GETTING CANDID WITH CANDICE Life in 2020 was pretty crazy for most. Lockdowns, home schooling, a stint on SAS Australia perhaps? All in a day’s work for popular media personality Candice Warner! Did you catch her on your TV screen? We chatted to the mum of three to find out how she and her husband cricketing star David Warner juggled it all, and how she made sure her girls’ learning thrived throughout 2020 when she was both home and away. So, Candice we’re all about mums and their kids at MamaMag! Tell us a bit about your girls.
Were you concerned about their educational development missing time in the classroom?
So, Ivy is six – she’s going into Year 1 this year, Indi is five and about to start kindy, and Isla is just 18 months old. My oldest two share the competitive nature of myself and David and they’re already cricket fans! They’re great kids who like to bat balls with him in the backyard.
As it was Ivy’s first time going to school, I was slightly apprehensive as to what the year would bring. However, once we got into a routine it was fine. I’d organise the day like I imagined school would be run. In the morning we’d do something educational such as the app and reading books, then a craft. After lunch we’d do sporty stuff. In fact, because Ivy really engaged with the ABC Reading Eggs app during this time, once classrooms resumed, she went back with increased confidence in reading. So it increased her love of school.
How did you manage juggling home schooling with one at day care, one in school and a toddler on the side? It was challenging but I had to make it work. Particularly Ivy who’d started kindy and was learning to read and write – I tried to give her as much attention as I could. However, a few years ago she and Indi started doing an app called ABC Reading Eggs so that made my job as mum and make-shift teacher easier. It gave me peace of mind that she was doing something educational whilst having fun.
So, what were some of the benefits you’ve found from the girls using the app? So, as it teaches reading skills such as phonics through animated games and songs, they love it when they finish a game and a character called Sam the Ant comes on. They’ll sing along with him and like the reward of extra games It gives them a sense of accomplishment and that’s exciting for them.
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When do you think you’ll get little Isla into ABC Reading Eggs? Probably in six months’ time when she’s two. She sees her sisters having fun with it and is already curious as to what they’re doing. By then I’ll be able to spend quality time with her to teach her how to use it.
In August you left your family for two weeks to go on SAS Australia - surely the most physically and mentally taxing reality show we’ve ever seen on our screens! What were your initial thoughts about getting involved? Right from the start I wanted to take part. They showed me episodes of SAS UK so I knew it was going to be incredibly arduous. But as a former Ironwoman I wanted to physically challenge
