While swapping recipes, the Flying Hen and I found out that we had a favorite cookbook in common, the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.  Our mothers used older editions of the book and my Rooster even admits to being impressed with the wide range of topics covered in this timeless kitchen reference.  So on a recent trip to the bookstore, the familiar red and white checkerboard cover on a kids cookbook caught my eye.  It was Better Homes and Gardens Snack Attack!

Our kids like to help out in the kitchen, but those times seem to be getting fewer and farther between once school started.  I wanted to get the kids involved in the kitchen again and still fit it into our school schedule.  Better Homes and Gardens Snack Attack! is full of fun recipes for kids to make, and the bright illustrations and large recipe photos caught their eye right away.  And I was happy to see a short list of ingredients for most of the recipes.  We already own a few kids cookbooks that don’t get used because the recipes were either too complicated or the photos just didn’t make the food look appetizing to kids.  A recipe can be tasty and healthy, but if it doesn’t look fun to make it will probably be skipped right over.  We jumped in and tried the Wonton Chips, Groovy Smoothies, Ham ‘n’ Cheesy Calzones, Crispy Chicken Dippers, Double Decker Delights, Lunch Box Oatmeal Cookies and Zippity Pop Popcorn.  So far the kids have had a blast making their snacks.

Better Homes and Gardens Snack Attack! comes with over 40 recipes.  In addition to the easy instructions and minimal ingredients, the snacks are reasonably healthy (any breaded items are baked, and you can choose how organic/whole grain/fat free you want to go with the ingredients).  Several of the recipes would also be great for party snacks or playdates.

If you’re looking to have fun with your kids in the kitchen take a peek at Better Homes and Gardens Snack Attack!

If you have young kids, you can’t help but appreciate the unbridled joy that follows a visit from Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy.   There is a small window of opportunity as parents to let kids’ imaginations run so freely, to believe in these “magic” beings.  So, why not extend the magic with Liam the Leprechaun on St. Patrick’s Day?!  Our chicks received their first visit from Liam three years ago, and he was a major hit.  He leaves little things about the house or outside – the kids have a blast and we get a chance to talk about St. Patrick’s day, which obviously holds a place of significance in U.S. as well as Irish culture.  So, here are few suggestions if you want Liam to visit this year!

1.  Talk to the kids about St. Patrick’s Day coming up, and share with them some of the history and “myths” that go with it.

2.  Move a few things the kids pay attention to around the house – question whether Liam the Leprechaun may have been involved – they will start to get very curious.

3.  If you have a St. Patrick’s Day parade in your community, go to the parade. They are usually a few days before the holiday itself, and the kids can have lots of fun while also thinking about Liam.

4.  Set traps for Liam.  Leprechaun’s are elusive little suckers, so you can have fun with the kids by having them set “traps” to try and catch Liam.  Maybe the ole’ shoebox, leaned up on one side, supported by a stick, with a coin inside.  The kids will want to check the trap in the morning – if you remove the coin, knock out the stick and have them look under the box, they will wonder how that magical little fellow got the coin, set off the trap, and then escaped.

5.  The morning of St. Patrick’s Day, leave out a few little treasures or gifts in the house or outside – the kids will feel like they got a treasure from Liam and really LOVE it.  If they have preschool or school, maybe include something green they can wear so they don’t get pinched and can share their story of Liam the Leprechaun coming to visit.  Trust me, its a blast.

If you have any St. Patrick’s Day traditions, or you get a visit from Liam this year, share your story with us!

Several days ago, my sister-in-law sent me an email, a forwarded message from her neighborhood email network. A little girl in her neighborhood had lost her beloved stuffed animal, a brown rabbit named Bun-Bun. The author of the note was looking for any information on the whereabouts of Bun-Bun to help out the “very broken-hearted little girl.” The message broke my heart, too. My son has a beloved stuffed animal, a pink rabbit who’s name is also Bun-Bun.

Our Bun-Bun came to the family several years ago as an Easter gift to my daughter from her great aunt. He was perfect- fuzzy, bright pink, and the right amount of stuffing to make him great for cuddling. An instant hit, right? Wrong. My daughter took one look at him and assigned him a spot at the bottom of her stuffed animal pile. A couple years later, when my son was a baby, he was playing in her room one day and came across the bunny. He claimed it right away, and as soon as he could talk he christened it Bun-Bun. That rabbit is his constant companion: he’s been on all our vacations, doctor visits, parks… you name it! He’s even been to preschool show and tell twice! When my son gets bumps and bruises, we always hear “I want Bun-Bun!” through the tears. As you can imagine, he is no longer fluffy and pink and perfect, but he is very loved. He is a part of the family!

Last December, the same great aunt called me to discuss Christmas presents. She told me she was going to get my son a new stuffed animal because every time she saw him he had “that filthy pink thing.” (In my defense, Bun-Bun goes on many more adventures in the washing machine than any of our other stuffed animals.) I reminded her that she had given us the rabbit in the first place but told her she was welcome to try to interest my boy in something else. For Christmas, she gave him a very cool stuffed tree frog. He liked it very much, named him Froggy, then announced that Froggy and Bun-Bun were best friends! Great. We had two stuffed friends to take everywhere (which made our outings a little more crowded.) He called them “my guys.” But now, Froggy comes on fewer and fewer trips, and he doesn’t always sleep on the bed. Bun-Bun remains the constant companion, and I’m not surprised a bit!

So my heart goes out to that little girl who lost her Bun-Bun, and to her parents who have the impossible task of replacing him. I wish them all the best and hope their Bun-Bun finds his way home.

In the parenting tool box, no tool stands out like the infamous Sticker Chart.  Seriously, is anything else more instrumental in convincing children across the nation to go potty, pick up their toys, clear their dishes or make their beds?  If only they fill up that sheet with stickers, each representing a chore completed, a good deed done, they can get that toy they always dreamed of, that trip to the amusement park, the big cake with fancy decorations.  And what do parent’s get out of it? Kids who start to understand concepts of responsibility, of working towards a goal, of rewards that flow from hard work and patience.  But not all sticker chart programs are alike.  We have tried different variations, different rewards, and only recently feel like we found the right mix for us.  So, here it is:

1.   Keep it simple – the more complex it is, the more kids get lost in the shuffle.  Give them a simple homemade chart, a sheet of stickers, and let them know when the boxes are filled, the reward will come.  Any other rules may bog them down and that chart will never get filled.

2.  Make the reward commensurate with the number of stickers required to receive it.  If your child gets a substantial gift/reward for very few stickers, you will soon find yourself spending a lot of money for few lessons for your child.  If you require more stickers before they get a prize, they will start to enjoy doing things that please or help others – it won’t just be about the prize, but the lessons that go with it.

3.  Don’t always do a specific list of things they can do to get stickers – if you do, it becomes more “formulaic” and they just focus on the checklist for the sake of stickers.  If you provide them with some ideas of how they can earn stickers, but give them the freedom to do other helpful, kind things too, they will surprise you. They will do things that make you proud, that they came up with themselves.  They will start to enjoy that aspect of the process, and great lessons will be instilled.

4.  Cycle them in and out at different stages.  If you continuously have charts, they can start to feel routine and uninspiring.  When you get through one or two charts, bring them out again a month or two or three later.  This will keep it fresh and interesting for the kids.

5.  Once there are certain chores or behaviors the kids have been doing to earn stars, set the expectation that they continue doing those chores or exhibiting those behaviors.  After all, that is the idea behind the charts in the first place, so don’t let the kids regress to old routines after they get their prize.

Any other ideas out there? I’m sure you all have great stories or insights on this topic, so please, share them with our readers!