Eggs in a Basket--cozy breakfast fare

Little ones love cooking eggs in a piece of toast!
Older children can break the egg and tip it into the prepared bread:  Younger children can scramble the egg first.  

Here's What You Need:

*Toasted bread, or waffles-or a bagel, cut in half
*Eggs
*Butter, or cooking spray
*small bowl  and fork to scramble eggs.
*Heart-Shaped or other shape cookie cutter, or a simple drinking glass to make a circle


Here's What You Do:
*Toast a piece of bread, waffle or bagel
*Have your child press a cookie cutter or drinking glass into the middle of the bread or waffle to make a hole--the bagel already has one!
*Show your child how to crack an egg on the edge of a bowl and empty it into the bowl.  Alternately, have your child hold an egg in the palm of his or her hand.  Demonstrate giving the egg a whack with a table knife and then pulling the two halves apart to empty the egg into the bowl.  If you are willing to sacrifice a few eggs, this process is fascinating to children, and a good skill to practice and learn.

*Let your child whisk the egg with a fork.  
*Place a cold frying pan on the table.  Grease with butter, or use cooking spray.
*Have your child place the prepared bread into the center of the pan.  
*Your young chef can pour the whisked egg from the bowl into hole in the bread.



*For safety,you take over now by heating the stove and frying the "egg in a basket" as your child watches. Flip and cook on both sides.

A few books featuring eggs......

By Michael Dahl

Ice Fishing Game

Adam displays a fine catch!
(all photo credits:  Seth Chrisman)

Here's What You Need:

large bowl filled with water

ice cubes

container of salt

yarn

pencil, or wooden spoon

Here's What You Do:
Make a "fishing pole" by tying a foot-long length or yarn or string to a wooden spoon or pencil.
     

Add a couple dozen ice cubes to a large salad or pasta bowl filled with cold water. Place the empty small bowl near the bowl of ice.
     

Your fisherman chooses an ice cube and dangles the end of his or her yarn so that a half-inch or so is in contact with the cube.  Pour a bit of salt over the end of the yarn and the cube.  Wait a few moments, and then when the yarn is lifted gently, the cube will lift out of the water.

     See how many ice cube "fish" each player can lift and move to a smaller bowl during his or her turn. Ask the players what kind of fish they are catching.  Is it a salmon, trout or catfish?--Or maybe a shark or whale! 
     Salt melts the ice and it quickly re-freezes with the yarn.  The strategy lies in figuring out how much salt to use and how long to wait before lifting out the cube.  It will take a little experimenting!
Basic science vocabulary to introduce:
Matter:  anything that has weight and takes up space.  All matter is made up of tiny particles called molecules.
Liquid:  a substance that flows, like water.  The molecules move about freely.
Solid:  a substance that is stable, like ice cubes.  The molecules are tightly packed and don't move. Ice is the solid form of water.
Freeze:  When the temperature is so cold, a liquid substance becomes a solid.

Bird Cafe

On the menu--a variety of ideas for feeding your neighborhood birds:

    Pine cone bird feeder, a classic

Go for a walk and collect pine cones found in nature-
the cones bought in craft stores are usually treated with chemicals.

Here's What You Need:

pine cones

bird seed--you can also add ingredients like oatmeal and raisins.

peanut butter (if allergies are a problem, use vegetable shortening, lard or suet)

yarn, twine, string or ribbon, for hanging the bird treats.

plastic knives, craft sticks, or table knife for spreading the peanut butter

shallow dish

Here's What You Do:

*Pour some bird seed into the shallow dish.

*Fasten a foot-long piece of string to each pine cone.

*Have your child spread the peanut butter or one of the alternative substances onto the pine cone.

*Let your child dip and roll the covered pine cone into the birdseed mixture.

*Take a walk outside and find a place to hang your bird-feeder--from a tree or shrub. If you can find a place outside your window, you may be able to watch your feathered friends enjoy their treats!

Bird-seed cakes

Here's What You Need:

birdseed

unflavored gelatin packets

boiling water

bowl

wooden spoon

molds

yarn

Here's What You Do:

*Dissolve one packet of gelatin into one cup of boiling water (an adult's job). 

*Put the dissolved mixture into a bowl and pour in about 3 cups of birdseed.  Let your child mix it up.  Add more seed if needed, to make a stiff "dough." 

 *Spoon the mixture into molds, or empty yogurt containers, etc--even cookie cutters can work if you tape some cardboard to make a bottom. Pack the mixture down firmly.

*Tie a loop of yarn for hanging later, and press the knotted end into the cake.  Press a bit more of the seed mixture on top to hold it in place.  

*The cakes will harden at room temperature, but for quicker results, place them in the refrigerator until firm.

*To release the cakes from the molds, dip briefly into hot water.  The cakes should pop out easily.   

*Now they are ready to hang in your garden!

