"Three Primary Colors" by OK Go

Silhouette Airplanes!

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a really fun art project to do with your kids! This is such an easy project, and your child will love pulling apart the cotton balls for the air stream. It's time to fly!

SUPPLIES:

• 1 blue piece of construction paper
• Blue paint
• Paint brush
• Black construction paper 
• Scissors
• White glue
• 4-5 cotton balls

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut out 3 small airplanes from black construction paper.
2. Mix glue and blue paint together in a 1:1 ratio.
3. Cover paper with glue-paint mixture and press on airplanes.
4. Pull apart cotton balls and glue on paper for the air stream. 
5. Let dry. Give to a friend!

Week ONE: Recap!

Happy New Session Everybody! We had TWO great Taste Buddies classes today.  We started off by making black bean wraps, moved on to a fruit parfait, and then we finished the day with cinnamon tostadas! We hope you enjoy these recipes.  Happy cooking!

BLACK BEAN WRAPS:
This is a great item to make when you are out of meat at your house. Grab a can of black beans, and pour on the toppings! You can also bake or fry the tortillas if you like. We ate ours cold, but they are delicious either way!

FRUIT PARFAIT:
We used a bunch of fresh fruit from whole foods and put it in a parfait cup after some serious chopping. Sometimes it's just fun to serve fruits or vegetables in a fun dish!

CINNAMON TOSTADAS:
I am a huge fan of these. They are so easy to make, and we had the Taste Buddies use pastry brushes to "paint" melted butter on top of the tortillas. Be careful to watch the tortillas once they are broiling in the oven- they cook quickly! Delicious!

Week ONE: Black Bean Wraps and Cinnamon Tostadas

BLACK BEAN WRAPS
Ingredients:

• 2 tortillas
• 1 cup of black beans
• 1 tablespoon of canola oil
• 1/8 cup  chopped mango
• 1/8 cup chopped avacado
• 1/8 cup chopped tomatoes or salsa

Directions:

1. Mash beans until they arrive at a paste-like consistency.
2. Mix canola oil with mashed beans.
3. Spread on tortilla and top with remaining ingredients.
4. Roll up wrap and enjoy!

CINNAMON TOSTADAS
Ingredients:

• 1 tortilla
• 1 tablespoon of melted butter
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of sugar

Directions:

1. Using a pastry brush, "paint" melted butter on top of tortilla.
2. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
3. Broil for 3 minutes. Enjoy!

"From Me To You" (Beatles Cover) by Walk Off the Earth

"Everything Counts" by Dicken feat. Milah and Korben

Wee Valentine's Day

"How can I celebrate Valentine's day with a very small child?"


As babies and even toddlers, children probably won’t appreciate your efforts to make a homemade Valentine card, but there is no reason you still can’t celebrate with them.  Why not invite other mom friends and babies for a Valentine-themed play date? It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it can be a great excuse to get together with your mom friends and their children.
Since they are still so young, there is no need to plan an activity, so you can make it fun by serving Valentine-themed food. Heart-shaped cookies, finger sandwiches, or even small pizzas will be a hit.  You can also serve pink lemonade or, to fit with the color scheme, a red punch. Don’t be shy about asking your guests to bring something. Remember keep it simple, and enjoy!

Love Train!

People of the World! Join Hands! Start a love train! If you are looking to make a cute card for your sweetie this Valentine's Day, look no further! Make this cute love train for or with your little one this Valentine's Day for a special treat. Hope you enjoy celebrating with your loved ones!


Supplies:

• 1 sheet of purple, pink, blue, and red construction paper
• 1 piece of chalk
• Heart stickers
• 4 cotton balls
• Glue

Directions: 

1. Cut out 3 squares for train cars out of colors of your choice. 
2. Fold in half and cut hearts out middle of the train cars. Save hearts for later.
3. Cut out a train engine to lead your train.
4. Glue train and remaining hearts on paper.
5. Use stickers to decorate (upside-down hearts make great wheels)!
6. Pull apart cotton balls (a great sensory activity) and glue on for puffs of smoke. 
7. Write a message of love and give your Valentine to somebody you love!

Week SIX: Recap!

I love using simple ingredients to make delicious food, and that was the theme of Taste Buddies class today. None of the recipes had more than four ingredients in them, and they all turned out to be delicious! These are great, easy recipes you can use that will be a family hit. Today, we made cinnamon oranges, spaghetti tacos and banana cream pie. Hope you enjoy!


