White Chocolate Chunk Cookies




Our girls love baking - and our younger daughter very kindly made us a batch of these tasty cookies before she went away on her school camp.




Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup butter                                1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar                                    1/4 cup oatmeal
1 egg                                              1 1/2 cups (8oz) chopped white chocolate chunks
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375F (190C).
Beat butter and sugar together then add egg and vanilla. Mix well.
Sift dry ingredients and stir in the oatmeal. Add these dry ingredients and the chocolate to the butter mixture.
Mix well then roll into balls and flatten onto a non-stick baking sheet.
Bake for 8-10 mins.

We try to let our girls bake and cook as much as possible to get them to learn and gain confidence in the kitchen.  Plus, as I've already mentioned in another post - baking provides lots of excellent numeracy skills practice too!

So go on - set your kids off in the kitchen - what a great skill for them to learn!



Improving our eyesight - a commitment after 20 years of procrastination - motivated to help my child



I am short sighted and wear glasses. I only need them for driving and distance vision, so I don't have to wear them all the time - but I don't like wearing them at all.

I remember going for my first eye test - into a tiny optician's darkened room - having heavy metal frames pushed onto my nose -and then several different lenses pushed into them and having to say whether each lens was better or worse for seeing through.

I left that room as quickly as I could and was halfway back home before my brother came running after me (his eye test was straight after mine) saying that I had to go back because I needed glasses.



So I got my first pair of glasses when I was about 10 years old - a pair of pink framed ones you got for free from the National Health Service in the UK where I grew up. Lovely!



I wore them in class to read the blackboard at school for several years, then just before I left school, I found a book in the library about the Bates Method for better eyesight without glasses.  I read the book cover to cover then went and bought myself a copy.  It was all about how you could improve your eyesight and so not need to wear glasses - by doing a series of exercises.

How brilliant!  I started out doing the exercises - but didn't stick at them for long.  Over the years, I have done these exercises - now and again - but never managed to find the motivation and will power to stick at them consistently long-term.

I think that once I left school and university - I didn't need to wear my glasses much.  I also went for 10 years without having my eyes tested when I travelled and worked in various countries.  Once we settled here in Cairns, Australia, I had an eye test again, and the optician was surprised to see how much my eyes had improved from my prescription dated 10 years previously! Now I wear my glasses for driving, and that is pretty much it.   So since my glasses stay in the car, and hardly anyone ever sees me wearing them, it's become no big deal to me, and so there's not enough motivation there for me to stick to daily exercises long term to rid myself of my glasses.


However - our eldest daughter is also a little short -sighted.  We noticed this some time ago - just when we were out and about - there were odd things here that I couldn't read from far away - and neither could she.  Now you would think this would provide me with the motivation to do the exercises together with my daughter.  My own kid's eyesight has to be important enough to me to stick to this.  So, at that time, I wrote about these exercises then on this very blog here. Again, almost a year later - I wrote another post saying that "Really THIS time I was going do do the exercises" .  That second post was - I'm ashamed to admit - over a year ago.


So last week - I noticed our elder daughter squinting to read her swim training schedule on the white board by the pool.   That was it. Enough is enough!


I came home and found  the website linked to the last book I read on better eyesight about a year ago - written by Leo Angart. - Clear Vision Naturally.
There are workshops held worldwide to start you off with these eye exercises- but unfortunately none in our home town. So I downloaded all the charts, printed and laminated them, read the instructions, stuck them up on our walls at home and made a start.

So what am I doing differently this time that makes me think that after more than 20 years, I will finally be able to stick to these exercises regularly and actually improve my eyesight?



Well - I am doing them together with my daughter.  She is keen to work at the exercises and so not need to get glasses.  Her eyesight isn't yet causing her any real problems in class at school, so the plan is that she will never reach a stage that she has a problem!

Doing anything with a partner makes it easier to stick to, more fun and much more likely that you will continue than if you just do it by yourself.  Over the last summer holidays I helped my daughter with her swimming training. Her coach was away for a few weeks and so, I went to the local pool with her and got in the lane and did the various laps and swimming drills each day. As a 9 year old, my daughter doesn't have the motivation to train 2 hours a day all by herself, but she enjoyed going with me, helping me with my swimming (which improved lots!) and so kept up her fitness while her coach was away.
So I've decided to apply the same principle to our eye exercises - hoping they will be much more fun if we do them together!

I have made us a chart that we mark off each day when we do our exercises.  I've also shown my daughter how she can do various exercises throughout the day when she doesn't have the charts. Things she can do in class using the posters on the wall, and also when she is out and about in the playground, and in the car travelling to and from places.


We've been doing them for a week now - and so far so good, we're sticking at it, helping to remind each other to do them, and checking the exercises off the chart.

I'm determined that my daughter and I will stick to doing these daily exercises and improve our eyesight so that neither of us will need glasses.  I completely believe in the idea that these exercises will work - and have read enough stories of success that there is no doubt in my mind that our eyesight can become 'perfect' SO LONG AS we stick to the exercises consistently.

