This month’s craft is so cute and once again uses materials that you probably have around the house.  I’m always thinking of creative crafts that kids can potentially do on their own but parents also have fun doing them.

For January, I chose to transform an ordinary salsa jar into a functional barn owl. The barn owl jar can be used as a coin jar, gift container or candy jar. The possibilities are endless!  This craft has many alternatives so feel free to put a different spin on any of the materials used.

Materials used:

• Clean glass salsa jar

• Two 4inchx4inch pieces of fabric

• Brown felt

• White paper

• Markers

• Orange paper

• Black string

• Hot glue

Tip: Use any old fabric from clothes, curtains or sheets.

Alternative materials:

• Instead of markers use any writing instrument you have

• Use pipe cleaners or thin rope instead of black string

• The orange paper is for the wings but any color will work

• The felt is used for the body of the owl but any color could be used

• Instead of a jar use a can or similar container. Anything with a lid will work

• Hot glue dries fastest but regular glue or tape can be used in its place.

The first step once you’ve got all your materials collected is to glue the felt or chosen material around the jar to create a “body”. This creates a clean workspace for the owls face and wings.

Next, draw the face of the owl your chosen paper (I used white paper for the face). Below is a photo of how I drew my owl face.

Tip: you can always put your own spin on the owl face! Try adding funny eyes or a sideways beak.

After the face is drawn, glue it onto the felt just beneath the jar lid.

Next, take your fabric and glue it to the top of your lid. You can do this before it is screwed onto the jar or vice versa. I found it easiest to screw the lid on and then glue it.

Once the fabric is secured on the top, take your string (or whatever you have chosen) and tie it around the bottom of the lid to allow the fabric to “fringe out”. This creates a hat or bonnet illusion on the owl.

Tip: If you are turning this into a coin jar be sure to safely poke a slit into the top after putting fabric on.

Lastly, cut out 2-3 inch long wings for the sides of the jar. I used a pen to draw scalloped feathers. An easy way to do this is make wave-like squiggles that represent feathers.

With the finished owl jar you can place candy, coins, stickers or other treats inside as a fun rewards jar. You can also use it as a cute gift contained for small presents.

**Always remember to save your cans and jars from the kitchen for fun do-it-yourself projects!

Thanks for checking out this month’s craft!

- Christina

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Christina works at the Painted Pomegranate and also runs her own blog, CT Green Gal. Visit her sites for fun DIY home décor crafts, eco-friendly ideas and everyday need-to- know information for kids and adults!

The holidays can certainly be a busy, stressful time, a time when all around us waste goes up and conservation goes down. I admit that holidays throw me for a loop; I can get easily overwhelmed and let best practices slip. A month later, I have finally caught my breath! Below is a quick assessment of how I did this year during the holidays — What I did well and not so well. How did you do? What will you try to change next year? (Remind me to look back at this next November!)

Top 5 Things I Did Right (i.e. Green) This Holiday Season

Santa goes tag-sale-ing: My son’s gifts included a secondhand stroller and kitchen (plus a new water bottle “like Mommy!”)

1.     Giving: Our son was over the moon about his two big gifts — a wooden kitchen and a baby stroller — both of which Santa acquired at a tag sale last August. For my son’s teachers, we candied organic almonds and packaged them in reused (and reusable) decorative tins. For a close friend, I bought a gift certificate at an upscale local consignment store.

2.     Wrapping: We wrapped everything in reused or reusable materials, including cloth, empty cereal boxes, pillowcases, and decorated bags/boxes, old wrapping paper, and re-used ribbons seeing their nth Christmases.

3.     Receiving: We convinced grandma to give my son about half the number of gifts she gave him last year (yay!) and requested from grandpa a stainless steel water bottle and dish set — both of which my son adores.

4.     Cleaning Up: I meticulously separated out every piece of shrink wrap (recyclable with grocery bags), paper & cardboard wrappers (went right to my son for drawing), and reusable material before putting anything in the garbage. (After a chaotic Christmas morning, it was rather soothing to drink a cup of tea and smooth old tissue paper into neat piles for next year.)

5.     Swapping: A few weeks after the holidays ended, I hosted a swap meet. Friends cleaned house and showed up to trade no-longer-needed clothes, children’s stuff, and housewares. (Think tag sale, but everything is free!) All leftovers were donated to charity.

Top 5 Things I Want to Change Next Year

1.     Better Buying: While I purchased a number of things locally this year, I still depended way too much on ultra-convenient two-day shipping. Ugh, the size of those boxes!

MY GOAL: Next year everything I give for Christmas will either be made locally (including home-made by me) or will be a non-tangible/non-shipped (a gift card, a charitable donation, a coupon for babysitting, etc.).

2.     Holiday Cards: I love sending them; I love receiving them. But is this use or waste? We can definitely reduce our impact in this area.

MY GOAL: Next year, I will send fewer cards by at least half. (People we see regularly will probably get e-cards — hey, maybe those will actually be on time!) With the savings, we’ll print cards on recycled and recyclable paper instead of photo stock (we keep our cards, but maybe others toss them?). I think I’m also going to follow a friend’s lead: send holiday postcards this year instead of card in envelopes. The postcards had photos on the front, and messages and addresses on the back. The photo still looked great on the mantel, but they saved all those envelopes (and some $ on postage, too). I think we’ll give that a try next year, too.

3.     Lights: We’ve been using the same decorative lights for years and we are meticulous about running them for only a few hours each evening for a few weeks. (Anyone got tips on hinting to the neighbors that no one sees their illuminated reindeer at 3am?) The lights do absolutely help my mood on days when it’s pitch black out before my son’s nap is over. But we are still using too much energy. I need to research who makes the best LEDs and maybe scoop some up on sale out of season.

Part of my collection of reusable Christmas wrapping, including a holiday-themed tissue box circa 2003.

MY GOAL: I will replace two strings of holiday lights with LEDs each year for the next three years.

4.     Cleaner Eatin’: I really get a low score for food over the holidays. At celebrations, I indulged in plenty of junk — chips, desserts, and drinks full of chemicals — just because it was in front of me and I was hungry. I even found myself giving in to my son about what ended up on his plate (e.g. the cupcake with the fluorescent frosting) because I was tired and it was easier. Usually I am up to the food challenge, but during the holidays, I lost my resolve a bit.

MY GOAL: I will stick to my guns next year when it comes to how my family eats. I will arrive at celebrations fed and rested, and I will bring with me a healthy, delicious food contribution that, if all else fails, I will eat all of  it (just kidding).

5.     Okay, so I don’t really have a fifth major category to tackle—everything else either fits in one of the above or a little off-topic for greenHaven (e.g. argue less with relatives). So I’ll just say this: I know that to be successful with my goals during the next holiday season, I will need to be better organized and less harried. That means I will need to be calm and not over-committed, with realistic expectations about what I can get done.

