halloween fun: chocolate covered candy corn cookies

 I adore candy corn. Seriously adore it. I adore it so much I made up my own cookie recipe that quite perfectly carries the buttery sweetness of this holiday treat. I'm sure many folk out there have baked up candy corn cookies. I'm not saying mine are better or anything, but I encourage you to try 'em. Your kiddos can join in the fun by helping you measure, mix the dough and shape the cookies themselves.

The first thing you will need to do is to grab some chocolate chips and melt them down either in the microwave or a double broiler. Once you have a gooey mness o' melted chocolate, toss in a cup of candy corn and stir to coat. Once coated, spread out in a single layer on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper and pop it into the freezer. While your chocolate covered candy corn chills, you can get your kiddos' hands washed and mix up the dough.

Ingredients 

*1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened to almost melted) 

*1 cup white sugar 

*1 5.1 or 5.2 oz box of vanilla pudding mix

*1 tsp vanilla 

*2 eggs

*1 tsp baking soda 

*2 T corn starch 

*2 cups of flour 

*pinch of salt 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Combine the pudding mix and sugar and add your super soft, almost melted butter and mix with an electric mixer until pale.

2. Add your eggs and vanilla and mix a bit more. Remove mixer and grab a wooden spoon.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt and baking soda. Slowly add to your sugar/egg mixture and mix with the wooden spoon until combine.

4. Safely away from the wee fingers of your kiddos, chop up the chocolate covered candy corn and mix in about 2/3 into the cookie dough.

5. Roll a blob of dough into a ball about the size of a large marble and pop a bit of candy corn magic on top, sprinkle with a wee bit of sugar and press down flat with the bottom of a dry measure cup or small drinking glass.

6. Place on cookie sheet about 1 1/2" apart and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will puff up and then flatten out once cool.

 You can skip the coating in chocolate part but then your candy corn will melt and ooze out of the dough proper. The chocolate keeps it tucked inside and adds a bit of kick. when I first made these I had wanted to use brown sugar but was out of it so I made do and we all think this recipe turned out just dandy. Enjoy!

First Day of (Pre) School Blues

Howdy folks! It being September here in the states generally means "Back to School" time. For a good number of parents out there you may be experiencing your very first back-to-school moment as you send your tiniest of tots off to preschool. As your wee one toddles away and you feel the tears a-comin' you may wonder if you picked the right kind of school. I suppose there is good reason to worry what with all the Montessori, Reggio, Waldorf, Play Based and fancy-schmancy schools out there but I want to tell you a little secret...as long as your kiddo finds joy in their center, has caregivers and teachers that find joy in their students and there is communication between everyone involved, it's all good and it's all going to be ok.

Children are magnificent learners and brilliant to boot. All children are no matter their abilities. Finding a center that makes your heart sing and your kiddo smile is the most important tidbit you need to focus on. Once you have that figured out, you can carry on a search for what style of schooling you think you AND your child will benefit most from. I've known parents who were all about Waldorf but their kiddos were more Play Based. I've worked with children in Play-Based schools that found peace through the rhythms of Montessori, so it is very important to pay close attention to your child and how they processes information. Not every child (or person for that matter) acquires knowledge in the same way.

I've spent more than a decade studying and researching different approaches and theories to early childhood education and have developed a few of my own ideas and ideals as to what I believe in regarding how children learn. As I said, first and foremost, children are extremely CAPABLE and quite brilliant and given the right tools (for them) they can grow to be extremely capable and brilliant adults. I believe any type of education is a good thing but finding the right fit can make it even better. In the next few months, I hope to bring to you more of my ideas and share my favorite theories and projects. It's the organizing of all this information in my head that makes it most difficult for me but I think that if I can't get it out of the noggin soon, I just very well may burst! So here, in a nutshell is my number one piece of advice for you to share with your kiddos, no matter their age:

Love to learn.

