Here is a spin on traditional S’mores around the campfire- s’mores on the grill. Let’s say you are planning a cookout or family- friendly dinner and want a fun dessert but without the fire or time it takes to roast marshmallows.
Try making these S’mores Mini Cakes. They are very simple, quick and do not leave you cleaning up marshmallow sticks.
You will need:
A bag of mini-marshmallows
A box of Hershey’s chocolate bars (small bars or break up larger bars)
Package of individual sponge cakes
Directions:
Wipe the top rack of your grill with non-stick cooking stray or a little Olive Oil.
Turn on the grill to a medium heat. Once the grill is pre-heated, place the sponge cakes top-side down onto the top rack for approximately 2 minutes (with the grill open). Remove the sponge cakes from the grill, add chocolate into the center of each sponge cake and place back on the top rack of the grill. As the chocolate starts to melt (it will get shiny), place mini marshmallows into the center of each sponge cake, filling the space to the top or slightly above. Close the grill top to roast the tops of the marshmallows.
Once the tops of the marshmallows are golden, remove the Smores Cakes from the grill and serve immediately.
Cousins. Some live close, some live far, but there isn't anything quite like a cousin that's close in age. I grew up with cousins that lived 12 hours away and only got to see them in the summers for a short period, but the memories are forever.
Now my grandkids have cousins that live in the same city and it is so fantastic to see their interactions. Luckily, they get to spend a lot of time together ... at birthday parties, cookouts, the beach, the zoo. It's fun times and cousins are "almost" like another brother or sister. Hopefully, their relationships last throughout their adult life.
Summertime is the perfect time to get little cousins together for outings and visits. Can't think of fun things to do? Go to the park, fly kites, blow bubbles, camp in the backyard, catch fireflies. Lots of cousin fun to be had ... hope your summer fun includes some "cousin" time.
Coloring is a favorite pastime for kids. It used to be that everytime the kids wanted to color, you would have to go buy a new coloring book. Not so these days with all the internet usage and kids coloring websites.
Now kids can print out coloring pages of their favorite characters. Lots of fun popular characters like Sponge Bob, Mickey Mouse, Scooby Doo, Bob the Builder and Curious George have their own coloring pages and offer free printable coloring pages.
And there are even many sites for kids that offer interactive online coloring pages.
It is so amazing to watch kids as young as two years old play on an iphone or their parents computer. Really. It's a mind boggler. Kids play games at such young ages these days and they already get the concept. I watched a child that is just a little over two recently and she was whipping through an iphone app for kids like she was a tech pro. She turned it on by herself and flicked the first two screens across til she found the app she wanted ... clicked on it and away she went. Incredible.
Kids like to imitate parents and parents spend a lot of time on their computers these days. And why not let the kids play too? Young kids get the benefit of learning good hand to eye coordination with many kids online games. They learn mouse control and get a head start on computer operations.
So, what are some of our favorite online games for Preschoolers? And favorites with the kids?
Feed the Monster This is a fun game where kids drag the items of food over to the cute little Monster to eat. He says "Yum, yum, yum" as he eats and then begs for "more food" when you're finished. Lots of smiles and laughs for this game.
Boowa & Kwala Lots of games on this page to choose from from our friends Boowa & Kwala.
Although many children are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Easter Bunny, one of our most anticipated Easter activities is coloring Easter Eggs as a family. Each year, right before Easter, we get together, cousins and all, to dye our Easter Eggs.
There are quite a few great kids websites featuring preschool stories and games. Many of the sites pertain to tv characters and are simple matching games or puzzles.
Here on ZiggityZoom, we feature fun games that are simple enough for children to play by themselves. The most favorite preschool game on our kids website is called Feed the Monster. Kids get to choose what item of food they want to feed the Monster next, while the little Monster mumbles "yummy" as he eats. Kids laugh while they play this game and they keep coming back for more.
One of our newest kids games is called Bubble Catch. Kids get to control Bubble the dinosaur, making her run back and forth with her net, as she tries to pop the bubbles. This is a great hand to eye coordination game for young kids.
