The Clever Duck

Y is for Yum..Crepe making

thecleverduck — Wed, 19 May 2010 03:04:31 +0000

a simple activity to do with your toddler, obviously the cooking part should only be performed by an adult but collecting the ingredients, the utensils and then the pouring and mixing is something they will find enjoyable as well as the eating part after!It makes an easy and quick morning snack. We like ours served with drizzle of honey and natural yogurt..enjoy

I like to substitute some of the flour with finely ground oats for a healthy alternative

Crepes (2 Generous serves)

1/2 cup plain flour

2 tsp caster sugar

1 egg

1/2 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup Milk

directions: Sift the flour into a bowl, add the sugar. In a separate bowl mix together the egg,melted butter & milk (don’t over mix or crepes will be rubbery). Slowly add the milk & egg mixture a bit at a time into the flour and mix until well combined.

In a large fry pan on Med heat add small amounts of the mix; as soon as you pour the mix into the pan you then need to disperse the mix out by lifting the pan off the heat and turning it in a circular motion so you get a nice thin crepe. When the crepe is browned slightly on the underside you can flip it over. Cook 1-2 mins each side

Then serve to your liking…

Serving Idea’s: Cut into simple shapes or animal shapes with cookie cutters or Make a face with toppings

Alphabet Pancakes

Avocado & Papaya

Catterpiller pancakes

My Paper Crane

Tagged: Activity, cooking, Crepes, learning

Afternoon Craft

thecleverduck — Thu, 06 May 2010 05:26:01 +0000

Colorific Blackboard Slate

In the Night Garden Flash Cards

Scola Chubbi Stumps Crayons (8)

Scola Chunki Chalk

Discovering the Night

thecleverduck — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:49:42 +0000

Here are a few idea’s to inspire you to explore the darkness with your child, fun games to play of an evening, talking & reading about the wonder of the moon & stars and keeping those evening tantrums at bay.

Spotlighting

My little one was given a Fisher Price Basics Torch this last Christmas and we have had a lot of fun with it, Spotlighting is a bit of a regular Activity here as it keeps him happily entertained – while I cook the dinner he explores the lounge room in the Dark Or we rug up and take an evening walk in the garden to say goodnight to the moon & stars and explore the garden and it’s critters with a different perspective.

Fisher Price Barnyard Basics

You squeeze it’s tail for light and Sounds

But obviously a Simple Torch will do as well

Shadow puppets

BloesemKids

or alternatively you can order some pre- made puppets and support handmade at the same time

owlyshadowpuppets

Etsy.com

Andrea form Owly Shadow Puppets is a Chicago based Artist and creator of these beautiful puppets.

She will ship Internationally just send her a convo

A trip to the Zoo to see creatures of the night

*Check with your local Zoo or Wildlife park to see what they have to offer.

Many now offer Sunset Tours or Overnight stays that include guided night tours when the nocturnal animals are most active.

Literature with a Night time Theme

Pappa Please Get the Moon for Me

Author: Eric Carle

A Lion in the Night

Author: Pamela Allen

The House in The Night

Author: Susan M Swanson, Pictures by Beth Krommes

Tagged: Activity, Darkness, Nighttime, Spotlight, Stars, Torch

Gardening

thecleverduck — Mon, 03 May 2010 07:11:58 +0000

We love gardening! my little one loves to water our herbs and flower pots with a watering can or a bucket and plastic bottle he can refill himself. It gives him purpose and inspires his natural curiosity and sense of wonder about the world around him. Here are a few activities & crafty idea’s to inspire you to explore the idea of garden with your little one…

Seed Planting

getting children excited about garden, learning how to “grow” and care for plants.Light,Water and Soil

Nature Walks

collect leaves and found objects and discuss colours, counting. Leaves can be used to create leaf rubbings or collages

Nyokki

Eggling.com

Chia Pets

little home on the hill

Bugs

Craft Elf

Kids Craft Weekly

CraftScope

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

Eric-Carle.com

Tagged: Books, Craft, Garden, Growing, Nature, Seed, Wonder

Mothers Day Craft

thecleverduck — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 04:46:32 +0000

Some fun Mothers Day Craft Idea’s

Fabric Prints

Alpha Mom

Coffee Filter Butterfly’s

The Clever Duck: Using Food Colour & Coffee filters

Teaching-Tiny-Tots

Hand Print Plaques

Skip to my Lou

Tagged: Craft, Frame, Gifts, Hand, Mother's Day, Paint, Print

finger painting

thecleverduck — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:50:01 +0000

Recipes

CORNFLOUR PASTE PAINT

Add to ordinary paint or add food colouring to use as fingerpaint; use as an economical extender for paint; use as a paper glue or use in papier-mâché.

