ABC Activities for Summer {H-N}

We have now finished H-N in our summer of ABC's. We are still on track and my son is still engaging in the process and still asks what the letter of the day is. He has had a ton of fun with this which helps me. Here are the crafts and snacks for letters H-N:

H: Origami Hats, Honeydew for snack

I: Making Ice Cream, Ice Cream for the snack

I don't have any photos for this one. I had all intentions for making ice cream that day but it was a bad day so we ran to get ice cream. I have plans to try and make some later. My son didn't know the difference!

J: Jungle Animal Puppets, Jello for a snack

K: Kidney bean, bean bags, Rice Krispy treats for snack

This one was a stretch for getting creative with the letter but they are filled with Kidney Beans!

L: Lion Puppet, Lollipops for a snack

M: Milk Jug Toss Game, Marshmallows for snack

I cut the side of a milk jug and across the front to make the container. Then my son put stickers all over it and the bean bags made earlier get thrown into it. He plays with it a lot. 

N: Noodle Art, Nectarines for snack

The milk jug game idea came from the book Make and Takes for Kids by Marie LeBaron

ABC Activities for Summer {A-G}

At my house things have gotten just a tad bit crazy without structure. My son was used to having a set day for pre-school and for other activities and now he has nothing. Our days would drag because we didn't have any plans to keep him busy. So I thought why not work on his alphabet writing skills but I knew he wouldn't write the letters for me if it wasn't with something else.

I decided to do an activity, a snack, books at bedtime, and writing based around a letter everyday. So far my son has loved it and he asks me every day what the letter is and he reminds me to do the activity if by dinner we haven't done it yet. So here is A-G of what I have done. Books have just been pulled from his shelf of books or if we happened to find one at the library.

A: Alligator Puppet out of a box, Apples for the snack

 I just cut a fruit snack box in half and taped them together, then glued felt to the box

B: Bubble Wrap Boat, Banana Bread snack

I just took a small rectangle piece of bubble wrap and hot glued a 5 inch piece of straw to it and the flag is made out of foam

C: Corn Cob painting, Cookies for snack

Pour some paint on a plate and roll half of a corn cob in the paint and roll on the paper

D: Play Doh, Doughnuts for snack

It would be fun to make the doughnuts, I didn't have time but wanted to.

E: Egg Carton Sea Creatures, Egg shaped Jell-o

 All of the sea creatures were made out of the bottom of a carton and then painted and accessorized

F: Button Flag, Fruit Snack

G: Games of any kind, Granola Bar Snack

As for the handwriting I found a really easy way to do it. I bought a handwriting book at Utah Idaho Supply and tore the pages out and laminated them. Then thanks to my sister-in-law I found out that there are dry erase crayons. The crayons write on the pages and wipe off. Now I am not making copies over and over. We do the letter of the day and then review the letters we have already learned. We also practice writing his name.This has really helped us this summer. If there is time too we will do numbers and colors.

The bubble wrap boat, the corn on the cob painting, the egg carton sea creatures and the button flag are ideas I got out of the book Make and Takes for Kids by Marie LeBaron.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb pie makes my day. I could eat it every day if I could. I stumbled across this recipe for this pie at Mel's Kitchen Cafe and had to give it a try.

I don't deviate from the original recipe very much. I do add a bit more strawberries and rhubarb because I can't get enough. I have to be careful though to not get too much because then it sits too high in the crust and more of the syrup oozes out and the crumble on the top has a tendency to burn. I have made her crust before and it does taste divine but lately I have had a tendency to take the cheaters way out and I buy frozen pie crusts to save time.

Filling:

2 3/4 cups sliced rhubarb

2 cups sliced strawberries

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons corn starch

Streusel Topping:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup cold butter

Mix the filling together in a large bowl. It should be thick and syrupy. Pour into pie crust. Her recipe calls for a 9 inch pie crust but most of the time mine is an 8 inch pie crust and it still turns out really good.

For the streusel cut the butter into the flour and brown sugar mixture until the crumbs are no bigger than a pea. Sprinkle over the pie.

Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and Bake at 400 degrees for 50-55 minutes. About half way through cooking add a shield over the edges of the crust to prevent over browning. I have eaten it while it is warm and it will spread everywhere but it is tasty warm however, it should be cooled completely before cutting into.

 This is what I mean by a little burned on top, I added too many strawberries and rhubarb but it still tasted good!

 I could eat this all day, YUM!

Note about the pan underneath, you just add warm water and some soap to the pan and let it sit and the syrup will come right off.

Crocheted Toys

I said in an earlier post that the crochet bug had caught me just a little. Well I started whipping out all these things because it was becoming easy. I didn't want to do blankets but I found some projects in some books I bought that I thought would be different and fun to work on.

First project is a hippo. My son has decided to call him "Swimmer."

Next project was a ball. I grew up with one that we got from a neighbor and when I saw the pattern I thought it would be a good gift to give with the granny square blanket. There are three different sizes, this one is the medium size ball.

Along with the hippo pattern was a rhino pattern. You just had to add horns to his face. I am not fond of the yarn I bought but he did turn out cute and I think I will try this one again with different yarn.

Last project were these stacking rings. I love this one. So bright and fun and such a great idea for a gift. I will definitely be doing this one again!