An Easter Tradition

I like to bake!
No I mean I love to bake breads, desserts and candy!
It’s something that started when I was young.  Our big family always had
dessert after dinner and when I got old enough my mom started to let me
bake.  There was no internet then only good old fashion recipe books.  I
remember flipping through any that had bake goods, especially if they had
photos.  I was also a member of the 4H homemakers club and learned a lot
about baking and making bread there. 
                         
A few years ago my mom was downsizing to a smaller place to live.  As she was
cleaning out she would ask my brothers, sisters and I if there was anything we
wanted.  I knew right away that I wanted that Cookies and Candies recipe book
that I poured over as a child.
                       
As I flipped through the recipe book I found many loose papers containing recipes
that my mom had cut out of magazines or traded with friends and some were
even in her own handwriting.
        
But I found this newspaper clipping that made my heart skip a beat.  A recipe
from The Toronto Daily Star, written in 1962 (I was just a baby) for candy
Easter Eggs.
                    
These delicious chocolate dipped, fondant filled eggs were a tradition in our family
that started way back in 1962 when my older brother Tim, was turning 5.  My mom
made them as place cards for his birthday party.
                    
She continued making the eggs throughout our childhood without fail.  Although
there was one Easter when we almost didn’t get them because someone had
snuck little pieces from every egg with a knife and they wouldn’t own up to it
so mom was punishing us all.  In the end we did get them but not sure what
happen to the culprit.
              
When I had my own daughters I asked my mom for the recipe and have continued
the tradition.  Every year I make them, sometimes sending them to family and
friends or sharing with co workers. 
                         
I’m on Spring Break right now and did a quick trip to Alberta to visit some
family and especially my mom.  It was my turn to be the Easter Bunny and
deliver eggs.  Thank you mom for creating a childhood of many wonderful
memories. 

Bunny Noses

                      
Want a fun, quick Easter craft to do?  Make a bunny nose with whiskers. 
I saw this idea at Kailo Chic and modified it slightly.
 
Just a few materials needed; tongue depressor or popsicle stick, pom poms,
qtips (Kailo Chic used white pipe cleaners but I didn’t have enough) and
hot glue gun. 
          
He wanted eyes so we dug out the googly eyes to add.
   
You could use white glue but the children would have to wait
for them to dry.

Family Tree Group Project

    
Nicole set up this Family Tree project so families could share and
learn about each other.
     
She introduced it during circle time, explaining that the project
 would be set up for the next several days and familes could
participate when they had an opportunity.
 
It didn’t take long for the children to start drawing the different
members in their families.
  
They were also encouraged to write the names of each family
member.
           
Now we have this beautiful tree decorating our wall.
Thanks Nicole for another wonderful project.

An interesting conversation arose after this project was started.
We were singing a traditional song about families.
It goes like this...
"Come a' look a' see here's my mama
Come a' look a' see here's my papa
Come a' look a' see my brother tall
Sister, baby,
I love them all."

Because families come in all different shapes and sizes now,
how would you change this song to make it more inclusive?

Hot Rock Crayon Melting

        
I was so excited to try this art using hot stones and crayons. 
Thanks to The Artful Parent for sharing this great idea.
 
After heating the rocks in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes
we placed them on cardboard covered with foil.
        
While the children waited for me to get the stone from the
kitchen they started to peel crayons.
 
The rocks are HOT and I was concerned that the children would
forget and grab it with their free hand so I provided mitts
for them to wear.
 
It was a lot of fun to watch the crayons melt.  It was almost like
painting because the crayon glided over the rock very smoothly.
 
The colours blend and run together in a beautiful blur.

As a group we talked about what you could use if you don`t have an oven handy.  A couple of suggestions were to use a heating pad, or a toaster oven, or even a crock pot.

A few of the families mentioned they will be repeating this at home.

Easter Fun

Here are a few activities we have been having fun with
this week.

Coloured egg sort by colour and size turned quickly into
being a bunny and hiding the eggs around the room.
 

In our sensory table they found coloured grass, plastic eggs
and egg cups.
         
 

Then there was Jelly Bean Stew.
 
A chance to pretend cook together, share and take turns.
 
A chance to learn a new poem about colours.
 

Paper Egg Dyeing

 
What happens when crepe paper gets wet? 
              It bleeds! 
That was the motivation for the artwork this morning.

The children were encouraged to rip the crepe paper into
small pieces and lay them on their white egg shaped paper.
 
The fun part is using the spray bottle.  Learning how to press
it to make the water come out.  Making sure that the nozzle is
pointing in the right direction so you don’t spray yourself in the
face.
 
After it was wet we laid a another egg on top of the wet one
and pressed.

Most were very wet and as we pressed down we started
to see the colours come through.

Pull the two paper eggs apart to see what happened.

For smaller children we found it easier to use a brush
and water rather than the spray bottle.