Making Flatbreads Fun with Kids

Flatbreads: crip chips served with dips

With longer days there is a greater chance to play outdoors and come inside to read or cook in a cozy kitchen. Flatbreads are one of the easiest recipes to cook with children. They are never fail and so versatile. Flatbreads are delicious served soft or baked as crisp chips and served with dips. 

Kids Can Easily Cook
  After washing hands, young children can help gather bowls and utensils. Then mix one-cup flour and ½ teaspoon salt in a bowl. Trickle seven tablespoons warm water on the flour while mixing with a spoon.  Mix in two tablespoons olive oil. If it is too sticky add a little more flour.  If it is too dry, add a splash of water. Help children knead the dough for five minutes on a clean surface lightly dusted with flour.

Young children can help!

They will need two hands and some muscle to fold the dough over. Let the dough stand for 30 minutes or cook immediately.
  Divide the dough into four or six balls and use a rolling pin to make round flat circles. Adults can spray the bottom of a small frying pan and cook each flatbread about two minutes on one side while children watch from a safe distance. Flip over and cook on the other side for a few minutes. The flatbread should be a light color with a few brown spots. Place a clean towel over them to keep warm.
Many Healthy Toppings
  Toppings include honey and bananas, peanut butter and jelly, diced fruit or vegetables, scrambled eggs, peanut butter and apple, turkey and melted cheese in a microwave, or any pizza topping. They can be

Add toppings of all healthy kinds

squished or rolled to eat.
  These can also be turned into dipping chips by rubbing them with a little olive oil, cutting into shapes like rectangles and triangles, baked and watched carefully for 5 minutes in a 300 degree oven until crisp.
  A puffier flatbread recipe is 2 cups flour, 1tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ cup water, ½ cup dairy or nondairy milk, and 2 tablespoons olive oil.
   “Pete’s a Pizza” a book by Steig can be turned into a little play. Children become pizzas or flatbreads by lying on the floor. The pizza maker adds sauce by sprinkling a little water on them and then adds some tomatoes (paper circles or checkers), slices of yellow paper cheese, and other ingredients.  The last step is to tickle the “pizzas” a little to heat them up. The little pizzas will laugh like crazy.
  More books are “The Little Red Hen Makes Pizza,” “Curious George and the Pizza Party,” “A Pizza the Size of the Sun” by Prelutsky, and “Pizza” by Pienkowski. 
Sketches by Mark Nowicki
More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio, 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest

Learning and Fun with Money

Money is Fascinating to Children

Money is fascinating to young children especially when they look closely at the pictures and symbols. They learn about national monuments in Washington D.C., national parks, states, founding fathers, and presidents. They can learn what George Washington and Abraham Lincoln actually looked like.
  By examining money, families can begin teaching children about the history of the United States, slogans, and government basics (civics).
   Some easy and fun money experiences can be provided at home to supplement classroom activities around President’s Day. Older siblings or adults can spend time interacting, and answering questions while supervising young children.
Look Closely at Money

Money Helps Learn About National Monuments

  Collect some change and paper money and spread it out on the table. If children have a piggy back or have just received money, they will especially enjoy looking at “their money.” Use a magnifying glass to look at the pictures on the money. What date is on the coin? What US symbols and slogans are on the money? Talk about what a President does and how citizens choose this leader, especially important during an election year. Who is the President now?  Where does he live? Older children will like the philadelphia.org/education site and learn about pyramids, frogs, goddesses, and Santa Claus on early money.
  Sort and categorize the money in piles. Talk about what we call each piece of money. What do we do with money? Where do people keep their money? Older kids can learn the value of each coin and how we count change.
 

Talk About Money & Start A Collection

How much money is on the table if you add it all together? Write it down to show how we write dollars and cents. Younger kids will enjoy just counting how many of each type of coin is present. Line them up.  How many pennies would we need to make a nickel or dime? Children may want to start a quarter collection and learn about a state on each quarter.
Fun Money Science
 After covering a table with newspaper, mix a little salt with some lemon juice in a plastic or ceramic cup. Drop a few pennies into the lemon juice and let them soak for about 30 minutes.

