What I've been doing...

I've been meaning to blog. Really, I have. But earlier this year, I signed up to be "Room Mom" for Ella's preschool class and apparently that has some responsibilities! Every year the preschool has a Harvest Party & Silent Auction to raise much-needed funds for the school. It is a lot of fun for the kids and the main source of income for the "extras" that the school couldn't otherwise afford. As Room Mom, my job was to put together a gift basket to donate to the Silent Auction. Inspired by my sister's e-books, I decided to do a Cooking / Baking with Kids basket. Once I got the idea, I was obsessed with it and constantly thinking and deciding what would be the most judicious of our $55 budget. This is what I came up with:

In the basket, we were able to include:

• "My Recipe Book" Binder: I collected a recipe from every student in the class and put it in a small binder with category dividers and extra recipe sheets.
• Bound copies of Fishmama's Guide to Cooking with Kids and Pretty. Cool. Cakes (thanks Jessica for the donation!)
• An adjustable AND reversible child-size apron. I made this little baby myself. I'm not the world's best seamstress, but this apron was a cinch to do and turned out adorable. It has alphabet fabric on one side and chartreuse green on the other.
• Cook It In A Cup: Quick Meals and Treats Kids Can Cook in Silicone Cups with 6 silicone cups
• Cooking utensils including a Fiesta Head Chefs Whisk. I LOVE the Head Chefs. They are a bit pricey ($10 per utensil), but they are hilarious! It was a splurge item for the basket but I couldn't resist it's cute little bendable arms & legs and suction cup feet.
• Polder Upscale Chicken Kitchen Timer
• A "Love" Shaker: This is just a little salt shaker that I adorned with stickers that spelled LOVE. Parents and kids can use it to shake a little of the special ingredient "love" into their recipes.
• Menu Planning Notepad & Recipe Cards
• Cookie Cutters
• Serving Tray (used instead of a basket)
• And not visible in the photo were measuring cups & spoons, individual pizza pans, kitchen towel, mini rolling pin

Although it took some time out of my schedule, it was pretty fun to do and I was pleased with the results. Since I had some extra fabric, I was able to make an apron for Ella as well. She was quite thrilled with it. An apron with some cooking-themed items like those listed above would make a great gift for any "little chef".