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