This is a simple version and easy for children to make!  I have done this using my favorite sugar cookie recipe instead of the store bought and it was wonderful.

Stained Glass Easter Cookies

 Cut cookies from a tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough and roll out slightly. With a butter knife, have children cut the shape of a cross out of the middle of the cookie. Place on a cookie sheet and fill the cutout with any type of finely crushed clear hard candy (i.e. butterscotch, root beer etc.) and bake. The results really do look like stained glass!

Resurrection Bread

Ingredients: 1 can of crescent rolls

                     Large Marshmallows

Let the children spread a portion of the bread dough around a marshmallow. Follow the cans directions for baking.

Discuss with the children that the dough symbolizes the tomb where Jesus was laid. The marshmallow represents Jesus. When the dough is baked the marshmallow will vanish. When your child cuts open the bread they will see an empty tomb. Let’s celebrate that He has risen!

Note: You can dip the marshmallow in butter and cinnamon before placing in dough.

This activity takes some preparation and thought but is well worth it to teach the Easter Story to children….and yummy too!

EASTER STORY COOKIES:

 Make the evening before Easter…

1c. Whole Pecans

1 tsp. Vinegar

1c. Sugar

Zipper Baggie

3 Egg Whites

Tape

Wooden Spoon

Pinch Salt

Bible

Preheat oven to 300° (This is important– Do it now!)

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. (John 19:1-3.)

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. (John 19:28-30.)

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. (John 10:10-11.)

Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. (Luke 23:27.)

So far the ingredients are not appetizing.

Add 1c. sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. (Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.)

 Beat with a mixer for 12-15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. (Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3.)

Fold in broken nuts.

Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. (Matt. 27:57-60.)

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed. (Matt. 27:65-66.) GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. (John 16:20 and 22.)

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. (Matt. 28:1-9.)

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

Planning a spring party gives you many themes to choose from such as bugs, butterflies, gardening and flowers, baby animals and baseball!  I chose a butterflies and flowers birthday party for my little girl’s first birthday.  Sure, there are naysayers that insist parties should not be given for a baby since they will not remember the event.  I say, boo hiss, a first party is given for family and friends to celebrate friendship, community and surviving that first year with no sleep. So, I had to plan for various ages and food for whole families.

I started with the invitations and sent out 3 weeks prior to the party:

I learned to smile and laugh, then sit and stand
And I can walk if you hold my hand,

But the fun has only just begun
Because next I will be turning ONE!

You are invited for food and cake
And to help us celebrate!

Then listed the date, time and place.

Many store bought invitations are cute and save time for you to plan the activities and shop for food!

Activities:

Pot Painting

I purchased terra cotta pots for each child, outdoor acrylic paint and sponges and brushes.  I had this activity first so the pots would have time to dry before we planted flowers.Use a permanent marker to write names on the bottom of the pot before they start to paint.

Pot Flowers:

This is a two adult operation with little ones.  I had a tarp out for this activity which had potting soil, shovels, watering cans and blooming flowers. You could plant seeds.

Egg Hunt:

We did an Easter egg hunt since it was the weekend of Easter.  The eggs were filled with butterfly and spring themed items.  A special section was just for the one year old’s that had fish crackers in them.  It may not sound exciting, but they liked it.

Bubble time:  What little one does not enjoy a few bubbles.

Butterfly Waltz (preschool): Need balloons with butterflies drawn on them. Music. 1 balloon per child. Kids keep the balloons in the air until the music stops, then freeze with their balloon when off.

Butterfly Flutter:

Version of red light, green light where you flap your wings to run.

Coffee Filter Butterfly:

Use an eye dropper to drop paint onto coffee filter, allow to dry and then wrap pipe cleaner in the middle of filter making the butterfly wings. Leave two ends of pipe cleaner up to look like the antennaes.

Whether you are hosting a party, play group or just planning something fun for your family there are many engaging activities, yummy foods and creative crafts to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Matter of fact, it is one of my favorite parties to have children over to our house. There are no great expectations on this day, it is usually beautiful outside (at least in the southwest of the U.S.) and it just seems to always be relaxing and exciting for the children.  Maybe, it is the lack of cake and ice cream!

Where to start?

Choose the time of day.

The time of the party depends the age of your children, your schedule and if you will serve a meal or light snacks. For a small group, I start at 9:00a.m. and have green pancakes for breakfast.  If you would like to keep things simple,  plan between meals so you will only offer snacks.

Invite:

If it is for a playgroup or an informal group of friends I will send out an e-mail.  If I am planning a larger group or if I have the time I will buy or make invites to mail.  This is your preference and schedule!

Activities and Crafts:

Most parties I plan are jam packed with activities since we do not have a large house or yard to roam in.  Also, the teacher part of me likes to set everything up in “centers.”   With that in mind, I plan more than I need just in case one craft is not as cool as I thought or if they finish earlier than anticipated.  You may have a large yard or bounce house to allow more free play.  Under the heading of St. Patrick’s Day are several craft and activity ideas for planning a party.

Food:

The theme is quite easy for St. Patrick’s Day, GREEN.   Younger children are easy to plan for since they typically eat snacks for their meals.  So, you could have everyone bring a green snack such as cucumber sticks, celery, grapes, kiwi, chips and guacamole and the list goes on.  As mentioned, I serve a pancake breakfast (pancake mix with green food coloring) and have another snack (green veggies and fruit) a wee bit later. More traditionally, a lunch or dinner of corned beef and cabbage could be served for older children, or the theme of green eggs and ham could be used for food and decorations.

Decorations:

I have the children decorate as they please with green streamers and shamrock cut-outs.  They think of spots that I would never have…like all the doorways.  If you have crafts from school or your own home just put them up and the house looks ready for a celebration!