MY GOAL: I will slow down during the next holiday season so that I have the wherewithal to remain strong in my convictions. I could even start that now . . .

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Green Mama, kidHaven’s newest contributor, is a local parent doing the best she can to raise her toddler with sustainability in mind. She first got involved with green efforts while working at a local university and found that she really enjoys learning and sharing green knowledge, especially time and money-saving tricks! She looks forward to hearing tips and ideas, from readers.

Happy December!

With the holidays fast approaching as well as the official start to winter it is suiting to make this month’s craft a cute, do-it-yourself snowman! This craft is great for children young and old. It can be as easy or as complicated as you’d like it to be. I love that each snowman can be tailored to any personality and age.

What you’ll need:

• White paper
• Colored paper
• Glue
• Markers
• Toilet paper roll
• Paint brush
• Scissors

Alternative supplies:

• Crayons
• Glitter
• Felt
• Sequence

First, start with the toilet paper roll. Measure the white paper around it and line up the edges to wrap around. You may need to cut the paper to fit properly around the roll.

TIP: Glue one edge of the paper to the roll first and wrap it around to make for easy and accurate measuring and cutting.

Next, glue the white paper around the toilet paper roll. Take the colored paper of choice and cut 6inch by 1inch strips. Use one strip as the snowman’s scarf and one as the snowman’s hat. Cut fringe into the end of the scarf for a fun effect!

TIP: Don’t worry about the exact measurements of the scarf and hat. Bigger or smaller looks just as great! You and your child may not want the fringe; you can also scallop the edges or leave it as a straight edge.

Continue to glue the scarf and hat on the covered toilet paper roll and wrap around the entire roll. The hat strip should be wrapped towards the top and the scarf strip should be wrapped in the middle of the roll.

Once everything is glued on, it is time to add the decorative details! Add eyes, a happy smile and buttons to the front of your snowman. In this example I did a traditional snowman with a carrot nose, coal eyes and black buttons. Feel free to add stickers, sequences, felt or any other additions to make your snowman extra special!

Use this craft as a decoration in your home or even as a pencil holder!

**Pencil holder alternative: Cut a circle out of cardboard and seal the bottom of the toilet paper roll. Add two marbles to the bottom of the roll. This will anchor the roll to hold pencils for easy, everyday use!

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Christina works at the Painted Pomegranate and also runs her own blog, CT Green Gal. Visit her sites for fun DIY home décor crafts, eco-friendly ideas and everyday need-to- know information for kids and adults!

We love to cook. And we know good food brings families together. That’s why we’ve spent the past few years sharing many of our popular market menu dishes and some of our all-time favorite recipes on our blog. We’ve been getting requests for some time now to help shed some light on family friendly recipes that inspire even the tiniest of chefs to help make—and pick up their forks to eat without a battle.

To us the holidays mean family, and that means family friendly recipes! With the holiday season rapidly approaching, we thought there was no time like the present [get it] to share our go-to kid-pleasers with the kidHaven family to enjoy at home.

This is one of my favorite recipes—it just feels like home. Making this classic ricotta gnocchi reminds me of my time in my grandmother’s kitchen, rolling gnocchi dough, making homemade sauce and eventually sharing a delectable dish for dinner [and so much more].

Homemade Gnocchi

Ingredients:

•  3 lbs. Ricotta

•  4 cups of parmesan cheese

•  2 cups of semolina flour

•  2 cups of all purpose flour

•  1 teaspoon of salt

•  1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper

•  3 egg yolks

•  3 whole eggs

•  1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

Yield: Dinner for the family.  Store the rest in the freezer for those days when you need dinner in a hurry.

Directions:

•  Place all ingredients in a mixer using the dough attachment.

•  Mix slowly until everything is incorporated.

•  Wrap the bowl in saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (nap time?).

•  Take one ball of dough and break off approximately a 1/2 lb. piece and roll into a cylinder of 1/2 inch thick—add flour if it is too sticky.

•  Cut 1/2 inch pieces and press each piece with your thumb.

•  To get the right shape for the gnocchi, take each piece and fold it over using the slope of the fork (like shown here).

•  Place the pieces on a well floured sheet pan and freeze in thin layer storage bags until frozen.

•  When you are ready to use, strain off all excess flour and boil for 7-8 minutes.

© 2011 Denise Appel. Permission must be given by Denise Appel to reproduce.

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Hailing from Glastonbury, Connecticut, Denise Appel has been wildly successful in her passion and vision as a chef. As co-owner and head chef of ZINC Restaurant and Kitchen ZINC New Haven, Denise credits her Grandmother Katherine for instilling in her true love for the art of cooking.

Chef Appel’s trademark cuisine features regionally farmed produce and cheeses, hormone- and antibiotic-free beef, veal and poultry and fresh and non-endangered line-caught fish. At her restaurants, Denise switches her menu every few weeks and during the summer season, she will spend mornings at the Farmer’s Market before deciding what meals to cook for the evening. Denise’s Farm-to-Table approach has earned her many honors.  Teaching and discussing food is another passion for Chef Appel. She introduced her Chef’s Table courses in 2008 to the public that focused on a different topic each month during the winter and spring and were received with sell-out attendance for each event. Outside of creating culinary masterpieces and broadening her cooking repertoire, you can also find Denise spending time with her three rescued pups or traveling the world, seeking inspiration for new dishes.

It’s November and with Thanksgiving right around the corner it seemed only appropriate to do a turkey craft! This project is fun and easy to do. Included are some alternative ways to do this craft for younger and older kids. In my everyday life I am crafting and creating different projects for kids to do and adults to enjoy. Each month you can look forward to craft ideas from me that are easy and use materials that you may already have around your home.

The Thankful Turkey

 Supplies you will need:

• 1 toilet paper roll per child
• Googly eyes
• Orange, red and yellow paper
• Scissors
• Hot glue
• Black sharpie marker

Alternative supplies:

• If you don’t have googly eyes you can always draw a set of eyes.

• You can also use any colors for the feathers but the colors listed are festive for Thanksgiving. Brown, black, purple or blue would be great as well.

• Hot glue is not a must. Elmer’s works well but takes longer to dry.

• Glitter, string, strips of newspaper and tassels can also add extra fun to this project

Begin this craft by cutting out “feathers” out of paper. Make them long enough to have a word written on them.

After cutting out 7-8 feathers per toilet paper roll, write one thing per feather that your child is thankful for.  You can write it, or your child can write it.

Next, cut out turkey feet, wattle and a triangle beak from the orange paper. Use the glue to attach everything to the toilet paper roll. Attach eyes, beak and wattle and then the feet to the bottom of the roll.