So if it takes 21 days to form a habit - in another couple of weeks, we should both have settled into a kind of routine of doing these exercises and we should need less and less encouragement and motivation from each other to do the exercises - they will just become part of our daily habits and routines.

It's a shame it's taken me 20 years to commit to improving my eyesight - but better late than never.
I have found that there are more things I am willing to do to help my kids, than I would do to help myself.  I think this is true of many parents - the trick is to use this fact to do things for yourself at the same time.

Wanting to be a good role model for our kids, helps us as parents become better people too. Are there things that you have been motivated to do for yourself - thanks to your own kids?

And have you heard of improving your eyesight using exercises?  Do you yourself wear glasses -and would you consider going down this path of improving your eyesight with exercises?

UPDATE
After sticking to these exercises for about a year, I visited the opticians and was told I no longer need glasses for driving. It was so exciting for me to get that condition removed from my drivers license!  







Memories questions and history lessons

Recently, we have been putting information into our family tree on www.ancestry.com.au.

It's been interesting not just for us to collate all the various information we've been sent by relatives but also for our girls to see this information - rather than just have it sit in old envelopes tucked away in drawers.

The girls were interested to see things like - for example, the same first name being given to several generations of their ancestors. (They did think this was rather boring and unimaginative!! )


We also need to find a way to add the information we are slowly gathering from living relatives in the form of 
'Memories Questions'. 

 We live in the Far North of Australia, and our family and relatives are scattered across the globe, so our girls don't get to spend time with other family members very often.
So, every now and then, we email a question to various relatives on both sides of our families. We've asked things like, "What do you remember about your first bike?", "Did you ever have a pet?"  "What do you remember about going to school?"; "What toys to you remember playing with as a child?"  
We have tried to ask questions that relate to what our kids are doing, so that when the answers come back, it provides more interest for our girls to read what their great aunts, uncles, grandparents and of course us - their parents, remember of being their age, going to school etc.

Now that the girls are getting older, and have their own computers and emails, we will encourage them to email their own questions to the relatives.

Our eldest daughter just now at school (Grade 5) is looking at in history, whether life is better now or in the past.  I'm sure her grandparents would have an opinion on this and it would be a great way for her to research the subject for her school work.

Our younger daughter (Grade 3) is also studying history - with an upcoming visit to the local museum.  When we last visited the local museum a few years ago, I was amazed to see an old dial telephone there.  Our family had a telephone like that growing up - and to see it in a museum now reminds me quite how far technology has come along in the last few years (not to mention it makes me feel old seeing something from my childhood in a museum!)


When I was taking a look at our younger daughter's school curriculum for this year (Grade 3), I saw one of the Key Inquiry Questions written there is, "How and why do people choose to remember significant events of the past?" .

In asking our Memories questions to family members, we have noticed that some questions get very long interesting responses from some people, but others remember little or nothing.  It is interesting to see what things people do and don't remember  - what is important and relevant to them!   Hopefully asking and reading responses to these Memories questions, will help our daughter consider this question.

Do your kids get to spend time with older relatives?  Do these family members ever share memories or experiences from their past with you kids?  Are their questions you wish you had asked your older relatives - who perhaps are no longer here?
How are you preserving your family history and memories and are you kids interested in it?




Spelling corrections - Language conventions practice for Naplan





Spelling is something that kids always need practice in.  The Naplan tests have several questions in the Language Conventions section of the paper where the kids have to identify the words that are misspelled and then correct them.

I thought I might practice this with my girls - but again try to find a fun way to do it.

Last week I made them these fabric envelopes with their names on, and told them they were for me to leave things in for them - notes, things I've made them, or perhaps things they have left lying about that need putting away!!  They are excited about the idea of checking their 'mail' each day.





I thought I'd use these envelopes to leave them short notes - with a few spelling mistakes in, to see if they can correct them for me!



The idea is that they correct my notes, and that they can also write notes for each other - with deliberate spelling mistakes in, and correct each other's!




Minecraft - providing geometry practice for Naplan?







Last week our daughters asked to download the game Minecraft onto their tablets to play.

It's an interesting game where you get to use your imagination to build whatever you want mostly using cubes.
There doesn't seem to be a particular goal to reach to end the game - a bit of survival, some adventure and lots and lots of creativity.

One thing that did strike me when I was looking at this game - was the fact that you build things using cubes - and get to see those buildings in 3D.  This reminded me of some of the numeracy questions on Naplan tests for both Grade 3 and Grade 5:
\


Playing Minecraft and building 3D shapes using cubes will give kids at least an awareness of these structures and because in the game, then can walk around them and see them from different sides - this should help them with the above type of question as it will give them an experience of their own to relat the question to.

My girls will be pleased to know that they are practising for their Naplan tests whilst playing this new game!!

Do you or your kids play Minecraft?




