I wish I could take full credit for this idea, but I can’t.  Part of this idea is something we have been doing every summer for several years but it was not until my friend Stacy Julian shared her Summertime Bingo idea that I was able to really expand on our idea, one that has become a huge hit with our kids!  In a nutshell, Summer BINGO is a little game the kids play each day/week of the summer.  The Bingo cards are made on the computer and printed, a new card each week.  The boxes are filled with fun activities to make their days pass while Mom gets to tuck in some learning, exploring and other interesting things along the way. The cover is made up of card stock but you could use just about anything you have around the house.  I used some rings and punched a hole but you could use a clip from your office drawer.  I took a photo of the kids and stuck it on the front so they could see whose card what whose and I hung them on the fridge.

Because I was strapped for time, I took Stacy’s template and modified it to make it our own (you can find a link on this page) and I am glad I did.  Not only did it save me time, her card has so many great ideas - good for most families!    To give you an idea, I kept some of Stacy’s ideas (she has so many) and I added a few of my own and they include: Ask Jeeves, “What Causes Hiccups?” - Make brownies for the family - Try a science experiment from your Xmas kit - Go on MSN for 1 hour - Spend the afternoon at the Library and Pick a chore from the Chore Jar.  As you can see some of the tasks are about learning or helping around the house and others are just for fun.  One in particular my daughter liked was, Soak and paint your toenails.  To her, it is fun and to me it is clean feet (have you seen summer feet when they run around in crocs?!)

I have been keeping a master list of ideas when they come to me and will add new ideas each week as we move through the summer.  Some things will be a staple on the card (like reading, smart computer program time, pages in our Summer workbooks) but I will change it up enough to keep them interested (that was the problem with our old system.  It got boring as the summer went on).  If you want more ideas there is a facebook group where you can find ideas for kids of all ages - do a search for Summer Bingo!

One other thing I should mention is the basic rules Stacy setup work really well but you can modify them to work for each of your children.   My kids have to make their bed, play on their instrument (piano and guitar) and do their morning chores, eat and get dressed before they can play Bingo.  And for rewards, I kept what Stacy had as they are great and simple.  Each row earns a ticket and tickets can be traded in for more Wii/Computer time, sleepover, ice cream etc…   I am using dollar store stickers but you could use a stamp, check mark or intial the square when the kids are done each task.

I love this idea and encourage you to try it if you want to keep the kids busy and direct their energy a little.  By the end of the summer our kids will have learned things they wouldn’t have considered, helped more around the house, and possibly played togehter more (some squares have them helping each other with a task or playing games together).

Oh, one last thing.  I made up a bingo card for myself, it is a bit of a creative “todo” list.  I put things like Exercise: Treadmill, Read a Novel, Write a note to a friend, Call Mom - all the things I should be doing but find time gets in the way.  I am not earning ice cream but I know as I cross each off (or have the kids put the stickers on my squares) that I will feel a sense of accomplishment and I will have made time for some of the things that really matter!

And one last summer fun idea - Cheater S’mores!  My son had an end of school party last week.  Considering it was a gang of boys I was looking for some quick and easy food and snack ideas and lucky for me while I was watching the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network the night before the party, I found the perfect solution to S’mores!  All you need for each smore is a roasted marshmallow and two chocolate sided biscuits.  Put the chocolate side in and squish the marshmallow in the middle and you are done!  The kids loved them and I am pretty sure this is our new family S’more solution.  So much easier than graham wafers, chocolate and marshmallows.

Have fun playing Summer Bingo and eating Cheater S’mores!

Ok, I have to start by saying that this is a crazy time of year.  It seems that everything is finishing and starting at the same time and most days we are double booked and we have to decide on which direction we should take.  I am starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but we have to get through this last week of school first!

Being a work-at-home mom, the summer is both fun and stressful.  My kids are older this year so they are happy to do a lot on their own, but they still need my attention.  I find most days in the summer (when the kids are not in a camp or busy with friends) I work really early - 5am till about noon and take a break, take them to the beach or somewhere fun and then come back and work again later in the afternoon or evening depending on what I have to get done.  Mobile phones, laptops and my Rogers wireless internet (and the library wifi) make it possible to work remotely when I need to.   If you are a work at home mom remember why you work from home and find a balance between work and the kids.  With some careful planning you can enjoy the summer and get your work done too!  If you are looking for ideas to help you get through the summer read this article, it is packed full of some great ideas!

Pita Bread

Yes, I the non-baker, made homemade pita bread! I discovered no knead baking several months ago and in my quest to learn more and find more recipes I came across this great cookbook called, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day by Zoe Francois and Jeffrey Hertzberg.  5 minutes is what really caught my eye but I love Artisan bread too, so it was a match made in heaven!  In a nutshell, this book, unlike the other recipes I have tried, gives you several recipes which can then be turned into a number of different types of breads.  You always have dough ready to go and a batch of pita bread can be put together in less than 20 minutes.  I plan to try more of the recipes but I love pita bread and like quick bread and this was a perfect recipe to try first.  I will post more about my bread making journey so you can see how easy it is to make your own (even if you are like me - a non-baker!)  And for those of you wondering about healthy breads, many of the recipes use white bread but there are whole wheat recipes in this book.  I haven’t tried the sandwich bread yet but I will and I’ll post my results.  Another thing to note - the authors are working on book two which I am told is full of all kind of yummy healthy recipes using whole grains, nuts, seeds etc..

The process is easy, grab a handful of dough and divide it into 4 pieces.  Roll the pieces out as thin as you can using flour so the dough is not sticky (this type of dough is wet).  I used a pizza peel/paddle for transporting (recommended).

Sorry this is not a great photo but I didn’t want to hold the door open and lose my heat!  The pita bread take about 5 minutes to cook, they puff up like this and are still puffy when you take them out of the oven.  I used a traditional method of wrapping the hot pita in a clean tea towel until they were cooled down a little and then I gently pressed the air out of them.  That was it!

You can see the pockets in the photo above.  Yummy bread, the kids took the two that were left (couldn’t help myself) for lunch the next day.

By the way - the dough I took out of the fridge took me all of 5 minutes to stir together before putting it into the fridge.  No Knead is the way to go if you want to make your own bread but don’t have a lot of time or talent (like myself).  And this book is a great book for newbies as it gives tons of tips and the authors have a great website to go along with it. www.artisanbreadinfive.com.

Keep your eye on this blog for more experiments from my kitchen