Screenless Activities - Quick Recipes
Your kid is a font of good ideas. They want to make dragon trains and have princess dance parties. They want to turn the living room into a Hotwheels rainforest! They want to cook a three-tiered cake to celebrate Wednesday! If only we could see the world through their eyes…
But you’re tired! Work is long and Covid is never ending. There are dishes to be done and laundry to fold. It can feel like it takes a huge effort to switch directions into the creative realm.
My advice to you: Do it anyway, keep it simple.
You don’t have to turn your whole house into a sprawling city scape to play Taxi like they did in Bluey, but you can pull the chairs around and put on “city noises” with youtube. (I did say screen-less… but I think we can make exceptions for excellent ambient noise apps).
You don’t have to put on full costumes for a dance party! You could just only dance a certain way if you’re a certain character/princess.
I WILL WRITE MORE ON SIMPLE DANCE PARTIES AND IMAGINATION GAMES IN A LATER POST! For this entrty I’m going to focus on one thing, and it’s because my little Imagination Rockstars have been a little obsessed with it…
Baking on a School Night.
I know. I picture it too.
Sticky bowls. Flour on the floor. Every one of our measuring spoons eventually hits the floor, and they all just end up tossed into the batter bowl.
But before you say no, think about what baking offers your child and you.
Measuring out ingredients is good for several different math essentials from number sense to subitization to fractions.
Helping in the kitchen gives them a sense of independence. It offers confidence that they are being entrusted with real tools, not toys. It gives them a chance to feel like they are contributing. Being natural helpers, this is an enriching experience for them emotionally.
Baking and cooking give the child an opportunity to experiment. Little failures with you help them become more familiar with failure as an essential part of the learning process rather than something to be feared.
You get a chance to be with them, doing something fun, no distractions. This is an incredible boost to your relationship and the trust you share. It also may help you feel enriched and emotionally boosted, because who doesn’t like licking a batter spoon? At the end of the day flour and milk are pretty easy to clean up. Having giggles and belly laughs can turn a whole day around.
All this being said, you don’t have to bake a three-tiered cake.
Simple recipes that do not take four hours to complete are key. I like to use the Star Wars Cookbooks for kids! They also have Harry Potter cookbooks, Sesame Street Cookbooks, and countless online resources for parents like who you have gone through the process.
Rice Krispies Treats: We LOVE cooking rice krispies treats at the center with our students. They are easy, fun, and full of mostly shelf-stable ingredients. They are also super easy to modify for allergies. You can cut them in any shape you like. They can be multicolored. You can BUILD with them! The possibilities are endless, and the clean-up is quick.
Banana Bread: Everyone has a fantastic banana bread recipe. We included “Big Bird’s Banana Bread” recipe because it was specifically designed with little hands in mind. It’s yummy, healthy, and perfect for breakfast and snacks!
Frozen Yogurt Bites: These are so cool because you really can’t go wrong with flavors. Fruit and Yogurt are foods for all ages, so an older sibling can make a scrumptious treat FOR a younger sibling. Silicone baking molds come in all sorts of shapes from robots to unicorns, so you can have “themed tea parties” with your frozen treats on the side!
Mug Cakes: Full disclosure, we make these in my house all the time. They’re quick, simple, and small, perfect for a little sweet bedtime bite while we read. If you are totally out of energy but still want to do something a little extra sweet with your littles, this one “takes the cake.”
No Bake Cookie Dough Balls: All the fun of making cookie dough without any of the worry about raw ingredients or messing with the oven! This is one example of a really great recipe that accommodates allergies and has healthy ingredients for growing bellies.
We are not always the parents we want to be, all patience and creativity. But you are amazing. All of you. Just as you are. At the end of the day, you’re not going to remember spotless counters. You’re going to remember the first time they cracked an egg. You’re going to remember when you mixed up baking flour and baking soda and laughed at the result. And they’re going to remember that even on a cold, rainy Tuesday, you all found a little magic together before bedtime.
Do you have recipes you and your families use when baking with kids? We would love to see them! Share them in the comments.
With love (and plenty of baking disaster stories!)
LJ and your Common Ground Family
BLOOD DRIVE + FIREWORKS JULY 9TH!
JULY 9TH IS THE END OF OUR CELEBRATIONS WEEK AT CAMP.
Our camp will be doing different holiday celebrations all week, but we are reserving 4th of July for Friday! How are we celebrating?
We are co-hosting a blood drive with St. Anne’s Episcopal Church! Sign up HERE and use Sponsor Code 8604.
It goes from 12-7PM so schedule your appointment any time. SHARE THIS FLYER with anyone you think would like to help save a life!
There will be fireworks!
Officially, WE CLOSE ON TIME ON FRIDAY, JULY 9TH. But you don’t have to leave! We will have a food truck, the playground, and a moon bounce for anyone who wants to stay and play! PLEASE NOTE that this is not an event where teachers will be on duty! We would like to celebrate with you!
Wear your Tie-Dye if you Got it!
All of our campers will be wearing their tie-dye shirts today! We encourage you to come out in your Tie-Dyed Best! Dressed to the multi-colored nines! We want pictures of our color-splashed CG fam <3
THERE WILL BE A DRAWING FOR FABULOUS PRIZES FOR DONORS!
Donating blood is worth five tickets! Otherwise, tickets are $5.00 each! We will have prizes available including:
Common Ground Tie Dye Tote Bag! Hand-made by your campers!!
Common Ground Water Bottle!
Common Ground Coffee Mugs!
A night of babysitting FREE from your very own Mr. Josh!
STAY TUNED FOR MORE PARTY ANNOUNCEMENTS! We have more surprises in store!
Curious? -- Little Caesar's Pizza Kit Review!!
WE ARE DOING A FUNDRAISER FOR DELICIOUS LITTLE CAESAR’S PIZZA KITS UNTIL JULY 7TH AND THE REVIEWS ARE IN!!
Are you intrigued about getting these for your next movie night, but unsure if your kids would be interested? Well GOOD NEWS!! One of our Rising Stars families came back with a STELLAR REVIEW about the “build your own mini pizza kit” and I think the pictures speak for themselves…
These are easy peasy for toddlers to participate with. They cook up really nicely, they are easily shared, and did you know that a child is much more likely to try a food that they helped to prepare? It’s true!
Have you tried any of these kits? Do you have pictures from your family gathering?? Feel free to share them with us! We would love to see all the ways that these little “party in a box” pizzas add to your memories.
Anyone can buy them and support us! Share THIS LINK or THIS FLYER on your social media, with your office, with your fam! Anyone who buys a mouth-watering pizza, breadsticks, cheese bread, or cookie kit with our link earns us money!
PIZZA PIZZA!!
-Your CG Family