** For younger kids, it may be easier for parents to pre-cut the body parts for faster attachment.

Tip: Cut the feet into circles about the size of a dime then make two slits at the top of it to make turkey claws. Glue to the front side at the bottom of the toilet paper roll to give the illusion that the turkey is sitting.     

Lastly, take each feather with chosen word and attach them to the back of the toilet paper roll. Fan them out so they look like turkey feathers and so the words are visible.

Display your craft as a house decoration for the holiday or better yet, on your Thanksgiving table. Have each child take the time to read a loud the things they wrote and explain why they chose them.

Another fun way to do this craft is to write one thing you are thankful for each day leading up to thanksgiving. Start on Sunday or Monday and then attach your last feather on Thanksgiving Day. Your finished craft can be displayed and presented full of all the things you are thankful for on Thanksgiving!

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Christina Cioci crafts daily with kids at the The Painted Pomegranate.  Start looking for her monthly craft posts her on kidHaven!  Welcome aboard, Christina :)

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Christina is the head teacher and social media coordinator at The Painted Pomegranate, an experiential learning center in Woodbridge, CT. She graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 2010 and soon after began her freelance career as a writer. Crafting and art are a couple of her passions that join together her love of children and creativity.  As an eco-minded person, Christina hopes to show others the ease of “going green” through her work as a teacher and a writer

We’ve been thinking a lot about classic books lately here at the JTRB office, in light of our Contemporary Classics Quiz, which highlights some of the best books for adults from the last 75 years–many books that were written decades before I was born, and that I love. That’s the thing about really good books–they have staying power.

The phenomenon of classics also applies, perhaps even more so, to children’s chapter books. It’s no surprise that what we read when we’re young tends to stick with us. Maybe that adage that you never forget your first love applies to books as well as people. The first books we read and fall in love with are often the ones we remember most fondly and vividly. And there are many, many examples of children’s classics getting new life today, some in their original forms and some updated for a new generation of readers. Parents are re-reading these beloved books and introducing them to their children.

HarperCollins just this week published The Betsy-Tacy Treasury – the first four books in Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series. Pamela Paul mentioned in the New York Times’s Arts Beat that her six-year-old daughter is enthralled by the stories, which are set in Minnesota more than 100 years ago.

Publishers are also adapting traditional beloved children’s books to the modern-day mediums. For example, many titles in The Boxcar Children series are now available as e-books.

And I hope that recent movie versions of classic kids’ books are encouraging young readers to explore older books like Beverly Cleary’s Ramona series, Thomas Rockwell’s How to Eat Fried Worms, and of course C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia.

And while all of these books are beloved by yesterday’s and today’s young readers, we can’t deny the power of adult nostalgia, either. It’s what prompted Wendy McClure, who loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder’s  Little House series as a child, to retrace the pioneer journey of the Ingalls family and immerse herself in Little House culture for her book The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House in the Prairie. In fact, it almost makes me want to go to South Dakota to visit some Ingalls sites on my next vacation… or at least re-read the entire Little House series.

Is there a young reader in your life who would like to be turned on to the classics? Give the gift of reading with one of our subscriptions for kids. Tell us what kind of books he or she likes, including any of the above titles or anything at all, and we’ll send just the right book, guaranteed!

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Kira Baum is Content Manager at Just the Right Book. A life-long book lover with a master’s degree in English, she spent nearly a decade as a project manager and copy editor at major publishing houses in New York City before returning to her home state of Connecticut and joining Just the Right Book.

It’s been a couple of months since school started, and I bet your kids are starting to show some signs of stress. Maybe you’ve even had a call home from the teacher already.  And then you start to show signs of stress. The antidote: humor, creativity and play.  And some alone-time (hint – that’s where the books come in).

Helping my three kids find the best way to diffuse stress was like diving for pearls. Sometimes I would come up with something that glowed. Sometimes I just got a handful of seaweed. Like when I mistakenly thought that routines were a good idea. They are, of course, to some extent, but the more I tried to get them to sit down and a chat about their day, the deeper the seaweed got.

After a day of schedules and expectations, they really just needed true, unscheduled down-time. Not veg-in-front-of-the-tv time. Real, all-about-them down-time. My son needed to organize his toys and read. My older daughter needed to go outside and play with friends. My youngest needed to pull the pots out of the cupboard and drum on them like the rock star she is. Instead of drilling them about their day, we found ways to laugh. And then they would begin to talk about their day.

Some kids experience a level of stress far beyond the norm. For these kids, getting through a week of school without a call home is a magnificent accomplishment. Why not reward them in a way that will also help them cope? Book series are great for this. My son, now 20, refuses to give up his Discovery Kids or Star Wars book collections. He worked too hard to get them; they brought him many hours of stress relief; and they feel like long-time friends. He gets very nostalgic about them. And there are some great book series out there:

For preteen boys and girls:

Maximum Ride series by James Patterson: Shows that girls can be tough. Full of fantasy, flying creatures and video-game type action.

Clementine series by Sara Pennypacker: Clementine is the new Amelia Bedelia for kids age 7 – 10. No matter how hard she tries, she only seems to make things worse. A fun series, especially for kids who might not be strangers to the principal’s office.

Everything Butt Art on the Farm by Brian Snyder and local artist Alexis Moniello. Talk about a stress buster! The first in a two-book series with more in the works, and an iPad app, this book is guaranteed to spark creativity, giggles and conversation.

Of course, all of these titles are available when you sign up for a Kids’ Series subscription at Just the Right Book. Teen and Fantasy Series (for titles like Maximum Ride) also available. Choose from hardcover or paperback or a mix of both, with monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly delivery. Titles chosen just for your child based on his/her reading level and preferences. (And if Mom or Dad need a little pampering…Indulge Yourself!)

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Beth is the Marketing Director at Just the Right Book, matching books and readers daily. After studying South American literature at UConn, she got an MBA and worked in Brand Management for many years while raising her three kids. She’s also been a Girl Scout leader and Destination Imagination coach.

One day when my kids were little, an audio book fell into my hands, unsolicited and out of the blue. It was Patricia Cornwell’s Isle of Dogs. When I put it in the tape player (yes, it was that long ago), something unexpected and wonderful happened. My kids gravitated to the Southern drawl emanating from the stereo the way they might have followed the scent of cookies to the kitchen. The family ended up listening to Isle of Dogs as a group over dinner – that night and every night after until we’d heard the whole book.

Enjoying the ritual and the conversation it sparked, we next chose The Life of Pi (read in rich Indian accents and taking us all out to sea, stretching our imaginations as we ate our meal at the earth-bound dining room table). Then DaVinci Code. Then Agatha Christie. And the rest is history. A family tradition had firmly taken hold.

