How to make egg nests which can be used with jelly beans for Easter Egg Nests or with speckled eggs for any spring time event.

Ingredients:

3 cups       Chow mein noodles
1 cup          Sweetened flaked (or shredded) coconut
¼ cup       Butter
3 cups        Miniature marshmallows
1 tsp           Vanilla extract
½ cup       Small jelly beans (or whatever eggs you choose to use)

You will need:
A large bowl
A medium saucepan
A wooden spoon
Cookie sheets lined with
parchment paper
Directions:

Place noodles and coconut in a large bowl.

Adult:   Carefully melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon to keep it from burning. When butter is completely melted, add marshmallows and stir until smooth.

Remove from heat and mix in vanilla extract.
Quickly pour mixture over noodles and coconut, stirring until well coated.
Slightly butter your fingers, then remove small portions of noodle mixture and drop them onto cookie sheets.
Make an indent in the center of each portion with your thumb and index finger, then quickly fill it with jelly beans.
Makes about 30

Both of my children have this fond memory of their grandma and grandpa giving them rock candy.  So, we are attempting to make this week and I found an easy step by step guide on About.com.  It looks like you need to plan a week and can make into a learning experience. I always love science when it involves sugar.

Wish us sweet and sticky luck!

http://candy.about.com/od/phototutorials/ss/sbs_rock_candy.htm

This bubble solution, which we call bubble juice at our house,  can be used with a bubble wand to make bubbles and create lots of entertainment for the children.   Please note that this solution contains ingredients that would be harmful to swallow.  So, I would use with the older children.

Ingredients:

7-10 Parts   water
1 Part dish detergent
Glycerin

Directions:

Combine 1-2 Tablespoons glycerin with ingredients.  Use a bubble wand to dip in solution and blow gently to make bubbles!

Glycerin can be found at a drugstore.

A good snack to make for your hungry little ones in the fall!  Children can easily help in every step, except the oven.

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 1/2 cups Bisqick mix

Flour (to cover board)

Milk (to brush over biscuits)

Butter or honey

Combine pumpkin puree and bisquick mix, turn onto floured board.  Knead until dough is stiff.  Roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into 1 1/2 inch rounds. Place ungreased pan and brush with milk (my kids like to “paint” the biscuits!)   Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Serve warm with butter or honey.  Makes about two dozen.

A yummy fall snack that the littlest ones can make on their own!  Have an assortment of cereal in large bowls.  For example, Cheerios, Chex and mini-Shredded Wheat.  All of these have the organic equivalent at most grocery stores. Each child gets a baggie or small bowl to create the combination he or she wants.

A mini math lesson can easily be created with the cereal mix.  

Skip counting: Two, three or four of each cereal placed in a group. Practice skip counting touching the piles as you count.

Addition:  Grab any of two kinds of cereal (three for three addends), separate into piles. Count the amount in each pile and write on paper or whiteboard in a number sentence or equation (Example: 6+7=).  Count the total to get the answer.

Subtraction: Count the total amount of cereal and eat three (whatever number you want) then ask how many are left.  Write the equation out or if child is older have them write.

Division and multiplication:  Start with a number of cereal such as 15.  Have the child separate into equal groups, so they could make three groups of five, five groups of three or even one group of 15 or 15 groups of one.   For younger children guide them with the amount of groups.  You could say, “How can you make three even groups with your cereal?”  You can even draw three circles on paper to make it easy for them to divide.   Multiply or skip count once they are separated to show the relationship with multiplication and division.

Think round and round for this fast and fun party!

Stop Lights
Frost graham crackers or other rectangular-shaped cookies with yellow icing. Add red, green, and yellow M&Ms to make stop light snacks. This was abig hit at our four-year olds party.

Tortilla Roll Ups or “Wheels”

I took out the seasoning and green chiles for the chlidren.

2 8oz. pkgs cream cheese
1 packet taco seasoning
black olives, chopped
green chiles, chopped
shredded cheese
package of large flour tortillas
Allow cream cheese to soften. Combine first five ingredients and spread on tortillas. Roll up and chill.
Slice into 1 inch rolls and serve with salsa.

*You can add thinly sliced deli meat such as ham or turkey to your tortilla roll ups.

Sandwiches

Use a car cookie cutter to cut out sandwiches and serve. Peanut butter and jelly work well. Another option is to buy wheat and white bread and cut out the car shape and swap the cut outs. The wheat cut out would be placed in the white bread and vice versa.

Pasta

Wheel Pasta - Use the type of pasta that looks like wheels and serve plain, with butter, mac and cheese style, or just add into your favorite pasta salad recipe.
Cake

Bake a sheet cake, and frost it white. Use black gel frosting to draw a road around the cake. Place small toy cars on the road as cake toppers. In addition, you can purchase miniature road signs to add to the cake.

Click on picture below to buy race car cake mold and decorating ideas.

Cars - The Movie

Jello

Use a round object (e.g. a cookie/biscuit cutter or the top of a glass) to cut out green, yellow, and red “Stop Light” Jell-O Jigglers.

