Family Time – Page 5 – Learning With My Boys

Latchkey Art Show

We saved the kids art work at our after school program and put on an art show for the community. We has art stations set out along with displaying the kids art work. We had cookies and juice for refreshments too.

Art Work Display

We folded the tables up and hung up the children’s artwork that we has been saving.

We also displayed 3-D artwork onto boxed that I covered with colored paper.

Family Art Stations

We had 6 stations set up. Each station took up half of a table.

Living Photo Frame

I painted a living photo frame out of 2 large cardboard boxes that I found. I put chairs in it so that kids can sit there while they get their pictures taken.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Halloween

We dressed up as a family for Halloween this year. We chose the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

4th of July Tie Dye

My youngest son and I tried to tie dye some 4th of July shirts for our family.

Materials:

Tie Dye
Paper Plates
Rubber Bands
Plastic Bags
Something White to Dye
Bucket of Water
Plastic Gloves
Paper Towels

Directions:

Place the shirt in the water and squeeze out all of the water.
Twist or tie the shirt with the rubber bands.
Put on gloves and pour different colored dye onto the shirt.
Place the shirt in the plastic bag and keep it there for 2 hours.
Rinse it out in the sink before washing alone for the first time.

Independence Day Fruit Pizza

Ingredients :

Crescent Roll Dough
Cream Cheese 8 oz.
Marshmallow Cream 1 can
Banana’s, Strawberries, Blueberries

Directions:

I spread the Crescent Roll dough on a rectangle baking pan.
Then I baked it according to the directions on the can.
Mix together the Cream Cheese and the Marshmallow Cream to spread on the Crescent Roll.
Slice the fruit and place it on the pizza in the shape of the American flag.

Laser Tag Birthday -8

My boy is 8!!! He took some of his buddies to play laser tag and then we came home for chocolate “8” cake.

Laser Tag Cake

I baked a 9 inch and an 8 inch chocolate cake with a cup in the middle to create a donut shape for each circle cake. Then I put them together and added chocolate icing. I used blue icing to write on the cake and added glow sticks to look like laser tag! AND of course 8 candles too.

Nerf Display Board

The boys scrounged up all of their change and went to the hardware store to buy a piece of peg board. Then we hung it up in the basement (where they mostly play Nerf) and added some hooks. They hung their Nerf guns on both sides of the board.

Kids Art Show

Art Work Display

We folded the tables up and hung up the children’s artwork that we has been saving.

We also displayed 3-D artwork onto boxed that I covered with colored paper.

Family Art Stations

We had 6 stations set up. Each station took up half of a table.

Paint Pallet Cookies

Thanksgiving Gingerbread House Tradition -17

One of our family Thanksgiving traditions is making Gingerbread Houses. This year we continued our tradition with mini Gingerbread Houses.

Homemade Thanksgiving Dinner

My son loves to help me in the kitchen. He got to help me make Thanksgiving dinner! Just the 3 of us!

Nerf Birthday -12

My “Brilliant Boy” is 12 now. It goes by so fast… and I love him so much! He loves playing Nerf with his friends, so they all came over for a few hours and they had fun playing Nerf!

I used homemade marshmallow fondant to decorate his cake!

Marshmallow Fondant Recepie

Ingredients:

16 oz. Mini Marshmallows
3 TBSP water
2 lbs Powdered Sugar (4 cups)
Crisco

Directions:

Grease a large glass bowl with Crisco.
Pour in the marshmallows and water; then microwave at 30- second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted.
Reserve about 1/4 cup of the powdered sugar. Place the red of the powdered sugar in a large bowl of a standing mixer.
Grease the paddle attachment with Crisco and pour in the melted marshmallows on top of the powdered sugar.
Beat until a dough form; there will be a lot of loose bits and sugar in the bottom of the bowl.
Grease a clean work surface with Crisco and dump out the fondant and all the loose bits. Grease your hands liberally with Crisco and knead the mixture together, just like kneading bread, for about 5 minutes until smooth.
Grease hands again as needed. As the fondant becomes smoother, use the reserved powdered sugar to coat the surface to keep it from sticking.
Once smooth, you can divide and color the fondant. While working with one piece, cover the remaining fondant with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.
When you have your colors finished coat the fondant in a light layer or Crisco; wrap in plastic wrap and place in a large baggie for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
Store at room temperature for several months. To us it, dust the surface and rolling pin with powdered sugar and roll out to 1/8 of an inch.

Halloween Lunch

I tried to make the boys special lunches for Halloween since it’s on a school day this year! I cut a crooked mouth in the sandwich and added candy eyes to make a monster. Drew Jack-o-Lantern face on the oranges, and ghost faces on the cheese sticks. AND Candy Corn is always a favorite with my boys!

Long-Distance Family Easter Baskets

My nieces and nephews live so far away and I usually mail them each an Easter basket. But the baskets are so expensive to mail, so I tried something new this year. I looked for flatter Easter items to fill a large envelope for each of them.