Mini Makes #8 - Chocolate and Granola Muffins

I had two bags of granola hiding away in the cupboard fast approaching their expiry dates, and a packet of chocolate, so I decided to use them up while baking over the bank holiday weekend. The Mini Mes were happy to get involved while it was raining outside so we ended up with an activity to keep us occupied and some treats to eat at the end - win win!

You will need
(Makes approx 12)

Ladybird Egg Box Bugs

With Spring upon us, I've been thinking about clearing out some of the clutter and it has enabled us to be quite creative in the process. All of the packing from various things can easily be transformed into something fun for the Mini Mes and these Ladybirds are an example of that!

They are rather cute and so simple to make all while using up old egg boxes from the recycling tubs. Your little ones could make an entire family too just like we did.

You will need

Egg decorating - Hungry Caterpillar and Superheroes

It's that time of year again where the school holds the annual Easter fete, the Mini Mes get the chance to decorate eggs at home to compete for a prize, and I have the worry of transporting their masterpieces to school without cracking them on the way!

 

Jamster's Humpty Dumpty egg won from a previous year which he was so pleased about; he had put a lot of effort into it and he received lots of delicious, chocolate goodies.

It's nice to win but it's also a fun activity and gets the kids to be creative at no or little cost. They really enjoy getting involved.

 

Being a Superhero fan Jamster went for Batman and Spiderman, his favourite two characters...

 

 

He used felt tips to colour the Spiderman egg and some sticky foam as eyes. Batman was made with silver face paint to colour it, a black bag as the cape, mask and pants and sticky foam as the eyes with a card badge.

 

Minxy went for a Very Hungry Caterpillar, creating a glittery home for it too...

 

 

She coloured one egg red and a second one green for the body using felt tip pens. She added sticky coloured foam as eyes and straws for the antennae. The home she created was a bug catcher box that she covered (literally) in glitter and sequins and filled with green shredded tissue paper.

 

 

Minxy won first place for hers!

 

 

We are also entering our eggs into the Polarn O. Pyret competition to win a soft bunny and a £50 voucher which you can join in here: Polarn O. Pyret Easter comp

 

Have you been decorating eggs?

 

Ball Art

I knew the old chocolate tins from Christmas would come in handy at some point! Combined with some paint and balls the Mini Mes have made some lovely artwork in a matter of minutes.







What you will need

Large tin
Paint
Bouncy balls
Card
Scissors
Pen

How to do it

1) Draw around the tin and cut out the shape with scissors.
2) Place the cut-out inside the tin.
3) Dip a ball into the paint and drop the ball into the tin.
4) Roll it around to make some pretty designs and then move on to use other colours too - add glitter if you like.
5) Leave the artwork to dry.

You can keep the pictures as they are but you can also use them as backgrounds to add photos on, to make puzzles out of or to make some funky lettering for door signs.

I'm linking this up with:

Eggcellent fun! - Egg decorating

Many schools this time of year have bonnet making competitions but at the mini mes school they also have an egg decorating one. It's a great opportunity for the kids to get creative and use their imaginations so we always get involved. My son actually won last year so we must be doing something right!

It's still fun for little ones (and grown ups) whether you have an event to join in with or not so I'm sharing the method with you to try at home, over the Easter holidays maybe when the kids need entertaining more so than usual. It's very easy to do.

Equipment
Eggs
Pan
Water
Plastic spoon/scoop
Plate
Pens, paint, glue, card, glitter (whatever you have for decoration)

1. Boil some water in a pan and then add your eggs. The water should cover the eggs completely.

2. Cook the eggs until they are hard boiled which will usually take around 5-10 mins. I tend to leave them for 10 mins to be sure.

TIP Add a few extra eggs to the pan just incase shells split or someone drops one to save cooking more later!

3. Once boiled, carefully remove the eggs from the pan and put them on a plate to cool.

4. Once cool its time to decorate them!

Here are the mini mes creations from last year:

You can decorate them however you like, favourite characters, animals, people.... the list is endless.

We haven't completed this years entries as yet but this post will be updated shortly with pics of them for inspiration. We have some great ideas in mind already!