Nationwide

•  A.C. Moore Make & Take — Thomas the Train, Misty Island Rescue Event, 1 – 3 pm

In New Jersey

•  Garden State Discovery Museum – Backpack Attack

In Pennsylvania

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Nationwide

In New Jersey

•  Brigantine Concert- Bob Ferris Big Band “Music of the Movies.” (609) 266-3323
• Garden State Discovery Museum – Backpack Attack

In Pennsylvania

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Nationwide

•  Home Depot Kid’s Workshop – Football Display
• Michael’s Make ‘N’ Take – Big Brother/Big Sister Welcome Home Sibling Canvas
• A.C. Moore Make ‘N’ Take Lunchbox

In New Jersey

•  Garden State Discovery Museum – Backpack Attack

In Pennsylvania

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Rainbow Glitter Bars

Ingredients for the Bars

• shortening
• 1 egg
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 sticks butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Ingredients for Glitter Sugar

• 1/4 -1/2 cup granulated sugar for each color
• food colors
• 1 teaspoon water

Directions

1. Grease a 15×10 inch jelly roll pan. A cookie sheet works just as well.
2. Heat oven to 350 Degrees.
3. Separate egg– yolk and white. Keep both.
4. In a large bowl add egg yolk, 1 cup granulated sugar, and margarine.
5. Stir with wooden spoon.
6. Add flour and cinnamon to sugar mixture. Stir until mixed.
7. Press dough into the greased pan using your hands. We also used a small rolling pin lightly dusted with flour to roll the dough to the edges of the pan.
8. Make glitter sugar.
   • put 1/4 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar in container or bag with a few drops of food coloring.
   • Shake or squeeze till the sugar is all the same color.
   • Repeat these steps for each color you want.
9. In a small bowl, combine water and egg white.
10. Beat with whisk until foamy.
11. Brush the egg white over the dough.
12. Sprinkle the colorful glitter sugar over dough. Create a rainbow or any design you like. Sprinkle lightly or you will end up with a crystalized layer of sugar on your cookies. We also used the back of a spoon to spread out the sprinkled sugar.
13. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the bars are  light brown.
14. Cut pan of bars into 8 rows by 6 rows (48 bars) or your desired size. They will be a bit gooey as you cut.
15. Place pan on wire rack to cool.

I found these to be very sugary, perhaps we were too generous with the sugar. For a version with less sugar, you could probably skip the colored sugar. Instead divide the egg white mixture into bowls and color that with the food coloring, then brush it on the cookies. Bake as directed.

We hope you enjoy. We did.

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With the school year starting I aniticipate my boy’s appetite will multiply. Your children’s probably will too. So School Day Snacks will provide you with snacks you can bake up for your children. When the recipes are simple enough to do with your children you will see them listed as part of our Fun in the Kitchen Friday series too. Use these snacks for their lunchboxes to remind them of your love or save them as a welcome home treat from a long day at school.

First up

Rainbow Glitter Bars

Off to the kitchen

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Nationwide

In New Jersey

•  Somers Point Concert – Franny Smith and the Atlantic City Band; tribute to the Mummers, New Orleans, and the Great American Songbook

In Pennsylvania

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Saturday

• Shore Mall Model Train Display, Egg Harbor Township
• Home Depot Kid’s Workshop – Football Display
• Michael’s Make ‘N’ Take – Big Brother/Big Sister Welcome Home Sibling Canvas
• A.C. Moore Lunchbox Make ‘N’ Take

Sunday

•  Brigantine Concert- Bob Ferris Big Band “Music of the Movies.” (609) 266-3323

Monday

• Mom to Mom Group at Shore Memorial Hospital
• A.C. Moore – Make & Take – Thomas the Train Misty Island Rescue Event, 1 – 3 pm.

