Play Clay

Here’s a fun and different twist on traditional playdough. This clay has an interesting consistency, almost like stretchy plastic. And like all really great kids craft recipes, it is safe for little ones as it is entirely edible (but tastes awful!). To add this recipe to your joyful mommy repertoire, you will need…

1 cup corn starch

2 cups baking soda

1 ½ cups cold water

Few drops food colouring

Combine ingredients in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Transfer clay into dish, cover with a damp cloth and allow to cool. When mixture has cooled, knead until it becomes stretchable. Then have fun creating and exploring together with your child!

Helpful Hints:

·    Play clay dries out quickly, so store clay that you are not using in an airtight container with a lid.

·    Use a little bit of water to join pieces of clay together.

·    Play clay is sticky! Wax paper taped securely to the table surface makes clay a little easier to work with.

Happy clay playing, everyone!

Bug Box

In the midst of life’s craziness, what could be better that some moments of joyful simplicity with our little ones? The pace of life in our household has been quite frantic the past several weeks (hence my utter negligence in posting!). But no matter how harried the pace, we make an effort to savor un-rushed moments with our munchkin every day. One of the best of those moments happened a couple of weeks ago, as my hubby, my munchkin and I literally sat in the dirt together and created our very own “bug box”. It was one of those joyfully simple moments that I cherish. It cost us not a penny. And my daughter’s eyes were wide with wonder…

To create your own bug box, you will need…

An empty clear plastic container with a lid (large salad containers work particularly well)

Masking tape

A small shovel

Garden gloves (optional)

A garden space suitable for bug hunting!

Punch some small air holes in the lid of your plastic container. Then simply sit with your child and dig in the dirt! Talk about all of the amazing things you discover together – bugs, rocks, grass, twigs, leaves, dirt – the options are endless! Sprinkle a little dirt at the bottom of your bug box, then collect items to create your bug habitat – some sticks and rocks for variety, and some leaves and greenery for your bugs to eat. Hunt for bugs to live in your bug box – worms, beetles, snails – whatever you are able to find. Take your time and enjoy the hunt! When you are finished, securely tape the lid to your bug box so that your child can explore it from every angle without the worry of bugs and dirt spilling everywhere.

Helpful Hints:

·         Scatter only a small amount of dirt at the bottom of the box. If you use too much dirt, the bugs will hide in it and your child won’t be able to see them.

·        Add water to your bug box (daily if you plan to keep it for a while), as bugs get thirsty too.

·        Slugs shouldn’t be kept overnight as they tend to dry out (lesson learned in my own childhood!). Snails are fantastic as they creep along the sides of the box and are very interesting to watch.

This is a fabulous activity for promoting language development , as little ones will be fascinated and there are endless topics to talk about together! And the memories you build are the kind that last for a lifetime. Happy bug hunting, joyful mommies!

Cheerful Choo Choo Birthday Cakes

A very special birthday cake for a very special little boy. We baked and decorated FIVE of these train-themed birthday cakes, complete with licorice rope train tracks, rock candy landscaping, and cheerful choo choos emerging from tunnels. Decorating five of these was no small feat – but absolutely worth the effort when we saw the end result. We know one little three-year-old was smiling…

These cakes would be perfect for a “Thomas the Tank Engine” birthday party, but we used “The Little Engine That Could” trains instead – just as adorable but a lot less expensive (particularly since we made five of them). To make your own train and tunnel cakes, just use a large round cake for the bottom layer. We used our “Barbie dress” cake pan to make the tunnel, but you could simply build the tunnel out of layers of cake baked in a regular pan. The simply ice your cake using green for grass, blue for a pond and waterfall, grey for your mountain, and black for the opening to the tunnel (a trip to the cake decorating store is a must – professional quality gel colouring makes your icing colours so much more vibrant). Then simply trim the edges of your cake with rock candy, build your train tracks with licorice rope, and finish off with a cheerful-looking train and perhaps a plastic tree or two. Perfect for any train-loving girl or boy (and have you ever met a preschooler who doesn’t love trains?).

