You will LOVE LOVE LOVE these adorable "Kids In The Kitchen" fun activities this month  They are some of my favorite family traditions and recipes.  They also make a nice food-craft for your students if you're looking for something fun to include for your Thanksgiving Feast Day Celebrations at school, or just a nice treat for your children the day before the big holiday weekend to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving.

Grama Karis’ Gum Drop Apple Turkeys 

• 5 tooth picks
• 1 apple (body)
• 10 multi-colored gumdrops (1 has to be red for the wattle.) (feathers)
• 1 raisin (eyes)
• 1 Hershey kiss (head)

Background: Every Thanksgiving the guys would go deer hunting and the women would putz in the kitchen getting dinner ready. One of the things we’d do with the children while we were “watching” the turkey was make these adorable Gumdrop Apple Turkeys. Grama Flohr would bring all the supplies and each child would design their own gumdrop feathers so they could have a darling turkey sitting next to their plate.  At about the time we were getting finished with our creations the men would come home all red-faced, orange-clad and exuberant with tales of a near miss or a bull’s eye. After they’d shower it was time to eat, drink and be merry around a very thankful table.  I sure miss Grama K and those special memories. I hope you can make a gumdrop turkey and start some memory making of your own. It’s a wonderful family tradition.

Directions:

• Put two gumdrops on a tooth pick and put it in the back of the apple.
• I put 4 feathers on the turkey, but 5 also looks nice.
• You can make each feather have the same color gumdrops or you can have different colored gumdrops on each feather as shown in the picture.
• Put one gumdrop on a tooth pick (neck) + a Hershey kiss (head) and put this tooth pick on the front of the apple.
• Cut a red gumdrop in half and stick it tot eh kiss.
• Cut a raisin in half, and then in half again and stick these to the kiss for eyes.

Tootie Frootie Turkey 

• If you’d like to make this affordable to do with your class, as well as a cool math extension, do it with cereal. Children can sort the Tootie Frootie’s and make their feathers and neck all one color, like mine in the photo, or they can make all sorts of color patterns AB ABC or even ABCDEF as there are 6 different colors of Tootie Frooties! Tootie Frooties are made by Malto Meal. They are only $1.99 a bag as opposed to a more expensive box of Fruit Loops.  Send a note home asking parents to have their child bring in an apple. You could also ask 3 parents to donate a bag of Hershey kisses, Tootie Frooties, and candy corn.

Ingredients for ONE turkey.

• 6 tooth picks
• 34 Tootie Frooties  (feathers & neck) (6 for each feather.)
• 1 apple (body)
• 1 raisin (or yellow frosting) (eyes)
• 1 red jelly bean or gum drop (wattle)
• 5 pieces of candy corn (To hold feathers on toothpicks)
• 1 Hershey kiss. (head)
• Optional: Yellow frosting in a tube (For eyes.)

Directions:

• Stick 6 toothpicks in the back of the turkey a Tootie Frootie space apart from each other.
• Slide Tootie Frooties on the toothpicks.
• You can sort them and put one color on each toothpick, or choose to make a pattern.
• Put a toothpick in the front of the apple in the center.
• Put 4 Tootie Frooties on this toothpick.
• Slide a Hershey kiss on top of the Tootie Frooties.
• Cut a red gumdrop or red jelly bean in half and stick it to the kiss.
• Cut a raisin in half, and then in half again and stick these to the kiss for eyes.
• Or, using a toothpick, dot on two eyes with yellow frosting.

Pilgrim Hat Cookies

• 1 Round cookie  ( I use the kind that are chocolate on one side and vanilla on the other and have frosting in the middle.)
• 1 Large marshmallow
• Chocolate frosting
• 1 Cheerio or 1 yellow Tootie Frootie (buckle)
• Popsicle sticks.

Directions:

• Frost the chocolate side of the cookie with the chocolate frosting. I have my students use Popsicle sticks.
• Put some frosting on the bottom of the marshmallow.
• Press it down on the frosted cookie.
• Frost the marshmallow so it is completely covered.
• Press a Cheerio or Tootie Frootie into the bottom center of the Pilgrim hat, so it looks like a buckle.

