Ants On A Log

Ants on a log

Here at Camp Brighton, we are all about playing with food. As long as the food ultimately ends up in their mouths, they can mess with it any which way. Today, the kiddos were on their best behavior all day because I promised them that they could make their own ants on a log this afternoon when Baby R took a nap. 

The beauty of this promise is that it benefited me in so many ways... first of all, great behavior in anticipation of a messy and delicious snack activity and second, possibly more important, I had minimal involvement in the messy snack activity. They could build their little logs as long as they found it intensely captivating while I could make myself a little (big!) iced coffee and peacefully put away a few dishes.

Ages and ages ago, when I was a kindergartner in Ms. Duksta's 2 1/2 hour kindergarten class, one of my favorite snacks of all time was this one. I actually credit Mrs. Duksta with developing my early love of food ... how many teachers would bring in gouda to share with a bunch of 5 year olds on "g" day? I was wowed. The ants on a log snack is a little more tame than gouda cheese - but just about as good - and all you need are three basic ingredients.

Celery, peanut butter, and raisins

The Details ... 

You will need celery, peanut butter (or something similar), and raisins, a few small bowls, and a butter knife. 

Wash the celery and cut it into about three even sections. Pile up the logs on a plate. Scoop out some peanut butter into one kid friendly bowl and pour a bunch of raisins into another one. 

Let the kids fill their logs (celery) with peanut butter and decorate the tops with the little ants (raisins). If your child is old enough to hold a spoon, he or she is old enough to make this snack. It might be a little bit messy for the younger kids, but it is great fine motor practice and gives them a nice sense of accomplishment!

This snack packs very well in school lunch containers - I size the celery sticks to fit into a little bento box and presto! lunch is ready. My older daughter would take this to school every day if I would let her. 

Eggshell Seedlings

Our empty eggshells

Adding the soil ... with a kitchen spoon

If you compost, you know that eggshells are great additions to your compost pile! Some gardeners even directly crush eggshells into their garden beds, partly for nutrients and partly to deter certain critters from eating their plants. Starting seedlings in eggshells is the perfect way to combine a crafty project (painting eggshells) with a practical project (starting seeds for your garden).

Here in North Carolina, we are lucky to be able to plant almost all year round so it can always be a fine time to start seedlings. And, even if it isn't a great time to start veggie seedlings, you can always plant flowers!

Painting! Of course ...

You will need: 

Empty eggshells - rinsed out and dried
Non-toxic paint (if you want to... we paint everything)
Dirt
Seeds

Directions:

1. Prepare the eggshells ... We get free-range Amish eggs by the flat every week or so - we eat a lot of eggs around here - so it doesn't take long at all to accumulate a small bunch of empty eggshells waiting to be planted. I rinse out the eggs with hot water and let them air dry overnight. On the second day, I let the kids paint them - inside and out.

Let the seeds germinate

2. Prepare the seeds ... For this project, I used some okra seeds that my friend had generously given me from her mother-in-law's garden. Just to extend the project a little, we placed the seeds into a small glass and covered them with water so we could watch them germinate overnight. The kids loved seeing them sprout in just a little bit of water. You don't really need to do this step but it is fun to watch!

3. After the eggs are dried, we filled them with soil using a spoon. Yes, a spoon right from the silverware drawer. We're not picky over here. Place your seeds into the soil-filled egg. A good rule of thumb is that you should plant the seed twice as deep as it is wide.

4. Once you have planted your seeds, you have two options depending on the time of year. If the weather is not quite ready for starting seeds outdoors, this is the perfect way to create your own little starter plants. Keep your eggshell seedlings in a sunny window and keep the soil damp. After the seedlings have started to grow, you can transfer them directly to your garden - right in their little shell! Or, if the weather is hot and sunny with no cold weather risk, you can plant them immediately into your garden as my children did! No waiting around...

Have fun!

Mushroom Spore Prints

It's been a little rainy around here lately in the evenings. Absolutely not complaining - the more little rain storms we get, the less watering of the plants and veggies do I have to do. Along with the benefit of watering my gardens, the rain also provides some nice moisture perfect for the growth of mushrooms. Today we went on a mushroom hunt with the plan to take some mushroom spore prints. I remember doing this as a child - my parents never throw anything away so if you visit my childhood home, you will probably see at least one or two really great specimens lining the plate rail in my parents' living room. I am not sure that I can promise my children the same, but they seemed to love this project just as much as I did.

What the heck is a mushroom spore print?

A mushroom spore print is the imprint of the spores from the underside of a mushroom cap on a piece of paper. Different mushrooms leave different spore prints so, if you are into identifying mushrooms (confession: me, me!), a mushroom spore print will aid in proper identification.

How To:

For this project, all you need are some newly grown mushrooms - if they are too old, they will have already dropped their spores outside - and some colored construction paper.

Different mushrooms have different colored spores. Some spores are white or gray, others could be black or red. Let the kids choose different colors of paper to make this even more experimental.

All you need to do for this experiment is to carefully remove the stem from the mushroom and place the mushroom on a piece of paper. If the mushrooms are bigger, the kids can probably remove the stems themselves. Because these mushrooms were so tiny, I snipped off the stems with my kitchen shears. Cover the mushroom with a water glass so little fingers don't try to check the progress! Let the mushroom sit for a few hours - we gathered our mushrooms before swim team practice and let them sit for about 5 or 6 hours before we came back to check on them.

When the time is up, lift your mushroom and look for the spore imprint. The kids were thrilled that their little mushrooms left such vivid spore prints! Ours were a lovely rust-colored orange! We can't wait to see what our next mushroom discovery looks like...

For more information about mushrooms: 

The American Mushroom Institute put out a mushroom workbook for kids

The Cap Crew - a website about mushrooms from Canada

Information about identifying different types of mushrooms

Plant a Pizza Garden

Who says a pizza has to be round?

Do your kids love pizza? My kids love pizza so much that for their 6th birthday we piled into the fabulous Fuel Pizza (a delicious local pizza place) and made pizzas with a tawdry assortment of kindergarten classmates. It was a lot of fun and quite a treat for them to see a "real" pizza kitchen - i.e. not Mom's. Since my daughter has celiac disease (no gluten!) we usually make our own pizza. It's really so easy (click here just to see how easy it is...) and you can top it with just about any fresh veggies you have on hand. Making your own pizza tastes even better when you can put your own home-grown toppings on it!

Container Gardening

This summer we have planted three large raised bed gardens(one for the boys, one for the girls, and the biggest one for mom) and a few container gardens. Raised bed gardens are very easy to maintain and can be tended by adults and children, however, nothing beats the ease of a container garden. Our largest container garden is called "The Pizza Garden" because it contains many essential pizza ingredients. I have picked up large pots for container gardens at quite an assortment of stores - Marshall's, Big Lots, end-of-season sales at local nurseries and garden shops... you don't have to pay a lot of money to find a suitable container. Be creative - do you have something non-traditional you could use? A small boat? A baby pool? A small tub?  

At the "boys' garden" ...

Whether you are new to gardening or are a seasoned pro, container gardens are so easy to plant and very easy to maintain. If you have enough room, each child could even have their own. For our "pizza garden" we planted a cherry tomato plant in the center, a small pepper plant off to one side, and fresh basil, thyme, and oregano, all around the edges. This is the second year that we have grown a pizza garden and, although very few cherry tomatoes actually make it inside because they are usually eaten by the no-wage pickers, we always can put the peppers and herbs to great use.

What you will need to plant your pizza garden: 

1 large pot
Soil suitable for container gardens
1 cherry tomato plant
1 small pepper plant
Assorted herb plants ... basil, oregano, and thyme

In less than an hour, you can have your pot filled with dirt and plants, watered and ready to grow! Have fun! It's definitely not too late to plant some veggies. Go out and give it a try. If you are even more adventurous and are interested in raised bed gardening, check out the Gardening Gals website - a Charlotte, mom-owned business - if you are here in Charlotte, they will install your raised bed garden in no time at all so you can get right to the planting!

For more information on container gardening, check out the links below...

Gardening With Kids: Information on Container Gardens
Charlotte Parent Magazine: Planting a Pizza Garden
Growing Ideas Classroom Projects: Container Gardens With Kids

Apple Peel Jelly

Frozen peels from our beautiful N.C. apples

Although we love to compost veggies, fruit, egg shells, and coffee grounds, it is always nice when you can find something to do with fruit scraps that would otherwise be headed to the compost pile. If your house is anything like ours, you might be able to accumulate a lot of apple and pear peels. Over the course of a month or so, we collected two gallon freezer bags full of apple cores and peels - ready to be simmered and turned into apple peel jelly! Amazing. Camp Brighton often requires its campers to make their own lunches ... and sometimes the campers kindly provide lunch for the head counselor. Why not make a yummy sandwich with apple peel jelly or top some crackers with goat cheese and jelly? Delicious!

I scoured around the internet to figure out the best way to make apple peel jelly. Because apple peels naturally have pectin in them (the main ingredient to help make jellies gel), I figured it shouldn't be too hard to make this concoction work for us. Fittingly, the best recipe I found came from Backwoods Home Magazine. Far, far, far from the backwoods, this recipe even worked in our little urban oasis here in Charlotte...

How To Make Apple Peel Jelly:

Strain the liquid

Place apple peels, lightly packed, into a 4.5 qt. pot with 5 cups of water. There should be about 3-4 inches of peels in the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and boil for 15 minutes, stirring as little as possible. Remove from heat, put the lid on the pot, and allow to stand overnight. (Optional, add a cinnamon stick when you let it sit overnight.) Strain the liquid into a measuring cup, and make certain you have 5 cups. Return to the pot. Gradually dissolve 1 box of pectin into the liquid and bring to a full rolling boil, over high heat. Add 7 cups of sugar (all at once), stirring to dissolve. Return to boiling, and boil hard for 1 minute.


Pour into sterilized canning jars - I sterilize mine by running them through the dishwasher. I like to use the 1/2 pint Ball jars (you can pick them up right at Harris Teeter if you are in my neck of the woods). Tightly seal with new lids. Because I do not have a fancy pressure canner, I fill a large heavy-bottomed pot with water and bring it to a boil - I put a wire cake rack in the bottom of the pot so the glass jars don't touch the bottom. Using tongs, I place my jars into the boiling water, cover the pot, and let them sit in a hot water bath for about 5 minutes. Remove the jars carefully with the tongs and set aside. 


Fun Facts: Did you know that canning and preserving have been seeing a huge resurgence in popularity? Not only is canning fun, inexpensive, and delicious, but it is also practical and helps promote a more sustainable local food system...if you love those local blueberries now, think how great they might taste come mid-December when you can have a little blueberry jam on your morning toast! Click here for a recent story on NPR about canning swaps in New York, or check out The City Cook: The Essential Kitchen website for some more specific information if canning and preserving seems to really tickle your fancy.