High Park Home Daycare

Homemade Valentine's Cards: Potato Print Hearts

2012-02-15T15:04:00.000-05:00

Materials:

pink, purple and red paint
large potato
potato peeler
knife
cutting board
heart cookie cutter
black marker
large plain paper for painting
paper plates
glue stick

Instructions:

Peel a large potato. Then, cut at least 3 slices that are about 1 inch thick. (Whether you want to cut across the width, or lengthwise across the potato depends on the size of your cookie cutter, but cutting along the width should make it big enough for most cookie cutters.)
Lay each potato slice flat, and cut a heart shape out of each, using your cookie cutter.
Pour some purple paint onto a paper plate. Spread it around on the plate so that it is thin enough that the potato won't be dripping paint when you dip it in. Do the same with the pink and red paints, giving each their separate paper plate. Place a potato heart on each plate.
Let the child stamp the different colours of paint onto the large white paper. When he/she is finished, let the paper dry.
Once dry, fold the paper in half. The painted part should be on the outside, while the plain back of the paper should be on the inside. Glue it together on the inside, so that now, only the painted part is visible.
Fold it in half again to make a card.
Have the child write what he/she wants to on the card. If the child is too young (as the kids at the daycare are), ask them where they want to write things like "To ____", "From ____" and "Happy Valentine's Day". Then, ask them what they would like to say to the person for whom the card is intended.

I prompted the kids to find something to say by starting their sentence off for them. For instance, I would say, "Daddy, I love you because..." or "My favourite thing to do with you is...." Aidas was the first one I wrote for. He said, "Nana...I love you so much because....you let me play with your jet engine toys." (I'm as confused as you are, but it still makes for a cute, funny, and most importantly, personal card!) His message to his mother was even better: "I love you so much because you take me to IKEA". See? Kids this age really know how to enjoy the simpler things in life.

And Noah really showed his love for his daddy when he had me write in his "I love you like chocolate." That's saying a lot!

Valentine's Day Activity: Lacing Hearts

2012-02-11T09:26:00.000-05:00

Materials:

any sized red heart of a thicker consistency than construction paper (you can make your own out of Bristol Board)
pink yarn
hole puncher
masking tape

Instructions:

Punch holes all around the outside of the heart, between 1/2 an inch and 1 inch apart, and 1/4 of an inch from the edge.
Cut a piece of yarn that measures the outline the heart 1and 1/2 times.
Tie one end of the yarn to the bottom hole of the heart.
Tear off a small piece of masking tape and wrap it tightly around the other end of the yarn, to make it easy for little hands to manage.
Show the kids how to lace the heart, by threading the taped end of the yarn through a hole, pulling it all the way through, and then moving onto the next hole. It's okay if they don't thread the holes in order, or thread one hole on one side of the heart, and then move to the other side of the heart. My daycare kids did that (see the picture below) and still really enjoyed it!

* We taped a smaller foam heart in the middle of the big red heart, on each side, and made it into a valentine

by writing a message on one of the sides.

* You could also modify the activity by using a pink heart and red yarn, or any combination of red, pink and

purple.

Valentine's Mail Folder: Messages of Love and Appreciation

2012-02-09T22:00:00.001-05:00

Last week I had each of the kids make their own Valentine's mail folder by gluing pink and purple hearts onto a red folder with their name on it. (Oscar got a little help.)

Although these folders can and probably will be used on Valentine's Day, for the kids to exchange Valentines cards, I wanted to first use them for delivering messages of kindness.

Whenever I get a chance, I write a personal message for each of the kids on a heart made out of construction paper. I use a little sticker (we have so many) as a stamp, which makes it more fun for them. I put the letters in their mailboxes. Then, usually at mealtime, I lay the mail folders out on the dining room table. They come up and I read them my newest 'love letter'. It's a nice way to remind them of behaviours they exhibited that I liked, and for them to get some recognition in front of their friends for that. Even though Oscar doesn't completely understand this activity, he still gets the good vibes, and it's essential for his friends to see that he also needs to be appreciated verbally (even though he can't yet talk).

I have also been encouraging the kids to come up with nice messages to say to each other, which I then write for them on a heart. I helped B. come up with some nice things to say to his friends when he got up from nap earlier than the others one day.

Noah came up with his own messages of appreciation after the kids had gone home one night. He said things like "I really love you, Oscar", and "You were really good outside today, Aidas". He came up with the same message for mine: "You were really good outside today, Mommy." Good to know I behaved myself! He wrote one to his daddy too, which was just so cute we had to put it up on the fridge.

Later, he praised his daddy further, saying "You went outside....all by yourself..." So sweet!

Whatever the Weather

2012-02-08T14:24:00.003-05:00

Although I am very grateful for Toronto's mild winter this year, I am hoping we can enjoy more than the two snow days we've had before it's through. The kids obviously love it. Oscar seems to enjoy enjoy it much more than I remember Aidas and Noah enjoying it when they were his age. Sometimes his mitten will fall off and he'll stick his hand in the snow. Most kids would scream at the pain this cold can cause. Oscar is made of tougher stuff and doesn't seem to notice. Instead, he screams when I put his nice warm mitten back on.

We made a snowman. It was very small, partly because there wasn't a lot of snow, but also because of the logistics of building a snowman with three 3-year-olds and a 1-year-old: the 3-year-olds have limited motor skills and attention spans, and the 1-year-old likes taking the snowman's head off.

Actually, you'll notice Oscar inconspicuously 'guarding' Frosty's head in the upper left photo.

We are already getting ready for Valentine's Day. I love that Valentine's Day is in the dead of winter. When the trees are drab and the days can sometimes look so dull, it's nice to be decorating and doing crafts in red, pink and purple. In the photo above, the kids are putting foam hearts, numbered 1-5, in order. Team work is a very worthwhile challenge for them at this age, and cooperative skills seem to be a much bigger priority than academic ones. (On second thought though, I guess cooperative skills really are the hardest at any age. Our world seems like it's overflowing with intellectual knowledge, and yet the skills to compromise and work together are much more scarce!)

Now here's a contrast to the above pictures of snowy play; puddle jumping! The problem with puddles on a cold day for Oscar is that he's not quite walking yet, so he crawls over and splashes his hands in it, getting his mittens all wet. We've had to cut a few outings short because of this. This day, however, was cut short not by Oscar, but by the older boys who, as boys often do, found trouble. I believe it was "Curious Aidas" who initially found the pond; a very big puddle in the middle of the grass. His friends quickly joined him and it seemed pretty harmless at first. Then I realized that the bottom was completely ice. With this combination, not only were they slipping and falling; they were falling into a pool of water. It's not quite swimming season yet. I managed to tear them away from this crazy fun with only one minor injury, and I am thankful for that!

