Easter Eggs: Bee Egg

With this project, kids blow an egg, then turn it into a flying wonder. All you need is a raw egg, paint, craft supplies, and fishing line for hanging the egg. The best part? This blown-egg creature will keep indefinitely.

Materials

• eggs
• newsprint
• egg dye
• paper towels
• birthday candles or crayons

• red and black acrylic or tempera paint
• brushes
• white tissue
• glue

1. Blow the Egg: Wash and dry the raw egg. Cover your table with newsprint and set out bowls, pushpins, and paper towels. Shake the egg to break the yolk. Next, pierce the top and bottom with a pushpin, making the hole on the wider end a bit larger. Position the egg over the bowl and blow through the small hole, allowing the inside of the egg to seep into the bowl. Set the empty egg, with the large hole down, in an egg carton to dry. Be sure children wash their hands after handling raw egg.
2. Degg-orate the Egg: Let the kids paint half of the egg, stand it atop a bottle cap to dry (use a hair dryer to speed things up), then paint the other half. Centering the face on either hole, paint on features with contrasting colors. Paint your bee bright yellow, then paint on a red smile, black eyes, and black stripes. Glue on white tissue paper wings.
3. Take Flight: Tape a long length of fishing line to the end of an unfolded paper clip. Starting at the small hole, thread the line through the decorated egg and out the large hole. To keep your flying critter upright, tape the fishing line just above the hole in the critter’s back. Hang it from the ceiling or an egg tree.

Celebrate the arrival of spring by bringing this fuzzy critter to life.

Begin by mixing 3/4 cup of potting soil and 2 tablespoons of grass seed in a bowl. Add water to moisten the mixture, then set it aside.

Cut away a three-cup section of an egg carton, then trim the section along the longer edges so that your grassapillar will look the same from both sides. With a permanent marker, draw a face on one end as shown. Gently spoon the seed mixture into the cups.

Set your creation on a dish in a brightly lit spot and keep the soil moist. The grass should sprout in about a week.

Summer is a time of travel and adventure for children and adults alike. So, how can we travel to experience this sense of adventure, yet stay right in town? If you live in our area, it’s easy! Just step into the world of Barefoot Books at 89 Thoreau Street, Concord.

With the help of our au pairs from Canada, South Africa, Thailand, and Brazil, children visiting the bookstore have had the chance to visit the rainforests of Brazil and the north country of Canada, they’ve learned about the elephants of Thailand, and they have traveled along with a child living on the veld in South Africa. Au pairs have read engaging stories to the children and they have also happily worked with the children to create crafts related to a different group of countries each week during the month of July . This summer program at Barefoot Books has paired au pairs who want to teach about their own countries with children from far and wide who have come to the bookstore to step into another culture with an au pair. 

Look at the photos to get your own view of our au pairs and the children at Barefoot Books. Join us in August to visit with au pairs from New Zealand and all of Europe. Welcome to another expression of cultural exchange provided by Au Pair in America!

More Barefoot Books Pics

Ripe for the picking!

It is time for blueberries – picking is ripe!

Consider taking the kids to Honey Pot Orchard in Stow.  Not only can you pick berries in the patch, you can have fun in the Hedge and tunnel maze, and   picnic by the barnyard animals.

Honey Pot Hill

THE BLUEBERRY PATCH

The blueberry patch is open for picking with lot’s of berries.   Go to the store to get information about container sizes (which they provide) and price.   The containers take a long time to fill so if you’re  with little ones be careful about the size you buy!

Cider donuts and caramel apples made fresh daily and can also be purchased at their store.

race to the center!

The Hedge Maze

Go and have lots of fun getting lost in the Hedge maze, the exact replica of the famous ‘Hampton Court’ Maze in England. Great fun for the kids, ages 4 thru 11.  There is also a Tunnel maze for children (no adults) to crawl through.  All for $1.50 per person.

Barnyard Animals

At the Barnyard!

Visit with the barnyard animals – “3 little pigs”, 10 energetic goats playing on their goat walk,
the never ending cock-a-doodle-doo
roosters,
bunnies
and ducks.

Here are some helpful tips on activities for you on cold, snowy or rainy days at home with the children.

Listen to Music and Dance Day
Don’t let the rain or snow stop you from being active. Put on a lively tape and dance around the house today.  Show the children some traditional dance moves from your country!

Tea Party Day

Mix up some warm cocoa or milk and invite the dolls or stuffed animals for a tea party

Art Day
Make today an art day – try drawing, painting, creating with glue or clay.

Make a necklace today– use a licorice “shoelace” (the really long thin ones) and cereal for young children and then they can eat the whole thing.  For something less sticky, use string instead of the licorice.

Puzzle Day

Do a puzzle or make one of your own. Find a fun picture in a magazine and glue it to lightweight cardboard. Cut into shapes.

