Search Results for: blog why cook with your preschooler

Enjoy Your Home During Advent

Advent is my favorite time of the year. It’s not because I am particularly religious. I just like anticipation, coziness, and snow. I’m also a fan of warm food. Having family around is good too. For a few years, I started to dislike advent. Sure, I would plan all year to buy my Christmas gifts before the end of November, since I really don’t like going to stores when it is busy. But that is not why I disliked the season. I disliked it because even though coziness, family, and warm food are supposed to be a part of the … Continue reading →

Christmas Crafts That Preschoolers Can Make

It’s the time of the year when thoughts turn toward seasonal holidays: Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you have kids under the age of seven, they tend to be the focus of the Christmas gift-giving. However, there is no reason why they can’t participate in the giving as well. No, you don’t need to give a three-year-old a huge gift allowance and online shopping privileges. You can make some very simple gifts for close friends and family. Children who love to sew can created unique embroidered art work. Take a sheet of thick card and draw a simple picture on it. … Continue reading →

The Busy Life of the Preschooler

Preschoolers are wonderful…think about it. They still think parents knows everything and they think we are perfect (though Grandpa is better). They still like to give kisses and the sweetest hugs for no reason (well, sometimes they do it for the cookie), and best of all they still want to cuddle. This morning, my Deanna, woke in the most loving mood; as she stumbled in the kitchen with her Dora the Explorer jammies turned sideways from the long night of sleep. She was funny to watch as she had tusseled hair–we call “bed head”–and three stuffed bunnies. She gave me … Continue reading →

Make Basic Valentine’s Day Cookies and Cupcakes With Your Preschooler

Yes, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. It’s the wonderful day that encourages all of us to show just how much we love each other with cards, chocolates, flowers and cookies. Of course, for some of us, this means that we just want to flee into the snowbanks and hide out until the requisite holiday baking and crafting is done and we can have some peace until Easter. If you’re still getting over Christmas and want little to do with Valentine’s Day, I hear you. But it’s all right, really it is. White sugar cookies are a parent and … Continue reading →

Christmas Cookies to Bake With a Preschooler

Since I was sixteen years old – and that was a while ago – I have been baking Christmas cookies for our extended family and friends. I bake hundreds of cookies and they all go into the freezer in early December, ready to be parcelled out in cookie baskets. This is the time of year when I begin saving for and planning the great excursion to the grocery store to pick up cookie supplies. I also make a list of families who will receive baskets this year, so if you’re not on it yet, now’s your chance! The last four … Continue reading →

Why Cook With Your Preschooler?

I love food. I’m not an epicurean cook, since life seems to be too busy to create fancy meals most of the time. However, I am big on fresh, local ingredients, invented recipes, and delicious seasonal produce. Most of the time, my preschooler is welcome in the kitchen. Why? 1. Cooking is a chance to talk together. As long as I don’t get too hung up on doing things the “right” way, it’s a good bonding time, and we’re both doing something that we enjoy, whether it’s creating sauces or having a taste of maple syrup. 2. Cooking is a … Continue reading →

Spider Crafts for Preschoolers

Tis the season for spooky spider crafts! Halloween is a great time to talk about spiders and other “scary” animals with your preschooler. Make a spider sandwich. Take two oval-shaped cookies and sandwich icing and thin licorice strings in the center. Four licorice strings on each side and you get bonus points for being anatomically accurate, since spiders have eight legs. Gummies are good for eyes. Or if you’re looking for a healthier alternative, use a cookie cutter to make circular sandwiches with flat fillings like cream cheese. Place the sandwich in the middle of the plate and make lines … Continue reading →

Charity and the Preschooler

“Mommy, I thought charity was a girl.” That was my 4-year-old’s response after a man from our local St. Vincent de Paul non-profit thrift store helped unload the last bag of donated goods from our car. For weeks we have been organizing, purging and de-cluttering our home all in the name of charity. After I tackled the kitchen and living room I moved on to my daughter’s room. While she was busy crashing her remote control Jeep into towers of wooden blocks I dumped out a gigantic container of stuffed animals and asked her to help me make two piles. … Continue reading →

Baby Blog Month in Review: July 2008

Two of my three children are summer babies. That is, they were born in the summer and had their first months surrounded by sunshine streaming in the windows, the sound of birds chirping, and days spent wearing nothing but a diaper and a “onsie.” I made sure that they had Fourth of July outfits ready, even though one of them arrived a week after the holiday. I guess he just wasn’t interested in the parade. Do you have a summer baby, too? We had a lot of new information to share this past month, such as recall notices and new … Continue reading →

Ideas for Volunteering with a Toddler or Preschooler

Making the time to do good works is important for all families. Getting children started early with the concept of volunteerism is a wonderful way to make the acts so much a part of their lives that it comes natural for them. One of the added benefits of volunteering with your toddler or preschooler is that it may give you the means and motivation to volunteer yourself. Isn’t it difficult to carve out the time to volunteer when you are busy taking care of little ones. Making volunteering a family affair solves that problem! So how can you get started? … Continue reading →