Four Lunchbox Friendly Salad Recipes (1)

As mentioned in my 'About Me' section on this blog as well, it is hard for me to claim to be much skillful around the house, especially in the kitchen. However, luckily, most healthy foods don't require a lot of cooking or baking and I am not going to complain about it at all. As a family, healthy lifestyle is important to us and we try to educate our children accordingly as well. Our children have always been introduced to healthy options whenever and wherever possible and that is what they appreciate most of the time. Especially raw foods are an important part of their diet.

Our son started Prep this year and therefore, we too are on the same boat as many other parents who try to offer variety of foods for their children's lunchboxes on a daily basis. Let me tell you that it is NOT easy if you have not experienced it for yourself yet. The good news, however, is that with the invention of the internet and particularly social media, there are online recipes everywhere. You are the best person to know your child's habits and needs and you can easily find the best options that would work for you and your child, if needed, with some adjustments in recipes.

In our case, our son often brings some sort of a sandwich for lunch but also has some salad as a main or to go with his sandwich as well. He brings some snacks too but I may be able to share some ideas on snacks at another date. Today, it is about salads.

There are four recipes below but be ready for more to come later on as well, as it is only a matter of finding the time to photograph his salads when made freshly in the mornings. Again, that too is not always the easiest task to do. That is why, for the moment, I will only be sharing what I have been able to photograph so far.

SPINACH SALAD

Ingredients:
- Baby spinach leaves
- Fresh cherry tomatoes in a few colours
- Fetta cheese cubes
- Nigella seeds

PASTA SALAD

Ingredients:
- Cooked pasta
- Blanched green beans
- Blanched broccoli
- Raw red capsicum

TOMATO SALAD

Ingredients:
- Cherry tomatoes
- Chunky lettuce leaves
- Red capsicum
- Carrots
- Sunflower seeds

SORREL SALAD

Ingredients:
- Some fresh sorrel leaves (They are hard to find at stores but I have them in my garden. If you can't find them, you can substitute them with any of your favourite salad leaves).
- Carrots
- Cherry tomatoes in a few colours
- Avocado slices
- Cranberries
- Linseed

Note: I do not use seasoning for my son's salads at school. However, you can easily add your choice of seasoning if preferred. 

Enjoy something fresh today!

Lunchbox Friendly Vegetarian Koftas

Remember my post on 'red lentil koftas' from last year? (Click here for the recipe) Here is a slightly more attractive presentation of them for kids.

The inspiration simply came from my love for my son. One school day, he asked for something special (as he often does). I know he normally enjoys red lentil koftas, which I learned how to make last year and have been making some at times ever since. It was during a really hot week and I thought the red lentil koftas would be just perfect. I simply made the mix the night before and left them in the refrigerator over night. In the morning, made small koftas with them, wrapped them around with some fresh juicy, crispy lettuce and voila! When he came home, there was no sign of any leftovers. He surely loved his lunch.

Have a very happy day!

Happy Kids, Happy Mum!

As far as I can remember, I had never looked after someone else's child up until the other day. A friend of mine needed a carer for her daughter for a day and I put my hand up, even though I was a bit anxious about it. I know the little girl and my children love spending time with her. It definitely made it easier that they get along well.

Luckily, our little guest had great manners and her interests were similar to my children's. There were lots of reading, chatting, puzzles etc. during the day (actually, at some stage, my son was walking around with a crown on his head! Oh girls! They know how to make boys do things for sure). I didn't really need to come up with activity ideas for them most of the day but I did suggest a few little things which they happily accepted.

One of the favourites on the day was the outdoor painting activity. If you have been following my blog, you would know that we have been renovating since towards the end of last year. We have completed most of it but there are still some jobs to do before we can call it 'all done'. One advantage of this process is that we have got lots of cardboards around. We try to get rid of them slowly, putting them in our recycling bin whenever possible but we still have heaps. On the day, I basically cut one large piece nice and neatly and gave it to the kids to use as a canvas. They took one of their paint sets, took a paint brush each and simply got started.  They all had a great amount of space for their masterpieces.

