Pinecone Christmas Trees

Can you believe Christmas is just around the corner??  Well, we are already starting some Christmas crafts......yesterday we decorated pinecones to look like Christmas trees.  The children first painted them green.....we used craft paint so it wouldn't flake off.

While the paint was still wet, the children sprinkled with some glitter and then we added a star on top.


Very simple and cute craft.....you could leave setting around or add some string and hang on your Christmas tree.

 

Cornucopias

This morning we made a fun little snack.  I have done this snack or similar ones in the past, but thanks to Pinterest I found a way to tweak it a bit.

 

First you need a waffle cone for each child.  The directions on Pinterest said to boil the water and use the steam to curl the ends of the cone, but thanks to a fellow daycare provider, we were able to do this in the microwave.  Kelly did a little trial and error with hers and it seemed to work better in the microwave.  Take a wet paper towel and wrap it around the end of the cone, then microwave for 15 seconds......mine took about 30, so depending on your microwave, it may take anywhere from 15-30 seconds.  Take out quickly and curl the end (you can use a spoon or a pencil).....I will warn you, it will be a little warm, so be careful.  Hold in place until it cools off and hardens.

 

 

Then prepare a bowl of goodies for the children to spoon in their cornucopias......we did candy corn (represented corn), marshmallows (potatoes), skittles (fruit) and chocolate chips (just because everything is better with chocolate)!!!  You could also make a healthy version and do different types of cereal or even mix the two.

 

 

Have each child fill their cornucopias up.

Waiting patiently to eat! 

Mmmm......candy!!!  I didn't let them eat it all, the rest will be going home.....you're welcome, parents!!! 

Fun and simple snack that everyone loved!!!

 

You can wrap with cellophane and add a little "Happy Thanksgiving" note as well.

 

 

 

 

Clothespin Turkeys

On Tuesday we started making these colorful turkeys.  I had some old style clothespins laying around, so we used those for the body of the turkey and painted them brown.

To make the feathers, I cut a feather shape out of red, yellow, and orange construction paper.  Then the children decorated them with sequins, glitter and pom poms.

 

We then let them dry and finished putting them together today......I glued the feathers on the back of the clothespin with hot glue and then they added the eyes, beak and gobbler to the front of the clothespin.  Look closely at where some of them put their eyes!

 

Let dry and they should stand on their own (a few of them didn't).  Really simple and cute turkey craft.

 

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin Roll Bars

We made another yummy pumpkin recipe yesterday.  It is supposed to taste like pumpkin roll without all the work.

My little helpers dumping the ingredients in.

In a bowl, beat together 6 tablespoons melted butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth.  Beat in 2 eggs, 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 cup water until well blended.

 

In a separate bowl mix 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and combine until well blended.

In a bowl, beat 8 ounces cream cheese (softened), 1 egg, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until smooth.

Pour 2/3 of the pumpkin batter in a greased 9x13 pan, then spread cream cheese mixture on top and dollop the remaining pumpkin batter and spread as best you can on top.  Then take a table knife and swirl the cream cheese and top layer of pumpkin together.

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cool completely (if you can) and cut into bars.

 They ALL thought it was very good.  It was pretty good, but I don't think it was exactly like Pumpkin Roll.....it had the cream cheese mixture with the pumpkin, but I think it needed more of the cream cheese mixture.  I may try this recipe again and double the cream cheese mixture, I think that would help.  Way easier than pumpkin roll though and the kids loved it!