A Few Stories from Boat Building

Last week when we were at the creek building boats we had several families 

with very little ones.

I enjoyed watching how the parents included them.

Mom is being supportive of her little one as he uses the hammer.

He's ready to attach his sail and mom is describing what he needs

to do.

Once it is on she encourages him to press the tape.

Time to launch.

Then he tries it himself.

This dad gathered up the materials he needed and set them on the mat

with his little one.

This allowed his son to explore each of the materials.

I didn't catch if they were able to launch their boat

before nap time.

Boat Building

Last week for Earth Day we did our annual boat building

at Brooklyn Creek.

We are so grateful to Grandpa Ben who made all these boats for us.

He even drilled a small hole and included doweling for a mast.

Awesome!

Other materials we used was sandpaper, tape, hammer, nails, screws, screwdrivers,

 markers, fabric for a sail and yarn.

The families got busy gathering their materials to build.

Some started with sanding their boat,

others decorated their sail,

and others started with hammering.

Once they had it decorated and the sail attached they had to do one more thing before launching.

They needed to tie a string to their boat and the other end to a stick.

Time to launch.

And launch again and again.

A few boats had issues staying upright so some modifications had to be made.

"Oh, oh my boat is sailing away!"

Grandma to the rescue.

After playing in the creek for over an hour we walked to the beach

for snack and story.

I read "One-Dog Canoe" by Mary Casanova.

It's a cumulative tale that includes lots of animals.

We then attempted to sail our boats at the beach but it was quite windy

and the waves kept pushing our boats back in.

This picture sums up our Earth Day.

We love the earth and love spending time outside.

Cooking with Cauliflower

This week we made Cauliflower Bread for our snack.

Costco sells cauliflower already chopped which made it easier to work with the children.

I found the recipe at ifoodreal.

First you bake the cauliflower at 375 for 20 minutes.

When you take it out turn your oven up to 450 for the next step of baking to come.

Place a tea towel over a bowl and scoop all the baked cauliflower into it.

It is still hot so let it cool a bit.

I did this part myself while the children watched me magically

make water come out.

Once you have most of the liquid squeezed out place it in a bowl.

I had saved some of the original cauliflower and we did a comparison.

Next add 1/4 cup of egg whites,

and a half cup of cheese.

Sprinkle in a teaspoon of italian herbs and some pepper.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and

flatten it out.

Put it in the oven (at 450F) for 18 minutes.

Remove and sprinkle on another 1/2 cup of cheese.

Finish baking another 5 minutes.

Put it under the broiler till golden brown.

All that is left is to cut and eat.

Most of the children tried it and liked it.

I think because of the cheesy flavour.