Rumah Kecil

How to teach your child to cook

By Adrienne Katz

If you're a working parent the chances are that the hour or so before mealtimes is one of the most frenzied and scratchy of your day. So why would you even contemplate adding to the stress by cooking with your kids?

If you start when they are very young, they will of course learn to give you genuine help in the kitchen later on. But the real reason is the companionship, the sharing and laughter and the remarkable skills they can pick up. Sharing the making of food lets your little helper feel important and can be useful even at 18 months old. This after all is the game they see adults playing every day.

You can teach maths, science and vast numbers of new words in the kitchen. Your child can build his confidence and co-ordination. You are unlikely to end up in a power struggle with a child who won't eat, if that child is involved in preparing his own meals.

How to teach your child to draw

By Adrienne Katz

Einstein, a chap who knew his onions, once remarked: "The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge."

So often children's imagination and creativity is subdued by the pressures of school, routine and the command, "Don't make a mess!" But you can let your child’s gift of fantasy flower, along with acute observation. Observation matters. This is the way your child becomes alert and aware of nuances, differences, shapes and patterns.

Calling this 'pre-maths' sounds deadly dull, but it is in fact the key to learning and scientific observation. If you add to this the enjoyment of swirls of colour, textures and shapes, there is nothing to beat art for releasing your child’s imagination. And neither you nor he has to be good at drawing to benefit.

Tummy bug (gastroenteritis)

Gastroenteritis atau populer disebut tummy bug adalah penyakit yang 'biasa' di Inggris. Seperti chickenpox (cacar air), jika kita berinteraksi dengan penderita tummy bug maka kemungkinan besar akan tertular.

Karena itu di Inggris, jika seorang murid terkena tummy bug, maka sekolah biasanya memberikan peringatan pada orang tua murid yang lain karena anak mereka kemungkinan besar akan tertular juga. Dan anak yang terkena tummy bug dianjurkan tidak ke sekolah atau bermain di tempat umum sampai tummy bug-nya hilang (normalnya sekitar 24 jam).

Let's write

Dua minggu lalu, saya bersama beberapa teman mengadakan pelatihan tentang media dan penulisan untuk ibu-ibu muslimah-kibar.

Dengan peserta tersebar di seluruh penjuru Inggris maka kami memanfaatkan fasilitas Yahoo Messenger conference. Selama lima hari, setiap pk 19-21.00 sekitar 30 peserta+panitia cukup duduk di depan komputer di rumah masing-masing.

Saya meminta teman-teman dekat (dan suami) untuk menjadi pembicara pada pelatihan tersebut. Dan my dear friend di Jakarta bersedia memberi materi 'How and What to Write' ,meskipun artinya ia harus berbicara dini hari WIB.

Karena banyak teman yang tidak bisa ikut pelatihan meminta rekaman materi itu, berikut ini adalah rekaman 'How and what to write' pada pelatihan tersebut.

DENGAR HOW & WHAT TO WRITE

Tunggu apalagi, let's write!

The ultimate paper plane

Masih ingat pengalaman menjadi sasaran pesawat terbang kertas, jaman sekolah dulu? Atau bahkan menjadi pihak yang melempar?

Yang saya ingat, biasanya pesawat kertas itu sering tidak tepat sasaran atau bahkan jatuh sebelum sampai ke sasaran.

Good news untuk para perakit pesawat kertas tetapi bad news bagi yang biasa menjadi sasaran. Karena kini ditemukan cara untuk membuat the ultimate paper plane!

Pesawat kertas ini, yang dinamakan Avenger, bisa terbang hingga 30 meter dan bisa tetap mengudara hingga 20 detik.

Dan yang paling penting: gampang cara membuatnya.

The Avenger, telah diuji oleh para ahli dan dinyatakan contain the ideal balance between complex aerodynamic principles and simplicity of design.

Penampilan juga keren: the delta wing is reminiscent of Concorde.

Pesawat ini, telah di uji coba terbang kemarin bersama sejumlah model lain dalam sebuah kompetisi di Leeds University.