You will need:

3 parts water (3 cups)

1 part cornflour (1 cup)

food colouring

saucepan

Step 1

Adult: bring the water to boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat.

Step 2

Adult: dissolve cornflour in a little cold water and add to hot water, stirring constantly. Boil until clear and thick (about one minute).

To make fingerpaint, add desired food colouring. This mixture will be very smooth. Offer it to the children while it is still warm to touch. A tablespoon of glycerine may be added to make it glossy. A ½ cup of Lux soap flakes may be added to give fingerpaint a lumpy texture.

Store in refrigerator as it spoils in hot weather.

BASIC FINGER PAINT

Things you will need:

* One-cup flour

* 1 cups hot water

* 1.5 cups cold water

* Two-tablespoons salt

* Food colouring

What You Do:

1. Mix the flour, salt, and cold water in a saucepan.

2. Beat until smooth.

3. Add the hot water and boil it until the mixture is quite thick.

4. Again, beat until smooth.

5. Add food colouring and stir through.

For a slight variation, add some mild washing detergent to create a foaming bubble paint.

EDIBLE YOGHURT PAINT

things You will Need:

* Natural Yoghurt

* Food Colouring

What You Do:

Mix the yoghurt and food colouring together ! = fingerpaint

Alternatively: You can purchase a safe non-toxic acrylic paint ready to go from your local craft of art supplies store

Let little hands enjoy the smooth silky textures and fluidity of the paint. Fingers are the best paintbrushes for this activity, but you could also provide potato stamps, textured card and pencils to draw back into the already applied paint

enjoy!

Giant bubbles

thecleverduck — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:42:19 +0000

Bubbles are great fun for all ages!

To make these Giant bubbles I used a 3:1 ratio of Water:Liquid

Warm Water:Biodegradable Dish Liquid & Glycerin

Or 2 Cups Dish Liquid

1/4 Cup Glycerin

6 & 3/4 Cups Warm water

Giant Bubble maker

Instructables.com

Tagged: Bubbles, Glycerine, Outdoor, Water

Rent a Chook

thecleverduck — Tue, 05 May 2009 01:15:48 +0000

If you want to give your little one’s the experience of looking after chickens but not sure you can commit long term, then you might want to look into Rentachook

a Sydney based company that has been around for 7 years. Rentachook started as an idea to encourage people to keep chickens – an environmentally sustainable pet. The company provides everything you need to keep chooks at home and you have 6 weeks to decide if it works for you

Tagged: chooks, kids, pets, sustainability

Gluten-free Playdough

thecleverduck — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:28:21 +0000

There are a few children at our local playgroup with intolerance’s to gluten, so I took it upon myself to create a wheat free alternative as well as experimenting with using natural food dyes to colour the dough.

So here it is;

Gluten-free Playdough

2 Cups Rice Flour

½ Cup salt (finer the grind the better)

1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

4 Tsp Cream of tartar

2 Cups Water

Food Colour

* Cook dough on Med heat for 3-5 mins or until the mix is too hard to stir. Turn out onto smooth surface and knead while warm to smooth out any lumps and evenly distribute colour. TIP: Wear kitchen gloves when kneading to save your hands as the dough can be quite hot

This dough has the same consistency as the commercial doughs, it’s the best recipe that I have come across. Turns out perfect every time!

Natural Dye

I wanted to make a Yellow dough so I just added some turmeric power to my mix

But other natural colours can be sourced from dark juices,berries,beetroot,red or brown onion skins,plants,flowers etc.

The inspriration for the natural dyeing came from One Golden Apple

Tagged: cooking, kids, play, playdough