This morning I thought we’d make granola.  But the builder had other plans…cookies on the brain.  So we baked peanut butter chocolate cookies together.  The kiddos love measuring, and the builder loves watching in the BabyHawk.  Sometimes the kiddos forget he’s there and then randomly exclaim, “I wanna say hi to ‘the grower’!”  Then he is smothered in love that only a toddler can give…

And our recipe:

1/4 c butter
1/2 turbinado sugar (raw)
1/2 c coconut oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c almond pulp (from our homemade almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 c oats
1/2 c brown rice flour
3/4 c chocolate chips (they will mostly melt)

1. Melt sugar in butter on low-medium heat.
2. Combine the remaining ingredients.
3. Let dough firm up in fridge for 20 minutes.
4. Cook for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.

As I was finishing the dough, I could feel that it was time for the grower to rest:

Perfect timing.  The kiddos and I sat together and read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie together.  By this time the dough was firm and ready to go in the oven.  As the cookies baked, we wrote our own story, entitled, “If you give a Kitty Cat a Present.”

After we were done, I suggested the builder read their new story to the dancer:

I chose the ringed sketchbook so that we can easily write more stories together that can be saved in a special place. 

As they ran off to dance to “muzik” in their room, I grabbed the water colors and added a bit of color:

In typical fashion, I think the story turned out better than the cookies. 🙂  They didn’t look like much, but the kiddos came back for another, so they must taste ok…

Targeted learning areas:

• literacy – story creating
• critical thinking – sequencing
• math – measuring