Winter Picnics Get Kids Outside

A Picnic is a State of Mind -- Anywhere!! 

A picnic is a state of mind and can be anywhere. Winter picnics can be more like a camping experience with campfire cooking, or a quick picnic snack in the backyard.  Each way gets children out of the house in the fresh air when the temperature is not too cold. It is an added plus when when the sun shines, but some winter areas around the country don’t get a lot of sun until February.  Who can wait that long?

Winter Park Picnic

  Look for a neighborhood park with a few trees and bring along a tarp and blanket.  The tarp will keep the blanket dryer and more comfortable. To make the picnic simple you can pack a thermos of tomato, chicken noodle, or vegetable soup and cups and your children’s favorite crackers and cheese. Mac and cheese also works well. Add some carrots and dip, some berries, cookies and hot chocolate.  You can also go to a sheltered spot or snow fort in your back yard.

Try a Winter Campfire Picnic

Winter Campfire Picnics

  If exploring as a family, you may want to try a campfire picnic. There are few tricks to starting a campfire in the snow and maintaining it   Shovel the snow aside so that you can start the fire on solid ground or if there’s a thick base or too much snow to push aside, pack it down so that you have a solid platform to put a base of logs like a raft to start your fire on. Search for dry wood under vegetation. Pine cones, dry birch bark pieces and pine needles make a good kindling. Surround the fire with any logs you haven’t used, so the heat of the fire can help dry them out and provide you with extras. Some people place two small logs going east and west and the next layer going north and south to make a little chimney hole. Then they build the fire inside the hole.

Camp fire recipes

Adapt Those Summer Recipies & Take Them on the Trail!

Many summer camping recipes can be adapted to winter.  The trick is to make foods ahead of time, and wrap them in double tin foil. Serve with hot chocolate and end the meal with s’mores.

 To make stew packets, brown one pound of ground turkey or beef. Place some diced carrots, potatoes and one onion in a little olive oil and cook in a fry pan until tender. Stir in meat and add salt, pepper and  herbs. Make four little double layer foil pockets and place ¼ of the mixture and ¼ cup of chicken broth in each one. Roll foil tightly and seal. Place on white coals until warm. Burritos are also a hit made ahead and warmed on white coals. For more winter fun see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com or wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons.

Photos, Fran Darling: fdarling fotos

Children Interacting with Snow

“There’s just something beautiful about walking on snow that nobody else has walked on.”

Carol Rifka Brunt

Winter Trees

  

Explore Sunny Snowy Places

Being in a snowstorm is not fun, but afterwards when the sun shines, exploring places where children have not walked before is great fun.  Look for evergreens. They offer a variety of sights, sounds and smells. Search for cones on the ground and some that are still on the trees. Without mittens find some sap on the cones and rub it on your fingers. Is there a smell and taste? Children can rub needles together and smell. Do different kinds of conifers like pines, cedar, and spruce trees smell different? Don’t worry about the sticky fingers.  A little butter rubbed on the fingers and wiped with a cloth will take it off.  

  Show the kids that white pines have five leaves (needles) and red pines have two in a cluster.

You can cozy up to a tree and look for whorls of branches. Count the whorls going up the tree to estimate the age of evergreen trees. Notice all of the needles under the trees.  Children may think that they do not lose their needles. Point out that is not true. Most conifers lose about one third of their needles every fall.  Larch, bald cypress and dawn redwood are called deciduous conifers because they lose all needles every year.

Get to Know Your Animal Tracks

 You can talk about how the trees can give shelter to animals. It is also a quiet a cozy spot for a snack. 

Winter Critters 

  There might be some some tracks you can identify around the tree. Children can learn more about the animal species that stick around the winter months by making pine cone-  feeders for them. Tie a string around a pine cone. Slather a mixture of peanut butter, cornmeal, and oats with a spoon. Roll the coated pinecone in a small bag of birdseed until completely covered. Then hang the pinecone feeders in a tree that can be easily watched. Children can keep a notebook and draw pictures of what visits the feeders. They can check library books for more information.  

Freezing Bubbles

Freezing Is a Winter Decoration

 Blowing bubbles is not only for summer. If the temperature is below freezing outside with no wind, put some soap bubble solution in the freezer for up to 30 minutes. With patience, children can blow some bubbles outside and watch as they crystalize in the three layers before their eyes. Some people stir in a little sugar before placing in the freezer. The bubbles will also roll around on dry pavement instead of popping immediately. It is a great way to talk about the science of molecules slowing down and freezing from liquids to a solid and crystals. For more see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons.  

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

Apple Pies and Kids Go together

You can almost Smell & Taste these Apples

The smell and taste of apple pie makes the home feel warmer when anyone comes in from the cold. The cooked apple pie smell swirls around the house and freshens the place. Apples existed 3,000 years ago in Kazakhstan, Central Asia. Later they were carried to Europe and brought to the American colonies. Johnny Appleseed actually did spread the seeds around the east coast. Here are a few easy Grandparent- tested apple pie recipes that children can help make in a short time.

English Apple Pie 

  You will need 4-5 tart baking apples like Rome, golden delicious, granny smith or Cortland varieties that hold their shape. Peel, quarter, remove the core, thin slice, and place in a deep dish pie pan. Children can use a table knife to help cut the apples into slices.  It won’t matter how the slices look. It won’t matter if the slices are slightly brown from oxidation, either. Place apples in a sprayed pie pan.

Try Some Grandparent-Tested Recipes

  Sprinkle a little less than one cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon on top of the apples and have children mix them slightly with the apples.

  In a bowl place ½ cup melted butter, ½ flour, and ½ cup brown sugar.  Children can stir ingredients with a strong wooden spoon. Place this mix on top of the apples, spread them around, and press down.

  Bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven. Watch the last five minutes that the topping is the brownish color you and the children desire. Cool and serve with whipped cream, ice cream, or cheddar cheese while the aroma is fresh. 

Easy Apple Bites 

   The recipes from state apple councils have many good suggestions for cooking with children.

Try These and More

Here is one from the Michigan Apple Council.  You will need an eight -ounce package of refrigerated crescent dinner rolls and one large Braeburn or other baking apple. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper to avoid burning.

  

 In a small bowl combine 1/8 cup sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 ½ tablespoons of butter. Coat the apples slices with the mixture. Use the directions on the package to separate the dough into eight triangles on the baking sheet. Top each triangle with a slice of apple peeled or unpeeled.  Start at the wide side and wrap the dough around the apple. Brush the wrapped shapes with 1 ½ tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle a mixture of 1/8 cup sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Bake for 12 minutes and cool for 5-10 minutes. Top with whipped cream or ice cream.  They pack well in lunches the next day. 

For more recipes go to: http://www.michiganapples.com/Recipes/Desserts 

For more see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com or wnmufm.org/ Learning Through the Seasons live and pod casts Facebook, Pinterest, and You Tube.

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos