GETTING KIDS IN THE KITCHEN: Easy Cheesy Bread Rolls

Hello, everyone! How was your dinner last night? Ours was delicious. We had chicken soup with cheesy bread rolls, which was made with the kids! 

When I told my daughter we were going to bake together, she got so excited. Big smile across her face, jumping and down, shouting, "YEAH YEAH YEAH!" She loves to help. It makes her feel like a big girl. My son didn't really care until we actually started making them. Then, he wanted in on everything. 

We used an extremely basic recipe. These guys are both under four, and there are two of them, so things get real messy and hectic, real quick. I asked my husband to take photos of our endeavor- I love the man, but he seemed to enjoy taking candid photos of my face more than his designated task.

 

 

At least he had fun, right?

For this recipe, we just used a premade raw dough from Basha's. You can honestly use any recipe. I am not going to go all out and say, "Here is my very own made-from-scratch sprinkled with love bread rolls recipe," because it is not that. It's sprinkled with love, but that's all. The point was to get two toddlers excited about cooking, and this certainly helped with that. I have plenty of original recipes, I promise! Those just tend to be desserts. Maybe I'll share them someday. Maybe. If you're good ;)

Anyway, you can also just use crescent roll dough, pizza crush dough, whatever. Our whole house actually really likes Basha's crust dough. It has a great flavor and always bakes nicely chewy and fluffy. My dad uses it for stromboli, and it's amazing. We then just used butter, shredded cheese, garlic powder, rosemary, black pepper, and paprika. No real measuring involved this time. We had to be quick, and we wanted the kids to have fun so they want to get involved more.

First thing we did was melt some butter and spread it around on the pan. I totally misjudged the size of the pan, but it got the job done, and it did provide more room for the kids to work without getting flour all over the table. The large size basically worked as a tray, so that worked in our favor.

 

After that, the kids had fun playing with the dough and rolling it into balls (and yes, they washed their hands first). It was pretty sticky, so we added flour to their hands as well as the bottom of the pan.

 

This part got messy, but they enjoyed it. It is a good sensory experience for little ones, with the powdery flour, the sticky dough, and the slippery butter, if your kids rub their hands in it like mine did. Rolling the dough into balls does help work with their coordination. They really do not have to be perfect, either. This is something for them to make without much room for failure. A successful recipe will encourage them to do more.

 Aferward, my daughter poured on melted butter and my son spread it around with the basting brush. Teamwork, right?

 

He also helped eat the cheese after Luna helped dump it on.

Both of them added seasonings (my son likes to help add seasonings onto things. He'll even dump salt and pepper onto my food when he thinks I need it).

As you can see, they really enjoyed themselves. 

I wasn't able to get a photo of the baked result. They were pretty much eaten as soon as they came out of the oven. My brothers all loved the rolls, and hearing their praises really gave them a confidence boost. Here's an image of them before they were baked, though.

 

Not bad for a couple of toddlers, right?

They came out very fluffed up with a great texture. They were gone pretty darn quickly. The important thing, however, is that the kids got involved. When you're working with little bitty ones, a full on from scratch recipe can be overwhelming, especially if the kids have any sort of spectrum issues. It can be time consuming, and they can get bored easily. This was short enough for them to enjoy the whole process, which leaves them wanting more. A very basic and simple recipe leaves little room for error, which means they won't be discouraged. Over time, they will learn trial and error, but right now, the goal is to get them to enjoy working in the kitchen. They had fun, they contributed, they enjoyed the end results, and they loved the encouragement from their uncles and grandparents. 

What recipes did you first make as a kid? What recipes do you make with your kids now?

KIDS SHOW REVIEW: Leapfrog Letter Factory Adventures: Counting On Lemonade

 Good day, everyone! This post is going to be a review that focuses on an educational children's show from the Leapfrog company, "Leapfrog Letter Factory Adventures: Counting on Lemonade." I understand a lot of parents do not wish to give their kids television, or at least wish to keep it to a minimum. However, I also understand that some kids learn better through shows, especially if they are still learning to read. If you are looking for a good, clean show that actually teaches for the times you do want or need to give the kids something to watch, this is a good option.

This is currently available on Netflix, however, Netflix changes its instant watch options frequently. If you do not want to take the risk of it being taken down, or if you do not have Netflix or the instant watch feature, you can purchase the DVD and Digital set on Amazon for $8 with Prime.

The show is 35 minutes long. As you can see on the box image above, it says it teaches counting to 20, addition, and subtraction. Now, to be honest, I get very skeptical about kid shows. So many of them claim to be educational, but I honestly feel like many really just dumb down kids. There is a difference between being simple for kids to understand, and making it so mind-numbingly easy that it takes away the critical thinking and common sense. Teaching things like critical thinking, logic, noticing patterns, etc are just as critical, because those are things they will need their entire lives, and they will make learning future subjects so much easier. Not to mention, the differences between teaching how to use math and logic, and simply teaching memorization. This is why I am extremely picky about which "educational" shows my kids watch. With that said, I do feel that this show is beneficial to kids, and for more reasons than just teaching what it claims to teach.

