Cooking With Kids

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving! One of our favorite days of the year is spent gathering with good company and of course, gobbling up yummy food. As hectic as preparing for the holidays can be, we thought we could take a few extra moments to make cooking together a fun new learning experience for your wee ones. Who knows, maybe you will start a new tradition!

This video from Cook Smarts introduces parents and families to cooking together with children, and lays out the many benefits of incorporating little chefs into the kitchen. Learning to follow directions, growing their vocabulary, and building hand-eye coordination all help lay an important foundation of learning. 

 

If you are just starting out in your cooking adventures, this article from Food Network is a worthy read: Cooking With Kids Without Going Insane. Taking simple steps before you start the cooking process can pay off in a big way to help alleviate headaches. Need a little more convincing? Babble shares ten skills children learn when you cook with them in this informative slideshow.

Childhood 101 shares some helpful tips, like pre-measuring ingredients, and some kid-friendly recipes here. Head over to Mess For Less,  Two Daloo, and Simple Bites to get a variety of recipes and tips to keep your rolling pin busy.
Even Buzzfeed is getting on the band wagon of cooking with the kids with these 21 recipes. 

With all of the warm rolls and mashed taters you will encounter over the holidays, why not include the kids in making a sweet hostess gift like homemade butter? Apartment Therapy shares an easy to follow recipe for your sous chef.

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving and looking forward to hearing your cooking stories. 

Gobble, gobble, 
Katie and Abby

Happy Holidays

The holidays are nearly upon us! December has went by oh so quickly and I am personally very excited to have some much needed time off to relax, spend time with friends and family, and to read of course.

To celebrate, I've listed some of my very top choices for family friendly holiday books, films and audiobooks. These are wonderful choices to share bundled up on the couch while you munch on cookies or even to share as last minute gifts!


Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas: A Safety Guide for Scaredies by Melanie Watt (Kids Can Press, 2012). Everyone's favorite, slightly neurotic squirrel is back for Christmas! Scaredy Squirrel must figure out what gifts to buy, how to decorate and what to wear for the special holiday. This book is full of silly laugh out loud moments that children and adults will be able to enjoy together.





Daddy Christmas and Hanukkah Mama by Selina Alko           ( Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2012). Sadie's family celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, and readers will be able to get a peek into traditions from both holidays by reading this wonderfully illustrated picture book.   





Christmas Wombat by Jackie French; Illustrated by Bruce Whatley ( Clarion Books, 2012). A carrot-loving wombat accidentally stows away on Santa's sled after munching on the reindeer's vegetables! This humorous story will entertain toddlers and adults with comic antics and beautiful illustrations set against a stark white background. 

 Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson; Illustrated by Jan Chapman. (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2008). Bear learns that giving is one of Christmas's best presents when his friends decide they are determined to keep him awake for Christmas! The rhyming text and enchanting illustrations are sure to be a hit for years to come. 





 
  The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). A must-watch for any Muppets fan. Enjoy the full Muppet cast and Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge in this hilarious and heart-warming retelling of the Dickens classic. My family watches this film together every December!  








A Charlie Brown Christmas ( 1965). A classic that grandparents, parents and children can enjoy together about Charlie Brown attempting to wade through the rampant commercialism at Christmas to find the true meaning of the holiday.    







 How the Grinch Stole Christmas! And Other Gifts from Dr. Seuss by Dr. Seuss (Listening Library, 2008).  Gather the family, grab a cup of hot chocolate and listen to this lovely audiobook together this holiday. How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the familiar story of one grouchy green creature and his attempt to ruin Christmas for the Whos of Whoville, takes on a wonderful character when read by the charismatic Walter Matthau. 



 What are some of your family's favorite holiday choices? Do you have any films that your family watches each year? If not, this can be the year that you start a new family tradition! All of us here at the gmplkids blog would like to wish you and your family a very happy holiday season!

All Hallow's Read

Sure, everyone loves to give and receive chocolate treats on Halloween, but what about giving books out to celebrate Halloween this year as well?

Find great posters to promote All Hallow's Read on the official website or around the internet. I found this adorable cat poster here!

  Neil Gaiman, beloved author of many amazing titles including 2009 Newbery- award winner "The Graveyard Book", dreamed up the idea for All Hallow's Read. What is All Hallow's Read? It is a Hallowe’en tradition. It’s simply that in the week of Hallowe’en, or on the night itself, you give someone a scary book. Easy, right? Check out the official website, full of cool downloads and resources, here .

 You can give out new books, used books, books you have lying in your basement, comic books or  books from your local library book sale. There is no wrong way to participate in All Hallow's Read! Be sure that you give out an appropriate scary book though. The little ones may be over the moon for a spooky picture book with friendly ghosts, while the tween set may like something with a little more bite. 

 Still apprehensive about what to give out? You'll find a list of librarian recommended titles for various ages below.

For pre-schoolers and kindergarteners:

• Ten Little Pumpkins by Dan Yaccarino
• Ghost in the House by  Ammi-Joan Paquette
• Zen Ghosts by Jon Muth
• The Hallo-Wiener by Dav Pilkey
• Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace
• Monster Stew by Mitra Modarressi

For 1-3 / 6-8 year olds:

• Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet by Lisa Desimini
• Halloween Night by Marjorie Dennis Murray & Brandon Dorman
• The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
• Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween by Melanie Watt
• The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman
•  Fluffy's Happy Halloween by Kate McMullan
• Clifford and the Halloween Parade by Norman Bridwell

For Grades 4-6 / 8-12 year olds:

• Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine
• The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver
• Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery by Deborah Howe
• The House with a Clock in it's Walls by John Bellairs
• The Witches by Roald Dahl
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark collected by Alvin Schwartz
• The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
• Doll Bones by Holly Black
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

For teens:

• Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr
• Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney
• Dark Eden by Patrick Carman
• Heart-shaped Box by Joe Hill
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
• Carrie by Stephen King
• Any short story collection by H.P. Lovecraft or Edgar Allen Poe 

Download these awesome posters for free here!

 So what are you waiting for?  Go rummage through your bookshelves or stop at your local library book sale to pick up a spooky book to give out! You can give it to trick-or-treaters, your children or even your husband or best friend. The point is to celebrate reading books about the things that go bump in the night during this month of ghastly celebration so start incorporating All Hallow's Read into your yearly traditions as soon as possible.