Make a Pie

Pies are popular every day and are easy to make if you buy a prepared crust in the freezer or dairy section of the grocery store. Try this easy recipe;

Chocolate Pie

Purchase pre-made pie shell and Jell-O instant chocolate pudding.  Prepare pie shell per directions.  Let cool.  Prepare pudding, pour into pie shell, let set for an hour and voila!  Dessert is served!

Stamping
Rubber stamps and stamp pads are fun, but for a change try sponge and some kitchen utensils or cut shapes into a potato, apple, or orange. You could even let the child dip his or her hand into some water-based paint to make great pictures.

Treasure Hunt!
Pretend you are all on a desert island looking for treasure. Make a map or place clues around the house leading the children through the hunt. This can be done with pictures for non-readers – draw a picture of the television, then at the television place a picture of the stove. At the stove place a picture of a bed, and so on to the end. The “treasure” can be a treat to eat, or a new game to play.   Read books about pirates to add to the fun.

Make a fort today

Use blankets and couch cushions to make a fort and play inside.  Don’t forge to put everything away!

Make a picture frame
Glue 4 Popsicle sticks (available in craft departments) in a square to make a frame. Decorate the frame with glitter, lace, yarn, feathers, stickers, confetti or whatever you have on hand. Mount a picture from the back and be sure to date it! You can also
glue a magnet on from the back so that the picture can hang on the refrigerator. (This activity is suitable for children 3 and older)

Apples come in many varieties, colors, shapes and sizes.  Some are wonderful to munch on, others are best when cooked.  Regardless of the variety apple picking is a fun activity.  If you do go apple picking you will almost certainly bring home more apples than you can possibly eat, but there are lots of fun things to do with apples, and many ways to eat them as well.

Applesauce is very simple to make.  Remove the core and quarter the apples.  If you leave the peel on during cooking it will give the applesauce a pink color.  When the apples are very soft, remove any peel that is left, mash the pulp or put it through a sieve.  Add sugar if needed.

Try making dried apple rings.  They are easy and can be used as a nutritious snack.  Peel, core and slice as many apples as you like into 1/8 inch rings (Macintosh or Golden Delicious apples work best).  Dip each ring into a mixture of lemon juice and water to help the apples keep their color.  Pull a piece of string through the center of each ring and hang in a dry, warm place.  They take 1-2 weeks to dry and become chewy.

1.  Burns: If you are cooking with older kids and also have an infant in your care, the only safe place for him/her while you are cooking is in the play pen, high chair or crib.

2. If a child does get burned, put cold water on the burned area immediately.  Then cover the burn loosely with a bandage or clean cloth.  Call the doctor for all burns.

BE PREPARED - know where the First Aid Kit is in your house

Cooking With Kids

Cooking with children has many benefits.  It is a wonderful way for adults and children to have fun together while the children learn important skills.  Cooking activities can: help to develop hand-eye coordination, help to improve small motor skills, encourage the ability to do things in a logical order, and build reading and math skills.  Through cooperation it can give the children an important sense of accomplishment.  There is no other way we can see, smell, taste and share the results of our efforts.

Children as young as a year can begin to help in the kitchen doing very simple tasks such as putting ingredients into a bowl.  By the time children are 3 or 4 they can start to use a knife, but it must always be with adult supervision.  Cooking on the stove should be limited to older children.  Use the back burner whenever you can, and make sure pot handles don’t stick out where little hands can reach them, or where they can accidentally be knocked off the stove.  Make sure that children wash their hands before cooking, and if theyr are handling meat or eggs they should always wash afterwards as well.   Remember to teach children that clean-up is part of cooking.  Here are some recipes to get you started:

Soft Pretzels

1 package yeast

1 tsp. salt

4 cups flour

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 Tbs. sugar

1 egg, beaten

Stir yeast into water.  Add the sugar and salt.  Blend in flour.  Knead until smooth.  Cut into pieces and roll long and skinny.  Let the children make balls, worms, letters, etc.  Put on foil lined greased cookie sheet.  Brush with egg.  Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Fruit Smoothie

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 banana and/or pieces of most any other fruit – melon, berries, peach, etc.

2 tsp honey

dried mint or a sprinkle of cinnamon if you wish.

Put all ingredients in the jar of a blender – don’t fill it to the top, as it needs space to blend.  Blend until smooth.  You can also blend in some ice for a frosty treat

Muddy Hand Cookies

2/3 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa mix

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together.  Add eggs and mix well.  Add dry ingredients, blending thoroughly.  Chill dough until firm.  Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick.  Lay you hand on the dough and cut around it to make your hand print.  Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes

English Muffin Pizza

6 English Muffins, split

1 package shredded mozzarella cheese

1 can or jar pizza sauce

Line a cookie sheet with foil and place English muffin halves on it.  Spread with the pizza sauce.  Sprinkle with the cheese.  Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes.  Add other toppings (vegetables or meat) if you wish