Teaching about Hunger--Young Children

As you know I have joined the group, Moms Fight Hunger, for National Hunger Month. Our goal is to help end childhood hunger. I have been struggling with ideas to make a difference and for ways to explain hunger to Hazel. Today I'm going to share with you a few of my solutions with more to come each week.

One thought I have had is about nutrition. I feel so lucky that I can buy my daughter and my family nutritious food. Often I even am lucky enough to buy organic produce and organic dairy products. It troubles me that the food that is best for you is also very expensive. A friend from middle and high school who currently lives in Germany commented on how expensive it is to buy good, nutritious food in the United States when she was here visiting. That is troubling, because for the people without as much money, it means they are often deciding between quality and quantity. Is it better to get a small amount of more nutritious food or enough food to fill you? I'm glad that is a question I have not had to personally decide on. 

My Plans and What You Can Do This Week:
This week I planned with the local library's children's librarian to hold a story hour well actually three (for different ages) about food and hunger (depending on age group) and ask each child to bring in a can (or more) of food for our local food pantry. Now the local librarian knows me and about my blog and is always helpful when choosing books for the Virtual Book Club for Kids and any other topic I can come up with. She already knew I was participating in Moms Fighting Hunger and was more than happy to help. We planned the story hours for the first week in October, so we will have plenty of time to advertise it and get the needed food. I also talked to the local newspaper editor this weekend about the possibility of doing it and he is on board to cover it for us.

What can you do to help? How about donating some canned food or boxed food to your local food pantry.

Helping Children Understand There Are Hungry People in the World:

Then I was telling Hazel a story the other day. Now some of the traditional fairy tales scare Hazel. For example, in Hansel and Gretel she becomes afraid of the witch. Well before I had Hazel I had entered a dollhouse competition and made a gingerbread dollhouse and changed the story of Hansel and Gretel a bit for my entry. I had made the witch a nice old woman who had lost her family due to a house fire. She went off the woods to live since all the people in the village stared at her and talked about her. They called her the witch. The only way she knew to make a house was to bake a gingerbread house so that is what she did. When Hansel and Gretel arrive she invites them in and feeds them and teach them to make gingerbread houses. 

Source

Well I took this version and tweaked it a bit and told Hazel a story. You can download the story (it is two pages) at the following links.

Page 1                               Page 2

After reading the story to your child, have the conversation about helping others and that there are people hungry in the world and for that matter in your own town. Remember 1 in 5 kids are hungry!! We can put a stop to it if we all help!

What We Can Do Next Week:
September 17-22nd is Dine Out for No Kid Hungry Week. Please go check out what the offers are at your local restaurants and make plans to have dinner out with your family and/or friends. The more the better!! And tell all of your friends about it!! We need everyone so we can end hunger!!

Here is a flyer to hang around and advertise the week. You can also make your own to have the specific restaurants in your area listed as well.

National Hispanic Heritage Month Begins Saturday

Did you know that National Hispanic Heritage Month begins Saturday? It runs from September 15 to October 15th. President Lyndon Johnson put into place National Hispanic Heritage Week and President Ronald Reagan expanded it to a month. (Source) My friend, Daria, reminded me and asked if I would like to make some of her musical instruments in honor of the month. I, of course, jumped on it. If you have not already checked out Daria's webpage you should, but especially check out her Monthly Song Page so you can enter her great giveaways for a pair of handmade maracas and/or a basket of castanets. Everything we made today came from her tutorials which you can find links to on her Monthly Song Page. Everything was made with recycled ingredients for the most part or at least things we had hanging around the house.

Hazel had a great time making the instruments, decorating them and playing with them! The pictures above are of her making and decorating them. We will start with the most well known instrument we made--maracas! Daria does a great job of explaining maracas including a bit of history. We used a small water bottle (we only had one in our recycling bin), two empty bubble containers (with the wands inside still), toilet paper rolls, beads, and electrical tape (red) and then Hazel decorated them with paint. Hazel loved putting the beads into the different containers. I taped the toilet paper rolls to the containers and then she decorated away. We actually have some maracas from the store so I included a picture of them as well so you could see the similarities and differences!

