DIY Pick Up Sticks Game : Colored Chopsticks

Classic games were a fun and important part of my childhood.  My children love games as well, and we have enjoyed playing board games like Sorry and Chutes and Ladders together.  But there are still many games I used to play that are still unknown to them.  One of them was Pick Up Sticks.  Instead of buying the game, I thought we could use what we have--bamboo chopsticks in this case.  Before teaching my kids how to play, I needed to refresh my memory on the standard rules; I found a good description of the game here.

Even my youngest child (who is four) has really liked playing this simple game.   I have discovered again how playing pick up sticks can be a fun way to hone our fine motor skills.  It's definitely challenging for players of many ages, including parents! 


Materials Used:

• Bamboo chopsticks (new and/or reclaimed from takeout)
• Unsweetened Koolaid packets
• Water
• Paintbrush
• Old non-toxic markers

 

* Also pictured is cornstarch, to thicken the Koolaid paint, which I do not recommend.  It made the chopsticks sticky.  I had to rinse them off, which also removed some of the color. 

How to make it:

1. Mix colored Koolaid powder with water to create paint.  Paint each chopstick the desired color.
2. Dip old marker tips in water and color each chopstick.
   
3. Allow chopsticks to dry.
4. Decide how you will play the game, assigning a point value to each color, etc. 

I'm sharing this project at Kids Get Crafty, Terrific Under Ten Tuesday, and Show and Share Saturday.

Garden on a Plate

It's a good thing when life gets in the way of blogging, which is exactly what's been going on with our family.  Before school started last week, we were enjoying our last remaining unstructured days.  A helpful kind of resource this summer has been activity idea books for our kids.  When we were staying in Canada last month, we enjoyed The Preschoolers Busy Book.

This month my 7-year-old consulted another book of things to make and do and decided to make a garden on a plate.  I was pleased (and relieved) that she managed to do the project entirely on her own, including gathering the materials.

Black Cherry Berry Smoothie Recipe

Needing to increase my fruit and vegetable intake, I've been wanting to try and perfect a green smoothie recipe.  Alicia's example inspired me to take the plunge at last.  Not one to measure ingredients, my first smoothie attempt had a definite spinach flavor.  It was drinkable and nutritious, but not very appealing.

Enter my latest fruit discovery, black cherry juice.  Adding the rich cherry flavor made the blended spinach totally undetectable.  And completely delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 banana
• 6 strawberries
• 3/4 cup frozen mixed berries (my blend had raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries)
• 1/4 cup 100% black cherry juice
• 1/4 cup sweet red juice (such as fresh watermelon, cranberry blend, or apple kiwi strawberry).
• handful of baby spinach leaves, optional
• a touch of maple syrup, optional

[All measurements are approximate.]

* The recipe above makes one large smoothie, but can be easily doubled or quadrupled for more servings.


* You can also add kefir or milk if you like.

I'm linking this to Try New Adventures and Pennywise Platter Thursday.

Peanut Butter Coconut Oatmeal: A Protein-Packed Breakfast Recipe

Ingredients:

• Old-fashioned or steel-cut oats
• Ground flaxseed
• Natural peanut butter
• Coconut flakes (preferably unsweetened)
• Maple syrup or honey, to taste

Directions:

Cook oatmeal with water and/or milk on stovetop as you normally would.  Stir in flaxseed, peanut butter, coconut and sweetener.  It's almost like eating warm cookie batter, but the peanut protein and flax oil make it quite nourishing!

Find more recipes at  Tasty Tuesday and Pennywise Platter Thursday.

Tie Dye + Rescued Kids Clothing = Fun Art

My daughters haven't learned to swim yet, but we did arrange for them to have weekly art lessons this summer.  One of the final projects they did with their teacher was tie dyeing.  Buried in the laundry room, I found some clothes to send along for them to dye.  They brought home their wet handiwork in a bucket.  The next day I un-banded, washed, and dried their rainbow creations.  Above are some of the results.  

I would like to find some more clothes to try this with at home, though school starts in a couple of weeks.  We'll see.  Have you ever tried tie-dyeing?  Or does the mess intimidate you?