Another Valentine's activity we enjoyed last week was making little "heart men" or "heart women" out of construction paper. As you can see in the photo above, Oscar is fighting for equal rights for 1-year-olds by demanding to participate.

We thought he made a strong argument, so he came up, joined the group and enjoyed a more age-appropriate Valentine's activity. I'm always hesitant to bring him up when it's not meal time because I think he might get confused and demand food. It seems though, that he is completely satisfied with just an activity, and I get no complaints from him when I bring him down without having given him food.

We have had some days recently that have been absolutely gorgeous and springlike. This was one of them. We were late with our daily schedule on this day because we just didn't want to come back inside. Sometimes I wish we could stay out for a much longer time, but other necessities like using the potty, having a diaper change, lunch and naps all beckon us back inside.

Aidas and B. are still crazy about sticks. I had to get a shot of B. lugging his sticks, or maybe branches is a better word, behind him. You can see that one branch is about 3 times as long as him, but what the picture can't convey is how thick and heavy the other one is. At one point during the walk, he requested that I carry this second branch for him because it was so heavy. When I declined and suggested he leave it on the grass and just carry one stick, he summoned up some more strength and trudged along, determined to keep both sticks. Such determination will surely prove to be a strong asset in later life!

Valentine's Heart Craft

2012-02-02T15:37:00.000-05:00

Materials:

red, pink and purple construction paper
googly eyes
red and pink craft foam sheets
scissors
glue
pencil

Instructions:

Fold construction paper in half (horizontally).
With your pencil, draw half a heart.
Cut along the pencil line and unfold the paper to open the heart.
Cut out strips from the purple, pink and red construction paper that are less than half an inch in width and between 5 and 6 inches long.
Starting at one end, bend each strip over less than half an inch. Then, turn the strip on the other side and bend the already folded part up again, less than half an inch. Continue doing this until you reach the end of the strip. The paper should resemble the folds of an accordion.
Have child glue the two eyes onto the heart shape first.
Let them choose a pink or red mouth, then cut one out of the foam, and have them glue it on.
Let them choose the colours of their heart's arms and legs.
Glue the arms and legs on.Glue the end fold on each strip only, to the sides and bottom of the heart.
Ask child where they want to place their adorable Valentine's decoration!

Interactive Learning Wall for Kids: Snowman

2012-01-27T23:11:00.003-05:00

This is a great activity board for teaching children about

shapes (rectangle, circles, triangle, square)
sizes (biggest circle, smallest circle)
colours (choose colours for the buttons, hat and arms that you think the children need to learn)
counting (3 buttons)
emotions (turn mouth upside down to make a sad snowman)

Materials:

2 sheets of light blue Bristol Board
1 sheet of white Bristol Board
orange, purple, brown and black construction paper (1-2 small sheets of each)
Velcro
clear plastic packing tape
scissors
pencil

*You will also need to bring at least the first 2 items to a store for lamination, unless you have access to a large laminater. The rest of the items can be laminated on a small, personal-sized laminater, if you have one.

*I apologize for the formatting issues I encountered while writing this particular post.

Instructions - Part 1:

On the white Bristol Board, draw 3 different sized circles for the snowman: one that is about 12.5 inches in diameter (across), one that is about 10.5 inches across, and one that is about 8.5 inches across. (You can likely find bowls in your kitchen that have approximately the same length of diameters. Turn them upside-down and trace around the edge for the perfect circle.)
Cut the circles out.
Draw and cut out of the black construction paper:

- a rectangle that is about 10.5 inches by 1.5 inches

- a square that is about 5.5 inches on each side

- 2 small circles, about 1.5 inches in diameter (across)

- a crescent shaped mouth, about 5.5 inches wide

4. Cut 3 circles out of the purple construction paper that are about 2 inches in diameter.

5. Cut 2 "stick arms" out of the brown construction paper that are about 9.5 inches long.

6. Cut a triangle out of the orange construction paper that is no more than 3 inches on any side.

7. Laminate all items, including the 2 pieces of blue Bristol Board.

Instructions - Part 2:

Using clear plastic packing tape, tape the 2 laminated sheets of blue Bristol Board horizontally to a wall, one directly on top of the other (make sure there is no space between them). The bottom sheet of Bristol Board should be taped as close to the bottom of the wall as possible, so that the little kiddies will easily be able to reach this activity board. Leave no edges of Bristol Board untaped, since little kiddies will find a way to take down the activity wall in no time!
Cut 6 strips of the "soft" Velcro, that are each 5 inches long.

3. Measuring 8 inches from the bottom of the blue Bristol Board, stick 2 of these pieces horizontally, one on top of the other, to the blue Bristol Board.

4. Measuring 10.5 inches inches above the Velcro you have just stuck on, place the next 2 pieces of Velcro, in the same fashion.

5. Measuring 7.5 inches from this Velcro you have just stuck on, place the last two pieces of Velcro to the blue Bristol Board.

6. Cut out 2 pieces of Velcro (soft side) that are 2.5 inches long. Place one piece, horizontally, 3.5 inches from the last Velcro you applied to the blue Bristol Board. Stick the second one, horizontally, 2.5 inches above this.

7. Cut out 2 pieces of Velcro (soft side) that are 2 inches long. Place them at a 45 degree angle, about 3 inches to the side of, and about 1 inch above the middle two (5 inch) strips of Velcro.

*Note the white Velcro in the middle of the circles.

8. Cut 6 strips of the "scratchy" side of the Velcro, that are each 5 inches long. Stick 2, horizontally, one on top of the other, to each of the 3 white circles.

9. Stick the 3 circles to the blue Bristol Board (largest on the bottom, smallest at the top).

10. Cut out 2 pieces of the scratchy side of the Velcro, each 2.5 inches long. Stick one to the middle of the black rectangle, and the other to the middle of the black square.

11. Stick the black rectangle to the Velcro directly above the top white circle you have placed on the blue Bristol Board. Stick the black square to the Velcro directly above this.

12. Cut out two pieces of the scratchy-sided Velcro that are each 2 inches long. Stick them 2 inches from the end of the stick arms you want closest to the snowman's body. Attach the stick arms to each of the diagonal pieces of Velcro on the blue Bristol Board.

13. For the snowman's face, cut out four 1 inch strips of the soft side of the Velcro. Stick all four of these strips onto the smallest white circle: 2 where you'd like the eyes to be, one for the nose, and one for the mouth.

