Cleaning plastic toys

  Plastic toy get dirty easily, and it's our duty to clean them from prevent germs from spreading. Then, cleaning the toys is something important we shouldn't forget. We must remember that once a child uses a toy, it may or not get germs and those are spread to other children who might use the toys afterwards. For this, I'll give you easy steps to follow.

1) Buy an antibacterial solution. Pur the solution inside a spray bottle, so it will be easy to distribute the product all over the toy. Then, clean the toy with a piece of cloth.

2) You may use a solution made of bleach and water. Use a rug to wipe the toys. 

3) Fill in a bucket with water and dish soap. Put the toys inside, and leave them rest in the solution for a couple of hours. Then, wipe then with a piece of cloth, or put them in the sunlight to dry.

4) For removing long lasting stains, you may decide to use a brush. You can use the previous explained solutions and brush the toy affected areas until they disappear. 

I hope these tips will help you, and your children's toys get as shiny as glass!! See you my dear friends!

Playing with soap bubbles

  Making homemade bubbles has always been fun for both parents and kids. This kind of product can be found on market, but there is a cheapest way of making it. I will give you one easy recipe, which I've tried and it has proved to be successful. Remember to remind kids of being careful with dish soap, not to drink it or touch their eyes.That's very important!  Playing safe is one of the most beautiful things in the world. Here goes the recipe...

Liquid Soap

You'll need...

• 1 1/4 cups water

• 1 1/4 tablespoons dish soap

• 1 1/4 teaspoons glycerin

Instructions

• Mix and leave overnight before using.Then, pour it into a plastic bottle. You may add coloured ink if you want, or leave it as it is.

 Blowers or Wands

• You may use pipe cleaners or straws. Twist them and make the desired shape. It can be an oval, a circle or a star!

Your own quick sand!

Making experiments with kids is fascinating. And the'd love to make quick sand. Let's see how it works.

You will need...

Half a cup of water

1 cup of maize cornflour

A plastic container

A spoon

Steps 

a) First, mix  the cornflour and water  in the container to make your own instant quick sand. Remember not too solid ok?. Then, stir slowly and drip the quick sand to show it is a liquid. Stirring it quickly will make it hard, so you'd better do it fast. Remember that quick sand is messy, try to play with it outside and don’t forget to stir just before you use it. You just need t stir instant quicksand just before you use it. It's always like that!

The phenomena explanation

If you add just the right amount of water to cornflour it becomes very thick when you stir it quickly. So,  Stirring slowly allows more water between the cornflour grains, letting them slide over each other much easier. Moreover,   if you poke it slowly it doesn’t mix up the mixture in the same way, leaving it runny.  It works in much the same way as real quick sand.

Homemade fabric fragrance

  Typically people buy fabric perfumes on market. They are not expensive and some of them smell really good. But there are others, who never buy these things, but they would like to try one of this, at least once. Normally, I prepare this myself, because I never find the smell I like, so I guess this is a good alternative for you too. Let me show you how to produce a homemade fabric scent, with very little money. You can use it either for curtains, kids’ cushions, clothes, carpets and so on.

You’ll need the following…

1) Cereal alcohol

2) Water

3) Essential oils.

4) One unused spray bottle where to pour our perfume.

Steps

a) Choose the scent you like the most (or the one your kids adore). If you want to create a lively atmosphere you can choose lemon, orange, or mint. On the contrary, if you want to generate a relaxing atmosphere you may choose lavender or vanilla. Or if you want to create a fruity perfume, you may combine strawberry, plums, blueberry and apple.

b) Pour 15 drops inside the bottle.

c) Fill in half of the bottle with cereal alcohol, and half with water.

d) Put the bottle lid and shake for some minutes. After this, put the bottle in a dark place, it can be a kitchen drawer or somewhere in the garage. After 2 days, shake it again, and spray over a surface to see whether it needs more scent or not.

If you like it the way it is, start using it around your house. Kids will love it!

Ice Lollies

  Do your kids love lollies? Surprise them! Use the flavour you want or the kids adore.This is a traditional summer recipe, containing 4 different flavours.

For 12 lollies, 4 of each flavour

Recipe and Ingredients

Orange lollies

juice of 2 medium oranges

1 1/2 tsp caster sugar

Put the orange juice in a bowl and mix the sugar into the juice. Freeze for the whole night. Pour the mixture into 4 x 50ml ice lolly moulds, cover with tin foil and insert a wooden lolly stick into the centre of each. Freeze for six hours or overnight. Un-mould the lollies by running the moulds briefly under a warm running tap to loosen, put them on a wax paper-lined tray and re-freeze

Pomegranate lollies

Juice of 4 large pomegranates

1 tsp caster sugar

Put the pomegranate juice into a separate bowl and mix the sugar into the juice. Pour the mixture into 4 x 50ml ice lolly moulds, cover with tin foil and insert a wooden lolly stick into the centre of each. Freeze for six hours or overnight. Un-mould the lollies by running the moulds briefly under a warm running tap to loosen, put them on a wax paper-lined tray and re-freeze

Raspberry lollies

100g raspberries

100ml spring water

squeeze of lemon juice

2 tsp caster sugar

Put the raspberries, water, lemon juice and sugar into a blender and purée. Pour into a nylon sieve set over a bowl, push gently to get the juices flowing through and discard what is left behind. Add extra water if necessary. Pour each mixture into 4 x 50ml ice lolly moulds, cover with tin foil and insert a wooden lolly stick into the centre of each. Freeze for six hours or overnight. Un-mould the lollies by running the moulds briefly under a warm running tap to loosen, put them on a wax paper-lined tray and re-freeze.

