Kids in the Kitchen: Shepherd's Pie Scramble

We said good-bye to Winter last week with our last sweet potato Shepherd's pie-turned-easy by making it into a scramble. In other words, instead of layering it like a traditional pie, we just tossed everything in together. It had the same delicious effect in our bowls and bellies and it took much less time!

Our Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie Scramble...
2 carrots, chopped
1 C butternut squash (or 2 parsnips), chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, chopped
about 3/4 lb breakfast sausage, crumbled
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup apple juice or vegetable broth
1/4 tsp each of nutmeg and cloves
1 tsp fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
salt and pepper to taste

We had left over sausage cooked from breakfast so we started our pot with a bit of saved bacon grease (full of Vitamin D!) garlic, onions, sweet potatoes and squash over medium heat. After several minutes of softening we added our celery, carrots, sausage and spices. We added our broth and continued to cook for about 10-12 minutes, letting the vegetables soften and the flavors marry. The sweet potatoes and squash had just begun to break down enough to hold everything together like they would in a traditional shepherd's pie. It was delicious!

Everett helps with peeling vegetables...

Chopping softer vegetables like the celery....

Grinding pepper, grating nutmeg, measuring and adding spices to the pot...

Helping with Chores

I strongly feel that a rhythm that benefits the whole family includes time for chores that involves the children. Whether they are simply playing nearby, imitating the chores with their own brooms and rags, or actually taking part, children benefit tremendously. They feel calmed by the consistent rhythm and clean environment, and grow to understand the hard work that taking care of a home requires. 

Furthermore, they are almost always interested in helping and learning how to care for their home. Everett often helps with chores, such as vacuuming, unloading dishes, putting away laundry, and picking up during our "cleaning hour" every evening. 

Recently, both the boys delighted in helping scrub the art room and kitchen floors, which turned into an opportunity to scrub anything Everett could get to with his little scrubbie. He loved it and keeps asking to do it again.

 He also used the big mop to dry the floor while Kellan played on the wet parts.

And, of course, Kellan eventually made his way to the bowl of soapy water and scrub brush. What a sensory experience!

Chores are so much more fun when the boys are involved. If scrubbing the floors is like this all the time, I may end up with some really clean floors!

Channeling the Creative Energy of Spring

We have been channeling the creative energy of Ostara (Spring Equinox) all week. On Monday, I told Everett the story of Ostara and the Very Special Eggs so Tuesday, we did some traditional egg dying. I planned on decorating with onion skins but didn't realize I had to wait to boil the eggs, so we'll do that next week when the extended family celebrates Easter.

On Wednesday, we read Oscar and the Frog: A Book About Growing. We talked about all the new life growing in our own backyard and how we can take part as creators and caretakers of the earth. 

We planted some sunflower seeds, and ritually planted with them some of our own dreams. Everett (sweet boy that he is) shared that his two dreams were, "for us to always be together and to always be healthy" and "to be Spiderman and have two capes forever and ever and teach other people to be superheroes." 

We also said this little rhyme in honor of spring and Mother Earth that I found online and tweaked a little bit...

Welcome, welcome, warm fresh earth.
Today we celebrate rebirth!
Blowing wind, rising sun,
Bringing the spring to everyone!
Rabbits hopping, chicks in the nest,
Spring awakens all who rest.
Celebrate the green of Earth with me-
Happy Ostara and blessed be!

Then we hung a bag of nest-building material for the birds (thanks to Chalk in My Pocket for the inspiration).

And we gathered materials from our yard and found a spot sheltered from the wind to build our own nest for Ostara's bunny to deliver Everett's spring eggs. and hopefully, to be used later by some backyard animals gathering for their own nests.

Thursday, we gave Everett's room a good spring cleaning and smudging to clear away stale, negative energy from the Winter. Today, we will create some spring time art (I'll add pics when we're done) and make popovers for a snack. They're an egg-based bread roll that grows in the oven to pop over the sides, best eaten with lots of butter right out of the oven!

Volcanoes and Dinosaurs

I've posted before about Everett's love of dinosaurs. We have collected a number of books- at least 8- from his birth to now and check others out at the library constantly. One of his on-going fantasy sagas includes his two large plastic dinosaurs, Peggy Sue the Stegosaurus and Grumpy the Triceratops. They accompany us to the park, in the bathtub, to the dinner table, or to read books during quiet time. We also have a pretty cute felt story board with dinosaurs and landscape pieces that he plays with on occasion.

