Month: February 2018

Olympic Medal Cookies

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Olympic Cookies (8)

On the heels of our Olympic crafting, we made edible medals to enjoy during the opening ceremony of the Games (and needed to taste test them today, of course).

The recipe is care of High Five magazine. It needed a few vegan tweaks (we don’t have the convenience of pre-made sugar cookie dough logs or colored frosting), but the tweaks were easy to make.

Start with a box of sugar cookie mix (try Cherrybrook Kitchen), and bake according to package directions. Travis loves being my helper when we pull out the stand mixer!

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Make sure the cookies are very round balls as you put them into the oven, so you have round medal-shaped cookies at the end. Let cool completely.

To prepare the filling, place 5 medium frozen strawberries (thawed) in a bowl and crush with a potato masher.

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Combine the strawberries in a food processor with 1/2 cup non-dairy cream cheese, 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract. Process until smooth.

Spread the strawberry filling onto half of the cookies; set aside the remaining cookies.

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Carefully guiding your child’s hand with a butter knife or plastic knife, cut strips of fruit leather into two pieces. Arrange the pieces over the strawberry filled cookies like the tails of a ribbon. Top with an additional cookie.

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From this point, you can have fun with toppings any way you’d like. We decided we needed to frost our cookies in yellow for gold medals. I added yellow food coloring to a store-bought vanilla frosting (try Dollop) in a plastic bag and kneaded until golden. Cut a small hole in the corner of the bag and pipe onto the cookies.

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Topping the frosting with sprinkles was Travis’s favorite part, eating sprinkles along the way of course.

Olympics kick off on February 9 – what sport will you and your kiddos be watching the most?

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Bookmarks with Heart

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You know you’ve got kids in school when you’re on the hook to produce Valentine’s for the class for the first time! This adorable and easy idea from Parents magazine was the perfect craft to put together with Travis. Although I had to do some components, I loved that he got to collaborate as well, making this truly his project for the class.

To start, print the bookmark template from parents.com/bookmarkheart onto colored paper. We used pink and red construction paper.

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The template reads: I like you a hole punch, but the o’s are missing – you’ll fill them in later with a hole punch, of course.

Next, I purchased patterned scrapbook paper and cut into rectangles that were 2 inches wide by 6 and 1/2 inches long – slightly larger than the printed bookmarks. This is a fun chance to do some measuring and ruler practice with your child.

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Here came Travis’s big role! He loved smearing a glue stick onto the patterned paper, after which I adhered the bookmark templates to the center – we had a great assembly line going!

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As mentioned in previous blogs, Travis loves when he gets to use the hole punch, so this was a big hit. Go through and punch the o’s in the word ‘you’ and ‘hole’ on each bookmark.

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We finished our Valentine’s with a heart sticker and his name on each.

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Can’t wait to deliver these to the class for the Valentine’s party!

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Make a Speedy Bobsled

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Bobsled (6)I love how timely the craft in our monthly issue of High Five always is. This month, Travis learned how to make a bobsled just in time for the start of the Olympics!

Of course it made no sense to put together a bobsled when Travis had no reference point, so first we watched a few videos of past teams. He was then super revved up to create one at home.

All you need is an empty toilet paper tube to be the bobsled, and a long piece of cardboard for the track. Ideally use a three foot long piece of cardboard as your track; I only had two feet in length, which worked just fine, but it meant our bobsled couldn’t race as far downhill.

Cut the tube open along one side, and then paint.

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I asked Travis if he wanted to paint his sled in the colors of a particular country. Actually, the red white and blue here isn’t America but Australia – he’s big into an Australia phase.

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I suggested making the track white for ice, but Travis wanted an Australian-flag colored track as well.

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We left the track and bobsled to dry while he was at school, and returned to an afternoon of Olympic fun!

To finish the sled, simply tape two plastic straws on the bottom (decorative washi tape was pretty, though not a must), with the bent parts of the straw pointing upwards like sled runners.

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Woosh! Action shot!

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We took turns launching the bobsled and rating its runs on a scale of 1 to 10. We give a gold medal to this craft, thanks High Five!

