Fried eggs with bread fried in butter is a dish my 9 year old son, Orlando, made up by himself. We ran out of bacon so he fried bread instead and it turned out to be a huge hit with him and his dad so now weekends involve Orlando proudly offering to cook breakfast. Him – so confident. Me – so proud.

Otilija, my 12 year old daughter, wanted to branch out of the usual round of baking ‘easy’ things like cookies and brownies. She wanted to make something that she hadn’t made before. So completely without assistance she found a recipe and made it. And it turned out delicious. And we ate that cake for Sunday afternoon tea.

Between the two of them, they have quite a repertoire of dishes that they can prepare without any kitchen assistance and I feel confident about letting them just go for it! They even (mostly) clean up the mess afterwards. They can make cookies and brownies and pancakes without help or even a recipe — just our basic family recipe that they like to tweak a little bit differently each time. They can make chicken schnitzel, bolognese sauce and chicken curry with just a few reminders and a little kitchen-hand assistance from me too.

As well as a love of good food and quality ingredients, they have a healthy respect for where food comes from, they know that free-range chickens and eggs are better for us and for the animals they come from (they watch Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall), they know that going to the farmers market is better than buying vegies and meat from the supermarket — better for us, for the land, for the environment and for the local farmers — they know about food miles!

So while I don’t pretend to be anything other than a family on a budget when it comes to food, buying quality ingredients (but not necessarily expensive) and cooking it ourselves is extremely important to us and how we live our lives. Some of you may be nodding in agreement – others may be rolling their eyes, thinking that they don’t have time to shop ethically or grow their own or even to cook every night, that they don’t have the money to buy organic and free range and local. But honestly what could be more important than what we eat – keeping both our bodies and our minds healthy?

But this is not a lecture or even a lesson, just a story of how I keep within a budget and feed my family and teach them to appreciate the good things in life.

Some tips:

1. Do shop at your local farmers market – I have found that in-season local produce (not necessarily organic) to be cheaper and way better quality than its supermarket equivalent. The trick is to buy what is in season, don’t get the exotic produce that has driven across the country or flown across the world. Stay local and buy in-season. It is fresher and cheaper.

2. Do buy meat locally too – organic, or free-range – at least grass fed. Yes it might be more expensive than the battery hens from the supermarket, but there are some ways to not increase your weekly spend:

1. Don’t eat meat every night – mix up your weekly menu with vegetarian staples like hearty soups or spinach pie.
2. Buy cheaper cuts of meat – there are some delicious ways to use mince and sausages and slow braising cut – buy chicken thighs instead of breast.
3. Use the whole beast – make soup from the chicken carcass, take leftovers for lunch the next day, make pie from the Sunday roast leftovers.

3. Cooking every night does not have to be chore or time consuming or a gourmet extravaganza — here are some shortcuts for mid-week dinners:

1. Give the kids a turn to cook – there is nothing wrong with mashed potatoes and sausages for dinner and you can relax for half an hour while someone else cooks.
2. Make mid-week dinners easy by putting away dinner portions of bolognese sauce in the freezer for those occasions where cooking dinner really is beyond you.
3. Create a diy – pick n mix style snack platter for dinner – the kids love it and it is easy to put together with leftovers, salad, crusty bread, a tin of tuna, cold meats and cheeses and chopped up raw vege sticks.

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Staying organised with kids, deadlines, house, your social life and the family commitments is more than a full time job and then on top of that you probably go out to work or study or homeschool or try to be self sufficient – oh my! how on earth to stay sane – to stay out of the chaos or at least how to cope?

I wrote a post on Whipup.net just this week about this topic – how I manage my workload as a work-at-home mother – it truly is a balancing act. But here I want to focus on how to keep your family organised – how to stay on top of the appointments, sports/music practice, how to fit in time for cooking and creativity and family togetherness time. Here are a few ideas that work for us on how to keep the balance on the side of sanity and just slightly away from chaos!:

- Keep a blackboard weekly schedule: We have painted a wall in our kitchen with blackboard paint – and drawn up a weekly calendar on it. We fill in the regular items – piano, soccer, tai-chi, guitar and then at the beginning of each week I look on my calendar and make sure to include the transient things – dentist appointment, play dates, birthday parties, etc. Everyone has learned to check each day to see what is happening and we really rely on this to help plan our day and our week.

