What lurks in the shadows of Family Fun Night....?

This week for Family Fun Night, get lost in the shadows! Creating your own shadow puppets is a wonderful family activity. This ancient form of entertainment is sure to get the whole family involved.

Snack:

Brownie Shadows:

1. Make a batch of your favorite brownies

2. Use Christmas gingerbread men cookie cutters to cut out shadows

3. Enjoy the deliciousness of your shadows!

(Thanks Google for images!)

Activity:

Puppet show:
Either make your own shadow puppets (get templates here) or create good old fashion hand puppets (see chart below.) Adjust the lighting to get solid shadows along a blank wall or white sheet. Get the whole family involved in creating a story, let your shadows bring your stories to life!

(puppet images via pin)



Do:

Shadow Hunt:
cut out "animal shadows" out of dark construction paper, place around your home let your children go wild on their shadow hunt!



Splurge:Capture and display your children's "shadows" forever. Purchase a digital profile and frame to display your wee ones shadows proudly. For all the details click  HERE!

** From your small infant to the inner child of your wonderful spouse, children of ALL ages enjoy shadow gazing!

May you lurk in the shadows more often!

XO

BB

** See last week's family fun night idea here!

P.S.

Thought I would share one of my favorite images....I keep this in my office. I love the that their shadows tell a story and reveal the innocent youth of their souls, and of course serves as a reminder that you are never to old to dance! This image makes me happy!

Learn more of this image here.



Add a hint of Rustic to your Family Fun Night...

Sneak in one final summer camping trip. Set up camp in the comfort of your own home. Today's Family Fun Night is indoor camping!

Campsite:

Tent:
set up a tent in the living room, or make a homemade tent using sheets, blankets strings.....anything! We hang t sheets in our the living room over the couches using string that we tie with thumb tacks to the wall. This creates a very large tent over the entire living room. Your kids will  have a lot of fun helping you to set up the homemade tent. Be sure to fill your tent with the camping essentials... sleeping bags and flashlights!

(both images via pin)

Campfire:
 Make a fake camp fire using craft materials. I like to gather rocks and sticks from the yard ( or better yet, let your kids gather them for you) and use orange and yellow tissue paper for the flames. Build your fire were you can all gather around. This is a great place for story telling and campfire songs!

Wildlife:
Decorate the room with any plants you have in the house, and place stuffed animals behind the plants, as if they are playfully hiding.

Menu:

Dinner: Tin foil Dinners
Wrap your favorite chopped veggies, protein options, and seasonings in foil, and toss into the oven. Bake at 350 degrees until fully cooked. A meal fit for the most experienced of campers!



Snack:
Munch on your camping favorites, we always have popcorn and trail mix!

Treat:
French S'mores
Find out how to add the Oooo La La factor to your S'mores  HERE

Activity:

Go on a bug hunt. You can use glow in the dark plastic bugs,that can be found at your local toy store, or bug stickers, have your children walk around with flashlights to find the bugs!

Make:

Leaf Prints:
Gather leaves from your yard. Apply paint, or ink to the leaves and stamp onto paper. These leaf prints will make fabulous artwork for you to decorate your home for fall!



Read:

Gather around your campfire and share a story. Consider checking out a camping related book from your local library. I recommend;

• Curious George Goes Camping
• Dora's Camping Trip
• Maisey Goes Camping
• Matthew and Tall Rabbit Go Camping
• Otto Goes to Camp
• S Is for S'mores: A Camping Alphabet

Don't let the bed bugs bite!
XO
BB

WACKY Family Fun Night...

Have you noticed things have gotten a bit "wacky" around your house?  Inspired by Dr. Seuss's Wacky Wednesday,this week's Family Fun night is sure to break up the everyday mundane.We will be having our family fun night on....you guessed it.....Wednesday this week...really you can have Family Fun Night, on any night you choose to.

Meal:

Shake up the dinner hour by having a "Backwards meal." Serve your children dessert first! While I am not one to completely ruin a meal I suggest serving a bite size dessert like these bite size banana splits.

(Pic via pin.)

Slice banana into 3rds, dip bottom in chocolate sauce or soft ice-cream, then dip in sprinkles. Finish off with a squirt of whipped cream and a cherry on top!



Following dessert, serve up dinner with an extra side of wacky.....add colored mash potatoes to your menu!

(just add a drop or two of food coloring into your side dish!)



