Bananas

 

There are always bananas on my kitchen counter. I don’t ever need to write ‘bananas’ on my grocery list – they are one of the things, like milk, that I buy every time I go to the store. We have bananas for snack several times each week because they are so convenient to store and serve.

All the children like bananas – for some they are their favourite fruit – though occasionally I’ve had a child that briefly got tired of having bananas. However, I would not put bananas on my personal list of preferred fruits – I will only eat green bananas. (note: I also choose savory over sweet, vegetable over fruit consistently).

Whenever possible I will buy green bananas. If the store only has yellow bananas I will buy just a few and make another trip to the store later in the week for more. I cannot have ripe bananas in my kitchen – once I can smell them then somebody better eat them or I’ll have to freeze the bananas or bake something.

Yes, I do bake a lot of things with bananas – but I don’t usually eat any banana flavoured things. Luckily, the children do like most baked banana snack foods too.

I bought a bunch of bright green bananas on one of my shopping trips last month – and they would not ripen. This picture was taken almost two weeks after I bought these bananas.

Not only were these bananas still green, they were too green even for me – they were very hard and impossible to peel. I had to buy more yellow bananas to use for snacks. I am stubborn though and was determined to get these bananas to ripen or find another use for them.

I searched for uses for green bananas. One site suggested boiling and mashing them like potatoes – that just sounds gross. Another suggestion was to slice them and pan fry – I tried that at nap time one day in hope we would be able to have bananas for afternoon snack.

I still couldn’t peel these bananas so I sliced them and then cut the peel off. I fried them in butter and added brown sugar to make a sweet glaze. Even with the sugar they tasted just like fried potatoes! I absolutely LOVED them – the children definitely did not. None of the children finished their afternoon snack.

I placed the remaining green bananas in a paper bag with all the green tomatoes that I had picked from my garden before it got too cold. Over the next week, all the tomatoes ripened and we ate them but the bananas were still green. I thought maybe my house was too cool (I keep my thermostat set at 18C) so I tried placing the remaining bunch of green bananas in my oven set on ‘warm’ for half a day – didn’t help. Maybe these bananas were even more stubborn than me.

I checked the bananas again on Friday – almost four weeks since I bought them – still green, though may be not quite as hard as they had been. I placed them back in the bag and decided I would fry them all on the weekend – it would make a wonderful snack for my son and I but I wouldn’t expect the children to eat them.

I was busy outside all day Saturday – taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather – and didn’t check the bananas. On Sunday morning I prepared to fry the green bananas but when I opened the bag….ewww !

The bananas were suddenly not only all yellow but are they were even starting to turn brown. There is no way I will fry or even eat these bananas – too over ripe for me…but I know what the children will love for snack on Monday

Apple Burgers

One of my childcare families asked for this recipe recently and I replied that it was ‘on the list of future posts’. I actually have a list of blog posts waiting to be written…lack of post ideas is not the reason for the long periods of time between posts. Sometimes I just need a a nudge to move a post to the top of the list and get busy writing.

As I mentioned in my last post, this past summer we didn’t follow our regular four-week-revolving menu. Instead, I had made a list – yes, another list – of new recipes I would like to try without necessarily adding them to our regular menu. Apple Burgers were one of the new recipes that the children requested multiple times over the summer and asked to have added to the regular menu permanently.

In the spring, when I first started going through my recipe books to make the ‘new recipes’ list, I almost skipped reading the Apple Burger recipe…again. I say ‘again’ because all my recipe books are more than 20 years old, some may even be older than me. There are no pages in any of my recipe books that I have never looked at but there are definitely recipes that I have not read past the title.

Apple Burgers fell into the ‘skipped’ list because I don’t generally like apples. I mean, I won’t entirely refuse to eat them – like seafood (gag) – but anything apple would be near the bottom of a list. Like on my ‘pie list’ all other fruit pies and most meat/veggie pies would be ahead of apple pie. So, my initial response to reading the title ‘Apple Burgers’ would be ‘eww, why wreck a burger by putting apple on it’ and I would turn the page.

