Bake up some marmalade muffins

This is delicious!The kids wanted a snack. It has been a while since we went to the store. So we had to bake something together. What fun! This was a pretty simple recipe. And though it isn't specifically kid friendly, it was short enough that it didn't take much to let them help.----------------------------------------------------Recipe :2 oranges                                 ½ lb butter, softened                         2 eggs2 cups flour                               1 cup buttermilk1 tsp baking soda                      1 cup packed brown sugar Zest the oranges.  Cream the butter and sugar together.  Mix the eggs in until well blended.  Add the flour.  In a small bowl combine the baking soda and buttermilk.  Add the buttermilk mixture to the other batter and mix until just blended.  Add the orange zest and mix.  Grease any size muffin tin that you want and fill 2/3 full.  Bake for 12-17 minutes at 375º until light brown.------------------------------------------------------Just a few notes:1.  I creamed the butter and sugar, and zested the oranges before I called my kids to help me... a couple of days before actually... I think that was good since there wasn't much for them to do during that part.2.  I didn't have any buttermilk I just mixed 1Tbs vinegar per cup of milk. It works great!3. I used half wheat flour half all purpose. It tasted great.4. I got this recipe from abundant harvest which is a super great produce service that we get most of our fruit and vegetables from now.

Now go have some fun with your kids.

Snails? Snails!

Okay so you may think I am crazy, but we recently got some little, baby snails and they are so cute! 

And so easy to keep too! A lady at my husband's work has a little snail habitat on her desk at the office. They recently hatched out some little baby snails and she shared with us.

 Talk about a fun and easy science project! These are just simple garden variety snails. 

You need a small container with a lid to keep them in (We got a little plexiglass container from petco).

You will also need some soil or mulch-- also easy to find at the pet store. 

Then add whatever decorations you want. We picked up some cheap aquarium decorations, but a big rock would work just as well.
For upkeep you just need to drop in some lettuce or other leafy green every day. The lady we got these snails from also keeps the cage slightly moist and puts little calcium blocks in there to help them build strong shells (you could break up a cuddlebone for this I would think). We've gotten mixed answers about whether that is really necessary. Another friend says that his mom (a kindergarten teacher) did this a lot and just dropped in lettuce and left them alone. So do whatever you think. We are giving them calcium, but I have't been spraying them. They seem happy enough.
Thing-one and thing-two are also happy. We have had a fun time checking up on our little pets every day. We talk about what they are doing (usually hiding under the lettuce) and why they would be doing that ("Maybe it's comfy?" says thing-one. "Maybe they are trying to hide from birds?" says Mommy. "I see it!" says thing-two. 
I am excited to watch them grow too. their shells were totally transparent when we got them, but now they have darkened up a lot and are getting bigger. Is it nerdy that I am excited about this? Probably.
Go have some fun with your kids.

Cookie Decorating

I like decorating cookies with thing-one and thing-two. We have done it a few times now and it has always been a good experience-- albeit a messy one. But making messes is good for kids. It means they are able to be carefree and creative without having to worry about getting a little dirty. Making sugar cookies is a fun and easily cleaned way to let them express themselves.

Here is my sugar cookie recipe-- I don't remember where we got it from, but it works fine so if you don't have one... Here you go.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1/2 cup butter1cup sugar1 egg1/2 tsp salt2 tsp baking powder2 cups all purpose flour1/2 tsp vanilla
Blend together cream and sugar until creamy. Blend in egg. Add dry ingredients and vanilla.
Roll out on lightly floured surface and cut to desired shapes
Bake at 400F for 8-10 minutes on un-greased cookie sheet. (I generally cook it slightly less time than this. Watch them)------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can let your little cookie monsters help pour in the ingredients, stir, and help you cut out the shapes and then help decorate them. What they can do depends on their age and coordination, as well as how much mess you are willing to deal with. Just remember this is not about making something beautiful, or even appetizing. It's all about letting them help you and be creative.
I usually just buy my frosting from the store and then use a couple of drops of food coloring to make it fun for whatever holiday we're coming up on. If your kids can spread the frosting on that's great. If they can't you can always let them stick little candies on afterwards. Try green frosting and red candies on a Christmas tree shape, or orange on a circle and then a variety of candies to make jack-o-lantern faces. 

