Family Natters

• keep pets indoors
• only have adults handle and light the fireworks
• stand well back when watching fireworks
• don’t go back to unexploded fireworks
• don’t give babies and toddlers fireworks
• make sure children don’t pick up dropped sparklers, have them wear gloves
• don’t throw fireworks
• light them at arms length using a taper
• keep fireworks in a closed box and take them out as you use them

What other ways are there to be safe?

If you are stuck for a novel idea for a Christmas card for KS1 kids, and have been learning about electricity in science, why not consider this snowman card.

The snowman himself is simply A4 paper cut by an adult as per the shape.  The child then writes his or her message inside before it is laminated and a hole made for the nose.

The child then glues on materials for eyes, a scarf and buttons then connects the lamp and electrical circuit shown.

Get your entire 5-a-day intake of veg with this one tasty dish. This recipe is idea if you wish to do the preparation at a different time to the cooking.  It’s special because of the golden potato, carrot and swede topping that, and the use of red wine.

Ingredients
1 onion
175g mushrooms
900g potatoes
225g carrots
450g swede
1 green pepper
1 aubergine
1 clove garlic
50g soft cheese with garlic + herbs
175g bacon
675g minced lamb
150ml red wine
2 tbsp tomato purée
600ml beef stock

Instructions

• peel and chop the veg
• dice the bacon
• heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large pan and fry the onion, garlic and bacon for 10 mins
• add the lamb and brown fully on a high heat
• add the tomato purée, pepper, mushroom and aubergine, and cook stirring for 5 mins
• add the wine, stock and any season
• bring to the boil and simmer for 30 mins
• meanwhile boil the potatoes, swede and mash until tender
• drain and mash with 25g butter and the soft cheese
• preheat to oven to 200ºC
• spoon the mince into an oven proof dish, cover with the topping and bake for 25 mins

Am I the only one who thinks the Rocky Balboa storyline is ridiculous?  Sylvester Stalone must be atleast 60 by now. Surely the film writers didn’t really think people would believe a boxer of that age could be half decent? Has anyone watched the film?  What did you think to it?

Treat the kids this Christmas by following making this kids Christmas recipe.

Ingredients

• shop-bought marshmellow covered in chcolate buns
• bag of maltesers
• bag of large chocolate buttons
• icing ‘pen’
• small bag of sweet jellies
• appropriate scarf sweet (could be a longer one cut down to size)

Method

• Melt some of the chocolate buttons by putting them in a bowl, then putting the bowl in hot water
• Use this melted chocolate to secure a jelly sweet and large chocolate button on to a malterser (to make a head with a hat on) then secure this on to a marshmellow bun body
• wrap a sweetscarf round the snowman’s neck
• using the icing pen to add buttons and facial features

The things a girl’s got to do…

Forget the ironing and hoovering; I’ve been assiduously testing both spreads all morning.  So far there is no clear winner.  But don’t despair, I’ll keep battling on comparing them, and if James complains nothings been done when he comes home tonight, I’ll tell him I’ve been toiling all day to benefit the nation’s education.

Click on and print out this free frog template: Kids Art: Free Spotty Frog Template Foundation Stage (do this by right-clicking your mouse, print, then changing the page scaling option to ‘fit to printer margins.’)

 You can then photocopy it on to green card, or cut it out then use it as a template to reproduce others on green paper.  Foundation stage activity ideas include:

• singing Five Little Speckled Frogs nursery rhyme
• using droppers to add spots onto frog pictures (link to counting and vocab such as more) 
• adding stickers onto frog pictures (as above)
• reading frog story e.g. The Frog Princess and non-fiction books
• visiting places where you might see frogs in their natural habitats
• looking at frogspawn using magnifying glasses and other equipment
• making observational drawings of tadpoles and frogs

Annie is 20 months now and loves nothing better than to empty cupboards. You can tell where she’s been by following her trail of destruction. It’s like a battle between us: I quickly try to tidy up the bedroom while Annie rushes to Tom’s desk and throws his colouring pencils all over. I pick up his colouring pencils while Annie throws all the pans out of the pan cupboard. Endless fun. After a whole day of tidying up Annie is still usually one step ahead of me. The only way to keep the house tidy is to go out.

Is/ was your 20 month old like this?

The physiotherapist then assessed her and recommended special shoes. She had a hospital appointment to be measured for them then one to be fitted and finally we had the boots. Amazingly, she was walking with one hand held the day after. I was so proud. The manufacturers call them Pedro walking boots, but I call them magic.