However, this time I read it – after all, I was looking for recipes for lunches for the children and even most of the picky eaters will eat apples. I discovered that ‘Apple Burgers’ are really just chicken/turkey burgers with applesauce in them. MMmmm, chicken and turkey are pretty high up on my list so Apple Burgers got added to the summer recipes to try list.

Now, I will first post the recipe ingredient list as it was originally written with the usual disclaimer that I have NEVER followed a recipe without modifying it. Then I’ll try to guess at what I really did since I don’t measure ingredients.

Apple Burgers

• 1 lb ground chicken (or turkey)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 tbsp chopped onion
• 2 tbsp chopped red pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper

After reading the original recipe my first thoughts were; 1) the children will not even try these if they see a piece of onion or red pepper, 2) there is not nearly enough seasoning/flavor, and 3) why is there no egg or breadcrumbs?

So, when I made them I added the things I thought were missing – and I have done it differently each time I have made them so I don’t really have a ‘recipe’. Seriously, I just play with food like the children mixing potions with loose parts…as long as it is edible I’ll consider throwing it in a ‘recipe’. Also note, I am cooking for a big group so I usually start with double the above recipe. These are some of the other modifications I have made.

First, I add a lot more seasoning. I have dried vegetable seasoning (onion, peppers, garlic) that I add to things like scrambled eggs or herb bread etc when I want the flavour but not the chunks or moisture from chopped or pureed onions and peppers. I have used the dried vegetable seasoning in these burgers and I have also used oregano, thyme, rosemary – total of probably at least two or more tablespoons of various dried seasonings. Sometimes I add bacon bits, soya sauce, BBQ sauce, or Thai sweet chili sauce.

Second, I add an egg and some cornmeal/oatmeal/breadcrumbs. Actually, never breadcrumbs, I don’t buy or make breadcrumbs but they would work too. I usually add cornmeal to all my ground meat loaves/balls/burgers. Sometimes I use oatmeal though I put it in the food processor first because I only buy whole oats and they would make the burgers chunky if I didn’t grind up a bit it first. If I am adding pureed onions and peppers I will put the oatmeal in the food processor at the same time.

How much cornmeal/oatmeal? I have no idea, I just dump it in straight from the bag, maybe a cup? Normally I would add enough to enable me to handle the mixture and form patties but honestly every time I have made these I feel like I’m adding way too much filler and they have still been too wet to handle. I have spooned the mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet like a drop cookie, shaped them a bit and then baked them. I usually get 16 smallish patties out of a recipe starting with 2 lbs ground chicken.

The original recipe says to broil them 8 minutes per side until no longer pink. Hmpf – too wet to put on my broiler pan – would make rippled burgers LOL. I bake them for about 25-30 minutes at 375 F on my oven’s convection roast setting (400F on regular setting) flipping after about 15-20 minutes so they brown a bit on both sides. I always use a thermometer to ensure min internal temp of 165F/74C. They always set up very solid, never crumble so I don’t know why they are too wet to handle raw.

AAannnd – no picture. That is probably why I kept putting off writing this post. I have never remembered to take a picture of the Apple Burgers – too busy eating them. I let the children choose the condiments they want on their burgers. For me, it is mayonnaise and Thai sweet chili sauce for extra flavour.

In lieu of an apple burger pic – here are some barbecued beef patties my husband cooked for me (I’m a little fearful of the gas BBQ thingy). I’m always sad when he doesn’t BBQ beef burgers ‘crispy’ enough for me so he cooked these ones special just the way I like them…

 

A Variation

 

I didn’t manage to write any posts about our activities this summer. Additional screen time from virtual meetings may have been a factor that deterred me from computer related activities like paper work and post writing. My preference for spending time outdoors over indoors was definitely a factor too, but that is nothing new. Probably the main reason I didn’t find time to write was due to our schedule and some of the changes I made to it.

This summer was different than usual because I had a much older group of children. All my part time ‘inservice day only’ school-age children needed summer care and with some juggling of family vacation times I was able to accommodate everyone. I also chose to wait until fall to fill a vacant infant spot so, for the summer, that space could be used for a school-age child.