For St. Patrick's day we did green cookies with sprinkles. Thing-one piled the frosting about 2 inches high and had almost the same amount of sprinkles before she declared her cookie ready to be eaten. Thing-two was in a hurry to take bites out of all the cookies she could. I showed her how to spread the frosting and helped her to try it out along with shaking on some sprinkles. It was fun for all of us.


Also, I have never done this, but it would be a fun way to teach colors and shapes. just a thought. I'll have to try it out sometime.

Now go have some fun with your kids.

Good Books for Little Ones

It's good to read with your kids. It helps build reading readiness, vocabulary, and a lifelong love of reading (at least that's the plan). I have always tried instill a love of books in my little ones, but when thing-one was smaller I really struggled to find books that she would sit through. With that in mind I thought I would stick up some of the books that my kids  have liked best. The "All About Me" flap book  has been their favorite. We read it so many times that we had to buy another one because the flaps wore out. We might have to buy another one again soon because thing-two loves it just as much as thing-one did. It is a simple sturdy book. The kids love it and it is not annoying to read (big plus). It is also not very expensive. I'll put a few of my other favorites in here too.


   








Now  go have some fun with your kids!

Dissecting Seeds

It's time for another botany lesson! Have you ever opened up a bean to see what is inside?

http://fromdirttodinner.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/inside-a-seed/

There really is a tiny plant in there just waiting to grow. I think that is pretty cool. You can see the plant in any large seed: beans, almonds, sunflower seeds. Just pop them open and take a look (if a particular seed you are interested in won't open up try soaking it in water for a little while first). This is fascinating to little kids. And a good, quick way to fit in a science lesson anytime. Thing-one was so fascinated that she is always bringing me seeds to open up now! I have been surprised at how easy it is to find little plant embryos all around us.
Note: if you want to make it easier to see the plant, try putting a couple drops of food coloring onto it for added contrast. I got that tip from this site, which I haven't checked out too much yet, but seems to have some good ideas.
Now go have fun with your kids!

Potted Gardens!

We love plants at our house. Thing-one seems to have a natural green thumb and thing-two loves to eat our fresh vegetables. I love watching my kids grabbing lettuce and spinach from out garden and cramming it into their mouths. Victory! Talk about a great way to teach and reinforce good nutrition. We have conversations about how healthy those vegetables are and so yummy too. 
A vegetable garden is also a great science lesson. In fact we have been focusing a lot on Botany lately because thing 1 and thing 2 have become so fascinated by it all. A garden is a great way to teach that! They learn all about the different parts of the plant-- planting seeds, harvesting (which part of the plant are we eating?), watching it grow (the pea plant grows differently and looks differently from the broccoli plant), and even when they accidentally uproot a plant while trying to pick off something yummy. They also learn about the things a plant needs to grow. You can slip in a very simple  lesson on photosynthesis here- the plant uses the sunshine to make energy so that it can grow. Just like food helps you to grow. 
The best part is, you don't even have to have a yard. or even know that much about gardening to make this a project with your kids. Our "garden" consists of a few pots on the back patio of our apartment. So far we have successfully grown spinach, lettuce, and broccoli. Our pea plant is growing well, but we'll see if it ever produces anything. 
The one thing I have found from personal experience is that vegetables don't grow well without sun. So if you don't have a sunny spot you might want to try a different type of plant. Maybe a pot of flowers. There are several types of flowers that are edible so you could look into that too.
Go have some fun with your kids!
 

Chalk! I love it!

Art is great for kids, and I love letting my little monsters get all artistic, but I hate cleaning up after them.  I wish I had realized earlier how great chalk is!  Do you know how much easier it is to clean up chalk than crayons or paint? Why didn't anybody tell me these things earlier?! Plus chalk is so versatile! Take your sidewalk chalk outside on a sunny day and color on the ground, or start up a game of hopscotch (Great for physical ed.), or tic-tac-toe. On cloudy days stay in and color on your chalk board. So much fun and you go through alot less paper. And cleanup is a breeze. Just a little bit of H2O and it all goes away. Seriously. This is my latest and greatest discovery.