winter Archives | happy hooligans

If you saw yesterday’s post, you’ll know that we got SNOW yesterday!!! To celebrate that excitement, I made some cinnamon-sugar french toast mittens for lunch.It was really quite blizzard-like here. It was very exciting, with little people running from window to window, hollering updates every few minutes. To celebrate, we had a little mitten theme going on here. Our mitten-match up was a great activity. It was super-simple to prepare, and all of the Hooligans (from 2 right up to 5) really loved it. Check it out if you’re looking for something that’s fast and easy to whip up, and a great exercise in fine motor control for your little one.

For lunch, the Hooligans knew we were having French Toast, but what they didn’t know was that with all the snow coming down, and the mitten matching going on in the next room, I’d decided to jazz things up a bit.

I went through my Christmas cookie cutters and found a mitten cutter. Perfect!

By gently stretching the bread, I was able to cut two mitts out of each slice of bread. Don’t throw out the left overs and the crusts! I added mine to a bag that I keep in the freezer. I freeze all of my bread crusts, stale bread, buns, etc. and I use them for making poultry stuffing. If you’re not big on that idea, at least tear your crusts up and let the kids toss them into the yard to feed the birds. Why not put them to good use?

While I was cutting my mittens out, I had my George Foreman Griddle warming up. I LOVE my griddle. I am typically NOT a fan of “gadgets” that take up a lot of storage room, but I couldn’t live without this griddle. It’s big enough to cook up LARGE batches of eggs, bacon, pancakes etc.all at once, it heats up quickly, and after 4 years, it is still competely non-stick, which is more than I can say for any of my teflon pans. As for storing it, I keep it on top of my fridge.

Ok, back to lunch. Melt a generous gob of butter on your griddle, and while that’s melting and getting bubbly, dip your mitts in a mixture of egg and milk (I don’t know exact measurements here – I just guess when it comes to french toast). Toss your mitts on to your griddle and flip them when the underside starts to get brown and crispy. Let the other side do the same, and then move them to a plate, and sprinkle them with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

A little syrup on the side for dipping and you’re good to go!

To celebrate our first truly wintery day of the season, I made a mitten matching activity for the Hooligans this morning.

This is a really simple activity to prepare, and the Hooligans really enjoyed it.

I used my wall paper sample books to cut out a bunch of mitts and set out a small basket of coloured clothes pegs.

The children had fun matching up the mittens, clipping them together, and setting the matched pairs in a wicker basket. Clothes pegs are always a hit here and they’re a great for developing fine motor skills (all that pinching and squeezing) and hand-eye co-ordination (holding the peg open and clipping two items together requires concentration!).

They also clipped the pegs to their fingers, to their clothing, and to edges of the baskets. I love these coloured plastic clips from the dollar store. They’re easier for little fingers to master than the wooden ones that I keep outside.

This little Hooligan worked away at the activity for about a half an hour by herself, as quiet as a mouse. In my books that’s a long time for a 2 year old to be engaged in one activity.