Dog Food Drive: for the love of dogs and rhinos

For all the wildlife enthusiasts and animal lovers out there, we call on you to join us in a food drive for HiP’s anti-poaching dogs . We are calling on the public to come together on #WorldRhinoDay and support the K9 Unit in the Hluhluwe- imfolozi Park by donating food for the canine heroes in the fight against poaching.   

While many of us enjoy game viewing and tracking of game in Hluhluwe- imfolozi Park, there are always poachers somewhere out there in the wilderness and a ranger with a working dog, in hot pursuit, with the knowledge that they might have to give up their lives for a bigger causes and for the world and future generations to enjoy. These unsung heroes of conservationdogs, along with their support team, risk their lives every day to save our precious rhinos. Many man hours and funds goes into training and maintaining these dogs, which have resulted in many successful arrests. But these dogs need your our support and one of the easiest way is s to help keep this four-legged force battle-ready is through the donation of food. Hence our HiP Dog Food Drive run by our Hilltop Honorary Officer group. If you love dogs and our rhinos, simply donate a bag of food and we will make sure it gets to our dedicated ant poaching dogs.

There are two ways you can get involved in the Dog Food Drive:

1. Drop off a bag of food at the HiP gates! Kicking off on #WorldRhinoDay the public will have from 22 September 2016 until the 30th of September to drop off as many bags of dog food as they can. These unsung heroes have a very specific diet which allows them to maintain their health, fitness and optimal performances. So we ask that you only Please only purchase Science Hill’s plan Canine Adult Advanced Fitness or Eukanuba Working and Endurance Adult, as this is what the dogs are used to – any change in diet can affect performance. These are sSpeciality dry food that are stocked at vet stores.  should stock these brands. These hard working dogs need very specific and reliable food that consistently provides all the nutrients and energy they need. These foods are designed for very active working dogs, with not only extra protein and energy, but also the correct minerals and antioxidants too!  Collect from your friends and family and email us to arrange collection.

admin@hilltophonoraryofficers.org.za 

 

2.    Donate money to the cause!  If you Live outside of South Africa, simply can’t afford a bag, or just want to do your bitgive a little bit extra. Send an email to admin@hilltophonoraryofficers.org.za requesting the bank details, which will be sent to you along with a reference that should be used when making the transfer. Get your colleagues friends, family ,clubs and school involved –as little as from ZAR10 to ZAR10,000, can help all donations are welcome and all funds go directly back to the K9 Unit in the Hluhluuwe -imfolozi Park.

While the dogs are lovingly cared for by the team in the Hluhluwe -imfolozi  Park, the cost of fighting the rhino poaching crisis is so extremely high that any funding is spread thinly between. So a simple gesture like providing stapledog food means that vigorous monies can be spent in other vital areas. The more help we can rally up, the better.

And with your help we can show our anti-poaching dogs just how much we care. Our rhino dogs thanking you in advance for your generosity! #rhinodogs

You can also help by spreading the word by sharing this article and changing your Facebook or WhatsApp profile photo to our badge for the month of September. You can download from it from – www.hilltophonoraryofficers.org.za , www.kznsightings.co.za or download here 

Jo’s activity boxes - Review

For all those moms who tear their hair out trying to figure out what to do all day with their kids, or who are worried they not giving there little ones the stimulation they need,  here is a solution to your problem.

Jo’s activity box from Mothers and miracles, Durban North.  Each box is designed for a certain age group, jam packed with educational and development activities for your little one to do.

Jodi is passionate about early childhood development and offers support to parents when it comes to helping their children reach their milestones in fun and creative ways. The Jo’s activity boxes are a home stimulation program that is catered to suit all types whether you’re a working mom, stay at home mom or a nanny. The best thing for me is that you’re not tied into a monthly subscription. When you and your little one are ready to move to the next level all you do is place your order.

Jo’s activities box is a great concept as each active will keep him/her hooked for days! These play- based activities help in the basic development of habits and overall skill development of your child.

Each box comes with:

·         Age appropriate actives

·         Manual

Box ranges:

·      0-6 months

·      6-15 months

·      15-24 months

·      2-5 years

I lucky that Jodi was kind enough to send me the 6-15 month box for my little one to try out. At first, when I opened the box… it was filled with goodies, excited I took a breath and started reading through the manual and sorting through all the activities. It didn’t take me long as it was actually really simple and I like how many of the activities are similar to the Montessori curriculum.