14. Cut out four 1 inch strips of the scratchy Velcro. Place one on each black circle eye, one on the orange triangle nose, and one on the crescent mouth. Stick the parts of the face on.

15. Cut 3 pieces of soft Velcro that are each 1.5 inches long. Place them in the middle circle of the snowman, where you'd like the buttons to go.

16. Cut 3 pieces of scratchy Velcro that are each 1.5 inches long, and place them on the 3 purple buttons for the snowman. Stick the buttons to the middle circle of the snowman.

17. Now that you're finished, let the kids play with the snowman, or use it to teach sizes, colours, shapes, numbers or emotions.

Speech and Language: Speech Pronunciation Problems in Children

2012-01-19T14:59:00.001-05:00

My son has recently started speech therapy with "Toronto Preschool Speech and Language Services". I decided to get him on the waiting list for this program last summer. His intelligence and vocabulary at that time were both excellent (I have mommy bragging rights!), and his father and I never had any worries about that. It was simply that he has difficulty pronouncing quite a few consonants.

I wasn't even sure if getting him assessed was something I should do. Many family members and friends thought I was just being an over-concerned parent. "Give it time", they said; "everything's fine". However, by the beginning of the summer, it was evident that Noah himself was becoming increasingly frustrated by his daycare friends' inability to understand him. When this happened, Noah would repeat the word or phrase, increasing his volume until he was shouting at his friends, exasperated, trying to get his point across. Luckily I can usually 'decode' him, so I was able to communicate for him to his friends. At this point though, I decided to let an expert decide whether he needed help or not. I figured it couldn't hurt, whereas not getting him the help could exacerbate or prolong the issue.

I told my doctor about it during my son's next check-up, and she gave me the number for the Toronto Preschool Speech and Language Services. This is a free service, but I was informed the waiting list was long, and an initial assessment usually did not happen until 6 months after one got onto the list.

Luckily, my son got an appointment within four months, due to a cancellation. After the assessment, the speech therapist told me that yes, he should be getting help for his pronunciation problems. She said it would be great to help him with his pronunciation before he starts kindergarten next fall. I had to agree.

She gave me a sheet that charts out the ages when children are typically able to utter specific sounds. This is the main reason I write this post; to share this information with other parents. Just to officially give credit, the following information was provided by the "Toronto Preschool Speech and Language Services", and their information was adapted from "Helping Kids Discover and Develop Language" (afs).

1.5 years - 3 years

p (as in "pear")
m (as in "more")
h (as in "home")
n (as in "no")

1.5 - 3.5 years

w (as in "wall')

1.5 - 4 years

b (as in "bath")

2 - 4 years

k (as in "kitten")
g (as in "go")
d (as in doll)

2 - 6 years

t (as in "toy")
ng (as in "sing")

2.5 - 4 years

f (as in "fan")
y (as in "yello")

3 - 6.5 years

s (as in "see")

3 - 7.5 years

r (as in "ring")
l (as in "look")

3.5 - 7 years

ch (as in "chair")
sh (as in "shoe")

3.5 - 8 years

z (as in "zebra")

4 - 7 years

j (as in "jump")

3 - 8 years

v (as in "violin")

4.5 - 7 years

th (as in "thumb")

5 - 8 years

th (as in "other")

6 -8.5 years

zh (as in measure)

Sick Days

2012-01-09T21:40:00.005-05:00

So, I'm going to take us way back, before the Christmas holidays, when all of us were sick: congestion, fever, aches and pains, coughs, snotty noses. It seemed like the flu, though Noah and I both had flu shots about a month before. Perhaps this was a different strain of the virus. Aidas developed an ear infection as well and by the time the photo above was taken, was on antibiotics. Noah looked terrible. In such a sick state, I wanted to ensure that he rested as much as possible. Instead of cancelling the daycare for the next 3 days, I decided to run a second-rate daycare. At least everyone was ill, so vegging out was a good idea for all of them. We did not go outside, and the T.V. was on most of the day. I shudder as I say this. We never watch T.V. while the daycare is running (apart from the 5 minutes our first arrival might catch a glimpse of in the morning). But this was one way to force everyone to rest, for the most part at least. I don't have a strict illness policy that forbids children to come when ill. I figure that by the time one child shows symptoms, we've all been exposed to the germs anyway. It's almost impossible to prevent the sharing of colds here.

Anyway, we were all at least 75% better before the holidays, so that was a relief!

Here are some of our other activities before the holidays (besides the crafts - we mostly did those on our sick days). The kids love making broccoli pizza, especially taste-testing the cheese!

Oscar was to turn 1 year old over the holidays. We had a low-key, early celebration for him at the daycare, since we wouldn't see him for his birthday. His mother brought cupcakes for the kids and we sang to him. Afterwards, Noah and I gave him his birthday gift. I think he liked his new toys!

One morning Noah and B. decorated a gingerbread house (store bought kit - I wasn't ambitious enough to try a homemade one). It was the perfect size for them to decorate, very small. We all enjoyed eating it over the next few days!

The kids were entranced when I brought down the Menorah and told them about the 8 days of Hanukkah. We always sing the chorus of "The Hanukkah Song". Yes, the one by Adam Sandler. What?! It's catchy, and the kids love it!

As soon as I let the kids play with the Menorah, they incorporated it right into their vehicle crash scene. (Aidas is constantly creating these "crash scenes". I must capture with a photo one of these days how extreme a scenario he can envision.)

We have really lucked out with the weather so far this winter. One day (still before the holidays) we decided to play in High Park. I thought maybe we would run around the little forest area, but of course the kids could see the playground in the distance and wanted to go. It was mild enough that I couldn't deny them!

Since we have been back from holidays, we have resumed the self-help skill of getting dressed/undressed. I am expecting the older boys to undress and dress themselves for the potty, and also to put on and take off their snow pants, boots and coats. This doesn't mean that I don't help them when they need it, but they at least need to be putting in a solid effort. They need to be involved. I'm very proud of how far they've all come with these dressing skills. I think they surprise themselves much of the time too.

Aidas will sometimes complain and say "I can't, I can't" while doing part of the dressing routine. Then suddenly, he will have already done it. He'll look at me, pleasantly surprised, and I'll say "Wait a minute, you did do it!" He usually laughs at this point, although there have been times when he will become frustrated with this outcome, and undo what he has done so that he will remain right in his insistence that he cannot do it. Ah, the 3-year-old mind set. :)

B. has taught himself to zip up his coat. Can you believe it?! I wouldn't even try teaching this so early, since it seems so hard. Now that he has inspired me, I am at least giving the others the idea of how to do it, and getting them to do small parts. These kids all have such unique strengths, and a lot to teach each other (and me, of course).

