Recipe:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar (Can sub. 1/2 c agave or raw honey)
1 egg, beaten

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and roll into 1” balls and place on cookie sheet a2-3” apart. Flatten with fork in ‘X’ pattern as usual. Bake at 350º for approx. 10 minutes, watch as cooking times may vary and they burn easily!

They were stinkin’ good and super easy for kids to make.

Materials needed

•       1 sheet of sandpaper per child.  Sandpaper is sold in a variety of grits, which is a description of how coarse the grains are on the surface of the paper.  The higher the number, the finer the grit.  Lower grit paper will work best for this project, but whatever you may have on hand will work.
•       1 cinnamon stick per child.  Since you aren’t cooking with it, you can get by with really inexpensive cinnamon which you can find in craft stores.  The cinnamon sticks you can buy in the spice aisle of your grocery store are fairly pricey, but the cheaper option is more than enough.
•       Sturdy scissors.  Cutting sandpaper isn’t easy; cheap scissors won’t do it.  Heavy duty shears, like tin snips, will go through sandpaper like butter, but can be awkward and certainly not appropriate for kids.  A quality pair of craft shears will work with a little elbow grease.  As a bonus, cutting through sandpaper will make your scissor blades sharper.
•       Pencil.  Drawing out the shapes you want to cut first will ensure you stick to your pattern.
•       Hole Punch
•       Ribbon
•       Permanent marker

Preparation

1.      Cover your work area with newspaper or a drop cloth.
2.      Pre-cut shapes for kids who can’t cut the sandpaper independently.
Process
1.      Distribute one sheet of sandpaper, a pencil and a cinnamon stick to each child.
2.      Instruct the child to draw a simple shape on the paper side of the sandpaper.  (If not using a pre-cut shape.)
3.      Instruct the children to cut out shapes carefully.
4.      Demonstrate rubbing the cinnamon stick vigorously across the rough side of the sandpaper shape
5.      Instruct the children to do the same, covering the entire surface of their sandpaper shapes with bits of cinnamon shaved from the sticks.
6.      Punch a hole in the top of each shape with the hole punch.
7.      Thread a length of ribbon through the hole and tie in a loop.
8.      Write the child’s name on the front of the shape with the permanent marker.
Variations
•       Use several sandpaper leaf shapes rubbed with cinnamon as decoration for a door wreath in September and October.
•       Use Halloween shapes to create decorations for a classroom or the front door.
•       Cinnamon shapes make wonderful Christmas tree ornaments.  Try snowman, bell, wreath or ornament shapes.
Make it a Learning Experience
•       Ask the children to describe what happens when they rub the cinnamon on the sandpaper.  Compare the bits of cinnamon on the sandpaper to the cinnamon you buy in a jar at the grocery.  How are they different?  How are they the same?
•       Take some time to learn about the origins of cinnamon.  What kind of plant produces cinnamon? Where does it grow?  Older kids can learn about the historical significance of spice and the spice trade.
•       It was mentioned cutting sandpaper will sharpen the blades of scissors – ask children why they think this is.
•       For young children who are learning classroom readiness skills, you can cut the sandpaper into shapes for children to identify and in pairs for children to match.   Make sandpaper flash cards by cutting and gluing shapes to sturdy pieces of cardstock.  This was an idea I originally tried with visually impaired students, but found most of my small charges were fascinated with the texture of sandpaper.
Clean Up
•       Minimal.  Fold up drop cloth or newspaper; check the floor for bits of stray sandpaper or cinnamon.
•       Enjoy the smell of fresh ground cinnamon, which should stick around for a few hours.
Professional designer Jessica Ackerman, writes for WallDecorandHomeAccents.com, and specializes in decorating with Fish Metal Art and Candle Sconces.

