Easter Egg Nest Treat Idea

Last week I was in charge of making the Easter treat for the Young Women of my church. My mother-in-law helped me come up with this idea:

You may have seen a similar ideas for making nests using Chow Mein noodles?!?  These were made with scotcheroos.  Make a batch of scotcheroos (see below for recipe) and press them in a muffin tin.  Melt chocolate (I used melted chocolate chips) and pour over the top. While I was waiting for the scotcheroos and chocolate to set up, I colored some coconut with green food coloring for grass and added 3 jelly bean eggs to each nest.  Next, I popped the treats out of the muffin tin and individually wrapped each nest with a note that said...Hope you have an EGG-cellent Easter!

Scotcheroos Recipe:

1 c. light corn syrup              6 c. Rice Krispies cereal
1 c. sugar                             1 c. butterscotch chips
1 c. peanut butter                 1 c. chocolate chips

Measure corn syrup and sugar into large saucepan. Cook over med. Heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. Mix well. Add Rice Krispies. Stir until well coated. Press mixture into greased 9 x 13 pan. Set aside.
Melt chocolate & butterscotch chips together in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over cereal mixture. Let stand firm. Cut into 1 x 2” bars and serve.

Have I mentioned before my LOVE for peanut butter and chocolate?  Oh my...these things are addicting!
Here is another very similar idea using no-bake cookies from All Things Heart and Home.

Easter Egg Matching Activity

I recently made this matching activity for my younger kids out of Easter eggs. I bought a pack of 18 eggs from the dollar store and knew I wanted to do something with them, aside from using them for only Easter.
First, I made a set using numbers (1-10). My 4 year old had to match the number to the correct number of dots for a match.

An easier version, was to match the same shape for a match. Circle with circle, triangle with triangle, etc.

I separated all the eggs and put the halves in a basket. The kids had to dig through the basket to find the matches. My 9 year old son came into the room awhile later and decided to turn the game into memory. The kids then set up the eggs in rows with the numbers and shapes facing away from them. One at a time, they took turns picking an egg and seeing if it was a match.

*When making this activity, make sure to not let the eggs match up in colors! Separate all the eggs first, put them back together with a non-matching color and then write on the eggs.

Come See Me!

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I AM SO EXCITED!! I was recently contacted by someone who wants me to have a booth at the upcoming Utah Valley Women's Expo. My thoughts on this...I am both excited and totally freaked out of my mind! I have sat on the idea for a couple of days and came to the conclusion that what is the worse that can happen? Plus I think this could be such a fun experience and adventure. I am already planning things out and will be having several ideas and features there to display and show. The event is April 23 & 24 (Fri and Sat) from 11 am - 8 pm.  I will let you know more info as I find it out.
Also, because of the exposure this event will bring to my site, I have added a link at the top of my blog for those who are interested in advertising on Room Mom 101. 
If you live in the area or are planning to attend, please come by and say hello. I would love to meet you!

Displaying Your Child's Artwork

I am LOVING this idea from How Does She?

I know for me, there are times where it is hard to throw away some of my children's artwork. This is the perfect solution and also a fun way to keep it on display without making my house look too cluttery. I will definitely be trying this project out!

Calling All Jell-O Experts

For St. Patrick's Day I decided to whip up a green meal.  Not green like:

Green like these really yummy, tempting looking pancakes (slight sarcasm there) and green Jell-o

Now I will be the first to admit if I have a problem.  And to be honest people, I have a problem.  A real problem.  I can ride the New York New York roller coaster in Las Vegas (I am terrified of heights), run a marathon, live overseas on my own, count to 10 in 5 languages and earn a college degree, but I CAN NOT MAKE JELL-O.  (Glad I got that off my chest!)  I feel that I am a pretty decent cook for my family, but I have recently had pointed out to me by my husband realized that Jell-O is something that I can not do well.  Sadly, I think Jell-O falls in the same category as boiling water.  Jell-O, especially green Jell-O is somewhat of a staple here in Utah.  How am I suppose to fit in, when I can't offer to bring it to any social function?!?  I'm not sure how a person can mess up Jell-O, but the last 2 times I have tried, it always seems to have a rubbery texture, especially on the bottom of the pan. 
Please make me feel better and tell me that I am not alone here.  What is the solution and how do I pull out of my Jell-O making slump?  Any advice is GLADLY taken (for my family's sake).
Sincerely,
The only person in America who can't make Jell-O

Rainbow Cupcakes

Last night I made these super fun rainbow cupcakes for my kids (for St. Patrick's Day). If you are interested in making some too, I found the idea at Family Fun.
1. Use a box of white cake mix and make as directed.
2. Divide the cake batter into 6 bowls, evenly and add food coloring. (For an exact on the food coloring, visit the Family Fun link above.)

3. Put the cake batter into the cupcake cups, starting with purple and begin layering the colors. Purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. This does take some time to do this to each of the cupcakes, so if you are short on time, make a rainbow cake instead of the cupcakes.

4. Bake the cupcakes as directed on the box. Here they are when they come out:

5. Finally, add some frosting or cool whip and dig in!

Quick & Easy St. Patrick's Days Snacks

Here are a couple of quick and easy ideas for serving up a snack this St. Patrick's Day.  Remember anything green works!
*Green fruit such as grapes, kiwi, green apple, and honey dew melon, served with yogurt dip
*Raw green vegetables such as green beans, celery and cucumber, served with dip.
*Cheese sandwiches or quesadillas cut with a shamrock cookie cutter.
*Green Jell-O.  Pour the gelatin into clear plastic cups before chilling so the kids can see the green.  Can top with marshmallows or whipped cream if desired.
 
