Day 24: A Sick Day for Amos McGee

READ.

By Philip C. Stead

"Sick Amos McGee is a man who works at the zoo taking care of the animals.  Day in and day out, he feeds the animals, plays with them, talks to them, and is a constant source of companionship in their lives.  

Every day Amos does the same thing.  He wakes up at the same time, takes the same bus to work, and visits the same animals in the same order.

One day, Amos gets sick.  He cannot go to work, so he stays home and takes a sick day.  He is not there for any of his animal friends.  Each of them waits for Amos but he never shows up.

In the end, the animals all take a trip over to Amos' house to find him and cheer him up.

Even though Amos is just one man, his actions meant so much to those around him each day.  He didn't realize the impact he made on so many until the day he didn't. 

This is a great read with wonderful pictures and thought-provoking themes. 

PLAY AND EAT.

Today we will be making "Sick Day Chicken Soup".

Make this soup with your kids anytime you hear of a friend or family member who is sick. 

This particular version of chicken soup is so great for three reasons:

1) It's made in the slow cooker, so you can deliver it any time you are ready in the afternoon: take some for the sick person you are going to see and keep the rest in the slow cooker waiting for you when you return home!

2) Kids can help with adding slow cooker ingredients and you don't have to worry about an open flame on the stove to burn them

3) All of this soup's ingredients are bite sized (i.e. no long noodled, long shreds of chicken, etc), making this soup very kid friendly.

And, by the way, it TASTES . . . . AWESOME.

HERE is the recipe I found awhile back on Food Network upon which the following recipe is based.  I found it several months ago while searching for healthy meal ideas for my family.  Since then, I have never made another version of chicken soup.  This one is just too tasty and easy for me to do anything else! 

"Sick Day" Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced (I like to slow cook mine in the morning for 4 hours on low, remove them, dice them, and then add them back into the soup with the rest of the ingredients)

3/4 cup diced carrots

3/4 diced onion

7 cups chicken broth

4-5 tablespoons of chopped fresh dill (2 teaspoons dried)

zest of one lemon, or 2 teaspoons lemon juice

3/4 cup frozen peas

3/4 pasta (Ditalini is awesome)

Place chicken in slow cooker with 1 cup chicken broth and cook on low for 4 hours.

Remove chicken, place on cutting board, and dice to your size preference.

Saute carrots and onions in 1 T olive oil for 5 minutes until onions are translucent.

Slide diced chicken back into slow cooker along with sauteed carrots and onion, {then let the kiddos add} 6 cups chicken broth, dill, and lemon, and cook 3-4 more hours on low.

About 20 minutes before serving, add pasta and peas to soup (again, these two are good for the kids to add).  Stir all together well.

Serve and enjoy!

Create your card by using leftover craft supplies like scrapbook paper, and markers.  Punch a hole, tie some twine around it and attach to your container of soup!

Adorable and personal!

  

Check out the rest of this series!

Day 1: Cloudette
Day 2: Now It's Fall
Day 3: Blackout
Day 4: Applesauce Season
Day 5: If You Give a Moose a Muffin
Day 6: It Could Always be Worse
Day 7: Who Ate All the Cookie Dough?
Day 8: Flaptastic Shapes
Day 9: Rumplestiltskin
Day 10: Giraffes Can't Dance
Day 11: One Yellow Lion
Day 12: Lousy Rotten Stinkin' Grapes
Day 13: Walter the Baker
Day 14: Goodnight Moon
Day 15: The Lion and the Mouse
Day 16: Red Leaf Yellow Leaf
Day 17: Nuts to You
Day 18: Brown Bear, Brown Bear
Day 19: White Rabbit's Color Book
Day 20: Maisy Goes to Preschool
Day 21: JUMANJI
Day 22: Bridget's Beret
Day 23: Little Duck: Finger Puppets

Day 23: Little Duck

Charlie & Jack enjoy when their daddy reads to them and one of their favorite books is Little Duck: Finger Puppet book.  Daddy likes to make the little duck pop out and they never see him coming. Just a quick peck out and they start laughing hysterically! 

I decided to get a bit creative and thought making puppets would be a great idea. I've compiled some of my favorites from Pinterest. Easy, fun and a great chance for your kids to get their creative juices flowing!

via

via

via

via

We finally settled on adorable (similar to these) toilet paper roll owl puppets::

via

You just need toilet paper rolls, cupcake liners, some white paper, and a marker! Quick and easy owls for day-long fun.

What's your favorite kind of puppet?

Samantha at The Peanuts Gang

Day 22: Bridget's Beret

Hi friends!

Today I've got another great book by Tom Lichtenheld (the author of Cloudette)! Our book for today is Bridget's Beret.

I am officially a Tom Lichtenheld fan. This is a great story about doing what you love, and it includes classic art!

Today I wanted to show you something that gets used all the time in our house: our art bin!

I bought a simple bin with a lid with a handle. It's simple, portable, and lives on the same shelf as our Toddler Boxes.

