Celebrate Dr. Seuss

My son had a half day of school earlier this week.  Usually I try to keep to my normal afternoon routine, but in reality my kindergartener will want my undivided attention and his little brother won’t nap because he’s so excited.  This usually results in me struggling to stick to my regularly scheduled Thursday while feeling guilty that the little one isn’t getting his nap and frustrated that the older one isn’t just playing quietly.  This Thursday I tried something different.  Since Dr Seuss’ birthday is this weekend I prepared a list of fun activities based on a few of his many books, planned a fun Seuss themed lunch and threw my normal looking afternoon out the window.  The night before I picked up a couple extra items at the grocery store, boiled eggs, set blue gelatin in the fridge and gathered some simple craft items that I already had around the house.  

Yertle the Turtle Stacking and Counting Cups:
During the morning my younger son helped paint a paper egg carton blue (I had cut the individual cups apart and trimmed the uneven edges so they stood evenly) and while it dried we read one of my favorites: Yertle the Turtle.  Once the paint had dried we added some designs on the cups with black marker.  I drew some samples of patterns that Dr. Seuss used in his illustrations to give him ideas (polka dots, stripes, zigzags, checkerboard etc).  Then we glued a number to each “turtle shell” and a turtle head that I had sketched to look like the turtles in the book.  Number 12 is King Yertle, the only turtle who is smiling.  When the cups are stacked in chronological order Yertle ends up on the top.

Materials:
egg carton, cut apart
scissors
blue paint
paint brush
newspapers to cover the table
black marker
white paper (for the numbers and turtle faces)
glue

Making Oobleck:
Who can resist an excuse to mix up some water and cornstarch? Mix 1 cup of water into about 1 ¾ cups cornstarch add some green food coloring (if you desire.)  We played in it for about 30 seconds before my 2 ½ year old said, “This is fun! Mommy, I’m gonna go wash my hands!”  He came back to play some more when I drizzled a little onto a rimmed baking sheet and added a couple of spoons for scooping.  At that point it was time to head to the corner bus stop to pick up my kindergartener.  The oobleck was a big hit with both kids.  They played in it, adding a couple of plastic dinosaur figurines, while I put together lunch. 

Green Eggs and Ham Car
My boys are crazy for hard boiled eggs and both like avocado so I mixed up some avocado in with the yolks and a touch of mayo and dill relish to make these green deviled eggs.  I added ham and cream cheese pinwheels for wheels and topped it with a sketch of Sam I am and his friend in the car.  You can stick the wheels on with pretzel sticks or a little cream cheese.  My son enjoyed this lunch so much we packed it the next day to take to school!

Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs, cut in half
1 ripe avocado
2 tsp dill pickle relish
2 tsp mayo
1 slice of deli ham
whipped cream cheese
pretzel sticks and alphabet pretzels

1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish Gelatin

I found this on a blog called simple girl at home.  Just prepare the blue gelatin in 1 serving sized cups and gave each child a few gummy fish to press into the gelatin.

Sight Reading Cards
My son is always telling me that he needs to practice his sight words more often so we flipped over these unconventional flash cards we saw on the purple haired homeschooler.  We spread the eggs yolk side up and as he reads each word he flips them into a play frying pan with his spatula.  I cut circles out of green paper using a scrapbooking punch and then glued the circles onto white paper leaving space around each one and then cut, freehand, around them to make the white of the fried egg.

Materials:
green and white paper
glue
scissors
pen
toy spatula
list of sight reading words

Gertrude McFuzz Sculptures
This is also a favorite of mine and can be found in the book Yertle the Turtle and other stories.  It’s a great story about the consequences of greed.  We used aluminum foil for our structure and decoupage tissue paper which gives a great shimmering effect.  Start with about a two foot long piece of foil.  About 1/3^rd of the way pinch the sides of the foil toward the center.  The long side will become the tail.  Form the small side into the body of the bird.  Dab with Mod Podge and lay tissue paper down and dab the top of the tissue with more Mod Podge.  Allow to dry, attach googly eyes with glue and use a marker to draw a beak.  At this point you can also cut the tail into feathery shapes so it isn’t as boxy and triangular.

Materials:
aluminum foil
Mod Podge (we used glossy finish)
brushes
tissue paper
marker
googly eyes
glue

The Big Brag Finger Puppet:
My guys are crazy for putting on puppet shows.  I created this finger puppet for the last story in the Yertle the Turtle collection: The Big Brag. I drew the characters onto craft foam and cut a hole for the worm and made a loop on the back of the worm’s head to fit my son’s finger.

Materials:
craft foam
glue
permanent marker
googly eyes

Green Eggs and Ham Pretzel Sweeties:
To finish off our day of Dr. Seuss fun we made these pretzel sweeties in the shape of green fried eggs (shared with us by a friend on facebook).  Melt about a half cup of white chocolate chips in a mug in the microwave (30 seconds at a time stirring in between until melted, about 1 ½ minutes)  Spoon onto parchment paper and press a green m&m and a pretzel stick broken in half.  Allow to cool to set and enjoy!





Materials:
white chocolate chips
green m&ms
pretzel sticks
parchment paper
cookie sheet

I had that list of activities thinking that my son would choose a couple things from it, but he kept going until supper time and was disappointed that supper wasn’t Dr. Seuss themed!  We had a blast bringing some of our favorite Dr. Seuss books to life and hope you try out some of these fun themed foods and crafts with your creative little hearts.