I sometimes think that audio books have an unfair reputation as somehow less than. They get short shrift, as though they’re a cop out and as though we should only read – and not (good god, no!) – LISTEN to books! I’ve found that sharing literature as a family is a really satisfying way to connect with one another, while working an under-utilized part of our brains…that part that probably got a lot of exercise half a century ago when neighbors would cluster together in a living room and listen to a radio play. Audio books let kids experience adult literature with their parents. Perhaps most importantly, it exposes us all to that special and age-old theatre of story telling, with animated voices and strange accents and nuanced intonations.

Today in our family, audio books are a staple of vacations and weekends. They’ve even dictated how we tell time. Recently my sister asked me how long it took to drive from Los Angeles to Yosemite, a drive I had done with my family a few years earlier. I told her, “as long as it takes to hear Angel and Demons.”

Want to start the audio book tradition in your family? Start Here:

To introduce classic fairy tales to younger children (This was our bedtime routine until, um, high school!):

The Emperor’s New Clothes The classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale retold by celebrities on the included CD. This combines the beauty of illustration with the magic of talented voices narrating. The bonus is that the kids can go back and read the text on their own later.

Conversation starter for older kids:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, read by Allan Corduner. Set in Nazi Germany, it describes a young girl’s (named Liesel Meminger) relationship with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa, and the other residents of their neighborhood, and a Jewish fist-fighter who hides in her home during the escalation of World War II. Published in 2005, it has won numerous awards and has been listed on the New York Times Children’s Bestseller List for over 190 weeks.

Classic, in observation of Banned Book Week Sept 24 – Oct 1:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, read by Garrison Keillor. An American classic read by an American classic. A great story read by one of the best storytellers.

Just the Right Book! Quarterly gifts, where books (no audio, yet) come 4 times a year, start at just $49. Visit our website at www.justtherightbook.com/sc/kidhaven.

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Beth is the Marketing Director at Just the Right Book, matching books and readers daily. After studying South American literature at UConn, she got an MBA and worked in Brand Management for many years while raising her three kids. She’s also been a Girl Scout leader and Destination Imagination coach.

photo courtesy of Chicargobike

Our middle guy is starting to talk about his upcoming birthday party – “upcoming” meaning, we’ve still got some time to plan.  Lots of time, in fact.  In the meantime, it makes us think about what we did last year: a make it ourselves Bike Festival.

Our party had three parts: bike decorating, a freewheeling parade, and cake time.

pre-Party:

• Beforehand, we found out if each kid we invited was a two wheeled or training or balance bike rider. We had test ridden the route for the parade a few days ahead of the party. We live close to a university campus which is a great place for this kind of fun. If you are heading to a park or just around the block you’ll need some grown-ups at all the alleys and intersections to keep an eye on everyone.

Bike Decorating:

• 

  photo courtesy of Chicargobike

  On the day of the party, there was a table out in front of our house with a pitcher of punch, small sandwiches, and snacks. In fine Chicago tradition, garbage cans across the street closed off our small cul-de sac. A better method for closing the street might be to call your Alderman and get it officially blocked off! People looking for parking kept trying to sneak by. A boom box was playing techno music good for biking. Then we pulled all of our extra bikes and trash bikes out so that grown-ups who “forgot” bikes could ride if they wanted to. A pump and some tools got a lot of use – everybody needed to fix something.

• As the kids and their parents arrived we helped everyone unload their bikes and welcomed them. We gave everyone bells, pinwheels, spoke covers, and silly handlebar streamers (bought in bulk from Irv’s Bikes old stock and a party store) for favors at the start and got to work winding crepe paper into spokes and getting the bells and streamers on.
• We cut up thick plastic disposable plates to get 2 rectangles out of each, popped 4 holes in each rectangle and threaded a zip tie through in a figure 8, around the seat stay or fork: instant bike motors! This was the cheapest and most fun part, and all those kids still seem to have the motors on their bikes many months later.
• The decorating took ages – but everyone had a blast fiddling and munching and talking. With snacks it was fun and a little bonk insurance for the kids who might not have had lunch yet.

Freewheeling Parade:

• After decorating the bikes and getting everyone full of snacks and ready to go, we got organized for our parade. Older kids helped get everyone up on their bikes and they mixed in with the younger riders to keep the pace right. There was a big range in the skills of our paraders and we wanted everyone to have fun. A couple of shy riders got into the box or onto the tandem right off the bat so that they would not worry about riding at all.
• We rode down our street and then up onto the sidewalk to the campus, where we rode in a big circle and looped around many times before turning home. Tired paraders got hoisted into the box or tandem or we just slowed the parade a bit to pace everyone to get back home.
• Parents silly enough to get on one of our trash bikes – rescued and refurbished zombie bikes that live in our garage – helped keep the ride moving, and some wrapped themselves in crepe paper to do it. One had the loud portable radio. Other parents relaxed at our house, talking out front.

Cake Time:

• When we got back, we pulled all the bikes up on the sidewalk and cut the cake. All the guests and any neighbors that happened to be out visiting got some.

Then it was time for everyone to pack up and go. We heard some kids even fell asleep on the way home.

It was wheely fun.

photo courtesy of Chicargobike

Our tips for making a bike fest work:

• Check with a bike store to see if you can get streamers or bells or something silly in bulk (we had a good experience with Irv’s in Pilsen). Just winding crepe paper was fun. Don’t forget the plastic plate spoke buzzer motors.
• Try to make sure everyone has had a little food before the parade.
• Tote a loud radio with fun music.
• Know which kids are less confident riders and keep the pace light. It should be fun for everyone and faster riders will just have fun rolling with all those other kids all decorated up. We went in circles so people could go at their own pace but never get left behind.
• It’s handy to have a sag wagon or other option for tired riders. You don’t need a cargo bike – a trailer to sit in, or a scooter to borrow while a parent carries the child’s bike might do just as well.
• Don’t ride all those kids in the unblocked street – it’s not Kidical Mass. We had parents watching the intersections and keeping everyone going but we had a huge pack of kids and only a few parents, so we stayed on the sidewalk until we got to the campus.
• This is also a good party to just have in a nearby park. No traffic to watch at all then.

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We are two parents who ride everywhere in Chicago with our three children ages 10, 7 and 3. We’ve kept riding as our kids grow and our lives get more complicated. Our lives biking before kids color our ideas about staying on the road. Before our ten years here in Chicago, D. lived in Munich for eleven years. I spent a year and a half in Munich. I led unsupported bike tours for kids, and I helped run an after school off-road bike and racing program for at risk kids in a small town in Massachusetts, fit around my day job as a baker. Our posts are written by one or the other of us and our opinions reflect who is behind the keyboard.

