Has your brown sugar hardened into lumps?
Microwave in a suitable bowl next to a mug of water, on full power (800W) in 1 minute bursts, until you can break down the lumps.
Store in an airtight container to keep it soft.
Has your runny honey set solid?
Place the jar in a bowl of hot water until smooth again.
Or remove the lid and microwave the jar for 10 second bursts until runny again.
In Good Housekeeping, October 2015
Wednesday, 11 May 2016
Monday, 9 May 2016
Learning Styles
People usually have a primary learning style (though some prefer a mixture): visual learners (like to see things), auditory learners (like to listen to explanations) or kinaesthetic learners (doing things). For example, in learning languages, some just need to hear a word to remember it, others want to see it written down. Each type of learning enables the brain to store and retrieve information on a number of different levels.
2016 You can find online tests to work out your preferred learning style. Here are a few.
Age and ability are not interdependent. Children can be at one level in one subject and a different level in another, and within a class there will be a range of abilities. In a documentary a few years ago, adult literacy learners were helped by identifying and then using their preferred learning style.
Whatever your age, the following can help your learning.
Be active, not passive, in your learning. Don't simply accept the information presented in textbooks, handouts or slides. Write down notes by hand as the physical action helps learning (don't type text into a tablet). Then change the information around - use drawings, connection maps, make mobiles, create your own mnemonics, make a rhyme about it. With maths, work things out by writing in Chinagraph pencil (can be wiped off with a damp cloth) on a window or mirror (bear safety in mind - use only strong and secure windows). Experiment with different techniques to find our what works best for you.
Main source: Make Your Child Brilliant by Bernadette Tynon. Quadrille, 2008 (ISBN 978-184400-579-6)
2016 You can find online tests to work out your preferred learning style. Here are a few.
- http://www.brainboxx.co.uk/a3_aspects/pages/vak_quest.htm
- http://www.whatismylearningstyle.com/learning-style-test-1.html
- http://acceleratedlearning.com/method/test_flash.html
- http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-assessment
Age and ability are not interdependent. Children can be at one level in one subject and a different level in another, and within a class there will be a range of abilities. In a documentary a few years ago, adult literacy learners were helped by identifying and then using their preferred learning style.
Whatever your age, the following can help your learning.
Be active, not passive, in your learning. Don't simply accept the information presented in textbooks, handouts or slides. Write down notes by hand as the physical action helps learning (don't type text into a tablet). Then change the information around - use drawings, connection maps, make mobiles, create your own mnemonics, make a rhyme about it. With maths, work things out by writing in Chinagraph pencil (can be wiped off with a damp cloth) on a window or mirror (bear safety in mind - use only strong and secure windows). Experiment with different techniques to find our what works best for you.
Main source: Make Your Child Brilliant by Bernadette Tynon. Quadrille, 2008 (ISBN 978-184400-579-6)
Friday, 6 May 2016
Brain Facts
While there is a small difference in brain size between the sexes (1.25kg for women and 1.35kg for men), they process information and solve problems at the same speed, but use the brain differently to do so.
The right and left hemispheres of the brain are connected by a band of tissue called the corpus callosum, without which the brain finds it hard to process information. Songs help this connectivity as they use both hemispheres (right for tonality, sound, music and rhythm and left for language processing and rationality) and it appears that songs help Alzheimer's sufferers in accessing information.
The most effective learning occurs when we are enjoying ourselves. The brain is not built to have limits. It tries to make conections between what it already knows and new facts. A variety of sensory input can make it difficult to focus on the facts (eg. tv news - actual news and distractions of clothes & hair of the newsreader, activity behind them). Storytelling gives connections to unrelated facts, making them easier to remember. Rote learning makes no new connections. Child's 'why' questions: if you simply tell them, their brain struggles to file it efficiently. Ask them what they think and explore the topic together - they will start with information they already know.
With a healthy diet, brain cells grow throughout life. Exercise gets oxygen to the brain (which uses 20% of the oxygen we breathe. Stuck on a problem - use a trampoline for a few minutes as the brain has to coordinate major muscle groups for balance (just as good for adults).
