Kindermusik European Kids Festival in Aradippou

When : 5th July 

Where : Aradippou Municipality 

Time: 19.45 

Seahorse Larnaca Aquarium

OPENING SOON 

If you are interested in seeing sea creatures then Seahorse Aquarium is the most proper place for you.
It is open with a variety of fish in view. It is located between Phinikoudes district and Saint Lazaros church.
Opening times : Monday to Sunday 10:00 - 21:00
Location : Dionysou street
Adults: €10 | Children: €8
Children below the age of 4 are free of charge
If you are interesting to visit the aquarium as a group (10+)
contact them for better prices at seahorse.aquarium@yahoo.com
Tel: 99684298
www.aqariumlarnacas.com

Summer Sand Crafts

This is a really fun summer craft; you could pretty much do anything with it, it could also be really abstract and artistic. Take a look at what we did:

What you’ll need:
Construction Paper
Glue
Sand
Blue glitter
Green and yellow foam paper
Scissors
Shoe box

Draw a picture of an island and a palm tree on your construction paper. While you do that have your child mix blue glitter and some sand (word of caution, don’t overdo it with the sand like we did, you want the mixture to be a little more blue).

We had created a summer sensory box including sand, sea shells & beads to hunt for in the box, mini sand bucket and a mini shovel. I got the idea for a sensory box from a Montessori learning technique.

Once the sand is mixed have your child apply glue to the area of the sea in the drawing, place it into a shoe box and add the glitter sand mixture. Shake it all around until the sand sticks to the glue and remove.

Repeat the same with the palm tree. Add glue to the island area and the tree trunk, place back in the box and add clean sand. Shake around until it’s glued to the paper. Then glue green foam cut outs to the top of the palm tree for branches and the yellow foam for the sun.

If you like you could just add glue to the island and the palm tree and be left with a very simple creation. It would be great for an older child or an adult to experiment with that. For Emma I wanted to add other materials and colors to work with.
She loved the craft, and she ended up playing for quite a bit longer in her sensory box, adding sand from one bucket to another, burying and finding shells and beads, making swirls with her fingers.

Have fun!
Vanja
Emma’s Lunch 

Budapest city-break with a toddler

My son is almost 3 years old and since he was around 8 months old, we regularly take him to his “other home” in Hungary,where I am from. Living in Larnaca with family is safe and easy, combined with a wonderful climate, but taking a trip from a small island to a real, big city is inspirational for both parents and children.

I decided to contribute to LPN with an article about my city, where I had lived, as some of you might decide that you would like to take your small ones and fly to Hungary, even just for a short break, a long weekend, as it is easily reachable now with two low-budget airlines (Wizzair from Larnaca and Ryanair from Pafos). The flight from Cyprus to the Hungarian capital is less than 3 hours, so it is easily managable with children. The thrill of being on an airplane wears out by the time we reach our travel height and soon after take-off, my son usually falls asleep and wakes up just by the end of the flight. Our latest trip was at the beginning of May and this period until late September is the best time of the year to visit for some great outdoor adventures in Central Europe!

Budapest is just buzzing with activities and there are uncountable cultural, culinary, shopping and just simply “fun-time”opportunities. I am always excited to see my old home again and for my son it is a new world to be explored. First of all, being a boy, he is simply thrilled by the various means of transportation: yellow trams, red trolleys, blue buses, electric trains, the underground, the funicular railway (taking you up to the Buda castle) and not even talking about the myriad of bike-rider everywhere. Through the various experiences, he acquires new words, expressions in Hungarian and hopefully learns how to live and survive in another country and culture.

Budapest offers various colorful programmes for families with children. There is a wonderful Zoo and Botanical Garden in the City Park, right next to the Circus and the Amusement Park. The unique Children’s Railway, which is operated by kids, is also definitely worth a visit, as well as the various green and carefully manicured parks, safely fenced, modern playgrounds throughout the city and the wide pavements are just ideal for walks and “rides” by a toddler on a small plastic motorbike, like ours.

On our first day we took the tram to the Children’s Railway and had a ride on an old steam engine in the Buda hills. TheChildren’s Railway is operated by 10-12-year-old children, who act as conductors and the ride takes around an hour each way.

 Being in the fresh, green forest, as the nostalgic train puffs its way through the hills, with a panorama on the city and the surrounding Buda hills, is a wonderful experience. One of the best adventure parks for older children in the country is on the train’s route as well, in the woods.

The second day we had tickets to the Circus in the City Park (a park with a lake in the middle, where you can also row your boat). The latest show at the Circus brings the world’s best acrobats, rope dancers or Italian clowns to the ring, until the end of the summer. The real highlights were the animals for us: tigers, pumas, Andalusian horses, Siberian huskies, etc. It was amazing to see five tigers standing up on two feet, following their master’s instructions, just a few meters from us!