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Written by Chicargobike

the blue one is the homemade balance bike ~ photo courtesy of Chicargobike

There’s no better way to learn how to ride a bike than a balance bike (or toddler bike). That’s one of those little bikes with no pedals, no training wheels, and no brakes that you see more and more lately. They are good for early practice learning to stop, go and make good turns in a park or playground, way before your kid ever tries out intersections and stops on a sidewalk ride.

photo courtesy of Chicargobike

Our now-10-year-old played around with one for a few months back when he was 3, then suddenly hopped on an older friend’s Batman bike and roared off on his own around the park. Other kids we know have done the same. Our 6-year-old liked the balance bike so much he wouldn’t get off it, and he refused to take a pedal bike long after he was able to ride up and down our sidewalk on his own. The 2-year-old isn’t quite big enough to fit on it yet but he calls it his bike already.

You can get them as adaptive bikes for grownups, old-fashioned velocipedes, or for kids, made out of hardwood plywood in fancy toy and stroller stores. Even Target has them. There are a few metal ones for kids now becoming available. The wooden ones that are common are light enough to pop under one arm and carry back from the park if your small person gets tired of riding, and many have a limitation built into the steering to prevent the wheel from turning so far to the side that it causes a fall. None that I have seen have any brakes, so they are only for use in flat or slightly sloping places that are safe for kids to be running around. Playgrounds are good, parking lots and sidewalks downhill to big streets are not. Kids this age can’t (in my opinion) really use brakes that well anyway yet. The bikes are toys and teaching tools, not real transportation. Yet.

The original wooden balance bike for kids that we know about, the Like-A-Bike, was made by Kokua, a wooden toy company in Germany, and was probably priced to provide its manufacturing workers a living wage, health care and a safe working environment. In other words, it was way too expensive, but it was the only one for a long time. It was made better than most others are now. You can still get one.

I guess that many clever penny pinchers in the bike or toy industry realized that by copying the design and getting it built elsewhere by people without those protections, the bike would be a lot cheaper, and the manufacturer could get a great big nice profit and the consumer could save $50.  I can’t think of another reason why these things cost as much as they do considering where they are made now.

But you aren’t limited to those choices. How about a recycled one? It is really easy to make your own if you have friends with old bikes, access to a used bike store that carries children’s bikes, or a cheap 5&10 nearby that has tiny pink and blue kids’ bikes with roughly 10 inch wheels (though that isn’t recycling really). You need only a wrench or two, a chain tool, and pliers or something to bend wires, on most bikes, or unscrew the thing that holds the cranks on (the bottom bracket) on others. Eyes glazing over? You can just take your chosen bike to your favorite neighborhood bike shop and ask them to take off the cranks and chain for you. But let’s say you have your tools ready:

• 

  This is a cheap lightweight baby bike with 10 in wheels and solid foam tires bought new for $10 at the Maxwell St Market and adulterated as described in this post. Look how his R foot is flat on the ground (low seat!) and he can step comfortably with the other foot. ~ photo courtesy of Chicargobike

  First, make sure you are wearing stainable old clothes, then go to the store or junkyard or thrift shop or Working Bikes and pick out the bones of a little metal kid’s bike that takes your fancy. You just need the frame, wheels, seat and steering to work – it doesn’t need pedals, cranks, chain or brakes. I suggest getting a really little one that’s lightweight enough to want to carry it home from the park, maybe with 10 inch or 12 1/2 inch tires.

• Make sure it’s small enough for your child to fit on it (bring the child with you?) and put his or her feet down at a comfortable angle to the ground.  Remember, your small person will be walking with big, long steps like Groucho Marx while resting weight on the bike, so the seat has to be a lot lower than he or she would need it if actually bicycling. It takes them a few tries to get comfortable enough to actually rest their weight. Note that homemade balance bikes don’t have the built in limit on the steering, but that hasn’t been a problem for our guys so far.
• If the bike is covered with stickers and brand names you don’t like, check that they are removable before you buy – most in this class of bikes are easily peeled off. Or, with a little reflective tape you can make a nicer design than what it came with anyway. Black bikes look good with yellow stripes – a bumblebee bike! Multicolor – a rainbow bike! And so on. You can put a big piece of reflector tape over the picture of Tinkerbell or whoever if you think she’s not a good role model for your child. Make the bike look appealing and cool for your kid.
• Take off any training wheels. Next, remove the non-drive side pedal. It should have a 15 mm wrench size, and it’s threaded backwards - with the wrench pointing up turn it toward the back of the bike like tightening a regular bolt- and use penetrating oil if needed. This is a good time to use a real wrench, not an adjustable one. Then break the chain with a chain tool. Or a chain saw. Just kidding. Remove the chain and set it aside. You won’t likely need it again, but who knows?
• Most of these little kids’ bikes, if not all of them, have a one piece crank shaped like a Z with the chainwheel stamped on, like the old Schwinn “Ashtabula” cranks. You can usually find out how to remove the cranks by looking at the non-drive side – there is a bent wire retainer or a screw-on nut that holds the crank bottom bracket, such as it is, to the frame. Remove it and loosen the other side as much as you can, then remove whatever you can of the bottom bracket. Often this is just a piece of plastic on each side with a hole in its center. Greasy metal ball bearings might jump out at you if someone built it a little better than that. Now, hold the drive side pedal arm, the one with the chainwheel, and move the zigzag crank out of the bottom bracket opening of the bike until it’s free of the frame. Clean up the grease, if any.
• Remove any brakes too, if desired. You may need to reattach the bottom bracket covers or put some duct tape over the holes or glue in corks or something so nobody gets scraped. Adjust the seat to be low and comfortable, pump up the tires and you are done.

It might not be birch plywood, but it’s not bad either, and it’s waterproof enough to be left outside. If your kid ever needs it, you can reverse the above steps and reinstall everything. Set the pieces aside now.

Get a helmet that fits your kid, grab your new balance bike, and head to the park!
…

We are two parents who ride everywhere in Chicago with our three children ages 10, 7 and 3. We’ve kept riding as our kids grow and our lives get more complicated. Our lives biking before kids color our ideas about staying on the road. Before our ten years here in Chicago, D. lived in Munich for eleven years. I spent a year and a half in Munich. I led unsupported bike tours for kids, and I helped run an after school off-road bike and racing program for at risk kids in a small town in Massachusetts, fit around my day job as a baker. Our posts are written by one or the other of us and our opinions reflect who is behind the keyboard.

About this time each summer, I struggle between thinking that summer should never end, and looking forward to the more structured days of fall.

