Kid's Activity: Baking Cookies

My son was helping me with ideas for our next post. We just got book orders in from school and he's insisting that we write about one of his new books. In honor of the book, we decided to write this post for you . . . and then bake our own cookies.

First, you need a recipe. If you don't have a traditional cook book, there are countless recipes on the Kraft web page. It's my favorite place to find recipe's that are not in my cook book. Just type what you're looking for in the search and off you go.

Next you'll need to make sure you have all the ingredients out and ready. Then get the kids in the kitchen. Help them follow the recipe, add ingredients, stir, and dish out cookies onto the sheet. It makes them feel good to do it themselves. Plus, it's a great chance for you to spend time together. It also gives you an opportunity to practice communicating and following directions. Once the cookies are on t he cookie sheet, it's time for my kids' favorite part - cleaning out the bowl. (You know how they like cookie dough!) Then we set our timer and wait.

Once the cookies are cooled, it's snack time. Enjoy! I know we will.

Kids Corner: Three of our favorite Kids Games

My kids enjoyed listing their favorite foods and can't wait to share some of their favorite games. We'll only list a few so that you can share your favorites too. Here we go:

3 1/2 and 4 year old:

• Hi-Ho Cherry-O (board game)
• Memory (card game)
• Chutes and Ladders (board game)
• Candy Land (board game)
• Curious George Uno (cards)
• Dora Dominoes

6 year old:

• Go Fish (cards)
• Sorry (board game)
• What am I? (This is a game we found on the Internet. I unfortunately do not recall the site, or I would provide it here. But, here is how it works. One person chooses something to be. Then he tells the others I am a "person" (or place, or thing). Then the other players take turns asking questions to figure out what the other player is. My son (6) likes to be animals. His best one was an armadillo. My daughter (4) likes to be flowers, trees, people she loves, and our pets.)

10 year old:

• Monopoly (board game)
• Clue (board game)
• Poker (card game with chips)

Our 4 month old is too little to like games . . . yet. He likes his toys, though. If you and your children would like to find these or other games, they are available at the KBtoys link on the right side of the screen. Please allow your children to post their favorite games as well. Hope to hear from you soon.

Kids Crafts: Pictures of Leaves

Here are the pictures I promised of the leaf rubbings we did. They were darker on paper and in the original scanned format than they appear here.

This was the kids favorite part. However, my six year old also liked drawing the leaf without looking at the paper, only the leaf. He wanted to do this several times.

The first one you see above is one of my six year old's drawings of the leaf in which he did not look at the paper. Both kids were tired by this time and did not want to try to draw the third picture. So I drew part of it, just so you'd have an example. Hope you enjoyed this activity as much as we did.

Kids Crafts: Drawing Autumn Leaves

Do your children like to draw? I do, and so do my kids. Let's celebrate the season by drawing the world as we see it, not as we percieve it. (Don't write off this article if you think you "can't draw", read on, and try to challenge your thinking.)

During the autumn, we watch the leaves turn brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow. Then they drift gracefully to the ground. I challenge you to go out into your yards with your children and let them pick a leaf, or two or three, which has fallen from the trees. Give them a paper and a pencil. Ask them to look at their leaf. Look at it and really see it. Ask them to take note of the outer shape of the leaf. Observe the stem and how the leaf grows out of it and is supported by it. Look at the transition from leaf to stem. Help them notice the veins within the leaf. Notice the beautiful patterns to be found there.

If you have very thin, soft drawing paper, like news print, have your child lay the paper over the leaf and, with chalk pastels or a crayon, lightly rub over the leaf and watch the leaf come to live on the page.

On another page, have your child look at the leaf and draw it. Instruct your child not to look at the paper, and not to lift the pencil. Try this a few different times, putting as much detail into the picture as possible. Then look at the result. You will be surprised. If you practice, these can become quite good. But either way, they are a great excersise in eye-hand coordination.

Then, if you child is still interested, ask them to draw the leaf by looking at it, and the paper. Remind him (or her) not to draw their idea of a leaf, but instead what they are seeing in front of them. Look at the lines on the leaf and draw them. Look at the way the light hits the leaf and draw that.

If they wish to add color, encourage them. But again, discourage the addition of simple green, or yellow, or orange, or red. Ask your child to look at the leaf. What colors do they see on the leaf? Where are those colors and how do they blend together? You and your child will learn a lot about the way you see the world, and about the things you miss on a normal basis. You will also learn a lot about the leaf.

Of course, limit the excersise to your child's age and attention span. You can break this up into several sessions if you like. I'll have my kids do this excersise tomorrow and will post some of the results for you. Hope you all enjoy the drawing!

Letter to Parents: Be Grateful!

Dear Parents,

Be grateful!

Some of us have been blessed with healthy children. And what a blessing that is! Don’t take it for granted, not even for a moment. We are given these tiny angels who depend on us completely. They are truly a gift.

Some of us, though, face more than others. Some of us have to watch our little ones literally fight for their lives. Seven years ago, my son oldest son did just that.

He was born with a heart defect. One that without treatment would have killed him. Even with medical care, this infant had to wage the war of his life. At 3 days old he had his first open-heart surgery. He was on a ventilator, and totally paralyzed by medication for the first three weeks of his life. We were not able to hold him for five weeks. He did not eat anything by mouth for six weeks. Yet, he fought for his life. And he won the first battle.