Inspired by one of our new favorite dinosaur books, Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones, we created a big volcano with one of Everett's favorite friends, Jessup. The boys helped me mix up the salt dough in a big bowl on the floor then we brought it up to the table and mounded it up over a small soda bottle to form our volcano.
I pulled out our small plastic dinosaurs and animals for the boys to squish into the newly formed island before exploding hot pink lava out of it's volcanic top.

It's certainly not an original idea (although Everett and I hadn't done it before) but there's a reason this activity is done over and over again. There is so much value in the experience. The boys learned a little bit of chemistry through the dough mixing and lava making. They experienced textural changes through out the whole process- the powdery flour turned to sticky dough, the lumpy mounds of "land" turned squishy and pock-marked by dinosaur feet and "lava." And for Everett, the connections that create reading comprehension from story book to hands-on activity and back to story book when we re-read Skippyjon at quiet time.

Most of all, it was so much fun! Our lava really shot out of the top a few times and the boys had a great time trampling the volcano island with the animals and dinosaurs. I couldn't help but hear the tiny chihuahuas of Skippyjon Jones singing,

Itchee Gitchee Gumba! 

Dinos do the rumba 

With jumbo jaws

And giant claws,

WIth horns and beaks, 

And scaly peaks.

Itchee Gitchee Gumba!

Chimichangos do the rumba

With great big hearts 

And tiny parts,

With knobby knees

And lots of fleas.

Itchee Gitchee Gumba!

*** Other great dino books that we own or have read....

For toddlers:
Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs! (Boynton on Board)

Dinosaur Roar (Picture Puffins)

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs

Dinos To Go : 7 Nifty Dinosaurs in 1 Swell Book

For older toddlers and above:
Dinosaur vs. Bedtime (Board Book)

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?

For preschoolers:
Oh, Say Can You Say Di-no-saur? (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library)

Dinosaurs Love Underpants
When Dinosaurs Came with Everything (Junior Library Guild Selection)
If the Dinosaurs Came Back (Hbj Big Books)
National Geographic Readers: Dinosaurs
Dinosaur Tamer
Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings

Ostara and the Very Special Eggs

Photo from Cyber Cauldron

We began celebrating Oestara, or the Spring Equinox, yesterday. This year, things were too busy for me to pull everything into a day of celebration so we've got little things to do all week. We began with a little talk about the equinox and a story, Ostara and the Very Special Eggs.

I drew out a diagram of sorts to help Everett visualize how the days are balanced on Equinox and growing longer until we reach Solstice. I asked him if he knows what balance is, he sweetly explained that it is "when you balance on one leg or two legs." So, I explained how we want to try to find balance in our life, like with play time and resting time. We talked about the exciting things we could do to celebrate the sun's return as they days grew longer- staying outside all day, flying kites, having picnics, going on hikes, working in the garden, climbing trees.... All of which we would be ways to celebrate the earth and the bring shining sun!

Then, I talked to him about seeds, eggs, birds, and all the small symbols of spring. I reminded him of how we stayed in from the cold, dark snowy winter, snuggling in our homes and how the animals and plants were warm and peaceful inside the Earth. Now, in the spring we're all beginning to send out our shoots and feel the warm sunshine. We talked about all the animals that are being born and the plants growing. Of course, after that, Everett wanted to take a walk to see everything!

Back at home, he listened to the story and we planned out more activities for the week, like egg decorating, nest building, bread making, energy clearing and seed planting. We'll have a week full of beautiful spring symbols and I'm really excited about it!

Messy Play with Barley

Last night, I put a pot of barley on to cook and meant to tell my mom to turn it off while I was at yoga (she was watching Kellan for me!). Well, as you can guess, I forgot to tell her about it and the result was a pot of mush not even suitable for soup. Instead of throwing it out in the compost, I used it for messy play for Everett and my 2 1/2 year old nephew, Ryan.

Messy play is a great way for toddlers and preschoolers alike to experience the world through their senses, develop fine motor skills, and satisfy (at least a little) of their insatiable appetite for mess!

Here's What We Did...