This would make a perfect party activity and it won't even cost much. Just make sure you have got nice sized cardboards, enough paint brushes to avoid any tears and screaming; and an art smock each so that no-one ends up with a set of clothes covered in paint to go back home with. All you need after this is to sit back and enjoy the sound of laughter and the bright, proud eyes on the children's faces!

(Our little guest learning hand-embroidery)

(A snack platter from the day)

 Have a fantastic day!

A Word Puzzle for Beginner Readers

My son is a kindergarten student and is at the early stages of reading. He knows his alphabet, he is familiar with the sounds the letters make (phonetics) and is able to read some short words. I have recently made this puzzle for him using some of the words that he can read and we had a great time working on it together. I was more of a guidance available to him and he took the lead happily as soon as he understood the requirements of the activity. He did this just before he went to his kindergarten the other day and before he left home, he asked me if I could prepare him another one for him to work on after kinder that day. Well, this is my proof that this activity is a winner!

The list of the words in the puzzle is written on the bottom of the page. The list can be folded under or cut if you prefer your child to work on it without seeing the words/clues. However, I chose to include them and asked my son to use the list when he isn't sure what the missing letters may be. To me, it is a study skill and it worked well for my son.

Click here to access the printable puzzle as a PDF file.

Enjoy every minute of the quality time you have with your loved ones!

Sleeping Bag: An Upcycling Project

I have been longing to make a sleeping bag for Miss Junior for a while but it took me some time before I could find the time and courage to work on it. When I saw the gorgeous Abby's sleeping bags for her beautiful son and the tutorial she has put together on her page, thingsforboys.com, I thought it was the time I made an extra effort to make one for my daughter as well.

As usual, I actually tried to find more tutorials on it online but unfortunately there weren't many that I thought was great. I think Abby's tutorial was still the best option of them all even though there were some page navigations to be done at times and I was hoping to avoid that. Regardless, I set my mind to it and voila! My little beauty now has a new sleeping sack!

Before moving on to the sleeping bag project of mine, I will share a few photos from my precious new fat quarter stash. Aren't they just amazing? I can look at them with a smiley face and some wildly running ideas in mind for hours and wouldn't even recognise it has been hours!

Now, this much drooling over the gorgeous fabrics of mine should be enough. Lets move on to the actual topic of this post: an upcycling project of turning some baby blankets into a sleeping bag.

Here is how I have made it. I first made a rough pattern on some newspaper pages using one of Miss Junior's sleeping bags. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of making the neck too big at this stage and I only noticed it after I pretty much completed the project. Too late to change it but it is still OK for me as even Mr. Junior wants to wear it at times. It fits him as well. Also, it is all about learning, isn't it? It has taught me a lesson and I am happy to take it. I now know what not to do next time.

Then, I pinned the paper pattern onto some of my children's baby blankets that weren't in much use anymore. I particularly chose the warm materials. I had a pink and a small blue fleece blanket for the outer, and some soft thick 100% cotton blankets for the lining inside.

I must say, for me, the trickiest part was the decision of how to place the zipper and also make it reversible. After a few trials, I think the zipper worked well, but not so reversible (the installation of the zipper was easy, it was the planning of it that was challenging for me). For the ones who have dreaded working with a zip, don't! It is actually surprisingly easy to install one. If you don't believe people who say 'trust me', then just do a quick search online and you will find lots of tutorials on it. Here is only one of the videos that you may find useful (it has brief information on different types of 'feet' for a particular branded sewing machine but also explains how to install a zipper as well). Otherwise, if you would rather prefer pictorial tutorials, you can try this link.

Unlike the tutorial, I cut the two front fabrics (both the pink fleece and also the cotton lining) in half upto the point where my zip was going to end as the zip I had was shorter than the whole length of the sleeping bag but was definitely a good size for my daughter to get in and out easily. Then, I tried to follow the tutorial with the rest of the project.

I was hoping to make it reversible initially, just like the very skillful Abby has made it, but I couldn't (I had to go back and forth to another site here and I didn't have that much time for it). So, I kept going and instead, used some bias tape around the neck and the armholes to give it a professional finish. I must also admit that it was also because I actually really like this finish. It just gives it a more character and adds value to it.

I may also add some fabric cover over the zipper on top of the sleeping bag to make it harder for my daughter to open it. I can close it with a snap fastener or a button.

