Tribute to the Pancake

Tribute to the Pancake

Kim @ Kids Matter

Pancakes date back as far as ancient Roman times. In the seventeenth century the Dutch used something like a griddle and a flour batter to make them.  Here in America, Aunt Jemima’s boxed pancake mix came out in 1889.  Pancakes are so celebrated that they actually have their own holiday. March 4^th was National Pancake Day.

You can use a boxed mix or make them from scratch.  Pancakes are so easy to make!  My first memory of pancakes is with my dad, when I was about six years old.  I stood on a chair, up against the kitchen counter, and helped Daddy whip up some pancakes.  It is a great memory.  My husband and I use the Aunt Jemima mix and we make them at least once a month with bacon and pecans added.  

You can eat pancakes anytime; breakfast, lunch, dinner, or for a snack.  They even have them already made in the freezer section of your grocery store.   Pancakes are so loved, that some organizations have a Pancake Breakfast for a fundraiser.

Kids love pancakes.  Pancakes are very versatile; you can make faces in them, add anything you want into them, and a variety of things on top of them!  You can add chocolate chips, whipped cream, fruit, or the typical butter and syrup. Oh, and the syrups, there is every flavor you can imagine out there… strawberry, blueberry, and good ol’ maple.  Pancakes are just FUN.

Pancakes can make a rainy day, or any day better. They are a great project to do with your children or grandchildren.  Better yet, if you don’t want to make them yourself, you can always go to IHOP. That’s fun too!

Tiramisu Pancakes

Ingredients:

3 large pancakes

1 c heavy cream

3/4 c sugar, divided

1 pkg cream cheese (8 oz.) room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c espresso, brewed

cocoa powder (for sprinkling on top)

Directions:

1.     In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, 1 cup heavy cream, vanilla and 3/4 cup of sugar. Whip with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.

2.     Lay 1 pancake down on a plate or in a pan and pour Espresso over top of it until pancake is moist, Spread 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture over the top of the pancake. Lay the 2nd pancake on top and pour more of the Espresso on top of that pancake then the cream cheese mixture on top. Repeat with the last pancake, making sure to use the rest of the mixture on top of the pancake. 

 3.  Put the cocoa powder into a small sieve and tap it gently over the pancake to dust the top. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Enjoy!

From The Director’s Chair: How to Cook a Turkey

From The Director’s Chair: How to Cook a Turkey

Julia @ Kids Matter

          As we all know, fall has come! Mother Nature has certainly changed from her short shorts and flip flops and brought in some seriously colder than normal temps! It is October, but we are having November-like weather here in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  Naturally being a HUGE fan of colder weather, I find myself daydreaming of all things fall and winter!

          I am even listening to Christmas music…SHHH! Don’t tell anyone! I am a bit ashamed of it personally, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the holidays! Halloween is upon us and Christmas is 2 months away! But wait! There is a very important fall holiday in between... The ever popular and important Thanksgiving. The American ‘My Diet can sit on a tack’ holiday where we eat, watch football, fight with family, and give thanks for all of the above.

          Now, while you are sitting there flipping through the latest Paula Deen or Martha Stewart mag for new recipes there is a very significant recipe you need to bring to your classrooms. How to Cook a Turkey!

          Preschoolers and Pre-Kindergartners absolutely LOVE this Thanksgiving project. When I was in the classroom, I did this activity every year. We always did journal entries in my classrooms before lunch.  Every day I would give them a topic for their journals. They would draw what their story or entry was about. They would then bring the picture to me or my assistant and we would ask, “Tell me about your picture?” It is vital that you know to ask that question.  Never ask a child, “What is this?”  A child sees it clear as glass for what it is, and they expect you, their mentor, to know as well.

          This now brings me to the journal entry I looked forward to all year. “Class, today’s journal topic is, ‘How to Cook a Turkey.’ I would like for you to think very hard about what you will need to stuff the turkey, how to cook it, and how long it will need to cook. Begin please.”

          For ten minutes, they would color, draw, giggle, and change paper, until they had the best recipe they could muster. I would await their pictures like a kid at Christmas. And soon, I would be awarded with the first drawing. I did this exercise for many years, but one child stands out as being my favorite. I still, to this day, remember every word. I know I must have read it half a million times, and it hung on my bulletin board until Christmas. Now, put those expensive holiday cooking magazines down and follow this recipe to the “T” for turkey!

“How to Cook a Turkey” By Andy, age four

Me: Okay Andy, tell me about your picture. And let me just say, it look fabulous.

Andy: Thanks Miss Julila, I have a feeling about this one.

Me: You do? How so?  Walk me through it, if you please.