CINNAMON ORANGES:
This is one of my favorite after-school snacks. You get Vitamin C, plus a little bit of sugar in the honey to be able to get started on homework! Delicious!


SPAGHETTI TACOS:
I always laugh when we make these in class because the grown-ups are generally wary, but everybody loved the taste of these today! This is a fun, inexpensive meal that your whole family can enjoy.

BANANA CREAM PIE: 
I must say, this is one of my favorite ways to make pie crust. A lot of recipes call for sugar, but I really don't think you need it because the graham crackers are sweet enough on their own.  Yum!

Week SIX: Cinnamon Oranges, Spaghetti Tacos and Banana Cream Pie

CINNAMON ORANGES:
Ingredients:

• 1 orange
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Directions:

1. Slice oranges.
2. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.
3. Start snacking!

SPAGHETTI TACOS:
Ingredients:

• 6 taco shells
• 1 box of spaghetti noodles
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 cups of marinara sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions.
3. Combine cooked noodles and marinara sauce until noodles are covered.
4. Place noodles in taco shells and top with shredded cheese.
5. Bake for ten minutes. Have fun!

BANANA CREAM PIE:
Ingredients:

• 2 cups of graham crackers
• 1/2 cup butter at room temp
• 1 box of instant vanilla pudding
• 2 bananas
• 1 9-inch pie tin

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
2. Crush graham crackers until they look like sand.
3. Stick graham crackers in a bowl and mash until mixed in with butter. 
4. Using your hands, mash the graham cracker mixture into pie tin until evenly spread out. 
5. Bake for ten minutes. Let cool. 
6. Pour vanilla pudding into pie tin and top with sliced bananas. 
7. Whipped cream is optional. Yum!

"Say What" by Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

Cinnamon-Scented Worm Project!

We have been talking about smell in Prep class this week, so I thought it would be fun to share one of our olfactory-stimulating art projects today. We did some cinnamon painting in class, and it was quite the sensory adventure!

SUPPLIES:

• 1 jar of cinnamon
• 1 sheet of pink construction paper
• 1 sheet of brown construction paper
• Liquid glue
• 2 googly eyeballs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut squiggly worm out of pink construction paper. 
2. Cover brown paper with glue and glue worm on top. 
3. Glue eyes to one side of worm, and sprinkle cinnamon on top of paper for a dirt-like effect! 
4. Have fun smelling!

Week FIVE: Recap!

IT'S PIZZA PARTY DAY! Hooray! I always love making pizza in Taste Buddies because you just can't go wrong. We made barbeque chicken pizza with a salad on the side, and we dyed vanilla yogurt different colors for dessert. Yum!

BARBEQUE CHICKEN PIZZA:
This is a recipe that we came up with in Taste Buddies, and I have to say, it is delicious. Feel free to add some feta cheese and bacon on top as well if you would like a little extra flavor!

VANILLA YOGURT PARFAIT:
We used food coloring to dye vanilla yogurt in cups. Then we sprinkled them with crushed oreos and gummy bears! Yum!

Week FIVE: Barbeque Chicken Pizza and Vanilla Yogurt Parfait

BARBEQUE CHICKEN PIZZA:
Ingredients:

• 1 bag of pre-made pizza dough
• 1 jar of barbeque sauce
• 1 yellow onion
• 2-3 red peppers
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 pre-cooked chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 450°F. 
2. Broil red peppers until charred, about 15 minutes. 
3. Peel off the charred part of the peppers and set aside. 
4. Chop onions and sprinkle with salt. 
5. Pour olive oil and balsamic into a pan and sauté onions until caramelized. 
6. Shred chicken. 
7. Roll out pizza dough on a pizza stone or pan and spread barbeque sauce evenly on dough. 
8. Place other toppings on top of pizza and bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

VANILLA YOGURT PARFAIT:
Ingredients:

• 1 cup of vanilla yogurt
• 2 drops of food coloring
• 2 Oreos
• 1 handful of gummy bears

Directions:

1. Pour yogurt into a clear parfait glass or small clear glass cup.
2. Drop in a couple of drops of food coloring and swirl until desired shade is reached.
3. Crush Oreos using hands or a rolling pin. 
4. Sprinkle Oreos on top of yogurt and top with gummy bears.