Activity:

Create a bunch of "wackiness" around your home. Let your children find the 10 wacky things. Some wacky ideas include;

• Dad wearing his dress shirt....backwards!
• The pillows are on the wrong side of the bed!
• The milk in the fridge is green!
• A chair is on top of the table!
• The toys are out of the toy box!
• The laundry is folded inside the dryer!
• There is only a spoon to eat dinner with!
• The door bell rang....but no one was there ( make sure you put Daddy to work, Daddies are great at wacky tricks!)

** anything else you can think of.... It is really great to make routine things around your house.....your children great appreciate a chance to have a bit of silly in their normal routines.

Learn:

Ask your children, and your spouse to share their wackiest idea of a perfect day. Learn what things your children really love, desire and dream about.....maybe you will find a wacky way to make some of their silly dreams come true!

** I played a similar game with some of my friend's children who were over for dinner the other night. I was thrilled when I asked them about their "perfect" day. Their answers were so delightful. One of the little guys said he would win a million dollars so he could buy a flat screen tv and a water bed for his room, then he would eat a Thanksgiving dinner....but not pumpkin pie....rather apple.... his mom had no idea he even liked apple pie....so you can guess what will be on her Thanksgiving menu this year! Really, this can be a wonderful way to learn more about those you love the most!......(I think she is still on the fence about the water bed...wink-wink!)

Make:

Wacky Sacks...so easy and fun to make....you can buy all materials at dollar store! Even my 10 month old enjoys playing with them. Learn how to make them here!



Read:

Of course, your Wacky Family Fun Night could not be complete with out reading Dr. Suess's Wacky Wednesday!



Modifications:
If it is just you and your spouse you can still add a hint of wacky to your day, by having a "backwards meal" and sharing your wild idea of the perfect day.

If your children are too young for the wacky hunt, you can always read them the story. You can never be too young or too old to read a Dr. Suess classic!

May you have one WACKY week!

BB
XO
P.S. did you catch my whiff of wacky?!

** To see last week's Family Fun Night click here

FINtastic, Family Fun Night...

What's that lurking in the distance??....Discovery Channel's annual Shark Week kicks off Sunday July 31st! We love shark week at my house. This week's family fun night idea is sure to get your shark week kicked off right. Incorporate the following to make sure you have a FINtastic family fun night:

Dinner and a show:

Make dinner special by having a picnic in your living room, while watching shark week. We are going to lay out beach towels, I will put out a few pairs of goggles for those who would like to wear them and make the show come to life!

Menu:

Quesadilla shark teeth;



Serve quesadillas sliced into triangles on a plate to resemble shark's teeth.Place salsa and veggies in the "jaws" of the shark!
Shark week Sushi roll:



Use food coloring to tint the cream cheese light blue. Spoon the creamcheese ( or cottage cheese, or plain yogurt) into a plastic bag.Cut cucumber into slices. Snip a small corner from the bag with the cream cheese. Pipe spikes of the cream cheese on top of the cucumber slices to look like waves. Arrange
gold fish crackers onto the cream cheese waves and serve!



Sharkade:

               Rim a glass with a wedge of lime and dip it in blue sparkling
               sugar used for baking. Fill the glass with a blue beverage, such as
               Gatorade. Garnish with a big blue gummy shark by cutting the belly 

               of the shark to rest on the rim of the glass.

Showtime Snack:

Pretzel fishing poles:
Dip large pretzel sticks in peanut butter or cream cheese and "fish" for toppings, such as raisins, Swedish fish, goldfish crackers, celery
chunks or chocolate chips.



Dessert:

Surf and Turf cupcakes:

 I love these Ocean & beach cupcakes found on Martha Stewart

 Instead of paper fins, I am using pieces of Oreo cookies. For an  

 unexpected surprise, I am making cupcakes that have a 

 red icing lurking inside, (you could also use red velvet cake.) There will be an Erie layer of delicious red when my family bites into them!



Make:

Felt shark fins:



Cut shark fins out of gray felt. Cut matching fins out of cardboard(I always save cardboard boxes...they have millions and millions of uses. You can either glue or sew the felt onto the cardboard, glue the fins onto a base cover with felt and pin onto your little Great White's back!

    

Play:

Feed the shark:

Your kids can test their throwing skills by "feeding" a stuffed animal shark sitting in a basket. Give each child five to 10 ping pong, tennis balls, or small rocks to serve as the "shark food." Determine which player can toss the most pieces of food to the shark in 30 seconds. Make the game more challenging for older children by placing the shark in a smaller "tank" or by requiring the children to stand farther away from the basket!