This unusual grouping meant that only one of my children was under four years old. It also meant I was busier than usual and there is oh so much TALKING. Transitions between indoors and out, play and meals, etc take soooo loonngg. Honestly, dressing five toddlers for winter play takes less time than getting seven 4-9 year olds to stay focused on what they need to do to get ready. So much time discussing/planning what they are going to do – please just do it!

I was expecting this – I had witnessed it on inservice days even when ALL of them were not here. The older ones tend to arrive later than the little ones – maybe because they are used to the later start of school classes or maybe because their parents face similar delays getting the out the door at home. I decided to make a few changes to our daily routine to lessen the delays.

Usually the little ones have been here for an hour or more already and it is almost morning snack time when the older children arrive. If I let them go play ‘for a few minutes’ until snack then we have a transition from arrival to playroom, a transition from playroom to snack, a transition to get ready to go outside – which will also require a bathroom break because the first two transitions and snack took an incredibly long time. It will be at least 10:00AM before we manage to get everyone out the door – no way I’m waiting that long before going outside to play in the summer!

So, I decided to make some adjustments to our (my) schedule and in order to do that I’d have to modify the menu. In past summers we have occasionally packed snack to take with us to have on a hike or at the park. On our regular menu not many of the morning snacks are portable so I created a special ‘summer’ menu in which all the morning snacks were portable. Our picnic bag was packed and ready before the older children arrived. The younger ones who arrived early had some indoor play time, bathroom break and were getting ready to go outside when the older ones arrived – also ready to go because they hadn’t actually come in.

That one schedule change meant we were heading out about 30 minutes ahead of our ‘normal’ schedule when I have only preschool children but up to 2 hours earlier than if I had let the older ones play indoors and have snack before going out. It also meant we got our walk, picnic snack and active play/tag/game time in the park early in the day before it got too hot. We still had time for lower energy, outdoor constructive and creative activities in the yard under the sunshade before lunch.

Since that schedule change required a modified morning snack menu, I decided to do a completely different ‘summer’ menu for lunches and afternoon snacks too. Even though I intended to ‘simplify’ the menu for summer, it turned out to be a very time consuming endeavor.

I involved the children in the menu planning with discussions on what they would like to have the following week. They were not very helpful. There were the some who loved everything and couldn’t decide and others who really would prefer only marshmallows and gummy bears. We did try a lot of new recipes – some of them were very popular and have been/will be added to our regular menu. I might have time to write a post about them sometime in the future.

However, there were many weekends when I was left scrambling because I had no idea what groceries I needed for the upcoming week because I still hadn’t completed writing the menu. Meal prep was also arduous as unfamiliar recipes required more time and thought even if the recipes were ‘simple’.

Nap/quiet time in the afternoon was shorter with mostly older children. I barely had time to clean up lunch and only very occasionally got to take a ‘break’ before it was time to get nap/quiet time stuff put away and start prepping afternoon snack. We had ‘refreshing’ afternoon snacks like frozen fruit smoothies or ice cream and berries before heading outside again until home time. Some days I didn’t sit down at all between 6AM and 6PM. When I did finally sit down, writing blog posts was the last thing on my mind.

The older children have all gone to school now. Our routine is changing again. We have welcomed two new infants into our group. The four-year-olds are adapting to their new role as the ‘big kids’ setting examples for the new ones. The former ‘baby’ of the group is now suddenly the ‘middle’ child. It has been surprisingly quiet – and I’m doing a lot more sitting because if I stand there will also be an expectation that I carry one, or more, of the children.

It is another variation – a new phase – in a mixed age group in family childcare.

Vacation 2021

I didn’t take vacation time in 2020 so this year I was really looking forward to the time off to complete some much needed projects. I had a total of 19 days this year and five projects planned. Only one of the projects was an indoor project – replace foam tiles on playroom floor. It had originally been on my list for 2020 but then – no vacation, no reno.

