Happy Valentine's Day

Valentines Day can be a great time for some teachable moments for your kids.

It can be a time to teach about love and appreciation.  Adults tend to think about "romantic love" when they think about V-day but with kids, think about the platonic "friend love" or "family love".

Today can be a time to talk to your kids about the people in their lives that they really care about and to send them a message, give them a call or send them a card to show them how much they mean to them.

"A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others" - Frank Morgan

Happy parenting,
Jean

 

Valentines Day Activity with the Kids

Thinking about something to do on this snowy day with your kids?

Why don't you make Valentines Day cookies?

Here is an easy recipe that I use all the time from allrecipes.com:

*Remember that you are going to need a rolling pin and some cookie cutters.

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Find the recipe here:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-rolled-sugar-cookies/detail.aspx

Photo courtesy of Trishicat from allrecipes.com

If you are going to add icing to the cookies, here is another great recipe from the same site:

Butter Icing for Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cream
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a saucepan, over medium heat, heat cream and butter until butter is melted. Stir in the vanilla and confectioners' sugar. Remove from heat, and beat with an electric mixer until thick and smooth.

You can find the entire recipe here:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/butter-icing-for-cookies/detail.aspx

I hope you enjoy these recipes, they are a staple in my kitchen.

Happy parenting,

Jean