One dreary day I decided to introduce my children to Mr. Cornelius. Armed with a cupful of popping corn kernels, they wondered what this strange looking machine did.

The popcorn maker turned on and there were whizzing sounds followed by POP POP POP…. POP POP POP POP POP. Intriguing.

I think this next photo says it all. Perhaps you would like to caption it for me readers?

N&M: 3 years, 6 months
E: 1 year, 5 months

The post Mr. Cornelius Makes Popcorn by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

“Insanity – heard of it?”

I think to myself, “Insanity. Yes. Most mums know it very well. We try to avoid it. Is this a workout that we want to avoid?”

Turns out that Insanity is a type of fitness program on DVD. A quick google search reveals, “The secret to the Insanity workout is max interval training, where you do long bursts of maximum-intensity exercises with short periods of rest”. The promo video ends with “Are you ready?”. I answer, “No.”

Ever notice how the rhythm of the home is like a workout? There are periods of maximum intensity followed by periods of rest. There are days that are Insanity type days: long bursts of maximum intensity followed by short periods of rests. Those days are hard work.

I try to plan my days so it’s not long bursts of maximum intensity followed by only short periods of rest. I would like to keep my sanity, thank you. A key part to this is to have one planned activity to engage the kids in the morning. It could be anything, so long as I’m giving them my full attention for a period of at least 15 minutes. Making easy peasy cookies is one such activity to help keep my sanity.

EASY PEASY COOKIES

Ingredients
250g plain flour
125g sugar
125g butter
1 egg
1tsp baking powder
few drops of essence

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C

2. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix.

3. Roll out the cookie dough and cut out your shapes. (We used dinosaur cookie cutters).

4. Place cookies on a baking tray that has been lined with baking paper and bake for 20-30mins (or until golden).

 N&M: 3 years, 7 months
E: 1 year, 6 months

This post was shared in the following linky parties:

It’s Playtime
Today at Play
For the Kids Friday

The post Easy Peasy Cookies by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

INGREDIENTS
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 175°C ( 350°F) & peel the bananas.

Mash up the bananas.

Pour and mix the butter into the mashed bananas.

Pour the sugar into the mix.

Choose an egg, beat it and add it to the bowl.

Add vanilla, baking soda and salt.

Finally, add the flour and mix.

Pour the mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan.
(Go on and taste the batter before you wash up the mixing bowl).

Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Now get in my belly!
Too easy.

N&M: 3 years, 6 months.

The post easy one bowl banana bread by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

This week we’re learning about the letter [m]. We started off rainbow writing the letter [m] using our texta silk crayons.

We then moved our rainbow writing onto more unconventional mediums.

We scooped some sweetened condensed milk onto baking trays and practised writing the letter shape of [m]. It’s a tricky letter shape to learn as it involves hops, not just simple lines and circles. We’re still working on it.

N & M have never tasted sweetened condensed milk before. They were blown away.

MMMMMMM

More Milk? Yes. More. Milk.

More m’s.

Mmmmmmm

Then I gave them some melted chocolate to add to their trays.

Last but not least came the bowl of warm custard.

They delighted in mixing all three wonderfully sweet ingredients as they practised their rainbow writing of [m].

(There may have been more tasting than rainbow writing.)

Simple ideas for introducing [m]

Show children a written lower case [m]

• Model the mouth movement and sound [m]
• Visually connect the picture/word “mix” with the letter sound [m]
• Kinaesthetically simulate a mixing action. Close fist and move it in a circular action.

This post was shared in the following linky parties:

Today at Play
It’s Playtime
Kids Get Crafty
TGIF
Sunday Showcase
Play Academy
Crafty Moms Share Sharing Saturday
Link & Learn

The post [m] is for mixing the wonderfully sweet by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.