the class, I really put a lot of time and thought into trying to figure out whether he was ready for big school as Guy and I wanted to make the right decision.
So I talked to a lot of friends who are teachers as well as his preschool teachers to get their opinions. I’d advise any parent who’s unsure about this issue to do the same. In the end we went with what we felt was right as well as the advice of his teacher who said if we held Hudson back for another year he might get bored as he’s a bit of a bright spark and handles himself really well in social situations. It was the right decision as he’s done so well, and really loves going to school.
As an Ambassador for ABC Reading Eggs, we imagine that you and your boys already share a love of books. How did you lay the foundations for this in their daily life? Is reading a family affair?
I think it’s a good idea for mums to read regularly to their kids from early on. We’ve been reading to our kids since birth, and now at age 3, Archie is already interested in books. He’ll pull out a book and go through it and memorise the lines.
It’s definitely a family affair. Guy’s always been very active in reading to the boys. He’s also very creative in the delivery – he’ll often make up additional stories himself about the characters and sometimes even throw in a song! The boys love it.
When is your favourite time to read with the boys and do Reading Eggs?
The boys really love us reading to them at the end of the day when they’re nice and calm and need that winding down time. I find Reading Eggs is also a nice thing for Hudson to do before bedtime especially if I’m by myself and I’m reading Archie a story or having a shower! It’s a relief knowing he’s doing something educational. I’ll check in on him doing it from time to time, but he’s mostly fine to navigate it himself.
What are your favourite books to share?
Archie loves Goodnight Moon and he’s obsessed with The Three Little Pigs. Hudson’s tastes are changing now he’s in school. They do library time and last week he brought a book home about chess! He also loves Animalia.
How is Hudson enjoying the Reading Eggs program?
He loves it, particularly the element of it being competitive. Whenever he climbs up another level he’ll come and tell me about it. He just loves that sense of achievement and seeing the characters dance at the end of each task, it’s a fun affirmation for him.
In preparation for Hudson’s transition to school Jules signed up for a free trial of Reading Eggs. Find out more about their experience and why they recommend this fun, educational program for other families in the short video below.
ABC Reading Eggs with Jules & Hudson Sebastian from Motel Picture Company on Vimeo.
Get Your FREE 5 Week Trial of ABC Reading Eggs
For a limited time you can claim a special 5 week FREE trial of ABC Reading Eggs by signing up at https://readingeggs.com.au/mum. But hurry, offer ends 27th August 2017.
*Valid for new customers only.
Win 1 of 5 ABC Reading Eggs Subscriptions
To help your kids get reading-ready we are giving away 5 x 12 month ABC Reading Eggs subscriptions valued at $79.95 each! Simply complete the entry form below. Good luck!
Jolene
Jolene enjoys writing, sharing and connecting with other like-minded women online – it also gives her the perfect excuse to ignore Mount-Washmore until it threatens to bury her family in an avalanche of Skylander T-shirts and Frozen Pyjama pants. (No one ever knows where the matching top is!) Likes: Reading, cooking, sketching, dancing (preferably with a Sav Blanc in one hand), social media, and sitting down on a toilet seat that one of her children hasn’t dripped, splashed or sprayed on. Dislikes: Writing pretentious crap about herself in online bio’s and refereeing arguments amongst her offspring.
