Another great recipe to fuel your day by Run Fast, Eat Slow. My kids love bars for a mid-morning snack and I love how easy they are to grab on-the-go, so we made Adventure Bars today! It is important to me that my kids know what ingredients are in the food they eat. They get to see all the ingredients and experience the different flavors as they mix it all together. They both sampled along the way and we encouraged this! They are more willing to try new foods if they try them while cooking or baking. This recipe is very kid-friendly as we basically mix everything together and spread onto parchment paper, then enjoy! As you can see, they were all smiles eating these! We didn't wait the suggested time in the fridge because...well...they are 4 and 2. This is why they were a little more crumbly. As happy as they were in these pictures, I will say not every cooking experience is all smiles the whole time. Half way through making these, my 2 year old dropped his beloved manatee stuffed animal into the dog bowl. I don't think I have ever seen him so sad. We had to take a break and recollect ourselves before we could finish. Sometimes, with pictures of the happy faces it can seem like we are always put together. We are not. Just a little encouragement to give yourself some grace - life is hard sometimes.
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This morning, we woke up to cloudy skies and major bedhead. After our morning walk, we came home and made a tube run. I had been collecting tubes for a few weeks and asked others to do the same. I started the kids off with a Y shape structure using painters tape. They explored for a bit and then began racing each other. My 4 year old saw how heavier and lighter objects traveled differently through the tubes. We gathered items around the house such as guitar picks, little rocks, small bells, and mini wooden cubes. Basically, anything that was small enough to fit through the tubes. It was a lot of fun to try all the different objects. I have seen others use pom-poms, but we used all ours on art projects during the first week of quarantine...! I love self portraits! Children see the world in a different light than adults do and it comes out beautifully in their art. I encouraged my 4 and 2 year old to think about what they look like before they began. What color eyes, hair, clothing, etc. I wanted them to think about who they are and how they are different / similar to each other. My daughter painted hazel eyes - mixing brown and green together and my son painted blue eyes. I hung their self portraits up at their height so they could stand next to them and identify themselves. Having the kids artwork hung around the house brings our whole family a lot of joy!
This is one of our go-to activities and so easy to set up! I fill an ice cube tray with half washable paint and half water. Throw it in the freezer for about 20 minutes so it hardens just a bit, then put the popsicle sticks in so they stay standing up. I suggest getting the ice cube tray out 30 minutes before you begin so they have a chance to melt a bit.
I left this activity out even after they went on to play something else. They came back to it and as the ice continued to melt, it became more fun to slide it around the paper!
Last week, we played with dry dirt in the sensory bin. I had to clean the bin out anyway, so today we went outside to enjoy the sunshine! I grabbed our pool from last summer and filled it with the dirt, added water and some trucks and let them use their imaginations. Right away, they started to retell one of our favorite books, Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle. They helped each other's trucks get unstuck in the mud. I especially love activities like these because it encourages my 4 year old to be okay with being dirty. The whole time she was playing today, she kept saying "It's okay if I get a little dirty", "It's okay if he splashes me", "I can just change when I'm done", "I'm fine with that". These phrases are music to my ears and something we have been working on the past year!
Superhero Muffins are one of our favorite recipes to make. They are packed with nutrition and the kids love them! They are from the Run Fast Eat Slow Cookbook by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky. Here is the recipe. I thought this was a great way to tie in Earth Day. We discussed where our vegetables come from and how important it is to take care of our Earth so we continue to grow vegetables like zucchini and carrots. As you can see, we were really feeling the chef vibe this morning. My 2 year old grabbed his "fancy" shirt because it looked like a chef outfit to him.
Every time we get a cardboard box it turns into a new toy. They love to make creations and play with them for weeks. It is like getting a brand new toy - priceless! I love the excitement they have when a package comes in the mail and their creativity that comes from these projects. They especially enjoy creating toys that can be played with their favorite stuffed animals. After creating the cars, we attached a string so they could pull it along with them around the house. Then came the painting. Why not? This project was worked on for days and enjoyed for weeks with independent imaginative play!
Before planting today, I created a dirt sensory bin. I wanted them to be able to explore the dirt on their own before planting. I grabbed a few cups and spoons and they have played on and off in the dirt all morning! This is such a simple activity that allows them to learn through play while I was able to get some work done myself.
We continue our Earth Week celebration today! I created a sorting activity and then we headed outside to collect litter. I decided to do the sorting activity first to get a good discussion going and then I wanted them to experience first-hand how we can help the Earth. Throughout the day, we continued to talk about our waste as we used it!
Happy Earth Week! This morning, we talked about Earth Day and how we were going to celebrate all week. Ever since Mrs. Yetter taught my daughter about the landfill, it has been a frequent topic. I give all credit for this activity to my 4 year old who decided to make a water tower out of recycled materials. She said, "then they won't go to the landfill!". I threw my plan out the window and we got started on our water tower. They had such a great time building and playing with the water! |
From my home to yoursMy family thrives on routine. When school is out or life throws us curveballs, we come up with a new routine. I want to encourage parents at home to engage in play with their children. Play is hard work for children and my goal is to enhance the play while allowing the child to lead. My hope is that this site brings people together and helps us to support each other in parenting. Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments! |