Andy: Well, you have to cook a turkey in the oven at 7000 degrees. Then you have to yell at Dad to get off his duff and vacuum the living room already because his mother will be there soon, and the Packers will probably win anyway. See, there is Dad watching the Packers. Then you stuff it {the turkey} with chicken nuggets, gummy worms, cupcakes, catsup, French fries, pizza, and a sundae that comes in a small baseball hat. Then Dad comes in and smells it and says it’s perfect and it’s done.

Me: How long does it take to cook a turkey at 7000 degrees?

Andy: Ten minutes!

Me: Really? That’s it? Ten minutes?

Andy: That’s all buddy!

Me: What do you like to eat with your turkey for Thanksgiving?

Andy: Orange potatoes and eggs.

Me: Okay.

Andy: And pie.

Me: Do you have a favorite type of pie?

Andy: Apple is good, but only if it is cold.  I don’t want ice cream melting it.

Me: Well, is there anything else you would like to tell me about cooking a turkey Andy?

Andy: Yeah, it has to be ortantic {organic} or else my aunt will get fat.

Me: Awesome. You sir, are Awesome Sauce!

Andy: You are Awesome Turkey Miss Julila! Can I play Blocks now?

          Now, imagine that conversation about 24 times… It really doesn’t get much cooler than that. They have such a wonderful time with journals, but you have to write down everything they say! So, you must be able to write quickly! What they are saying is sheer gold!

          Next time, I plan on bringing a little décor and cooking tips. I love to cook/bake, and this time of year I start to try new recipes for T-Day. Until then, start journals in your classroom, get young minds creatively thinking, and ask a three or four year old how to cook a turkey. You will never laugh harder in your life.

Well, that is all for now from The Director’s Chair…

Monday Meandersings - Road Trip

A couple of weeks ago, we supplied some activities for the car. This time, we are focusing on snacks. One tough thing about road trips is eating. No one wants to eat fast food all day and sit down meals can get expensive. Here are some snacks to pack and keep your family fed.

First we have Parenting with this delicious crunchy chickpea recipe. I can tell you from experience that these are delicious. We have made them plain and we have added chili powder to them. They are tasty any way you make them.

Next, we have Choose to Thrive with an amazing idea to carry vegetables and a dip. Her picture shows peanut butter and celery, but you could also do your favorite dip (Ranch, Spinach, etc.) with cut up veggies (carrots, snow peas, peppers, etc.).

Smashed Peas and Carrots has the best recipe! No bake Energy Bites. It is easy to make and has very few ingredients. Sounds perfect!

In addition these snacks, grab some more from our list:

Nuts - be sure they are age appropriate for your kids
Dried Fruits
Hard Boiled Eggs - peel the shells off before leaving home for a healthy protein
Cherry tomatoes - buy a variety of colors for a delicious and healthy snack
Grapes - Nature's perfect travel food...no waste
Blueberries - another perfect, no waste snack
String Cheese
Peanut Butter and Crackers
Trail Mix - make your own mix! We loves Cheerios, Goldfish crackers, small pretzels, banana chips, dried pineapple and walnuts. Sometimes we add chocolate chips, but I try to not to add them if it is very warm out to prevent melting messes.
Orange segments
Drink mixes - every now and again it is good to have a flavored water
V8 juice
Water

How do I keep the cold foods cold? We pack a small cooler that we keep in the car trunk and then a smaller insulated lunch bag or two are kept in the front of the car.

For our insulated lunch bags, I love the Packit Bag. They have not provided me with a sample or anything for this, but I purchased two bags on my own. You store them in the freezer and then pull them out to fill with food. They have kept my food cold for up to 9 hours! If you do not have a Packit, you can always freeze a water bottle to put in the bag and keep your food chilled.

Tuesday Teachings - I've Been Slimed!

Who you gonna' call? Ghostbusters! I found myself humming this song the whole time we did this experiment. Please tell me that you remember that movie!

For a little Science on a Tuesday Teaching, we decided to make some slime. Since I had that theme song running through my mind, I we decided to make our slime green. I we wanted it to look just like the slime that was put on Bill Murray's character, Venkman.

Supplies:
1 tsp Borax
1 cup warm water
4 oz Elmer's White School Glue
1/2 cup water
Food Coloring (we used neon green gel)

Put one cup of warm water in a bowl, add the Borax and stir until dissolved. Set this aside.

Pour the glue into a bowl. Add the 1/2 cup water and stir.

Add the food coloring and mix until you get the desired color.

Once that is mixed well, pour in the Borax/water mix. It will start to set up immediately. Use a spoon to stir it around and then get your hands in there.