The kids have been to every summer camp I can afford, exhausted the contents of our craft box and worn out the trails of our local park. If you find yourself running out of summer activities, especially for a rainy day, take a minute to visit Just the Right Book online, www.justtherightbook.com. You’ll find a bookmark template right on the homepage (click on Fun Activity). When you download the bookmark template and print it out, three things will happen:

1. The kids will have an instant craft project to use up the last of the glitter, glue and crayons, or whatever else you have on hand.
2. By uploading a photo of them and/or their favorite book with their decorated bookmark, they can win a free ReadKiddoRead T-Shirt. Just go to www.Facebook.com/JustTheRightBook.
3. You’ll create another opportunity to read a great book together. Real literature. A chapter book that requires a bookmark. (No, do not agree to yet another reading of that picture book they bring to you constantly – this time you get to choose)

If #3 requires a trip to the bookstore or library, take a minute to take our updated summer reading quiz so you can pick up a new title for yourself, as well: www.Justtherightbook.com/Quiz. Answer ten questions about what you like to do, movies you enjoy, etc, and in an instant three book recommendations appear like magic. If you’ve tried it before, try it again – we’ve added new titles and questions.

Also new to the Just the Right Book website is a Summer Reading Guide, www.justtherightbook.com/summerreadingguide, with book recommendations to make you laugh, to put you on the edge of your seat, or to transport you to another place. And for the little ones:

• Merrilee Mannerly and her Magnificent Manners by Connecticut authors Mary Cashman and Cynthia Whipple introduces 5 – 8 year olds to manners.
• Get Happy by Malachy Doyle for your budding 3 – 6 year old optimists.

School may be just around the corner, but don’t let these last days of summer slip by without getting some time in behind the pages of a good book!

PS. Remember to consult our favorite bookstore in Madison for fun kid-centered activities throughout the month: www.rjjulia.com/event/2011/08/01/month/all/9/1

“Hardy, har, har,” I chuckled.  ”It’s not exactly like that.”

We proceeded to talk a little about why I think it’s ok to practice number recognition and writing at home – in the Summer – with M come August.  Then I gently added that it’s often no more than 20 minutes a day.  Short.  Sweet.  To the point.  She’s four, afterall, and her little body and brain get very wiggly around the 15 minute mark.  Pretty sure nothing’s sinking in once she starts getting silly.

“So you’re telling me she can already write her numbers?”

“Um.  Yes.  I guess so?  Buuuut, I have a secret.  Want to know what it is?” I quickly offered, so as not to make it sound like I was working some sort of miracle, or cracking the whip, or whatever it is Tiger Moms do in the privacy of their own homes.

“Use these rhymes.  They work like a charm.”  Yup, rhymes.  Rhymes to remember how to form the numbers.  I learned them in my first job years ago as a Teacher’s Assistant with one of the most amazing Kindergarten teachers I’ve ever seen.  She knew all the tricks!  And so here they are:

1 – Number one is like a stick, a straight line down and that is it.

2 – Make a candycane and then a line.

3 – Around the tree, around the tree, that’s how you make a three.

4 – First an angle and then a line, pick up your pencil and go down again

5 – A hat on top then take a dive.  A big round belly and that’s how you make a five.

6 – Around the *sea and then back up to me.     *sea refers to the letter C

7 – Across the sky and down from heaven, that’s how you make a seven.

8 – Through the gate, through the gate and back through the gate.  That’s how you make the number eight.

9 – First a ball and then a line.  That’s how you make a nine.

If you Google ‘Number Writing Rhymes’ you’ll come up with other rhymes, too, as well as this video.  And for the record, we don’t just “write numbers over and over again,” because that would be boring!  Some nights we use her white board, an essential tool for any sort of practice work in my opinion.  Or, we use one of her Priddy books.  Or we play Go Fish, a perfect card game for number recognition.  We also switch it up.  Last night I wrote the numbers 0-9 on sticky notes (one number per sticky).  Then, M practiced rearranging the stickies to “make” numbers like 11, 20, 30, 15, 18, etc.  It was a perfect 15 minute activity.  Tonight, I put some plain, dry, white flour on a cookie sheet and had her practice writing her numbers.  Her finger was the pencil and the flour was the paper.  Novelty.  It works every time :)  Google something like ‘Writing Number Activities’ for lots of other suggestions.

See, I’m a planner.  A do-er.  I like to think it’s one of my best qualities…but know that it can also be my worst enemy, particularly when things just aren’t going my way.  Welcome to my August.  I’ll spare you the details (a phrase I’m using way too often lately), but to make a long story short: I had other plans for August.  But instead, I’ve found us living in a constant state of Plan B.

Welcome to Mommy Camp.  Mommy Camp is me with two kids, all day, everyday and no real plans.  It’s me thinking on my feet.  It’s me wondering what today’s road block will be, because I’m telling you, they just keep coming.  It’s me pulling my Mommy-self up by my bootstraps every morning and repeating the Mommy Camp mantra, “Remember, they’re yours to keep forever, so be nice.”  :)  Thought I’d share some things I’ve pieced together after nearly 2 weeks of full-on Mommy Camp.  Some days it’s felt like a really bad episode of Survivor and other days it’s felt like what Summer is supposed to feel like!

Made a bird feeder

M is into Sid the Science Kid and is keen on “reusing” things after watching it on Sid.  She insisted we make something out of a milk container.  I whipped up some glue using flour and water – which was equally interesting to her, it turns out – gave her some tissue paper remnants and let her go at it.  Got the idea for using tissue paper from Pink and Green Mama.  Knocked on the neighbor’s door and asked to “borrow” some bird seed.  Filled it, hung it.  Done.

Let M Yarn Bomb Our Trees

Not even sure how this happened, but I found M wrapping our trees with yarn and building a gigantic web.  I swear it wasn’t my idea!  She kept asking for more yarn and I kept giving it to her.  It’s not the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen (which I would never tell her), but it was literally, hours of entertainment for her.  Later that day, we sat down and Googled “Yarn Bombing” and I showed her some of the really incredible projects other folks have done.  She was totally amazed.  She especially liked this tree.

Made Homemade Playdough

We hadn’t made playdough in a while so we made some on that really rainy Monday we just had.  The dough hasn’t left the kitchen table for two days now.  One or both of the kids seem to have their hands on it anytime we’re in the kitchen.  I love, love, love this recipe.  Quick and easy as long as you keep a stash of Cream of Tartar around.

Practiced Writing Numbers

It’s the teacher in me, sorry.  A white board, some dry erase markers, a rag and we’re golden.  Can I tell you how much I love white boards?  I have this odd, oblong shaped one that is perfect for this.  I think every kid should have their own mini-whiteboard at home.  Come school, it’s great for practicing things like spelling words, math facts, handwriting…  Not that M is doing any of those things yet, but we’re already getting lots of use out of her whiteboard.  It’s amazing what 20 minutes with one-on-one attention can buy you.  Worth mentioning that I’m also a huge fan of Priddy Book’s Wipe Clean books.  Same concept as a white board, except in workbook form.