Meskipun perwakilan dari the Guinness Book of World Records hadir namun ia datang bukan karena mungkin dari pesawat yang ada akan memecahkan the world record for the longest time aloft of 27.6 seconds.

The Great Hall in Leeds University, tempat uji terbang dilakukan berukuran 160ft long and 60ft high, artinya pesawat kertas itu akan menabrak dinding atau ceiling sebelum memecahkan rekor di atas.

Untuk alasan yang sama pula, tidak satu pun dari pesawat tersebut akan bisa memecahkan the record for the greatest distance flown, which is 207ft 4in achieved by Stephen Krieger in Washington in 2003.

Kompetisi tersebut dilakukan dalam ruangkan karena faktor angin akan membuat juri sulit untuk menilai.

Syarat pesawat yang menjadi peserta haruslah dibuat dari selembar kertas A4 dengan berat maksimal 100 gr.

Sticky tape (celotype) boleh digunakan namun tidak lebih dari 3cm x 2.5cm

Namun begitu Andrew McIntosh, professor of thermodynamics at Leeds, salah satu juri kompetisi puas dengan pesawat kertas yang tampil: “It was outstanding because of the amount of thought which had gone into it. The secret of a really good paper plane is to minimise the drag and maximise the lift — it’s a case of getting the balance and shape right.”

The Avenger didesign oleh Chris Saunders, 20, John Lewis, 19, and Jon Ward, 21, ketiganya adalah mahasiswa tehnik di Leeds University.

*CARA MEMBUAT AVENGER, THE ULTIMATE PAPER PLANE atau  DI SINI. 

(sumber: the times dan the Guardian)

Do or do not blog

Teman-teman saya bercerita bahwa mereka selalu membaca blog saya, begitu juga teman-teman sekantor mereka yang sama sekali tidak kenal saya.

Dan beberapa waktu lalu di sebuah tempat seseorang yang saya tidak kenal menyapa saya dengan ucapan, " Ini Mbak Rani yang punya blog bukan, saya selalu baca blog Mbak lho".

Orang-orang di atas yang mengaku pembaca setia Rumah Kecil ini, punya satu kesamaan: mereka bukan blogger alias tidak punya blog.

My friends and my friends's friends itu meskipun tahu tentang weblog dan suka membaca beberapa di antaranya tetapi mereka tidak ingin memiliki blog sendiri.

Mengapa?  Saya menemukan artikel di suplemen Doors (guide to internet) the Sunday Time yang berjudul Golden rules for blogging clever, yang mungkin merupakan jawabannya.

Menurut data dari Pew Internet setiap 5,8 detik muncul satu blog baru. Jadi bisa dikira-kira berapa jumlah blog di dunia ini. Yang jelas tidak sedikit.

Karena itu, the absolute golden rule of blogging is: "Do not blog"!

Dengan banyaknya blog, untuk membuat blog baru perlu pertanyaan awal, what makes you thing you have anything new or interesting to say?

Karena jika tidak, blog berpotensi untuk: 1.embarassing yourself --meskipun tingkat "memalukan" itu berbeda antara satu orang dengan yang lain-- 2.ruining your love life, 3.alienating your friends or 4. getting the sack.

Dampak negatif di atas sangat terbuka karena menurut survey dari Massachusetts Institute of thechnologi, 80 persen dari blogs adalah "personal musing" atau di istilahkan surat kabar the Guardian sebagai not-so-secret –diary.

Diary atau buku/catatan harian used to be a secret thing yang disimpan rapi, namun ketika kemudian di-publish di internet maka menjadi not-so secret anymore.

Tips number one: Does the world realy need to know what you have for breakfast?

Chickenpox and my spotty girls

Chickenpox is a common disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which is part of the herpesvirus family.

Varicella-zoster virus spreads in the air through coughs or sneezes or through contact with fluid from inside the chickenpox blisters.