Have fun and keeping the party simple allows for one more memorable moment with your children.

Mother’s Day is a fun day to celebrate all the things mom’s do. Here are a few simple ideas to show mom you care and have a little fun as a family!

Coupon Book

Make a book full of coupons for mom to use when she needs it the most in the next year! Fold up pieces of paper and staple at the binding. Decorate the cover and fill in the coupon pages. What chores need to be done around the house? What would your mom really appreciate? A few ideas could be “I will wash all the dishes after dinner while you take a walk or bath,” “I will pay a game with you,” “This coupon good for one car wash,” and “This coupon good for one bear hug!”

Picnic Basket Lunch

Prepare a picnic lunch in a basket full of her favorite snacks and go to a park with the family. There is something about spreading out a picnic blanket and having all your favorite people around that is all enduring to a mother!

Take Mom on a Trip (pretend)

Does your mom love the beach? Decorate one room in the house that brings the beach to mom. Use butcher paper to paint or draw the ocean and a colorful sunset and put on the wall. You can even bring beach chairs and a play pool if possible. Have dinner or a picnic at the beach. You can have ocean sounds playing in the background and decorate with seashells!

Does she love Paris or want to go? Prepare a picnic with cheese, baguettes, and wine with French music in the air. Using butcher paper or poster board you could design your own tower. If you have the space in the house or outside put up twinkling lights to make your own private bistro. Ooh, la, la! Moms always appreciate the effort!

Other places to “pretend” go would be Hawaii using leis and items to decorate from a party store and Italy with the checkered tablecloth, Italian music and food.

Flower Pot

Buy a terra cotta pot and decorate. Using paints, children can put their finger prints around the edge or sponge paint the pot. Remember to put their name and the date with a permanent marker. Using items such as buttons, sea shells or fabric, children can create their own design for the flower pot. When the pot is dry, plant a pretty flower for mom to enjoy!

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!

So what is Cinco de Mayo?

According to Wikipedia, Cinco de Mayo (“5th of May” in English) is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s Independence Day; Mexico’s Independence Day is actually September 16 (dieciséis de septiembre in Spanish), which is the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico. More information can be found at http://clnet.ucla.edu/cinco.html.

So, another opportunity to celebrate and learn about other cultures and geography! I always love to take advantage of a holiday to make learning fun.

Here are a few ideas to bring the celebration to your home or classroom.

Tissue Paper Flowers

An oldie but goodie. What you will need; 4-6 sheets tissue paper per flower and pipe cleaners.

Cut the tissue into rectangles, all the same size. The size you choose depends on the size flower you want.

Accordian fold the paper about one inch, then fold in middle and twist pipe cleaner.

Separate the tissue from one another and pull gently in one direction to make flower.

Options: Use a stick to wrap additional green pipe cleaners around and attach as a stem to hold flower, instead of pipe cleaner tie with string and tie to a hair tie to put in hair.

Maracas

To make your own shakers you will need; paper plates, markers or crayons to decorate, dried beans, stapler, streamers or ribbon.

Decorate two paper plates (the bottom parts of the plate), place beans in one plate and tape streamers or ribbons on plate. Put other plate on top, so the bottom of the plates are facing out.

Staple around the plates to compete the shaker!

Tips: For the little ones use larger beans like Lima beans or cereal and you can tape over the staples so little fingers do not get hurt. To avoid staples, you can use toilet paper rolls and tape over the ends once you have put the beans or cereal in the tube.

Put on some Mexican music and shake along.

Pinata

Make or buy a pinata and have a celebration! I have never made one of these, so I found a link if you are so ambitious, let me know how it goes. Make sure you are prepared for a mess.

http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/19981101/FRIDGE/pinata.htm

Paper Bag Pinata

This version is more my style and lots of fun to make. You can also make individual pinatas out of lunch size paper bags with no treats inside that are great decorations for the home or classroom. Fantastico!

You will need:

Large paper bag (grocery size)
Approximately half a bag full of candy and/or small treats (pencils, stickers, small toys, etc.) mixed with colored paper. It should not weigh too much.

Tape
Colored tissue paper
Glue sticks
Small paper bags and old newspaper

Fill large bag with treats, fold down top, and tape closed. As a family or class, decide on a design for the pinata. Use pieces of tissue paper to cover paper bag and decorate. Small bags filled with newspaper and covered with tissue paper can be used to create features like ears, noses, legs and tails.

After pinata dries, use heavy yarn or twine to suspend from ceiling, tree or stick. Let children take turns hitting it with a stick until it breaks and treats fall out.
Make a Spanish Book

You will need: blank paper, stapler or hole punch with string, pencil and crayons.

Decide on theme and length of book. For example, a counting book with four sheets of paper. Fold the sheets of paper in half, staple or hole punch the binding of the book. If using a hole punch, use a brad or string to complete the binding.

Write the title and author on the cover. (“Child’s name” Counting book”)

You or the child will write on each page and then illustrate. The writing depends on the age of your child it may be a simple “uno” with the numeral (1) written next to it. Then have the child draw a picture of one thing, and so on.
Additional themes may be animals, body parts, colors, etc. or for older children it could be a book about Mexico.

Here is a video found on You Tube with a fun song about the three R’s. After the children watch this you can discuss recycling and what you do in your household to help the earth. Also, if you have a video camera have them do their own commercial or song about recycling and saving the earth. What child does not love watching themselves on television!

One more quick idea, fold a paper into thirds and label each part (reduce, re-use, recycle) and either write or draw an example of each. Listen to Jack Johnson’s Three R’s song!