Painted

Paper, paints, brushes for M (including an oversized brush she found in the garage) and fingers for E.  Easy.

Made a Garden Stone

In our craft cabinet, I stored away a couple of crafty gifts M had gotten for her birthday.  Took out a Make Your Own Garden Stone kit.  It was one of those projects where I did a lot of the work; it required cement mixing, afterall.  But she liked the pretty stones.  Still have to find a home for it in our yard.

Made Homemade Donuts

A while back I had told M a story about Grandma’s delicious donuts and she couldn’t believe that Grandma actually knew how to make a donut.  It wasn’t the shock that Grandma could do it, it was more a disbelief that anyone could do it!  I guess she’d never stopped to think how a donut was made.  When the weather’s lousy, my first instinct is to bake something.  Last rainy Sunday’s project: donuts.  I hadn’t made donuts since I don’t know when, but damn, I’ve still got the touch!  Sprinkled with a little powdered sugar – delish!  M loved making donuts together, she really did.  It was like watching myself as a kid.  Learned everything I know being my own Mommy’s sous chef in her kitchen and now look at me :)  Good stuff.

Made Flower Bouquets

The black-eyed Susans are aplenty right now.  Found M pulling them out of the garden and just rolled with it.  For a quick minute I thought maybe it wasn’t such a good idea, but ended up giving her a pair of scissors to cut them instead of yank them roots and all.  Turns out my sweet gal had this idea to make flower bouquets that she tied together with some sparkly pipe cleaners so that she could leave them on the neighbors’ doorsteps.  How sweet is that?

Made Tissue Paper Butterflies

My favorite kind of craft these days is the open-ended kind.  With a 1 year old that walks around the house looking, searching for things to climb, it’s not an exactly ideal setup for lengthy craft projects with M.  The other day she invented these whimsical butterflies using tissue paper and more of those sparkly pipe cleaners.  It’s not so much the craft that’s important here as the concept I’m trying to move to with her:  Sit.  Experiment.  Think.  Create.  You decide, not Mommy.

Had a Travelling Lemonade Stand

When your lemonade stand isn’t getting any foot traffic, put that show on the road!  We did just that the other day with the neighbor kids and boy was it a hit.  Whipped up a batch of Lemonade, grabbed some cups and a money box and had the kids pull it around the neighborhood in a wagon.  They had the best time, so much, they begged to sell a second pitcher.

Made Mud Cupcakes

Saw this cute idea to make mud cupcakes and so we did.  The kids were covered in mud when it was all said and done, but it was nothing the kiddie pool couldn’t solve.

Tie Dyed Some T-shirts

Why not?  Got a couple of Once Upon a Child white shirts (not a special trip, we were already there) and some dye from Michael’s next door, came home and reminded myself of the basics here.  This was a M-only project while E napped.  We wore aprons, set up outside, and make-shifted gloves by tying plastic shopping bags around our hands.  This was a very imprecise project as I eye-balled the amount of dye I mixed with salt water, but it seemed to work just fine.  There’s something extra fun about “coloring” a plain white shirt, isn’t there?  It’s like supervised mischief :)

Played at the Beach

When all else fails, we lather up with sunscreen, get buckets, shovels, an umbrella and play at the beach (I’m a minimalist by nature).  Mommy Camp has very luckily coincided with afternoon low tide and it’s truly my favorite time to be at the beach with the kids.  Plop ‘em on the sandbar and everyone’s happy :)

Fieldtrips in the Works:

Connecticut Science Center in Hartford

Peach Picking in Cheshire

Now you tell me, what things have you done at your own Mommy Camp, or perhaps Daddy Camp?

What’s better than getting your kids to read?

Getting them hooked on books for a lifetime.

Two teams of experts are combining this summer to meet that goal.

Since 2008, bestselling author James Patterson’s website ReadKiddoRead has helped parents, teachers, and librarians ignite the next generation’s excitement about reading by recommending books carefully chosen by an expert panel for their ability to spark a child’s love of reading…

Just the Right Book!, the personalized, literary e-gift and subscription service founded by Roxanne Coady of award-winning, local R.J. Julia Booksellers and fueled by booksellers with a combined experience of over 100 years, has been lauded since its launch last year by InStyle, U.S. News & World Report, More.com and others for its uncanny ability to match readers of all ages with books they’ll love.

Eager to see more dog-eared paperbacks sticking out of camp duffles and among the toys in beach bags this summer, these two groups have joined forces for the benefit of kids (a.k.a. future book worms) everywhere.

From June through August, customers can order a ReadKiddoRead subscription through Just the Right Book! The subscriptions start at just $29. Chosen from ReadKiddoRead’s most popular selections and based on your child’s reading level and interests, the books arrive gift-wrapped and can be sent weekly or monthly.

“It’s not enough to rely on the schools to get kids to love books,” says Patterson. “It really makes a difference when parents have a hand in the book choices.” Rather than trying to do all the research themselves, he urges parents to take advantage of the experts out there.

“Just the Right Book lives up to its name. I think you’ll find your kids will gobble these books up, and leave them wanting more,” he says, in reference to the collaboration’s offering of books carefully chosen for kids based on their interests.

“It’s not enough to rely on the schools to get kids to love books,” says Patterson. “It really makes a difference when parents have a hand in the book choices.”

Roxanne Coady, founder of Just the Right Book! and RJ Julia Booksellers, agrees that tailoring books to young readers is really the only way to grow a book-lover from the ground up. “We’re always hearing, after recommending a title, ‘I never would have chosen that book on my own for my child, but he/she loved it.’ It’s the greatest thing to hear, because you know that the child’s strong connection with that first book is very likely going to send her back for more.”

For more information on Just the Right Book!, please visit http://www.justtherightbook.com.

For more information on ReadKiddoRead, please visit http://www.readkiddoread.com/.

Here’s a list of summer reading picks for kids (all are available through the ReadKiddoRead subscription at Just the Right Book!)

Baby to 4 years old

• Clip Clop by Nicola Smee
• Duck Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
• United Tweets of America by Hudson Talbott

(These books are not only fun reads for the kids, but will keep parents entertained, too!)

5 to 8 years old

• Art & Max by David Wiesner
• How Rocket Learned to Read
• Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride

(We know this can be a tough age as kids may be in between being read to and reading on their own.)

9 and up

• The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
• Summerland by Michael Chabon
• Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

(These are great chapter books that will get your kids asking for more!)