The kids love to play pretend when we're outside. Here we're playing "restaurant". (Noah usually calls the restaurant McDonalds, but sometimes it's Swiss Chalet.)

The service seems to be exceptionally fast at this restaurant. The server is practically psychic, and already has Aidas's meal ready before he orders it!

B. has a great imagination and often tells us about the animals or objects he "sees" in various clouds. One day he told us he saw a butterfly, and brought our attention to this shape in a rock. I'd have to agree with him, wouldn't you? Another day he was playing with the stick you see in the picture below and calling it a spider. What wonderful creativity! (By the way, that's the scariest spider I have ever seen!).

We hadn't done finger painting in a while, so the kids were excited about it when we did it this week. They each completed at least four paintings, though you can see in this video that it takes Noah a little while to warm up.

Finally he gets used to the texture and away he goes! Aidas always just dives right in. (Actually, it was while he was trying to finger paint with a little spilled milk on the table at lunch one day that I realized it was time to get the paints out!) I love hearing them talk about their art!

Royal Icing Makes Kids Cookie Decorating Easy

2012-01-06T15:28:00.000-05:00

Over the holidays, I made some festive-shaped gingerbread cookies. Noah and I decorated them together on Christmas Eve day. This is definitely an activity you should undertake with your child. It is so fun, it's guaranteed to bring out the kid in you!

Years ago, I made and decorated cookies to give to colleagues at Christmas time. I packaged each large cookie individually in a clear treat bag, and brought them to the school I worked at to hand them out with my Christmas cards. They didn't look so pretty by the time I handed them out, since the icing melted onto the bags. This time I was determined to correct this problem.

I looked online to find out how to dry icing. Apparently the only solution is something called "Royal Icing". It is the only icing that dries, or hardens. It is very simple to make. You can make it with raw egg whites, but this poses a very small risk of Salmonella (food poisoning). I did not wish to give the gift of Salmonella to anyone for Christmas, so I decided to do it the safer way, by substituting meringue powder.

By far, the most difficult part of making Royal Icing using meringue powder is....finding meringue powder. You won't find it at your local grocery store, since it is an item not commonly needed for baking. I've heard of some people ordering it online, but I decided to go to a specialty cake shop in Etobicoke called McCall's. (Here is their website, but be warned that it is not the easiest place to drive to. http://www.mccalls.ca/). The good news is, you can buy a tub of this stuff, and it will keep for about 2 years.

Royal Icing Recipe

2 and 1/4 cups of icing sugar
2 tbsp meringue powder
1/4 cup water

Mix these 3 ingredients together. I was too lazy to get the mixer out, and it still turned out great just using a spoon to mix it up. Just make sure you blend it well. If it's too runny, add some icing sugar. If it's too dry, add a bit of water.

Cookie Decorating

Dip the front of a cookie into the icing bowl, making sure to cover the entire front in icing. (You can tilt the cookie, right-side up, after dipping it, so that the icing slowly runs to the edges that are not yet covered.)

Cover the icing with your favourite sprinkles.

You could also write, draw, or colour on the cookies using decorative icing tubes in different colours. If you do this, it's probably better to let the Royal Icing dry for a few hours first, if you really care about the aesthetics. Noah and I just couldn't wait!

Disney on Ice: 100 Years of Magic (at Rogers Centre)

2012-01-01T10:38:00.003-05:00

Dan and I bought tickets to Disney on Ice as part of Noah's Christmas present. Noah has always loved Mickey Mouse and anything Disney. (His favourite Disney movie is Lion King). We splurged for front row tickets, to make sure we could see all the action clearly.

Now, having been there and seen the seating, I would say that there were plenty of other seats that provide just as good a view for less money. Any of the "stadium" seats would be great, since they are leveled. The only seats I would not choose would be anything other than the first row in the VIP section (which is where we were) or anything other than the first row the Field section. Since the rows are not leveled in these sections, your child could have trouble seeing over an adult sitting in front of him.

The show was fantastic. Besides the obvious favourites like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy (no Pluto, sorry), much of the performance included characters from various Disney Movies. There was one segment that included the heroines: Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Snow White (and probably some others that escape me now).

Dan and I were both pleasantly surprised that the skating itself was actually very good. Let's face it, they could have easily gotten away with mediocre skaters. The kids would be more than satisfied with the characters in costumes, even if they didn't do anything fancy. But there was such skillful skating that I found myself constantly saying "wow!".

The best part of the show for me (and I think for Noah as well) was the "It's a Small World After All" number. It was magical with lights, fireworks (very minor), and Mickey in in a pretend hot air balloon.

Another part of the show I thought was great was when they performed the "Mickey Mouse March", and invited everyone to stand up and march or dance to the song with them. I think Noah felt special to be dancing with his favourite Disney characters, especially in such close proximity!

Other musical numbers featured characters from Disney movies like: The Lion King, Pinocchio, Mulan, Pocahontas, Toy Story, Aladdin, The Incredibles, and Finding Nemo.

The length of the show was optimal for children; about an hour and 45 minutes, with a short intermission. Honestly, I have trouble finding anything critical to say about our experience. Perhaps the time dedicated to Mulan was a little long, but that opinion is purely due to the fact that I'm not as familiar with it as I am the other Disney movies.

If we go to see Disney on Ice next winter, I think I would want to get the same seating as this time for one very important reason. At the end of the show, Noah was able to shake hands, or give high fives to some of his favourite Disney characters. To me, that is totally worth the extra money. (We paid close to $100 for each of the adult tickets.)

Still, my review for this particular show, considering what we paid, is that it was excellent. I would completely recommend it, if your child loves Disney.

Paper Plate Wreath Craft

2011-12-19T14:00:00.000-05:00

Materials:

plain white paper plate
scissors
green paint
paint brush
red construction paper
white glue
hole punch
red yarn or ribbon

Instructions:

Cut the centre out of the paper plate. Leave at least an inch and 3/4 width for the outer rim.
Discard the centre and paint the paper plate ring green. Let it dry
Shred construction paper into 1/4 inch pieces. (It would be optimal to cut out nice little circles to represent the berries, but I went the quicker and easier route, and instead made little squares.)
Glue the red pieces onto the green paper plate ring. (The amount and design is up to the artist.) Let dry.
Decide where you want the top of your wreath to be, and punch a hole there.
Thread some red string or red ribbon through the hole (you could also tie a red bow if you have the ribbon) and hang it up.