Cornucopia Thanksgiving Snack Mix:  Buy sugar cones (The kind you put ice cream in, and fill them with this mix. They make nice party favors at your Thanksgiving table, or you could ask several room moms to make them as a treat for your students.) I tie my cones with a sheer fall colored ribbon. You can buy a bolt for a Dollar at Michaels or JoAnn Fabrics. I put the mix in a baggie then rubber band it shut and tie with curling ribbon.

• Sugar Cones
• Pretzels
• Candy corn
• Chex Mix
• Raisins
• Sunflower seeds
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Goldfish Crackers  
• Reese’s Pieces

Diane’s Indian Corn Cookies (My very own invention)  If you want to do these as a class snack activity, ask parents to send in the ingredients.

Ingredients:

• Cookies that are oval shaped. I used Keebler’s new Vienna Fingers. They are $2.99 for a package of 30.
• Yellow frosting. $1.69 a can
• A bag of Reese’s Pieces or Fall-colored M&M’s  $2.59 a bag (on sale)
• A can of LaChoy rice noodles. $1.35 a can

Directions:

• Students spread frosting on cookie with a Popsicle stick.
• Children press candy pieces into the frosting.  Each child needs 10 pieces. (5 different colors).
• Students press rice noodles in the top to look like corn husks.

Turkey Treats

Ingredients:

• 2 round cookies (I use cookies that are chocolate on one side and vanilla on the other and have frosting in the middle.) (I’ve also seen these done with Oreo cookies where they take them apart and use this frosting or Nila Wafer cookies.)
• 1 malted milk ball (head)
• 1 Rolo (body)
• 5 pieces of Candy Corn (feathers)
• 1 red jelly bean (wattle)
• chocolate frosting
• 1 raisin (beak)
• Yellow frosting in a tube
• Toothpick

Directions:

• Frost the bottom cookie, chocolate side up.
• Press the Rolo into the frosting so that it is towards the front of the cookie.
• Put a dab of frosting on top of the Rolo.
• Press the malted milk ball onto the frosting so that it sits on top of the Rolo.
• Cut the jelly bean in half and stick it to the malted milk ball.
• Cut the raisin (beak) in half and stick it above the jelly bean. (wattle)
• Using a toothpick dab on two yellow frosting eyes.
• Frost the bottom of the second cookie.
• Press the 5 candy corns on the outside edge of the cookie in a fan shape.
  
• The candy corn should have the pointed end pointing down.
• Press this cookie up against the Rolo and down into the frosted bottom cookie.
  
• An easier version of this is to skip the Rolo and the malted milk ball and use a Hershey Kiss instead.  The Kiss is the head of the turkey.  I like this version better.

Background: When I was an aide helping teach 2^nd grade at Grand View school in Grandville, a room mom, Sheila, made these for tour students as a pre-Thanksgiving treat.  They LOVED them!

     I’ve added something NEW to the column this month “Tips For The Table” .  Besides a few recipes, I thought I’d throw in some helpful tips that I did with my own children when they were little. Things that preserved my sanity when my “kids were in the kitchen”.  I Hope you find them useful!

 Tips For the Table:

Mystery Dinner:  

Are you tired of dreaming up dinner every night? Are you sick of hearing: “What’s for dinner?” the minute the children walk in the door? Do you need to teach some responsibility to your children? Why not let each child take a day of the week to plan dinner. It can be their “secret”.

The rules: The dinner must be nutritious, The dinner must be within X amount of money for the budget, etc. Design your rules around your family’s likes and dislikes, allergies etc. Haul out the cookbooks or hit the Internet for ideas. This is a great way for them to expand their reading skills as well as develop a new hobby “cooking!” Who knows you may have a budding chef in the family! Then it’s off to the grocery store. Choose one day when you all do the shopping for that week’s meals. No one knows who is making what. Now isn’t that fun instead of boring? 

Having a budget will make them conscious of how difficult the real world is and planning and making dinner will give them an appreciation of all that you do!

A big bonus is that cooking provides an abundance of math skills for your child + mom gets a night or two off depending on how many children you have! If your children are young, they can still get in on the action with your help. It’s still a win-win proposition!