PRIZE PACK

- Gallagher Girls Tote
- Gallagher Girls Hair Pin
- Signed copy of Only the Good Spy Young (Gallagher Girls)
- Signed Heist Society
- Heist Society sunglasses

How To Enter

Just leave a comment on this post before midnight eastern time on Monday, August 16th to enter! Be sure to include a valid email address in the form field so I can contact you if you win. Good luck!
(contest is open to residents of the US and Canada only)

Click here to open and print the mad lib.

You can find more mad libs at Classroom Jr.

There are a number of activities you can do with your child to ensure they’re on the path to financial security later in life.

Helping with the family budget

Some parents might not like the idea of divulging their personal finances to their kids but this is a great way to show your children real world budgeting. It might not be the best idea if your children are very young, as your current money situation could become the talk of the playground. Once your child is mature enough to know when to keep this information private you should show them how to budget using real figures. Let your children pay some of the household bills and go over the concepts of assets and liabilities.

Saving for something big

Kids will often have a big item, like a video game system or bike that they really want to purchase. Having your child calculate out all the costs involved in purchasing this item can be a great way to teach them about budgeting. If they get an allowance or have a part time job then they can calculate out the exact amount of time it will take them to purchase this big item with the money they are currently making. This will teach your child the importance of saving and help them understand the value of money. You can also set up a savings account for them at the local bank so that the scenario will mimic the way that adults save for big items.

Take Your Kids to Work Day

Teaching kids that money doesn’t just appear magically from an ATM machine is very important. One way to show them that ‘work = money’ is to give them an allowance or set them up with a part time lawn mowing job at your neighbor’s house. Many schools also have a Take Your Kids to Work Day program that allows your child to see your workplace for a day. If their school doesn’t have this program then maybe you should bring them along for a day anyway. Instead of just giving your child a tour of the building you should let them watch you do real work for an hour or two so that they can better understand what it takes to put food on the table. One large part of budgeting is income so your child needs to under where that money comes from.

Grocery Shopping

Going to the grocery store can be a great way to teach your kids the benefit of a budget. Tell your child that you only want to spend a specific amount at the store and then get them to go through the pantry and refrigerator to figure out the food needed for the next week. Offer your child suggestions but let them make most of the list. After the list is complete get them to put an approximate cost beside each item using grocery store flyers that came in the mail. When you go to the grocery store bring a calculator and help your child keep within your set spending limits.

Allowance

Most children will take their entire allowance and spend it in the first day or two. These habits can continue into adulthood and as an adult they could end up spending their entire paycheck one or two days after receiving it. Instead of immediate spending you should use an allowance to teach your child about budgeting. Set up a savings account for your child at your bank and show them how to break down the money they earn each month into savings, daily expenses, and fun stuff. Don’t take all the fun stuff out of the equation but make sure they understand that money isn’t just to be frittered away the second it arrives.

This is a guest post by Gary Kohler from the life insurance website LifeCover.ca.

Here are the printable cards- click each link to open and print:

Travel Bingo Card #1
Travel Bingo Card #2
Travel Bingo Card #3
Travel Bingo Card #4

Melissa and Doug Travel Bingo Game $15.99 -Ages 4 and up. -2 game boards. -4 double-sided game cards. -Ideal for long trips. [Read more] Travel Bingo $9.95 Travel Bingo [Read more] Go Games – Travel Bingo $7.98 Go Games – Travel Bingo [Read more]

Click here to open and print the match game.

More Great Match Games:

Click here to open and print.

Make a Father’s Day Gift Basket - fill a basket with lots of goodies, from Dad’s favorite candy, fruit, a book, IOU Coupons for some help in the yard, movie tickets, etc, anything that Dad would like.

Make Dad a Trophy – I love this simple craft with styrofoam cups and gold paint!

Father’s Day Poems – two great ones from Classroom Jr. to read to Dad

Printable Toolbox Father’s Day Activity – from Printables4Kids

Cinnamon Roasted Nuts Recipe – this is the simplest recipe I’ve seen for making these nuts and they’d make a great gift for Dad.

Father’s Day Framed Print – this idea at Dollar Store Crafts is a very low cost gift.