Literary Lunch: Jack-o-Lantern Bagels



The Legend of Spookley
the Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano



We found Pumpkin spice cream cheese in the grocery store this week.  To get in the Autumn/Halloween mode we spread some on mini bagels and used a small pretzel stick for the stem and added facial features with mini letter shaped pretzels.  We also tried to make a “Spookley the Square Pumpkin”  by Joe Troiano by cutting whole wheat bread into a square .  To make them look more like they are in the pumpkin patch we added some lettuce leaves and parsley for a garnish.  Pair these simple pumpkin bagels with some apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon and enjoy with your favorite Halloween book!    



It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
by Charles M. Schulz



The Biggest Pumpkin Ever
by Steven Kroll



Literary Lunches: One Morning in Maine Clam Chowder

Today my son had an early release day from school.  He also has his first loose tooth!  To celebrate we are having clam chowder for lunch.  While it simmers on the stove we’ll read a book from one of my favorite children’s book authors, One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey.   Sal, the main character also has her first loose tooth!  Enjoy this sweet little story and simple chowder recipe with your little one.

Simple Clam Chowder
Marge Perry, Cooking Light  JANUARY 2008

Ingredients

·         2 bacon slices

·         2 cups chopped onion

·         1 1/4 cups chopped celery  

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

·         2 garlic cloves, minced  

·         6 (6 1/2-ounce) cans chopped clams, undrained  

·         5 cups diced peeled baking potato (about 1 pound)

·         4 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice

·         1 bay leaf

·         3 cups fat-free milk  

·         1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)

Preparation

1.     Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion, celery, salt, thyme, and garlic to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

2.     Drain clams, reserving liquid. Add clam liquid, potato, clam juice, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Discard bay leaf.

3.     Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 12 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add clams; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon.

Literary Lunches: Mortimer’s First Garden – Sweet Sunflowers

Mortimer's First Garden by Karma Wilson, is a great book to read in the springtime!  Mortimer, a little mouse, learns about the miracle of God’s creation through a little sunflower seed.  He finds out that with a little sunlight, water and a lot of patience something amazing transforms his one seed into many, enough to have some to share with a friend!  My boys and I read this book and then enjoyed these tasty, sweet sunflowers.    



the day I photographed these we threw on some cheerios too
but they are not necessary



Ingredients:
mini bagel
peanut butter
banana
raisins
honey

Directions:

1.       Spread peanut butter on the mini bagel. 

2.       Slice the banana lengthwise and then into coins to create semicircles for the petals that are then arranged around the edge of the bagel (hanging half over the edge).

3.       Fill the center of the circle with raisins.

4.       Top it off with a swirl of sweet honey and enjoy with a cold glass of milk.

Creative in the Kitchen: Literary Lunches Goodnight Moon Brinner

My guys love breakfast for dinner.  This recipe, inspired by a favorite bedtime story, “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown, is the perfect dish!  It’s a new take on a traditional breakfast: “egg in a nest”. 

Ingredients:
1 piece of whole wheat bread
butter
1 egg
1 sausage link
1 slice of American cheese

Cooking Directions:

1.       Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  While skillet is heating up, butter both sides of the bread and use a glass or biscuit cutter to cut a circle in the bread. 

2.       Cook sausage according to package instructions.

3.       Place the bread and cut out circle into the skillet.  Crack egg and put it in the center of the circle cut out of the bread. 

4.       Once the toast begins to brown, flip.  Cook until the egg reaches your desired doneness.  Place toast and egg on a plate. 

5.       Cut cheese slice in half.  Cut one piece in half again.  Place these strips along the short side of the bread.  Cut triangles from the rest of the cheese slice and place in the top corners to make the curtains.

6.       Cut the cooked sausage into quarters lengthwise and place on top of the egg creating the window pane. 

Enjoy!

Creative in the Kitchen: Literary Lunches Open Lion-Faced Sandwiches

I get really bored with the same old lunch routine and so do my boys.  So when I read an article, "Read, Cook, Love", in November’s issue of Parent Magazine I was totally inspired!  The writer took inspiration from her children’s favorite storybooks and whipped up some tasty treats.  Here is one creative recipe idea that I created from one of our favorites: Dandelion by Don Freeman.  Read Dandelion and then let your kids decorate their own Open Lion-Faced Sandwiches and remember that each one will come out uniquely their own and that’s okay!  Encourage your kids to take from Dandelion’s example and just be yourself!

Ingredients:
hummus (see recipe below)
half of a mini whole wheat bagel
shredded carrot
shredded cheddar cheese*
black olives, sliced
grape tomato, chopped
1 slice of carrot cut in half to create 2 semicircles

Directions:
1. Spread hummus on one half of a mini bagel.
2. Decorate to make a lion face using the hummus to adhere the facial features and mane.  Use ends of the sliced olives for eyes, cut sliced olives in half to form the mouth, use carrot semicircles for ears and pieces of tomato for a nose and tongue. 
3. Sprinkle shredded carrot and cheese* around the outside edge of the bagel to make the mane.

Recipe for Homemade Red Pepper Hummus:
1 can of chick peas drained and rinsed (or approximately 2 cups cooked chick peas)
½ a lemon, juiced
jarred roasted red pepper** (about ½ a pepper or more depending on your taste)
2 Tbs tahini
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbs Olive Oil
¼ tsp granulated garlic
dash of cumin (optional)
dash of ginger (optional)

Process in a food processer until smooth.

*this recipe idea can easily be made vegan by omitting the shredded cheese and using only shredded carrot for the lion’s mane.

** if roasted red peppers are not a favorite in your house you can omit it and add a little more olive oil to keep the hummus from getting to dry.  You can also try swapping out the peppers for some cooked spinach and or some marinated artichoke hearts.  You may find that hummus is a great way to get kids to eat veggies that they normally won’t try!

What children’s books inspire you to get creative in the kitchen?  Please share your ideas, I’d love to try some more literary inspired lunches (or snacks) at my house!