I’ll take mine in a cup to go…  When I’m serving fishy crackers, pretzels, animal crackers etc at school for snack time I put them on an opened napkin. As a mom I put them in a Dixie cup so that my children didn’t spill things; they worked far better than bowls. They could also tote them outside. I’d write their name on the cup with a marker so I knew whose was whose when they’d leave them here and there to go play. This was great for car rides as well.

Pass the Popsicle stick please:  I use tongue depressor - size Popsicle sticks in my classroom for my students to use instead of plastic knives for Play-doh play. You may think that those plastic knives aren’t sharp, but they are, especially in the hands of an excited 4-year-old. They also work great in the kitchen when a young child wants to butter their bread or spread peanut butter or jelly on a sandwich by themselves. If they want to cut up their own vegetables a pumpkin carving knife works great, but I still supervise. I also use a kitchen scissors to cut steak, pizza, French toast etc. because it’s so much faster when you have 3 kids than using a knife!

 Washcloths to the rescue:  I kept soft baby washcloths in my kitchen drawer along with my dishrags for dirty faces and hands. Each of my children had their own color.

 Special cupboard and drawer:  Instead of keeping all of the cleaning stuff that was dangerous under the kitchen sink, I kept the Tupperware there. I showed my children where the “Kid’s off limits stuff” was so that it would not be a tempting mystery cupboard that was up high and out of reach, and they helped me paste a “Mr. Yuk” and poison control sticker on that cupboard. I also gave them their own kitchen drawer with their plastic plates, sippie cups, special folks, spoons, washcloths, place mats, the baby’s bibs etc. in it. They could all reach that and it made them feel helpful when we set the table.

RECIPES

Pumpkin Pancake Cookies:  My grandson Joshua is teething so he will love a tiny pumpkin pancake cookie just the right size for his little hands, and I hope you will too.

Ingredients:

• Pancake Mix + any ingredients they require.
• Cookie sheet
• Cooking Spray
• Orange Food Coloring

Directions:

• Make a batch of pancake batter according to the box directions.
• Add drops of orange food coloring til the batter is orange.
• Drop tablespoons of batter onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray, I use Pam™.
• The amount of batter depends on how big you want your cookie. I like to make mine small, about 3”
• Bake at 250º for 15 minutes.
• Flip pancake cookie over and bake another 15 minutes.
• Set aside on paper towel to cool.
• They can be frozen too. Simply put them in a Ziploc baggy.
• If they are too moist when you thaw them out, put them back in the oven at 250º for about 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Cake:

Ingredients:

• Chocolate cake mix + any ingredients they require.
• Orange frosting
• Round cake pan
• Green decorator icing in a tube.
• Black decorator icing in a tube. (optional)

Directions:

• Follow directions on cake mix box to make a single layer round chocolate cake.
• Frost with orange frosting
• Add green decorator icing to make pumpkin leaves
• Add black decorator icing to make a Jack-O-Lantern face

Painted Sugar Cookies

     I enjoy making special cookies by painting them! Your children will have fun making an extra special cookie for someone they love too without a whole lot of fuss!  Here’s how:

Ingredients:

• Pre-made sugar cookie dough
• 1 egg
• Paint brushes
• Food coloring
• Water

Directions:

• Mix paint out of 1 egg yolk and 1/4 teaspoon water + several drops of food coloring (the egg-yolk and water mixture can be divided before adding the food coloring to make lesser amounts of several colors.)
• Paint with a watercolor brush.
• The paint darkens when you bake the cookies. It also turns shiny! It’s fun to add a person’s name if you want.
• For October I add orange food coloring to the dough and then paint faces on my “Jack-o-lanterns”! You can also make green dough and make rectangular shaped cookies and paint on monster faces!

Mud Ball Crunchies:

Ingredients:

• Cheerio’s
• Smooth peanut butter

Directions:

• Spoon 2 cups of peanut butter into a large bowl.
• Pour 2 cups of Cheerios into the bowl.
• Gently fold the Cheerios into the peanut butter being careful not to break the Cheerios.
• Spoon a large dollop of the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. They should look like a ball of mud.
• Refrigerate. MMMM MMMM good.

 Pumpkin Chex Bread: One of my student’s mommies turned this in for our Classroom Cookbook. In her “About the recipe” section she wrote: “Grama’s fall favorite.”

