CHANGING THE COLOUR OF WATER

I have learnt this from a kids' science TV program recently. I found it amazing and wanted to share it with you too.

If you cook red cabbage, you will see that its water turns dark purple. If you pour some of that water onto a cup of plain tap water, the water turns purple. Then add some egg white and stir it well, the water will become blue. Then add some vinegar, and it will turn into pink/red. Add some baking soda, it will be blue again. Put some lemonade in it and it will amazingly turn into purple once again! (I hope I remembered them all right!)

It is incredible!

If you would like to learn more about the activity or the reasons behind the colour changes, here is one of the good sources for you.

HOMEMADE PAINT

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 2 tablespoons of salt
• 1 ½ cups of cold water
• 1 ¼ cups of hot water
• food colouring

Method:

1. Place your flour and water in a saucepan. Beat with an egg whisk until smooth. The cold water will allow all the lumps of flour to be worked out to give you a smooth consistency.
2. Add the hot water and boil on the stove until your paint thickens.
3. Whisk again until smooth
4. Add drops of food colouring until you get the desired shade.
5. Store covered in the fridge.

Yes, it is that easy! However, if you like, you can try some other recipes too. Here are some more homemade paint recipes for you:


ANOTHER HOMEMADE PAINT RECIPE

Ingredients:

• Starch
• Sugar
• Water
• Liquid detergent 
• Food colouring

Method:

1. Cook starch and sugar in water. 
2. When cooled down, add some detergent and food colouring. 

 FACE PAINT

Ingredients: 

1. A container (an egg carton would do the job)
2. Cream
3. Food colouring

Method:

1. Break out a muffin tin or empty egg carton.
2. Spoon some cold cream into the tin or carton. The amount you use is up to you. It will depend on how much paint you need in the end.
3. Mix 1 to 2 drops of various colors food coloring into each cup. Feel free to mix colors to create your own variety.

DID YOU KNOW ...? (10)

It is claimed that a Rubik's Cube has 4,325,003,274,489,856,000 possible positions. (That makes approximately four quintillion. Unbelievable!)

A MATCHING GAME

This is a cost-free and easy-to-do activity that you can do with your children at home. You can use different types (and number) of materials depending on your child's age, readiness level and also what you have in hand at the time. This is a great activity which will help your child with mathematical and language skills as well as coordination and motor skills. I almost always prefer various types of materials (which also helps with sensory skills) and sizes.  For this example, perhaps some glass jars as well as plastic ones in different sizes would work well.

The idea is simple: Your child matches the jars with their lids and can also try to put them on if he is at a stage where he can handle that much challenge. As usual, I recommend a demonstration first and then let him do it. You can also introduce some contrasting words such as 'tall/short, big/small, wide/narrow and so forth while playing/working on this activity. Additionally, you can count the jars/containers and their lids in a language (or languages) that you would like to teach your child.

This is such a hassle-free activity with lots of opportunities for fun and learning. It is a simple and free activity that you can easily use with your toddlers or preschoolers at home.

TOP TEN PLAYGROUNDS IN MELBOURNE

Today is Australia Day. (Australia Day: Australia’s national day is held on 26th January in recognition of the arrival in 1788 of the First Fleet, a group of 11 ships that sailed from England to establish a colony in Australia). It is celebrated nationally and is a public holiday throughout the whole nation.

People celebrate Australia Day in various ways. Australia Day celebrations include Australia Day Honours, Australian of the Year Awards¹, Citizenship ceremonies, concerts, carnivals and family entertainment (or a simple BBQ with family and friends at the backyard).

If you haven't got any other plans after the traditional celebrations or in general, but want to get out of your house with your children perhaps to a playground, then see the list below.

The list was published by Melbourne's Child Magazine in the Dec 2011/Jan 2012 edition.

• ArtPlay Playground: Birrarung Marr, Melbourne.

• Bayswater Park: Mountain Highway or King Street, Bayswater.

• Harmony Park: 187-195 Gaffney Street, Coburg.

• Hay's Paddock: Access via Lister or Longstaff streets, Kew East.

