Rice Krispie Treat Nests

In spirit of Spring, we did a little twist on the traditional Rice Krispie Treat. Using the regular old recipe from Rice Krispies we made birds' nests. Instead of spreading the sticky mess into a pan, we let it cool for a couple minutes (to make it more moldable.). Then we greased up a 1/4 c. measuring cup and scooped balls onto greased cookie sheets. We shaped them a little with greased up hands so they resembled ice cream scoops and then flipped them so the flat sides were up. Then making a little indentation in the middle we stuck some Cadbury Mini Eggs into the centers. Cute, simple, delicious. I suspect you can do just about anything with this edible Floam...

Easter Bunny Card

This was a really simple card to make. All you need is some scissors, colored paper (maybe card stock) and some glue. And maybe a cotton ball. Here's what we did.

Cut a piece of 8.5 x 11' card stock in half width-wise so you have two pieces that are 5.5 x 8.5". Fold each in half so you have two 4.25x5.5" cards (which fit a size A-2 invitation envelopes perfectly.)

Glue a piece of blue construction paper the same size (or maybe even a smidge bigger) to the card front. Trim if necessary.

Cut a strip of green paper about 1.5-2" wide an d4.5" long. holding it the long way, snip with scissors cuts that don't go the whole width every 1/8" or so the entire length. Now you have grass. I like to "ruffle" it a little to give it some depth. Now glue that onto the bottom.

Cut out of regular old white paper a bunny (or two) and an Easter egg (or a dozen) if you want. Glue those guys into the grass. Add some color.

We also pulled a small piece of cotton from a cotton ball and glued that to the bunny's butt for a fluffy tail.

All done! Easy peasy.

Rainbow Cupcakes

Thanks to Disney's Family Fun we found this recipe for rainbow cupcakes. They were the perfect thing to bring to Spiff's school color picnic this month. It's Rainbow month. These cupcakes were very time-consuming to make- about an hour before you even get them in the oven (and the layering is not for the little ones, though the color mixing is great for counting and learning colors.) but the results are worth it! (You know, to make them once or twice a year anyway.)

Easy Rainbow Cupcakes

Just add Skittles and taste the rainbow.

To get all the colors, buy an original package and a wild berry package of Skittles.

Leprechaun Trap

Leprechauns are tricky. If you ever want to see one, you have to be clever. They're attracted to rainbows and gold. They love to eat potatoes. Decorate an old shoe box with rainbows and gold. Sprinkle in some shamrocks if desired. My son insisted a colorful blanket would convince a passing-by Leprechaun to take a snooze, but just in case we baited our trap with a potato. Prop the shoe box lid open with a wooden spoon or ruler and- Voila! You have yourself a Leprechaun trap. When he comes by (which he will- how could he resist such glitz and glam!?) he will fumble around inside trying to get the potato out and knock the spoon with his caboose. Then the lid will close and- BAM! You've got him! Or do you? He might escape and only leave behind some gold-foiled coins and a mess!

St. Patty's Day Wreath

Wreaths are always a festive thing to make and can be as simple to do as it is fun. With little kids, I kept it easy as I could. We cut out a ring from cardboard rescued from the recycling bin. We painted it with rainbow dotters and decorated it with shamrocks cut from construction paper and "gold coins" cut from old gold card stock I had kicking around from another project. This was all recycled goods from the desk. We finally hung it with green yarn from the yarn bag looped through a hole. Sure, you could get fancier but free is nice and you won't feel badly recycling it when St. Patty's day is over. ;-)

Game: Color Hop

This is a very simple game my 4 year old and 2 year old like to play. I started playing it to help my 2 year old with his colors in a fun way and get a little exercise but my 4 year old also thinks it's fun. (I must admit, as an adult, I get bored of it a lot quicker!)

What You Need:
9 different colors of construction paper. (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, white and black is what we have.)
A piece of white paper.


The Set Up:
Set up the nine sheets of paper in a 3x3 grid on the floor.
Cut the white paper into 9 equal squares and draw on each one of the 9 colors.

What You Do:
Whoever is "It" has the stack of cards face down. "It" flips over the top card and calls out the color. The first player runs or jumps to stand on that color. Then just go it rounds so everybody playing gets a turn several times. No winners, it's just fun way to learn colors! We take turns being "It", switching whenever we get through the 9 colors once.