Chocolate Nests Your Kids Can Make

I just visited the fun and fabulous website for kids called Red Ted Art.  This week there are crafts and food projects dedicated to spring and Easter.  There are numerous craft projects for Easter using recycled materials.  Check out the delicious looking and unbelievably easy to make CHOCOLATE BIRD’S NESTS.  There is no cooking involved and even the youngest can help stir up the mix to make the nests. Wow grandma and grandpa with these treats.  Use as place settings for Easter dinner, or as party favors to fill with other candies, or as a nest for your favorite PEEPS or other goodie.

http://www.redtedart.com

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Got Eggs? Be Careful Where You Hide Them.

Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt

This is a fun activity that I used to do with my kids when they were small, yet able to read.  You can take turns creating scavenger hunts for each other. This activity also works at birthday parties if you want a fun way to search for a gift.

• Gather 6-12 plastic Easter eggs.
• Place a clue in each egg, each clue leading to the hiding spot of the next egg.
• Example: Find an egg in a place in the kitchen that’s hot. The egg found in the oven could say, Find an egg hiding in something that spins. The egg in the washer would hold the next clue and so on.
• The final egg would have a clue on where to find a basket or treat.

When my sister and I were small, we’d hide died, hard boiled eggs throughout the house to see who found all of them the fastest. One year we’d found all the eggs but one. After searching all day for the missing egg, we gave up and figured we’d miscounted how many were hidden. A couple months later, in the heat of early summer, our bedroom began to smell. With the aid of a flashlight and some muscle, we found the last egg – now rotten – wedged between the dresser and a wall.  It had rolled off the dresser and stayed lost until its smell gave it up.  Thank goodness for plastic eggs!

Since this was a popular posting last year, I thought I’d send it out again to those who might have missed it.

Darlene Beck-Jacobson

My niece said her 8 year old daughter and friends LOVE this sight for educational computer games, puzzles, and activities. There is something for all grade levels and interests. Here is one that lets you make a robot. Check it out.  ABCya! Make a Robot.

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Science Wonders # 1 Make your own Rainbow.

Welcome to the first of a series of simple and simply amazing science experiments your children can do at home using everyday materials. This one will dazzle you with all the colors of the rainbow.  Click on the link below to watch the short video, then gather your supplies and try it out yourself.

Materials:     Plate         food coloring        whole milk      dish soap

Pour enough milk onto the plate to cover the bottom.  (The milk will work better if it is whole milk since it’s the fat that the soap reacts to.)

Place many colors of food coloring together in the center of the plate.  (About 5 drops of each)

Now a few drops of dish soap will show you all the colors of spring ready to burst.

Prepare to be amazed!!!

The food coloring is less dense than the milk.  The dish soap breaks up the fat in the milk and while it is breaking up the color goes along for the colorful ride.

Science is so beautiful!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPFwDaR1g70

Save that food coloring because another one of my favorites soon to come.

More Great Books for Kids.

I’ve been fortunate to find some wonderful books these past few months that I’d like to pass on.  There are books for children of all ages, so check them out at your local library or find them at your local book store.

1. Picture Book: Wisdom the Midway Albatross by Darcy Pattison tells the amazing true story of a 60 year old + bird who survived storms, tsunamis, and shark attacks that wiped out other birds. This story is uplifting and a wonder for all ages.

2. Picture Book: Inside the Slidy Diner by Laurel Snyder is a part funny/part spooky look at what goes on inside a diner that keeps you captive and won’t let you get away.  Are you brave enough to pay a visit?

3. Middle Grade:  The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate won the Newbery Medal for 2012.  It’s a beautiful story told from the point of view of a silver back gorilla who lives at a roadside attraction theme park.  Ivan is unforgettable and this book is worthy of the Newbery honor.

4. Middle Grade: Goblin Secrets by William Alexander tells the story of orphan children being raised by a witch who casts evil spells and tries to get the children to do her bidding. It’s a land where make believe and pretending are against the law and if you wear a mask…your life could be in danger.

5. Young Adult: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger is a steam-punk novel that takes place at a girl’s finishing school.  What you learn has just as much to do with self-defense, and spying as it does with learning a proper curtsy.  A very entertaining read.

What do you want to see more of?

After running this blog for over a year, and getting lovely comments on many of the postings, I am asking all you wonderful followers which posts you would like to see more of. Just send a few words letting me know if you want more: Interviews with people in the Children’s Book field; kid-friendly recipes; games and activities; crafts; links to websites/other blogs with kid-friendly content; book reviews; developing literacy in children; seasonal/holiday content.

Thanks for coming back to my site and helping to make it successful.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Traveling With Children

While we are still suffering through winter, spring is coming.  And, so is spring break.  For those looking to find child-friendly hotels, destinations, and activities while on vacation, try this website:  minitime.com

It’s a vacation planning website that recommends various sites and activities based on children’s ages.  Select a destination and you’ll find hotel listings and activities geared toward your children.  There are also reviews posted by families like yours so you can decide what works for you.

It’s never too early to plan a get-away.  Happy Spring!

Freebies For Kids

I’ve discovered three websites that offer free activities for children.

1. HIGHLIGHTS – the magazine we see in doctor’s offices, invites you to visit Highlights.com/Target  for free activities and special offers.

2. You can download free coloring pages for your budding artist at: frizzytizzy.com

3. Don’t forget the wonderful crafts, puzzles, and activities found at:  http://www.makeplaydoh.com

Celebrate…Women and Music.

March is Women’s History Month as well as Music in the Schools Month.  Why not combine both.

1. Take the kids to the library to find out about women who are pioneers in music.

2. Invite women over for a “tea” and have your children entertain them with songs, instruments and musical selections. Grandparents LOVE this special attention, and your kids will be thrilled to perform for the adoring group.

3. Make your own simple instruments by: a) stretching rubber bands around the bottom half of a shoe box.  Pluck the “string” for guitar sounds; b) use empty boxes and containers of different sizes as drums; c) learn to play the spoons by resting two back to back between your index and middle finger. Tap them on your knee with the other hand. d) Just banging stick together makes a nice percussive sound. e) See my previous post on making rain sticks…they have a lovely swishing sound.

home-made rain stick

4. Have your children record stories told by grandma or great-grandma about what it was like when she was little.  Many children don’t know how different things were growing up even as recently as 30 years ago.

5. Read about amazing women who dared to take a stand and be bold despite society’s expectations: Helen Keller, Rosa Parks, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Sally Ride, Billy Jean King, Molly Pitcher, to name only a few.

6. Honor the women in your life and sing their praises.  You don’t have to be famous to be a part of history.