Month: December 2017

Sand Pendulum

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We snagged this idea from an old Parents magazine article, highlighting STEM projects for kids. The game provides a neat visual introduction to gravity, using the simple concept of a pendulum. Pendulums – any suspended weight that swings freely from a pivot – will always come to rest at an equilibrium position, because of gravity of course. Using colored sand makes it purely fun for kids!

Make sure to cover your work surface with a roll of craft paper or other paper, both to catch your sand designs, and to save you from a big mess at clean-up time.

To set up the pendulum, tie three strings at even intervals around a thick rubber band. Travis had fun exploring the materials while I put this step together. Older kids can help with the tying!

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Fit the rubber band tightly under the lip of a kitchen funnel. Gather the three strings together and tie in the middle so the funnel hangs evenly.

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Slip the strings over a dowel – whoops, not quite balanced yet!

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The next step was a bit tricky, since it requires two sets of hands, and my three year old had his own agenda. But ideally, have your child plug the hole at the bottom of the funnel with a fingertip while you fill it with colored craft sand.

Give the pendulum a slight push, and watch the sand go back and forth. It will swing in increasingly smaller motions until it comes to rest.

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As mentioned, ours didn’t exactly work as planned…but leftover sand sure is fun to play with!

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If you capture really pretty sand designs, please share in the comments.

Crunchy Cucumbers with Hummus

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Make a go-to snack of veggies with hummus even more fun with this bite-sized snack. What kid can resist the chance to eat potato chips in a healthy way?

Ingredients:

  • 1 cucumber, sliced
  • Hummus
  • Crushed potato chips
  1. Arrange the cucumber slices on a plate or platter. Thinly spread each slice with hummus to taste.
  2. Sprinkle a few crushed potato chip pieces on top of each cuke.

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Phoneme Week 10: IR

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As with the AY phoneme, we’re now doing a much-simplified version of our original plan to explore letter pairs. We’ve had the IR poster up on our wall for nearly two months now (!), giving Travis ample time to enjoy with how the two letters together say “errrrr!” Here’s some fun we had along the way.

Words of the Week:

  • Birds: This was loosely our “theme” for the unit, so we made bird feeders from pine cones and old milk containers…Pinecone Feeder (6)and enjoyed quirky games like a bird beak buffet. Bird Buffet (8)In addition, we made sure to head out bird watching one afternoon! IR Phoneme (4)We also started a collection of Audubon bird friends. IR Phoneme (8)And of course checked out library books on the subject.IR Phoneme (5)
  • Birch: Believe it or not, I found a craft to go with this word – birch tree tape resist pictures! Fall nature walks resulted in the chance to see the striking smooth bark of these trees up close and in person.BIrch Tree (6)
  • First: Find a toy – old baby ones are good to pull out for this purpose – that stacks or nests, and count them “first,” “second,” and “third,” instead of one, two, three. Since it was the holiday season, we also sang ‘The First Noel.’IR Phoneme (1)
  • Skirt/Shirt: For these two clothing words, we made a batch of craft stick doll, wearing a variety of fashions!
  • Birth: Like many toddlers and preschoolers, Travis is developing a fascination with babies. It’s a good time to introduce the concept of birth in an age-appropriate way. Check your library for cute books on the topic.IR Phoneme (6)
  • Stir: This word got us into the kitchen of course! First we did some real stirring to make a pie together. Then it was time for something even more fun: magic potion spoons, where stirring unlocked a secret color ingredient. “Mom, can I still stir?” Travis asked while we played the game, wanting to do it over and over again.
  • Virtue: Hmm, this was a hard word to teach to a three year old, so we tested out the old adage that “patience is a virtue” … By waiting for a batch of cookies of course!
  • Dirt: To end our IR fun, we brought a big bag of dirt inside (well, potting soil), and created a dirty mud pie kitchen.

Chances are we won’t get to the next phoneme until well into the New Year, so stay tuned!

Mud Pie Kitchen

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In an ideal world, we would have done this activity outdoors in beautiful summer weather; it’s the kind of activity that can keep your kids happily occupied while you garden or do other outdoor chores. But if a kid needs dirt in the winter, then you bring the dirt inside!