Argentinian Empanadas

 

One of the typical meals we have in Argentina, are the EMPANADAS. They are usually made of chopped beef and sauce but this time, I'll explain to you how to make chicken ones.

Ready? Go!

1) Heat olive oil  with some chopped onions in a skilett  for some minutes until the onions give away all the water.

2) Add some salt, pepper and oregano.

3) Then, add the sliced pieces of chicken and cook until the meat is done. 

4) Again, you may add some spices and aromatic herbs.

5) Add two chopped boiled eggs.

5) Finally, add some creamy cheese and stir gently.

Once the pastry is ready, fill in the empanadas doughs and that's it! Put them into the oven for about 10-15 minute, for the dough to bake. Remember! the pastry is already cooked.

What to do when kids don't want to eat veggies...

                       

Typically children tend to refuse to eat veggies of any kind. It might be because they are not so attractive as a hamburger with fries or they are not so tasty as ice-cream. Nevertheless, I hereby suggest a way of making vegetables look more appealing to them!

You may decide to cut the veggies into funny shapes. Kids will distinguish the shapes and this will catch their attention immediately

                       

You can also make a “composition” using different veggies. That is you can make a lion’s face using carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. You can also make strange monsters which for sure, will make them laugh!

It's crucial to tell kids that eating veggies will make them stronger and healthier. Creating good eating habits takes time but it's rewarding.

Come on! Give a try and then tell us your experience =)

The so delicious "dulce de leche"

                          

In almost every country, there's some traditional dish or meal everybody loves. In this case, we can say, that "dulce de leche" is very popular not only among adults but also among children of any age. "Dulde de leche" is a traditional sweet creamy substance,  containing milk, sugar, and other nutrients, which serves as marmalade. This cream is usually spread with a knife over loaves of bread or cookies.

Although it may be too sweet at times, this treasury cream is present in almost everything kids eat in Argentina. Some cookies which are on market, are already filled up with this cream. There's even an icrecream flavour called "dulce de leche"!!!

Most kids love diving their spoons into the jars, and getting a fullspoon of "dulce de leche" ready to be tasted.

If you happen to find "dulce de leche" where you live, don't hesitate to buy it. You'll never forget the tasty flavour it has! You can ask kids for advice! =)

Removing Stains

                             

Tired of coping with difficult stains on your children’s clothes?

We’ll suggest a couple of solutions for those cases, in which your child comes home fully stained, after long hours of outdoor games, school activities or even after lunch! We al know that sometimes, it’s not a matter of cleaning up simple stains, but difficult ones. So, our piece of advice? Read the following examples and get rid of any stain!

How to remove ink stains: Lay the stained clothing on top of a clean dry towel or cloth. Apply water to the stained area and blot with another clean cloth. While you blot, the stain will begin to transfer onto the cleaning cloth. Apply a small amount of liquid laundry detergent onto the ink stain and allow the fabric to sit for between 3-5 minutes. Using the hottest water recommend for the fabric type, wash normally. Before drying, check to make sure the entire stain was removed. If any trace of the stained area remains, repeat the steps above. Drying the stained area before everything is removed will make it nearly impossible to remove later

How to remove juice stains: Begin by blotting with a clean cloth to remove as much of the juice as possible. It’s very important to BLOT throughout this entire process DO NOT SCRUB. Working from the outside of the stain towards the center will keep the stain from spreading. Repeat as necessary with a clean piece of cloth each time until no more stain appears on the cloth. When the stain is removed, wash the clothing in cold water following detergent recommendations on the care tag.

How to remove candy stains: Do not saturate the candy stain with cleaning compounds because some compounds will set the stain permanently into the carpet or upholstery. For the same reason don’t apply heat to the stain. When trying to get a candy stain out you should blot with a clean white cloth or paper towels. Blot from the outside edges towards the center of the stain. Do Not scrub or rub the stain vigorously because it is possible to damage or change the texture of the fabric permanently. Also you could make the stain go deeper into the carpet or upholstery and even if it appears to have been removed by this process it is possible it will reappear later. Removing a candy stain as soon as you see it is very important. The longer it is in the carpet the harder it is to remove. The longer a stain remains, the greater the odds are that it won't come out!

Any other ideas? Let us know!

A Guide for the Kids Team

Super chocolate cookies

Wanna eat some delicious chocolate cookies?

Try this recipe!

Ingredients:

- butter - 200 gr
- milk - 75 cc
- chocolate chips - 120 gr
- sugar - 250 gr
- vanilla scent - 1 tea spoonfull
- eggs - 1
- flour- 350 gr

Instructions:

1) Beat the butter and sugar until you get a creamy pastry.
2) Add the flour and the milk VERY slowly.
3) Sprinkle the chocolate chips all over the pastry and mix again.
4) Put spoonfulls of pastry over a buttered tray and put it into the oven.
5) Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy them! Do you know any other tasty recipe? Please send it and we'll post it!