Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Rainy-Day Cookies

I decided to bake some cookies with Ethan today because it's raining today, and I wanted to practice making some Christmas cookie decorations for out Christmas tree this year. It turned out to be a fun activity for the both of us - which I still need to clean up!

Take a basic sugar cookie recipe. I made quite a small batch this time for for the Christmas batch I think I will make a lot more.

Next we rolled it out on our kitchen counter. I gave Ethan his own little bit of dough to keep him occupied when I got stuck in to my own dough.

We took star cookie cutter shapes and pressed them out. After placing them onto a baking tray I pressed out little holes into each using a straw. I plan on using these holes to put the string though for the tree decorations.

Then came the fun part - Decorating with icing! I think for next time, I will just lightly dust with icing sugar as 'wet' icing tends to get a bit sticky. I can imagine what a pink sticky tree might look like - attracting dust and things! No thanks!
Send me your toddler-friendly Christmas baking ideas!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

30 days to hand on play challenge - Day 8

In an effort to find ways to play, and thus connect with Ethan, I was very please to find this challenge at the Hands On as we Grow site. I'm joining a little late (day 8) but am excited nonetheless.

Today is water play day!

Needed:
A few bowls with water and water colour added (red, blue, yellow)
Some kitchen utensils like spoons, cups etc















Today we were playing inside as it was rainy. If thats the case, no problem, just keep some towels nearby for excess water. Dont freak out about the little splashes - its bound to happen!

The challenge for moms today is to spend AT LEAST 15 minutes of engaged playtime with your child. No phones, TV or distractions. Do it!




This was a great playful learning experience as I could show ethan about colours and colour mixing.


Have fun, and let me know how it goes with your playtime!