My Crayola Artist

During the Easter break last month I had taken my little one to the Crayola Factory in Pennsylvania along with a group of friends. It was a group of 7 moms and their kids. We hired a van and had a blast on the drive as well as at the place.

The kids just loved it there. There was this white car that that they could scribble all over, there was also a street where they could use sidewalk chalk to their heart’s content, they got to get their pictures with Lightning McQueen and Spiderman on coloring sheets, they were allowed to write all over glass panes, they made a flying disc with clay and baked it in the oven, they used liquid color for coloring and saw how crayons are made. What’s more, they also got to make and wear their own space suit! I mean what’s there to not like about it when you are encouraged to do stuff that your mom would usually yell at you for? It is a wonderful experience full of fun and learning.

Now, with regards to today’s post, there is a souvenir shop and have we ever managed to escape unscathed through it? I remember when we went to an aquarium as a part of the school field trip last year, the teachers made the kids hold up their hands as shark fins and made them rush through the souvenir store without letting the kids turn left or right! Boy did we get lucky that day! Wish that it could always be the same!!

Anyways, this time, we went in and got a few packs of their Model Magic clay! There was also this kit that I got him to make his own show piece. It had been lying untouched for quite some time. Finally one fine day, when the persistent rains made it impossible to go to the park and play, we decided to tackle this project. All I did was open the packets and place a weight on the center of the frame so that it would not move about when my son worked on it. The rest was his own effort and I must say I was impressed. He sat through it and finished it the same day.

I love such creative ideas where the kids get to display their own work and can get a sense of pride and responsibility. I will definitely be on the lookout for more such fun stuff…

Lets Play Doh!

I cannot ever remember being a messy person, may be I am one of those cleanliness freaks! It takes a lot of effort and self control on my part to get down and dirty while playing with my little one. Oh I am much better at it now than I was earlier! At least I don't sit ready with disinfecting wipes for the next spec of food/dust to fall on the floor anymore! Just kidding, but I have been called "Monica" (of "Friends" fame) on quite a few occasions! So you can hardly blame me for my lack of enthusiasm towards introducing my kid to Play-Doh.

We got play-doh as party favors, in Easter eggs, for Halloween treats, in play-dates, even as Christmas stocking fillers from school! I always managed to sneak them away and hide them from my little one. But when my pediatrician recommended I let him play with play-doh to help strengthen his fingers, I had to cave in. I mean come on, this was the doctor recommending it. So, it couldn't be all that bad right?

So what began as an aversion to something I thought of as messy & gooey (not to mention too tempting for my son to put in his mouth) was forced into a grudging acknowledgement of being useful! And now we have come a full circle. He is no longer a baby/toddler who has to be told "No putting dough in your mouth, spit it out!" Neither is he the kid who would complain about fingers hurting every time he was told to hold a pencil or crayon - believe me, kneading a piece of clay really does improve motor skills and strengthens their little fingers! Modelling clay is a part of our play things now:) 

While he is blissfully happy getting into the squishy gooey lump with much gusto, I get an uninterrupted hour or so of "me time"! So, its a win win situation all around. And thank God he is at that age where he understands that if he leaves the clay out for a long time, it is going to dry, and we have to throw it out, but we can always get some more!

This weekend is a long weekend at my son's school. The chilly weather has kept us indoors for most of yesterday & today. So, decided to bring out his clay art set (his birthday gift) and spend some time modelling things with his friend. They made a nice little aquarium-zoo combo! And it was a lot of fun :)

In fact, on a visit to the crayola factory sometime back, I picked up a few packets of their modelling clay. It is extremely soft and malleable. I love the feel of it and it is much easier to mold than some of the other clay I have used.

Recently I gifted a Jewellery Boutique (Model Magic Jewellery Studio) which had a spinner that mashes together different colors of clay to make marbled beads to create jewellery. That is a very creative way to use the same molding clay in a very different age bracket. Not bad for something that was created quite accidentally! According to ideafinder.com, play-doh was first invented by Noah W McWicker and Joseph S McWicker. McWicker's sister-in-law was a school teacher who inquired about a safe and fun modelling clay substitute. Joseph sent her a non-toxic compound used to clean wallpapers, it was a hit. The rest as they say, is history!