Tonight with dinner, I plan to serve lucky lime drinks.  I have never tried one before, but it looks like the same idea as the root beer float.  If you want to give it a try too, here's what to do:

LUCKY LIME DRINKS:
Put one, or two small scoops of lime sherbet in a clear glass ice cream cup. Pour 7-Up over the sherbet. Add a spoonful of whipped cream, green sugar sprinkles and a green maraschino cherry!

Teacher Appreciation Door Idea

Staci at Designing & Motherhood, let me post this super cute door idea that she recently did for her 1st grade daughter's teacher.

Staci has a lot of fun ideas, so take a minute to look around her blog.  Thanks again for sharing.  If anyone else has a clever idea or 2 for teacher appreciation week, feel free to let me know so that I can feature your idea too.  Also, don't forget to grab an "I was featured" button if I have posted one of your ideas!

St. Patrick's Day Games

End of the Rainbow Treasure Hunt
Make a rainbow using markers and poster paper.
Hide a pile of chocolate or plastic gold coins with the rainbow.
Create fun Irish clues that the children will use to find the rainbow.
Variation:
Use a permanent marker to write a number on each coin. The number will correspond to a prize that the child can collect after the hunt is complete.
Prizes can be small such as candy bars, a box of Lucky Charms cereal, green bubble bath or nail polish from your local dollar store.

Hot Potato
A traditional game of hot potato using a real potato. Play a CD of Irish music while the children pass the potato around the circle. The player holding the potato when the music stops, will be in charge of the CD
player for the next round.
Variation:
Play the same game using a "Blarney Stone" ( a regular old rock).

Also look through some of the recent posts at SMARRT Ideas for some fun ideas to do with the kids!  I love this idea for shining your pennies with ketchup!?!  Who thought to try that out for the first time?  Anyway, if you want to see what to do...check it out HERE.

Teacher Appreciation Door Decorations

With teacher appreciation week quickly on the way, here are some ideas to get you thinking. These {2} pictures were taken last year at our school and I am just getting around to posting them. I will share more as I get them. Don't forget to visit all my other teacher appreciation ideas for more suggestions and tips.  If you have any ideas, tips, pictures or suggestions to share, let me know so I can feature your ideas too!

100 Days of School Bulletin Board

For this 1st grade bulletin board, the kids had to write a short story about what they will be like when they are 100 years old. What they will look like, have knowledge of, and life in general. They also created a self portrait of themselves. Trust me, these were a crack up to read!

Sneetches Door Decoration

Another door decoration for your Dr. Seuss week...Sneetches. This was done for a 1st grade classroom. Each child had a star on the door, with their picture in the center of the star.

Apples 4 the Teacher has some ideas and activities for the Sneetches.

A to Z Teacher Stuff offers a lot of great Dr. Seuss ideas and activities for a variety of books.

Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You? - Door Decoration

This door was decorated by a 1st grade class. The title of this Dr. Seuss book is Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You? but the class wrote the words Mr. Brown Can ______ Can You? Kind of obvious from looking at the picture, but thought I would point it out in case you didn't notice. Anyway, since the word Moo was left out, the students made their own words and drew pictures. For example, in case it isn't clear in the picture...the kids wrote Buzz and drew a picture of a bee, wrote Go Boom and drew a picture of lightening to represent thunder, etc.

Daisy Head Maizy Door Decoration

This Daisy Head Maizy door decoration was used for a kindergarten class. The students got a piece of white paper that had their picture glued to it. Then they had to illustrate what was on their heads and give themselves a new name.

My Many Colored Days Door Decoration

I could be wrong, but from the searches, it seems as if many of you are looking for ways to decorate the classroom door, in particular this week...Dr. Seuss Week. If you are one of those searching, this is your lucky day. I took some pictures of the doors at our school yesterday and thought I would share for those searching for ideas.
This first door is of a Kindergarten door. The class used the book My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss and here is the result:

And a close up to see what the kids wrote.

I didn't ask this teacher what the kids actually did for the door, but from the looks of it, they were given a blank (white) person and water colored the color of their choice. Then they described what the color made them feel. Super easy and super cute!

Cindy Lou Who Hair

With this being Dr. Seuss week, it seems that most {elementary} schools have at least one day where the students dress up as a Dr. Seuss character. Remember Cindy Lou Who from How the Grinch Stole Christmas? This year my daughter decided to go as her.
Here is Cindy Lou Who in case you can't quite picture her:

This was my daughter before heading off to school this morning.  The front view:

And the back:

How did I achieve this look?
1. Part the hair in half (horizontally). I pulled the bottom portion of hair into a ponytail until I finished the top half.
2. Get a small cup (mine was a toddler cup...3 1/2 inches) and position it on the head and build your ponytail around it. DONE!
3. Take out the ponytail at the bottom of the head that was holding the hair back. Divide the hair into sections depending on how many braids you want. I wanted 3 braids even though I think the girl in the movie only had 2. With hair this crazy though, does it really matter?!?
4. Curl ringlets in the ponytail.
5. HEAVILY spray hair spray to keep it all in place and tie a red ribbon at the top.
This was the first time I have ever tried this hairstyle out even though I had seen it on others before. I think it took about 15-20 minutes to get this look.
Oh and tonight while my daughters were home, my oldest convinced the younger one to let her do her hair and here is the result:

I don't think we will be keeping this look much past the week, but we have had fun playing around with it!