Variation:  Mix one part lard with two parts birdseed.  Children can mash and mix this with their hands and press it into yogurt containers, molds, or cookie cutters.  Freeze or refrigerate until firm.  Tie with twine, or hang in a recycled mesh bag (such as the kind Laughing Cow cheese comes in) and dangle it in your garden.

Watch out for marauding squirrels!

What to do with a recycled milk carton:

"Feeding the birds" from Jennie's Hat by Ezra Jack Keats

Take a peek at "Jennie's Hat", by Ezra Jack Keats

Natural Sugarplums- Nutcracker's Delight

Mix dates, figs, walnuts, fresh ginger, cinnamon, and lime juice to make a wholesome "sugar plum" with no added sugar.

Little ones enjoy forming the dough into balls, and as a nice finish, rolling each sugar plum in crushed walnuts. Beautiful on a holiday table.


Watch this amazing rendition of "Sugar Plum Fairy" to set the mood!
Glass Harp "Sugar Plum Fairy"


Here's What You Need:


8 dried figs
8 dates
1 cup walnuts
1 cup raisins, (I used golden raisins)
1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Juice from 1 lime
crushed walnuts, for rolling


Food processor, or blender


Here's What You Do:


Have your child count out the figs and dates and place them into the food processor, along with the other ingredients.  Process the mixture (an adult's job) until the ingredients are chopped and form a stiff dough.


Turn the mixture into a bowl and show your child how to roll the dough into small balls. (this recipe makes about 15 one inch balls) Roll each ball into crushed walnuts.  Refrigerate until firm and serve. Scrumptious--and good for you, too!

Adapted from a recipe found in:

Raw Food--A Complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day, by Erica Palmcrantz and Irmela Lilja

Citrus, Cloves & Ribbon=spicy, piquant holiday decorations!

These pomanders make aromatic, 
hand-crafted gifts.
Create them now so they have time to "cure."

Some of you may be fortunate enough to grow your own oranges, lemons or limes.  However, since whole cloves come mainly from Indonesia, Madagascar and Zanzibar, most of us will need to buy those in bulk from the supermarket!

Pomanders date back to the 15th century, and were particularly popular in the Victorian age.  They were used as natural air-fresheners as well as decorations, so you will be carrying on an age-old tradition that appeals to many of the senses.

Here's What You Need:

Oranges, lemons or limes, unblemished

Whole cloves (to be economical, buy in bulk from Costco or the bulk section of the supermarket)

Wooden skewer, toothpick, or knitting needle (to pre-poke holes)

Ribbon in holiday colors

Rubber bands, masking tape, rubber gloves, (optional).

Here's What You Do:

*Use a wooden skewer, toothpick, or knitting needle to pre-poke holes in the rind of the fruit, in your desired pattern.  This avoids frustration as younger children insert the whole cloves.  Older children may design their own pattern.

Before you begin, mark off a criss-cross pattern with rubber bands or masking tape where the ribbon will eventually go.

*Insert a whole clove into each prepared hole.  

*When you are satisfied with your design, wrap a ribbon around your pomander and hang to dry for a few weeks.

*Use to freshen clothes closets, give as gifts, or decorate your home for the holidays!

This is a touching holiday story, set in the days when an orange was a luxury and a rare treat:

Review, An Orange for Frankie

Oranges and Lemons, a Nursery Rhyme

Oranges and lemons
Say the bells of St Clements
You owe me five farthings
Say the bells of St Martins
When will you pay me?
Say the bells of Old Bailey
When I grow rich
Say the bells of Shoreditch
When will that be?
Say the bells of Stepney
I'm sure I don't know
Says the great bell at Bow 

This moving story is well worth a listen, and a good way to begin the holiday season!  Click on the link below to listen to a classic, sweet story.

John Henry Faulk's Christmas Story--about an orange and more--NPR

Here's another story featuring oranges as a gift of love from an older brother to his younger brother, in a time and place where food was scarce and times were hard. Romania, 1989.

Night of Oranges

by Flavius Stan

A child comes of age.

It is Christmas Eve in 1989 in Timisoara and the ice is still dirty from the boots of the Romanian revolution. The dictator Nicolae Ceausescu had been deposed a few days before, and on Christmas Day he would be executed by firing squad. I am in the center of the city with my friends, empty now of the crowds that prayed outside the cathedral during the worst of the fighting. My friends and I still hear shots here and there. Our cold hands are gray like the sky above us, and we want to see a movie.

There is a rumor that there will be oranges for sale tonight. Hundreds of people are already waiting in line. We were used to such lines under the former Communist Government—lines for bread, lines for meat, lines for everything. Families would wait much of the day for rationed items. As children, we would take turns for an hour or more, holding our family's place in line.

But this line is different. There are children in Romania who don't know what an orange looks like. It is a special treat. Having the chance to eat a single orange will keep a child happy for a week. It will also make him a hero in the eyes of his friends. For the first time, someone is selling oranges by the kilo.