At first it will be very wet and slimy but as you mix with your hands, it will dry out some and become more of a solid.

We loved playing with this and did numerous activities with it. The slime will take on any shape, so we used our sand molds, bowls and other things to put the slime into. Next, we would dump it out on the table and see how long it would take to flatten back out.

We also wanted to see how far across the table we could stretch it, without the slime ripping.

Have fun. We loved ours and have made numerous batches since then.

Monday Meanderings: Summer Snacks - Vegetables!

With Summer, comes vegetables fresh from the garden. Do you kids have an aversion to vegetables? Do they fall apart at anything green/healthy? Here are some ideas to get your kids to try out vegetables on their own.

Recipes:

First is Taste of Home with this great vegetable spiral recipe. Most kids love bread sticks, add some vegetables to get them to try .

Dashing Dish created these delicious looking Cauliflower Pizza Bites. I am going to try these, as my son loves pizza.

I have never met a child that doesn't like chips! Why not fry up some Root Vegetable Chips courtesy of Gooseberry Mooseberry.

Those are some great recipes to get started, but some days it is all about presentation!
Here are some great vegetable presentations:

Veggie skeleton from Neatorama

Sesame Veggie Trays by Off Beat Mama

Another thing that we do in our household is make lots of our veggies (and fruit) in fun shapes using cookie cutters.

Tuesday Teachings - Play With Your Food

I know what you are thinking. We want kids to eat healthy, not to play with their food. Here my thoughts though, get the kids involved in preparing a meal and let them use math skills to help.

I was recently signed up to make a meal for a group of 3 - 5 year olds.Since it was so close to Spring, that is the subject I chose. I could have just made a casserole and hoped the kids ate it, but I like for food to be fun and tasty. I decided to let my son help me with the meal. First, we counted up how many of our friends we were expecting for the meal, then we went to the grocery.

We decided to serve, bananas, apples, cheese, ham, turkey and a dessert. I told my son that we were serving 10 kids and he had to help me get enough food for all of the children.

When we got home, we cut the ham and turkey slices with bunny cookie cutters. We allowed enough of each meat for every child to have three slices. My son helped me to count out the 30 ham bunnies and the 30 turkey bunnies. Next we moved on to the cheese. We were serving our cheese in the form of circles to represent coconuts and we needed at least three slices per child. Again, he helped me count out 30 slices.

Next, we moved on to the dessert. We decided to make birds in a nest. We counted out three square pretzels per dessert and laid them out in piles on a piece of waxed paper. Next, we melted chocolate and drizzled that over the pretzel "nests" and followed it up with rainbow sprinkles. Once the chocolate had hardened, we came back and melted some more chocolate and dipped bird shaped peeps into the melted chocolate and sat one on top of each pretzel nest. We allowed that to set and then we put each bird in a nest inside of a a cupcake liner to serve.

When it was time to serve up the meal, we cut up one banana per child and laid them out on the plate. We then added three apple slices at the top of each banana slice. These were our palm trees. We then added three cheese coconuts to the top of each palm tree. Next came the bunnies, we laid three ham and three turkey bunnies on each plate. The kids all loved this treat, but the favorite was by far the birds in a nest dessert.

Math is not my son's favorite subject, but he had lots of fun counting out all of our treats for our friends and he was eager to make sure we had enough for everyone.

Get your kids in the kitchen and open up a new perspective on math!

Monday Meanderings - Valentine's Day

Well, tomorrow is Valentine's Day and here are some great homemade Valentine ideas for you, just in case you haven't done anything yet!

Owls are very popular right now and this is a great play on words. I found this on Inspiration for Home.

I love this idea from The Gunny Sack. I am not sure of I could do enough for a classroom in one night but I am definitely doing this for my son! He may be afraid of popping the balloon but he will love finding something inside the balloon.

This is another favorite idea for me. Glow sticks from the Dollar Store and no candy! This idea is compliments of The Teacher Wife. She has an amazing blog!

I'll leave you with a "sweet breakfast" idea from Your Commissary Insider. If you re going to make pancakes, why not make them cute?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Childhood Obesity

If you read any newspapers and/or magazines, you have probably seen that headline lots. It is in print, it is on the news, it is the new buzz phrase. Even though we are all talking about it, it does not seem to be going away any time soon.

Here are some links to help you keep your family healthy and happy. If you want the kids to learn about nutrition you can go to Nutrition for Healthy Kids and they have a free home school curriculum, broken down by subject.

Food

All Day I Dream About Food made gummy fruit snacks that contain no added sugar. This link is to all of her recipes that are labeled "healthy snacks". She has some yummy ones, including a revised gummy fruit snack that is more shelf stable.