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups flour
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 medium eggs, beaten
• 1 ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup finely chopped raisins
• 1 cup pureed cooked pumpkin
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 ½ cup Wheat Chex cereal

Directions:

•  Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon.

• In another medium sized bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin, milk, sugar and oil; whisk until smooth.
  
• Add to flour mixture and stir. Mix well.  Gently stir in cereal and raisins. Be careful not to break cereal.
• Lightly grease a bread pan and transfer mixture.
• Bake 60 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
• Remove from oven, cool 15 minutes, and remove from pan to cool completely.

     Now that you’ve got some yummy treats, wash them down with these fragrant smelling ciders!

Apple Cranberry Cider:

Ingredients:

• 1 quart apple cider or apple juice
• 2 cups cranberry juice
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 whole cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches)

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, combine the cider, cranberry juice and brown sugar. Place cloves and cinnamon sticks on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with kitchen string to form a bag. Add to pan.
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes. Discard spice bag before serving.

Apple Cider Wassail

Ingredients

• 2 quarts apple cider
• 1 1/2 cups orange juice
• 3/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches)
• 1 dash ground cloves
• 1 dash ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, combine all of the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Toss out cinnamon sticks. Serve hot in mugs.

     Does Pumpkin Custard with Peppery Pecans sound yummy? Click here for that recipe.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/pudding/pumpkin-custards-with-peppery-pecans/

     And if you’d like to whip up a batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins then click here.

http://www.pastrywiz.com/dailyrecipes/recipes/382.htm

     Finally, I thought what fall dinner would be complete for any child without a meal of Chunky Cat Barf. If you’d like to try this delectable delight click here! Too funny!

http://www.pastrywiz.com/archive/chunky.htm

     Whatever you’re cookin’ up in the kitchen I hope you have a fall-fun-tastic time with your little punkin(s)!

Welcome Back To School!

I know some of you have already started, but here in MI we start the Tuesday after Labor Day! 

A big theme for many teachers is APPLES so I want to center my "kids in the kitchen & classroom" around that delicious and healthy fruit this month.  Apples are also really big in this part of MI.

One of my favorite books to introduce the alphabet is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  Story time is in the afternoon and is often followed by our snack, so sometimes it's fun if our snack also relates to what we are reading and/or studying.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Book & CD)

Sometimes I'll ask several parents to supply the ingredients to a snack-activity so that my Y5's can make or create their snack.  Click on the link to view/print the Chicka Boom snack letters home.

Making a Chicka Boom alphabet tree is a fun fine motor skill for your students.  I was hoping that all the letters of the alphabet were in a box of Alpha-Bits cereal, but to my dismay when I dumped out the box, I did not find a good enough representation of the alphabet to make it a worthwhile activity for my students to try and find the letters in their name. 

In fact, the letters G, J, M, S, U, & W were entirely missing from my box! 

Instead, give a cup of cereal to each child and have them pick out 8 letters.

Later, if you want, you can give your students a graphing sheet and have them sort and then count the letters in their cup and graph them, then make a class graph of the entire box.  Did you find any letters that were missing too?

Click on the link to print an Alpha-Bit letter graphing sheet.

You can also compare your results to mine if you want to do some more math extensions. Click on the link to view/print my results. TeachWithMe.com's Alpha-Bit graphing results

My husband came into the kitchen and wondered what on earth I was doing, as I had cereal spilled out all over the counter.  (Our puppy Chloe was anxious hoping for a mishap.) 

When I told him I was sorting cereal, he then wondered if anyone besides me even cared?  I thought sorting, counting and then graphing letters in a box of Alpha-Bits was a great math extension; besides I really wanted to know if every letter of the alphabet was in the box.  (The answer could not be found online.)

As you can see by my photo the ratio of letters in the box is way off, and the largest plate is the one with broken letters.  Perhaps that's where the missing letters ended up. 

Could the Alpha-Bit missing letter mystery be because those letters are fragile and simply break up in the package?  This could make for a great discussion or writing prompt!  Anyway, my husband thinks I'm crazy.  Are there any other creatively crazy teachers with me?  I'd enjoy a comment or two for back up.