Suddenly I want to do something important: I want to give my brother a big surprise. He is only eight years old, and I want him to celebrate Christmas with lots of oranges at the table. I also want my parents to be proud of me.

So I call home and tell my parents that I'm going to be late. I forget about going to the movie, leave my friends, and join the line.

People aren't silent, upset, frustrated, as they were before the revolution; they are talking to one another about life, politics, and the new situation in the country.

The oranges are sold out of the back doorway of a food shop. The clerk has gone from anonymity to unexpected importance. As he handles the oranges, he acts like a movie star in front of his fans.

He moves his arms in an exaggerated manner as he tells the other workers where to go and what to do. All I can do is stare at the stack of cardboard boxes, piled higher than me. I have never seen so many oranges in my life.

Finally, it is my turn. It is 8 o'clock, and I have been waiting for six hours. It doesn't seem like a long time because my mind has been flying from the oranges in front of me to my brother and then back to the oranges. I hand over the money I was going to spend on the movie and watch each orange being thrown into my bag. I try to count them, but I lose their number.

I am drunk with the idea of oranges. I put the bag inside my coat, as if I want to absorb their warmth. They aren't heavy at all, and I feel that this is going to be the best Christmas of my life. I begin thinking of how I am going to present my gift.

I get home and my father opens the door. He is amazed when he sees the oranges, and we decide to hide them until dinner. At dessert that night, I give my brother the present. Everyone is silent. They can't believe it.

My brother doesn't touch them. He is afraid even to look at them. Maybe they aren't real. Maybe they are an illusion, like everything else these days. We have to tell him he can eat them before he has the courage to touch one of the oranges.

I stare at my brother eating the oranges. They are my oranges. My parents are proud of me.

---

Flavius Stan was an 18-year-old exchange student from Romania who was attending the Fieldston School in the Bronx, New York when he wrote this story, which originally appeared in The New York Times.

Botanical Rubbing Art

Rubbings are magical for children--as they press the crayon to the paper, the image gradually appears.

Photo credit:  Seth Chrisman

Besides beautiful botanical prints, you can also make a game of the rubbings and place a mystery object underneath the paper.  As the image appears, your artist can guess what it is!  I used puzzle pieces, keys, sandpaper, and books with raised embossing.

Here's what you need:

plain white paper

tape

crayons with the paper removed

leaves or other objects with interesting texture

Here's what you do:

*tape a piece of paper to the table.

*place the leave or other object under the paper.

*secure with tape

*show your child how to hold the crayon flat side down and press rather firmly to rub the crayon up and down over the paper.

The same technique can be used to make bark rubbings on a tree trunk.

A tree's bark is like its protective outer skin.  You can sometimes identify trees by examining the bark

My Friend Tree (a poem)

My friend tree, my friend tree

Roots on you are like feet on me!

My friend tree, my friend tree

Trunk on you is like trunk on me!

My friend tree, my friend tree

Bark on you is like skin on me!

My friend tree, my friend tree

Branches on you are like arms on me!

My friend tree, my friend tree

Leaves on you are like hands on me!

GREAT books about TREES! (click on link for listing)

Go Fish!

Apollo attracts an octopus with his magnetic fishing rod. (all photo credits:  Seth Chrisman)

This fishing game has endless variations, built-in teaching moments and lots of fun!  You can talk about sea-life, magnets, and the sport or occupation of fishing.  Your child will exercise skill, strategy, judgement and perseverance.  You can "fish" inside or outdoors, weather permitting.  It can be done with one child or many.  When I brought out the wading pool and told Apollo we were going fishing, he said "I'll go turn on the water hose."  No water required for these fish though--the secret to the catch is magnetism!


Here's What You Need:


Colored paper
scissors
roll of stick on magnets (I found mine at Jo-Ann Fabrics) Alternately, you can just attach a small magnet for each fishing pole)
paper clips (jumbo works best)
implement for fishing pole (examples: bamboo sticks, wooden spoons, ruler, yard stick)
string or yarn


Optional:  wading pool, cardboard box--anything to serve as the lake, or ocean. You could use a blue blanket to make a pond or river on the floor.


Here's What You Do:


Cut fish and sea life designs from colored paper.  You can go free hand, or use this template:  Fish Template


If you found the stick-on magnet strips, you can cut a small piece and stick it on each fish.  If not, simply put a paper clip on each shape.


Tie a piece of yarn or string to one end of each pole, and attach a magnet at the other end.


Put the fish, magnet side up, (or any way with the paper clip) on the floor or in the wading pool or your "ocean."


Give each child a fishing pole, and let the fun begin!

Apollo and Sunshine snagged the same fish!

Click on the link below to listen to one of my favorite songs featuring a variety of fish (the kids LOVE this one!)


"Octopus" by Charlotte Diamond

Related Books:

By Franklyn M. Bramley

By Lois Ehlert

By JoAnne Pastel and Kakie Fitzsimmons

By Lucy Cousins