Showing all posts tagged fun

In General, Reviews / Sponsored

Cookies With Love from Greens & LOTS Of Fun! #review

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

When I was offered a box of bake your own cookies from Greens to make with Kieran, I jumped at the chance! We love cooking & baking together and this kit is just so easy that nothing can go wrong.

Or so I thought!

Take one Cookies With Love kit - RRP £1.69 and available in Asda & Co-op
Add one mischievous four year old
Let said 4yr old open the kit which contains cookie mix, icing mix, blackcurrant decorating gel & a heart shaped cutter which you can of course keep and reuse!
Ask 4yr old to CAREFULLY tip the contents of the cookie mix packet into a bowl, NOT all over the side!
Add softened butter and mix, then add 2.5 teaspoons (yes teaspoons, not cupfuls) & mix to form a dough.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface until approx 5mm thick
Use the included heart cutter to make 6 biscuits
Place on a baking tray
Bake for 7-8min at 190degress / Gas mark 5

THEN it all goes a bit wrong!

 

See the mischief? We got the giggles!

You are supposed to edge the cooled biscuits with the blackcurrant gel, then carefully drizzle the icing into the outline, cool then decorate with more of the blackcurrant in the pen.

Nope…

WE JUST GOT SILLY!!

We made a right mess, icing everywhere (including my hair!). But you know what… it was the most fun we’ve had in AGES!

Fortunately someone less easily led than me made a proper job….

On the upside:

 

They taste just fine!

A kit like this would make a fantastic addition to any Mum’s spoiling on Mother’s Day but would be just as great for birthdays, special events or just for everyday fun! We didn’t produce bakery grade biscuit, our decoration was um less than professional but we had a great time and that’s the best Mother’s Day gift I can think of… mischief, fun and then BISCUITS!

To find out more about Greens, their products and to join the Greens club & keep informed of offers and more, visit their website.

*We received a  Greens “Cookies With Love” kit to test and review, but my recommendation of this product is based on my personal experience of it. Also, Greens cannot in any way be held responsible for any mess you and your child may make whilst making these cookies.

In General, Parenting

Learning Through Play – Featuring Special Agent Kieran

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on
Kieran teaching his baby brother, Taylor, how to play "properly"!

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading through the Learning Through Play posts on the Tots100 site. It’s opened my eyes up to the huge amount of play-led learning opportunities around for us to take advantage of!

I am a huge advocate for learning through play. Kieran is now four and a half years old, he is so young – yet knows so much (he really does – four going on forty!). He is a very hands on boy and everything is an opportunity for learning,

  • cookery (weighing, measuring, following a recipe),
  • craft (practical skills, motor skills, colour and shapes etc)
  • imaginative play (social skills, comprehension),
  • the computer for IT skills,
  • board games (for learning, sharing and more),
  • building toys (for motor skills, building on imagination)

– there is so much scope using everyday objects and toys and turning these into instruments of learning in fun & imaginative ways.

For us a recent walk out where we were “Special Agent Kieran & Palm-pilot Mummy” (Damn TV!) provided a perfect opportunity for learning (and fun!).

Our town has a series of boards in key areas pointing out different features and what they are/were for ie a wooden castle site, a bull-ring in the market place, a mill. Lesson - History.
Exploring, looking for different birds, trees and flowers - nature studies/observation
A trip to the library, libraries aren't all "shhh!" nowadays but great fun, there is organised storytimes, bean bags and cushions and even a few toys in the kid's section. We always choose story books, a learning book (ie this week was "Planet Earth" and a project book - this week was craft, next week - Kieran wants a sewing/type book
Special Agent Kieran is fascinated by signs - we had a sign hunt, talking about what the signs meant and looking for really unusual ones.
Loads of local attractions to visit! We rounded our day out with a trip to the Herriot Centre, lots of interactive fun and learning!
Home for a family game of Pop To The Shops, (Orchard Toys). Great for learning about money etc, and we have also learned that we are not sure Daddy understands the role of banker. Hmm

So you see, for us learning through play makes up our days, we all have great fun and learn so much and often don’t even realise it. Getting the creative juices flowing, building, making, exploring and investigating is the only way to go!

How do your little ones learn through play? I’d love to hear, and the more ideas, the more fun!

**For more great posts on Learning Through Play – get yourself over to the Tots 100 March Blog – Hop! **

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