Activity Blues, Homemade Bars, and Get Down and Dirty Finger Painting

It inevitably will happen. One day you will wake up and be terribly bored with the routine or the toys. Actually, it may be your child who suddenly comes to this realization, but rest assure he or she will quickly let you know about it. Either way, ideas for new activities can be hard to come by, especially if you're stressed, lack energy, or just have a passing brain lull.

When such a case arises, I have found a comprehensive website that will get you out of your fix fast: fun.familyeducation.com. Busy moms should consider bookmarking it for fast retrieval. It offers tons of activities, games, and ideas for every season; many that are easy and quick to organize, so that you can get the fun started ASAP.

Recipe:

Playgroup Granola Bars

I found this healthy kids recipe at All Recipes, which I really love because it has such a large community following you get more feedback than you'd ever need about any given recipe. Case in point: Several of the changes I made to this recipe came from suggestions that other cooks offered, and the end results were delicious!

Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 Tbs. flax meal
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey (I think they are really sweet enough with 1/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2) In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, flax meal, cinnamon, flour, raisins, pecans, and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix well. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

3) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm.

Project:

Finger Painting

What You Will Need

Paper
Tape
Finger paints or the ingredients to make them
Soap and water to clean up

Kids love to finger paint, and since there is no tool involved, i.e. paintbrush, it doesn't take much dexterity, which means you can try this activity pretty early on with your budding babe. If you're toddler won't keep her/his fingers out of her/his mouth, then you should probably hold off, otherwise here are some non-toxic paint suggestions to keep the kiddies chemical-free:

4 colors with organic, all food ingredients

Clementine Art Natural Children's Craft and Finger Paint

or

Make your own paint with this easy recipe from Planet Green


1) Tape the paper to an easy-to-clean surface, e.g. linoleum or tile floor. Open paints and let her/him at it, or model what to do if this is the first time.


"A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust." -Gertrude Jekyll