Twinkl ….a preschool resource review #sponsored

I’ve been provided a premium subscription to facilitate a product review. As always, you can expect my review to personally written and honest.

I’m always on the lookout for great resources to use for preschool activities. It seems like there’s always a need for more, or something fresh. It keeps learning fun and interesting for me as well as the kids!  I like to expose my group to lots of different things – it helps them grow!

Also, printable materials are a big time saver. That’s probably the biggest reason I like printables.

I’ve seen the Twinkl site before and used some of the free items, so when I was offered a premium subscription to review, I was excited to see more!

Twinkl features over 60,000 beautiful hand drawn resources and are used in primary schools and educational settings all over the UK (and the world!).

My thoughts:

• There’s quite a large assortment of resources on this site! Everything from themes, class management tools, signs and labels, story lists, certificates & awards, a forum, apps, classroom display ideas, PowerPoint presentations, games, flash cards, word activities and a store to purchase preprinted stickers and resources from.

I especially like the PowerPoint presentations!  My little learners like to use the computer. They also like to “see” something – often I don’t have a book or item to present on our theme, but we can always look online.  They are great for supporting teaching on a topic, they can be used as discussion starters and during whole-class teaching. An absolute must!

Quality images for printing realistic photos. Children need to see real photos, not just line drawings or cartoons. I like to make photo books for themed centers! Print on photo paper and slip pictures into inexpensive photo albums. *Beware- this is addicting!

The themed “word mats” are wonderful too. Great for posting for display or putting in the writing center.

We know parent’s involvement in their child’s education is essential so I like that there is a parent’s section. There’s educational guides, behavior management charts, home routine tools, and other educational materials to support learning at home.

Other thoughts:

• Some items I would use and others I would not – which is the same with any other resource out there.
• There are some language/spelling and terminology differences for us in the US since Twinkl is in the UK.

It’s excellent that users can suggest a resource! Often we know what we want, if we could just find it! Very helpful!

Check out Twinkl for yourself. You’ll want a premium subscription to get the great use of the materials. Happy printing & planning!

  Follow Twinkl on Facebook, Twitter and Google +, even Pinterest for daily updates and special offers!

Bumbleberry Pie Sundae #MyPlatinum #Sponsored

“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.”

I’m back again with Cascade Platinum Pacs. It’s my 3rd week using them and Cascade Platinum Pacs have continued to work their magic in our dishwasher, producing sparkling clean glassware and flatware.

Cascade can help make your meals and desserts look even more delicious. We know that presentation of a meal or dessert is nearly as important as taste! 

Gail Simmons, Top Chef judge and editor of Food+Wine magazine and also Cascade partner, recommends impressing with a Platinum Presentation:
“The easiest recipes pop with unexpected, gourmet presentations. Drizzle bright sauces on sparkling white plates or layer desserts in crystal-clean glassware. Keep you presentation sparling with Cascade Platinum, which keeps dishes perfect for anytime entertaining and impromptu guests.”

I enjoy the colors & process of cooking and baking so I enjoy taking pictures of foods. If you do too, you’ll want to enter the Instagram contest! See below.

Next is a recipe by Gail Simmons. This is what she has to say about her Bumbleberry Pie Sundae recipe:

“In Canada, where I was born and raised, we call mixed-berry pie Bumble Berry Pie, and it’s my favorite summer treat of all. Here I’ve combined all the flavors of this tangy, juicy dessert into a refreshing sundae that’s perfect for entertaining guests of all ages.”

We loved this dessert! Although it was a few steps, it was simple to make. The berry sauce is amazing!  I like how beautifully this dessert presents in glassware and is equally wonderful to eat.
Bumbleberry Pie Sundae

Ingredients

• 3 cups plus ¾ cup mixed berries, well washed and divided (any combination of strawberries hulled and quartered, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries halved)
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 pinch coarse salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream
• 1 pint raspberry sorbet
• 6 graham crackers, crushed
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest

Instructions In a medium saucepan heat one cup of mixed berries, 2 tablespoons sugar and lemon juice over medium heat, until the blueberries begin to burst and the other berries break down, about 10 minutes. Remove from off heat and stir in the pinch of salt.

