Cooking with Kids

Baking and cooking with kids can be a lot of fun, especially if you have the right recipes which are both fun and easy to make. Younger kids love helping mom or dad in the kitchen, and older kids will feel a great sense of responsibility if they make a dish all by themselves. And, kids are more likely to try new foods if they have helped to prepare them! Here, we take a look at some fun recipes for kids to cook at home.

Chocolate Mug Cake

This is one of the easiest and quickest ways to bake a cake, and they are cooked in the microwave meaning kids can bake them by themselves without having to worry about using the oven. Typically, all the ingredients are mixed together, before the batter is poured into a mug and zapped in the microwave for a minute – it doesn’t get any easier! Kids will love how quickly they will be able to eat the cake too, no more waiting half an hour for it to bake!

No Bake Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of the easiest cakes to make, and kids love it! To make it even easier, you can buy ready-made pie crusts so you just need to mix together the filling and leave it to chill for a few hours. No bake cheesecake is a great dish to make with little kids too – it's safe (and yummy!) to lick the spoon after mixing and you don’t have to worry about them consuming raw egg.

Pancakes Baked in a Muffin Tin

Pancake batter is a breeze to make, but cooking and flipping them can be a challenge, even for adults who have had some practice! Thankfully, you can make pancakes in mini muffin pans which takes the hassle out of trying to cook them perfectly! Kids can easily mix together the batter, and mom or dad can supervise their use of the oven.

Slow Cooker Casserole

Crock pot recipes are great for making with kids – these recipes can show kids how easy it is to make a delicious home cooked meal, which will hopefully set them in good habits for when they go to college. Kids can help with simple veg prep (younger kids can wash them whilst older kids can chop) as well as opening cans of beans or tomatoes and adding water. Crock pot soups and casseroles are generally healthy too, so the whole family can enjoy a delicious and nutritious meal with less hassle.

Quesadillas

This yummy dish is popular with kids and adults alike and is so easy to make. Kids can top their tortillas with their favorite fillings, whilst mom or dad can help with the grilling. This is a great dish to make with children of all ages – it's perfect for when friends come over too, as everyone can choose their own fillings so even fussy eaters can find something they will enjoy!

About the Author

Emily is a mom to three-year-old Daisy, as well as an ever-growing family of cats. Daisy is the inspiration behind Emily’s new venture into the world of blogging, parenting review site WhooopsADaisy.com. Here, you will find great gift ideas for kids of all ages, as well as reviews of some essential baby and kids products and toys.

5 Fun Easter Crafts and Activities Your Kids Will Love

Today we have a guest post for Easter Crafts for Kids! Corinne Jacob contacted me an asked if she could write a post sharing these crafts! I was so excited to see what she came up with and can't wait to try a few with my own kids!

Now on to her post!

The days leading up to Easter are always fun. They are mostly spent planning Easter meals, engaging kids in exciting Easter activities and chalking up guest lists with your partner. While everything can be done in peace when you're back home from work, managing the kids while you’re planning the festivities sounds like an uphill task, doesn't it? Here are 5 Easter crafts and activities that the kids will gleefully take part in while you can get down to your Easter planning.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brian-m/539011691

The Countdown Eggs

This is an excellent Easter activity to get kids on their toes. You will need a dozen Easter eggs, Easter grass, an egg carton with 12 holders, a black marker with nontoxic ink, candies, and 12 quick activities. You can use these activities if your hands are full with Easter planning and you don’t have time to come up with unique ideas for the activities!

1. Memorize an Easter poem and say it at dinnertime
2. Draw paisleys on an Easter egg.
3. Help Mama bake the Easter cake.
4. Make fresh fruit juices for the family because they are tired from Easter planning.
5. Solve an Easter worksheet online.
6. Complete an Easter craft.
7. Clean your room.
8. Learn to make a simple Easter dish for the family.
9. Write a short journal on the history and traditions of Easter. Support your journal with pictures.
10. Learn how to create a “blow out egg”.
11. Make paper bags to give out Easter gifts in them.
12. Solve an Easter puzzle.

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/benimoto/3463371760

Stuff the egg carton with Easter grass. Write the numbers 1-12 on the 12 Easter eggs. Stuff each egg with candies and a strip of paper that will have an activity. Invite the kids to crack open an egg very day, beginning on the 12^th day leading up to Easter. The surprise candies and the ‘Easter Activity of the Day’ inside each Easter egg is sure to keep the little ones both excited and busy, at least for as many hours as it takes to finish the activity! Don’t be surprised if your kids start waking up early as they look forward to cracking open an egg every morning to discover the goodies inside.

Tea Cup from Easter Eggs

Don’t you find it quite a waste when you throw away those colorful, plastic Easter egg halves? Involve kids in this Easter craft and get new set of plastic tea cups ready for the next tea party at home with those throwaway plastic halves. You will need the pointy Easter egg halves and not the rounder ones for this craft. You will also need a hot glue gun, large buttons, ribbons, rhinestones, glitter, paints, and the likes.

Help the kids glue a button to the bottom of each half to make it stable. Please use the hot glue gun carefully with children around. Soon after the glue sets in, start decorating the cups. You can line the rim with ribbons, doodle with paints, glue rhinestones, and sprinkle glitter on the outside of the cups to bring them alive. Not only will you have a new set of tea cups ready in no time, but you will also have a busy child feeling contented at her work of art at the end of it!