I made two different kinds of Chicka Boom trees.  One with chocolate wafer cookies (palm trunk) and raisins (coconuts) and one with pretzel rods and red grapes.

You can have both sets of ingredients available, and let your students decide which kind of tree to make, or simply pick just a few ingredients.  I find with my Y5's, that usually 1/2 of them do not like raisins. 

If you do opt for raisins, you may want to soak them in water the night before. It was my grandma's "secret" for making the best oatmeal raisin cookies, as the raisins turned out really moist, plump and juicy instead of dried out.

Ingredients & Directions:

• Granny Smith apples. (Cut apple in 1/2 and then in 1/4ths.  One apple will be enough for 2 children's palm leaves. Each child needs 4 apple slices. 4 palm leaves.)
• Large bunch of washed red grapes.  Each child will need 3 grapes for their coconuts.
• Large box or bag of raisins.  Each child will need 9 plump raisins, 3 for each bunch of coconuts.
  

• 1-2 bags of long pretzel rods (Chicka boom coconut tree trunk) depending on class size. (I use 2 for each student because they LOVE them, but you could cut it down to 1.)
• 1-2 packages of chocolate wafer cookies depending on class size.  Each child will need 2 cookies for their Chicka boom coconut tree trunk. 
  
•  
• You could get a package of wafer cookies that has 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 vanilla and give your students a choice of flavors.  I find that my students will usually pick chocolate 3 to 1. 
• I try to include giving a choice in as many activities as I can, because I believe it is a wonderful life-skill my little ones need to learn; however, I almost always limit it to only 2, at most 3 choices, otherwise things get overwhelming for them and they can't make a decision, or waste too much time.

• 1 large box of Alpha-Bits cereal. Give each child a cup full so they can choose 8 letters to climb up the trunk.  This is a nice counting activity for them. They can simply eat the rest, or do the sort, count and graph activity above with them.
  
• large paper plates
• Children arrange their Chicka Boom edible alphabet tree on their plate and then eat it.

Munch and crunch away at your Chicka Boom alphabet tree today!

Remember to take some pictures so you can post them in your newsletter.

Grapple Juice: If you've never mixed grapefruit juice and apple juice, give it a whirl for a yummy and healthy fall drink.

• 2 large apples (My personal favorite is Honeycrisp, but Gala is a close second, and then of course Granny Smith for it's sweet sourness.)
  
• 1 grapefruit

1. Wash the fruit.
2. Core and slice the apples to fit your juicer.
3. Peel and slice the grapefruit.
4. Juice and Enjoy.

Grama Lydia's Apple Crisp and Ice Cream

My sister and I were allergic to so many things that my grama was constantly trying to dream up things my twin and I could have as a dessert. 

Here's a delicious one that tastes wonderful hot out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Drizzle some caramel on the top for an extra special treat.  The cinnamon baking in the oven makes the entire kitchen smell yummy, and is one of my favorite fall fragrances to this day!

Ingredients:

• 2 large Honeycrisp or Gala apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1/3 Cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 Cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 Cup butter or margarine
• 1/3 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Vanilla ice cream
• Caramel sauce
  

• Prepare apples by peeling, coring and slicing.
• Place in bottom of a small casserole dish.
• Add oats, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter in a medium-size mixing bowl


• Mix together until crumbly. Break up any clumps.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Serve hot out of the oven in small bowls with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
• Drizzle with caramel sauce. MMM MMM delicious!

Apple Smiles With Marshmallow Teeth:

Ingredients:

• White mini marshmallows
• Cream cheese
• Peanut butter
• Caramel sauce
  
• Red apples
• Plastic knives
• Small paper plates
  

Directions:

• Cut a red apple in half, then in 1/4th's then into 1/8th's.
  
• Each child needs 2 pieces. (1 apple will make enough slices for 8 children.)
  
• These become the 2 lips.
• Give each child a small paper plate, a plastic knife, and a dollop of "glue" (either peanut butter, cream cheese or caramel sauce.)
• I used caramel sauce in the photo.

• Children could also have one side where they use one of the spreads, and the other half where they use the other kind of spread.
• Spread "glue" with a plastic knife.
  
• Place mini white marshmallows on top of the "glue" on the bottom slice so they look like teeth.
  


• Spread "glue" on the remaining slice.
  
