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Reading and cooking with kids

February: It's All About the Heart!

1/27/2020

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*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made via the links provided go to support our literacy efforts.
     February is the month of celebrating love and we would hope that includes the love of reading. This is the month to gift loved ones with heart shaped chocolate, cookies and cakes and we encourage you to make those home-made goods with the kiddos and include a book, and even read a book while you are waiting for those goodies to bake!
     February is most often associated with Valentine‘s Day but the Home Baking Association (HBA) has designated February as Bake for Family Fun month. The HBA encourages families to take this month to share family love and traditions through baking. Since it is also Chocolate Lovers month, consider combining the two. Baked goods are always extra yummy when chocolate is added (for adults a fun read is Chocolate: The Consuming Passion by Sandra Boynton.) February can sometimes include Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, which here in Michigan we know as Paczki Day but in other cultures it is also known as Pancake Day or Mardi Gras. You can celebrate the day with a stack of pancakes and the story If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff.
Remember that baking and cooking builds:
Stronger bonds with children
Reading skills
Math skills
Science skills
Responsibility
Self-esteem
Confidence
Creativity & Imagination
Communication skills
Life skills
Background knowledge
Life-long memories
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~Food Calendar & Suggested Reads~

     Once again, we are including a food calendar to assist in some family cooking, baking and reading suggestions. As we recommended before, find a food you want to celebrate and then look through recipes with your child(ren) and spend some time creating something delectable together. Always look for additional titles and fun ways to cook and read as a family.
February
National Bake for Family Fun, Cherry, Chocolate Lovers, Potato Lovers, Snack Food & Sweet Potato Month
National Bake for Family Fun Month
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Alpha-Bakery Children's Cookbook by Gold Medal Flour
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Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven
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A Fine Dessert: Four Centuries, Four Families, One Delicious Treat by Emily Jenkins
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The Peanuts Family Cookbook: Delicious Dishes for Kids to Make with Their Favorite Grown-Ups by Weldon Owen
National Cherry Month
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Hidden Cherries by Anne Margaret Lewis & Susan Hammon
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Hi-Ho Cherry-O! Board Game
National Chocolate Lovers Month
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Lily's Chocolate Heart by Kevin Henkes
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If You Give a Mouse a Brownie by Laura Numeroff
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Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory by Margret & H. A. Rey
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No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart and Allen Young
1st Friday: National Bubble Gum Day
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Pop!: The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy
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Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum In a Dish by Tracey M. Cox
4th: National Homemade Soup Day
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Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
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Everybody Serves Soup by Norah Dooley
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Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
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Cucumber Soup by Vickie Leigh Krudwig
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To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda
9th: National Bagel Day
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Bagel in Love by Natasha Wing
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Jalapeño Bagels by Natasha Wing
9th: National Pizza Day
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Pizza Party! by Grace Maccarone
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The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) by Philomen Sturges
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Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party by James & Kimberly Dean
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Pizza!: An Interactive Recipe Book by Lotta Nieminen
*For our favorite pizza recipe and additional titles take a look back at our blog Pizza, Pizza!.
13th: National Tortellini Day
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Tony Baroni Loves Macaroni by Marilyn Sadler
15th: National Gum Drop Day
17th: National Cabbage Day
20th: National Muffin Day
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If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff
21st: National Sticky Bun Day
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Bizz & Buzz Make Honey Buns by Dee Leone
23rd: National Banana Bread Day
23rd: National Toast Day
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Toast! by Heywood Banks
25th: Fat Tuesday (changes annually) & National Pancake Day
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Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle
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Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola
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Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast by Josh Funk
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If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff
27th: National Strawberry Day
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The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear by Don & Audrey Wood
4th Thursday: National Chili Day
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Armadilly Chili by Heather Ketteman
- - -
     Celebrate Chocolate Lovers Month with some chocolate biscuits and a glass of milk or a cup of tea. A great dough for youngsters to help roll into balls!
Chocolate Biscuits
(Originally from kidspot kitchen)
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
½ cup cocoa, sifted
¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
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Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl beat eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla until well combined. Stir in flour, baking powder and cocoa. Roll spoonfuls into balls and flatten slightly with hand or fork. Bake on parchment covered cookie sheet for 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 2 dozen biscuits.
Happy baking and reading!

-Kate @ BTBL

Author

We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 4) for Kate, and two sons (now 1 and a newborn) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.

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    Author

    We are mom Sandra and daughters Amanda and Kate, all with backgrounds in literacy and education, who want to share our philosophy of taking the basics of life; books, simple toys that encourage play, imagination and creativity, and using cooking and baking to teach math and real life skills to raise happy, inquisitive children. Join us in exploring the old and the new and sifting through the myriad of research to consider what is best for our children.

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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Back to Basics
    • Contact Us
  • Reading Aloud
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    • Book Lists >
      • Ballet Books
      • Board Books
      • Alphabet Books
      • Number Books
      • Interactive & Sensory Books
      • Manners & Etiquette Books
      • Stories about Books, Reading & Libraries
      • Fables, Folktales & Fairy Tales
      • Nursery Rhymes & Poetry
      • Holiday Books
      • Graduation Books
      • Baking & Cooking Books
      • Gardening & Farm Books
      • Nature Books
      • Thankfulness & Gratitude Books
      • Pirate Books
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