The basic premise of this show is that a set of twins, Tad and Lily, feel their library options are lacking. They decide to sell lemonade to raise money to buy books for the library. During their endeavor, they learn how to count to twenty, how to add and subtract, and more, all by making lemonade to sell. Not by books, but by working with friends and family.

Now, I have to say... this actually really makes me happy to see. It has many messages about learning by doing and getting hands on. This episode even states that math is part of every day life, by using examples such as seeing five squirrels at a park, until one runs away, then you see four, which is subtraction. They create their own lemonade recipe by counting lemons, cups of water, and cups of sugar, then by multiplying that recipe by two to create a bigger amount. After they create a recipe everyone enjoys, they work together to make a stand that represents what they are selling by using items that are bright yellow, like lemons. While selling their lemonade, they also teach about charging more for bigger sizes and giving change.

Now, with that said, they do not use actual currency. They just go by the amount of coins. A small costs one coin, a medium costs two, a large costs three.While this can get kids excited about making money, this is certainly not a show meant to teach kids how to be little entrepreneurs.

When they teach addition and subtraction, they don't just say, "1 + 1 = 2," and so forth. They show the characters counting with fingers, they teach how to use logic and patterns to see how addition and subtraction are opposites of each other, and how X + Y is the same as Y + X. They go into simple, yet detailed explanations, often with songs (which must be fun because my son tries to sing them).

On top of their goal of teaching math, they briefly, but frequently, touch up on other things, such as using coordinating colors on their stand, a quick spelling lesson, and moments of sharing and forgiveness. They even have a scene where the twins hold the robot's hand to cross the street, carefully.

Now, lets look at one more thing... the "hidden" messages. I believe most parents feel like certain shows risk teaching kids inappropriate behaviors, whether the show "meant" to or not. *cough Caillou *cough* So, does this show have any extra lessons that kids can pick up on? What is there to learn from reading between the lines?

Honestly, I can't really think of anything bad. While these kids are technically selling things without permission by parents, parents are not shown. Instead, they are supervised by who I think is the twins' older brother who seems to be maybe of young teen age, and by an adult robot. While some may see this as a down side since parents should be involved whenever possible, the older brother, Leap, is heavily involved with their actions and both encourages and guides them through their goals. He allows them to ask questions, think of a solution, and assist if they need it. Personally, I think that is a good way to teach kids. An example is when the twins were expressing their frustrations about the library not having what they were looking for, he suggested they donate books, but the twin Tad was the one who thought of the idea to sell lemonade.

Now, for my favorite "hidden" message...

I strongly believe in solving community problems on your own. We can either sign petitions hoping that politicians will listen someday and maybe force taxpayers to fund things whether they agree with it or not, or we can encourage people to band together to fix issues willingly and from the heart. They did not start a rally or a petition to get more funding, they spent some time making their own lemonade to sell to happy customers, then bought the books themselves. Even better, at the end, they received extra books by people who were inspired by their thoughtful actions.

Now, of course, not all attempts have happy endings like this, but many do. There are hundreds of people local to you who would be more than happy to donate for a good cause, especially if it's started by kids honestly trying to help others. Donating books may seem small, but it actually can be a huge blessing, especially for other home schooling kids and parents.

So, in summary, what is there to be learned from this show?

•Counting from 1 to 20
•Various, simple ways to remember how to add and subtract.
•That math can not only be used in every day things, but also learned from everyday things.
•If you can help, do it, because others will appreciate it and often be inspired to help, too.
•Helping can be fun, especially with supportive friends and family.
•Helping your community is not only rewarding to society, but also rewarding for yourself, since meeting your goal is a great feeling.
•If you are an older sibling, your younger siblings will greatly benefit and appreciate your time to encourage and assist them.
•A quick reminder to take someone's hand when crossing the street and look both ways.
•If someone young accidentally messes something up, forgive them, and allow them to try to help fix the situation.
•Many valuable lessons can be learned by hands on experiences.
•Teamwork can be powerful!

 What coordinating lessons and experiences can you create?

•Work together to create your own lemonade recipe! Experiment with using extra fruits for different flavors. Create recipes by adding and subtracting amounts of ingredients. Teach fractions by adding and subtracting halves, quarter cups, etc. Multiply and divide to create bigger and smaller batches.
•Look for ways to help your community. Contact your local library, animal shelter, art classes, and others to see what kinds of things they need. Next time you are at the store, help them track down what different things cost so they can get an idea of how much they need to raise. Or, you can even help them donate things they do not need anymore to a local shelter. Another option is to make drinks or snacks to an organization that already focuses on aiding others as a way to say thank you.
•Contact local organizations and see about working with them to run a local bake sale to raise money for things needed. Lemonade will work, too, especially in warmer seasons, but you will want variety for that sort of thing. Allow them to design their own signs, so they learn about coordinating images and colors with their products, and what attracts customers.
•Play pretend. There is nothing wrong with simply pretending to run a lemonade stand, especially if you do not have readily available transportation, or if your kids are too little to really get involved with the community yet. They can still greatly benefit from playing lemonade stand by practicing serving customers, learning how to give change, learning how to price things, designing signs, and building stands. In fact, practice play would be great to do for a while before attempting the real thing. Allow them to practice taking orders and feeling comfortable with socializing with customers. These are skills they will use in the real world for the rest of their lives.

