Volume 7 Issue 1 Page 2 of 2
Winter 2007
(cont. from page 1)
Recipe for Hot Cocoa (Serves 4)
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
4 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
miniature marshmallows
Preparation:
Blend cocoa and sugar in a small bowl. In a medium saucepan, heat milk to scalding. Mix about 1/3 cup of the hot milk into the cocoa-sugar mixture, then pour cocoa mixture into hot milk in the saucepan; stir until well blended.
Stir in vanilla. Serve with mini marshmallows.
To make a pine cone bird feeder:
First, tie string around the bottom (wider part) of the cone so you will be able to hang it up later. Then slather peanut butter all over the pine cone. Spread bird seed in a cookie sheet or tray and roll the peanut butter-covered pine cone so the seed sticks to it. Then hang it up outside and watch the birds come to eat!
Some winter reading suggestions:
"Snowballs," by Lois Ehlert. Picture book. Ehlert is a master of collage and Snowballs is a delightful look at a variety of snow people and animals that can be made with snowballs and household items like mittens, buttons, and nuts.
Winter Is the Warmest Season," story and illustrations by Lauren Stringer. Ages 3-7. Who says winter has to be the coldest time of the year? The child who narrates this cozy reflection offers a multitude of sensible reasons why it just might be the warmest season of all, including puffy, feather-filled jackets and steaming cups of hot chocolate. A celebration of what some might regard as the chilliest time of the year.
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Please Help
... us find others just like you to work as a nanny. If you know anyone interested in finding a rewarding and important job caring for children, call us. When we successfully place your referral, we will compensate you $75 for a permanent position, and $25 for a temporary position . Call us with the candidate's name and telephone number, or have her call us. She needs to let us know that you referred her. Our toll free number is 800-765-6269 . We always have great, interesting positions available. Be sure the candidate has childcare experience beyond his or her own family members, is a non-smoker and has a valid driver's license.
Stay Healthy This Winter!
Now that flu season is in full swing, you and your kids need to take extra care to avoid getting sick. Whether or not you got a flu shot, since it isn't 100% effective, you should follow these steps to help prevent you and your family from getting sick with the flu:
Wash your hands often. Remember that one of the most common ways people catch colds and the flu is by rubbing their nose or their eyes after their hands have been contaminated with a virus. By washing your hands often, especially:
-before, during, and after you prepare food
-before you eat, and after you use the bathroom
-after handling animals or animal waste
-when your hands are dirty, and
-more frequently when someone in your home is sick.
Keep those toys clean. Routinely clean, with soap and water, and disinfect surfaces, toys, and objects that younger children may put in their mouths.
Teach your children 'cough etiquette', which the American Academy of Pediatrics describes as teaching 'your children to turn their heads and cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue or the inside of their elbow if a tissue is unavailable'.