Camp
It's Cooking Show Camp Week!
Happy Weekend Friends!
Welcome to our fourth week of Today’s Learning Coach Summer Camp!
We can’t wait to share this week’s theme with you, which happens to be one of our favorite things of all time, challenge based cooking shows!
This week’s theme:
Cooking Show Camp!
I think that by now, you’ve seen the results of what takes place when you switch it up on your kids, magic happens! The mundane routine becomes enchanted and the next thing you know, you have kids that are engaged, excited and maybe even listening for what’s coming next.
Now generally in the classroom, we spread these special transformation moments out. I would pull a magic moment out when we would need it most… routines became boring, the content would be complex, or we just needed a family memory making moment that would strengthen relationships.
At the end of the day, that is what these camp ideas are all about- exciting moments for your family to work together, learn together and just have fun, because sometimes, we can get lost in the race. It happens. So a quick reset and an awesome theme can bring back the joy moments!
So, our question to you is… where are our foodies?
Get ready for a week of beautiful no bake challenges for your family to create memories in the kitchen!
We are going to share with you a different cooking show concept each day, and then provide recipes and ideas that would correlate with that show’s premise!
OF COURSE you can switch it up to anything you want! If you have special ingredients that would work better for your family, use those! It’s not about spending extra money, or going crazy looking for obscure ingredients, it's simply about working on something together as a family in a new and exciting way!
We thought it would be so fun for you to surprise your children with chef aprons and hats to get everyone ready for what’s to come! Amazon has endless affordable options, and if you already have kid’s aprons, YAY!
Here is one option for a set of 3 chef hats and aprons combined! (Less Boxes!)
So let’s dive right into Cooking Show Camp!
Monday
Welcome to the Great British Baking Show
Who will be the star baker in this exciting challenge?
This show is based on having two judges share three different challenges with their bakers. Start with the signature, head into the technical and then end with your show stopper.
Now of course this can be spread out over the course of the day, or you can just choose one!
Remember, this is about having fun, engaging your kids, and making memories. So if three recipes in one day sounds overwhelming, steer clear and just do one! Save the other two for a rainy day!
Signature: Fruit Pizza Mini’s- link here https://www.superhealthykids.com/recipes/healthy-fruit-pizza-minis/
Technical: Hamburger Cookies- link here https://familycookierecipes.com/hamburger-cookies/
Showstopper: Banana Split Bites- link here https://sugarspiceandglitter.com/banana-split-bites/
Tuesday
Nailed It- Rice Krispie Creations
Ever had a pinterest fail? We sure have! And of course it always happens when you have guests coming in like 10 minutes.
This show is all about doing your best and trying to replicate a beautiful tasty treat, and so often the contestants fail, reminding us that we should enjoy the process and know that not everything is going to be perfect, and that is just fine!
Using Rice Krispie treats (or rice krispie cereal, melted butter & melted marshmallows) create the mold and then decorate with icing to replicate your favorite animal!
Rice Krispie inspiration: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/137993176072539370/
Wednesday
Master Chef Jr
Yes, these children are wildly impressive and have way better cooking skills than me. Like way better skills. I can’t help but love how passionate and talented they all are, and I know that within my own classroom, I’ve had so many young students really passionate about cooking and baking!
We are going to offer two healthy options here! You can choose whichever one sounds better for you!
Frozen Yogurt Fruit Bark- link https://www.courtneyssweets.com/frozen-yogurt-fruit-bark-recipe/
OR
Healthy Banana Splits- link https://helloyummy.co/healthy-banana-split/
Thursday
Zumbo’s Just Desserts: ice cream sandwich cake challenge!
If you are passionate about dessert, today is your day! Zumbo’s Just Desserts is about creating magical tasty treats, so what better to do this than combine two delicious favorites: ice cream and cake!
Let’s create an Ice Cream Sandwich Cake!
https://whoneedsacape.com/2019/07/loaded-ice-cream-sandwich-dessert/
Friday
Chopped Challenge
Chopped is another fun surprise game that allows kids to get creative! This link shares so many helpful tips on how to make this challenge age appropriate for younger kids.
We certainly love the idea of pre-cooking any ingredients that you want to include, to avoid kids using the stove, and the idea of creating a “mini pantry area” to avoid little ones running in out of your actual pantry or rummaging through cabinets.