I have replaced the interlocking foam tiles many, many times as a weekend project because removing old worn tiles and installing new ones isn’t very difficult. However, this time it was going to take longer as I was NOT planning on adding more foam tiles because Montgomery eats them and I don’t need more vet bills.

This time I went with much more durable rubber gym flooring. Like the foam, it provides traction and sound dampening over the hardwood floor and is so much nicer for sitting or crawling on.

My second project was not a play space but it improved access. The front sidewalk was just off centre of the front yard – two fence panels on the West side of the walkway and one fence panel on the East. There were stepping stones from the sidewalk to the front steps and side gate both located on the East side of the yard.

Now all three fence panels are together and the sidewalk is located on the East side of the yard and leads directly to the front steps and back yard gate. Bonus result is I could also expand the native prairie garden into the space where the sidewalk had been. The opportunity to add garden space means this project was more ‘relaxing’ than actual work even though the temps were about 30C every day! Oh, and we also added a garden bench because we had some extra wood! Only needed to buy a little soil and mulch, otherwise everything for this project was recycled/reused so total cost under $100 

The remaining three mini projects were all part of the full back yard renovation. The main purpose of which was to define the spaces better and improve storage for all the loose parts.

The picture below is from 2019 and shows the deep gravel ‘digging’ area on the right surrounded by stumps and the lower ‘building’ area on the left. I tried to keep the gravel in the building area level and packed – better for building on – but the children tended to dig here too, after all it was gravel.

The full back yard now looks like this (reverse viewpoint from above photo);

The logs, stumps, table, stepping stones, composter and main garden have not changed this year. The benches have been removed from the swing area, a new herb garden space was added and the mulch was replaced with turf tiles. Though part of the ‘master plan’ this project was actually completed on a weekend in the Spring prior to my vacation.

The first of the three backyard projects during my vacation was the loose parts storage wall between the gravel digging area and the new, larger building area with recycled rubber surfacing (and a carpet in case it gets too hot to sit on – though it is fully shaded). I kept the water area adjacent to the building area because the children LOVE building bridges.

There is so much more space for storing loose parts/building supplies and it is easier to access than the previous deep bins. I used pallets for the wall so more recycled wood!

Bigger items are still stored in some of the bins.

The other side of the pallet wall has new storage for the digging area which never used to have any loose parts or storage, just a few pails, pots and digging tools. Now there are so many more options.

Backyard project two was to replace the tipi – I know, everyone loved the tipi but its shape and placement were not very functional. I used the poles and covering to form a roof over the entire corner of the yard. It makes a larger ‘house’ and the tunnel was moved here too.

This is the view of the yard from inside the house;

The third backyard project is the new messy play area. Located inside the garden wall it is separate from the other areas. Made from reclaimed wood, tile samples, and a salvaged laundry sink, the total cost for this project was $0. We have not used it yet (only been one day), I don’t think any of the children even noticed it as they were so excited to explore all the other new spaces. Besides, I’m still collecting some containers of ‘ingredients’ for the children to use here but…soon…

 

What's for Lunch?

I include a printed copy of our four week revolving lunch and snack menu in the handbook that I give to parents when they enroll their child. I always point out that the menu will change over time – possibly even before their child’s first day of care.

I have a current version of the full menu posted in my front entrance (licensing requirement) and the lunch menu is posted on my website because some of the parents like to check it periodically outside drop off/pick up times. I also have a printed copy on my fridge to reference when I am prepping meals and making my shopping list.

Over the years I’ve had some children, or groups of children that frequently ask “What’s for Lunch?” throughout the day. For this reason I have posted additional copies in both the main playroom and the art area. I encourage readers to check the printed menu instead of automatically expecting me to answer the question for them.

I don’t usually mind answering the question – often it is the beginning of a wonderful conversation. Occasionally it is more of a game where each of the preschoolers ask the same question over and over again leaving me to sometimes say “Same answer as I last time that question asked.” Still, this repetitive activity is wonderful for turn taking and communication skills.

