Mmmm, I love food-oriented holidays, don't you?
Books
Believe it or not, we DO have a children's book about waffles!
9780062342577
One day Benny the woodpecker awakens to the best tummy-rumbling smell ever and discovers it’s something called waffles. He must taste them!
He pecks on the door of the waffle house, but he gets the boot.
He tries to sneak in, but he gets swept away.
Each time Benny tries, he just can’t seem to get to those delicious waffles. The other forest animals laugh at him: “Woodpeckers don’t eat waffles!” they say. But Benny has a brilliant plan. . . .
Look for a writing extension under Language Arts!
If you are looking for a new family read-aloud, this is one of my old favorites:
9780312380045
Primrose Squarp simply knows her parents did not perish at sea during a terrible storm, but try convincing the other residents of Coal Harbour on that score. For all practical purposes, at least for the time being, Primrose is an orphan, and there's no great clamoring of prospective adopters. After realizing the impracticality of continuing to pay Miss Perfidy (a mothball-scented elderly lady) an hourly wage to baby-sit her, the town council is able to locate a relative, Uncle Jack, who reluctantly takes Primrose into his care. Primrose does warm up to living with him and in his home, despite the eerie noises resembling a hockey game that haunt her in the night. But true sanctuary can always be found at a restaurant called The Girl in the Swing, where everything—including lasagna—is served on a waffle, and where the proprietor, Miss Bowzer, offers a willing ear, as well as sage advice.
Polly Horvath is, imo, a vastly underappreciated author. She isn't exactly unpopular, she's just not as popular as I think she should be! I mean, who names a character 'Primrose Squarp'? Eccentricities abound in all her books, and this is a great tale to share with your family - fun and funny, but with some serious topics for discussion.
Surely there are other books about waffles out there? I did a search and came up with what looks like a gem from Chris Raschka (who we love for Yo! Yes?)
9780689838385
Wow! Is Waffle ever worried. He worries, he wonders, he wishes, he waits, he even waffles. But will he ever work a wonder within and be brave enough to fly?
For every child who has ever waffled in the face of a dreaded next step in life, Waffle's the fellow to hold your hand. He knows how it is. He has been there...and he has triumphed over his fears!
More extensions under...
Language Arts
* Woodpecker wants that waffle, and he comes up with quite a clever plan to get it. What animals live outside your home, and what food might they want from it? We have everything from raccoons and skunks to deer and elk, and even the occasional mountain lion or bear. The one food my kids would all agree on, however, is bacon! How could a big ol' bear weasel his way inside to snatch that bacon from the frying pan? How might we try to keep him out? Write and illustrate your own silly story together (and then share it with me!)
*Raschka used a different definition of the word 'waffle', didn't he? Then he made a play on words by naming his character after one of his most prominent characteristics. Can you write a story about someone named
- Bounce?
- Bold?
- Bashful?
- Bellow?
- Bossy?
I have no idea why those all started with 'b'. I guess my Brain is Broken today.
Math
Today we are going to play with our food! You can try these with cooked waffles, or start off with the frozen variety if it will keep you from wanting to scarf them down right away.
* Adding and subtracting: Use blueberries or chocolate chips (best on a cold waffle!) to turn all those little squares into number lines. For example, ask your child to show you what 3+4 is, and she would put 3 blueberries in one row (one to a square), 4 in the next row, and then seven in the third row. Or, ask her to show 9-4, and she would put 9 in the first row, 4 in the second row, and 5 in the third.
* Fractions: Waffles can some in circles or squares - either way, they are easy to divide into halves, quarters, etc.
* Division: How many squares are there in one whole waffle? Without counting, then, how many will be in half a waffle? A quarter of a waffle?
Social Studies
Waffle Day is actually a semi-popular holiday in Sweden. March 25 is also "Lady Day", which is Swedish is pronounced "varfrudagen". If you say that fast, it can sound like "vaffeldagen", which would be Swedish for - you guessed it - Waffle Day. And now you can say that you learned to speak Swedish in your home school lessons today.
So...where is Sweden, and what is it like? What do they eat besides waffles (with jam, btw)? Head over to the library (visit us virtually at alamogordolibrary.com) to see what you can find out.
- they have a royal family!
- arctic fox!
- aurora borealis!
- Vikings!
- reindeer!
- Pippi Longstocking!
Cooking
Well, of course we need to make waffles! If you don't have a waffle iron, though, and want to cheat with the frozen kind, I TOTALLY understand. Because that is what I am doing. You can make up for it with cool toppings, or by making a face with your berries and whipped cream!
Basic Waffle Recipe
Beat 2 eggs until fluffy.
Mix in:
2 cups flour
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Pour onto hot waffle iron and cook until done!
Art/Snack
Okay, if you are one of those moms who packs all her child's lunches for field trips into bento boxes so that they look exactly like Hello Kitty riding a tricycle past the Eiffle Tower, then I am going to have to ask you not to be my friend.
If, however, you need a little help making creative shapes out of food, then join me in plugging "waffle art" into Pinterest or Google. Okay, strawberry slices as flower petals, I can totally do that!
Grab some sliced fruit, dried fruit, maybe even some marshmallows and chocolate chips, and let the kids get creative. Give them a knife and let them cut their waffle into shapes - kitchen skills need to be learned early!
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