Day 3 of our self-quarantine people, how are you all doing? I’ll tell you our 2-bedroom condo is starting to feel a bit small with my 4-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter running all their energy out in it. This momma is having to get creative and come up with some ways for Allan to stay entertained and if its dinosaur themed even better! Can we say, 2020 is turning out to be quite the crazy roller coaster ride! Through all this stressful pandemic stuff, remember I’m here if you need a friend to talk to, even if it is just over FaceTime.
Dinosaur Hunt
My mom bought Allan an explorer’s set for his birthday last week. He loves dressing up in it and playing with all the accessories. So, I decided to make it extra fun and told him we would go on a dinosaur hunt around the house! This is something fun and easy you can do with your little. We of course use dinosaurs but any toy your kiddo loves will absolutely work! I tell Allan to wait in his room with the door closed. “No peeking!” Then I hide 6 dinosaurs and Allan has to find them. I’m sure you could get more creative with this. Maybe put some dinosaur foot prints down for them to fallow, wouldn’t that be cute! But Allan loves this game and it keeps him busy for a long time!
Dinosaur Sugar Cookies
We’ve been making these for a long time now. Whenever I’m short on ideas to help me keep the tv off, I’ll ask Allan if he wants to make dinosaur cookies? “Dinosaur cookies!!” he says, jumpy off the couch. Allan really likes to “help” me in the kitchen and this is a great opportunity to let him really get in there and make something he loves! Even if we end up with flour all over the floor and he sneaks sugar out of the bowl. My go to recipe comes from Dessert for Two. All her stuff is made in small batches which is perfect for us! I did change the recipe slightly to make them lemon flavored and to accommodate a whole egg.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour plus 2 tablespoons, plus extra for rolling
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
The zest of 1 lemon
For the icing:
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3-5 teaspoons of lemon juice
A few drops of food coloring (optional)
Method:
First preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Next, in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar. Once light and fluffy, add the egg, vanilla and lemon zest. Once well incorporated, sprinkle over half the flour, baking powder and salt and beat gently until combined, then sprinkle over the rest of the flour. Beat until no streaks of flour remain, but be careful not to over-mix.
Dust a clean counter top with flour, and dump the dough out onto it. Gather it into a ball and press it into a thick round disk. Roll out the dough big enough to cut out about 10 dinosaur shapes. Place the dinosaurs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Gather the dough scraps and re-roll to cut out 4 more shapes and place them on the cookie sheet. I got these adorable dinosaur cookie cutters from Crocodile Creek.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the edges of the cookies just start to turn brown. Let them sit on the sheet a few minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the icing by whisking together all the ingredients. Start with 3 teaspoon of lemon juice, and add more to achieve desired consistency. Ice your cookies by spooning the icing over each cookie allowing it run over the sides. I made two colors but you can do as many as you like!
This makes 12-16 cookies
It’s Volcano Time!
Remember those old sciences experiments we use to do as kids? Well now’s the time dust those off and make your kid a volcano. Allan thought this was so awesome that we did twice in a row! Now, you can get really elaborate with these but I kept it really simple and the result was still cool.
What you need:
1 large bowl
1 empty bottle
Food coloring
Baking soda
Vinegar
How To:
I just put about ¼ cup of baking soda in the bottle and put it in the middle of the bowl. Next pour about 1 cup of vinegar in a measuring cup and add the food coloring. Then just pour the vinegar into the bottle and watch the magic happen!
I hope your little's loves these activities as much as Allan does! Remember, during this uncertain time of social distancing we are all in this together, even if we are apart.