Christmas Craft: Candy Cane Tree Decorations

2011-12-14T14:17:00.000-05:00

Materials:

red and white pipe cleaners
scissors

Instructions:

Hold a red pipe cleaner and a white pipe cleaner side-by-side, to make sure that the ends of both are level.
Wind one pipe cleaner around the other until you get to the ends. If there is still some left of one of the pipe cleaners, cut it off to make the tops level.
Cut the entire pipe cleaner spiral in half to make 2 smaller candy canes.
Bend each spiral near the top until you get the shape of a candy cane.
Hang them on the tree.

*This just might be the easiest craft I have ever written about! Just be careful with the little ones, since pipe cleaners are sharp on the ends. The 3-year-olds could follow the instruction of holding it by the middle, and not touching the ends. But we agreed to place them high on our tree and keep them there for the safety of our 1-year-old.

Christmas Craft: Star Tree Ornament

2011-12-13T14:48:00.000-05:00

Materials:

4 Popsicle sticks
white glue
craft gems (at Walmart)
string
scissors

Instructions:

Make an "x" shape with 2 Popsicle sticks. Start with one stick positioned diagonally. Place a dab of glue on 1 Popsicle stick and gently place another on top, positioning it, as needed, to make the shape of an "x".
Place a dab of glue in the centre of the top stick and glue another Popsicle stick on top, in the vertical position.
Place a dab of glue in the middle of this Popsicle stick and glue the last stick on, positioning it horizontally. Carry your star of Popsicle sticks to a safe place by picking it up by the bottom stick. Let it dry.
Once it is dry, it is ready to decorate with the gems. Place a little dab of glue on any flat part of a Popsicle stick and glue a gem on. (The 3-year-olds did well using a little paper plate for the glue, and a separate Popsicle stick to dip and dab. Remind them to be gentle!) Continue until you are satisfied with your ornament.
Tie a knot around the middle of the ornament, and leave a few inches of string at one end. When you have the amount of string you want, cut it and tie a loop big enough to fit around the branch of a Christmas tree.
All that is left to do is to hang your star on the tree and admire it!

*Variation: We did this craft the easy way. If you would like to make an actual star shape, use 5 Popsicle sticks instead of 4. Glue them together so that they look like this:

Paper Plate Santa Claus Mask

2011-12-09T15:04:00.003-05:00

Materials:

paper plate
Elmer's white "Faux Fur" (available at Walmart)
red construction paper
scissors
glue
Popsicle stick
clear plastic tape

Instructions:

Cut a rectangular shape in the upper middle portion of the paper plate (3 and 1/2 inches from the top). Leave about 2 inches on either side of the plate. (The rectangle should be about 5 and 1/2 inches across and 1 and 1/4 inches in height.) Cut a small semi-circle at the middle bottom of the rectangle as pictured in the photo above left.
Draw and cut out a Santa hat that is about 8 and 1/4 inches wide (or as wide as the plate is just above the hole you cut out) at the bottom of the hat. As long as the hat will cover the plate, you can design it any way you think works. Just be sure to leave the tip of Santa's hat 1 inch thick (so you can place the "pom-pom" on later).
Hold a piece of Elmer's Faux Fir over the bottom 2/3 of the plate, so that it covers the width and length of the plate from the top of the 'rectangle cut-out', down. Trim the outside of the beard at the sides, so that it will cover the plate, but leave an inch or two of beard on the bottom, to make Santa's beard long. Cut a rectangle out of the top of the beard, starting from 2 inches in at each side. Make it 1 and 1/4 inches deep, with a small semi-circle in the bottom middle, as you did with the plate.
Cut another rectangular shaped piece of Faux Fir that is 8 and 1/2 inches across and 2 inches down.
Cut a 1 and 1/2 inch wide circle out of the Faux Fir.
Imagine a line running the whole width of the paper plate, directly above the rectangle cut-out. Generously apply glue everywhere above this imaginary line. Stick Santa's hat on.
Generously apply glue to the entire rest of the plate. Stick Santa's beard on.
Apply glue from the bottom of Santa's hat to 1 inch above, and across the entire width. Stick on the fur trim.
Apply glue to the bottom inch of the tip of Santa's hat. Stick on the Faux Fir circle to represent a pom-pom.
After all the glue has dried, turn the plate over and tape a Popsicle stick to the back. Make sure the stick hangs down at least 2 inches from the bottom of the plate.

*Revision for next time: I would cut a larger semi-circle at the bottom of the rectangle cut-out on the paper plate. Or perhaps I would just cut a larger rectangle out. This way, you could at least see the person's nose!

Winter Craft: Sock Snowman

2011-12-02T15:57:00.002-05:00

*This craft is suitable for ages 2 and up. Just increase or decrease assistance depending on age.

Materials:

1 plain white adult sport sock about 12 inches long
old newspaper sheets
piece of white string (about 10 inches long)
1 short adult sock of any colour (except white) for hat
2 large googly eyes (1/2 inch)
black felt
1 orange foam sheet (or orange felt)
any colour of felt for scarf
thin Popsicle sticks (or coffee stir sticks or brown pipe cleaners)
black Sharpie marker
scissors

Instructions:

Take 1 sheet of newsprint at a time, and scrunch it into a ball. Stuff it into the hole of the sock and push it up all the way to the toe of the sock. Keep doing this until the sock (or at least 12 inches of it) has been filled. Cut off any remaining sock from the bottom. The newspaper should not fall out.
Measure 5 inches down from the toe of the sock. Tie the white piece of string tightly around the sock to make a distinguishable head and body.
Cut out a scarf for the snowman using the felt. Make it about an inch high and at least 18 inches long. (I glued two pieces together to get the right length.) Cut 3 little slits on each end of the scarf (just to make it fancy). Tie the scarf around the snowman's neck. Make sure the top of the scarf just covers the white string (so you will have enough room to make the face).
Pull the black sock over the snowman's head, so that it covers 2 and 1/2 inches from the top. You can fold the sock up and under if needed.
Place two dabs of glue just under the hat, and press the googly eyes on.
With the Sharpie marker, make a smile for the snowman, just above the white string, by making 6 dots in an upward semi-circle. (I did hand-over-hand with the 3-year-olds.)
Cut out a triangle from the orange foam that is 1/2 an inch wide and 1 inch long. Take off the sticker backing and place it between the eyes and the mouth. (You can also glue a triangle of orange felt, the same size.)
Cut out 3 black felt circles that are about 1 and 1/4 inch wide (diameter). Glue them vertically under the white string to represent buttons.
Break a thin Popsicle stick into 2 pieces that are 3 and 1/2 inches long. (Or, make two pipe cleaners of the same length.)
Using your scissors, cut 2 slits on each side of the snowman, about 1 inch below the white string. Put one stick in each of the holes to represent arms. (This is a little tricky, and could take some fiddling. Perhaps pipe cleaners are a better idea! In this case, you would not need to cut with scissors at all.)
Display your snowman on a shelf, or hang him from his hat!

