My daughter had the idea to make a cake for her valentine box for her school class this year. We ended up making a wedding cake and taped pictures of her school teacher and her teacher’s husband over some mega-blocks characters that we placed on top. My husband actually used a caulking gun for the frosting.
The kids were home from school for President’s Day so we had our own Olympic games. Each child chose a country and then made a mascot and got a flag. We had a parade, a lighting of the “torch” (candles), a celebration with snaps and confetti, and made the medals. Then the events started: water balloon throw, paper airplane folding and throw, fishing, balancing an object on head, shooting targets with toy gun, drinking water contest, tiddlywinks, and others. To wrap things up we even had a medals ceremony. So much fun! The kids really enjoyed watching some events on TV, too.
Dip your fingers in acrylic paint and make your own valentines!
What to do on a cold, dreary winter day? Make homemade dolls with a made-up pattern and any materials you have around the house, of course!
I used eyeliner and lipstick for the doll faces and we cut off leggings with holes in the knees to make dresses for them. I didn’t want my son to feel I was favoring the girls, so I let him design an alien pattern and helped him sew it up. I think the girls may have had more fun playing with the batting than they had with the dolls!
I made these with my son and they were really yummy, (and messy!), but fun to make. The peppermint filling can get very sticky, however, so use lots of cornstarch to roll it out on. I also refrigerated them when they were finished to let them set. I tried rolling the filling into balls before dipping into melted chocolate and that works really well, too. They would make a yummy valentine’s treat! I’ve tried a couple of different recipes, but here is the one I tried when I took the pictures: Peppermint Pattie Recipe (Click on any of the images to view larger.)
Amazing how a bowl of water can breathe new life into those old toys! (Click on any of the images to view larger.)
(click on any of the images to view larger)
Baking homemade bread is a big tradition in my family. I use a recipe that my grandma gave me. She has since passed away, and it is so nice to still see her handwritten notes on the recipe she gave me. I feel like she’s with me that way. My grandma used to let my mom and her siblings roll out their own little breads with raisins and sugar. My mom let me and my siblings do it, too. I have so many wonderful memories of doing that with my mom! Now I let my kids roll out their own little breads and add little things into them as well. I still have the bread pans that my grandma and my mom gave me. It seems like a long, tedious process from the grinding of the wheat to the actual baking, but there is great peace and happiness in creating a product that I know my family will love. And there is NOTHING like the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven. At least not to me! Here is the recipe I use that my grandma gave me. It is a very large yield: about 6-8 loaves.
8 cups warm water
3 T yeast
3/4 C honey
3/4 C olive oil
2 C quick oats
12 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 T salt
5 more cups of flour (white or wheat)
1. Put water and honey in mixing bowl
2. Sprinkle yeast on water, let soften a few minutes
3. Add oil
4. Add oatmeal and 6 cups of flour and mix briefly
5. Add 6 more cups of flour and mix well. At this point you may let the mixture rest for a few minutes. It is making a sponge.
6. Add salt (salt slows the growth of yeast so put it in after the sponge.)
7. Add about 5 more cups of flour or enough flour so that the dough doesn’t stick to the bowl as it is mixing. Dough shouldn’t be stiff.
8. Knead dough 7 minutes in the bread mixer or 10-15 minutes by hand
9. Put dough in greased bowl, turn to grease top, cover with a damp cloth and let double in size.
10. Punch dough down and let rise again about 10-20 minutes.
11. Punch down, shape into loaves, put in greased pans
12. Place damp cloth over pans and let rise again for 20 minutes or so.
13. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
14. Remove immediately from pans and cool on racks.
Spread hot slices with butter, honey or whatever you like. Don’t forget a cold glass of milk!
Watercoloring is so much fun. Especially if you draw “mystery pictures” with white crayon onto white paper first, and have your little one paint over the crayon to discover what you drew. Sprinkle a little salt onto a painting or dab a few drops of rubbing alcohol on top of a dried watercolor painting for some cool effects. Happy painting!
All images, text, and content on this site are the sole property of TheDoodleGirl.com and may not be used, copied without the express consent from TheDoodleGirl.com. If you wish to link this site or a post from this site, GREAT! just please give appropriate credit for content. Any other inquiries please contact me via the link above.