I am a little more reluctant to answer the older children because I feel it is important to encourage them to seek answers instead of relying on me to provide information. Instead, I may just remind them of where the menu is posted and suggest they go check for themselves.

There are also options available for them to independently discover which menu week we are on and what day of the week it is so there is not really a need to ask these questions either. I won’t entirely refuse to answer when asked but I’m more inclined to just provide clues.

Many years ago there was a child for whom I was reluctant to answer the “What’s for lunch?” question. This child was, at home, extremely picky about what they would eat and adamantly refused to try anything new. If they knew in advance what we were having for lunch, they would obsess about it all morning, worried they may not like it, unable to focus on anything else or participate in play activities. By lunch they could have themselves so worked up that they would not be able to eat anything IF they even tried.

So, when they asked what we were having for lunch, I would reply “Protein, vitamins, fibre, sugar, fat and some dairy”. Then we would have a discussion about what their favourite foods were and we would classify those foods. At lunch time I would first Identify each menu item by its food group followed by “like your favourite food _____”.

With this approach, a group of peers who thoroughly enjoyed all foods, no pressure to clean their plate, AND no options for alternative foods, they were willing to at least nibble at what was on the menu. Over time they became far less stressed and picky about food. Sometimes they did not only clean their plate but ask for seconds too.

I still occasionally answer the “What’s for lunch?” question with “Protein, vitamins, fibre, sugar, fat and some dairy” – particularly when my preschool group has already asked that question multiple times that day. Most of my current group of children are definitely NOT picky about food at all.

When I tell them we are having “Protein, vitamins, grains, sugar, fat and some dairy” they respond emphatically with “WE LOVE THAT!”

And it is true, they do :)

 

Lazy

 

I don’t seem to be writing blog posts any more – at least not many compared to previous years. I was pondering why I was so uninspired to write.

We have done many interesting crafts and activities. We have gone on some adventures. I have done several small and large play space modifications. Yet, I have done very few posts about any of these things.

Is it a result of the pandemic? Maybe, though most of the restrictions have had very little impact on my day-to-day work life which is why there should be more posts to write. So, why am I not writing them?

Is it lack of time? Maybe, though I have always had long work hours and still managed to find time to write blog posts. Sure, sometimes I have a lot of bookkeeping work that is more urgent/time sensitive so blog posts have to wait. I have recently begun a couple of new projects that had necessary writing components but nothing that required vast amounts of time.

All of the committees I volunteer on have been meeting virtually – this has actually decreased the time commitment. There is no traveling time to/from the meetings and virtual meetings tend to be shorter than in-person ones which have more social interactions. Virtual ones are less fun though – often frustrating – and even somewhat depressing.

So maybe it isn’t the lack of actual time available outside my regular work and volunteer commitments that is the issue. Maybe the problem is the increased screen time. I have always struggled to stay focused on a screen for any length of time. I can’t fathom how teachers and students of any age can manage with online learning exclusively – even briefly. I personally would find it impossible. I struggle to focus on watching or listening to anything on a screen without something hands on to do.

I haven’t gone to a movie theater in over 30 years because there is no way I can sit in a seat though a whole movie with no commercial breaks or pause button. I don’t binge watch anything – in fact, I have some of my exercise equipment handy so I can keep ‘busy’ (active) while watching TV. Plus, I’m often baking things as well – hence the need for the commercial breaks and pause button. I’ve been known to wander away, get busy elsewhere and forget I was supposed to be watching something.

Of course, if too much screen time is the problem then going outside is the solution. Screen time can be overstimulating – a sensory overload that zaps creativity. Most certainly I will be much happier outside but not necessarily more productive. Yes, going outside is refreshing and offers a ‘reset’ when I am overwhelmed or stressed, but does not always help me focus.

Outside I can can completely lose track of time, daydreaming, getting lost in my imagination. It is a wonderful place for reflection, and wonder but there are far too many distractions for me to stay focused on an activity like writing a blog post. In fact, just writing about going outside is currently distracting be from finishing this post.