No matter what the learning may be about, show a great love for the discovery of new things. Cook a new recipe, read a new book, plant a new plant, or learn a new word. Just go for it and try something or learn something new today that you didn't know yesterday. Make it a habit and make the reflection on your new-found knowledge a habit as well. This world is full of amazing and wonderful things and all of it is out there for you to grab it!

crafting for craft: bento style art box

Get the scoop at craftzine!

crafting for craft: noodle monsters!

Check out the tutorial here!

Build Your Own Adventure Bag

One of the neatest things you can equip your kiddos' with for when they are out in the "wild" is an adventure bag full of fun.

I whipped up these bags from scrap fabric pieces and burlap I had floating about but you can use any pre-made bag. Having a strap so that the bag hangs cross-wise over the body is probably best. That is how both ander and zaza wore theirs. One that is not-so-fancy and water proof-ish is a good idea as well.

Here's what we put inside the bags:

*pack of gum

*handmade book or notebook

*stickers

*small plastic baggies for collecting

*whistle

*magnifying glass

*paper clips

*pencil & sharpener

*sharpie

*index cars & tags

revisiting a classic: tin-can telephone

Did ya know that tin-can telephones work just as well with styrofoam cups? We had some cups from a recent eatery visit so we brought them home with us and used fishing line and they worked! Now they're even more customizable. Break out the markers and get to tinkering!

garden time

It's down to the wire and I am far past cutting it close but I wanted to encourage those of you in the states to plant pumpkins! July 4th is generally a good reminder for a last date to get some seeds started but I suppose if you are not going for a world record, why not start some now? One vine is all you need to produce a handful of the happy gourds and the variety out there to choose from is extraordinary so why not grab some potting soil, an egg carton and a pack or two of seeds and begin?

I have had two packs of seed lazing about a bowl in the garden patiently waiting to be dunked in soil. I also have an ENORMOUS vine taking over the yard that currently has three not-so tiny pumpkins ballooning from its curly tendrils. Methinks the seed will wait until next year. Like I mentioned up there, all ya need is one vine. They can grow massive and quite beastly but they are super cool and there is much to view when given a chance.

Pumpkin vines are prickly to the touch. Not overly painful but prickly enough to want to wear gloves or be careful when handling the beast. The blossoms open quite early in the morning and you may often find a lone bee cozying up inside. The pollen of a pumpkin plant is quite attractive to bees, I have especially noticed the awkward black bumblebees bouncing about from orange blossom to orange blossom. The stems are hollow and the tiny tendrils and leaves that form have a mightier than mighty grip as they curl about stray garden gnomes, tools and furniture.

To tame your vine, you can liberate the stems that have not produced any blossoms. If you take a gander everyday you will notice that once the flowers poop out, a baby pumpkin takes its place. Each seed will produce one vine which will sprout secondary vines. Keep an eye on your main vine and prune out the secondaries. Once your main vine gets a handful of pumpkins popping up, you can pinch off the end to prevent more from growing thus rescuing your garden from complete pumpkin invasion.

To harvest, use garden shears to liberate your prized squash. do this 5-6" away from the fruit so that you have a delightful stem. Set in a cool dry place until carving or baking time. Pumpkins like sunlight and heat so if yer getting close to frosty temps, harvest sooner than later. There are all sorts of websites out there devoted to pumpkins and they all read fairly technical-like. Our pumpkins tend to be volunteers from the compost pile so we know where they like to grow. By starting your seeds inside and then replanting a few all over the place you will hopefully find a location that the happy sprouts enjoy. The only other thing i can add (until I remember more) is that after a while, powdery mildew may set in thus making your happy pumpkin vine look a little less than happy. Stick with it and harvest as soon as your pumpkins turn orange, though we have been known to pick em green and watch them turn orange as they ripen. We also do not use pesticides and would recommend you do not either. Cucumber beetles might move in like gang busters but if yer not growing any large food crops you can simply flick them off with your fingers.