Since my pink blanket was larger than what I needed at the front and my blue piece was not big enough for the back, I simply used a bit of both at the back.

Here are a few notes for myself for the next time:

* Your daughter is petite. This sleeping bag will possibly fit her until she is at least a teenager. You can aim for a smaller fit next time.

* As you have noticed after trying it on yourself, the neck suits you perfectly well. Since it is originally made for your 2 year old daughter, not for yourself, make sure you make the neck-hole much smaller next time. 

* Follow instructions well. Do not get lazy. Otherwise, be happy with your 'not-so-reversible' sleeping bag. 

Make something that you enjoy making today!

DIY KIDS: Bucket Stilt Balancing Fun

Here, it is the second week of school holidays. In my opinion, it is a great time to stock up on some easy and affordable activity/toy ideas to keep the little ones happily busy. Busy kids, happy parents!

Stilt walking challenge will not only amaze your child(ren) during their school-free time but is sure to make a great party activity too.



What you need for this stilt fun is as follows:

- a drill to make holes with, 

- some rope, 

- two buckets, strong enough to carry your child(ren).

Simply, drill two holes on the bottom of your buckets across from each other just large enough for your rope to go through. Secure each side of the rope with a knot inside the bucket, where the holes are. Make another knot less than halfway through the rope on the outside and voila! That is all there is to it. 

Have a joyful day!

A MUM'S SECRET TO KEEPING KIDS BUSY EASILY

I have been quiet recently mostly because I have been busy with my little bundles of joy, the customer orders and some temporary health issues.

A few weeks ago, I had a cold just like most other family members but fortunately, it didn't last long after paying some conscious attention to my well being, daily diet and the sun exposure. One of our secrets to getting rid of a cold is some fresh homemade soup (mostly vegetable soups with some lentils) and pouring a raw mixture of freshly squeezed lemon, homegrown chilli flakes and crushed garlic into it. It works like a magic!

Early this week, however, something happened that took me all unprepared unlike a cold and I just had to accept it and deal with it as it happened. As I was at an open day of a school, looking around, having some chats, out of nowhere came this pain in my spine on the neck that made me almost immobile for the rest of the day. I am a young and a fairly healthy person and this was a total surprise to me. It turns out that somehow, one of those gentle head movements pinched a nerve on my neck which caused muscle spasms. So, this week, I have been mostly robot-like, not moving much, not laughing much, trying not to cough or sneeze. It is getting better day by day and seeing a physiotherapist the day after it happened has helped heaps.

The one thing that becomes a real luxury when you have young children is to be sick, even if it is temporarily and I am sure if you are a parent, you know what I am talking about. My little ones, aged 4 and 2, do not comprehend it well yet. They cannot really understand that Mummy can get sick and she may need some time to rest or be not on the move as they wish, when they wish sometimes. It is only fair on their behalf too, I suppose. So, we have all been trying to do our best to compromise as a family, as much as we could. Mr. Hubby stayed at home the first two days, the little one didn't get to stay in my arms as often as she normally likes to, Mr. Junior had to settle with not being able to go to the library on the day he wanted to etc. I, in the meantime, have been trying hard to give myself some rest while still being the main carer around the house and the kids for most of the week.

Luckily, this week has been beautiful weather-wise here in Melbourne and I have been using it to our advantage. Instead of trying to keep the kids at home bored and demanding, I have been encouraging them to go out for a gentle walk with me as it is an activity that doesn't really put pressure on my neck. It keeps them busy, while giving them some exercise that helps them sleep well and feel better whilst giving us all some strength, a change of environment and some positive energy. Walking is definitely one of my all-time favourites.

Look what else has been helpful (apart from going for a walk) in keeping the kids happily busy while letting me take it easy this week! They are all low-demand activities that once you get the kids started, they do not need you much (if not at all) for a while and you don't even need to do much afterwards either as they are pretty much mess-free!

Some arts and craft activities.

Chalk drawing.

Water paint (You can read more about this activity here).

Have a healthy day!