Outdoors is relaxing – an opportunity to unwind and feel grounded. Working in the garden, exploring the neighbourhood or going on long hikes provide connections to nature. So many things to hear, see, smell and feel. None of these activities feel like exercise to me. Even very physical outdoor activities like shoveling snow or completing major landscaping projects don’t feel as strenuous as a gym workout.

So, maybe I’ve now figured out what the problem is…

The gym is closed – and even for the brief periods they have been allowed to open, they had limited hours and did not open early enough for me to go. Many years ago, when I first joined a gym, I went in the evening after work. I quickly discovered that this was a bad idea. After a high intensity workout I am so energized that there is absolutely no chance I would be going to bed any time soon. For a morning person like me, late nights mean no sleep at all since I simply cannot sleep past dawn and actually prefer to get up before the sun.

So, for me, the best time for a visit to the gym is 4 or 5 AM several times each week. High intensity cardio between sets of weight training and my mind is racing – writing posts, planning activities and designing spaces – and it keeps going all day long, The limited space and equipment I have available at home just doesn’t provide the same opportunity for this type of workout.

Hence, I feel lazy, unmotivated and unable to focus. I am still getting things done but it is taking me a lot longer. This simple blog post has taken several hours over many days. I could normally finish a post like this in under an hour after an invigorating morning gym workout.

Early morning is my most productive period and that is the part of my daily routine that has been significantly disrupted. It is the high intensity morning workout that I need to kick-start my day and improve my ability to focus.

Traffic Woes

I get excited every time I hear mention of lowering speed limits. At the moment it is only residential streets that the city of Winnipeg is considering lowering speed limits on but if I had my way it would be ALL the streets and lanes. If I were in charge back lanes would have a max speed of 20 km/h, residential streets would be 30 km/h, undivided main streets could be 40 km/h and only divided ones could be 50 km/h. Main roads with three or more lanes in each direction could have a speed limit of 60 km/h. Major roads with absolutely no pedestrian traffic could allow speeds up to 70 km/h. No roads anywhere inside city limits require any speed over 70 km/h – if you want to drive faster, take the perimeter.

I’m sure some people may be horrified at the thought of driving that slow and it may make you angry that I also think there should be traffic cams and photo radar everywhere. There is photo radar near my home – and there is also a guy that frequently stands on the corner and holds a cardboard sign to warn drivers of the camera ahead. I once told him he should just let them get a ticket – a consequence for their actions. He probably drives a black truck…I’ll explain why later.

It is no secret that I love to walk places – I do also drive, but whenever possible I prefer to walk in all types of weather. Actually, even in very cold weather I would prefer to walk than sit still in a frigid cold vehicle. Still, sometimes even I must drive instead of walking. Those drivers (and pedestrians) that choose to defy road rules cause me angst both as a driver and a pedestrian. Though sometimes even the drivers that are trying to be ‘helpful’ are really not.

My childcare home is located in a residential area that is bordered by several major streets. Even if we were to restrict our daily walks to the sidewalks in our little neighbourhood we would not be able to avoid disrespectful drivers taking shortcuts to avoid slowing down for traffic at the busy intersections. That is one reason why, throughout all our walks, in our neighbourhood and beyond, the children and I have constant conversations about all aspects of the environment around us.

Those conversation may be observations about decorations in someone’s yard/garden, birds, plants, people, animals and most definitely vehicles. Everything is a teachable moment – an opportunity to share an interesting fact, personal likes/dislikes, and of course identifying hazards. Is it safe to pet that dog without the owner’s permission? Is that tree/fence an appropriate place to climb or does if belong to someone else? Will that driver stop for us or should we wait?

Long before we have even reached an intersection we will notice if there are stop signs and count them. We discuss which direction we are planning to cross and whether the cars should be stopping for us or if they have the right of way and we should be waiting for them. Respect for drivers and pedestrians goes both ways. That is where we sometimes meet those ‘helpful’ (not) drivers that stop where they do not have a stop sign and try to let us cross – it is confusing for the children but luckily it doesn’t happen often.

