Day: September 22, 2020

Sibling Picture Book

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Sibling Picture Book (5)

Here’s an adorable activity that can make older siblings feel important and special, as they craft a book just for a little brother or sister.

Travis and I sat down to look through magazines and I encouraged him to find pictures that would appeal to little sister Veronika. He was most interested in a Halloween magazine, so picked out lots of frightfully spooky images, like carved pumpkins, silly witches, and snacks in the shape of ghosts and goblins.

Sibling Picture Book (1)

Veronika wanted to help go through the magazines too!

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Travis cut out the images, and we used a glue stick to attach one picture per piece of construction paper. I cut the construction paper in half so the book would easily fit into little hands. Staple your pages together, and then it’s story time!

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I absolutely loved watching Travis “read” this to Veronika. Older kids might want to craft a careful narrative, or write words below the images. Travis just loved flipping through the pages for her and making up a silly story based on what he saw, sillier each time the kids looked at it.

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Veronika clearly adored being the center of his attention.

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This was a beautiful bonding activity, and one we can repeat the next time we have a batch of magazines on hand.

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Mixed-Vegetable Stir-Fry

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Mixed Vegetable Stir-Fry (2)

Serve this dish with sesame tofu and brown rice for a well-rounded meal.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 2 cups broccoli florets
  • 1 cup thinly sliced bok choy
  • 1 cup thinly sliced cabbage
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch. Add the soy sauce and rice vinegar; set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and ginger; cook for 30 seconds.
  3. Add the onions, carrot, and broccoli; cook for about 2 minutes.
  4. Add the bok choy and cabbage; cook for 2 minutes.
  5. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and continue to cook until the vegetables reach desired tenderness for your child.

The kids love this directly over brown rice!

Mixed Vegetable Stir-Fry (3)

Apple Seeds and Shake-Ups

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Apple Seed Count (4)

Fall is my favorite season and I’m so excited to share it with Veronika this year, the first year that she’s really aware of the change in seasons. Today we celebrated the first day of fall with the season’s most iconic fruit: apples!

First, we sat down together with an apple that I’d cut into quarters and took out all the seeds, counting them onto a paper plate.

Apple Seed Count (1)

In addition to being simple math, this will show your toddler how a new baby apple tree starts!

Apple Seed Count (2)

As she plinked the apple seeds into a little paper cup, I peeled the apple and thinly sliced it. Fill a small plastic bag with 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Add the apple slices, seal, and encourage your toddler to shake it.

Apple Shake-Ups (1)

Ta da! An instant autumn snack: Apple Shake-Ups.

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Veronika ate almost the whole apple she loved it so much!

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We had one more apple sitting on the cutting board, but instead of eating that one, we dipped the slices in paint.

Apple Seed Count (3)

I gave her red and yellow paint, in keeping with our autumnal theme, with the bonus we got orange prints, too, once the paints mixed. She wasn’t as interested in this part of the craft, but overall we had apple-tastic fun.

Apple Seed Count (5)