President's Day Activities Kids Enjoy

President's Day is quickly approaching so here are some ways you can make it meaningful and FUN!

My kids like to write a letter to the president using these recommendations. They were thrilled to receive this packet back.

Notice there were interesting facts about the history of the White House, including a colorful map, and lots of other goodies, even a photo of the president's dog. The kids loved reading everything. Shhh! Don't tell them that they were learning during their letter writing assignment and while reading all the great information that was sent to them. They were having too much fun. :)

I am using some of the terrific free printables from Education.com to make "fun learning packets" on President's Day.

My incredible friend Shannon at Technology Rocks Seriously has seriously done it again! She created another site with her top picks of President's Day sites, games, videos, printables, and apps. President's Day Fun is a BIG time-saver for me trying to find the best resources on-line, and I'm at peace knowing a mom/teacher has already reviewed the sites to see which ones are kid-friendly. My kids will be having some fun on this new site learning about the presidents.

I'm excited to share one of my family's favorite desserts with you, which is perfect for President's Day since it has lots of cherries. (See George's Washington's story about the cherry tree. I don't know if that legend is true or not, but I like to celebrate honesty anytime I can.)

This dessert is called "Dump Cake" since all you do is dump ingredients and spread them out into layers. There is no mixing involved. My kids make this all by themselves since it is incredibly easy. It takes likes a cobbler-cake combination and makes a delicious warm dessert. Side note: this is one of the top requested desserts that people like me to bring to get-togethers, and we also make it every year on Christmas. Yes, it's that good!

Cherry-Pineapple Dump Cake

1 (20 ounces) can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 (21 ounces) can cherry pie filling

1 (18.25 ounces) box yellow cake mix

1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter or margarine, each cut into 12 slices

4 oz. shredded coconut

Use a standard baking pan. Remember there is no mixing in this recipe. You will only be making layers. First, spread pineapple (undrained) on the bottom. Second, spoon out and spread the cherry pie filling. Third, carefully sprinkle the cake mix. (I only use about 3/4 of the box.) Next, place the butter slices over the top. Last, sprinkle coconut on the top. (I use about 4 oz. but you can add more if your family likes coconut a lot.) I have also seen people add nuts to the top, too. Bake for 350 uncovered for about 45-50 minutes. Remove when the top looks light brown. Serve with ice ream and whipped cream. Be prepared to make it again and again after your family takes a bite!

Enjoy celebrating our country's history!

FUN President's Day Activities

I had a great time with my kids as we celebrated President's Day! Here are some of the things we did today:

We made President's Day Cupcakes (red velvet cake mix, cream cheese frosting, and blueberries).

Made completely by my kids. :)

We wrote a letter to the President. I remember doing this with my oldest son years ago, and I'll never forget his expression when the President (really, his staff) actually wrote him back. Click on the image below to see detailed instructions, including the address to send it to.

We played terrific President's Day computer games. Click on the image below to see tons of games.

We learned about money and presidents. Even though we see money daily, do we really pay attention to it? This quiz will reveal how observant and knowledgeable you are with money. Click on the image below to take the quiz.

Here are my favorite videos to watch with my kids on President's Day or when we are learning the order of the US Presidents.

Enjoy!

Fourth of July Dessert Pizza

My boys wanted to make a special Fourth of July dessert this year so we made Dessert Pizza!

First, we lightly buttered the bottom of the cookie sheet. Next, we took three tubes of sugar cookie dough and rolled the dough and pressed it down with our hands into a cookie sheet. We were careful to leave a buffer of at least one inch around the edges.

We baked the cookie dough according to the temperature stated on the package but we did bake the cookies about five minutes longer than recommended since the dough was a little thicker than making cookies.

While the cookie dough was cooling (we cheated by placing it in the refrigerator), we made the icing. We added 16 oz. softened cream cheese and 16 oz. of marshmallow fluff. We mixed these ingredients together for a couple of minutes.

Next, we decorated the cookie cake with the icing, blueberries and strawberries.

 The final step (besides eating it) is to lightly sprinkle powdered sugar all over the cookie cake.

Even though the flag was not accurate, it was a lot of fun to make and it tasted delicious, too! 

It was Charity's first Fourth of July- so precious!

Enjoy!