Imagine Childhood : Magic & Memories That Last a Lifetime

... weekend links

 

Here are a few things that kept us curious this week. 

• Giving your kids the power of flexible thinking, can help them go with the flow. 
• Black holes made simple with Stephan Hawking. So cool! 
• Dive into the curious (and cute) world of the raccoon in this great video from Nature. 
• First wild Whooping Crane hatches in Louisiana since WWII. 
• This is a delightful weekend activity with the kids. Make a fun butterfly feeder from your recycling bin!
• We just can't keep saying this enough... time in nature makes us happier and healthier. 
• Need a little weekend or Mother's Day inspiration? Don't worry, we've got you covered. 

 

Happy Weekend! 

 

xox

~ i.c.

. . . may day: garden seed poppers!

May Day is this weekend and we just had to. . .

. . . make something pretty to celebrate. . .

. . . the return of the flowers. . .

. . . with a beautiful explosion of. . .

. . . SEEDS!

 

May Day Garden Poppers

Materials:

• Tissue paper
• Heavy weight craft paper or card stock (just make sure it is not too stiff to roll)
• Patterned accent paper
• Flower seeds (we love habitat seeds or garden sprinkles like these)
• String (these striped spools are particularly cute)
• scotch tape (optional)

 

 Cut three pieces of sturdy paper (heavy weight craft paper or card stock) into 4" x 3" pieces. Then cut 3 pieces of your accent paper into 3" x 1" pieces.

After you have theses pieces, cut three differently colored sheets of tissue into 8" x 6" pieces.

Place one type of seed in the first color of tissue paper. Roll it loosely lengthwise, making sure the seeds stay in the center and don't move toward the edges. Then roll a piece of the heavy weight paper over the tissue, and the accent sheet in the center. Tie it together with a little string.

Cinch the ends closed with long pieces of string (these will allow you to hang them on a door on May Day).  Attach a tag that says "POP!" with a note on the back that says "open in the garden".

Leave these on a friend's door on May Day and spread the flowery love around your city!

 

With the Kids: Invite the kids to go on a walk through your neighborhood and make note of all of the new things that are growing and changing. What is there that wasn't last week? Are there any new colors appearing? Head to the garden store with your merry band of players and pick out seeds to put in the seed poppers. We like habitat garden seeds because they attract butterflies and bees that can help your garden and these types of seeds don't need to be put deep into the dirt so they are more suited for a party popper explosion. Ask your kiddos who they would like to make the poppers for and why the appreciate that person. Make special notes to attach to the poppers to let the person you are giving them to know why you love them! Check out all of our other May Day activities here!

 

Happy May Day!

~Sarah

... moments of magic

I made the trek back across the Atlantic last week, and I have to say it, there really is no place like home. My adventures in Spain were amazing, and I wouldn't trade them for anything, but there is just no substitute for family and those beautiful blue skies of Colorado. Waking up to the quiet of my parents farm, and the sweet singing of birds as the sun rises is a daily Moment of Magic most dear to my heart. 

 

~ Jordan

. . . blackberry mini clafoutis

What to do when you have lemons dropping from your tree and blackberries calling your name?

You make blackberry, lemon. . .

. . . clafoutis of course!

Delightfully fluffy and perfectly sweet. . .

. . . it's our new favorite springtime sweet!

 

Mini Blackberry Clafoutis

Recipe adapted from here

 Ingredients:

• 1 1⁄4 cups milk
• 1/4  cup + 2 tablespoons sugar, 
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 cup flour
• 2 cups blackberries
• 2 packed teaspoons lemon zest
• powdered sugar, for garnish

 

Preheat oven to 350.

In a blender or in a bowl using an immersion blender, mix the milk, 1/4 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour until light and frothy.

Generously butter 6 6oz ramekins.

Pour 1/4" layer of batter into each ramekin and place them on a baking sheet. Put these in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the batter has formed a film but isn't completely set yet.

Take them out and evenly distribute the berries and the lemon zest between them. Sprinkle the fruit with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar before evenly distributing the rest of the batter over the berries in all of the ramekins.

Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the center.

Allow to cool a bit before dusting with powdered sugar. Serve warm.

 

With the Kids: Invite the kids to help you wash the berries and blend up the batter. Ask them to butter the ramekins and help drop in the berries, lemon and sugar when it's time (be careful of the hot dishes) While the mini clafoutis are baking, go out into the yard and look for new green shoots and flowers. Try your hand a drawing pictures of them or pressing them in a flower press. Learn more about the plants in your neighborhood by looking them up in a good botany book!

 

Happy cooking!

~ Sarah

 

... nature walk: lyndon b. johnson national historic park, tx

This week's vibrant nature walk comes to us from the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park in the hill country of Central Texas. There, Elliott and his little ones explored the rolling terrain, and made some new four-legged friends. Thank you Elliott, for sharing your fun adventure with us! 

We love to share! If you would like to contribute to our weekly Nature Walk series simply email us at [email protected] or tag us on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #icnaturewalk.

Thanks again Elliott for sharing! 

 

* Last time in Nature Walks: Montrose Beach, Illinois