Top Tips for you/your child starting out in school :)

Thought I'd jot down a few tips for parents whose child will be starting formal school soon!

1) If you are going to expose them to the alphabet, teach them lower case!  I bought my son a magnetic fridge game and he knew all his Capital Letters, but was of no use starting formal education!

2) Get somebody to get contact details for all the other parents of the class, it comes in handy for reminders of non-uniform days and clarification of homework etc.

3) Its a good idea if they can put on and take off their own coats and shoes etc., but don't stress if they can't!  My son couldn't until after day 1 when he saw everyone else doing it themselves!!!!

4) If you want to take your child out of school for a holiday, remember that you are not legally bound to send them for formal education until they are 5, so don't worry before then.  Also, schools are marked down for "unauthorised" absence!  A lot of schools, like ours, do authorise leave, particularly in the first couple of years.

5) Remember, as I have to do now and again, that they all get there!  I feel there is too much emphasis on homework too young.  From 4yo (late born boy) we had 3 books, spellings and maths homework every week!  I often remind his teachers of the things he is good at ;)

I want to be mum to my child not teacher, I want to bring them home, talk to them, give them tea, bath and put them to bed - well I want my OH to do the latter, but you get the gist!  I do not want be arguing over homework and spellings! 

Oh, and never forget (well in my case anyway) ;)

Would love to hear other people's top tips to compile a bigger list :)

Annie x

#30dayblog thanks to @Nikkipilkington

What Do The F Keys on the Keyboard Do?

Was just tweeting about F keys on the keyboard, unaware of what a lot of them do, so did a little searching *who knew* :)

F1
If you press F1 while working in a program, help for that program will usually appear. If you press F1 while at the Windows desktop or when the Windows Explorer is open, a Windows help screen will pop up. If you happen to be working in a program and would like to see the Windows help screen, simply press the Windows key (the key with the Windows logo on the bottom row of keys) on your keyboard and press F1 at the same time.

F2
You can use the F2 key to rename an item when working in Windows. Highlight any folder or file, and press F2. You will then be able to type a new name for the object. After you type the new name, just click outside the name box or press the enter key to make the name change. This works just like right-clicking a file or folder and selecting Rename.

F3
When you are working in Windows, the F3 key will open the Find Files window.

F4
The F4 key has some very useful functionality. You can press F4 to open the Address bar when working in Internet Explorer. This will allow you to type the address of a Web page for quick access.

You can also press the Alt key and the F4 key at the same time to close the open Window that you are currently working on.

F5
The F5 key is the refresh key. You can press F5 when viewing a Web page to make sure that you have the most current version of that Web page. You can also use F5 when in Windows to refresh the screen. This can be a handy shortcut. If perhaps you are viewing the contents of a floppy disk and you insert a new floppy, your screen will still show the contents of the first floppy. Just press F5 to refresh the screen and see the contents of the floppy you just inserted.

F6
This key is often used to move the cursor around the structure of the program. Pressing it will often cycle you from window to window.

F7
The F7 key does not have any functionality in Windows. It may, however be used in some individual programs. To find out if it is available in the program you are using, bring up the program’s help screen and type in the words function key.

F8
The F8 key can be used to access Safe Mode if pressed during the computer’s boot up process. This is a trouble-shooting mode which will start the computer with minimal drivers.

F9
The F9 key does not have any functionality in Windows. It may, however be used in some individual programs. To find out if it is available in the program you are using, bring up the program’s help screen and type in the words function key.

F10
F10 is the key that is used to activate the menu bar in many programs. You can use F10 to highlight the first menu choice, and then use the arrow keys to move around the menus. Pressing the Shift key while pressing F10 will bring up the shortcut menu. This is similar to right-clicking on an object.

F11
Press F11 when you are working in Internet Explorer and the window will open to full screen mode. This will make all the toolbars disappear and can be useful to see more information on the screen. Press F11 when you are in full screen mode will toggle you back to your normal view.

F12
The F12 key does not have any functionality in Windows. It may, however be used in some individual programs. To find out if it is available in the program you are using, bring up the program’s help screen and type in the words function key.