After the Cypriot lifestyle of driving around in our car, in Budapest we normally move around using public transport and of course always have our plastic motorbike (see on the attached picture) with us. You can buy this light toddlers’ vehicle in any toy shops and then just carry it back to Cyprus in your luggage. Soon after we bought one, when my son was around 2 years old,we committed a mistake and visited the zoo without it and of course we regretted it! Every 2- or 3-year-old child in Hungary sits on such a motorbike and our son was very disappointed that we did not have it with us! We had to cut that zoo visit short last
year…

I cannot list all the great places in Budapest in my article, just wanted to give you a taste. As the summer is already here, there are several open-air performances and the numerous parks are simply inviting your toddler as you walk around and explore the city. The Hungarian capital is colorful, affordable, full of beautiful and child-friendly hotels, oudoor cafes, floating restaurant-boats on the Danube river with a dazzling panorama of the Castle in Buda. Take a seat in one of the most popular spots of downtown’s Liszt Ferenc pedestrian square for a great meal and then head for dessert, try the “krémes” (cream cake) in the newly opened Szamos café in the heart of the city in the Vörösmarty pedestrian square. In both of these places kids can run around and play safely as cars are not allowed in this part of the city. Jó utat!

Beáta Pál Christodoulou, an LPN mum and communications consultant at Action Global Communications (Nicosia)

Roast Sirloin of Beef with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and gravy

Her Magesty Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne on 6 February 1952 and her coronation took place on 2 June 1953.

This weekend Diamond Jubilee celebrations will take place throughout the UK, across the Commonwealth and beyond.

To mark the occasion, I would like to share with you a Classic British recipe, that is truly fit for a Queen!!

 Ingredients

For the Yorkshire puddings

350g plain flour

4 large or 5 medium free-range eggs

800ml milk (you may not need all of it)

vegetable oil, for cooking

salt

For the beef

2 kg sirloin beef

1 jar English mustard

1 jar French mustard

2 onions

1 glass red wine

1 glass water

4 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves crushed garlic

1 small jar mixed herbs

For the roast potatoes

16 medium-sized Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes (each about 175g), peeled, cut into equal-sized pieces

8 garlic cloves

5 tbsp duck fat or vegetable oil

8 sprigs thyme

sea salt, to taste

For the gravy

pan-roasting juices

350ml red wine

4 tsp plain flour

Preparation method

First make the Yorkshire pudding batter. Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl, add the eggs and gradually whisk in enough milk to make a smooth batter thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Cover and leave to rest for six hours or overnight.

Take the beef out of the fridge and allow it to come back to room temperature.  Preheat the oven to 195 degrees for 10 minutes.

Cover beef with English and French mustard, completely covering it.... then pour over mixed herbs, forming a crust and covering all the beef, upside, side and everywhere....

Cut 2 large onions in thick pieces into baking tray and pour over the onions a glass of red wine and a glass of water.... place beef on top and then pour over 4 tablespoons olive oil with puree of 2 crushed garlic cloves. Season everywhere with salt and pepper.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the roast potatoes. Peel the potatoes and parboil them in salted water for about seven minutes until almost cooked (they will still feel firm when pierced with a knife). Drain thoroughly and then shake them around a little in the colander until the outsides are fluffy.

Put the duck fat or vegetable oil for the roast potatoes into a small roasting tin and heat in the oven for five minutes. Add the potatoes to the tin with the garlic cloves, thyme and some sea salt and toss them around until well coated in the fat. Return the tin to the oven and roast for 30-35 minutes or so until golden and crunchy.

Remove the Beef from the oven and place on a carving board when cooked to your liking.  Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rest in a warm place

Next make the Yorkshire puddings. Pour 5mm/½inch of vegetable oil into the well of each Yorkshire pudding tin - eight individual ones or two four-hole trays. Place the tins in the oven to heat for a few minutes.

When the oil is hot, remove from the oven. Give the Yorkshire batter a stir and carefully pour it into the tins. Take care, as the oil may splatter. Fill each well up to about halfway.

Place the tins back in the oven and cook for about 25-30 minutes alongside the roast potatoes, until they are well risen and golden.

While the potatoes and Yorkshire puddings are in the oven, make the gravy. Place the tin with its roasting juices on the hob over a medium heat. Stir in the flour and the red wine. Scrape well to get all the bits from the bottom of the tin into the gravy. Leave to simmer for ten minutes, then season.

To serve, carve the beef into thick slices and pile on plates with the Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes. Pour lots of gravy over the top.

Preparation time

25 minutes, plus resting time for the batter

Cooking time

For rare 50 minutes

For medium 1 hour and 10 minutes

For well done 1 hour 30 minutes

Do NOT cover with foil whilst roasting, plus resting time for the beef

Serves 8

The recipe for the Roast Sirloin of Beef was supplied by Celebrity Chef Gil owner of Nippon Japanese Restaurant in Larnaca and features in the American Academy Junior School Cook Book which is due for release in September 2012.

If you would like to pre-order a copy of  the Cook Book which includes 100 plus delicious International recipes (supplied by children, parents, family and friends ot the school), please do not hesitate to contact me.  All funds raised from the sale of the Cook Book will go directly towards equipment and fun activites for all the children of the school.

Enjoy!!

Marilyn x