The food you serve at a party depends on the time of day the party is held, when we had our barnyard/farm animal party it was at lunch and we had a barbeque. Beyond the normal bbq items we served piggies in a blanket and other “barnyard” snacks. We ordered farm animal themed plates and napkins.

Piggies in a Blanket

This mini version is perfect for little fingers!

Ingredients:

Lil Smokie Sausages or hot dogs cut into thirds
Crescent Rolls

Cut each crescent roll square into 4 pieces, wrap around sausage, cook according to crescent roll package directions. Serve with dipping sauces such as mustard and ketchup.

Cornbread Muffins

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
3/4 (10 ounce) package frozen corn kernels, thawed
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease or line 12 muffin cups.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, honey, eggs and salt. Mix in flour, cornmeal and baking powder; blend thoroughly. Stir in milk and corn. Pour or spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
Vegetable Platter

You can arrange to make a vegetable garden. Include a sign that says Farmer “child’s name” Garden.

Haystack Snacks

Dry shoestring potatoes found in can. I put these on tables for snacks in little buckets, you could use baskets lines with red and white checkered napkins.

Chicken Feed

Any type of mixed snacks/crereals like Chex Mix or your own creation. For example, pretzels, Cheerios etc.

Decorated Sugar Cookies

Cut in the shape of farm animals, we also wrapped enough for all the guests to take one home as they left the party.

Other ideas:

Baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, fruit salad, corn on the cob, chili, watermelon slices and deviled-eggs.

DRINKS

We served water bottles, juice and “moo juice” in a galvanized tub.

CAKE IDEAS:

The barnyard theme gives many choices for cakes or cupcakes. Farm animals like pigs, cows and sheep or a big red barn are popular with children.

Our cake was simple, a bakery designed a rectangle cake with a farm scene and we added the Little People animals. We also made a homemade healthy carrot cake for my one year old and any others that wanted a healthy choice. A cute idea would be to make homemade ice cream old fashion style or have the children make their own.

Simple Homemade Ice Cream

Ingredients:

Pint or quart-sized freezer bag
gallon-sized freezer bag

1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
6 tablespoons salt

Put milk, vanilla and sugar into a pint or quart-sized freezer bag. Seal well.
Fill a gallon-sized freezer bag with ice. Add the salt. (We used rock salt.)

Put the smaller bag into the larger bag and seal.

Shake and mix until the ice cream thickens, about 10 minutes.

Yummy and lots of fun!

For great Farm Animal plates, click the ‘Farm Animals’ link below!

Farm Animals

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a mini fiesta. Decorate with little pinatas and tissue flowers, http://coolmomideas.com/arts-and-crafts/cinco-de-mayo-children-crafts/.

Cook up a few of these tasty treats, set up a table and enjoy!

Simple Homemade Salsa

Ingredients:

3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

4 green onions, chopped (include the green part)

2 Tablespoon onion, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

½ tsp salt

Squeeze in half of a lime

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Stir well and let sit for about 30 minutes in refrigerator to let the flavors settle. It is not a big deal if your little ones cannot wait!

Holy Moly Guacolmole

Ingredients:
4 avocado
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1/4 cup onion, peeled and diced
1 serrano chile, seeded and diced
1/4 cup crema (or sour cream)
1/8 cup cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
Mash 2 of the avocado with the back of a fork or other mashing utensil. Add in the serrano, onion and cilantro. Fold in crema and lime juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dice the remaining avocado into 1/4 - 1/2 inch cubes.
Fold the diced avocado and tomato into the mashed avocado mixture. Serve immediately.

Muy, Muy Simple Guacomole

Ingredients:

2 Avocado

Minced or crushed garlic to taste (I just put in a spoonful)

Lemon or lime (whatever you have)

Cilantro (Fresh if possible, otherwise shake it in!)

Mash up avocado and mix all ingredients. My children love this version because it is more bland than other recipes and that is what they like at the moment!

Homemade Flour Tortilla

So I have never made this kind, here is a descriptive page found to make flour tortillas. This would be fun for older children.

http://www.myhomecooking.net/mexican-food-recipes/flour-tortilla-recipe.htm

Quesadillas

Ingredients:

Flour tortillas

Shredded cheddar cheese

Butter

Heat frying pan to medium heat, pace butter in pan. Place tortilla on pan, sprinkle desired amount of cheese on tortilla. you can fold tortilla in half, remove when cheese is melted and enjoy.

Other yummy treats include nachos, tostados, burritos, tacos, flan and the list continues.

Mouth Watering Salsa Recipes from Great Salsa. One bite and you will be begging for more. Find a variety of salsa recipes to suit any mood and palate, from the delicate to the asbestos. Enjoy!

This simple recipe is fun for the children to make their own fossil prints and then eat them up. A perfect snack for when the children are studying dinosaurs, having a party or just for fun at home!

What you will need:

Round crackers

Soft cream cheese (whipped in tub is best)

Items to make fossil, like gummy dinosaurs, celery leaves, etc.

Spread the cream cheese on the cracker, press the items into the cheese and lift up to make imprint.