These cakes were a labour of love for us, and we were so happy with the result. We hope they bring smiles to your family as well…

Endlessly Entertaining Easter Eggs

While Easter basket fillers are still available in stores, I thought I’d pass along this fun activity suggestion that can be used any time of year. This twist on the traditional Easter egg hunt is a fabulous activity for promoting fine motor skills, language learning and sensory exploration with your little one. Simply find a large container and fill it with multicoloured Easter basket hay (you’ll find packages of this thinly shredded paper or plastic anywhere Easter baskets are sold). Then use an assortment of plastic Easter eggs (also usually available in bulk packages in the Easter basket aisle) and hide them in the hay. Throw in a few clean sandbox toys, such as buckets, rakes, and shovels, and you’ll be surprised how long your kids will be thoroughly entertained! (Be sure to supervise  little ones, as you don’t want them trying to eat the hay or mouth the eggs).

As with all great play activities, there are endless variations you can make to this game…

·   Pulling the plastic Easter Eggs apart and putting them back together (tricky!) is a fantastic way for kids to strengthen fine motor skills.

·    Try hiding little toys and other objects inside of the Easter eggs for a great language building game. Little ones will be fascinated as you pull toys out of the eggs and tell them the names of the things you find. Beginning talkers will delight in telling you what they’ve discovered. And older kids will love the challenge of trying to guess what’s inside the egg before they open it.

·    When your munchkins grow tired of playing in the hay, throw in a fun sensory twist. Try hiding Easter eggs in a container full of uncooked rice, cornmeal, puffed wheat, or even some fabulously fun and slimy goop (click here for goop recipe). Happy Easter egg hunting, everyone!

Earth-Friendly Spring Flowers

My hubby and I married young, and as ours was the first wedding among our circle of friends, we were blessed with an abundance of wedding showers – seven, to be exact. And it was at those wedding showers that I first earned my reputation as a tissue paper hoarder. As a general rule, I detest wastefulness, and couldn’t bear the thought of piles and piles of perfectly good gift wrap and tissue paper simply being thrown away. So my guests were forced to sit patiently as I carefully unwrapped each gift, painstakingly sorting and folding every salvageable morsel of gift wrap.

By the time my daughter arrived ten years later, my friends and family were well aware of my gift wrap salvaging obsession. And at each of my three baby showers, a paper-folding assistant quickly materialized by my side. There have been a few giggles at my expense. But I remain proud of my meticulously folded gift wrap stash, which over the years has saved me considerable money while keeping all of that unnecessary waste out of the landfill.

Now that my daughter is an expert gift-unwrapper, there is nothing at all meticulous remaining about my stash. Tissue paper is crumpled. Gift wrap is shredded. But all is not lost! I recently separated out all of the truly mangled bits, and put them in a large box in our craft supply cupboard. There are endless craft projects just screaming to be made. But we started with a simple one, perfect for spring…

You will need:

Construction paper

OR for an environmentally friendly twist, reuse backs of printer paper or empty cardboard packaging

Tissue paper in bright colours (used, of course – the more crumpled the better!)

Crayons or felts

Twigs

Non-toxic craft glue

Tissue paper flowers are so easy to make that even the tiniest of tots can do it. We drew on leaves and stems with crayon, but for a fun and authentic touch, go for a walk and collect some real twigs to use as your flower stems (collecting the twigs will likely be the most fun part of this activity!). If you are attempting this craft with a toddler, or just don’t want your child exposed to all of the chemicals in craft glue, try using my incredible edible craft glue recipe – it really works! Be sure to sit down with your child and join in on the fun of this super simple, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly spring craft activity. Enjoy!

Healthy Honey Muffins

As a follow up to my last post on the ickyness of refined sugar for mommies, daddies and kidlets alike, I wanted to follow up with at least one of the yummier “ick-free” recipes I’ve discovered. This basic muffin recipe is healthy and delicious, and there are endless variations you can use to keep things interesting…

Healthy Honey Muffins

You will need…

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 beaten egg

¾ cup milk

½ cup liquid honey

3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine (or substitute 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce for lower fat muffins)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Create a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, combine wet ingredients in a medium bowl, and pour wet ingredients into the well. Stir until just combined (do not over stir). Fill greased muffin tin cups two thirds full, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

There are endless variations that work with this recipe. Use your creativity, or throw in roughly ½ cup of one of the following…

·         Raisins

·         Finely chopped apple sprinkled with cinnamon

·         Finely chopped pear sprinkled with nutmeg

·         Fresh or frozen blueberries

·         Fresh or frozen raspberries

·         Fresh or frozen cranberries

Helpful Hint:  If you don’t already own a mini-muffin tin, they are a must-have in any home with children. Kids are fascinated by all things miniature, and you’ll waste less food as the portion size is more appropriate. I pop a few mini-muffins into a ziplock bag in my purse – a convenient, healthy little snack for kids when you are out and about. Enjoy!