- Plan the weekly menu in advance – and even do some of the food prep or cook some of the meals in advance too. Sometimes we do this as a family or sometimes it is just me, depends on how organised I am that week. We use a couple of favourite recipe books and often return again and again to our favourite easy dishes.

1. I often use foodgawker for inspiration and I quite like Jamie Oliver’s Meals in Minutes and often include a couple of those each week, plus i’ll also include meals that use up what we have in the pantry or the freezer if I have bought something in bulk or on special.
2. I also take into consideration our weekly schedule – tuesday we have nothing planned so I can make a more involved meal, soccer practice nights we need something quicker, I sometimes make a big pot of bolognese to keep in the freezer for a quick dinner.
3. Also the kids have a night that they cook and the husband too – so we plan around that as well.
4. Then once we plan the menu – I write it up and stick it on the fridge, I do a shopping list and get the ingredients I need to make those meals. Makes life a lot easier if I don’t have to think about what to cook every night.

Here is part of our weekly menu:

• Roast chicken pieces with a simple green salad (quick hint: if you chop the chicken into quarters – before cooking then it halves the roasting time)
• Sausage vegetable soup
• Daal with quinoa
• Spaghetti and meatballs (quick hint: pre-make the meatballs on the weekend and freeze them)

- Get together with the whole family once a week for 1-2 hours of cleaning and tidying. Get everyone involved and assign everyone a regular job. In our house we make Saturday morning (before other activities and after a family breakfast) our cleaning time. The boys are assigned the bathrooms, the pre-teen girl goes around the house picking up and tidying away the weekly mess – tidies the bookshelves, wipes down the coffee table, fixed up the couch, folds the washing etc, and the kids and the husband then make sure all the rooms are ready to be vacuumed. I clean the kitchen and then vacuum the house – all in all in takes about 1.5 hours with everyone pitching in.

I think that getting kids to help with the cleaning – no matter how old they are, is important to help them understand how much work is involved in keeping house, helps them appreciate you a little more and maybe they might learn to put their things away after using them (maybe!).

I would love to hear what works for you!

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This weekend is a holiday weekend for us and maybe for you too? It is a celebration of Easter and Passover in many countries — do you celebrate? If so I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with family, fun and food!

A few weeks ago my family and I worked on some fun projects – cooking, experimenting and crafts and the result was our Special Easter Edition of the Action Pack magazine for kids. If you don’t yet have it – then you’ll be needing it now so you have time to get ready for some holiday weekend baking, crafting and foodie experiments.

More Easter crafts for kids:

Watercolour painted eggs + Sticker dyed eggs

Bunny Brioche Bread + Easter cookies

Felt easter basket + Easter cards

Paper basket + Pencil toppers

Clothespin bunny + Paper bag eggs

Last week on Whipup.net we had some wonderful guest bloggers, talking about art with kids: Vicki Smith from the blog  Art with Kids wrote an amazing guest post explaining a few ways that she unleashes the creativity of children in her art teacher role, she says: The tactile experience is important for children to feel connected to what they are creating, and to learn how materials behave when handled. Then Susan Schwake from the blog artesprit talked about her new book – which I highly recommend – Art Lab for Kids, she says: One of my personal goals in teaching art is to build confidence and fearlessness in making it. Part of becoming fearless in making art is being prepared.

How to be prepared :: Set up an art station for your kids

• Create an art station for the kids – a box or shelf is fine – fill it with bits of paper and cardboard, glue, scissors, tape and glitter! Add in some paint and crayons and you are set to create!
• If you can get hold of rolls of paper of any sort – butchers paper, ikea paper rolls, Kraft paper, brown wrapping paper – whatever – this is perfect for rolling out on the floor or on a big bench and letting lots of kids create a joint art work.
• If you have more space then you can set up recycled jars of pencils, textas, crayons, etc colour coded too if you like, on a shelf, ready to grab and draw. Make sure you have some cheap art journals / blank notebooks handy too.
• Have a box where you collect and store recycled materials — tissue boxes, tea boxes, cardboard rolls, toilet paper rolls, plastic tubs – you get the idea – make sure the sticky tape, glue and scissors are stored nearby and the kids really can get creative with constructing all sorts of interesting sculptures.
• Make a portable art caddy – a shoe box or wooden box with handle and compartments (image above from here) which can be toted around the house, set up outside or on the dining table – where ever the kids want to be!

