810-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 11, 1999
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Encourage Children To Help With
Rita Moore of Jack and Jill Nursery School said children
like to -help make this snowman pinata.
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WHICH TWO ARE EXACTLY ALIKE?
Kids
V
LEBANON (Lebanon Co.) If
you’re searching for ways to
include children in Christmas pre
parations, and to thwart their focus
on getting instead of giving, here
are some ideas from the Holiday
Program presented recently at the
Lebanon County Penn State
Cooperative Extension. Rita
Moore, who operates a nursery
school, compiled these.
To make a pinata snowman,
inflate a large and small balloon.
Use masking tape to fasten
together. Make a thin paste of flour
and water in a large bowl. Tear,
lengthwise, stirps of newspaper
2-inches wide. Dip strips of paper
into paste and squeeze off excess
paste between fingers. Wrap strips
around balloon figure, alternating
directions. When diy, pinata can
be painted, or, if children are older,
tissue paper fringed strips can be
glued around it Features can be
added with paint or construction
paper.
Make a harness of twine around
pinata (if using fringed tissue paer,
apply harness before adding tissue
paper).
Add doll’s scarf, twigs for
hands, and a paper hat Cut small
hole in top and fill with goodies,
use a rolled newspaper bat to hit
paper bag pinata or a plastic bat to
break papier mache pinata.
Make sure children are standing
or sitting in a large circle so that no
one gets hit with the bat Always
reserve a few goodies to give to
children who receive none when
children scramble for the treats
inside the pinata.
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Children love to give gifts they
made themselves.
Instead of spending hours at the
mall helping your child find the
“perfect gift," turn your kitchen
into a bake shop.
Cooking teaches children to
read, follow directions and mea
sure. It teaches simple math skills
and nutrition education.
Cooking gives children permis
sion to play with food by touching,
washing, and mixing ingredients.
Recipes and activities from the
Rainbow Bakery Cookbook prom
ise hours of cooking and creative
fun with great-tasting results.
Not every recipe is for eating.
Kids can learn to make play dough,
sun catchers, paints, and other
delightful gifts for others or for
themselves.
To order the 75-pagc colorful
Rainbow Bakery gook, send $2.50
to Rainbow Baker, P.O. Box 2052,
Milaca, MN 56353-2052.
“Alpha-Bakery” is another
children’s cookbook, featuring
67-ages of recipes and activities
from A to Z.
To order, send $2 to Alpha-
Bakety, P.O. Box 5119, Minnea
polis, MN 55460-5119.
Here are some recipes from
Rainbow Bakery.
Konaer *
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
PINATA PARTY
Kids In The Kitchen
Holiday Preparations
HOLIDAY TIC TAC TOE
Make a giant Tic-Tac-Toe
board, about 2x2-feet square.
Children will enjoy decorating
each square with a picture of
Christmas. Cut out some large O’s
and X’s for markers. Divide family
into two teams, one with O’s and
the other with X’s. Choose some
one, not on a team, to read the
questions. For each correct
answer, a team member places one
marker on the board. The first team
with three in a row wins. You will
need a list of about 20 simple ques
tions based on the Christmas story
such as “What was the name of the
town where Jesus was bom? What
gifts did the wise men bring Jesus?
Who told the shepherds where the
baby lay?”
TRADITIONS
Traditions that are repeated over
and over again bring a sense of
comfort and joy to families.
• Allow children to select fruit
fear fruit baskets or items for less
fortunate.
• Put names of family in bowl.
Allow children to select a name for
whom they should make an effort
to be kind and do good deeds for
the person throughout the week.
Whenever they do, allow them to
put straw in the manager to make it
soft for the baby.
• Prepare an advent wreath. Sit
on floor, light candles, turn off
other lights, and sing Christmas
carols each evening.
• Make popcorn and munch on it
while reading the Christmas story.
• Allow children to help deco
rate wrapping paper.
• Allow children to have a small.
tree to decorate as they please. 1
MONKEY SEE,
MONKEY DOUGH
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
V: cup shortening
3 /« cup milk
'A cup grated paimesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Stir in
flour, sugar, baking powder, and
salt in medium bowl until mixed.
Cut shortening into flour mix
ture by crisscrossing with two
knives, until crumbly. Stir in milk
until a soft dough forms.
Put dough on lightly floured sur
face, and shape into ball, using
flouted hands. Knead dough by
folding and pushing with the palms
of your hands, then make a quarter
turn. Repeat these steps to knead
10 times. Divide dough into 32
pieces.
Mix cheese and Italian season
ing. Roll dough pieces in cheese
mixture. Put pieces in ungreased
round cake pan. Sprinkle with
remaining cheese mixture. Drizzle
butter over top.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until
light golden brown. Take bread out
of pan, and serve warm. For dip-
TODDLER’S HANDS
Have children place their hands
in finger paints and place on paper
with the following poem. Give as a
gift to grandparents or to parents.
MY HANDPRINTS
Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always have my
fingerprints
On furniture and wall.
But everyday I’m growing up
And soon I’ll be so tall
That all those little handprints
Will be hard to recall
So here’s my latest handprint
Just so you can remember
Exacdy how my fingers looked
At Christmas in December.
ping, serve with tomato sauce,
cheese sauce or pizza sauce that
you have heated, if you like.
Makes 8 servings.
COOL & CRAZY DOUGH
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
'h teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
About 15 drops of your favorite
food coloring
Put ingredients in IV2 -quart
saucepan. Cook over medium heat
about 4 minutes, stirring vety hard,
until mixture forms a ball.
Take ball of dough out of sauce
pan, and let it stand on the counter
5-10 minutes to cool.
Squeeze dough about 30 sec
onds or until it is mixed and
smooth. Cool completely.
Use dough to make fun shapes.
Store dough tighdy wrapped in
refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Makes
about Vh cups dough.
Remember this dough is to play
with not to eat!
SHAKE, RATTLE
& ROLL PAINT
2 cups water
% cup concentrated liquid
starch
'!* cup all-purpose flour
Food colors
Finger paint paper
2 or 3 golf balls
Put water, liquid starch and
flour in I'A quart saucepan. Cook
over medium heat about S tninntra
just until boiling, stirring all the
time. Cool to room temperature.
Pour cooked mixture into sever
al small containers. Stir in few
drops of food coloring into mixture
in each container to make desired
color.
Put sheets of paper in bottom of
baking pans. Spoon drops of paint
onto paper, then add golf balls to
the pan. Shake, rattle and roll the
pan to make a fun design. Remove
golf balls from pan, and wash
them. Let paper dry.
Display your masterpiece or use
as wrapping paper or a book cover,
use the paint the same day you
make it, and throw away left over
paint. Makes about 2 cups.
Hand Paints; Make paint as
directed. Drop paint onto paper,
and make designs with your hands.
Remember paint is to play with
not to eat!
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