Greek Salad

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Greek Salad

Fresh croutons and fresh veggies make for a great summer bowlful. I served this salad alongside a dinner of sauteed tofu.

Ingredients:

  • 1 and 1/2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 cup finely chopped English cucumber
  • 5 pitted and chopped kalamata olives
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed country-style bread
  1. Combine the tomatoes bell pepper, cucumber, and olives in a bowl. Add the vinegar, olive oil, and oregano, tossing to coat. Let stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.
  2. Toast the bread cubes in a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add to the salad just before serving if you want them crunchy – although toddlers may prefer them a little soft!

Nature Painting

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Travis and I had a magically different afternoon. We don’t exactly live anywhere near a forest trail, but that didn’t stop us from going to our town’s Village Green and searching for “treasures.” Once back home, we turned our treasures trove into an unconventional canvas for painting!

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I didn’t even have to explain to Travis what we were doing. He saw the paints and brushes and began eagerly painting a leaf.

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His favorite by far was a large stick we found. First, he painted it blue, making sure he got all the way to the edges:

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He was quite serious as he worked, and once finished with the blue, he dipped his brush in all the different paint colors and turned his stick into a “rainbow.”

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This project was a delight, especially because painting on the various textures felt so different from flat paper – especially the bumpy pinecone! I confess I joined in just for the fun of it.

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Camping Crate

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We’ve received our second Koala Crate, this time with a camping theme! I was a little disappointed that I had to put together all three crafts by myself this month, but as stated in my Rainbow Crate post, this is mainly because the crates are marketed to ages 3 and up, and Travis sometimes doesn’t have the fine motor skills needed at age 2. That said, the camping theme was a delight, and a great way to introduce new materials, learn new concepts and vocab, and engage in imaginative play with our creations!

If not a Koala subscriber, try these projects using felt shapes, colored tissue paper squares, brown construction paper (for the tripod), glue, and a dowel from a craft store.

The first step was to put together our “campfire” on the sticky tripod provided. Travis did help a little with the neat dowel-method of sticking on tissue paper squares:

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Mostly, though, he watched as I assembled the creation, telling me which color “fire” to add next. Once done, he was thrilled with the tea light provided, giving our campfire a real glow!

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Next I showed him the very cool pretend food, various felt shapes meant to be s’mores and (veggie) dogs roasted over our flames.

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He loved the idea of holding the felt shapes over the campfire, and asked to repeat the game throughout the day.

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For the backpack craft, Travis quickly identified that we were making a bear. I put on all the stickers – too precise a task for his little hands – but he loved watching the bear take shape as I worked. Once complete, I put the backpack on him and he exclaimed, “Bye Mama, I’m going to school!” so proudly.

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And then of course we needed to erect a camping tent! Since I only have stools, not chairs, our tent was quite low…. but Teddy and Bunny fit inside:

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Travis latched right on to the idea of showing the stuffed animals how to cook his new food over the campfire.

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Then he grabbed his guitar, so I told him we should sing campfire songs. “What other campfire songs do we know?” he asked. I rooted around for some old favorites from my childhood and taught him a few new tunes. What fun!

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Overall, this crate was great for introducing new concepts and sparking creativity, but not an art project for a 2 year old. I look forward to more crafting with next month’s kit!

Brush the Tooth

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Travis has been very intrigued with the ‘Good Morning, Daniel’ episode of Daniel Tiger (season 2, episode 7), especially when Daniel brushes his own teeth! To get him even more excited about starting to use his toothbrush himself, I introduced this cute project.

Draw (or cut out) a tooth shape on yellow construction paper. Don’t worry about your artistic skills here, just aim for a rough approximation!

Now for the fun part: Instead of a paintbrush, let your child paint the tooth white with an old toothbrush – brusha brusha brusha! Travis was first startled and then delighted that I let him dip a toothbrush in paint.

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As he worked, we talked about how the yellow tooth was dirty, and the white paint (toothpaste) was making it sparkly clean. Never too early for a little lesson in hygiene!

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Travis didn’t always keep the white paint in the lines of course, so I neatened things up at the end, and traced over the outline of the tooth. It now hangs happily on our fridge, and he gets very excited when he sees, “the tooth!”

Rainy-Day Pictures

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When summer thunderstorms are rolling through, this cute project can keep toddlers cheerful inside!

First, help your child draw a rainy day scene, in whatever way they like. I made a few gray clouds as a prompt, and Travis added blue swirls of rain – and later some pink and green, because why not!

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Now it’s time to get gluey! Use a paintbrush to apply glue liberally to the paper. Fold cupcake liners in half and glue on – these will be your umbrella tops. Add glue underneath each umbrella, and press on yarn for the handles.

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To be honest, Travis wasn’t much into this project, other than the glue (which he loved!) so I made the umbrellas. I like having the picture hang on our fridge, though, so we can talk about it when rainy days roll around again.

Paper Bag Whale

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On the heels of our jellyfish, Travis and I wondered what other sea creatures we could make at home. Would it be possible to turn this plain brown bag into a … great big gray-blue humpback whale?