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Stained Glass Window Art

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Just about this time last year, when Travis was two-and-a-half, we made toddler stained glass. Now that he’s three-and-a-half, we’ve grown a bit more sophisticated with our designs! This project introduced a new art medium – puffy paint! – which absolutely delighted Travis.

First, place a piece of contact paper, sticky side down, on a work surface. You’re going to use your puffy paint directly on here, so make sure the contact paper is some place it can dry undisturbed for a while.

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I knew Travis wouldn’t be able to draw the exact outline of a house for our stained glass, so I set up two work stations side by side. While I outlined the house, he went wild with other puffy paints on his work surface.

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He told me he’d painted a castle, a prince, a king, and the girls visiting (whoops, too much Cinderella!). Meanwhile, he was ecstatic when he realized I had copied the house shape off of a template online. Next time I would make sure to have a large bottle of black puffy paint on hand – I had to switch to green mid-way.

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Let your puffy paint dry overnight.

To fill in the panes of our “glass”, we used glitter glue in lots of fun shades.

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After a bit of trial and error, Travis grew quite adept at keeping the glitter glue between the lines of the puffy paint.

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We did run out of puffy paint with a few spaces left to fill, so I mixed up some quick colored glue (glue and any shade of tempera paint). Let dry completely again.

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Trim any excess contact paper, and then your stained glass will adhere right to any window.

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It was so beautiful with the sun shining through!

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What other shapes or designs would you make to hang as “stained glass”? We’d love to hear in the comments!

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Meatball Soup with Farro

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This hearty bowlful is a surefire way to warm up on a winter night!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 package Gardein meatballs
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
  • 4 oz. green beans
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 and 1/2 cups cooked farro
  1. Cook the meatballs according to package directions. Cut into quarters and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, and green beans; cook for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the Italian seasoning, broth, tomatoes, cooked meatballs, and farro to the pan, continuing to cook until warmed through.

Top with vegan Parmesan sprinkles for serving, if desired!

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Felt Crown

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We tried out a pipe cleaner crown the other day, but unfortunately it was short-lived. The pipe cleaner segments unwound from one another quickly after King Travis tossed it around a few times. We thought a felt crown might stand up to more rough and tough kingly play!

First, trace an outline for your crown on white felt and cut out.

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Even this large piece of felt wasn’t long enough to stretch around Travis’s head, so we cut an additional strip of felt to sew on the back. This ended up being the neatest part of the craft for Travis. With careful adult help, we threaded yarn through the felt to secure the extra strip in place.

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Before sewing though, I asked Travis how he would like to decorate the crown. He wasn’t very into the permanent markers I offered, making only a few scribbles. (I ended up ending a few lines of decoration across the front).

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He did, though, love the “gems” from the craft store that I had.

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Very careful consideration was given to which gem should go where, and then I adhered them with hot glue.

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If you have decorative buttons on hand, you can also add those to your crown – another chance for sewing through the felt!

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Once he had the crown on, I realized he actually looked more like a medieval bishop than king! But either way, this is a great dress-up prop.

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Mini Archery

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After way too much fun with our medieval Koala Crate, we needed to continue our exploration of the Middle Ages. This project was too cute for words. Putting it together was mostly a grown-up task, but you’ll love watching your kids imagination go wild as they play with the final product!

To prepare the bow, notch a craft stick on both ends, on each side, for 4 notches total. I was entirely unsure how to go about making the notches, and just slivered into the stick with scissors. This may not have been the safest or best method, but it worked!

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Soak the stick in water for at least one hour to soften the wood.

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Once soft, carefully bend the stick into an arc. Wrap a piece of dental floss a few times through the notches on one end. Stretch the floss taut while curving the bow, and secure through the notches on the other end.

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For completely safe mini arrows, simply snip one tip off of a q-tip.

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Now we needed something to aim at! We cut two circles from poster board (paper plates would work, too), and decorated with a bull’s eye marking. Little poster board strips taped to the back helped them stand upright.

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The mechanics of nocking and launching the q-tips turned out to be quite tough for Travis.

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He loved watching though while we had some family time trying to hit the target. The arrows go quite far!

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As the finishing touch, we needed a quiver for the arrows. I cut a toilet paper tube until it was only a little taller than the q-tips, then wrapped in brown construction paper to cover the bottom and sides. We added a few Sherwood Forest-y decorations, as well as a ribbon handle.