Place half the berry mixture in a blender and puree until smooth. Return the sauce to the saucepan and stir well to combine with remaining fruit. Allow to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl crush ¾ cup of mixed berries with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar using a fork, until slightly chunky and loose. In a large bowl or stand mixer, using a balloon whisk or hand-held mixer, beat the cream at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold the crushed berries into the whipped cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve: spoon 2 tablespoons of the sauce into each of 6 parfait or rocks glasses. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a sprinkling of crushed graham crackers, and a pinch of lemon zest.

Then add a scoop of the raspberry sorbet and another 2 tablespoons of the sauce. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and finish with a sprinkling of the graham crackers and another pinch of zest. Serve immediately.

There’s a couple more weeks to enter the Instagram contest.
Enter Cascade's #MyPlatinum Instagram Contest for a chance to win a KitchenAid® Kitchen Makeover and a 1-year supply of Cascade®! Weekly entries have a chance to win a KitchenAid® Dishwasher and six-month supply of Cascade® too!

To win, users have to both register and upload a photo with the #MyPlatinum hastag and tag @MyCascade.

• Week 3: My Platinum Clink (Entry: 6/17-6/23)  Show us how you serve up creative concoctions in sparkling glasses. Cheers!
• Week 4: My Platinum Table (Entry Period: 6/24-6/30) Show us your sparkling tablescape for your most special celebrations!
• Grand Prize Winner (Entry 6/3-6/30)

Make your best sparkling presentation! Have you tried Cascade Platinum Pacs yet?

Father’s Day Cup & Penny Coaster Gift

Busy, busy here finishing up Father’s Day gifts with my child care group. We made each of the dads a coaster with a cup filled with snacks. Here’s the one Brett made:

Dollar Tree cup, penny coaster, tag, cup wrap and flavored pretzels.

To make the coasters, we started out with tin coasters from the Target dollar spot. There were 4 in a pack for $3. I figured we could do something with them…but they would have to be covered or painted since this is how they looked originally. That’s not going to work for preschoolers! 

We glued a black cardstock circle over the lettering, glittered them and used the glue gun to glue on pennies.

Then I poured Envirotex over them. It’s high gloss finish that hardens.  It takes 4-7 hours to dry and 72 hours to cure so by overnight they were pretty drying for wrapping up.

I liked the shape of these coasters but I think the same thing could be accomplished with jar lids. I think they would make great coasters sealed with Envirotex!

Some of the finished coasters:

The cup is filed with two kinds of pretzels: cinnamon sugar & ranch.  They are soo yummy! 

Each child decorated a “cup sleeve” to personalize their cups.

I hope these go over big with the dads!

Envirotex can be found at Michael’s or online at Amazon. Super easy to use with impressive results!

Happy Father’s Day!

What’s Blooming

Here’s what is currently blooming here. Love all the new blooms!

Clothespin Planter |30 Minute Craft

I’m loving this quick & simple project. Brett and I each made one this afternoon.

Originally I found this idea on 7thhouseontheleft.com. Simply wash an empty tuna can. We used two different sizes.  Run it through the dishwasher to remove an odor.

Spray paint can if desired. We sprayed ours with black paint.

Paint clothespins – we used liquid watercolors. For the small tuna can, we used 19 pins. For the large one, 22. On the tutorial from 7thhouseontheleft.com, she used a stain pen.

After all pieces dry, just clip the clothespins onto the can. Ta-da! Done!

I love Brett’s turquoise color with a little silver metallic.  His project is a 4H fair entry. I think it will do well!

I love this kid! He actually cooperated and enjoyed the project instead of putting up a fit. Pleased me very much and I know he is proud of his work!

I really like the empty container as well, how you see the two circles the clips make. Pretty neat idea!