Real Simple shows a snack station that is stored in the refrigerator for the kids. They can go in and help themselves to a healthy snack.

I also love the blog Super Healthy Kids. She posts amazing recipes and tips but the best part: Healthy Meal Plans! Check out her blog, you will wonder how you managed before you found it!

Since the current generation is the first to spend more time indoors than outdoors, I have scoured the Internet looking for fitness ideas also.

Most people are familiar with First Lady Michelle Obama's quest to help us raise a healthier generation of kids and her Let's Move Campaign is helping to do just that. She has brought to light many facts and findings on health and is inspiring many to get up and move!

Kids Health and Sesame Workshop partnered to provide Healthy Habits for Life. You can download the book and read through it with your kids. The above link takes you to the Preschool edition but they go up to 12th grade.

E Max Health has a list of 50 ways for kids to exercise, without them even realizing it.

What does your family do to stay healthy?

Monday Meanderings - Halloween Snacks

With Halloween fast approaching, I went on a hunt for some great snacks to prepare.
Here are some of my favorites.

First we have Taste of Home with these adorable Marshmallow Witches. They look quick and easy and may be great for kids to put together.

Our Best Bites made these cute Mummy Dogs and Monster Jaws.

Cute As A Fox made these very cute, er I mean scary, Monster Rods. I love these!!

Have a great Halloween!

Tueday Teachings - Combating the High Costs of Food

As families struggle to make ends meet, the deck seems to be stacked against us. If your household is anything like mine, you are shocked each time you walk into a grocery store. Most budgeting programs advise you to spend 10% of your annual income on food, but most Americans average spending a little over 20%.

Every household wants to cut costs and save money, but that can be hard to do when your paycheck is stretched tight for just the "essentials". I have found some websites that I hope can help. As you are looking at these websites and trying to save money, get the kids involved. Let them figure out the cost per serving of your food, how much you can spend at the grocery to use only 10% of your income. Which item is really more affordable, the smaller package or the larger package?

First, the Iowa State University Extension Office has a great website called Spend Smart, Eat Smart. There is great information on here about how to save money. There is a section that shows you how much you should be spending at the grocery. How to find the best deals in the store and then there is a recipe section with the cost per recipe and the cost per serving broken down for you. I know what you are thinking: "I can not cook from scratch, I need convenience foods!" We all need some level of convenience in our lives, I understand this. I have a family and a full time job too, but I also want to spend my money on experiences for my family, not just food.

For recipes, I love Food Hero! They have some great and economical recipes on their website, as well as some food storage hints and tips. I personally can not wait to make the Chicken and Dumpling Casserole. My family loves Chicken and Dumplings, which is already an inexpensive meal, but this I can make during the week after work. This website is a product of Oregon State University and it has lots of recipes. You can get a free membership and save your favorites in your own recipe box.

Another great website for inexpensive recipes and general frugal ideas is Cheap, Healthy, Good. They do whole foods as often as possible but are not ashamed to use some convenience items also. I have made a few recipes from their website and I highly recommend them! In addition to the great recipes, the blog is very funny to read. It is written by 3-4 ladies with a great sense of humor and a large desire to help people.

What are some of the things you are doing to save money?
Coupons?
Generics?
Menu Planning?
All homemade?

Share your ideas with us.

Monday Meanderings - Columbus Day

I have searched high and low for some great Columbus Day ideas! With Columbus Day one week away, this should give you time to get everything ready!

First we have Jonah Lisa Dyer with some great cork boats that they set sail. I know for a fact that if you call a store that does wine tasting or even a restaurant that serves wine, they will often time just give you corks. Ask nicely and be sure to thank them!

Next is Hallee the Homemaker with a great New World map to make with the kids. You can discuss the length of the journey and relate it to the kids. How do they feel when they have to go someplace new? When they do not know anyone? How do you think the explorers felt?

I love paper mache and this globe from The Crafty Classroom is perfect.

Every holiday needs a snack or two!

Milk Allergy Mom has an easy apple boat.

While Super Mom Moments made her snacks for a "Tangled" party, they could work just as easily for Columbus Day.

Monday Meanderings - Pack a School Lunch

Some choices are not easy to make. You can send your child to school to eat what is probably heavily processed food, high in fat, calories and sodium or you can get up early every day and pack a lunch for him.

The first option is depressing, as kids need energy to learn and most school cafeterias serve food that has been processed far beyond it's natural state. The second option can be healthier, but it can also be time consuming.

Here are some great ideas for packing school lunches.