To set up our “kitchen”, I spread an old shower curtain liner on the floor to contain any mess. I then set up a variety of kitchen items. We used disposable foil pans, but you can also use items from a flea market or thrift store. Add in spatulas, spoons, ladles, or other kitchen utensils.

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If it’s summer, simply scoop up dirt from your yard and get to work! Here in the winter, we used a leftover bag of potting soil. Travis loved adding water, until we had a nice muddy consistency.

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Then it was time to make mud loaf cakes!

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Cupcake liners were a whimsical touch, so we baked a batch of mud muffins.

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Travis kept up an imaginative narrative as he played; here is a cake inside of an “oven.”

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When he was done, I simply folded the old shower curtain over the muddy pots and pans and put everything into a trash bag – easy as mud pie!

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Cardboard Learning Tree

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This is a great activity that combines seasonal holiday crafting with a little learning. If you play your cards right, the kids won’t even know you’ve slipped in some education with their fun!

For the shape of your tree, you can either paint a large piece of cardboard (holiday gift delivery boxes, perhaps?) or poster board. We chose poster board because I knew it would be easier to cut out the tree. Either way, Travis was thrilled when I said I needed the entire thing painted green.

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We left the paint to dry overnight, and the next day I cut out the tree shape.

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Next we gathered supplies for the “ornaments.” Use holiday-themed cookie cutters or other shapes, and trace the outlines on colored construction paper.

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Don’t worry if your kids don’t trace perfectly, you can always neaten up the lines when cutting the shapes out later.

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The next step was even more fun: laminating the cards. Although this step is optional, it will definitely make your paper pieces last longer. Travis adores whenever he’s allowed to help laminate, so this was a big hit.

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I cut out the shapes, and set them aside.

We hung our tree on the wall and added a brown piece of construction paper as the trunk.

The final step was to add Velcro strips to our tree and ornaments. Place the soft side of the Velcro on the tree at random intervals, then attach one rough Velcro piece to each ornament. Travis loved this even before we added the learning element, hanging his ornaments and then changing their positions.

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There are so many games you can play from this point on! First, I numbered the ornaments one through twenty with a wipe-clean marker, for a number search game.

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A simple wipe with a paper towel and we could play alphabet games. One suggestion is to hide the letters in your child’s name, and have them pinpoint those on the tree.

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As an alternative, write the upper and lower case of a batch of letters, and have your child find the pairs.

In full honesty, Travis was way more into the mechanics of this game (taking on and off the ornaments, wiping them clean with paper towels), than he was with the learning games, but we’ll play again over the course of the next few weeks!

Sweet Potato, Avocado, and Bean Quesadillas

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Quick enough for any busy weeknight, these quesadillas are not only fast but also versatile. Keep the flavors simple for little kids with the ingredient list below; meanwhile, older children and adults can add a sprinkle of cumin or chili powder to the quesadilla filling, and dress their serving up at mealtime with non-dairy sour cream, hot sauce, and salsa.

.Ingredients:

  • 4 whole wheat tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded Daiya pepper jack
  • 1/2 cup rinsed and drained canned pinto beans
  • 1/2 cup mashed, cooked sweet potato
  • 1 sliced avocado
  1. Place 2 tortillas on a baking sheet. Layer evenly with the pepper jack, pinto beans, sweet potato, and avocado.
  2. Top with the remaining 2 tortillas and bake at 425 degrees for 8 minutes.

Top as desired, and serve!

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Pumpkin-Walnut Bread

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This pumpkin bread is redolent with spices – cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Go ahead and add a pinch of cloves, too, if you have them on hand. You’ll want to keep a loaf or two of this decadent quick bread on hand over the holiday season!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1 and 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
  • 4 Ener-G eggs
  • 3/4 cup plain non-dairy yogurt
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 and 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the olive oil, sugar, pumpkin, Ener-G eggs, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until combined.
  2. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and ginger. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until combined. Stir in the walnuts.
  3. Divide the batter evenly among 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes; a wooden pick inserted in the centers should come out clean. Let cool in the pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then remove from the pans and cool completely.

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Make a Time Capsule!

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Here’s an activity you can do any time of year, in any season, on any day big or small. I saved up the idea for the holiday season when I knew we’d have particularly special days to capture on camera. Either way, all you need is an instant camera (we love the Fujifilm Instax mini!) and your family members, and you have the making of a time capsule.

