We began by reading Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin. This is a great book about not judging people based on their appearance. I love the characters (how can you not love a character named Mr. Whiskers?), and we have become very fond of this series of books. As a matter of fact, the book and the bread (oh, yes, there is a wonderful recipe for cranberry bread at the end of the book - YUM!!) have officially become a tradition in our house. This is a great way to kick off the Thanksgiving season.
We also read Clarence: The Cranberry Who Couldn't Bounce by Jim Coogan.
We actually met the author when he came to our local public library for a special story hour a few years ago. The book is a nice way to talk about perseverance.
If you read this book, then you must test a few cranberries to see if they really do bounce.
Why do they bounce? We had to cut open a few cranberries and examine them.
We know they float because we know that is how the cranberries are harvested, but we had to test them anyway.
We know they float because we know that is how the cranberries are harvested, but we had to test them anyway.
Just as I did last fall, I used my favorite play dough recipe and followed the cranberry steeping directions from Almost Unschoolers to make cranberry tinted play dough.
I just poured boiling water over a 1/4 cup of cranberries and let it sit for a while. Then I stuck it in the microwave for a minute or two to get the most color from the cranberries. I used the cranberry dyed water in this recipe:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
1 T. cooking oil
1 T. cream of tartar
1 c. cranberry dyed water
2 t. extract (I used almond this time; see comment below)*
I measured the ingredients into a nonstick pot and stirred until well mixed. Then I cooked it over medium heat until the dough pulled away from the sides and formed a ball. I dumped it out onto a cutting board and once it was cool enough to touch, I kneaded it until smooth.
*I knew from experience that there would be no cranberry fragrance, so I added some almond extract just because I like the dough to smell good. Homemade play dough is the best!
8 comments:
Homemade play doh is the best!!
Joe and I love Cranberry Thanksgiving. We are going to row it later this month. We made the bread in the back of the book last year, but for some reason it didn't turn out right. It looked nothing like the yumminess in your picture! We will definitely try it again this year.
This is such a fun time of year, so many traditions like you said. I just wish it would slow down and not pass so quickly.
I have to find Cranberry Thanksgiving! It looks like a fun book and the bread looks wonderful.
Little Wonders' Days
I was just thinking it was time to check out Cranberry Thanksgiving again!
I almost bought some cranberries the other night at the store. If it wasn't so cold we would go take a visit of the cranberry bogs. Your cranberry bread looks so yummy!
This is a great tradition, and your bread looks great. We made some homemade playdoh today too, but we used regular food coloring. Homemade dye would have been even better.
I really want this book to read to my kids. My old library did not carry it, and now my new one doesn't have it either. Amazon wants $50?? Crazy!
Looks like you had a ton of cranberry fun!
You and Leah both make that book look so appealing. I need to find some good Thanksgiving books, I just don't really have many and there's not many out.
Looks like a lot of fun! I bet that playdough smelled great!
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