Main source:
Make Your Child Brilliant by Bernadette Tynon. Quadrille, 2008 (ISBN 978-184400-579-6)
The right and left hemispheres of the brain are connected by a band of tissue called the corpus callosum, without which the brain finds it hard to process information. Songs help this connectivity as they use both hemispheres (right for tonality, sound, music and rhythm and left for language processing and rationality) and it appears that songs help Alzheimer's sufferers in accessing information.
The most effective learning occurs when we are enjoying ourselves. The brain is not built to have limits. It tries to make conections between what it already knows and new facts. A variety of sensory input can make it difficult to focus on the facts (eg. tv news - actual news and distractions of clothes & hair of the newsreader, activity behind them). Storytelling gives connections to unrelated facts, making them easier to remember. Rote learning makes no new connections. Child's 'why' questions: if you simply tell them, their brain struggles to file it efficiently. Ask them what they think and explore the topic together - they will start with information they already know.
With a healthy diet, brain cells grow throughout life. Exercise gets oxygen to the brain (which uses 20% of the oxygen we breathe. Stuck on a problem - use a trampoline for a few minutes as the brain has to coordinate major muscle groups for balance (just as good for adults).
Main source:
Make Your Child Brilliant by Bernadette Tynon. Quadrille, 2008 (ISBN 978-184400-579-6)
Wednesday, 4 May 2016
Calendars and Time
A moon (lunar) month is 28 days. There are 13 lunar months in a year, totalling 364 days. Adding 1 more day (365 days) makes a year, hence the expression common in folk tales of 'a year and a day'.
Alternatives have been proposed to the current Gregorian (Western/Christain) Calendar to even out the irregularity of the months. However there are issues around religious observance days, the need to reconcile academic terms, implications for the working week (shift rotas, weekends), and peasant economies where there is not enough need for permanent shops and trading is done through several interlocking market cycles, each based in a different village, not to mention finding acceptable-to-all names for the weekdays and months.
Alternatives have been proposed to the current Gregorian (Western/Christain) Calendar to even out the irregularity of the months. However there are issues around religious observance days, the need to reconcile academic terms, implications for the working week (shift rotas, weekends), and peasant economies where there is not enough need for permanent shops and trading is done through several interlocking market cycles, each based in a different village, not to mention finding acceptable-to-all names for the weekdays and months.
- Perpetual 364 day calendar plus 1 day per year.
- Perpetual monthly international fixed calendar: 13 months of 28 days plus (a) New Year's day every year and (b) Sol day every leap year. Every date is fixed on the same weekday (e.g. 1, 8, 15 and 22 are always Sundays).
- Perpetual trimester calendar (World calendar): Months are 31, 30, 30 in each trimester (3 months). Every date falls on the same day of the week (Jan. 6th is always a Friday, Feb. 6th is always a Monday). Dec. 30 is followed by World's day every year and Jun. 30 by Leap Tear day in leap years (neither have a day of the week).
- Calendar reform.
Monday, 2 May 2016
Carrots Good for Eye Health
Carrots contain carotenoids which can slow age-related macular
degeneration (AMD). A recent Harvard University-led study used data from
a population survey that tracked more than 100,000 over-50s over a
period of 25 years.
It found that those who consumed the highest levels of carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin) had a 40% lower risk of developing the advanced form of AMD than those who ate the least. As well as carrots, good sources of carotenoids are dark leafy vegetables and eggs.
Another recent study (AREDS2) found that a supplement of 10mg lutein and 2mg zeaxanthin (together with key vitamins, minerals and fish oils) reduced the progression of established AMD by 26%.
Item in Lifespan Breaking News, Winter 2015
It found that those who consumed the highest levels of carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin) had a 40% lower risk of developing the advanced form of AMD than those who ate the least. As well as carrots, good sources of carotenoids are dark leafy vegetables and eggs.
Another recent study (AREDS2) found that a supplement of 10mg lutein and 2mg zeaxanthin (together with key vitamins, minerals and fish oils) reduced the progression of established AMD by 26%.
Item in Lifespan Breaking News, Winter 2015
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