PRESCHOOLER MATHEMATICS IN TWO MINUTES

This year, Mr. Junior has shown an increasing amount of interest in mathematics (you can read more on it here). It is such great a time for us to work with his curiosity and add on to his skills whenever possible. The other day, he learned how to add numbers between 1 and 9 (inclusive) to 10 and 20. It took him less than 2 minutes to do it. We were about to park our car just outside of a store when we started talking about it and by the time we came out of the car, he already knew how to do it, with almost no mistake at all! 

I will tell you about this picture at the end of the post. For the moment, lets not get unfocused and continue on with our preschooler maths secret. 

Here is our trick: If you are using the number 10, then whatever number you are adding to it (only 1-9), use that number with a 'teen' at the end (with a few exemptions which you need to inform him of. ie. numbers 1, 2, 3 and 5). 

So, it goes like this;

1 + 10 = 11 (eleven- not covered by the rule above)

2 + 10 = 12 (twelve- not covered by the rule above)

3 + 10 = 13 (thirteen- not exactly covered by the rule above)

4 + 10 = 14 (four-TEEN)

5 + 10 = 15 (fifteen- not exactly covered by the rule above)

6 + 10 = 16 (six-TEEN)

7 + 10 = 17 (seven-TEEN)

8 + 10 = 18 (eight-TEEN)

9 + 10 = 19 (nine-TEEN)

Then comes the twenties (and the thirties and so forth) which are even easier! First say 20, then say the number you are adding to it and it makes the total number.

20 + 1 = 21 (Twenty-one)

20 + 2 = 22 (Twenty-two)

20 + 3 = 23 (Twenty-three)

20 + 4 = 24 (Twenty-four)

20 + 5 = 25 (Twenty-five)

... and so on. 

This exercise gave my 4 year old son a great sense of achievement and made him even more excited about numbers and all the tricks that Mummy knows about (!). The next day, we were invited to his uncle's place for dinner and he wanted to impress his uncle and aunt with his newly learnt maths skills as well. He only shares the secret to it with particular people though, and leaves the rest to wonder how on earth a 4 year-old can do addition so quickly, so perfectly. 

I suppose you have been wondering what these two photos are about. The photos are all about Mr. Junior and some of his favourites. He LOVES his fruit, his books and bow-ties. Approximately a month ago, we were invited to a party and the night before, I decided to surprise him with something that I knew he would appreciate well and would be useful and made him this black-and-white bowtie which was such a success. He was extremely happy with it. I mostly used this tutorial with a few minor changes to make this impressive bow-tie.

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BASIC MATHEMATICS FOR PRESCHOOLERS

Recently, both of my children, aged approximately 4 and 2, have been showing a lot of interest in mathematics. It is a great time for us to let them expand their knowledge and skills in some maths that they will benefit from now, and later. Miss Junior can count to five (well, almost- but it is not her fault. The number four is the naughty one, never stays still. So, it is generally 1, 2, 3 and 5).

As for Mr. Junior, I have decided to introduce some addition and subtraction as he has shown some signs that he is ready to move onto that level, happily. We often do implicit teaching rather than explicit teaching as they both enjoy communicating with us and during our daily chats, there are endless number of opportunities to do so. They are quite verbal, involved in daily family activities and have curious minds, like most other children in their age groups. We only pay some attention to their signs and take it from there.

A few weeks ago, I had a great time doing some maths with especially Mr. Junior while we were all in their play room playing with some toys and cards. We used Mr. Junior's much loved trains, cars and trucks most of the time but we also used some other things that they both are familiar with or love such as fruit. (Both of my children are also known as 'fruit monsters' and everything looks and feels better to them when there is some fresh fruit is involved. Why not using it for some maths?)

What you can teach them using your everyday materials is endless. You are pretty much your own limit. However, if you need some quick and simple ideas, here are a few that I used with my 4 year old son, Mr. Junior, for you:

1. There are 4 carriages attached to your yellow train. Each carriage takes 2 children. How many children can the yellow train carry in total?

2. You have 4 tennis balls. I have 1. Your sister has 2. We all give our tennis balls to Daddy. How many tennis balls does Daddy have?

3. There are some cars in these boxes. There are 3 in the yellow box, 1 in the blue, 5 in the green and zero in the white. How many cars does it make altogether?