Let the kids get creative in the kitchen!

 Some cooking for/with kids ideas

• Fun lunch box ideas
• Red pepper eggs
• Yogurt pops
• Bread making for kids
• Cheese crackers

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Action Pack: Easter 2012 Edition – is Available now only $4 for 20 pages of craft, science and cooking.

This is an e-magazine – you will receive a download link to a high quality printable pdf [which can be printed or viewed on your computer and on a Tablet or iPad].

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Welcome to the Easter Special Edition 2012 of Action Pack Magazine for kids. 

In this issue there are five brand new Easter recipes, experiments and crafts, plus 2 projects which appeared in Issue 2 of Action Pack. You’ll learn about different Easter traditions, you’ll bake, taste and experiment in the kitchen and you’ll get a little crafty too. Be prepared for mess, for fun and for lots of egg-speriments.

Kids in the kitchen

• I firmly believe that kids can begin cooking as soon as they are interested. This process of giving them freedom in the kitchen will set them up for a lifetime of healthy homemade cooking and eating.
• Before they are tall enough to use the stove top or reach the bench let them use a sturdy stool so they can help with cutting and stirring. Teach them to safely use and respect sharp knives and heat. Once they gain more confidence by helping you, they are ready to tackle some recipes on their own.
• Let them cook a dish on their own, weighing and measuring ingredients for themselves. The recipes inside the Action Pack magazines are the perfect place to start. At first you could stay in the kitchen reading out the recipe to them or assisting them with organising, measuring and finding ingredients. But once you are confident of their capabilities, why not allow them the space and trust to try it out for themselves.

In this issue you will find

• Ab0ut: What does Easter mean? + Information for Parents about how to use Action Pack
• Sweet things: Chocolate Easter Cookies + European Easter Cake
• Snacks: Breakfast egg + toast + Hot Cross Easter Buns
• Craft: Munch’em Egg Cosies + How to make a piping bag for icing
• Science you can eat:  Tea Eggs + Natural Dyed Eggs

Action Pack: Easter 2012 Edition – is Available now only $4 for 20 pages of craft, science and cooking.

This is an e-magazine – you will receive a download link to a high quality printable pdf [which can be printed or viewed on your computer and on a Tablet or iPad].

Go to our shop

Instructions: After you have purchased the Action Pack you will receive an email with a secure link to where you can download the pdf. This is a timed link you will have a couple of days to download and save the file to your computer. When you receive the secure link it may go over two lines so be sure to highlight the entire link when opening it and saving it. You will then be able to view and print the file at any time after that at your liesure.

Because these pdf files are high quality full colour documents you can choose whether to print only the project as you need it, to keep it to view online or on your ipad only, or to print out the entire document and then keep it in a folder to be used over and over again. For optimum quality choose ‘best quality’ when printing, especially for the pages with illustrations. However feel free to print it out in black and white too.

Contact for more information: Action-pack[@]whipup.net

Evenings in our house are a time for creative family bonding. We go through phases of reading novels, playing board games and doing creative writing or drawing prompts. We don’t have a tv and so we need to be more creative with our time together.

Sometimes we will just read our own books in a shared space, but mostly we read a family novel aloud to each other, these have included a whole range of books including recent popular series such as Harry Potter and Septimus Heap as well as beloved classics such as Pippi Longstocking, The Borrowers and Treasure Island. In between finishing one novel and starting the next (there is a big debate about what each novel should be and we spend a lot of time and anguish getting votes for our book choice), we have been doing creative writing prompts.

Our creative writing prompts so far have come out of the book Rip the Page by Karen Benke. The ones that the kids enjoy the most are the wordplay experiments rather than the creative writing prompts. They like that the words are a game, a puzzle and a experiment that then turn into a poem or a funny story.

Try these creative word play poetry ideas:

• Write a dada poem: Take a dictionary and choose words at random and then write them down or else cut words out of a newspaper and put them in a hat and choose them at random.
• Write an acrostic poem: Write a word down the page with one letter on each line and then use the letters to begin a sentence describing your word.
• Write a Haiku poem: Choose a topic, write three sentences about your topic – the first line has 5  syllables, the second 7 and the last 5 again.
• Write a Limerick: A limericks is a jokey poem with five lines, lines 1, 2, and 5 have to rhyme, and lines 3 and 4 rhyme.
• Write a Cinquain poem: Line 1 — one word subject, line 2 — two adjectives describing the subject, line 3 — three action verbs (or phrase) that relate to the subject, line 4 — four feelings (or a four word sentence) that relate to the subject, line 5 — one word synonym of the subject.