This link also shares some great basket combinations.
We recommend:
Tomatoes
Clementines
Lettuce
English Muffin
Cheese
https://lifeasmom.com/playing-a-game-of-chopped-for-kids/
We can’t wait to see your creations come to life and hope that our camp this week will spark new passions and learning moments with your family!
Also, if messes in the kitchen might cause you stress (which we TOTALLY GET), hop on over to our pinterest! We have so many no bake recipes that don’t need that many ingredients that you can use instead of these options, that might be a little bit more contained!
Happy baking, friends!
Enjoy the journey!
It's Space Week!
As a mom with a teacher's brain, I always try to keep learning moments at the forefront of our day. But as you know, time can go so fast, and quickly become so busy, that it is often impossible to just make it all magical. Trust us, we get it!
So that’s where our idea for Today’s Learning Coaches Summer Camp came into play...
What if we shared really easy, educational, and engaging activities with you guys on Sundays, and then you can pick and choose what works for you as a family.
What if we gave you a unifying theme to talk about over the course of a week and provide some great learning moments, and then you can extend the learning as much as you would like, or simply participate in that day’s activity!
That’s our goal here! This week, we are sharing all things space week! So have your kids create their own library by pulling any books on space that they might already have!
OR
Hop over to your local library, hype the kids up about this week’s theme and grab some titles they’ve never seen before!
Head over to kids youtube… yes we said it.. Youtube, and check out some incredible educational videos that can build some background knowledge for them! Balance is key here, and if we can encourage educational screen time, it's a win in my book!
Then take a quick peek at our activities this week. Here’s the breakdown!
Monday
Create your own planet!
This is a beautiful moment where you can learn some basic facts about any of the planets in our solar system and then allow time for your kids to get creative by making their very own planet. They can make a poster, use chalk, create a model or make a painting. Anything goes here! For your writers, encourage them to create a brochure or travel guide on everything we would need to know about their new planet!
Tuesday
Take a virtual field trip to the moon. What a remarkable experience this could be! Grab some snacks, and feel free to save this one for the rainy day this week! Get cozy, give your kids a note taking page from our Instagram swipe up, and reflect on all of the amazing information that they learned on their field trip when it's over!
Wednesday
Outer Space Calming Bottles! This is a beautiful and CALM way to learn even more about space! Grab a clear plastic bottle, any kind will work just fine! Fill your bottle with water, or if you want a slower and more calming experience, try adding mineral oil. Add some color using food dye. You can use red and blue to make purple, or any color your child would like! You can add glitter, small stars, and even small planets (these are pretty affordable on amazon).
Thursday
Erupting Moon Rocks! Make these in the morning so that they have time to dry! They will be ready to erupt by the afternoon!
Step 1: Create moon dough! Combine baking soda, water, black and silver glitter, black liquid watercolor paint or food dye. Let your kids use their hands to create moon rocks from the dough!
Step 2: Grab your moon dough and a squeezy bottle filled with water and one with vinegar. Form the moon dough into balls to make moons. Slowly add water to help create the ball shape. Then, let the moon balls completely dry! Once they are dry (hopefully by the afternoon if you make them in the morning), you can guide your children with the squeezy bottle of vinegar to create erupting moon moments!
They will love seeing the glitter shine through!
Friday
Fun Friday LIVE on our instagram!
We love being live with you guys and are so excited for this one! Join us at 2pm est on Friday to make our Jupiter Jars in action! There are a few different ways to create this awesome experiment! Feel free to gather your materials before we start our live and make this experiment along with us, or of course you can always do it later!
You will need:
*A clear jar that has a lid that seals. Amazon has round jars with lids that would model a planet!
*Red and yellow food coloring
*Water (enough to fill your jar)
*3 tablespoons of mica powder (red and yellow work best and you can find this on amazon)
These activities might be more than enough for your busy family, or maybe your kids have fallen in love with space and want more! Head on over to our Pinterest! We have a board ready to go for you filled with incredible activities that are really manageable to do! You will also find amazing space book recommendations there!
Click this link for our space board and be sure to follow us there for new ideas each week!
We can’t wait for you to have an amazing and memorable week with your families!
Be sure to tag us over on Instagram @todayslearningcoaches and share the fun that you are having with your space week activities!
Happy Learning!