I grew up in Simsbury CT on a hobby farm.  I used to show sheep in 4-H and plant tons of vegetables with my dad in his enormous garden.  Went on to Virginia Tech where I gave the commencement address.  After college I backpacked around Europe where I had the opportunity to jump off a 30 foot cliff into 36 degree rapid water in Switzerland.   I married my high school sweetheart and we have one adorable son who actually loves broccoli.   (more than two truths, but still just one lie).

Alright Shannon, let’s rewind to a few months back.  I hear you’d been brewing an idea that with a little planning and a little luck, you actually got to pitch to Rachel Ray.  How cool!  Please, tell us all about this chance encounter!

I read in the paper that Rachael Ray was coming to RJ Julia’s in Madison for her book signing. I’d been a fan of Rachael’s for 7 years, when I started watching the Food Network.  Her upcoming event at the bookstore quickly became my final deadline for finishing my flash card cookbook because I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to literally hand her my prototype!  I rallied a couple girlfriends to stand in line with me for two hours that day. When it was my turn to receive her signature for “Look and Cook,” I slipped her my prototype of Boddler Bites, Food in a Flash.  She graciously accepted them, flipped through the set and said, “This is brilliant! Where can I get some more?”  That was an unexpected, albeit, fabulous response.  I told her that was my prototype completed in time to give to her.  She said she’d be giving it to her “people” and they’d be in touch.  Two weeks later I got a call that she wants them as her “Fave” for an upcoming issue of Everyday Magazine.  That became the official launch of the flash card cookbook!

And now here you are, the author of Boddler Bites – kudos!  I do like the way that rolls off my toungue – Boddler Bites :) Tell us about where that name comes from, will you?

Parents do really well when it comes to breast and bottle feeding their babies, and they offer pretty healthy baby foods as well.  However, when it comes to the later stages of baby food and introducing wholesome, chunky finger foods, parents seem to fall off a cliff in to the endless abyss of pre-packaged, processed “kid-foods.”

Parents truly need help on how to establish nutritious eating habits for this stage of life.   That, and I needed a word to describe an older baby and younger toddler.  That’s when I combined the two words – baby / todder – and boddler was born!  Boddler Bites is the perfect title offering parents loads of simple, healthy food ideas they can create in minutes…even seconds.  Plus, Boddlers can also learn to identify these foods because of the fun, flash card format!

You have to know that I’m a huge fan of your concept.  I grew up eating “real” food and am doing my darnedest to do the same for my children.  Let’s talk about this.  Tell us about why you’ve set out to encourage parents to feed their children wholesome, natural, real food?

We’re one of the only countries that have created a “kid-food” category.  Mass manufacturers and marketers have done an amazing job convincing young parents that factories can make better food for their children than parents themselves can.

Sadly, many parents don’t believe children can love real foods so they rely on prepackaged products smothered with baby faces and cartoon characters to fill their children’s bellies. And we wonder why 1/3 of our nation’s youth is overweight and obese?  I accidently started offering my baby a real banana versus one from a jar.  From that day forward, I knew his palate was learning to recognize whole foods and his fast developing body and brain were thrilled to work with all these nutrients.

Sadly, many parents don’t believe children can love real foods so they rely on prepackaged products smothered with baby faces and cartoon characters to fill their children’s bellies

Because I fed my baby edamame, beets and olives he thinks all these foods are normal.  And that should be normal…right?!  With Boddler Bites, I can share with other parents the benefit of my research and best recipe ideas and tips for establishing healthy eating habits for their own children.

As a very busy momma of two, I’ve found that getting good, real food on the table requires a commitment – a commitment to not giving in to preservative-filled, frozen or fast food.  Here’s the thing though, the reason those foods exist is because they’re easy and easy is good.  So, what sort of foods could you recommend to us mommies-of-boddlers to keep stocked in our refrigerators that are easy…and wholesome?

Ahhh, so many to name!  Whole grains, fresh or frozen fruits and veggies, and organic eggs.  Always keep in mind, with most of these foods you can make double or triple to eat the next day.  Quinoa, couscous and pasta should be staples.  You can add any diced veggies, canned beans, boxed soup, and grated cheese to them for an instant meal.  Frozen fruit can be thrown into a blender with some yogurt, kale leaves and juice for a quick smoothie.  Any veggie can be steamed, baked or sautéed.  Frozen organic waffles are great topped with a nut butter/wheat germ/flaxseed and maple syrup.  Scrambled eggs are fabulous with some diced avocado and cottage cheese on top.

And it’s not just about healthy food you have stocked in your pantries and refrigerators.  It’s also about what you DON’T have in your house for your family to eat.  Don’t buy the prepackaged foods and you’ll learn how to quickly prepare whole foods in wonderful ways! (I totally agree, Shannon!)

Now, a little birdie told me you’ve got the best kiddo snacks in town! 2 questions: What is your best, go-to Boddler Bite?  What is your son’s favorite Boddler Bite?

Best go-to is steamed edamame, hand’s down.  I throw an entire bag of frozen, organic, shelled edamame in the steamer pot for 6-7 minutes…let cool and toss pinches of sea salt.  Such a perfect snack in the car or side dish I can use for a few days.  Pure protein and super easy.

My son’s favorite is blueberries.  He’s been eating frozen organic blueberries directly from the package since he could crawl. I’ll defrost them in warm water for about a minute.  He also still loves blueberry and spinach puree. Yup, those two pureed together in the food processor are insanely healthy.  Although it looks like mud, he gobbles it up.  When organic spinach and blueberries are on sale, I buy out the freezer section! Literally.

The key is that so many of these aren’t even recipes, just easy snacks/meals that are just as quick as a package of Goldfish; i.e. sliced apples and cheese, pitted olives, fresh sugar snap peas, diced watermelon, cantaloupe, banana (already in its own package), sliced jicama and hummus, avocado or nut butters on rice cakes, etc…

You’re going to be at RJ Julia soon at what sounds like a fun event.  Tell us about what’s planned that day.

This Saturday, June 18^th from 10:30 – noon.  Free event and totally casual.  I’m having an Open House and Recipe Tasting.  Families are welcome and children are encouraged to try a few samples from some of the food ideas in the flash card cookbook.  I’ll be there to offer additional tips and answer any questions you all may have about establishing healthy eating habits for young children.

I’m sure folks want to know, how do we get our hands on Boddler Bites?

Some of the local stores that carry them are RJ Julia, Breakwater Books, Just Hatched, FoodWorks, BookHampton or you can order off my website. www.boddlerbites.com…   Whole Foods in Westport will carry them in early July and also Fairway Market in Brooklyn is currently selling them.

Before we go, I’ve got to know – did you really give us a “lie” about yourself way back when we started Chit Chatting?!  Care to tell us which it was?

Married my college sweetheart..Not high school! :)

Thank you, Kim for inviting me to Chit Chat with kidHaven!!

The pleasure was all mine, Shannon!