4.  You used to have 7 cars. The other day, your aunty came over and gave you these 3 cars. The next day, your grandfather gave you these 2. How many cars do you have now?

5. You have 6 cars here. Your sister took (stole!) 2 away. How many cars do you have now?

6.  Here are 9 of your socks. 3 of them are matching/have a pair. How many of them don't have a pair/have lost their pairs?

7. I need 2 pegs for this t-shirt, 1 peg for this sock, 2 pegs for your sister's top and 3 pegs for this towel. How many pegs do I need in total?

8. I am a shop keeper and you are a customer. You came to my shop to buy some nectarines. You want to buy 3 nectarines. Each one costs $2 (each card in the picture represents a dollar). How much do you need to buy 3 nectarines?

*At this stage, Miss Junior was just helping herself :-)

These are only some examples. Please also note that they are relevant to us and that is why we used those particular examples. At his age, it is important to use solid materials rather than doing some abstract calculations. We used real materials and often pointed to a relevant item whenever applicable. He also used his fingers as an aid in his calculations when needed. I think it was a successful activity as he was keen from the beginning to the end and asked for more the next morning.

Teach someone something useful today!

AN ARTWORK IDEA USING TWIGS

A masterpiece by Mr. Junior

Here is another simple, yet fun and educational activity for your young children or students. We made this a few months ago and the inspiration came during one of our walks.

It was a day when we had many days when the sun was much missed and was shining shyly that we went out for a walk as we usually do. Mr. Junior was on his bike and Miss Junior was sitting in her pram. As usual, we had quite a few stops when especially Mr. Junior stopped to look at his new discovery of something or examine a bug or collect some rocks or twigs. This time, he decided that there were many tiny branches on our way that were screaming to be used for arts and crafts. That is how they found our way home: all chosen and picked up carefully by Mr. Junior and travelled on top of the sun shade of his bike.

After he had his afternoon nap, he was excited to get started with his new masterpiece-to-be-born. He collected all the 'tools that he needed' (as he says it), put his smock on and sat down. He wanted to stick them on paper and I suggested that we make some shapes with them. He was happy with the idea and asked me to draw a circle for him. The rest was mostly his own work and he is still very proud of it and it still stays on the display area (on the fridge).

There are many skills that this activity requires and helps develop such as some mathematical skills, spatial skills, comparison, patience, focus, pre-school skills such as hand-eye coordination, decision making and more. Walking, recycling/re-using and collecting are only some bonuses of the activity.

Materials used:
twigs of various sizes (both length and width)
a piece of paper (we used recycled paper)
glue
a pen/pencil to trace a shape (optional)

We used a 'controlled' type of method where the shape was decided on and were drawn prior to the activity however, depending on your expectations from the activity and your child's readiness, skills or wish, you can choose not to include it. He can enjoy designing his own artwork. This can also be turned into a frame and you can use fabric instead of paper if you prefer to. The twigs can be painted too. The other possibility is that you can use this activity as a support to his other learnings (e.g. smallest to the biggest etc) or he can write letters (or writes his name) using twigs in the same way if he is working on the alphabet and so forth.

Enjoy something that the Nature offers today! (and you are very welcome to share your own versions or the masterpieces of your children once your little ones come up with them)

AN EASY ACTIVITY FOR KIDS

Here is another kids activity that does not require any materials that is unlikely to be around the house. All you need is a bunch of pegs (excuse the way my old set of pegs in the picture looks) and a plastic laundry basket. If you don't have a basket that has small bars where the pegs can be attached, you can use other options such as metal drawers (like the ones IKEA sells) or make a few lines with a rope in between two things (such as chairs-just make sure they are safe enough for your child) and use the ropes instead.

 

This activity is great because it keeps toddlers and preschoolers (and even young school aged kids) busy for a while and they can practise their fine motor skills as well as coordination skills while having fun. You can even encourage them to (or they may even choose to) color coordinate the pegs or come with a particular shape or design of their own which would mean even more skills. 

Enjoy a simple yet fulfilling day today!

RECYCLED CRAFTS: An Egg Carton Turned Into A Skateboard

                               

Here in Melbourne, we have been having lots of cold days and the flu bugs are having a very successful season. We have had our share as well and it all started with Mr. Junior being unwell the other week. On the positive side, this sickness gave us a lot of opportunities to stay mostly at home and do something together. 