I put the lump of barley in a large plastic container with 4 cups of colored water, a couple droppers, and some utensils. I supplied a pot of soapy water and towel for more play or washing up, if they wanted.

They went for the colors first, observing how the barley color changed as they squirted it. Then, they began mixing colors and putting colors in the water then putting the water on the barley- an opportunity to notice how the colors dilute in water.

Then they experimented with the tools, like the potato masher, listening to the squishy noise the barley and water made. They also scooped barley into the cups with spoons and poured back and forth between all the containers.

Overall, they spend a good 30 minutes experiencing the texture as it went from a glutinous lump to squishy with water and then super soupy after they dumped the whole pot of water in with it.

Spring Window Art

A couple weeks ago I shared some collages we made with left over gift wrap tissue and crepe paper. I pulled out our leftovers again and helped Everett create a beautiful work of art on our big front window for spring.

First, I stacked and layered tissue paper to cut out multiple shapes at a time. I used several spring like colors we had of tissue, some colored plastic, and crepe paper. I gathered them in a container as I cut them for easy access.

Next I taped a piece of clear contact paper across our window with the sticky side up. I peeled off the paper backing and Everett began decorating the contact paper with our tissue shapes. 

I had intended that he could come and go at the window, doing little bits at a time when he felt like it. It turned out he wanted me to help and he stayed to finish the hole thing. Even working together this kept him busy for a long time!

Before hanging it as a completed project, I added another layer of contact paper to seal it. I found that it was easiest to lay the artwork on a table, measure and cut the top layer of contact paper, and lay the contact paper down so the paper backing was down.

Then, I slowly pulled back segments of the paper backing and smoothed it out from the center to the sides. It turned out nearly perfect, with just a few wrinkles at the beginning when I was experimenting with the technique. 

Here is our beautiful finished project, both during the day and night. You can really see the colors in the nighttime shot since I'm taking the photos inside. 

I love how pretty it makes our big window, especially with the window pulled up and the spring breeze blowing in! Everett wants to do it for the whole window and our dinning room windows, but I've got other plans for those, thanks to the Artful Parent. Stay tuned to see what we do for those next week!

Five Ways to Start Eating Naturally

In an article I wrote for Natural Parents Network, today, I share a bit of my experience and knowledge in wholesome, natural eating. My hope is to provide some direction for those of you who want to get started on that journey but aren't sure where to begin.

It can feel daunting to change eating habits, especially among the myriad of health food fads, superfood claims, and constant criticisms about the typical American diet.  You may be aware that the way you eat needs to change, but you may not be sure where to start, and you may not know what is really going to make a difference....

. For the full article, click over to Natural Parents Network. Continue checking in throughout the week for more stories and articles on Natural Eating, like yesterday's feature Tackling Toddler Eating Habits. We would love to read your comments or answer your questions, so feel free to leave them here or over at NPN.

The best way to begin this journey for your child is to involve him in the kitchen. Read through my Kids in the Kitchen features for recipes and tips on this.

Imagination Changes the Landscape of Playtime

The third year of Everett's life (which ended Saturday on his fourth birthday) has been really exciting in terms of fantasy play. The imagination just explodes at this age and by the end of this third year, Everett's constant immersion in a fantasy world has changed the landscape of his play. 

Since he was born, he has been most interested in the type of big movements and big play that involves all of his senses and his whole body. He has always been in constant motion and excited to try everything, especially involving his gross motor skills. Interestingly though, this year, his body and mind have shifted from having to constantly be involved in those big movements to focusing on smaller tasks because so much of the imaginative mind has taken over.

It's exciting to see these big imaginings manifested into pretend play with his dinosaurs, for example, and actual figurative drawings. 

I'm eager to see what changes are brought forth with his development in his fourth year!

Games for the 9-12 Month Old

Playing with your young children doesn't have to include a complex game.. Connecting with infants is simple in these three "games" that we play with Kellan. As young as he is, playing with Kellan establishes strong family relationships, cultivates trust, shapes his interests, and aids in his physiological development.

Tossing and rolling the ball with his brother and daddy...

Climbing over couch cushions (and sometimes my legs)...

I set several of them up in the living room and crawl around them calling to him as he climbs up and over to get to me.

Playing the drums...

As he jams out with wooden spoons, toys or, in this picture, a paintbrush, I bounce and dance around, sometimes even making up silly songs.