Next we made the guiro. This is actually easy to make and is somewhat similar to the maracas. We used an empty water bottle with ridges. We put some beads in it as well. Hazel also painted it a bit, but I don't recommend this since the paint flaked off immediately when we played it. Again, Daria does a good job explaining the guiro and a bit of it history. I think this is my favorite one we made!

The last instrument me made today is a cajita. Cajita means little box. It literally is a small box with an attached lid. To play it you hit it with a wooden stick on the inside, outside, wherever. I had picked up a couple of wooden boxes on clearance at the Christmas Tree Shop when we visited my parents last week. (Daria suggests a cigar box.) I pulled out the smallest one and gave it to Hazel. She added some paint so she could add her own touch (or at least that is the reason she told me she wanted to paint it). Then she played it with a pencil as well. Again, Daria does a great job explaining about a cajita, so please check out what she says.

After playing it a couple of times she decided she wanted to use the box for Ducky's diaper cream. She thought it was the perfect size for it. Oh, well. 

Since the cajita is from Peru, I thought I would share a children's book for you about life in Peru, Tonight Is Carnaval by Arthur Dorros. All of the illustrations are pictures of arpilleras sewn by the Club de Madras Virgen del Carmen of Lima, Peru. They are beautiful!!

The story is told by a young boy about his family getting ready for the Carnaval, which is three days away. First the work must be done. He goes into details about the work including farming, taking care of the llamas, sheering the alpacas and turning it into yarn and then taking their potatoes to the market in the village. After the market the Carnaval will begin. If you do not know, Carnaval is a celebration just before Lent. In the Andes it is celebrated for three days and nights with music (from a local band which the story teller gets to play in this year), dancing and feasting. 

Stay tune for more Hispanic Heritage Sharing the next month!! Next week Monday will not be multicultural due to the Virtual Book Club for Kids, but I will share something with you later in the week.

Muffins, Muffins--Using up bananas and pumpkin

Today we had some overripe bananas and some canned pumpkin my mother sent home with me. We decided to make two kinds of muffins. This would be perfect for anyone having a party or a bake sale. We also used a large carrot and a large zucchini grated up.

Banana Muffins & Pumpkin Muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup almond meal (if making for bake sale may want to use flour instead due to allergies)
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flax seed meal
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
dashes of ground cloves
2 eggs
1/2 - 1 cup of canned pumpkin
2-3 overripe bananas mashed or pureed
1 large carrot & 1 large zucchini pureed together
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 3/4 cups milk (I use non-fat)
1 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1/2 - 1 cup sliced almonds or chopped nuts (optional)

To make both at once, you will need four mixing bowls. In the two largest ones add half of each of the dry ingredients (1 c flour, 1/4 c almond meal, 1/2 c oatmeal, 1/2 c flax seed meal, 2 t baking powder, 1 t cinnamon, 1/2 t nutmeg, dash or two of ground cloves) and mix. Set both bowls aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In next two bowls beat an egg in each. Then add the pumpkin to one and the banana to the other. Add half of the carrot-zucchini mixture to each bowl and 1 Tablespoon of oil and 1/2 cup of applesauce to each. I found the pumpkin was a bit dry and needed 1 cup of milk and the banana only needed 3/4 cup of milk. Mix this all together. Then add each bowl to one of the dry ingredient bowls and mix. You can mix in the almonds or nuts if you are using them.

Spray 24 muffin cups with cooking spray (paper liners often stick since there is not much oil in these recipes, so if you want liners use foil ones). Scoop each batter into 12 of them. We made 12 of each.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes and let cool. Enjoy!!

Sharing Saturday #36

This morning I had to go for a routine fasting blood test. So I was awoken and knew I couldn't eat anything for a couple of hours. I always hate going for these blood tests because I always feel so hungry. However then I remember the poor children in the United States (and around the world) who are often hungry. The most recent statistic says it is one in five in the US that are not fed enough. Imagine having to try to focus, function and learn without enough food. I find it so hard. This month I'm joining other bloggers and moms to help fight hunger. I posted about it here (and will post more in the future) and you can click the button to the right or below for more information or to join us!