Pythons and Sweet Treats

This morning my munchkin and I went on a little outing to our local wildlife park. And as the early spring weather proved rainy and cold, we spent much of our time exploring the delightfully warm reptile pavilion. We happened to time our arrival perfectly to attend the reptile show, the highlight of which was a large python that the children were given the opportunity to touch. Now, I’ve never been one to run away screaming at the sight of a spider or even to harbor any real fear of snakes. But when the zookeeper approached with that big, slithery python, my stomach did a couple of nervous little somersaults, and my first instinct was to take a step back. But holding my daughter in my arms, I watched as she turned to me for reassurance, and forced myself to stand there and smile. And much to my surprise, my teeny tiny little two-year-old then confidently reached out and patted the snake, saying, “Hello python. It’s very nice to meet you!”



Mmmm...Sweet Treats!

 Delightful story, but what on earth does it have to do with sweet treats, you might ask. Actually, more than you might think. Watching my toddler confidently patting a python, I was reminded of how very responsible we are for setting the tone for our children. Instinctively, they look to us for guidance, and rely on us to help them as they form their outlook on the world. What a gigantic responsibility that puts on us as parents! And while they still look to us, how important it is that we not squander the opportunity!

Several months ago, my hubby became quite ill and we now observe a very strict new diet in our home. One of the things we’ve eliminated from the menu is all refined sugar – initially a seemingly insurmountable task, as I am a self-proclaimed sugar fanatic. But as the months have progressed, I’ve begun to miss sugar less and less. And when I sneak a little “treat” from time to time, I end up feeling so dreadfully ill that I often regret my choice. It is amazing the negative effect that sugar has on our bodies – an effect that often can only be really noticed when we stop pumping our bodies constantly full of junk.

It has been a powerful wake-up call for me. If refined sugar has that sort of effect on my body, imagine what it must do to the body and mind of my tiny, still developing child. I have no intention of entirely banning her for life from every sugary snack. But I am making an even-more-conscious-than-ever effort to redefine the meaning of “treat” in our household. Cutting down on sugar doesn’t mean depriving your sweet tooth. The world is full of naturally sweet, healthy options that don’t contain any refined sugar, and will leave mommies, daddies, and little ones feeling so much better about themselves. Here are a few yummy ideas to replace those sugary snacks…

• Try baking with maple syrup or honey rather than white or brown sugar (brown is just as processed and just as bad for you, contrary to popular belief). To use honey in place of sugar, use 7/8 cup for every cup of sugar, and reduce the liquid in the recipe by 3 tablespoons. To use maple syrup in place of sugar, use 3/4 cup of maple syrup for every cup of sugar, decreasing the total amount of liquid in the recipe by 3 tablespoons. These substitutions work particularly well when baking muffins, loaves, and hearty cookies (such as healthy oatmeal raisin cookies).

• Give your traditional peanut butter and jam sandwiches a healthy makeover. Replace peanut butter with almond butter with no sugar added, and replace jam with thinly sliced bananas or apples, or a little pasteurized honey.

• Say goodbye to Aunt Jemima and switch to pure maple syrup when indulging in a pancake breakfast. Switch to whole wheat flour and throw some fresh blueberries into the batter, and pancakes become a healthy, wholesome meal!

·    If your child is a juice junkie, think about investing in a juicer and making your own healthy juices at home. Store bought juices are often full of sugar and artificial flavours and colours, and even the “healthier” juice options are really devoid of most of their nutritional value by the time they hit your child’s juice cup.

·    Don’t forget the best sweet treat of all – lots of healthy fresh or frozen fruit. With the money you’ll save when skipping the snack food aisle, you’ll have lots of room in the family budget for more vitamin-packed fruits and veggies!

Happy healthy snacking, Joyful Mommies and tots! And stay tuned for some of my favourite “no-junk” treat recipes….