I wish our encounters with disrespectful, anti-pedestrian drivers were as infrequent. As pedestrians we always follow the road rules – many of which already strongly favour vehicles over pedestrian. For example, at all the intersections with traffic lights in my neighbourhood my little group can barely make it all the way across the intersection before the light turns red IF we start instantly when it turns green AND we hustle all the way across. If our light is already green when we reach the intersection we won’t have enough time to cross and will wait for the next green light – another opportunity to observe traffic and discuss safety rules.

We have encountered drivers who are too impatient to wait for us to cross the street before they make their left turn and will try to turn in front of us instead of waiting for us to cross first. One driver actually thought it was necessary to turn into the oncoming lanes first before crossing over to the proper lanes just so he didn’t have to wait for us to clear the lane he should have turned into. He must have actually planned this in advance considering, like us, he had been waiting at a red light prior to entering the intersection and was most certainly aware of our intention to cross.

Another one of my personal opinions is that all slip lanes should be eliminated. Even though I put reflective safety vests on all the children when we go for walks near traffic, some drivers don’t see us – or choose to ignore our attempt to cross the slip lane. Other cities have some great ideas for replacing slip lanes. I’m certain the businesses on the corner near my home would appreciate the increased pedestrian traffic if the slip lane was removed.

Back lanes are another issue. I am sure that there are drivers that think pedestrians shouldn’t use back lanes – ever. Personally I think both pedestrians and vehicles can both use back lanes if they need to access property located on that lane. The children and I DO walk down my back lane to get to my back yard but we don’t travel down back lanes when we have no purpose to go there. Whenever we see a vehicle we move off the lane, into the nearest driveway, and stand still respectfully yielding right of way to the passing vehicle. This is easy to do IF the drivers are also respectful and obeying speed limits.

I am fairly certain that only the drivers who actually live on our lane obey the speed limit – which is still too fast. The drivers using the lane as a thoroughfare or shortcut to avoid the lights drive much faster than the lane speed of 30 km/h. In fact, there have been vehicles that sped down my lane so fast that I couldn’t tell you what colour the vehicle was because all I saw was a blur as they passed my yard.

When there is no snow the lane is wide enough to allow cars to pass us even if they don’t choose to wait for us to get off the lane. In warmer seasons we do always walk on the edge of the lane but we still try to move into a driveway when a car approaches. In the winter the piles of snow along the edges of the lane make it impossible to walk there and the tire ruts are treacherous. For this reason we tend to walk in the middle of the lane in the winter.

When there is ice and snow, we move slower and have fewer spaces to get off the lane when we see a vehicle. I always remain in the centre of the lane until all the children have reached a safe spot and are standing still so there is no chance they may slip back into the lane. Consequently sometimes drivers must stop and wait for us and some of them find this very frustrating – especially the ones that are using our lane as a shortcut to avoid the traffic at the major intersections. This is where we have met the driver of the black truck…

The first time we saw this particular truck approaching, I stood in the middle of the lane as usual however, when the driver did not slow his approach I grabbed the last child and jumped to the side of the lane as he swerved slightly around us. I don’t care how great you think your steering skills are, I still expect that you will also use your brake pedal! We have encountered this truck several times now and he has never slowed down.

We haven’t been for long walks since the weather got very cold so our schedule has changed. We’ve also taken to only walking the short way down the lane just in case the driver of the black truck chooses that route. Still, one day when we were almost to my driveway, the three-year-old ahead of me yells “Ackk, it’s him again! I don’t like that guy.” and then scurries up the driveway into my yard.

The black truck had just turned onto the far end of the lane ahead of us. I find it sad that a three-year-old can recognize a disrespectful driver from almost a block away. Just slow down. Please.

 

Unexpected

We love playing outdoors in the winter. Compared to the warmer seasons our winter walks are shorter as is our total time outdoors but we still manage to spend 1-2 hours playing outdoors everyday.

In the winter there are no ‘toys’ in the yard – most break easily in the cold. Of course we still have sticks, pots, and the ultimate loose part – SNOW! I also routinely make various ice blocks for building, collecting and sorting. It is the perfect activity for frigid cold winters.