Ok, now on to Sharing Saturday. Last week was an amazing week and there are so many wonderful ideas shared!! I hope you will take some time to visit a few more and leave some comment love. Here are a few of my favorites!!

From Little Wonders Days: Beach Friendship Bracelets

In the United States we celebrated Labor Day on Monday. This is our unofficial end of summer and often the start of the school year. I am not completely ready to let go over summer so here are some summer features. (I also added a few of the must-see ones to this list, so please check them out!)

1) From Learning Ideas - Grades K-8: Fish Word Search and Activities

2) From Sunny Day Today Mama: Picnic Party Nature Walk Favor Bags (LOVE this!! She shared 3 posts on this party and all of them could be here!)

3) From One Creative Mommy: Felt Popsicles

4) From Waldorf by Me: Summer Nature Table

5) From Little Wonders' Days: Summer Vacation Memory Jars

6) From Tippytoe Crafts: Handprint Palm Trees

7) From Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk: Painting with Pokeweed and Pine Needles

8) From Earning My Cape: Toddler Flip Flop Makeover (So cute!!)

9) From Like Mama ~ Like Daughter: Nana's Beach Party

10) From Nestled Under Rainbows: Prayer Flags

11) From We Made That: Magic Tree (Oh, so neat!!)

12) From Pam's Party Planning & Practical Tips: Kara's Wishing Stars

But since it is the start of school here are some school-related features.

1) From A Happy Song: First Day Of School Blackboard

2) From Art Mama Says: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Alphabet Tree

3) From One Creative Mommy: Be Happy Friend Maker

4) From Earning My Cape: Homeschool vs. Traditional School (A great reminder that we each have to choose what is best for our children and family!)

5) From A Happy Song: Chain Letters

6) From Pinkoddy: Can I have a P Please

7) From Brenna Phillips: Water and Penny Experiment

8) From 2 Big, 2 Little: Painted Fingernail Counting

9) From Toastie Studios: Mini Ribbon Paper Clips

10) From Keitha's Chaos: First Day of 1st Grade (Love some of these traditions!)

11) Not Pictured: From Life on the Gravelly Road: The Letter F

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog.

Button Code:

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From Your Hostess: My first Waldorf Doll and she if finally dressed!

 

Now for This Week's Party   

A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow both hosts via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  

Hosts are Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart. A reminder: Mia is taking a blogging break. Hopefully she will be back soon to host again!!

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post.

3) Post the button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.

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All right everyone...This is a PARTY!! Have Fun!!

My First Waldorf Doll & Pumpkin Pie

I would like to introduce you to....

Well actually, we haven't decided on a name for her yet. I also have not made any clothes for her yet, but she is my newest creation. I ordered a 16-inch doll kit from Weir Dolls. One of my goals was to make a Waldorf doll. Now that I have, I have to say I found it much easier than I thought it would be. I can see myself making more dolls. I made her in a matter of a few days mostly at night after Hazel (and often Steve) went to bed. I finished her hair this week at the Cape. Hazel and I went to visit my parents one last time before school started. I used the money my parents gave me for my birthday to buy the kit. Now I have told Hazel that I will share the doll with her since she is after all my birthday gift. Plus I don't like how she is assuming everything I make and buy is for her. For the doll's hair I followed this wonderful tutorial at Crafty Sheep. I loved that it was a bit different than the traditional ones. Tonight I hope to make her some clothes!!

Update: She is dressed!! I made her a dress and underwear. I have to say I did not like the pattern much so I will be designing her some new clothes soon.

While at my parents, Hazel had to check on her vegetables. My father has been giving her pumpkin reports. Well she of course wanted to pick one and bake a pumpkin pie. She seems to have Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman on her mind. My mother bought a pie crust and some canned pumpkin and they made a pumpkin pie together. My mother followed the recipe on the can of pumpkin. Now my parents' house is not air conditioned and the kitchen gets HOT!! So my mother did not want to bake the pumpkin first nor did they really have the time to do it all. So we brought the pumpkins home so we can do it here. Sorry I didn't take any pictures of them making the pie since I was enjoying a bit of relaxation time knitting in the other room.

I have to say we all enjoyed the pie. Hazel liked to eat the filling and not the crust!