Sparky the Fire Dog Activity

Here's a fun fire safety activity for the kids. It's used with the book Flat Stanley, that is introduced by many teachers to promote creative writing. What a great way to practice both!

Car Seats for Older Kids

Wondering whether your children are old enough for booster seats or should still be in car seats? Follow this link for answers.

Indoor Fun

If you are living in parts of the country where the winter weather keeps the kids cooped up inside for a few days at a time, I have some fun ideas to share. This link will take to you directions for setting up "prop boxes" that young children can use for all sorts of games and imaginative play. I used them often in my classroom and now am setting them up for my grand children to enjoy. Hope it helps pass the hours for your children while provided plenty of picture and video opportunities as well. Happy pretending!

Valentine's Day 2013

Here are some Valentine's Day books worth reading with your children :

Well know authors and characters~

Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse by Laura Neumeroff

Valentine's Day Fun by Rosemary Wells

Snowy Valetnine by David Petersen

Night Before Valentine's Day by Natasha Wing

 Here are some authors that may be new to you~

The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bpnd

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

The Valentine Star by Patricia Reilly Giff

The Ballad of Valentine by Alison Jackson


How about a wonderful easy recipe for Valentine's Day? I saw these somewhere online but don't remember where. These pretty pink cookies with chocolate chips look good to me!


Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box of Strawberry Cake Mix (they used Dincan Hines)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable/canola oil
1/2 teasponn vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and baking powder. Set aside. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla extraxt by hand. Add the egg mixture to the cake mixture and stir to form a dough. Stir vigorously until all of the packets of dry cake mix are gone. Gently mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop rounded balls of dough, about 2,5 tablespoons each onto the prepared baking sheet. Drop a few more chips on top of the balls. Make sure the balls are taller than they are wide.

Bake for 10 minutes-not letting them get browned. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes. They will be very soft at first. As they cool, the tops may settle down. You can press the tops gently if they don't settle. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container, for up to a week.

Product Recalls January 2013

Time to check the list again for product recalls. Here is where you can go for the lastest information.