Crafty activities

• Make an easter countdown game
• Play with colour
• Weave a tablemat

Whats cooking

• Make a rustic veggie pizza (pictured above) for dinner with Panna cotta for desert
• Irish soda bread and Blueberry smoothie for breakfast
• Chorizo and tomato salad for a supper
• Spanish rice with eggs and/or Beet and berry smoothie (pictured above) for after school
• Quinoa cakes (pictured above) with Tofu salad for dinner
• Chocolate chip cookies or Granola bars for school lunch boxes

Want more?: 

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• Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
• Purchase the latest Action Pack magazine for kids

Don’t forget: If you haven’t already got yours — Grab an Action Pack Magazine for kids — it’s the Mad Scientist Issue: In our 9th issue of Action Pack Magazine for kids, we continue to encourage kids to think and do for themselves, to be independent and creative learners, they are able to explore science through art, cooking and experimentation. We also encourage parents to become observers and co-learners rather than having to take control in a teacher role. In this issue kids are able to go through a journey of self discovery and learn that science is indeed fun and real! Purchase a copy here.

I have added some new answers to our FAQ page thanks to some readers who wrote in with these specific problems:

Q. Can I read Action Pack on my iPad or Tablet? :: You don’t need to do any file conversions or anything like that — the iPad or tablet is able to read PDF documents as they are using your iBooks or book reader app. What you need to do: Open iTunes on your computer, drag or save the Action Pack into your books/iBooks folder. Plug your Ipad into your computer and then drag the folder onto your iPad.

Q. Images are not showing up when I view the file on my iPad, what can I do?  :: This problem can be easily fixed by opening and saving the pdf document first on your computer either in Adobe or in Reader and then transferring it to your iPad.

Ready for more science play?

• Make some felt chicks
• Have a super science birthday party
• Feed wild birds in winter
• Experiment with textures
• Investigate flowers
• Take a nature hike
• Learn from the earth
• Study water
• Make some sharpie tie dye art
• Play with packing peanuts
• Use natures blocks for building
• Play in a sensory tub
• Bake pretzel hotdogs [pictured above]
• Bake and decorate some science cookies
• Discover the science of jam making
• Spend some time to make the perfect croissant
• Fabulous science food photos 

Want more?: 

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Welcome to the Mad Scientist issue [Issue #9] of Action Pack Magazine for kids.

In this issue there are more than 14 fun, curious, tasty and artistic scientific experiments: 

• You will learn about microwave expansion
• and the science of bubbles and yeast,
• you’ll experiment with crystals
• and make some cool potions too.

Action Pack Issue 9: Mad Scientist Issue – is Available now only $5 for 20+ pages with 15 tutorials, recipes, crafts and more…

This is an e-magazine – you will receive a download link to a high quality printable pdf [which can also be viewed on a Tablet or iPad].

Preparing a Science Station:

• Having a science experiments box prepared ready for all your experiments will mean you won’t be searching for the materials and tools you need and you won’t have to skip any of the projects because you can’t find that essential ingredient. You’ll be organised.
• Set aside a time to prepare for the activities you plan on doing, find a container, box or basket to keep everything in. Use the list on the right to gather together most of the ingredients you will need for science fun at your fingertips. Don’t forget to check the list with each experiment to make sure you have everything you need.

• The basics

1. Empty cardboard rolls
2. Plastic party cups & bowls
3. Foil trays
4. Sponges
5. Drinking straws
6. Chenille pipe cleaners
7. Zip lock bags
8. Egg cartons
9. Balloons
10. Rubber bands
11. Sticky tape
12. Brown paper bags

• The tools

1. Scissors
2. Eye dropper
3. Pencils
4. Pegs
5. Glass jars
6. BBQ skewers
7. Plastic bottles
8. Funnel

• The ingredients

1. Salt
2. Sugar
3. Epsom salts
4. Borax
5. Bi-carb soda (baking soda)
6. Ammonia
7. Laundry bluing
8. Food colour
9. School glue / PVA glue
10. Soap
11. Shaving cream
12. Dishwashing detergent
13. Yeast

Action Pack Issue 9: Mad Scientist Issue – is Available now only $5 for 20+ pages with 15 tutorials, recipes, crafts and more…

This is an e-magazine – you will receive a download link to a high quality printable pdf [which can also be viewed on a Tablet or iPad].