• Gently press this top slice on the top of the bottom "tooth" slice so the "mouth" is now shut.
• Carefully eat.  Mmmm Mmmm delicious!
  

Cinnamon Apple Rings:

For a yummy cinnamon apple recipe and adorable smile poem to go with it, click on the link. She made these for Valentine's Day, but I think her heart border still works for anytime.

I hope you enjoy these activities with your children/students.  Remember... "An apple a day keeps the doctor away!"

because they are such a healthy snack,

so eat up, and welcome back! 

Happy September! I don’t know about you, but one of my big themes this month is APPLES so here are a few fun recipes that I think “KIDS in your KITCHEN” will enjoy! Have fun.

 Apple Jell-O/Pudding Cut Outs:

Ingredients & Directions:

My room-helper Cheryl made these for my Y5’s. They LOVED them!

• 2 large RED boxes of Jell-O
• 2 ½ Cups boiling water
• Mix well
• Let set on counter 30 minutes.
• 1 Large INSTANT Vanilla pudding
• 1 Cup milk
• Whisk until blended.
• Pour into Jell-O
• Beat or Mix well.
• Pour into 9x13 greased pan.
• Let set.
• Cut into squares or with apple cookie cutter.

Apple Parfaits: Core, slice, and peel an apple. Let your child use a plastic knife to cut the apple slices into small pieces. Help them make Apple Parfaits by layering vanilla yogurt, the apple pieces, and granola in clear-plastic cups.

Apple Smiles: Cut apples into quarters. Let your child “frost” them with peanut butter and then push mini marshmallows into the peanut butter so that they look like “teeth”.

Cinnamon Applesauce:

Core, slice, and peel 3-4 sweet apples. Let your child place the apple slices and ½ cup water in a sauce pan. Cover and simmer on low heat until the apples are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. When the apples are cool, let them use a potato masher to mash the cooked apples into applesauce. Stir in sugar and cinnamon to taste.

Cider Splash: Add a scoop of cinnamon ice cream to some hot apple cider and stir with a stick candy.

Apple Gelatin Cups: Mix one packet of unsweetened gelatin with one cup of hot water. Let your child stir the mixture until the gelatin dissolves. Then have your child add one cup of apple juice concentrate and continue stirring. Pour gelatin into small cups and chill.

Apple Rings: Remove the core from an apple. Fill the hole with peanut butter. Chill, then slice the apple horizontally into rings.

(Craft Idea) Apple Crayons:

You will need:

• Broken RED, GREEN, YELLOW crayons
• Apple candy mold
• Heavy-Duty Paper Cups
• Pot holder

Directions:

• Remove paper from crayons
• Put into a heavy paper cup
• Place one cup of crayons in a microwave oven for 30 seconds or more.
• Microwaves vary so start out with the seconds and go from there. 
• Cover with a piece of paper towel.
• Using a pot holder carefully pour the melted wax into the apple candy mold.
• Place the candy mold in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the wax is hard.
• Pop the crayons out and let dry from condensation on a piece of paper towel.
• Since I teach my students that apples come in 3 different colors, you can make red, green and yellow crayon apples.
• Only melt ONE cup at a time. Make sure the glass tray in your microwave is cool before you melt another batch. Be careful not to burn yourself with the hot wax. Make sure your heavy paper cups are microwave safe.

These next yummy 3 1/2 to 4 1/2  STAR ranked recipes are from the site Eating Well . They advertise "Good Taste Meets Good Health."

Click here for a yummy Apple Muffin recipe.

Click here for an Apple Cupcake with Cinnamon Marshmallow Frosting recipe.

Click here for Baked Apple Cinnamon French Toast

Click here for Maple Cinnamon Applesauce.

This is a fun time to make CARAMELED Apples with your little one.  Click on the link for a good recipe.

Or…

Make a batch of RED, GREEN, & YELLOW Play-Dough so they can make their own pretend apples and apple cookies. Here's how:

(Craft Idea) Dough Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 Cup salt
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 red teaspoon food coloring
• ½  teaspoon alcohol
• 2 cups water

Directions:

• Mix ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir continuously, until the dough leaves the sides of the pan.
• Take out of pan.
• When cool to the touch, knead for a few minutes.