Our particular event was a local Dickens Christmas festival and a performance of the Nutcracker. Travis loved helping take the instant pics as we went along, meaning some were quite blurry, but that added its own charm. Here he is aiming the camera!

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Once home, we sorted through our mementos.

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In addition to pictures, you can add other items from the day, such as tickets to an event…

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…programs, crafts that were made, or souvenirs that your purchased.

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Now seal it all up in a shoebox. Travis loved helping tape down the edges.

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We put a big note on it to leave it alone until one year from now, and can’t wait to relive the memories!

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What event or day is going into your time capsule? Please share in the comments!

Cheddar & Cranberry Cheese Stackers

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With a leftover Thanksgiving jar of cranberry sauce in the cupboard, I threw together this quick snack. Kids will love the pop of cranberry sauce, adding novelty to a normal plate of non-dairy cheese and crackers.

To prepare, simply layer round snack crackers (such as Late July) with thinly sliced vegan cheddar – I recommend a block such as Daiya for this recipe. Spoon a tiny dollop of cranberry sauce on top of each cheese slice.

Not holiday season? Fret not, simply try applesauce in place of the cranberry sauce!

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Make Your Own Gummies

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Many thanks to Glee Gum for helping make this post happen!

Travis and I received a test sample of the company’s Make Your Own Gummies kit, and he adored the project from start to finish. I’m so pleased that I can offer readers of this blog the following exclusive promotion for holiday shopping!

Save 15% on EVERYTHING at GleeGum.com!
Coupon code: JOYFUL
(Offer only valid on web-store orders placed at GleeGum.com. Enter coupon code in the lower left of your shopping cart & hit “apply coupon.” One time only; one coupon code per order. Offer ends 1/31/18 at 11:59 pm ET.) 

Without any further ado, here’s what we thought of the Gummies kit. Although marketed to ages 8 and up, my 3 year old was able to help with each step and to understand the science behind how we made the candy. Here we are opening the box – he couldn’t wait to find out what was in each little packet!

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The directions were a touch vague at times, but that is my only gripe. Even though I improvised once or twice, the recipe is very forgiving because our gummies still turned out just fine.

In addition to the sweet treat at the end, the kit also includes great factual and scientific information on why you’ve received dried seaweed and seaweed powder as the starters for your gummies. Using carrageenan from seaweed means the company does not have to use gelatin from animal bones. This is a win-win situation, for seaweed farmers in places like the Philippines and of course for the animals! I loved that this vegan project was one Travis and I could share together.

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So on that note, how does it work? First, we covered our dried seaweed with water and let stand. The instructions were vague here, but I used warm water and let it stand for about 5 minutes, which turned out to be enough.

Meanwhile, select molds for your candy. We decided to use holiday-shaped cookie cutters, but I would use smaller molds next time. (The kit even suggests straws to make gummy worms!).

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Next, we smoothed the molding starch down onto a plate; a fun step for a three year old wielding a spoon. The kit said to place your molds in the starch and lift out. This seemed odd to me, so we left our molds in – more on that later.

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Meanwhile, back to the gummies: we mixed together powdered seaweed and water, and added the dried seaweed, which was now somewhat soft and smelled strongly of the ocean – Travis loved the sensory experience! Microwave for about 2 minutes until it foams up. Discard the dried seaweed. We added pink sugar and microwaved for an additional minute.

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Now pour the gummy mixture over your molds and transfer to the fridge. A wonderful bonus of this activity is that kids barely need to wait – ten minutes is all it takes for the gummies to set!

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We were rewarded ten minutes later with perfect gummy figures. As the finishing touch, we placed in a zip-top bag and shook with the provided sour mix. It was only 9 o’clock in the morning, but of course my little sous-chef got to taste right away.

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In sum, this is a fantastic project to share with kids. You’ll get to hone kitchen skills, learn a little science about seaweed, and eat a fantastic snack at the end. If you purchase the kit, please do share your experience in the comments!

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For more details on the product described in this post, including nutrition facts & ingredients, be sure to visit GleeGum.com.  You can also check out GleeGum’s Facebook (Glee Gum), Twitter (@gleeguy), Pinterest (Glee Gum),and Instagram (glee.gum) accounts.