First we have This Lunch Rox with some healthy recipes and beautiful lunches. She does take an extra minute to make them decorative. In this case she sliced a piece of cheese to resemble Pac-Man and laid it on top of the sandwich. Check out her website for some great lunches, recipes and snacks.

Next we have Wendolonia. She does a weekly recap of lunches and snacks that she packs for her young children. Some of the pictures look delicious and I love that she does a week at a time in her posting.

Kat's Bento Love shows how to re-use leftovers for an appetizing lunch. The meals are for adults but they are healthy and tempting.

One thing that can get expensive and wasteful for packing a lunch is plastic bags to store sandwiches or snacks. We try to use bowls or reusable bags. There is a great tutorial for making your own sandwich bags at We Wilsons Blog. You can make them in a variety of sizes and just pick out your favorite material at the store and you are ready to go.

If you start packing lunches there are some small things you can do that will make it more pleasant for your kids. First, get some cookie cutters! A shaped sandwich can be lots more fun than plain. You can use the cutters for just about anything you put in the lunch box. Second, buy some small stickers or write a short note to your child. They will be so excited to see it in the lunch box that they may even eat all of the vegetables you packed.

Photo Credit: Neato Bambino

Another neat trick: Banana writing! Take a toothpick and write on the skin of your banana without going through the skin to the fruit. It takes a little bit, but by lunch time your message will show clearly on the banana peel.

Solar S'mores

Since it has been so hot here we decided to get some use from all that sunshine. We made Solar S'mores!

Supplies:
Box
Aluminum Foil
Plastic Wrap
Graham Crackers
Chocolate Bar
Marshmallows

Line the interior of your box with foil. Lay the graham crackers on the foil and layer the chocolate and marshmallows on top. Cover the box with a piece of plastic wrap to keep bugs and dirt off of your snack. Set the box in a sunny area until your S'mores are ready.

Yummy! Sunshine makes delicious treats.

Monday Meanderings - Sneak Some Zucchini on to Your Neighbor's Porch Night

Did you know that this is "Sneak Some Zucchini on to Your Neighbor's Porch Night"? In honor of this "important" holiday I thought I would give you some zucchini links today.

On Instructables there is a post about carving a zucchini for Halloween. You will need to plan ahead for this so don't give away all of your zucchini tonight.

On Gina's Skinny Recipes they had these amazing Zucchini Pizza Bites! I served these last week at my house and my son ate 4 of them and kept telling me how much he loves pizza!

This recipe on Kaylyn's Kitchen has been moved to the top of my list of recipes to try! The Zucchini cups look delicious.

You can not post about Zucchini without adding in a Zucchini Bread! One of my favorites is this one from Hoosier Homemade.

Have a great time with your zucchini and be sure not to get caught putting it on a neighbor's porch!

Monday Meanderings - Keeping Cool

I am not sure where you are, but here in KY the weather has been hot and humid! That means we need to find ways to keep cool so I thought I would go on a search to see how others are keeping cool this summer.

First we need a yummy dessert that does not require turning on the oven. Teaching with TLC really delivers with her amazing Ice Cream Cake. Doesn't it look delicious?

As much as would love to just eat dessert, I need some other nutrition too. Here is the  Katie Brown Blog with some great no cook recipes. I want to try the Gazpacho with Goat Cheese recipe that she links to from Real Simple Magazine. It looks delicious and the Farmer's Markets are bursting with fresh tomatoes!

If it is too hot to go outside where you are maybe you could do some of these activities.

The Line Game - Each person gets a piece of paper and they each draw a line on a piece of paper. It can be any kind of line: straight, angled, curvy or any other shape. Once the line is drawn, everyone switches paper. You now have to make a drawing from each other's line drawing. It is always fun to see what one person can make from another person's beginning.

Another great activity is Mad Libs. No need to always have the Mad Lib books, you can also make up your own stories. For Example:
Storyteller: There once was an animal. What kind of animal?
1st child: A Kangaroo!
Storyteller: There once was a kangaroo named_________.
2nd child: Star!
Storyteller: There once was a kangaroo named Star. Star liked to __________.
1st child: Wear socks!
Storyteller: There once was a kangaroo named Star. Star liked to wear socks.

The story can go on and on. You can also ask the kids to tell you the story. Once it gets some length to it (4-5 lines) ask them to repeat it to you. This will be fun and it will work on their attention and recall skills.

If you can go outside, try some of these ideas.

Come Together Kids Blog has a great Bubble Refill Station. The kids just go over and put more bubble solution in their containers. No worries! They also include a bubble mix to make at home.

Build a Kidwash! The kids can go through on foot or on bike. Keep cool is the name of the game. This post came from Discontinuity on Indestrucables.

Keep cool in this hot and humid weather!