Easter Garland

If you’re looking to do up your spacious living room with a splash of colors this Easter, then here is a great idea. Get the kids to cut out eggs from color cards (easily available at hardware stores) and string them together to form a string of colorful Easter eggs. Simple but fun, this activity will also sharpen the kids’ hand-eye coordination. First, use a template to cut out an egg from a piece of cardboard. Then, trace the egg at the back of each card making sure the white line on the color card is in the center. Invite the kids to cut out the eggs from the cards. Punch two holes near the pointy top of the egg and have the kids string waxed cotton through the holes to hold the color card eggs together. Your Easter garland is ready to cheer up your mantelpiece, chest of drawers, the ceiling or the doorway!

Easter Egg Photo Frame

It’s time you put those colorful Easter eggshells into good use and involve the kids in this process. You will need those eggs which you've already blown dry and colored their shells. Crumble up the shells in a bowl and mix them to get a lovely assortment of pastel colored eggshells. Take a photo frame that has a plain and simple border. Apply glue onto the frame, take a piece of eggshell and help the kids press it firmly onto the frame. Don’t fret if the shell cracks; the mosaic look is quite desired. Besides, the kids would love the sound of eggshells cracking beneath their fingers!  Continue to add shells on the glue till the whole frame is filled with them. Wait till they dry before you can use the photo frame.

Paper Tube Egg Holders

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jarrodtrainque/4545914646

How cute do the pastel-shaded Easter eggs look when placed on equally cute holders? Make some of these egg holders from empty toilet paper tubes with the kids. You will need empty toilet paper tubes, acrylic paints, buttons, stapler, ribbons, glue, and other decorations you like to make these holders in a jiffy. Use a knife to cut the tube into two halves. Hand over both the halves to the kids to paint them. Help the kids to cut out ears from one half of the tube. Use glue to glue on the ears on the inside of the other half. Ask the kids to add buttons for the bunny eyes and a bow, made from ribbons, for the bunny mouth. Feel free to use markers to draw whiskers and eyelashes. Stuff the holders with Easter grass and place the eggs on them. The holders are ready in no time!

I hope you find these ideas useful. I’d love to hear your feedback and ideas on other Easter crafts that my little ones would enjoy.

Author Bio:

Corinne Jacob is a wannabe writer who is convinced that kids learn best when they’re having fun. She is constantly on the lookout for new and exciting ways to make learning an enjoyable experience. Corinne loves all things that scream out un-schooling, alternative education and holistic learning.

What Is Baby Sign Language And My Experiences

Misty from Baby Sign Language is here today to explain what Baby Sign Language and her experiences with it.

Baby Sign Language is an incredibly cool way to teach your baby how to communicate. Using simple signs, derived from American Sign Language (ASL), babies and toddlers can learn how to tell you what they want and feel way before verbal skills are possible. Learning to sign with your baby is really easy – you just need a few simple signs to start with, and you need to practice, practice, practice.

I started to sign with my baby when she was about six months old. I’d heard about it from a friend and although I was skeptical I thought I’d give it a try. My little girl, Jamie, was such a handful – I didn’t know what to do with her. I was attracted to Baby Signing because I’d heard it helped with bonding, giving mom and baby something special to do together.

We went to a class at first, but I didn’t enjoy it because Jamie would just cry through the whole thing. I learned enough to be able to practice at home. We had the sign for Mommy and the sign for Milk. We also learned the signs for Dog, Cold and Sleepy. I signed every day with Jamie – when I was feeding her, when we did chores, out shopping. I got a few funny looks from people! Jamie seemed to enjoy it – mommy being very silly – but I didn’t really think she was learning anything.

Her favorite sign seemed to be milk. How you do this sign is: Take both hands, make them into a fist, relax, and repeat. The sign for Milk is a lot like milking a cow, but without the vertical motion – just squeezing the udder. Jamie would get really excited when she saw this sign so I knew she got it – she understood the sign for milk. One day, when we’d been signing for about two months, I noticed she was making little fists and bouncing up and down. She was making the sign for milk! I was amazed. It really worked. Jamie was telling me she was hungry.

Signing also helped with our bonding. It gave me something to do with her when I was struggling to find a way to cope. Once she began to communicate back to me I was so proud – this made me learn new signs and practice with her even more. She rewarded me by making the sign for Mommy by the time she was a year old, and then there was no stopping her.

Another trick I learned was using flash cards. Flash cards are traditionally used to teach pre-school children new words, letters and numbers, and are just as effective a tool for helping babies master new signs. Obviously it is best to have the object you are signing right there in front of you and baby – if you are signing Mommy, for example, use the real mommy not a flash card. But flash cards are helpful when the object is not present. If you are learning the sign for Dog, you need to repeat the sign often for baby to learn it. This could be difficult if you don’t own a dog! Using a flash card for Dog is a great way to overcome this.

example of a flashcard

Now Jamie is two and doesn’t have as many tantrums as my neighbor’s toddler. I’m sure this is because she has lots of ways of communicating with me and doesn’t get frustrated. Baby Signing definitely worked for us.

To get more info on Baby Sign Language check out this amazing site: http://www.babysignlanguage.com/

Thanks Misty for this post!! What a great set of resources for moms that are interested in Baby Sign Language!