As a family, we try our best not to waste anything or waste as little as possible as you would know from many of my previous posts. We love the idea of using the unwanted rather than wasting and here is another example of what recycled craft Mr. Junior did with my help using an egg palate. Just as a dip-note, we made a skateboard (Mr. Junior is very much into scooters and skateboards this year), a bookmark, a turtle (or does it look more like a snail?) and a finger puppet using the same palate. We still have so much more egg carton left for more for later!

This tutorial is visual and the step-by-step instructions hidden in pictures explain it all. I will only list the materials and then leave you with the pictures!

Materials used:

• an egg carton
• a pair of scissors
• glue
• sticky tape
• 4 bottle caps
• some tissues (to be stuffed in bottle caps)
• a disposable wooden chopstick (to be broken into two)
• a piece of decorating paper for decorative purposes(we used an old colouring book's cover page) (optional)

Do something fun today!

HOMEMADE PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT

What a great homemade playground equipment design idea! I so want this for my backyard!

MR. JUNIOR's CLASSIC MUSIC LOVE SECRET

Mr. Junior and I have different tastes in music at times. However, we have a system running smoothly in our lives. On the way to his early learning centre, we listen to 'his music', and on the way back home, we listen to 'my music'.

His type of music is hard to name as he is generally pretty particular about what he likes and it is hard to guess what he will say yes to especially while listening to the radio. It is perhaps mostly pop music but not the very loud or the busy ones and I am  happy with it as well. However, I also enjoy variety and I try to expose my children to it too. That's why I thought it would be great to find a way to offer some opportunities to my children to have a taste of other music types too rather than the only ones they like.

Music doesn't actually have a big role in my life to be honest but when I do listen to it, I often prefer some calming type of music such as classic music or jazz unless I am happy to sing along or dance and that's when we both enjoy similar types of music (for example, we both enjoy listening to'The lion sleeps tonight' over and over and we both like to jump around and dance to it).

My love of classic and instrumental music in general began when I was at highschool when one of my brothers gifted a Mozart CD to me and later on took me to a great concert. A good friend of mine is also a ballet dancer and hanging around with her for quite a few years too helped, I assume.

Here is what worked really well for us: Use of imagination. It wasn't very hard to come up with this solution as I am still to this date doing this regardless of I mean to or not. I just can't help thinking of possible dance moves or a story that goes with the music I am listening. Recently, I turned on 'my music' in the car again and asked Mr. Junior what he thought was happening/what story it was telling as he listened to it. He was perplexed and asked me what I thought it was about. I started sharing with him what I thought the story was. As the tunes changed, the moves changed too. He loved it!!! He loved my stories and he started imagining also. He still prefers me to tell him a story that goes with the music rather than him sharing one with me but, hey, this little game gave us something unique to share, an opportunity to let go of our limits and let our imagination go wild and also the love of classic music.

Since that day, he LOVES classic music and the stories that we come up with. At times lions jump out of nowhere and run wild until they find a puddle and then they start jumping on it, sometimes it is the kids hiding from some other kids and going on their tippy toes, or someone trying to sleep but it is not working because he has some brilliant ideas that just came to mind and made him too excited. He gets up and writes the ideas down before he relaxes and goes back to bed etc.

I believe that every time he listens to classic music even as an adult in the future, he will remember our little stories and who knows, may be one day, this may be how he will help his children to enjoy a certain type of music when he is a parent!

TEACHING KIDS INDEPENDENCE

Here is a video that teaches kids how to put their jackets on by themselves. It is a good idea to teach kids age appropriate life skills from very young ages. It will not only help them throughout their lives, but it will also improve their confidence as individuals. The video below has simple audio-visual instructions.

Briefly, the instructions are as follows:

1. jacket is placed on the floor upside down
2. arms in
3. flip

FUN ARTWORK IDEA

Brilliant idea! To make something like this, all you need to do is to mix some food colouring to your bubble mixture and let your child blow them onto paper where they pop. This is fun and functional as you can actually use your/your child's own uniquely designed paper using this method for your gift wrapping or as a wall art!