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It turned out the quiver was Travis’s favorite element of the whole game. He loved loading it up with his “arrows” and running around with it…

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… but in full disclosure, he also decided it would be fun to run around naked while doing so. So you’ll have to take my word for it that there was lots of enjoyment going on, but I couldn’t capture photos for the blog!

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Valentine’s Day Tree

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Why should Christmas have all the countdown/advent calendar fun? Consider this little tree a neat way to share the love as you mark off the days from February 1st to the 14th!

First, you’ll need to select several branches from outside, and place them in any pretty vase you have in your home.

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Ahead of time, I traced and cut out 14 hearts from patterned paper. Pinks and reds were a natural choice for background color.

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Next, I numbered the hearts 1 through 14. This helps add a little math element to the project, with Travis selecting the right numbered heart each day we add it to the tree.

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Travis was so excited because to finish the set up, we needed two grown-up tools that he adores (under careful supervision of course): the stapler and the hole punch.

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First, we stapled a strip of pink construction paper to each heart.

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Next, we punched a hole in the top corner of each heart.

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We added little heart stickers to each one as a finishing touch. Feel free to decorate your hearts however you like! Cute pink or red buttons glued on would also be pretty.

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Each morning starting February 1, have your child name someone they love or care about. Write the name on the strip of paper, slip a piece of thread through the hole in the heart, and hang from the tree.

Here’s the tree about halfway completed:

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And here is our finished tree on the 14th!

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Dinner Table Conversation Jar

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I’ll be honest; we’re not always the model family when it comes to sitting down together for dinner, despite research about this healthy practice. Typically Travis eats early, and my husband and I eat later. So I loved the idea of this game when I came across it, as a reminder to all sit and be present together. But honestly, the game works whether you’re gathered around a dinner table or if you make it a part of your bedtime routine. One way or another, it’s a great way to get kids talking!

First, I invited Travis to help me decorate the glass jar that would hold our topics.

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The thrill of scribbling all over a glass surface with permanent marker was pretty grand in and of itself! Travis made a vibrant purple…

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…and I also colored in a jar we could use, in case the first was ever too full.

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To make your conversation starters, write out simple questions on popsicle sticks.

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Our initial list of questions included:

Favorite teacher? Why?

Exciting news to share…?

What are you proud of?

Best friend?

3 Words to describe your day?

Favorite part of recess?

Favorite movie? Why?

Favorite song? Why?

The intention is to add sticks as time goes on, so the game keeps evolving with our family!

I loved how much Travis loved this game.

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My initial thought was to have each family member draw one question, but he was having so much fun that he made us go through every stick! His answers were charming and enlightening; some that I was sure I knew the answer to, he surprised me, and he thought really hard about some of the more open-ended ones.

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We can’t wait to play this for many nights to come.

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Cotton Swab Snowflake Craft

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I’ve never been a fan of cut-paper snowflakes as a craft. Quite frankly, I’m no good at it, and mine end up looking like circles with a few holes in them, instead of lacy flakes! But with pretty sparkling snowflakes outside our window, we wanted some indoor craft to bring the snow inside, and this cotton swab version was much easier to pull off.

To be honest, Travis was a little young for it. Older kids may be much more into shaping and designing their six-pointed flakes, and can really get creative with the process. As to Travis, he still had lots of fun, just in his own preschool way…

…starting with ferrying the cotton swabs over to me by “forklift.” Shipment received.

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He thought it was fascinating to watch me clip the cotton swabs in half (which, fyi, is not easy to do, the stems are tough; adults may want to help even older children with this step).

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Next I showed him how to arrange the cotton swabs into six-pointed shapes like snowflakes.

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We adhered ours to circles cut from blue constructions paper, but if you prefer, glue them together over wax paper and lift them off the wax paper once the glue has dried.

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Travis set about adding lots of glue and cotton swabs to his “snowflakes.” I loved watching his creative process, including smearing on the glue with a cotton swab at one point.

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As mentioned, older kids may want to create increasingly complex designs, and can cut the swabs into even tinier components.

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After the glue dried, we hung the snowflakes in the window.

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What beautiful flakes falling down!

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