All posts by NerdMom

Building Thinking Skills

Logic and critical thinking is the true cornerstone of all learning. I truly believe it. That is why I have always looked longingly at the Critical Thinking catalog when it cam in the mail. So you can just imagine how thrilled I was when I received Building Thinking Skills for 2nd-3rd grade.

Right of we got our second grader, NerdBug, on it. This is a 2 year book and for $29.99 it is a great deal. It gets kids right in to describing shapes because observation and description is the basis for critical thinking. Then it gets into similarities and differences. Then you are onto figural sequences and figural classifications. Then everyone’s favorite, analogies. Then they look at the verbal side of these steps.

The NerdBug loves it because it is a puzzle. How much can you notice? Can you figure out what the instructions should be? Can you make clear instructions? It was hilarious when my 2nd grade brought me his book and said, “Can you follow my instructions?”.

I love watching his logic develop. Now when he sees things he describes them so clearly. He understands comparisions so much more. It is great. I am planning on getting this core for my preschooler and my kindergartner also! This is great!! I highly recommend it.

Hell’s Kitchen 2/5

It is time for the hostility and cooking that is known as Hell’s Kitchen! Last week I had thought that the women would do really well but then they disappointed. Lets see if they get any better.

I give Coi credit for apologizing to Lacey. But when Lacey starts with “I don’t have the experience” it make me think she isn’t up for the game then.

They all seemed so surprised that they were awakened by the drummer early. They ended up having to get scallops out of the crates. I had no idea they came in crates full or water and sea weed. Then Colleen fell in. LA didn’t know that scallops came in shells. Where ever she went to culinary school should give her the money back.

In the schucking competition the girls got 35 but the guys got 36. The guys got to go to Catalina while the girls got to set up a raw bar. So Lacey went to bed and cried. She wants to quit. Robert didn’t get to go because he weighed to much for the helicopter (around 400lbs). Lacey didn’t go down to prep with her team. Then it looks like Ji hurt her leg real bad by slipping.

I can’t believe that they are once again having to serve something. Each team is having 1 of them serving the raw bar. Both teams seemed to have people on apps who didn’t know how to make risotto and that caused problems. Ramsay has had it with Colleen. He says that she is robbing people because she can’t cook. He tosses her out to the raw bar.

The guys won. The girls put up Colleen (duh) and Lacey. Lacey did well during service but slept through the prep of the raw bar. I think he should just send both of them because they will go soon. Ji volunteered to go because of her ankle. I think she should have stayed but I understand due to the pain she was in. Ramsay told her to keep her jacket which has never happened before. I have to say at half power she was still better than the 2 up. Hopefully she will come back next year.

Top Chef 2/4!

Here we meet again. I think it is going to start getting good now! Final 6!!!!

Quickfire Challenge:

Our guest judge is the illustrious Eric Ripert! Hosea is nervous because he is a fish guy like Eric Ripert. The challenge was to test precision and speed in a fish fillet tournament. Round 1 is sardines. They have to clean and butterfly it like Eric’s in 5 minutes. Leah and Fabio were on top. Jamie and Carla were on the bottom. Round 2 is artic char and they have to fillet it. It looks like the bottom 2 are out. Leah gave up, can you believe that? Leah and Fabio were out now. Round 3 is fresh water eel. They have to peel it and fillet it. Since eel is big in Europe, Stefan had a bit of an advantage. So of course he won the quickfire. He invites them to lunch at Le Bernadin the next day. I sense trap (and I saw the preview;).

Elimination Challenge:

They all go to lunch and Eric has selected 6 of their dishes to serve the contestants. Then out comes the knife block. They will have to each recreate one of the dishes. They will have 2 hours to prep and practice with Eric coming by to critique. Stefan gets to pick his course. Then the rest had to pick a knife. It looks like they put together a tray with all the ingredients so at least they don’t have to wonder what was in it. Now on that tray are basically whole fish so we get to see how the portioning is. Leah says how she knows how to do the fish but she was nervous the day before. Come on?!?!?! She hasn’t done well anytime she touches a fish. When critique time happens it seems Stefan is closest. Jamie didn’t even have Eric taste her dish because she didn’t have time for Eric to taste. What does that mean? She didn’t have it done or didn’t want to slow down? Either way I think it is a mistake. Especially she didn’t like the dish when she had it so I think she needed the input.