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The first order of business was to stuff the bag with crumpled newspaper – a sure hit for any toddler. Leave a little room at the end of the bag so you can cinch it closed, tying it shut with string. Give the “tail” a slight rip so it looks even more like a whale’s tail.

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Travis didn’t quite understand what we were aiming at while stuffing the newspaper, thinking he was helping with the trash, but once I presented him with the closed bag and paint, he was so excited to discover we were making a whale. I set out one cup of white paint and one of black, and together we produced a wonderfully gray “humpback.”

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This was by far the largest surface Travis has ever had to cover with paint, and he loved every moment, especially seeing how the white and black interacted.

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I took us off to the park, knowing he’d be impatient for the whale to dry. Once we were home, Mr. Whale had quite a lot of swimming to around the apartment!

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Between the whale and the jellyfish, we’ve certainly had a lot of sea creatures in the house! To continue the fun, I staged a “deep sea dive,” placing blue blankets across two stools as the ocean.

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Underneath, I set up his various bath and beach toys in the shape of sea animals – and then Travis was the scuba diver, diving in to see what treasures he came up with! He was very proud to surface with a fish:

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And, of course, whale. This makes for a great game on summer days when you can’t make it to the actual beach!

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Rainbow Couscous Salad

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Rainbow Couscous Salad

This vibrant summer salad features nearly ever color of the rainbow. Have fun finding the colors while your child eats!

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium zucchini, chopped
  • 1 cup corn kernels
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon agave nectar
  • 1 cup uncooked Israeli couscous
  • 1 cup chopped baby spinach
  • 1 (15-ounce) drained and rinsed can chickpeas
  • 1 cup quartered grape tomatoes
  1. Combine the zucchini, corn, and canola oil in a baking dish; bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. Let cool slightly.
  2. Meanwhile, whisk together the dressing: combine the olive oil, lemon juice, and agave in a small bowl. Set aside.
  3. To cook the couscous, bring 1 and 1/4 cups water to a boil. Add the couscous, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. In the last minute or two, add the spinach to wilt it slightly.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the zucchini mixture, dressing, couscous mixture, chickpeas, and grape tomatoes, tossing to combine Serve at room temperature.

Toothpick Drop

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This game couldn’t be easier, but is fantastic for developing fine motor skills. It sounds almost too simple to be true, but I promise it will fascinate your toddler. Are you ready for the easy instructions?

Dump a pile of toothpicks on the floor, preferably in a variety of colors:

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Give your child an empty spice jar (or any lid with small holes) and show him or her how to drop the toothpicks through the holes.

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All cleaned up? Remove the lid, dump out the toothpicks, and start all over again!

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If you have colored toothpicks, the game is a great way to talk about various colors as well, or make a game of finding a blue one, etc. Do make sure to supervise this one closely, since toothpicks are sharp!

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Jellyfish

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An empty Earth Balance tub needs only a little creativity (and lots of glue!) to become a whirling and twirling jellyfish. We’ve had fun recently reading Pout-Pout Fish, and Travis is intrigued by the creatures in the story, a jellyfish among them, so it seemed an opportune time to try this craft.

One caveat: making this project is a MESS. Be prepared to be very gluey, but also to have lots of fun. From experience, however, I recommend not mixing this much mess with a half-naked toddler…

Let your (preferably clothed!) toddler brush glue over the entire outside of the empty tub – Travis loved this assignment, since he becomes frustrated sometimes at class art projects where glue is “supposed” to be applied to only a small area.

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Once completely gluey, stick torn construction paper over the tub, until it is covered. Let dry.

Next up, have your child brush glue all around the inside edge of the tub. Now it’s time to add the tentacles! We tried both streamers (a success) and yarn, but alas the latter came off in clumps since I had a son who was over-eager to use his jellyfish before the glue was completely dry. But the streamers held up great!

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As a final touch, add too big dabs of glue on the outside and press on googly eyes. In an ideal world, you’ll let the jellyfish dry before your child takes it for a “swim” around the apartment – but I confess we were not ideal today! Travis couldn’t wait to play with our creation, a sure sign of a hit.

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What story books have inspired you to create crafts at home? Please share in the comments!

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Chia Seed Pudding

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Chia Seed Pudding

Since we don’t eat fish, I make sure Travis eats ample amounts of ground flaxseed (perfect in a bowl of hot oatmeal) and chia seed to get his Omega-3s. One of his earliest favorite foods was the Chia Pods I ate daily while nursing. Because store-bought chia pudding can add up quickly at the register, I settled on this homemade version.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/4 cup agave nectar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup chia seeds
  • Sliced almonds (optional)
  1. Whisk together the almond milk, agave, cinnamon, and vanilla in a large bowl.
  2. Add the chia seeds, stirring until combined; let stand for 15 minutes.
  3. Divide the mixture into 4 (6-ounce) ramekins, then cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours.
  4. For older children, sprinkle with the almonds before serving. Berries also make a nice topping!

Chia Seed maybe