Summer Activity Series-Jello Playdough!

Today's Summer activity is Jello playdough! This is an activity that we do every summer, multiple times. The kids love it and the older ones almost know the recipe by heart and can (pretty much) make it all by themselves. 

Things you will need for this activity:

-1 cup of white flour 

-1 cup of warm water

-2 tablespoons of cooking oil 

-2 tablespoons of salt

-1 3 ounce package of Jello, any flavour 

Mix all of these things in a large saucepan and then heat on the stovetop on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to come together. Keep stirring until the mixture begins to resemble cookie (or play) dough. Remove from heat and dump out onto the counter and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate until cooled completely. 

                Stirring super fast! 

    Cooking time! Let an adult help here! 

   Finished product! We used lime jello this time :) 

Now you can craft all kinds of things out of this dough! It lasts up to two months if you store it in an airtight container in the fridge. And it is completely safe to eat (in case you have any little ones who are still in the "putting everything in their mouths" phase).

I hope you guys enjoy this activity as much as we do! Please share my blog and remember you can follow me on Pinterest (Tori Faber) and Instagram (victoriafaberrr) to see everything else we get up to! 

Thanks for reading and I'll see you back here next week for another fun summer activity! 

Xoxoxox 

Tori 

Summer Fun Series-Easy Frozen Lemonade Recipe!

Hello again! I told you I would be back and this time I actually got two posts up within six months of each other. A huge accomplishment for me, but pretty pathetic really hahaha! 

This is the second installment of my Summer Activities Series! Today we're talking lemons and how I turn them into lemonade. 

         I forgot to take pictures of the lemons before the children completely pulverized them, so this is what you get! Cute, huh?  

This is one of our original favourites. It was one of the first recipes I made with the kids three summers ago and they love it. If you're from Canada then I'm sure you are familiar with Tim Hortons and the frozen lemonade kick that they have been on for the past couple of years. This is an at home alternative to this and I like it better. It's probably a touch healthier too! 

For this recipe you will need:

-1cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (I use about six fair size lemons)

-1 cup of white, granulated sugar 

-approx. 4 cups of crushed ice 

Just throw everything straight into the blender and blend until the ice is completely crushed or you have the consistency you're looking for. Feel free to add sugar to taste. We like ours suuuuper tangy! 

I let the kids each take a turn juicing the lemons into a bowl and then we strain to eliminate seeds. 

And that's it! Pour your lemonade into a glass and enjoy! 

                That smile says it all! :) 

That's it from me for now, but I promise I'll be back with another summer activity very soon! Thanks for reading! :) 

Make sure to check out my Pinterest (Tori Faber) and Instagram (victoriafaberrr) to check out all of the other stuff we get up to! 

Xoxoxox

Tori 

Babysitting-Summer 2014 Edition!

For the past three years I have babysat the same three boys; H (13), S (11), and L (6). This year I gained the boys next door as well. We'll call them LJ (9) and EJ (7). With all five boys, things can get a little crazy sometimes. 

                     Some of the kiddos! 

Over the past couple of summers we have done countless activities, made too many crafts to count, and taste tested about a hundred different recipes. From all of this I have extracted the tried and true, hall of fame, best of the best, very favourites and decided to compile them here for you in a series of blog posts. 

All of these activities and recipes are pre-tested and kid-approved. So if you're at home with your own kids for the summer or you're babysitting and need something foolproof, I would definitely recommend one of these! 

Jolly Rancher Lollipops 

This is an activity I came across a few years ago whilst scouring Pinterest. We have attempted candy making a few times before and every time it has ended in failure (and once with a burn on my right hand). The idea had never occurred to me to make candy out of pre-existing candy; eliminating the lava hot sugar boiling process. 

The original pin I found is not very accurate recipe wise (as I discovered the first time we made these) so I will leave you with my own tips and tricks! 

I suggest preheating your oven to 350 degrees. I found this to be the perfect jolly rancher melting temperature. Once you have done this, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and have your kiddos start unwrapping their candies (WITH CLEAN HANDS!). 

Each lollipop is made up of three jolly rancher candies. Our favourite part is coming up with the different flavour combinations; a fan favourite of ours is two watermelon and one green apple. 

Lay your candies three in a row on your parchment paper with room between the groupings so that they will not touch once they have melted and you will have room to insert the lollipop stick. 

Then put your cookie sheet in the oven and wait for the candies to melt. I would say this takes longer than five minutes but less than ten. Just keep an eye on them. 

Once they have melted, take them out of the oven and immediately roll a paper lollipop stick or Popsicle stick or wooden skewer into one end of each of the lollipops. Let them sit until they are cool to the touch and then peel them off of the parchment paper. 

               This is our finished product! 

What you will need:

-jolly rancher candies in assorted flavours

-lollipop sticks 

-parchment paper 

So that is the first installment of my summer activity list! Hope you enjoyed it and you'll try these out with your own kiddies! Let me know if you do! And follow my babysitting Pinterest board (Tori Faber) for even more ideas and my Instagram (victoriafaberrr) to keep up with what I'm doing with my kids everyday! :)

See you again soon!! 

Tori 

Xoxox