Party Thrills and Dressing Skills

2011-11-29T14:35:00.001-05:00

On November 13th, Aidas turned 3 years old. Noah and B. were lucky enough to be invited to the celebration, along with other friends and family of Aidas. It was great that Aldona, Aidas's mom, was able to have the party on Aidas's actual birthday. It made it even more special.

Noah and I were the last ones to arrive. (There were a couple of well-timed meltdowns just before we left our place, to slow us down.) We knew we had been holding up the party because as soon as we got there, Aidas turned to his mother and said "Now can I open presents?" She gave him the green light. His friends were happy to help him uncover his treasure! I think this S.O.S. Station Aidas received was by far his favourite. Noah has recently been talking about asking Santa for the same one for Christmas.

We all enjoyed pizza. The adults also enjoyed a delicious salad Aldona had made. Then it was back to opening presents! Noah and I gave Aidas a Star Wars shirt, and a few Star Wars toys. (He seems to be enchanted by what little he has seen of Star Wars.) Then it was time for Diane's (Nana's) chocolate cupcakes! Here's the beautiful boy being sung to on his 3rd birthday. Happy birthday, sweet Aidas!

Although some days have been quite mild (considering it's November, and this is Toronto), some days have been very chilly. We are officially into snowsuit season now. The kids and I have been working really hard on dressing skills (except for Oscar, of course). Now that the 3 older boys are more or less toilet trained, I expect them to at least take part in putting on and taking off: underwear, pants, snow pants, coats, and boots. They are all able to do about 80% completely on their own, with verbal instruction and encouragement. The things that sometimes hold us back have nothing to do with ability. They are more like: refusal to cooperate, fear of failing, or wanting to remain in the 'comfort zone' of having me do all this for them. While these are all completely normal responses for 3-year-olds (B. is almost 3) experiencing such a large change in their routine, I am remaining consistent in my expectations. These expectations are not that they should succeed in doing all, (or any, for that matter) of these parts of dressing on their own, but that they should at least try. So, for example, pulling their pants up to their waists is difficult for them. Still, they are expected to hold onto the pants with me (or hand-over-hand), so that they can at least get the feel, or the idea of how to accomplish this in the future. They really are doing amazing with all of this, and are happy and proud to receive stickers each day for their hard work.

As with last November, we again have an issue to battle: dog poop. It seems that starting in November, people feel they no longer need to clean-up after their pets. I have to admit that, without a yard of my own, this makes my job quite a bit more stressful. Thankfully, the 3 veterans are older and wiser. They now (usually) point out the dog poop rather than playing with it. They also understand that we can no longer play in certain areas because of this. So far, we have been pretty lucky, with only a few mishaps. Look at how happy baby Oscar is frolicking in the grass and leaves (in the video below). Thank goodness there was no dog poop here on this day!

Actually, there was a quite a bit of rolling around that day by all the kids. They were like pigs in mud. And on this occasion, Noah and Oscar were both furious with me for eventually bringing them back inside for lunch. But we like to share a bit of our drama with the neighbourhood on a daily basis. It makes us memorable. :)

Santa Claus Parade

2011-11-22T21:33:00.000-05:00

On Sunday Dan and I took Noah to his first parade: the Santa Claus Parade! We were accompanied by his daycare friend B., his mother and her friend.

The parade was to start at 12:30, and we arrived at 11am, hoping to find a front row seat. Well...this is what we got! I had read a bit online about how early one needs to get there in order to get a perfect view. One of the sites I visited said that some people arrive as early as 9am to put out chairs. As we walked east along Bloor from Christie, it became clear that this was the norm. The streets were already completely packed!

Next year we'll be smarter! Actually, where we were (between Bathurst and Spadina), there was a Tim Hortons right across the street. A good idea would be to get there early, claim your territory, then sit inside Timmy's and enjoy some coffee and a book while keeping your eye on your spot. Have your friends and/or family join you with the kids closer to starting time, because we all know how good young children are at waiting!

Despite our vantage point, Noah didn't miss out at all. It just meant we had to hold him or put him up on our shoulders. B's mom had the genius idea of having B. stand in the stroller. We were very thankful for this less tiring approach. Noah could see the parade and our arms and shoulders could take a break!

The Muppets float was Noah's favourite. He has been watching his beloved Muppets videos for some time now, and is very excited to see the new movie in theatres soon. The float on the bottom right impressed Dan and I the most. Although the picture doesn't really do it justice, we felt it was the most eye catching of them all.

Here are a few more of my favourite parts...

Finally, we got to see Santa Claus. Noah was a bit confused about the process of speaking to Santa. I asked him if he was going to ask Santa for a fire truck (since this seems to be his current present-of-choice). As he watched Santa go by, he said with a perplexed look, "But Santa's gone". I reassured him that he would meet Santa again in Dufferin Mall in a few weeks.

Pots + Pans + Kids Make a Band!

2011-11-18T14:59:00.001-05:00

The kids rediscovered the joy of pots and pans this week.....ummm....and my boot, apparently. Actually, you may notice the shoes scattered about in the background. This is a battle I choose not to have with the kids. They love to play in the closet. (B. demonstrates this for you in the video.) The shoes get completely disorganized as Dan, my husband, can attest to when trying to find two matching shoes in the morning before leaving for work! A little spillage is only natural.

Oscar, the newest and youngest member (at 10 months), loved playing in the band too. Rock on!

We played in the leaves at High Park one day. I was hoping the leaves would still be carpeting the ground, and that we could rake them into our own piles. Alas, High Park is really good at cleaning these leaves up, and they were all concentrated in a few giant mountains. I don't think the kids minded.

Nope, I don't think they minded at all! Lucas and Maya came with Marlaine to join in the fun.

The kids used the little rakes we brought, even though they were completely unnecessary. I had to watch them closely, since sticks of any kind can easily turn into weapons, whether intentional or not!

Oscar arrived one day this week in this tough-boy outfit. You can see the over-sized hat, but what you may miss is the biker vest. Embroidered on the back is a snake coiled around a tiger. No doubt he was trying to send the older boys a message: Don't be fooled by my size. I may be small, but I am mighty! I'm pretty sure he was also wearing either his "Kiss" or his "ACDC" onesie underneath. I think the big boys got the message (although the pacifier didn't help his case).