Hope this is helpful :)

Annie x

Top 10 Twitter Trends 18-25 March :)

The new twitter for iphone shows topics trending, which often elude me, so thought I'd look up on mashable.com to get an idea of a weeks worth of trending, and their intensity rating.
Intensity
    4      1)  Rebecca Black - don't google, you will not get that time back!
    2      2)  Full Moon - well it was lovely :)
    1      3)  H1N1 - a worrying virus in Latin America
    1      4)  UK Comic Relief - no explanation required
    1      5)  Knut - a famous Polar Bear who died at a Berlin zoo
    1      6)  Elizabeth Taylor - a legend who died at the age of 79
    1      7)  Libyan Conflict - Operation Odyssey Dawn, US Warships on target in Libya
    1      8)  Soccer/football - interim Fluminense coach, and bad tackle on Stuart Evans
    1      9)  Alexz Johnson - Canadian singer song-writer, no other clue?
    1     10) UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship 128

So what does that tell us, that a 13yo singer (?) from Orange County is given more credence than a war!  

Slightly worrying me thinks, would love your opinion?

Annie x

Update re Sparklebox product in son's primary school

Further to yesterday's blog, which you can see if you scroll down, this morning I approached the school secretary about the Sparklebox product I had seen in the school.  She thought it had all been removed and went off to take it down immediately!

I am pleased to report that she appeared as angy as I was that it was still up.  The school no longer uses this company.

I hope this has enlightened people as to this company, which is still trading!

Thanks for all your support!

Annie x

School using resources from Sparklebox, owned by a convicted Paedophile!

As a childminder I was advised about the company Sparklebox a long time ago!  The company provides all sorts of resources for schools, and whilst the quality of the product is good, I have issues with the owner being jailed twice, convicted of downloading pornographic images of children.

I went into our school recently as the little ones needed the toilet, and as I was reading the posters about handwashing, I noticed that they were in fact Sparklebox merchandise!

I am horrified and will be writing to the Headmaster.  As I say I have no issue with the quality of the posters, but do not wish to fund this dispicable man's lifestyle!

I would be interested to hear if you think I am over-reacting!

The following explains more!

http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6033403

Thanks for reading, going off to seethe in a corner somewhere!

Annie x

Slowcooker Cooking - Easy Chicken Jalfrezi

I've previously used cooking sauces for a Jalfrezi but thought I'd give it a go from scratch in the slowcooker last night.  I'd describe it as medium hot and was absolutely gorgeous, so happy to share :)

Ingredients
4 chicken breast or 4/6 chicken thighs, dependent on size, diced
2 tbs plain flour
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
400g passata (tomatoes sieved, can be found near the tinned tomatoes)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chilli powder (I used hot)
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp curry powder (I used hot)
2 green chillies, deseeded and chopped
2 whole red chillies
2 peppers, chopped (I used 1 red and 1 green to make colourful)

Method
Cover the chicken with flour and brown in a non-stick frying pan.
Put all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours.

I served with rice, but whatever you fancy :)

Enjoy, and appreciate any feedback!

Annie x

PTA Cake Sale, Good Old Fashioned Fairy Cakes

When Jasper was in Reception, I encountered my first Cake Sale for the school, the idea being that mummies made cakes to be sold after school, with proceeds going to the PTA.  Fab idea.
I trawled through my cookbooks and decided I try my hand at millionnaires shortbread.  I bought all the ingredients and spent hours lovingly making said fayre.  I happily handed over the cakes next morning.

After school however I watched in horror as the cakes were sold for around 20p each, and all the kids were fighting over fairy cakes and gingerbread shapes.  I slunk away as mine were still milling around at the end.   Big hmmmmf!

No longer the rooky, with Jasper in Year 2, we have another Cake Sale today, so last night we knocked up some wicked fairy cakes :)

Ingredients:                                                                  Icing (optional)
100g (4oz) softened margarine                                      175g (6oz) icing sugar
100g (4oz) caster sugar                                                2 tbs warm water
2 eggs                                                                         sweets to decorate?
100g (4oz) self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
18 paper cake cases

Preheat oven to 200c/400f/Gas 6.
Place 18 paper cases in a bun tins or on a baking tray.
Put all ingredients in a bowl and beat well until thoroughly blended and smooth.
Half fill each paper case with the mixture.

Bake them in the pre-heated oven for about 18 minutes, until well risen and firm to the touch.
Put them on a wire rack to cool.

We iced ours and topped them with sprinkles, I have a happy Jasper this morning, who of course had to try one after breakfast, just to be sure ;)

The finished article

Go on, whip some up with the kids today, it's Friday after all, they'll love them :)

Enjoy x