As a mother of five, I have realised that all children go through their various phases and stages way too fast. One minute they love Blue’s Clues, then Buzz, then Harry Potter and the next they are listening to music and wanting their own space.


At the time, it can drive us crazy listening to the theme songs, hearing the DVD over and over again in the background plus looking for the magic wand for the 100th time that day. All of a sudden they have moved on, almost overnight, and the magic wand now lies collecting dust on a bookshelf somewhere.


These are the images I want to capture in my new project “telling a story”. They are what we see  Incorrect: When you add 3 and 4, you should get 7.
The personal pronoun, “you”, should not be used in formal writing.

The sentence may be rephrased so it remains impersonal:
Correct: When 3 and 4 are added, the result should be 7.

Alternatively, “you” may be replaced with “one”:
Correct: When one adds 3 and 4, one should get 7.

Incorrect: I believe this point of view is correct.
When one is permitted to express and opinion (only in personal or opinion essays), the use of “I” is still considered too informal; it may be replaced with “this writer” or “this author”.

Correct: This writer believes this point of view is correct.

” grammarpoint=”Personal pronoun may not be appropriate for formal or academic writing.” name=”Style/PersonalPronouninAcademicWriting/Informalpronouns/2064384″ patterndate=”1314099945000″ sentence=”They are what we see our children doing everyday, their loves, their passion, their story at this moment.”>our children doing everyday, their loves, their passion, their story at this moment. These are not the “put your fancy clothes on, comb your hair, scrubbed face, cheesing smile” images. These images are the everyday fabric of family life


I am starting with my family ( my awesome, supportive, guinea pigs) and I made a list of 25 of “ Incorrect: When you add 3 and 4, you should get 7.
The personal pronoun, “you”, should not be used in formal writing.

The sentence may be rephrased so it remains impersonal:
Correct: When 3 and 4 are added, the result should be 7.

Alternatively, “you” may be replaced with “one”:
Correct: When one adds 3 and 4, one should get 7.

Incorrect: I believe this point of view is correct.
When one is permitted to express and opinion (only in personal or opinion essays), the use of “I” is still considered too informal; it may be replaced with “this writer” or “this author”.

Correct: This writer believes this point of view is correct.

” grammarpoint=”Personal pronoun may not be appropriate for formal or academic writing.” name=”Style/PersonalPronouninAcademicWriting/Informalpronouns/2064384″ patterndate=”1314099945000″ sentence=”I made a list of 25 of our favourite things.”>our favourite things”. I know next week or next month the list could change, but right now this is what we love. 


First on the list was baking. All of my children enjoy time in the kitchen and baking with me. Licking the spoon is always a highlight, then eating the finished product and sharing with their siblings brings out the proudest of smiles. It is a fond memory I have of sharing the kitchen with my Mum when I was little, and I wanted to share this with my children. On the menu for Brunch, last Saturday, was blueberry muffins made by my youngest. I used this as my first opportunity to create this portfolio and capture everyday images, telling a story.

Mixing the ingredients

Little hands, with chipped nailpolish

Standing on the stepladder to reach the bench

Getting ready to bake

The washing up

The Blueberry Muffins

Take care,
Cindy Cavanagh


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