Reading Comprehension - more Naplan practice


In 2013, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced 

I'm all for any kind of focus on teaching kids to read - without the ability to read - so many other things become more difficult. If you just look at your own day to day life and imagine not being able to read. Not just reading books, magazines, junk mail - words on TV shows - how about signs when you're driving or out and about - food packages, menus.... I don't think anyone can doubt the importance of learning to read.


Reading is the basic foundation for kids schooling.  They need to be able to read to understand every subject as they continue through school - how can kids progress even in maths - if they cannot read the questions and explanations in text books and on the classroom whiteboard.

But being able to read is more than just being able to recognise the words - UNDERSTANDING what is written is vital.   The Naplan tests are a way for schools to check that kids are comprehending texts at a level they should be.

Most schools will have reading programmes, where children's reading levels are checked and suitable books then given for them to practice and progress in their reading and comprehension abilities.

The kids at our school have access to the Lexile Reading Programme. In this programme - the kids take an online reading comprehension test to determine their level - and then they read books found in the school library that are labelled as being within their reading level range. After each book they answer some comprehension questions online and then every few weeks take a new test to see if their level has improved.

I really like the idea of this programme - that it allows the kids a certain amount of independence to be able to take the tests themselves on the computer and there are a range of books in each level for kids to choose from.

One of the best ways to check your child's reading comprehension is to read a book with them - or aloud to them, asking them questions through the book as to what is happening - what they think is going to happen etc.

We do this with our girls - choosing books that may be just a bit above their own comfortable reading level - and enjoy them as a family.  Recently we read The Hobbit all together - and then went to watch the new movie when it was released after Christmas.  We all enjoyed the story, everyone reading some parts aloud to the family (the girls liked reading - or rather singing the dwarf's songs!), and then to see the movie afterwards - to see the characters come alive, was brilliant!

Reading books together can become very interactive and lots of fun as you discuss what is happening and what might happen.  Towards the end of Harry Potter 6, which I read with my girls recently - the last few chapters went quite slowly as they were punctuated with so many cries of "Oh NO!"   "But what if..."   "Didn't he.....?"  as all the pieces of the story fell into place.  It was so nice to see their comprehension of the story so clearly!

In terms of Naplan - and other school tests, there are plenty of practice materials for kids for reading comprehension questions.

I found several printable texts with worksheets and answers for all different levels


There are also some online reading comprehension games using different types of texts - like poetry and non-fiction

And some more printable worksheets for many different levels

I hope that our Prime Minister's reading programme is put into effect and is successful in raising literacy levels in Australian kids - it is a vital skill and there should be a strong emphasis placed upon teaching it well from a very young age.



Let them do it themselves!

Do your kids get themselves and their bags ready for school each day? or do you help them?

Getting bags ready each day is a major event in our house.  This year both girls seem to be doing so much in terms of before, during and after school activities that there is an awful lot to remember.

We've started getting bags ready the night before so as to try to avoid that last minute rush in the morning, where they end up searching for things they need to take with them as we're heading out of the door to the car!

Even though our girls do prepare their own bags - I had to admit that I go through and check them all myself - now and then finding they've forgotten to pack something vital.  

Part of me knows I should just leave them to it. Let them make their own mistakes and learn from them.  But then another part of me knows that if for example they forget to pack their swimming costume for after school swimming, they would either not swim and be bored and have too much energy when I pick them up afterwards, or I'd get a call from the pool office to let me know they'd forgotten and I would drive in early to take their forgotten item to they didn't miss out on their swim!

We've tried check lists to try and remember things - but then sometimes they forget to read the check list!

I remember when I was a kid, we had a sticker on the inside of our front door at eye level that said:

Keys
Money
Lunch

Still today sometimes I hear a little voice in my head as I go out the door checking I have these 3 things, so it obviously does have an effect...eventually.  Perhaps it just takes a long time to really sink in.


Am I expecting too much that my 7 and 9 year old can remember all of their school things each day?  I still go out sometimes and realise I've forgotten something.  Nobody is perfect - but I guess all I can do is try to get the girls into the habit of getting prepared in advance and checking what they will need to take.


I do think that kids learn quicker if they are allowed to make their own mistakes - forget things and then have to deal with the consequences so they are be less likely to do it again.  But it's weighing up them learning this faster, against letting them just enjoy all the experiences and fun that kids their age get to do, without the stress of having to organise it all.

There's always a choice between just letting kids be kids and having fun, and getting them to do the less fun things in life - chores, homework etc, to help them grow and develop in other ways.

Another mum always used to say when we all had toddlers that you have to pick the battles worth fighting with your kid. I think this is good advice, and for now I'll continue to check my girls bags before they go out, so they can just relax and enjoy their day's activities knowing they have all their equipment organised!

What do you think?  Do you check your kids bags - or even pack them for them?  Or do you just let them get on with it themselves? Is there an age where they should take responsibility?  When they go to high school perhaps?  or maybe they will reach a stage when they don't want Mum to check everything for them?