Preschool kids really enjoy dressup games and one of the favorites here on ZiggityZoom is the Princess Dressup game. Another fun game both boys and girls enjoy is the Princess & Knight virtual world, where kids get to make the dragon get smaller, then larger. They can also go inside the castle and through the tunnel. It is a simple version of a virtual world like Club Penguin. Additional playworld screens will enable children to visit Pirateland, Mermaid Island the Princessland.
A father is normally the primary male role model in his daughter's life. The influence a father has in his daughter's life is of extreme importance and, unfortunately, many fathers don't have a clue about this. That one relationship, while growing up, affects how a girl views herself and also decidedly affects their expections from men and the world at large. But many men don't realize the importance of their interactions with their daughter and they may shy away from too close involvement because of their inexperience, or conditioning.
Treating a young girl with respect from a young age will help her view her own self with respect. But one of the most important things a father can do is give of his time. When a little girl sees that her father has time for her, she knows she is important to him. He can say all the right words and never have time for her or generally be "too busy" for her and that sends a permanent message. Fathers do not want to send that type of message. Yes, some fathers seem clueless, but simple things equate to a big difference. Even taking time to read a book a few times a week with your daughter will be important or just sit on the floor and play a game with her. Fathers know that doing things with their daughters is important. Shared activities build trust and self-esteem and show how much dads care.
Salt dough is an easy dough that you can make with basic kitchen ingredients. It is perfect for making Christmasornaments with the kids.
There are two basic recipes, one uses only flour and salt, the other adds in vegetable oil. There are a few differences, so read recipe through before starting. Store your salt dough in a sealed container in the refrigerator, but usually not more than a couple of days.
Basic Salt Dough
Ingredients:
1 cup of salt
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of water
Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine the salt and the flour
Make a well in the salt/flour mixture and add the water
Knead until smooth and shape into a ball
When not in use, wrap in plastic or store in an airtight container
To get a softer dough you can add more flour. Adding more salt will lend a more granulous affect. To add color to your dough, add food coloring or paint. Knead to get an even color. Paint your ornaments and sculptures after they dry.
Recipe with Oil
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 -1/2 cups hot tap water
2 tsp vegetable oil
Instructions:
Combine salt and flour in a bowl
Gradually add water until dough becomes elastic
Add vegetable oil
If dough is too sticky ... add more flour....too crumbly....add more water. For colored dough, add food coloring or paint into water before adding to dry ingredients. Or simply paint your ornaments after they dry (either air dry or bake at 200 degrees F). Painted ornaments will need to be sealed with clear varnish.
The hustle and bustle of the holidays are here. For many of us the frenzy has begun- decorating, shopping, wrapping, holiday parties, school parties, baking, and overly excited children. It can make for a stressful time of year. I love the holidays and everything that comes with it- the Christmas music, decorations, holiday treats, family time, and special memories.
I have found that sometimes as parents we get so wrapped up in checking off our to-do list during this time of year and making sure we get every last gift our child begged for, that we forget what this time of year is all about. We forget that it is a special time of year that allows us to make lasting memories with our children through holiday traditions, whether old or new.
The other day I asked my oldest son who is 7 what he likes most about this time of year. I knew he would say the presents, which he did, but I asked him to tell me the other things he liked. He told me he liked decorating the tree, reading Christmas stories, baking cookies and hearing Christmas music. It was then that I realized the special things we do with our family each year, either for Christmas or Hanukkah will be remembered by our children for years to come.
This time of year is also a time to make sure the excitement of getting gifts does not reinforce a message of "me, me, me" with our kids. In order to combat the ulgier side of the holidays we do a few things in our house to reinforce the message of giving during the holiday season. You may find these helpful:
A new adventure for Dora the Explorer will air Sunday, December 6th on Nickelodeon. The new TV special, sure to be a yearly tradition is Dora's Christmas Carol Adventure.
In this hour-long, primetime TV special, Swiper tries to swipe Dora's Christmas star from her Nochebuena party, putting Swiper on Santa's naughty list. Dora asks Santa to reconsider and Santa say that if Swiper can learn the true meaning of Christmas then he will take him off the list.
You can also purchase this fun Christmas DVD featuring Dora.
Nesting.com