It's full of all our favorite arts and crafts supplies, so they're easy to get to whenever we need them.

Here's what we keep on hand:

Paint:

(clockwise from top left)

Dot paint: We do a lot of bingo dauber sheets (my favorites are HERE), so these are great. The biggest "investment" in the bin though. Totally worth it!

Tempera paint: Great for general paint projects. Washable (woot!). 

Finger paint: Not the biggest hit over here, but nice to have around

Sun Catcher stain: Plastic sun catchers cost about a dollar at Hobby Lobby. Great "special treat" after a day of running errands

Water colors: Perfect for simple, mess free painting. These come out at dinner time a LOT.

Craft Supplies:

Pipe Cleaners: Plain and Sparkle varieties. They're in toddler boxes, they're in Christmas projects. They're pretty much all purpose. Get some!

Craft Sticks: You know....for building things.

Foamie Stickers: Great for simple collages. Great fine motor practice, too!

Pom Poms: If we're not using the dot paint for dauber sheets, we use these. Also fun for collages.

Glitter:

What good is an art bin without glitter? Ours stays in a ziploc bag 1) so it will stay together and 2) because glitter messes are no fun to clean up!

Coloring:

Markers

Rainbow scratch art sheets

Our crayons tend to be out for general use, so they don't stay in the bin. 

Elmer's School Glue: Good for general crafting. Also makes great Cloud Paint!
Glue dotters: These used to be standard on my school supply list, and I like them SO much better than glue sticks. They don't try out, and you actually get a usable amount of glue without much pressure.

At any given time there may or may not be a random assortment of other stuff in here, depending on recent projects, but these are the staples. I love having everything in one place, it makes quick activities so easy! Also, nothing in here is to expensive, or fancy so I don't worry about letting Abbey go wild.

Have fun putting together your art bin!


Just joining in? Make sure you check out the rest of the series!

Be blessed!

Heather




It's A Long Story: blog. facebook. twitter

Day 21: Jumanji

READ.

Written by Chris Van Allsburg

-->

Jumanji is an awe-inspiring book about what happens when two kids play a magic game that they find in the park.  Each new space they land on, new things happen, such as lions in the bedroom, monkeys in the kitchen, etc.  The appearing of all of the wild animals mentioned in the game will only go away if they finish the game.  The art in this story is fantastic; depicting the wonder of this imaginative story.

PLAY.

Make your own board game that will be an unforgettable time for YOU and your family.

This game is designed for family bonding nights.  Play it together, and decide together on a prize that the winner (and everyone else) will get - like a trip out for ice cream!

 (Note: Mom will mosr likely make this activity, but the kids will play it!)

First, create a simple game board like this:

I suggest making what I call a "Universal Game board" with numbers - as opposed to the words describing action the player takes - in each space.

Creating this board once allows you to switch out the cards corresponding to each space with anything you want!

For more ideas on how to use a game board like this, see my Universal Game Board post coming up November 1 at Sugar and Spice!

Use card stock and a sharpie marker to make a nice clear board.  Make the spaces about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide.  A good idea is to practice your board on a sheet of regular paper first, using a pencil, and then attempt your final version.

Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect - it is the thought and effort you are making to create this tool for your children that really counts!

For today, we will be using this game board to create a "family bonding night" game.  This is a game to play with your family for something fun and different to do - to spend time together, to get to know each other better, and to connect with one another.

This version is meant to be played with kids ages 4 to 10, but you can modify some of the directions for older or younger kids.

So, after creating the game board, cut 12 index cards in half, and number them on one side.  On the back of each number card, write the following:

1. give a hug to the player next to you

2. kiss the player to your right

3.  tell a story of a time that you and another player spent together

4. do something nice for the youngest player

5. act like one of the players and see if everyone can guess who

6.  tell one of your favorite family memories

7. name your favorite family activity and why

8. say something you love about every player

9. find something of yours to give to another player and say why you chose that

10.  see if you can make another player laugh

11.  share 3 things you are thankful for

12.  hum a tune that everyone knows and see who can guess first

13. tell how you've seen God's love in one of the players' lives

14. do something helpful for another player in the game

15.  tell one thing that made you feel worried or upset this week

16.  give a clue about another player at the table and see if everyone can guess who

17.  name your favorite book and why

18.  tell the family who your favorite friend is and why

19.  name 5 reasons you are happy to be a part of this family

20.  think of something your family can do together to help someone in need

21. tell someone at the table about a time you did something wrong to them and ask for forgiveness

22.  sing your favorite song for the family

23. tell a player one reason they are special

To play, use a die, roll, and read the card aloud for the player to complete.

The first player to make it to the end, wins!

The winner can choose the family "reward" (such as a trip to the ice cream store, a trip to the park, etc).

Have fun!

EAT.

You can create a monkey from the cover of Jumanji by cutting a peanut butter sandwich into a pear shape, adding some sandwich ears, and layering a slice of turkey atop the bread as shown for the face.  Use a slice of red bell pepper for his mouth, and two raisins for his eyes.

Enjoy!