Tuesday

• Atlantic County Library / Hammonton - Video Gaming
  

Wednesday

• Shore Mall Model Train Display, Egg Harbor Township
• Cape May Court House Library – Writers Rock Creative Writing Club

Thursday

• Atlantic County Library / Pleasantville - Pleasantville Playas Chess Club Meeting

Friday

• Somers Point Concert – Eric Lindell Band: International funky jammin’ rock ‘n’roll recording artists

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• By age 11, children drink more soda than milk.
• 71 % of the milk served in our schools across the country is flavored.
• Chocolate milk can contain about twice as much sugar as plain low-fat milk. The same amount of sugar as in soda or a cup of juice.
• A study, sponsored by the Milk Processor Education Program, showed that elementary school children drank 35 percent less milk at school on average when flavored milk was removed.

School districts across the country are engaged in a battle with students and families over whether or not to include flavored milk in their dairy cases. Opponents on both sides have some very valid points. If we want our schools to provide a healthy lunch for our child, is allowing them to buy sugary chocolate milk really a healthy option? On the flip side, milk provides many valuable nutrients to a child’s growing body. Is having flavored milk, loaded with sugar, better than having no milk at all?

For our family it’s about moderation. Regular unflavored milk is a regular staple in our home. We often joke that we need our own cow because we go through so much milk. Chocolate milk is saved for special occasions like dinners out.  (Truth be told a bottle of chocolate milk tends to have a nice calming effect on me. )

But with the coming of Kindergarten…. all bets are off. My normal ways of doing things … our normal rules will be tested. Lunchtime will be one meal beyond my control. I can pack him a healthy lunch but what about his beverage? Milk doesn’t travel well so sending him with his own jug of milk won’t work. And if I am going to send him with juice, doesn’t that defeat the point of drinking something healthy? I might as well give him the chocolate milk. I also like the idea of sending him with money to buy his own drink and gain a bit more independence. But then again we come back to the issue of flavored versus unflavored milk. Surrounded by his peers, who maybe buying flavored milk, what will my son chose? What would yours?

What are your thoughts? When it comes to chocolate milk are you yea or nay? And is your decision for your home different that the decision you want made at your children’s schools?

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The game is suggested for ages 4 and up and for 2 – 5 players. The typical game last 15 minutes.

At first glance this game seems a little difficult for the typical 4 year-old. The directions could have been written much clearer. We moved slowly through our first game, checking the directions often, to make sure we were playing it correctly. Initially, my 4 year-old son did not have the attention span for it. But after seeing daddy, mommy, and his big brother play a few rounds he was ready to jump back into the action. And we all understood the directions much better.

I love that this game is easy enough  to play for younger children. There are no words to read and nothing to remember other than a few basic rules. It’s basically a game of chance. As each member pulls a card with a snake body part everyone works together to build a snake. If you are the lucky player to complete the snake you win that snake and get to make a fun hissing sound. In the end the winner is the one with the most snake card pieces.

It’s great that after a few rounds playing, the kids can play together with only minimal supervision. Ideal for those times when you have to make a phone call, get a meal on the table, or something else.

It’s a game that teaches. Kids learn to understand patterns and colors and how to match them up. They get to learn about animals when they make snake sounds. And at the end of the game players practice counting up their pieces to see whose won. Plus there is also that important lesson of taking turns and being a good sport.

It’s a game that rates high for me in terms of safety and durability. The only playing pieces are the cards themselves. They are made from hard cardboard and are the size of a typical playing card from a deck of cards. I like that they will withstand the abuse they are sure to see from my 3 boys. The box is still in one piece too.  I also have to say I love the fact that there are no pieces my 2 year-old will choke on or that will stab me in the foot during those late night walks across the playroom.

At $12.99, it’s a value and definately worth adding to your collection. There are not too many games at this price range that are so durable, safe, and fun for kids of all ages. I can’t say I’ve seen it in the toy stores but a search online should provide you with some good sources to purchase it from. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did. Hissssss…

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Nationwide

In New Jersey

In Pennsylvania

•  Philadelphia Zoo – Rock ‘N’ Roar Concert Series

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