Practice Science With Money

Then remove the pennies and wipe them with a paper or cloth.    Another suggestion is to make a little paste with the juice plus some baking soda, rub it on the penny for a few minutes, then rinse. The darker residue that is removed is copper oxide caused by oxygen in the air combining with the copper. A new shiny penny appears.  Remind children not to touch their eyes, wash hands, and wipe up the area. 
Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos 
More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio, 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest

Helping to Make Stronger Families

Positive Care Strengthens Families

How can we strengthen families so children can be successful? The American Society for Positive Care of Children and the Strengthening Families programs find developing social and emotional health is as important as reading to children every day.
  Crying or screaming babies can be most stressful since they don’t have the words to tell what is wrong. From birth, we can start giving children emotional words even though they may not understand or say them yet.
  First check physical needs. ”You are so (hungry, wet, tired, or uncomfortable). I will help.” Let them know you understand how they feel and start teaching words they will use later. Take a deep breath and describe what is gong on in a neutral way to help stay calm, too.
Being Proactive
    If babies are frustrated because they can’t play with a dangerous object, keep it out of sight. Offer a distraction. Offer a different toy or change the scenery. If a baby can’t stand the car seat, offer a wonderful plaything only available in the car.

Plan for Young Ones' Needed Down Time

   When babies need downtime during a certain time of the day, read a soothing story, rock, play soft music, or hold in front of a window. Happy and soothing books include “The Perfect Hug” and the “Perfect Kiss” by Walsh.
   Avoid running errands at that time until they are older. Organize a support group of friends and relatives to take turns having one or two hours of free time to conduct errands.
  During out of control crying, remain calm and positive, deep breathe, and praise them for something. “You will be much happier and cozier now. Close your little eyes and relax.” Then take a nap when they sleep. Chores can wait.
  In toddlers, preschoolers, or older children, anger may look like many emotions.  It is difficult to know until children have the words and are calm enough to talk about their feelings Help children know what they are feeling and use the words. Frustration, sadness, hurt, jealously, worry, anxiety, disappointment, embarrassment, fear can look the same.
Getting the Anger Out

Teach Emotional Words Through Conversations

  Teaching emotional words and how to calm down cannot be taught during a full-fledged melt down. They can be taught at many other times during the day through conversations or after a melt down.
  Young children can learn to calm down by slowly breathing deeply in through the nose and sticking out the stomach. Exhale through the mouth much longer and slower than inhaling.
  Young children can punch a pillow, tense and relax muscles from the face to the toes, exercise, or count to 10 slowly. When they are calm, use ”I messages” to let them know you understand their feelings. ”I understand you are angry” can start the conversation. 
Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos 
More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio, 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest

Taking Winter Science Walks

Take Walks on Trails or at Home

When a warmer sunny winter day comes around, grab it, for there is fun and learning outside.
  Children also need vitamin D provided by sunshine, milk, and some juices. Vitamin D works with calcium to develop strong healthy bones. Families can plan on a twenty-minute time of exploring outside on sunny days. Remember to have children wear sunglasses in the bright snow, too.
   Talk while dressing for the outdoors.

Talk and Explore

Point out right and left boots.  Mark the right boot with an X or R. As you help with snow pants, jackets, boots, and mittens use “right” repeatedly. “Let’s put on your right boot.” Raise your right arm.”  “Give me your right leg.” You might sing a little “Hokey Pokey” about the right side only.
Keep it Simple  If children are not accustomed to being outside, an adventure might be very simple.  Young children can take a walk to the mailbox and follow a path you have made while they hold your hand.  They can drag a stick in the snow like the character in “The Snowy Day” by Jack Ezra.
  Young children can help shovel a bit of the porch or a little part of the sidewalk.  They can collect snow and watch it melt inside later. If they bring a pan of snow inside and place the loose snow in top of water will it sink or float before it melts? It is less dense with more air between molecules no matter how hard the snow is packed. Therefore, it will float.
 They can collect snowflakes on cold black paper to count the points on the crystals.
Be Science Detectives

Be Science Detectives

Once outside children explore and solve mysteries for a short time.  Take a short walk around the yard and look for animals and tracks. What made these tracks? What direction were the animals going? What were they looking for?  Where do rabbits, mice, and squirrels go when it is cold? Common small animals like ants, earthworms, bees, and butterflies are not around.  Where are they?
   If the snow packs, young children can make a small snowman family since big balls are too heavy. They may also like to stack ice chunks and make a small fort or dig into a small snow bank. 

Look for the Unusual

Look for plant skeletons that might be sticking up through the snow. Children can make a small bouquet to take inside.  Think small and a take few minutes for any activity as attention span is usually short and preschool children chill easily.  Their boots may get full of snow. Snow will get under their cuffs and even the best mittens don’t work well on very small hands.  Sometimes just a sled ride is possible. 
Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos
More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio, 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest