Sunflower Cupcakes

Move over, cupcake speciality shops!

This little girl's cupcakes will put you all to shame.

A treat from one of our young students. Made by hand, with love. <3

Let's Hear it for the Red, White and Blue

Summer camp at the school where I work is always an adventure. But this year we've taken it one step further and have made it a BIG adventure shooting back and forth between different places in time. (Eerily reminiscent of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure perhaps.... :-p) Our first few weeks started out with a time machine to take us there. Unfortunately, some punk kids from the neighborhood thought it appropriate to creep by in the middle of the night and walk off with our black box of adventure. It's okay. We can still access the time contiuum portal without it. You can take our machine but you can't take our imaginations....

This week was supposed to be a jump back to the colonial period. I stopped by the first grade classroom to catch the kids inventing a machine -- a la Ben Franklin -- with their bodies. It was the noisiest, craziest machine I'd ever seen....loved it!! :)

Red, white and blue permeated the week in true patriotic style. The counselors-in-training challenged all to a cake baking contest Friday with the only requirement being that is was patriotic. My co-teacher of the day in the 3rd-4th grade classroom is a Disney fanatic. Do you know of anyone who spends every vacation at the happiest place on earth and explains nearly every project according to an analogy based on a scene from a Disney film?? :) He announced that we would be making a Mickey Mouse cake, no questions asked, explaining that Mickey was certainly one of the most patriotic things around. Hey, when you love something that much, you can make it fit into any category you desire. Don't judge.
Wild West Mickey? Dress him up like a cowboy. Star Wars Mickey? Darth Vadar-style. Wii Mickey? Just make that round face a little chubbier and cut off his arms. San Francisco Mickey? Put some flowers in his hair.

Patriotic Mickey? Let's hear it for the red, white and blue.

And don't forget the fireworks.

Chocolate Chex

Working with children, I often get to do childish things....like eat CHOCOLATE cereal. Hehehe. :)

I'm not usually a fan of sugary cereals, but when one appears within my peripheral vision with 'chocolate' on the label one of those days I'm particularly craving chocolate -- watch out. Must. Have. Chocolate. Now. Yeah, one of those days. I could eat the whole box. Good thing it was time for me to go on my break....

But seriously, folks, this is good stuff. Especially mixed together with a handful of chocolate chips and mini-marshmallows. We like to call it "Better Together Chex Mix" or "Smores Chex." You decide whichever suits your chocolately mood. ;)

Ice, Ice Baby

There are many methods by which one can melt ice cubes. But, by far, my new favorite means is with your EYES. That's right, did you know that you are capable of making that ice cube weep with your laser-beam stare?

Well, that's what my co-teacher convinced our sweet, innocent children the other day as we were experimenting with different ways to melt ice. He announced that we would be having a three-way contest to see which group could get their ice to melt the fastest. The first group would melt their cubes with their hands, the second with their breath, the third with their laser-beam stare.

Let's just say that last method wasn't the winner but many gave their greatest efforts to get that darned cube to MELT.

A couple of the kids had their gazes fixed intently upon that ice for a solid 3 minutes. (For 6 year-olds that is a long time.)

Then, my co-teacher told them that the wider they opened their eyes, the more effective their eyes would be in melting the ice. So we had children actually trying to pry their eyelids open as far as they could with their fingers. Eventually, I had mercy on them and told them they could complete the melting process with their hands, although I was rather surprised how far a few of them got with merely their glare. Perhaps there was some heat behind that gaze....?

Monkey Bread

Disclaimer: No monkeys were harmed in the making of this bread.

At the school where I work, Thursday is always our 'Diner Day' where we let the kids kick back and watch a movie and indulge in some special treat. Ideally, we like to choose ones where the kids are involved in the making process. They just love to get their hands dirty! And there is something all the more enjoyable when beholding the final product when it is created by your own hands....

I was racking my brain last night for a good food project to do with them. My co-teacher has decided to let me handle the baking projects from now on as he claims I "seem to know what I'm doing." ;-) As a matter of fact, the process of creating and baking enthralls me, so I couldn't be more happy to oblige.

Even artists have 'writers' block' some days; I was rather stuck in the mire last night. But then the thought came to me of this moist, gooey, sugary treat Ryan had made one day for his co-workers and left me a bite of. Its main components are sugar and cinnamon. Actually, it is ideal if you are craving cinnamon rolls but are short on time.

He kindly acquiesced to my request. And, I can honestly say, had he been present, the children probably would have trampled him to death with their affection, they were so in love with his yummy monkey bread. (Although, initially, some where seriously concerned that we would be making bread with monkeys in it....that's just gross.)

All it takes is 4 cans of refridgerated buttermilk rolls (such as Pillsbury) which are cut into forths and rolled around in some cinnamon and sugar. To get the kids involved, I gave each of them 8 pieces in a sandwich baggie and dumped a bit of the cinnamon/sugar mixture inside. We had them shake up the baggies for a good 5 minutes. Probably that much time was unnecessary, but it kept them entertained. Certainly important. :-)

We then placed all the little cinnamon and sugar balls into a buttered pan (traditionally, this is done in bundt pan, but in a pinch you can use any old baking dish), and drizzled them with 1/2 c. of melted butter and 1 c. of brown sugar mixed together. This forms a nice caramelly crust on top when baked.

They go into the oven at 350 F for 25 minutes -- and voila! -- monkey bread....sans the monkeys.