Lava Lamp

It's getting a bit dark outside don't you think? Wait a second, I have an idea! Why don't we create a lava lamp!! This would definitely brighten up our day. So let's start.

In order to create your lava lamp you would need: An empty, clear bottle (with lid), vegetable or mineral oil, food colouring, glitter (optional) and effervescent tablets (table salt can work instead).

1. Start by adding your vegetable/mineral oil into the bottle until it is 3 quarters full. 
2. Fill the rest of the bottle with water but leave a space at the top so it doesn't overflow.
3. Then add a few drops of food colour, of your choice.
4. Now you can add any glitter to make it more appealing.
5. Next we are going add our effervescent tablets, broken in small bits or salt.
6. Just watch the oil rise in small drops as you add it in.
7. Continue adding the broken tablets or salt until it has all dissolved.
8. Finally put the lid on and shake it slowly until the oil mixes and the bubbles form.
9. Now just sit back and relax as it comes into action.

Wow! I placed the lava lamp in my room and it worked out great. 😜

Unicorn Cake!

Have you ever made a Unicorn Cake? Well it sure is delicious! Today you're going to learn the steps to create an awesome cake. The cake I chose to use on the inside was the chocolate sponge cake. 

Sponge Cake Ingredients:
- 4 large eggs (room temperature)
- ½ cup + 1 ½ tablespoon (120 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon (100 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3 table spoons (20 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder

       

Items for decorating:

- White, light pink, light blue, light purple buttercream frosting
- Black food colouring/edible paint
- White fondant
- 3 Lollipop sticks
- Paint brushes (optional)
- Teardrop cookie cutters (optional)
• 
  
• Sponge Cake recipe:

1. Take the eggs out from the fridge few mins before starting.
   
   
2. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C (350 degrees F).
   
   
3. Prepare baking pan with parchment paper.

   
   
4. Put the eggs and sugar in a bowl.
   
   
5. Beat the eggs until very fluffy and pale yellow. (If you have a stand mixer, mix about 15 minutes on medium/high speed).

   
   
6. Slowly add the cocoa powder and flour on top of the egg mixture, a little at a time, and fold it carefully with a wooden spoon.
   
   
7. Pour the batter into your pan. Don't smooth the top or bang the pan on the counter.
   
   
8. Bake for 40 minutes and don't open the oven for the first 20 minutes.
   
   

Turn the oven off but leave the chocolate sponge cake inside for 10 mins. Then let cool for another 10 mins outside the oven, loosen the edges and then flip the cake upside down (without the pan) to cool completely.

Decorating!!!

• spread buttercream frosting all around the cake
• cover the cake with white fondant
• use the 3 lollipop sticks for the ears and horn of the unicorn
• create ears (use tear drop cookie cutters for ears) and horn with white fondant
• use the lollipop sticks to stick them in
• use the light pink, blue and purple buttercream frosting for the mane of the unicorn (alternate between the colours)
• you can paint the horn any colour or leave it white
• finally use your paint brushes to draw some eyes, using the black food colouring

I really enjoyed creating this cake and I hope you will too!

Online Safety

Online safety Is very important! Many people all around the world get either  disrespected or bullied online. I have never experienced it but I know people who have.

Cyberbullying:

When some people are online they feel that they are behind a screen so whatever they post can easily be deleted and they won’t get caught. But once you click the post button nothing will ever be able to come off the internet. You will even be able to find something that was posted by someone 30 years ago. When your friends or stranger writes a mean comment to you and it’s been happening constantly for a few days you should...

1.    Ignore

2.    Talk it out 

3.    Screenshot mean posts and print out 

4.    Seek help

             

If you are being bullied you should put a stop to it right away! 

Online issues: 

Are you on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook etc. and not 13 years old? There are many such kids. Before you download an app (like the ones suggested above) you agree to the age and term policies. For example Snapchat would say that you would have to be 13 or older to use this app. Age requirement is very important. Many problems have been happening where kids start chatting with someone that they have never seen before whom they think is their friend. It actually can be anyone, even a 40 year old man. In situations like that young kids wouldn’t know what to do. So that’s why it’s very important to stay near an adult when on social media so they can guide you.  

     

                                               

                                               

Bridge of Hope

Did you ever hear about something called the bridge of hope? Have you ever seen a bridge of hope? Well if you haven’t it’s okay because that’s what we are going to talk about right now. There are so many bridges of hope across the world. Have you ever been/seen your parents driving at night and pass by a deer or duck crossing sign? That’s when we have to be careful, because an animal such as a deer can jump out of anywhere within the fraction of a second, and get hit by a vehicle. That’s when a bridge of hope comes in handy. These bridges are only meant for animals. So when we drive on a road there would be a bridge over our heads, filled with trees, food and whatever an animal needs in its habitat. Once these bridges were made, people started observing and monitoring since 1996 and about 11 species of large animals (Elk, cougar, bears etc.) have crossed more than 200,000 times!  In Alberta, Canada there are about 41 wildlife crossing structures. And Netherlands has about 600 wildlife crossing structures. I totally agree with creating these bridges because this can save lives of many animals and sometimes even ours.