Noah and B. worked hard one morning, putting all the upper case ABC's in order. They discovered which letter was next by singing the alphabet song. Noah loves the alphabet and knows all his letters, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how much B. knew, considering that English is his second language.

When we finished with the capitals, we put all the lower case letters in their appropriate spots, underneath. They were both completely focused on this activity, and it wasn't a quick one! Noah begged to do it again, but it was time for snack.

Marlaine organized one last going away party, for the kids. She treated us all to a morning of fun at High Park Family Fun Place. It was our very last day with Lucas and Maya. As I write this blog, they are sailing across the ocean to England!

The kids had a blast! I've only taken Noah there once, and it was so long ago that he doesn't remember. They explored all the toys, and mastered most of the playground. They even wanted to try the monkey bars, which Marlaine and I helped them with.

The boys especially loved the plasma cars. They don't quite know yet how to rotate the steering wheel to make the car go, but this didn't seem to slow them down!

Maya's favourite activity by far was playing dress-up. Marlaine would help her get into an outfit, and then Maya would come find me to show it off. When I asked to take a picture of her in her witch costume, she marched right over to the gorilla again to pose. Because I had taken another picture of her here, I guess she though this was the 'photo shoot' area. What a model!

As she did not stray from this activity, eventually everyone came to join her. Here she is, the diva with Buzz Lightyear - I mean Aidas! How adorable is that?!

Marlaine had pizza and cheese bread delivered to the play centre for lunch. It was delicious. Then we let the kids play a little while longer before we finally had to drag them home for naps.

I can't believe we won't be seeing Lucas and Maya anymore. I hope that in this computer age, the kids will connect with each other when they're older. Even if they don't remember a lot about their time together by that point, at least they always have this blog to remind them!

Toddler Halloween Party

2011-11-05T10:46:00.001-04:00

On Halloween Day we had an amazing Halloween party at the daycare. There was a lot of preparation to do the day before. Above is the scene before the party started. I put up black and orange balloons and orange streamers. We also had a lot of amazing Halloween decorations up already due to the crafts the kids had done the week before.

For the first little while, it was just Noah and B. They both had the same firefighter costume, and both of them wore their costume for about 2 minutes before taking it off. Noah informed me that he was going to wear his costume for the parade, as if this was the way things were done at Halloween parties.

Nonetheless, we started the celebration with jack-o-lantern punching balloons, and a Halloween memory matching game I had made for them.

After this, we played "Find the Pumpkins". Noah and B. went to Noah's bedroom, and I hid the pumpkins in the living room, dining room and kitchen. There were a lot of pumpkins to find, and they needed some clues here and there, but I think they enjoyed the game after they started to get the hang of it. Noah especially liked counting the pumpkins each time he or B. found one and added it to the group.

Noah and B. had a snack of "Halloween Fruit" and jack-o-lantern cookies before the rest of the gang arrived (Oscar, Aidas, Lucas and Maya).

It didn't take long for the rest of the kids to join us at the table. Who can resist cookies with chocolate?

Okay, things start to get even more adorable from here on in. We have: 2 firefighters, two tigers, one lion, one police officer, and a deviled egg (Marlaine, not me).

We took a walk around the block, wishing everyone a Happy Halloween. As we passed the High Park Early Learning Centre, we saw many children in front of the house. The kids checked out each other's costumes and wished each other a Happy Halloween.

All the kids were adorable in their costumes, but there was something about Aidas in his police officer's uniform that was so RIDICULOUSLY cute, I just couldn't contain myself! I couldn't stop laughing and hugging him every time I looked at him. How precious is this? Actually, my blog is a fantastic place to come if you're having a bad day. You get to see such cuteness. (I don't have time, nor is it appropriate to capture most tantrums or meltdowns. So, you get to skip most of the "ugly"!)

Maya wanted to hold hands with one of the kids. She was denied by her brother (because that's what brothers do, of course). She was surprisingly rebuffed by Noah, her biggest fan. Perhaps it was his plan to play hard to get, so she would work harder for his attention. (He will learn in time that reverse psychology doesn't go over well with girls.) It was B. who graciously accepted the request.

We stopped to watch some men who were being lowered on a scaffold (very exciting) while they were working on a building. Shortly after this, as you can see, Noah realized his strategy was not getting him anywhere and held Maya's other hand. Marlaine and I kept adoring the scene from behind: a girl being safely and lovingly escorted down the street by two firemen.

I also thought it was so cute that the musical instrument Lucas chose to take on the parade was the drum. It's a rather big instrument to walk around the block with, but he played that drum as if he were in a real marching band. He is a very good drummer!

When we got back to the apartment, we played "Ghost Toss". The kids stood a foot or two away from a waste basket decorated as a ghost. They then tried to throw lollipops (also disguised as ghosts) into the bin. Noah and B. especially liked this game. I love how you can see the ghost B. is throwing in mid-flight, in the photo above. All the kids got Halloween stickers to place on an orange Bristol Board card (with their name on it), whether they got the ghost in or not.

Don't think I've forgotten about this cutie. Isn't this the most precious tiger cub you've ever seen? Although (at 10 months) he couldn't participate in the festivities to the same extent as the older boys, he seemed to enjoy himself just the same. Here he is with his orange card. He really liked the Halloween sticker he got and was very skilled at peeling it off the card. (Seriously, I wouldn't think a 10 month old would have the fine motor abilities to do this!)

Speaking of skill, Aidas was the mastermind who first uncovered the ghost costume his lollipop was wearing, as well as the wrapper. This happened quickly, because Marlaine and I didn't even catch it until it was in his mouth! So then, of course, all the kids had to have a mini-pop appetizer before lunch.

The kids enjoyed their ghost pitas and jack-o-lantern sandwiches for lunch. Oscar enjoyed his mush.

After lunch, the children played together while I cleaned up. Finally, it was time for naps, and we had to say good-bye to Lucas and Maya for the day. What a fun morning we had!

After my gang woke from naps, we played some Halloween games again before we ate dinner. Guess what we had? Meatball spiders and monster fruit faces! Noah is a very literal guy. Every time I said "We're having spiders for dinner!" he would correct me and say "No, we're having meatballs". Apparently, my term "monster fruit faces" was okay, because I correctly stated that it was made of fruit. I'm sure if I had said "We're having monster faces for desert!" he would have replied, "No mommy. We're having fruit."

You can find more about my Halloween games and recipes by clicking "Halloween Crafts and Activities" under "Browse Posts" on the main page.

