Home School Round Up Volume 2

One of our favorite ways to fill the day is enlisting our children into helping us  cook and bake. Through cooking they are learning about science, math, health, and nutrition. If they are helping knead or roll out dough for example they are also getting some necessary sensory input as well. You can prolong these activities by having the kids help wash the dishes ;)  

4 cups all-purpose flour 

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 cups water (room temperature)

2 teaspoons white vinegar 

1 tablespoon butter (melted) 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

In a bowl mix the dry ingredients 

In a 2 cup measuring mix the water and vinegar. While stirring, add the wet ingredients to the dry. Stir mix until dough forms. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 2-3 minutes until well mixed. Shape the dough into a flat, round disk. It should be flatter than an inch and a half because it is a denser bread. Place on a cookie sheet. Cut an "X" or some other lines into the top of the bread with a knife dipped in flour (we did a football lacing type pattern). Bake 30-40 minutes or until crust is a golden brown. Once you remove the bread from the oven, brush the top with the melted butter. This recipe is a great base, but it definitely needs some seasoning. We added the Everything But the Bagel seasoning from Trader Joe's to the dough before baking. It would also be good with cracked black pepper and shredded cheddar cheese mixed into the dough as well. 

So simple and so good! This recipe can be made gluten free if you swap out Corn Chex for the Corn Flakes.

Corn Flakes

Chicken breasts 

 2 Eggs 

Seasoning to Taste

Oil for cooking 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut chicken breasts into small chunks. Beat 2 eggs in a bowl. Use a food processor to grind up Corn Flakes into the consistency of bread crumbs. If you don't have a food processor you can use a rolling pin to break up the corn flakes. Take chicken pieces and dip into eggs. Roll chicken in the corn flake crumbs seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika (or your fave seasonings). Lay out chicken "nuggets" on a large cookie sheet with a light layer of oil. Cook at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes - turning chicken over halfway through baking. Yum! 

This one is super colorful and easy and was a BIG hit!

A muffin tray

Food Coloring 

Baking Soda 

White Vinegar 

Place 2-3 drops of food coloring into each muffin cup. Cover with baking soda. We had the kids do this with a spoon. Fill a dropper or small squeeze bottle with vinegar. One by one drop (or squeeze) the vinegar into each cup. The colors will magically reveal themselves in a bubbling surprise.

Masking Tape 

Sidewalk Chalk 

Use masking tape to tape off a large rectangle or square (or any other shape). Use more tape to create lines inside your larger shape. Color in the shapes with the chalk. Once you are done, pull up the tape and admire your creation. Pro tip: Wet the chalk for easier application. (Pro tip and adorable pics brought to you by our fave photographer Leyna Ambron @yellowheartphotography ). Once we had the chalk out we also made a good old fashioned hopscotch board. 

This one was super easy and lasted a LONG time! It is the same idea as a scavenger hunt, but instead of objects, you find shapes in your neighborhood. Street signs, manhole covers, windows, fences, etc. On this walk we "hunted" for a triangle, circle, square, rectangle, trapezoid, rhombus, hexagon, and octagon. Here are some highlights: 

Capit is a reading platform that came highly recommended by our Kindergarten teacher. We love that it is easy to use, colorful, and our kids actually want to use it! Check it out here. 

We first found these on instagram and quickly became obsessed. These 2 free coloring books are just what we needed - the kids like them too ;) Check it out. 

Yes MLB as in Major League Baseball has some really cute activities for the kiddos. We printed out some coloring and activity sheets then followed the link to our favorite team and got even more activities! Check it out.

Storyline Online has a great collection of children's books read by celebrities. One of our faves is Harry the Dirty Dog as read by Betty White. Check it out here. 

Speaking of celebs reading books... Michelle Obama will be collaborating with PBS kids to read children's books every Monday on the PBS Kids YouTube Page. Check it out!