For Parents:

The Action Pack magazines are aimed at 7–12 year old kids, and are meant for independent creativity. However be sure to gauge the suitability of each project for your child’s age and development. Some of the projects may be suitable for younger [5–6 year old] children with supervision. And depending upon the child’s age and abilities you may need to stay in the same room with them for some of the experiments.

But you don’t need to hover while your child is experimenting; feel free to let them experiment, observing and only helping when needed. On the flip side, don’t fret if you feel you don’t have enough science background to help or teach your children with the activities presented here, you should be more of a facilitator and a co-learner rather than a teacher – and that’s more fun anyway.

Setting up a science station is a great way to make these projects easily accessible for your children to discover and experiment as needed. Instead of turning on the electronic games or tv when they are bored and you are busy, why not let them head over to the pre-prepared science station for some free-range independent discovery.

What is a science station?  It’s a space you stock with materials of a scientific nature for experimentation. Your science station could be a table or sideboard that you have permanently set up, or it could be a box that can be dragged out and set up on the kitchen table [or outside when required]. 

Action Pack Issue 9: Mad Scientist Issue – is Available now only $5 for 20+ pages with 15 tutorials, recipes, crafts and more…

This is an e-magazine – you will receive a download link to a high quality printable pdf [which can also be viewed on a Tablet or iPad].

Instructions: After you have purchased the Action Pack you will receive an email with a secure link to where you can download the pdf. This is a timed link you will have a couple of days to download and save the file to your computer. When you receive the secure link it may go over two lines so be sure to highlight the entire link when opening it and saving it. You will then be able to view and print the file at any time after that at your liesure.

Contact for more information: Action-pack[@]whipup.net

I am working on the next Action Pack Magazine for kids. It’s nearly ready to launch and will be lots of fun. It is the Mad Scientist issue and is filled with some fabulous science experiments, can’t wait to show you! If you are an Action Pack fan — make sure to check in on our facebook page for updates and news or check in to our website where you can purchase back issues and find out more. And if you can’t wait to try out our Mad Scientist issue, don’t forget that the Zap + Zest issue has a whole bunch of science too!

Last week (or was it the week before), I mentioned in the newsletter that you could read your Action Pack magazine on your iPad or Tablet as a great alternative to printing them. A reader wrote in confused about how to get the PDF onto her iPad. You don’t need to do any file conversions or anything like that — the iPad or tablet is able to read PDF documents as they are using your iBooks or book reader app. What you need to do: Open iTunes on your computer, drag or save the Action Pack into your books/iBooks folder. Plug your Ipad into your computer and then drag the folder onto your iPad. [Thanks Mary Beth]. I will be adding this to our FAQ section on the website.

We are very excited about the upcoming Mad Scientist issue of Action Pack. Full of potions, concoctions, crystals and experiments — we had fun making it and hope you and the kids have fun doing all the experiments too — here is a preview.

Have you been doing some science experiments? We want to know – please post them to our facebook page.

Here are recent science experiments we have found around the web:

• Jo made sugar crystals with her kids
• Outside mom discusses the pros and cons of the science fair
• Make bouncy polymer balls
• Make plastic from milk
• Find out about the science of avocados
• Make astronaut icecream
• Make some bubbles
• Explore mixtures

Want more: Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Action Pack Magazine now has a Facebook page - by popular request I have set up a facebook page for the Action Pack mag – so please head on over there and ‘like’ it and also do post your kid related craft/science/cooking projects up there plus any ideas or inspirations you would like to share.

COOK

Spaghetti and meatball soup :: eggtastic breakfast sandwhich :: Kale fried rice :: Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies :: Valentine ginger crinkles [pictured above]

CRAFT

Boo boo rice bags :: Origami hearts :: Woven bottle basket :: Dried orange pendants :: Heart bracelet :: Owl love you :: Stuck on you valentine

SCIENCE

Wake up the yeast :: Photographing snow crystals :: Science books for kids :: Science is real song and video :: Make slime :: Make a straw rocket :: Make a toy parachute 

• Join our facebook page and share your projects and ideas
• Flickr page and share your photos

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