He has since had two more open-heart surgery’s, a major accident, and a vital cath lab procedure. But, if you did not know his history, you’d never guess he had a problem. There are many things he will never get to do in his lifetime, like ride a roller coaster and play football. But he has a life to live, and there is still much he can do with it.

Each of us face challenges on a daily basis, we struggle. But we must remember to be grateful. Be grateful for the struggles because they make us stronger. Be grateful for our children’s strong will. It just might save their lives. Be grateful when we fall, because it teaches us we can get up. Be grateful!

Sincerely, and best wishes,
Eve Lawson

Children's Book Review: "How I Became a Pirate"

Written by Melinda Long
Illustrated by David Shannon








This hillarious story begins with Jeremy Jacob building a sand castle on the beach with his family. But soon, Jeremy meets some very interesting new freinds - Braid Beard and his crew - pirates. And, he's off on an adventure. He learns all about the freedoms and fun of being a pirate. Take your child on this imaginative adventure with Jeremy and see how the story unfolds, and what Jeremy learns. To find this book, and "Pirates Don't Change Diapers", CLICK HERE.

Kids Activities: Pirate Treasure Hunt

As I mentioned in our “Welcome”, I have 5 children. During the summer while we had them home full time, my husband got our oldest 4 involved in a Pirate Treasure Hunt. The kids loved this role play activity and we did it about 3 times the first day. Here’s what we did.

First, my husband drew a rough map of our house on a piece of paper. Then he labeled each room. He used names like: Ocean of Lost Souls, Waste Land, Land of Tomorrow, Land of Nightmares, Dungeon of Doom, Land of Milk and Honey, Cave of Night, Mountain of Gold.

Then he cut the map into four randomly shaped pieces. On each there was an arrow showing where to go next and a clue. These were, for example, “Search for 3 gold coins.” Then, he hid three of the map pieces in the rooms that the arrows pointed to, with the coins indicated on the previous map piece. The fourth map piece was given to the child who’d been appointed Captain of our Pirate Crew.

He also invented a series of scenarios to occur in each room. As we entered we rolled a dice to determine which scenario we would encounter. Here are the scenarios he came up with for each room:

Room #1:

1. A trip wire is crossed. Your crew has 5 minutes to finish the entire mission before you are all trapped forever.
2. Nothing happens.
3. A giant snake attacks. Roll 6 or you loose all crew members.
4. If anyone spoke when you entered the room, you woke up spiders. Roll a 6 and you will be trapped.
5. Nothing happens.
6. Nothing happens.

Room #2:

1. A sea monster takes a crew member captive. You choose which member.
2. Nothing happens.
3. A wart-faced hog creature sword fights your leader.
4. Nothing happens.
5. A pack of wolves will eat one of your crew members unless you can avoid rolling a 1.
6. A small squid-like creature attaches itself to a crew member. Roll once in all remaining rooms for a 6.

Room #3:

1. A crew member is attacked by a giant flesh eating vine and is rescued by your leader.
2. Nothing happens.
3. Big spiders attack your leader. He is rescued by anther crew member.
4. Nothing happens.
5. Walking skeletons attack. Roll a 6 and you never escape.
6. A talking frog shows you the way to your clue.

Each crew member was then given a weapon (make believe or toy) and a flashlight or lantern. We each dressed up in some way as a pirate. Then we drew the blinds, turned off the light and began our adventure. As we moved into the first room, my husband pulled out a dice and had the Pirate Captain roll it. We acted out the scenario indicated by the Captain’s roll of the dice, then continued on our adventure. At the end, we found a treasure chest of gold.

This pretend play idea can be improvised and adjusted to fit your children’s preferences, or you can use it just as listed above. Either way, I hope your kids love it as much as ours do.

Kids Corner: Favorite Foods

Of course, it is impossible to embark on an adventure like creating this website without informing and involving my children. Last night, my 6 year old son was checking out the progress on our website and getting really excited. Out of nowhere he states, "I know what we need to put right here. Let's put the foods we like." So, because he and his sister were so insistent, I'm adding "Kids Corner" to our site plan. Here is a list of some of my children's favorite foods.

• Pizza
• Peanut Butter & Jelly
• Spaghetti
• Pizza Pasta
• Macaroni and Cheese with Hot Dogs
• Chicken
• Steak
• Pancakes
• Cake
• Peanuts
• Ice Cream

Please allow your children to add their favorites to the list. If they are like my children, they will enjoy reading each others entries. We all look forward to reading your children's lists.

Activity Alley: Welcome

Welcome to Activity Alley! First, I'd like to take a moment to introduce myself. Then I'd like to let you know what to expect from this site in the coming months.

As a mother of 5, my family is the most important thing in my life. I believe that there is no greater gift that I can give to my children than to spend quality time with them. Time to talk, time to play, time to read, time to share, and time to love.

If you are a parent, then you already know that the experiences our children have, regardless of where these occur and who they are shared with, shape and mold them into their future selves. The time that we, as parents, spend with our kids will affect who they become as adults since it gives us a chance to directly affect our children's personalities, value systems, opinions, ambitions, and feelings. Because we as parents have a vested interest in our children and their futures, I wanted to create a website to share this passion with other parents.

I plan to post ideas for kids activities and kids crafts on a regular basis. And I'll incorporate regular book reviews. I'd also like to include a letter to parents. In this section, we can discuss issues that arise in our families and with our children.