         **Don't forget to play with your " shark tank" bubbles!

SEE:

 Gold fish make and inexpensive, low maintenance pet....and a great centerpiece for the table during shark week!

(pic via pin)

Learn:

Use a measuring tape to a measure out how long each of the following breeds of sharks can grow to be. You and your children will be shocked to see just how large the beast of the sea can grow to be!


*The whale shark is the largest shark and grows to almost 40 feet long!
 *The great white can reach up to 20 feet long!
*Bull and Tiger sharks grow to 11-14 feet long!

( thanks google for this pic)

Remember, whether you have children or not, you can incorporate family fun night into your week. If it is just you and your spouse, spread out your beach towels and have dinner together while catching an episode of shark week. Do the learning activity together....have some fun together!


If your children are too young to understand or watch shark week...have an ocean themed night. Even babies enjoy looking at images of fish and romping around on a beach towel!


May you"ATTACK" fun together as a family!
XO
BB


**See last week's family fun under the stars  here!

"Shine" on Family Fun Night:

Happy new week to you all, as it is Monday it is time to plan your next Family Fun night for the week. This week's theme is Star Gazing: Have a backyard star gazing night with your family. Whether it is you and your significant other, or you and a house full of kids, simple star gazing is a fuss free way to have fun on a warm summer night. Spread a blanket out and observe the evening sky together!

How to have a night fit for the stars...

      Meal:

            Have a dinner fit for the starts, make grilled sandwiches cut into the shape of stars or 

            if you do not have a star shaped cookie cutter make cut the sandwiches into a circle a.k.a a full

           moon! Serve sandwiches with chicken and stars soup. ( to make your own fallow this recipe)

      Craft:

        * Use dark, construction paper, a white colored pencil, glitter and glue to make your own

          creative version of star finder chart, like the one seen here.

 Activities:

*Learn about the constellation by printing and using this simple star finder chart to spot popular constellations in the night sky.

*  Don't forget to sing Twinkle -Twinkle Little Star!

*  Who really is on the moon? Click here for all the story telling fun!

Feeling really Curious?:

*Satellite Tracking: SpaceWeather has a dirt simple satellite tracker; just enter your zip code, and it spits out what’s passing over that is of interest tonight!

Want to send your kids over the moon? Own a star in the sky, and name it after your family! Find out more by clicking here ( prices start at $14.95 so it's not too expensive but sure to get your kids excited!) In case you are wondering...yes, there is a Buhl family star out there!

* Note: it is never too early to star gaze as a family whether your children are babies, toddlers, or a  happy thought in the future you can all lie under the stars and enjoy the evening sky together!

(I am thinking I need one of these gazing towers!)

 pic via pin

May you all remember to wish upon a star!

XO,

BB

*****See last week's  family fun night  here !

Family Fun Night:

No matter what time of year it is, there are plenty of things for you to do with your family. Having family fun nights is a great way to bring your family together and create memories. Each Monday Petite 'E-lan will post a creative activity for the whole family to enjoy.

 

Tonight, gather the family for a make your own pizza party:
 It is simple to spruce up dinner time by getting the whole family involved with assembling their own mini pizzas from scratch! Experiment with all kinds of toppings and sauces. Maybe even try out a new kind of dough.


Make that dough:
  (Of course you can always use store bought pizza dough!)
  traditional
  whole wheat 
  Gluten free
  Zucchini Pizza dough

Get Saucy:

Try using Pesto or BBQ sauce instead of the traditional tomato sauce... a great way to experiment with flavor!

Get the kids involved:
*Give the baby a ball of dough to play with ( maybe add a dash of color to the dough, they can smooch it, squeeze it and suck on it while the rest of you make your own pizza creations.

* Do you have that kid that is not into getting dirty? Let them color their own pizza, by clicking here,while the rest of the family gets messy.

*Using pie tins is a good way to give kids' their own pizza making station!

*Challenge your kids to make art out of their meal.  A sneaky way to get picky eaters excited about those all important veggies. I am especially fond of these flag inspired pizzas!

Slice of Peitie 'E-lan:I love to make pizza from stratch. I often quadrouple my whole wheat dough, and freeze it so I can easily make pizza anytime. To freeze, I roll enough dough for one pizza into a ball, wrap with ceran wrap and place in a freezer bag. To use I allow dought to thaw for a few hours and roll it out. I like to make pizza at the end of the week with my veggie odds and ends, it is a great way to avoid having that extra tomato or bell pepper go to waste.

I love trying new savory pizza recipes. **See my favorite pizza recipe here.

Andiamo a mangiare!

XO
BB