My daughter cherished our activity time and eagerly waited for each day for her stimulation time, were she was engaged and kept stimulated with each activity. This is a great thing for me as she’s a super busy bee.

Prices are: R250 – R300 per box,all prices excl. delivery.

Visit the Mothersand miracles DBN blog to learn more, about Mothers and miracles Durban North classes.

You can phone Jodi on 084 516 1357 or you can e-mail her at jodi@letni.co.za . Also visit their Facebook page for all the latest updates and specials.

 COMPETITION TIME

One lucky reader can stand the chance to win a jo’s activity Box Suited to their child’s age – all you have to do is follow the below steps…

* “Like” Mothers and miracles Durban North on Facebook  here.

* “Like” Groovy motherhood on Facebook Here.

* Share this competition via one of the social share buttons at the bottom of the article, telling me in the comments section below that you’ve done all three tasks!

Winner announced 30 November 2016  Open to S.A. only – Good Luck!

T’s & C’s Apply.

Fun in the tub

Bath time is a great way for moms to get creative and have fun with your little ones. You can go all out and create themes or just keep it simple. But most moms’ say they don't have the time to get creative, so here are some simple ways to have fun in the tub. These ideas are so simple even busy moms can do them.

Learn colour's in bath

• Add food colouring to your bath, by adding food colouring to water you won't stain your child or your bath. Colourful water adds a simple element of fun and doesn't take long time to clean. 

Add to fun

• If you are feeling more creative you can add other elements to help learn colours. One could create a colour themed bath. By adding food items , blocks , balls- this is a great way to teach primary colours (Blue, red & yellow). Below is an example of what i used :

                          *    Red -  red food colouring added to bath 

                                       -  I cut out red circles out of foam 

                                       -  Red plastic apples 

                                       -  Red rose petals or flowers 

                                       -  Red blocks and balls 

                            Plus i sing the colour songs : )

You can find them :

utube song :  Red - click here    , Blue - click here  , Yellow - click here 

Mp3 song :   Red - click here   , Blue - click here  , Yellow - click here 

Polka dot bath 

      With the polka dot bath you can start learning your secondary colours - green , orange and purple.

      What i did was a cut out circles of the primary colour in the above mention activity and then i cut       out circles for secondary colours. 

      I then decide which secondary colour is the colour for night and resolve them around that. So for         example.

                     Green - Green food colouring 

                                -  Blue , yellow and green circles in bath

                     Orange - Orange food colouring

                                -  Orange , yellow and red circles in bath 

                     Purple - Purple food colouring

                                - Purple , blue and red circles in bath 

I sing the song that i found on teaching mama's blog - click here 

Bath painting 

There are a few ways to make easy quick and easy bath paints which the kids love. I always have a colour pallet of power paints ready to, to make your own powders paints or foam paint. You can also add to this and go one step further with making them scented, it only takes a few minutes extra. Make your own, by just adding essential oils or food flavouring.

Or you can Oder from - spotted giraffe - admin@spottedgriaffe.co.za

Top image is powder paints mixed with water along with a soap brush , bottom image is powder paint.

Water wonder - water wall 

Kids love playing with water , so why not encourage it in the bath. Just imagine the reaction of your little one when they see the water wall. With a little duct tape,pvc pipes,poolnoods,funnels,tubing or pool pipes,old juices bottles and some imagination,one can create an amazing water wall.

Spray painting 

Oh what fun this is , but just be warned this can be very messy. Not only is it fun but it also works the pincer grip for future writing development. I found it best to run a bubble bath and them to give my little one one or two spray bottles with the spray paint in, this way she's more focused on the bubbles changing colour than spraying it every wear. How to make your spray paint, click here   

Bath noodles 

No it's not what your thinking , i might not mind being messy with kids but real edible noodles is just way to over the top. Basically you'll create a  pool noodle pit. Its easy , all you will need is to buy four pool noodles and cut them into small circles and throw them in the bath. 

You can take it on step further and use the noodles to teach your kid colours or how to count.

Remember sometimes the simplest of actives is a bath time full of fun.