In general, this show does have many beneficial lessons for kids of many ages, especially if you assist them and get them involved with hands on experiences.

You can find the DVD on Amazon here.

BOOK REVIEW: National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Animals

Hello, everyone. Thanks for checking out my first review! 

First, let me say, I tried doing a video for this, but apparently, a few minutes of video will take over six hours to upload into YouTube. I suppose until I have access to a better internet connection, videos will just have to wait. I am sitting here, allowing it to upload simply to see how long it actually will take, but I do not have much hope.

So, in the mean time, I will stick with photos, blogs, and tweets. Oh well. More time to get over my stage fright, right? Back to business.

Today, one of the first items I have ordered for home schooling my kids came in, and that would be the National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Animals (National Geographic Little Kids First Big Books) by Catherine D. Hughes. 

I ordered this from eBay in used, good condition for about $6 shipped, but you can order this new from Amazon for about $10 (with free shipping, if you have Prime).  

I know it says, "First," but it really isn't for infants. It is hardcover, but the pages are paper, not board. I believe the intended age range is 4-5, although I would say that could drop to 3-5. The pages are all gorgeous. Each one is bright and colorful with stunning images of various wildlife. In addition to the pictures, they all have a few simple facts about each creature, including how big they grow to be, how many babies they birth, where they live, and other fun tidbits. Each animal has about 2-4 pages dedicated to them. They are also separated by habitat- Ocean, Forest, Desert, etc. The book is over 100 pages long- definitely a big book for a little kid.

Precious photos of baby animals are quite frequent, too.

There are a couple other features about this book I like quite a lot. One of them is the Parent Tips section towards the back of the book. Inside, you will find very easy and fun activities to do with your child, and each one is coordinated with one of the animals in the book. They also work with different senses, subjects, and skills. Many of them are very simple, like make juice pops while you learn about camels, or watch videos of polar bears online. Others are more in depth, like discuss what different colors represent in wildlife and to humans. 

So, on top of fun lessons on animals around the world, you also get about 30 different extra things to do with your kids. The best part is how different they all are. You get things that work with art, math, critical thinking, observations, and more. That is about a month's worth of  basic biology while incorporating other educational subjects. You know what else is great? There are many more of these books like this. There are ones about space, dinosaurs, the ocean, bugs, and even ones on history and other sciences. I do not have those yet, but I did order the bug one and the dinosaur one. They should be in by next week, and when they come in, I will be sure to check those out and post about them. Although, really, this book is over 100 pages long. It has plenty of information to make a young child want to read it again and again, so you are certainly in no huge rush to purchase them all.

And, again... baby animals! Who wouldn't want to go back to look at them?

So, lets discuss... How can you get the most out of this book?

Well, it's already pretty darn handy, especially with the Parent Tips. Of course, that isn't all you can do with this book! Other things you can do are:

•Make this book last the year. Dedicate each week to an animal in the book. Have them do various crafts throughout the week. On Seal Week, let them help you make a lunch or dinner with things seals eat! Give them some paper to write and draw a picture book about meerkats on Meerkat week. Find a documentary on YouTube or Netflix about giraffes on Giraffe week. The possibilities are endless! Of course, don't forget the Parent Tips in the book. That will give you a project for the day right there.

•Create little versions of their homes! Dig some holes for meerkats, make spider webs out of string, build a nest like an owl, make a cave fort, or even just paint their habitats.

•Teach about the weather! You can learn about these different animals based on the time of year, and do what these creatures do to survive in the conditions. Put on extra layers of clothes, more than usual in the winter, to represent seals and their blubber, or faux fur coats like a polar bear. Take them for a hike in the summer (not in dangerous heats, obviously) and stash a back pack with energy-enriching foods and plenty of water to represent how a camel's hump helps them survive in the harsh deserts.

•Make masks and put on a play about what animals do to eat, where they sleep, and how they avoid being hunted.

•If a week per animal is too long, make it a week about the continent and include all the animals. This works as a geography lesson on top of a biology lesson. Research together how these animals live together, may it be in peace side by side, or as hunter and prey. 

Speaking of continents...

The book even has a little map of where the animals live. Obviously, it isn't super detailed, but these are little kids we're talking about.

Overall, this is an excellent book for kids curious about wildlife around the globe. There are plenty of educational activities to base around this one book alone. I would definitely recommend this, and I will keep you updated on the other ones I get.

Meanwhile, you can buy this new from Amazon through here.