Halloween Party Games and Activities for Toddlers

2011-11-03T22:04:00.003-04:00

Ghost Toss

Materials:

waste basket
white Kitchen Catcher bag or white garbage bag
black or orange yarn
black marker
lollipops (round ones like Tootsie Roll - I used mini Tootsie Roll pops)
black construction paper
tape
Halloween Stickers
Squares (the size of a large birthday card) of orange Bristol Board

Instructions:

Cover a waste basket in a white Kitchen Catcher bag, or a white garbage bag. It just needs to cover the outside. Tape it to secure it.
Cut 3 circles out of black construction paper. Tape them to the white bag on one side of the waste basket to make a ghost face.
Cover each of 5-10 lollipops in Kleenex, and tie a piece of yarn just under the candy part.
Draw 3 dots on the ghost's head (candy part) to make a simple face.
In black marker, write one child's name on the top of each of the orange squares of Bristol Board. (Each child/player should have their own card).
Have children take turns. The child (whose turn it is) stands a few inches behind the waste basket (mommy ghost) and tries to throw the lollipop (baby ghost) in. Each child gets 3 tries, and receives a Halloween sticker regardless of whether he/she gdts it in. Give them their card after their turn, so they can put the sticker on it.
When children tire of the game, they can continue choosing and adding stickers to their cards.

Memory Matching Game

Materials:

orange Bristol Board
medium to large Halloween stickers (8-12 pairs of stickers - each pair should look exactly the same)
scissors

Instructions:

Cut 3 inch by 3 inch squares out of the orange Bristol Board. How many you cut depends on how many you would like to use in the matching game. I cut out 16 (8 pairs) for the 3-year-olds in my care. I wouldn't recommend more than 10 pairs (20 cards) for toddlers, since they are just learning how to play formal games and it could get overwhelming for them.
Place one sticker on each square, making sure you have cards with matching stickers for the number of pairs you wish to use.
When you are ready to play the game, shuffle the cards and lay them out, face-down on the floor. Have each player take a turn flipping over any 2 cards. (Make sure all players can see these two cards.) If the two cards match, the child keeps them until the end of the game. If they don't match, the child turns them back over. Keep playing until all the cards have been matched. The player with the most cards at the end of the game wins.

Find the Pumpkin

Materials:

10 small pumpkins

Instructions:

Have the kids stay in one room while you hide the little pumpkins in another room. Then have them come and find the pumpkins! You can give them clues if they are having difficulty. It's also fun to count the pumpkins each time you find one. Then you can see how many you still have left to find.
You can also play this game outside, and even hide them in the leaves!

Halloween Parade

With kids dressed in costume, take a walk around the neighbourhood, wishing everyone a Happy Halloween. You can bring musical shakers or other noise-makers to make a real commotion!

Pumpkin Bowling

Materials:

3 of your large, plastic recyclable bottles
1 small pumpkin

Instructions:

Stand the 3 bottles up, close together. Have each child take a turn rolling the pumpkin and trying to knock them down.

Pumpkin Rolling

Materials:

one small pumpkin per child

Instructions:

This is probably best done as an outdoor game. Have children stand a few feet apart and side by side. See who can roll their pumpkin the farthest. It is also a great game to play at the top of a hill.

Halloween Puzzles

Gather paper cut-outs of Halloween objects. They can be hand-made or store bought. Cut the objects into 2 or 3 pieces to make a simple Halloween themed puzzle.

Other

colour Halloween themed pages
stick Halloween stickers to little paper books, squares of Bristol Board or to a large paper (collage of stickers)
Halloween themed crafts and food ideas can be found on my site by clicking "Halloween Crafts and Activities" under "Browse Posts"

Healthy Halloween Dinner Recipe: Meatball Spiders

2011-11-01T21:58:00.000-04:00

So, if you know anything about spiders you will pick up on my mistake right away. Yes, spiders have 8 legs, not 6. Oops. But you will correct this when you try it, right?

This dinner idea is simple. Throw some cooked spaghetti on a plate to represent the spider's web. Use a medium to large sized meatball to represent the spider's body. For the spider's legs, use cooked carrots, cut into thin sticks of appropriate length. Lean them onto the spider's "body".

Tell the kids they're having spiders for dinner. Yum!

Healthy Halloween Snack Idea: "Fruit Monsters!"

2011-11-01T14:58:00.000-04:00

You can provide a healthy desert or snack before they go trick-or-treating and eat all that candy! Simply make a scary face on a plate, out of fruit. I used peach slices, halved strawberries, banana slices and halved grapes. I'm not terribly artistic, so I'm sure that many of you can do much better than this! It's just such an easy, healthy option, and the kids love it!

Healthy Halloween Snack Idea: "Halloween Fruit"

2011-11-01T14:50:00.000-04:00

On a day when you know your kids will be getting lots of junk food, here's a fun, Halloween themed, easy, healthy option. I call it Halloween Fruit because it has the colours of Halloween (more or less). Simply mix slices of clementines and raisins together. Done!

Halloween Recipe: Jack-O-Lantern Cookies

2011-11-01T14:26:00.001-04:00

I originally got this idea by taking "this and that" from different cookie recipes. Then I continued to change the recipe so much as I went along that I think I can now safely call it my own.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter (1/4 of pkg.)
4 teaspoons of milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
3/4 cup of sugar
3 cups of flour
orange food colouring (mix 12 drops of red with 10 drops of yellow)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
chocolate chips
pumpkin or circle shaped cookie cutter
spray oil

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Lightly spray a cookie sheet with oil.
Mix soft butter with a fork until it's fluffy.
Add sugar, egg, milk, vanilla, and food colouring. Mix well.
Mix in the flour, salt and baking powder until well blended.
Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Cut out shapes using the cookie cutter, and carefully place them onto the cookie sheet.
Use the chocolate chips to make faces.
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
Let cool for 5-10 minutes.

*Makes about 12 cookies.

Healthy Halloween Recipe: Jack-O-Lantern Sandwiches

2011-10-31T15:12:00.001-04:00

Ingredients:

whole wheat pita bread
cheddar cheese
cooked peas
pumpkin or circle cookie cutter

Instructions:

Use a pumpkin cookie cutter to cut pumpkin shapes out of pita bread
Slice cheddar cheese and place it onto the pumpkin, to that every spot except the stem is covered.
Put it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to melt the cheese.
Place the peas on the pita with melted cheese to make a face
Place the jack-o-lantern sandwiches on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 4-5 minutes on 350 degrees.

*If making ahead, after step 4, separate the sandwiches with wax paper and place in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Complete with step 5 when you are ready to serve them.