marmite et ponpon

Pencil control improvement – High res printables

Posted on February 25, 2016 | Leave a comment

A fun tracing activity for your 2-4 years toddlers to help them develop pencil control and promote writing readiness. I’ve included 3 sheets, starting with horizontal lines. I will be posting later additional sheets for vertical lines. As your kids show improvement you can move gradually to more complicated shapes as zigzag, curves, circles….

Click on horizontal lines practice sheets, to download the high resolution files. Your kids will love these fun exercises, you will help them improve their pencil control to be ready for writing at a later stage. This exercise also helps in developing your kids concentration and improves their eye hand coordination. Teach them the right way to hold the pencil while having fun. It’s always good to work at home in parallel with the school. It’s a matter of 10-15 mns that will help a lot.

They can first start by tracing the lines, and later on do it without following the dots.

You can laminate the sheets for many times usage. Write with a marker and wipes it off when done and use it again and again!

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My baby’s first sensory play – ziploc paint

Posted on February 24, 2016 | 3 comments

Sensory play includes any activity that stimulates your baby’s senses: touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing. When babies first interact with the world, they don’t have words to describe what they encounter, but they do absorb information through their senses.

Newborns begin to hear sounds in the womb and recognize their mother’s voice from other voices at birth. They distinguish sweet and sour taste, gravitate toward pleasant smells, and are soothed by warmth and a soft touch.

Babies may be limited by their mobility and dexterity, but not their ability to interact with the world. I was hesitating if i do this play with my 6 1/2 months baby, but knowing that he will be amused touching the smooth bag with his tiny fingers and discovering many vibrant colors encouraged me to do so. At the end your babies will grow to be toddlers, so don’t be afraid of giving them sensory experience for a cognitive growth and later a fine motor skills.

This sensory play is mess free and safe. All you need to do is put some paint in a ziploc, close it and hand it to your baby to play and discover. I recommend edible paint, because your baby will engage all his senses during the process and might try to taste it as well. There is a small chance he can tear the bag if he already have a tooth.

While babies may not have the words to describe their experiences, sensory play can help babies build vocabulary and understand language. It’s your turn now to articulate his sensory experience by using words to explain your baby’s experience. For example; Touch: “oh Joud touch this bag of paint, it is so soft, do you feel it ?” or you can add warm water with the paint to tell him “touch it it’s warm…” Sight:“do you see the yellow color, wow it’s shiny, i see also the red color here…” Using descriptive words such as cold, warm, soft, shiny, smooth… in the context will help solidify the meanings of these words in a young child’s mind.

Kids at this age loose focus so quickly. After mixing the colors, Joud was trying to taste the paint but couldn’t obviously, he was insisting but at the end he lost patience. Such activities won’t last for long, it’s a matter of 10-15 minutes. As they grow you can extend the play duration by adding more elements to stimulate other senses.

It was a success, looking forward for our next activity. Happy playing!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

3 Comments

Posted in way to play

Tagged 6 months activity, baby sensory play, cognitive growth, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon

kibbet batata (lebanese vegan potato kibbe)

Posted on February 23, 2016 | 3 comments

It’s one of the most popular Lebanese vegetarian dishes during lent. A versatile dish, with open ended versions, associated to each village customs.

Basically it’s mashed potato with bulgur (cracked wheat) and the additions or the presentation are various. My version calls for:

500g potato boiled and mashed
2 tbsp bulgur (cracked wheat)
1 tbsp dried mint
a handful chopped walnut plus 4-5 whole walnuts for garnish
2 big onion cut a la julienne
5 tbsp olive oil divided
salt to taste

Fry the onion in 2 tbsp olive oil until golden brown and set aside.

Boil the potato in salty water, drain and mash. While still hot add the bulgur and mix well. Then add the dried mint and salt and combine. Fold in 3 tbsp olive oil and finally add the chopped walnut.

Spread the potato dough in a plate or shape it as balls or cylinder. Sprinkle the fried onions on top and garnish with whole walnut.

Most of vegetarian dishes (side dish or mezza) are eaten with lebanese bread. You can serve it with vegetables (tomato, cucumber, radish, mint…) and olives. But if you want to have a complete filling meal, present this kibbet potato with the famous adas bhamoud soup, they really pair well.

It’s a delicious and wholesome dish, we also make it at home at least twice a month even when it’s not lent, and none of us is vegetarian 🙂 I pair it also with hard boiled eggs.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

3 Comments

Posted in appetizers & salads, main dish

Tagged bulgur, jaymmy, kebbit batata, lebanese food, lebanese vegetarian potato kibbe, lent, marmite et ponpon, mashed potato, recipe, traditional, vegan, vegetarian, walnut

Spinach goat cheese tortellini

Posted on February 22, 2016 | 4 comments

Do you believe that this succulent deep flavor dish is done in less than 15 minutes?! So if you are a working mum or just running short on time, this is the recipe you should save immediately; Spinach goat cheese tortellini!

The fresh tortellini (refrigerated type) are my favorite type, but if you don’t have at hands, the dry ones are just fine but requires more time to cook. This recipe calls for spinach goat cheese tortellini but any other tortellini type you find at your deli shop will also do, i know it’s not that easy to find in Doha.

This recipe yields 2 generous servings, you will need:

300g spinach and goat cheese tortellini, fresh
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1tsp flour
1/2 tsp powdered garlic
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh or thawed chopped spinach
salt to taste

Cook tortellini according to package directions (usually it’s 3-5 minutes). Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

Whisk milk, cream, flour and garlic powder and bring to medium heat, when the firt bubble starts to form add the Parmesan and spinach and cook together to combine for 2-3 minutes before folding in the tortellini. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve warm with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top.

Believe me you will never order tortellini at a restaurant anymore! Such a delicious creamy dish ready at your table with no time and efforts. Another meatless dish for those days.

After a delicious lunch I always wish if there is leftover for dinner, so i recommend to double the recipe not to regret it later!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

4 Comments

Posted in main dish

Tagged cream, easy, how to do, jaymmy, less than 15 minutes meal, marmite et ponpon, parmesan, spinach and goat cheese, step by step, tortellini

Guess, smash and splash -kids art activity

Posted on February 18, 2016 | Leave a comment

A messy art activity, teaching kids geometric shapes and colors while enjoying and having fun. All you need is

large white cardboard
watercolors (washable ones)
geometric shapes paper cutout (circle, oval, square, rectangle, triangle, rhombus)
toy hammer

Squirt a generous amount of different colors of paint all over and cover up each one with a geometric shape.

Let the kids name the shape and predict which color is underneath, then splat it with their hammer. The color splash will prove them right or wrong!

This educational activity in the same time so fun and crazy. You will hear so much laughs and cheers during the process. It helps your kids practice their knowledge (geometric shape and colors) and develop a love for the creative process, enlarge their brain and set them up as creative thinkers in all walks of life. Without forgetting the use of the hammer requires fine motor skills; let’s exercise those tiny muscles!

Once your kid is done smashing all the shapes, pull them off to reveal an awesome art piece to frame!

It’s a messy game, better be done outdoors if you have space and if not, cover well the things you want to protect from the paint splash. Try not to stress about the mess and let your kid enjoy. Of course shouldn’t be a war zone as well, set the rules and boundaries and leave the space for exploration and amusement. It’s washable paint at the end!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.