Outside The Classroom

• 1 cup of plain flour
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of rolled oats
• 1 cup of desiccated coconut
• 100g of butter
• 1/4 cup of golden syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 tablespoon of hot water

Preheat oven to a moderate 180°C. Line a shallow 28×18cm tin with baking paper.

Sift flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add oats and coconut; make a well in the centre.

Combine butter and golden syrup in a small pan. Stir over a low heat until butter has melted and mixture is smooth; remove from the heat. Dissolve soda in water; add immediately to butter mixture and stir until foamy. Add to dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Spread mixture into prepared tin, pressing firmly with the back of a spoon to smooth surface. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool in tin then lift out and cut into squares.

NOTE: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

We made these with the Brownies and Pippins last week. Below is my example one.

I got the girls to draw the shape they wanted to stitch on the back of the smaller piece of card. I then put small holes with a needle along the lines of their drawing. The girls then stitched the picture with a blunt needle and some embroidery cotton. You can stitch anything you like onto the card. In the example above I used letter beads to add a personal touch. Once you have finished stitching attach your picture to a folded piece of card using double sided tape or glue.

Note: tape the start of the cotton to the back side of the card so that it doesn’t pull through when the child begins to stitch. Do the same for the end of the thread when finished.

We had lots of little crayons lying around that just weren’t being used so I decided to try making some rainbow crayon discs. I have seen instructions on this a few times

We haven’t used these yet but I will try and remember to post a pic of the outcome when we do.

A few things that I learnt. Better quality crayons would give a better result I think. These crayons have an orangey/red layer on the back (the top when in the tray) which I think was from the crayons separating. It draws as orange/red though so that’s ok.

When trying to get the discs out pop the muffin tray in the freezor and they just drop out.

For anyone that wants to have a go all you need to do is pop your crayon bits in a muffin tin, pop them in the oven on a low heat untill the crayons are all melted. Leave them to cool before removing them. All very simple for the kids to do. I wanted to make a pinks one and a greens one ect but the kids were more interested in just throwing them in wherever, lol.

This is such a neat idea. I can see my girls having alot of fun with this as bubbles never fail to amuse them. The results would make great wrapping paper or cards.

The Crafty Crow linked to a great playdough recipe. I really like the idea of making it in the frying pan as I often find that my dough sticks to the bottom of the pot. I also like the idea of adding a little oil to stop stickiness rather than flour. It all sounds a lot less messy.

What kids don’t like a bit of sweet sugary goodness? Rachel posted her sherbet recipe here. The big kid in me can’t wait to have a go!

I saw this cool idea for teaching letter recognition and was keen to have a go with the girls. You write the letters of the alphabet on some card or paper and cut and paste letters from magazines over the letters. For Faith I just did capital letters as that is what she recognises best so far. Bethany has been confusing a few of her upper and lower case letters lately so I did both for her. I just wrote the letters on some cardboard from an old beer box.

3 or 4 fruits, diced (preferably in season)

bag of marshmellows

kebab skewers, toothpicks or small ice block stitcks

As an extra you could serve these with some yoghurt to dip them in.

The Crafty Crow linked to this neat idea today. A great use for those old egg cartons and an easy enough project for the kids to do from start to finish themselves. What kid doesn’t like getting messy with paints!

A blog I subscribe to linked to this great tutorial today. Definantly going to have a go with the girls.

I will come back and post some pics when we have made one for ourselves.