• Malahang Reserve: Corner of Oriel and Southern roads, Heidelberg West.

• Plum Garland Memorial Playground: Corner of Beaconsfield Paradise and Victoria Avenue, Albert Park.

• Quarries Park: Corner of Ramsden and Field streets, Clifton Hill.

• Ruffley Lake Park: Corner of Victoria Street and Muriel Green Drive, Doncaster East.

• St Kilda Adventure Playground: 26 Neptune Street, St Kilda.

• Wombat Bend Playspace: Duncan Street, Templestowe Lower.

A HOMEMADE REMEDY: SALT GARGLE

This is another homemade remedy that we have included in our lives as a family (except for Miss Junior for the moment). When we notice that there is an indication of a cold or flu, especially when there is a sign that a sore throat is on the way or is present, we go to the kitchen, just put some salt in a cup of drinking water, go to the bathroom and gargle. Hard to believe but yes, it is that easy!

We taught Mr. Junior how to gargle when he was about 2 years old and since then, he does it too.

These are the possible reasons why it is good to use salt gargle:

• SALT SUCKS: A salty water solution can draw excess fluid from inflamed tissues in the throat, making them hurt less,
• SALT CLEANSES: gargling also loosens thick mucus, which can remove irritants like allergens, bacteria and fungi from the throat. 
• gargling tends to attenuate bronchial symptoms

What I do and recommend everyone else to do as well is that you gargle with this salt solution when;

• you come back home from a place where you were likely to be contaminated with a bacteria or virus (eg. from a doctor's clinic-waiting areas are likely to contain quite a few types of germs and can pose a risk especially during winter)
• you experience some respiratory infection symptoms such as a cold or a sore/itchy throat
• especially during cold times when there are many people affected by respiratory infections, even if you don't experience it at the time, use this remedy for prevention purposes.

I also strongly recommend that you gargle before you eat so that you clean your mouth before you push things down with food as you eat. 

Below are some suggestions by an article that was published in NYtimes (here) on September the 27th in 2010:

• dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in a full glass of warm water and gargle the solution for a few seconds before spitting it out.
• It is also suggested that for a better result, gargling three times a day is recommended.

REDUCE ORGANIC FOOD EXPENSES BY 90%!

I have recently learnt that some produces are more important to be bought in their organic version than the others as they tend to have the highest amount of pesticides when conventionally grown. If you can buy everything organic, lucky you, I'd definitely say go for it! However, if you have to choose, whether it is for you, your child or for the whole family, choose the ones that are likely to contain the highest pesticide levels normally organic and buy the ones with relatively less pesticide levels from not necessarily organic produce selling places. By doing so, you can reduce the amount of your pesticides intake by 90%!

Here is the list of the ones that tend to have the highest pesticides levels if not organically grown (so, try to buy these organic):

• celery
• strawberries
• peaches
• blueberries
• spinach
• apples
• nectarines
• bell peppers
• cherries
• potatoes (and more)

Now, lets look at the list of the produces with less pesticide levels:

• Peas
• Corn
• Asparagus
• Pineapple
• Mangoes
• Kiwi
• Honeydew
• Cantaloupe/Rockmelon
• Onion
• Sweet potatoes

I am aware that there are some standards in place especially here in Australia. However, it still doesn't mean that the foods that we consume everyday are pesticide free (unless stated so). There are ways to reduce the amount of pesticides and other chemicals we are exposed to by following some certain strategies. Some of those strategies are listed below:

Buy organic/biodynamic.

Grow your own.

Buy produces that pass particular standards (be extra careful with the imported ones).

Thoroughly wash all fruit and vegetables.

Peel or remove the outer layer whenever possible.

Do not over-consume certain types of foods. Instead, eat a variety of meats, vegies and fruit.

Cook meat/chicken well.

Trim visible fat from meats, as many residues are fat soluble.

There are many online sources available if you would like to do further reading on this topic. You can search for 'dirty dozen and clean fifteen', 'pesticide residue in fresh produce' and 'pesticides and other chemicals in food' and so forth. You can also visit some other reliable websites such as this or this.