the baking love affair continues...

Imagine my excitement when browsing through a magazine I stumbled upon the fact that next week is National Baking Week!  So maybe not exactly a Hallmark holiday, but something that I think my little ones would love to observe nonetheless.  My love of baking has been blogged about many times including here and here, oh and over here as well, but I have found baking to be the perfect vehicle for my little hearts and I to do something for others.  So in honor of National Baking week,  here are just a few ideas to get you thinking about who would love your homemade confections!

• Take a loaf of bread to a new neighbor
• Send brownies to a new mom
• Make muffins for an elderly person
• Drop off cookies to your local fire department
• Deliver some unexpected goodies to your mail carrier

Once the flour settles send me your ideas of how you observed this special holiday :)

Serving those who serve us



Age:  Over 2
Type:  Baking

I have to admit I am kind of a baking junky.  To make matters worse, my middle daughter shares my affliction, so who am I to deny her darling pleas to 'make something with me momma'!  Luckily they also enjoy giving our baked creations away, because I never met a cookie I didn't like :)

Last week on the eve of St. Patrick's Day, the girls and I decided to whip up some awesome green mint cookies complete with Andie's mints on top.  For the kids St. Patrick's day is an excuse to wear green and go on leprechaun hunts, but for our local policeforce it is a very busy day I am sure as they try to keep us all safe.  So we decided to package up our green confections and deliver them to the local police station, complete with thank you cards.  It made the girl's day when the woman we delivered them to took the time to read each note they had worked so hard on! 

Here is where I would normally insert all the cute pictures of them baking and delivering cookies (complete with some funny poses outside the station).  Unfortunately some little hands got a hold of my camera and somehow deleted the pictures.  So you only get the little cartoon policeman - take my word for it, the other pics were darling!

So next time the urge to bake results in way more than you would ever want to eat, consider delivering some to your town's finest!

For all those budding computer geniuses....

Age:  Over 5
Type:  Activity

My oldest loves to play computer games.  Honestly, without a limit as to how long she could be on the computer hours could probably pass before she got tired of it.  So imagine my delight when I discovered a website that offers kids the opportunity to earn food for playing games!!!  Enter Freerice.com, a website the has quiz questions kids answer with the incentive of earning 10 grains of rice for every question answered correctly.  I was curious about how such a thing was made possible, but the rice is donated through ad sponsors who have banners on the site.  So cool!

I will pre-warn you that this is a more advanced project.  I had to read the questions aloud to my oldest and found many of the categories too difficult.  However, the basic math and vocabulary were perfect for my kindergartner.  As she answered questions correctly we could see the rice multiplying in her pretend bowl on the screen.  I found myself a bit addicted as well as I started in on some of the harder questions :)

So the next time your little heart sits down at the computer, consider Freerice.com for a fun way to serve others!

Garden Fresh

Age:  over 5
Type:  gardening

As the March winds continue to blow, here in Michigan I am ready for spring!  While is is still cold outside, now is the perfect time to get started thinking about planting flowers and and planning for our vegetable garden.  While browsing around, I stumbled upon a website to help you do just that - and help others at the same time!  Check out this link for Schools Fight Hunger which gives practical tips for planning and creating a garden at your child's school.  I also love the success stories to see what other kids are doing!  Fresh food is a luxury to those who struggle to put food on the table or rely on food shelters and pantries, so every bit you and your little heart can do will help! 

If your child's class or school organization is looking for a project this spring - this could be just the thing!