And of course, nothing can beat the satisfaction of the joy and pride that you see on your kids face having made something out of their own two hands, be it baubles and jewellery or a morphed animal!!

Veggie Pizza

It all started with an episode of Caillou on the Sprout TV channel. For the uninitiated (read those without toddlers at home) Caillou (pronounced "kai-you") is an animated series about a 4 year old boy. And whatever Caillou does, my until recent 4 year old, would want to do too. BTW, he just turned 5 and keeps asking me when Caillou is going to be 5!

To get back on track, there was this episode on the series where Caillou and his friends make their own pizzas during a play date. Ever since that day I have been cajoled and pestered to do something similar for him. Finally I gave in today. Friday's are pizza days at school, so my little one doesn't carry lunch from home. But today was a half day, and he felt cheated out of his pizza! So we decided to have his friend over for a play date right after school, and the first activity would be - you guessed it right, making their own pizza.

So, what should have been a quick pop in the oven, turned out into an hour long event involving much fun, laughter, cheese grabbing, sulking over who got more toppings and of course the inevitable mess! But it was a good time bonding over cooking and we'll probably be doing more such stuff! And no, no one got burnt, or caused the fire alarm to scream or tripped and fell over anything, which was a small miracle in itself - ask my friend and collaborator, who goes by the name of "Saffron" in my blog world!

If you decide to make pizza with your kids, one piece of advice, please make the crust yourself - or before you know it, they are going to toss the dough in the air, singing "Mambo Italiano"! Oh yes, these budding chefs wanted to make pizza just the way Caillou's dad did! Another thing - spread the sauce yourself too - its easier to clean veggies and cheese crumbs, than to wipe a saucy gooey mess off the floor!

So, all set? Lets get started...

Preparation & Cooking: 1 hour to let the dough rise and another 45 minutes approx.        
Serves: 2 very hungry kids and 2 not so hungry adults :)

Ingredients:

For the crust:

All purpose flour - 2 cups
Yeast - 1 tablespoon

Salt - ½ teaspoon

Sugar - a pinch

Warm water - 2/3 cup

Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons

Mrs.Dash's table blend (unsalted) - 1 teaspoon (or you could use a blend of dry spices like basil, parsley, oregano, garlic powder and pepper)

For the toppings:

Onion - ½ of a small one, sliced

Capsicum (Bell Peppers) - ½, sliced

Tomato - 1 small, sliced

Broccoli - ¼ cup, broken into small florets

Mushrooms - ¼ cup, sliced

Pineapples - ¼ cup, diced

Carrots - ¼ cup, sliced

Pizza/Pasta Sauce - ½ cup

Shredded Cheese - 2 cups (we used the Italian five cheese blend which has mozzarella, smoked provolone, white cheddar, Romano and Asiago cheeses)

Method:

For the crust:

1. Take all the dry ingredients along with olive oil and gradually add water to form a soft dough.
2. Knead it well and coat it with a little bit of olive oil before covering with a cling wrap and leaving it in a warm corner for at least an hour.
3. After about an hour or so, the dough would have risen to double its original size.

How to proceed:

 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit or  195 degree Celsius.


2. For making the pizza base, we adopted 2 different methods. First of all we divided the dough into 2 small round pieces and one big one. My friend Saffron decided to use her hands to roll and pat the dough for the base, while I used a rolling pin and a floured rolling board to get the round shape for the crust.






3. Then we each laid out the base on an aluminum foil, placed these on a plate and spread out 3-4 tablespoons of the sauce on each of them.





4. Next, we handed them over to the kids to be topped with whatever they wanted, to their heart's content.





5. After this came the sprinkling of cheese till all the veggies got thoroughly covered with it! Well, I suspect more cheese went directly into their tummies than on the pizza!





6. Finally we popped them in the oven for about 25 minutes. Oven timings may vary, keep checking and switch off the oven once the cheese melts completely and begins to brown.





7. Take them out of the oven carefully, slice them with a pizza cutter, and dig in!

We made our own adult version with the remaining toppings. We went for a thin crust pizza. The crust was nice and crunchy while the top was cheesy & soft. We sprinkled some red chilli flakes over our pizza to spice it up. All that was missing was a bottle of coke! And as my son pointed out - olives. He loves black olives on his pizza and that was the one ingredient missing from my pantry. Oh well, there is always a next time...