Stefan: Lobster dish
Carla: Escolar
Leah: MahiMahi
Jamie: Black Bass
Hosea: Monk Fish
Fabio: Red Snapper

Service and Judging:

Fabio got to go first. His bread was overdone. But they thought it was pretty good. Leah is next and she already knows she is off on the miso. Tom says the only favor is ginger and his fish is over done. Then it is Stefan’s turn. His sauce isn’t a light but Eric’s was done in a blender. They think it is really close. Carla is having a problem with her fryer oil. But my question is why did she only have 1 thing of oil going? In the end her potatoes weren’t as crispy but otherwise was very good. Hosea’s fish just isn’t the same. Hosea was still using to much zatar. The fish also didn’t rest before he cut it. Jamie had salty celery and knew it. The fish is well cooked but not quite as well.

So back at judges table they wanted to see Fabio, Stefan and Carla. The winner was Stefan again. Then the rest went in. I am afraid it is going to be Jamie because of the celery but she is so great I don’t want her to go. I don’t find people knowing the fish should have rested and just didn’t comforting at all. Tom says not many people knows that monk fish needs to rest. What? I have heard that monk fish is meaty and then needs to rest. I haven’t even tasted monk fish!

In end it was Jamie that got sent home. NO!!!!

Well, next week we get to see who the final 4 will be. Stay tuned!

Story Builders Review

I recently had the opportunity to use some of the WriteShop’s Story Builders and they are a great tool! I got the People set and the Christmas set. Basically they are e-books that have printable cards in them. Then you deal out a few cards to your kid (type of person, place, activity) and they use it as a base for quickly writing a story. The books contain ideas of how to use the cards and everything you need to use their program.

I really thought that while I like these I thought they would be a waste of money. Because in all honesty you could do these yourself. Then I saw the price. Right now the Christmas set is only $3.95 and the World of People set is only $7.95. Now for the time it saves (one has 96 cards set up both in color and black/white) and the ideas they give you, theses are well worth the money.

So go check out these incremental writing tools because we here will be using them for a long time!

Some Coughing Solutions

We have all found ourselves in the coughing season for our kids and man are they coughing. I have bronchial asthma (those people who cough themselves sick) and nothing ever really helped me. My kids have asthma as does my little brother. So through the years I have picked up a few tricks.

Normally I am a pro-drug person (Delsm, cough syrup, etc) but now the doctors aren’t. Frankly even Delsm didn’t always work (though I still highly recommend it). But what do we do now for our little hackers? Vaporizers don’t seem to work for my kids because it is such a big room and takes so much to make a change, but a small room with lots of steam and eucalyptus seems to help. I keep good aromatherapy shower gel on hand for such a time.

If it is day time, give them a little hot tea with caffeine, it can be green or white for less kick. There is something in it that helps open up bronchials. If caffeine is an issue, give them a little hot (or as warm as they can stand) herbal tea. I notice that the warmth helps relax my tense throat which actually helps slow my coughing. Even just hot water does wonders for me. If they won’t drink it, drop a candy cane in it and when the water turns a light pink take it out. The peppermint will help settle their stomachs (from swallowing mucus) and it will lightly sweeten the water so they like it.

Our doctor recommended a tablespoon or 2 of straight honey for kids over 1 year old. I did it with my 18 month old and it actually helped some! The other thing that seems to help with coughing spells is to tell them to think about it. Yes, that is it. I tell them to think about it and breath real slow. It seems to stop it immediately for a few minutes at least;). Then there is also the copious amount of fluid. It thins out the mucus and makes it easier to breathe.

So you have any tips? Please let me know because we are all coughers and it drives me nuts!

A Little TV News

So first the good news. TNT’s new show Leverage has been renewed for another season! This is one of the best new shows I have seen in a long time. Now I must admit that there has always been something charming about Timothy Hutton but that isn’t the reason we watch it. The show really is good. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out this week!

The bad/so-so news. ABC Family’s Middleman isn’t on this year’s schedule but last season will be coming out on DVD. It was a pretty funny sci-fi show. It is disappointing that it wasn’t picked up.

Meal Plan Monday

I have found that I am loosing a bit of my passion for cooking so that means it is time to play! So I will try out a few recipes and then let you know if they are any good.

Monday: Pork with Creamy Barley and Peas, Salad
Tuesday: Tuna Steaks, Toasted Pecan Wild Rice, Broccoli
Wednesday: Cheeseburger Pie, Broccoli
Thursday: Crockpot Roasted Chicken, Cheddar Bay Biscuits, Broccoli
Friday: Steak, Chili Beans, Broccoli