And if pumpkins aren't your thing, plant something else whether it is food (strawberries & lettuce!) or flowers (sunflowers!), getting your hands dirty in the name of gardening is generally a delightful thing.

More pumpkin growing info:

kiddie gardens

flower garden news
pumpkin nook

have dough? add sprinkles!

Do you remember this recipe? With a little yellow cake mix magic, I turned 'em into cake batter sugar buns! Sooo good!

July 4th: newspaper pom-poms

I am sure there are oodles of tutorials out there for paper pom-poms but I have one for you anyway using the swath of painted newspaper I did up earlier. It's really easy and will give yer kiddos something to do between melty popsicles and fireworks. Here's how I did it.

Grab a sheet of painted up newspaper. One large piece is a good start. Cut or tear it in half and then in half again.

Fold each piece in half width-wise and cut up from open-edges almost to the fold every finger-width or so. The thinner the cuts, the pommier the poms.

 Take two cut pieces for each pom and smoosh them into each other while still folded. Tuck into a painted or paper covered cardboard tube and staple or tape into place. You may wish to use a bit of double stick tape or glue here. A little shaking can shake all sorts of shakey paper loose. Next,  fold tube in half length-wise and staple again to create a handle.  If you wish, decorate the handle with stickers and other bits of fun.

Take yer new poms out and go a little rah-rah crazy. Happy 4th!

paint some newspaper today

for craft making tomorrow...
*paper hats
*bunting

*wreaths
*collages

and stay tuned for newspaper pom-poms (my paper is still drying)!

make a july 4th garland!

 I designed this project for craftzine for us crafty grown-ups but you can totally tweak it so yer wee ones can play as well. They can paint up the bunting bits after you have added the tap as well as smoosh up the cupcake liner and glue things in place. The how to can be found over  at craftzine.

guest blogging: Skip to My Lou

Howdy folks! Skip on over to Skip to my Lou for my nifty take on making marbleized prints with shaving cream. Cindy has put together an awesome thirty days of fun with this summer's skip to My Lou {Craft Camp} so if painting is not your thing there is sure to be something to delight ya! Happy Crafting!

guest blogging: The Crafty Crow

Howdy friends! This month over at The Crafty Crow, Cassi has put together a lovely series called A Book and a Craft. Being that this is right up my alley, I was delighted to be a contributor. Hop on over to check out my project based on a delightful book titled Willow's Whispers.

crafting for craft: make a play camera

This one is for your kiddos! check out the craftzine blog for the tutorial. I'll be back on Tuesday to add a proper link. Happy crafting!

links-a-dilly

As a progressive educator, I am always thrilled to pieces when I come across a kindred soul. Imagine my delirium when I found this awesome link-fest from Jenny of Let the Children Play. Bookmark her post when you get a chance, there is a lot of nifty reading to be found.

Recipe: Cake Batter Cookies

This nifty and super easy recipe has much crowd appeal. You can use any cake mix you like and your kiddos can easily help out. Links can be found over at scrumdillydilly. Have fun!

cake mix, eggs & oil

roll in powdered sugar

on cookie sheet 2" apart

bake 8-10 min

good stuff for kiddos: they might be giants

Happy Birthday Martha Graham

If you've been online today and managed to google anything, you may have noticed the awesome Martha Graham Google icon. Martha Graham was a visionary in contemporary ballet and I urge you to give your kiddos a peek into her life. If you have a chance, check out this book form the library and/or hop on over to books together for a fantastic review and more info on the collaboration between Martha Graham, Aaron Copland and Isamu Noguchi. Youtube also has a few videos of dances she choreographed here and here and a peek at Applachian Spring can be found here.

DIY: Textured Baby Cloths

This week on the long thread you will find all sorts of nifty DIY projects for you to make for your tiny ones. Kicking off the week is a project I created for them. Textured baby cloths! The tutorial can be found at scrumdillydilly but make sure to keep an eye out on the long thread all week!

Mother's Day: Mini Art Round Up

*tape it up

*water it down

*sticky fingers