Alphabet Fishing

We are learning about the letter F, so I thought I would make a fun game for Harry! We went alphabet fishing! It is so much fun!!! It is so simple to make too. 

First, cut out 26 fish on different colored construction paper. (I drew them myself, so that is why they look so bad. Lol) Put a letter on each tail, and add a smiley face if you'd like! :)

For the fishing pole, I tied ribbon to a small stick and put a piece of duct tape (sticky side up ) on the end of the ribbon. (The duct tape will be able to pick up the fish.)

To play:

#1: Harry used the fishing pole to pick up the fish.  When he got a fish, he had to say the letter.

#2: I would call out a letter, and Harry had to find the correct letter. 

**Both ways were a lot of fun for him and a great learning experience!**

Edible Sensory Eyeballs

Edible sensory eyeballs! How FUN!!! This goes perfectly with the letter E and Halloween!! I found this recipe online, and I decided to blog about it too. :)  This was so much fun! 

Original post: http://www.funathomewithkids.com/2013/10/halloween-sensory-bin-for-baby-and.html?m=1

These are even edible too in case your little one decides to eat them. Just FYI... They don't taste very good. ;)

Here's what you need:

 

1 cup water

1 packet of unflavored gelatin

Food coloring

Vegetable oil

Raisins

What to do:

1. First, in an empty egg carton, fill it with 12 plastic Easter eggs. 

2. Then add vegetable oil inside the plastic eggs, and add a raisin to each of them. Set aside. 

3. Now, boil 1 cup of water in a pot.

4. Add food coloring and the gelatin once the water is boiling. Turn on off the burner. Stir until dissolved. 

5. Pour the mixture into the plastic eggs, and refrigerate for at least one hour. 

6. HAVE FUN!!!! 

Harry loved poking the eyeballs and thought it was hilarious!! :) 

Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin pancakes! A perfect breakfast (or dinner) for fall!! :) We enjoyed them for tonight! 

Here's what you need:

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup milk
1/2 can of pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

What to do:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin, coconut oil and vanilla extract.

4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, and whisk until completely combined.

5. Scoop a large spoonful of the batter onto a nonstick pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on low, or until the edges are browned. Flip and cook on the second side for 2 minutes, or until golden brown.

6. Enjoy! :)

Homemade sunflower seed butter

Well, making your own sunflower seed butter is quite a long process if you use your own sunflower seeds. And, if you are like me and leaves the shells on, it will take a bit longer. Lol. You will get a crunchy sunflower seed butter though, which is still pretty good. I am going to take through this process step by step if you grew your own sunflowers and left the shells on the seeds. 

**Sunflower seed butter is a perfect alternative to peanut butter. My son is allergic to both peanuts and tree nuts, so sunflower seed butter is a favorite at our house. I thought it would be even to make my own!**

Anyways.... Let's get started! 

Here's what you need for the sunflower seed butter:

Note: You will need olive oil and salt to roast the seeds, but the measurements are in the steps for that.

3-4 cups sunflower seeds

1 cup water

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon salt

What to do:

1. First, grow your sunflower. If you plant in late May, they should be ready to harvest by mid September. Yes, our sunflowers grew 10 feet tall!! Lol. 

2. Then, cut the sunflower heads (flower) off and hang them upside down in a cool place to dry. Leave them anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks depending on how damp your sunflowers are...

Note: We hung out our sunflowers in our creepy 150 year old basement. Lol.

3. Now, pluck all of the seeds off of the sunflowers, and place them in a large bowl with water and 1 tablespoon of salt for 24 hours! 

Note: Plunking the seeds does take a long time, and it is pretty annoying. You are not alone. Lol. ;)

4. Now, drain the water from the sunflower seeds, and place them back in the bowl with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix until all the sunflower seeds are coated in olive oil. 

5. Preheat oven to 300F degrees, and spread the sunflower seeds across a cookie sheet.

6. Bake for about 45 minutes until a majority of the seeds are golden brown. 

7. Once cooled, place them into a food processor or blender with 1 cup of water and 1 teaspoon salt. Turn the food processor or blender on high, and let the sunflower seeds grind up for about 18 minutes. 

Note: You might need to stop periodically if your food processor or blender gets too hot. It is also a good idea to stop and stir the mixture periodically too.

 

8. Once the majority of the seeds have been ground up, add 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Blend on high again for about 12-15 minutes.

Note: You might need to stop and periodically stir the mixture.

9. Place in a jar and refrigerate! You now have sunflower seed butter!!!

Press Here- The Dot Game

Press Here is such a fun book!! Adults and kids will love it! You start by pressing the yellow dot on the cover, and it takes you on a fun journey. It involves shaking the book, tilting the book, etc. which in turn moves the dots, multiplies the dots, changes their colors, and more! 

We read this week because we were learning about the letter D! D for dots! Harry loved this book. :) 

Book project:

To go along with the book, I cut out 30 dots and placed on a cookie sheet with shaving cream. This is a great sensory activity!! :)

We took turns picking up the dots with tweezers, and we also sorted them by color and counted the dots. Harry really enjoyed this activity! 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love fall..  It is such a pretty time of year, and I love Halloween and anything pumpkin. I have been craving pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and since summer is officially over, I decided to make them!! Yummy!!! They  are even allergy friendly for my son who is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts.

Here's what you need :

2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

What to do :

1.  Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

2. In a small bowl combine the pumpkin, coconut sugar, milk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and egg.  Set aside.

3. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, chocolate chips, and salt.

4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together into the large bowl.

5. On a lightly greased cookie sheet, scoop small balls of dough onto it.

6. Bake for about 18 minutes.

7. Cool and enjoy! :)

Breast Milk Bread

What do you do when you have tons of extra breast milk in the freezer?! You make bread. It is super easy to make too and extremely healthy for you! 

I might be crazy because I use breast milk for everything. Lol!! I have made lotion, pudding, muffins, crackers, cheese, and bread! (See my other recipes)

Here's what you need:

8oz of breast milk

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

(You don't need any sugar because breast milk has a sweet taste.)

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. 

2. Mix everything together into a large bowl. 

3. Then, pour into a lightly greased 8x8 pan. 

4. Bake for about 18 minutes. 

5 . Cool and enjoy! :)

See... So simple!! :)