With the addition of liquid watercolour paint to the water before freezing these blocks add a nice pop of colour to the yard. Sometimes I freeze dozens of trays full of coloured ice cubes and scatter them all over the yard. It is best done just before a snowfall because the children love hunting and digging for ‘gems’.

This year I decided to make some bigger ice blocks using both ice cream pails and square containers. I imagined the children may enjoy using them for stepping stones – they love the slippery spots in the yard. I also figured with bigger blocks they could build bigger structures than they could with small ice blocks. The gross motor skills required for manipulating the large blocks would be a bonus.

The result was unexpected. The combination of the large containers and the above normal January temperatures meant the blocks took longer to freeze – I expected that. What I didn’t expect was that the liquid watercolour would separate from the water during freezing and even disappear completely!

Only four of the ten blocks remained intact when I removed them from the containers. The other ones were fragile because they were hollow! That was certainly unexpected and why it happened I do not know.

The centers of these hollow ice blocks were not wet and any colour that remained was a fine powdery texture. It was like, once the liquid watercolour paint separated from the tap water, the liquid part of the paint evaporated. How that was possible confuses me – the tops of all the blocks are solid thick ice – the bottoms are the thin delicate parts that shatter when touched to reveal the hollow centers.

Well that was unexpected and I still wanted some usable ice blocks so I filled all the containers with water again. I decided to not use any liquid water colour paint this time but I wanted something to make the ice blocks stand out a little in the snow. I found an old bag of potpourri and tossed a few pieces in each bucket. Interestingly, the next day the water had turned a nice shade of red,

However, after four days outside, in the shade, in January, there is only a thin partial layer of ice on the surface of each bucket of water. How is it possible that in Manitoba I cannot freeze water outside in January.

That is unexpected.

 

Hamburger Tarts

When discussing menu items in my childcare home ‘favourites’ can be defined in many ways. It could be a meal that all of the children eat at least some of and no one refuses to eat. It could also mean that some of the children really enjoy it and consistently ask for seconds but there may be one or two children who barely eat any at all. After all, not everyone likes the same things.

Sometimes it may be defined as one of my favourite things to make because it either doesn’t require a lot of work or it can be prepared well in advance and baked for lunch. I always prefer meals that don’t add to the already busy lunch time – between returning from outdoors and getting ready for nap time there is already a lot to do without including food prep.

Hamburger Tarts are one of the items that tick a lot of boxes. They require a bit of fairly easy prep early in the morning before the children arrive and then bake a bit just before we come in from outside. Most of the children like them – some don’t – some ask for seconds. Personally I find them addictive and left unchecked I could wipe out the whole batch because seriously – bread, meat and cheese is really just like pizza which I could eat all day every day.

This is the ‘original’ recipe which of course I only use as a starting point and then modify – a lot.

First of all, I don’t fiddle with cutting crusts (best part) off bread, buttering the slices and pressing them into muffin tins to essentially make more crusts. I use yummy brioche buns, placed upside down in a 9×13 pan, and hollowed out (keep for free bread crumbs). I have also tried this step using scratch made bread dough pressed in the pan and using a cup to make 12 indents for filling – good too but it requires much more effort and time and most of the children prefer the brioche buns

For the filling I do saute the onion and lean ground beef though I use much more than half an onion – more like one very large or two medium and very well cooked before adding the beef. One lb of ground beef will fill 12 buns. I never use the yucky mushroom soup – usually tomato soup or cheddar cheese soup.

I add all the saved ‘bread crumbs’ from the buns, eggs, and ketchup as well as some mustard and BBQ sauce too. I don’t usually grate the cheddar cheese to add to the filling. To save time I most often just place a thick square slice of cheddar in the bottom of each bun cup before filling with the meat mixture. At this point I cover with foil and refrigerate until closer to lunch time then bake covered at 325F for about an hour to heat through. Uncover for the last bit of time to brown a little without drying out.

Serve with salad or coleslaw – pick them up and eat like a burger or cut them up and use a fork (not as fun) – Mmmmm good.