Chickenpox is very contagious - if exposed to an infected family member, about 80% to 90% of those in a household who haven't had chickenpox will get it.

Although it's more common in kids under the age of 15, anyone can get chickenpox. A person usually has only one episode of chickenpox in his or her lifetime.

How did Chickenpox get its name? Chickenpox has nothing to do with chickens. Rather, the red spots were once thought to look like chickpeas on the skin. Other believe the disease is known as chicken pox because a long time ago in England, children were called "chickens" much like we use the word "kids" today.

Signs and Symptoms

Chickenpox is a viral infection that causes a red, itchy rash on the skin.

The chickenpox rash usually appears first on the abdomen or back and face, and then spreads to almost everywhere else on the body, including the scalp, mouth, nose, ears, and genitals.

The rash begins as multiple small, red bumps that look like pimples or insect bites. They develop into thin-walled blisters filled with clear fluid, which then becomes cloudy.

The blister wall breaks, leaving open sores, which finally crust over to become dry, brown scabs. One of the most characteristic features of the chickenpox rash is that all stages of the lesions can be present at the same time.

Chickenpox blisters are about a quarter to half an inch wide, have a reddish base, and appear in bouts over 2 to 4 days.

Some children have only a few blisters, whereas others have several hundred. Th rash may be more extensive or severe in kids who have skin disorders such as eczema.

Some children have a fever, abdominal pain, or a vague sick feeling a day or 2 before the rash appears.

Great Britain, United Kingdom, and England

Try asking a person living in the United Kingdom the exact meaning of the expression they have on their passports: "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

Many will not be able to provide an adequate answer.

Great Britain (often abbreviated as Britain) is an island lying off the western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of the United Kingdom.

With an area of 229,850 km², the island of Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles, an archipelago that also includes Ireland and the Isle of Man. It is the largest island in Europe.

Great Britain (as political term) is the collective name for the three countries of England, Scotland and Wales. It also includes the small adjacent islands such as the Isles od Scilly, the Hebrides, adn the island groups of Orkney and Shetland but it does not include the Channel Island and the isle of Man.

The name Britain is very ancient: the earliest known form is believed to date back to about 325 BC.

Why Great, not just Britain? There are in fact two Britains: the island of Britain in the British Isles and the land of Britain in France.

In French these are known as Grande Bretagne and Bretagne, in English as Great Britain and Brittany. The word 'Great' in this context has its old meaning of "big" as in 'she was great with child' or 'Greater London'.

Likewise, the ending '-y' on the end of 'Brittany' has the meaning 'Little', as in 'doggy', meaning 'small dog', or 'Jimmy', meaning 'little Jim'.

The term Britain is sometimes used to mean Great Britain, and both are often used to refer to the United Kingdom, which also includes Northern Ireland. Great Britain is often used as a convenient abbreviation for the unwieldy "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

While it is inaccurate, the abbreviation Great Britain is still often used by official bodies as a synonym for the UK in some contexts, for example, the UK team which competes in the Olympic Games is often referred to as 'Team GB' and the UK uses the International license plate code of 'GB'.

The adjective 'British' is, of course, used in relation to Great Britain but there is also a common tendency to use it when referring to issues relating to both Great Britain and the United Kingdom. This is inaccurate and from a legal point of view erroneous.

Sometimes, however, in legislation the term 'British' is used to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole, and not just Great Britain, especially in matters relating to the question of nationality.

For example, United Kingdom monarchs are often called "British monarchs"; United Kingdom Prime Ministers are often called "British Prime Ministers". Such usage is generally seen as correct.

However the use of the term English for British, as in "Queen of England" is clearly incorrect; England in a sense of a separate state has not existed since 1707, although the four constituent parts of the country go into the Commonwealth Games as separate teams, also for football.

The United Kingdom is made up of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The official name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" as it now appears on passports, came into use in 1922 after the constitution of the Irish Free State (1922-1937), the former name of the Republic of Ireland.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain, used to indicate the political union of England, Scotland and Wales to include Northern Ireland.