Monday, February 23, 2009

World's Easiest fudge recipe

My Girl Scouts did this recipe at our last meeting:  It's a breeze.
  • 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • dash salt
Line 8" by 8" pan with foil.  Melt all ingredients together over low heat. Spread in pan.  Chill 2 hours until firm.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

More crafts from David and Saul

One thing about going through the whole book of 2 Samuel with school aged children, there are a lot of violent stories.  The week when Saul killed himself was especially challenging. But, weapons-based craft projects are pretty appealing. Here I cut out a sword pattern on posterboard and let them cover the blade with aluminum foil. I think adding the plastic jewels on the handles helped it be more appealing to the girls, but even the boys enjoyed decorating them. The memory verse from Proverbs: "Pride goes before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" helped tone down the violent tendencies.

For the story of David bringing the ark back to Jerusalem (and Uzzah's unfortunate demise we made Ark of the Covenants, adapted from this version on Danielle's place. I changed it by pre-hotgluing small gold jump rings to one popsicle stick, then having the kids thread a gold-pained coffee stirrer-sized stick through that for the carrying pole. Thankfully, they sell gold tempera paint at Michael's, so you don't have to deal with spray paint, or use yellow and brush with gold glitter.

Nathan's Lamb Parable Craft

Tomorrow in Sunday School we are making our own version of this lamb craft, because, well, let's face it, there isn't much else from the story of David and Bathsheba schoolchildren can safely immortalize in cardboard, Magic marker and white glue. Only, instead of the scissors, the lamb is holding a scroll with the week's memory verse: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Psalm 51: 10-11.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

King David's Crown Cookies

Another food related craft from the life of David. I cut out the cookies the night before; the kids filled, baked and decorated the plate during class.
You need one batch sugar cookie dough, prepared (I used the Betty Crocker mix, immortalized in the "he's gonna leave!" commercial) and one bag Jolly Rancher candies, separated by flavor.
Beforehand, make and chill cookie dough. Grind Jolly Ranchers in food processor and store separated colors in plastic bags.
Roll out the dough and cut into crown shapes. I did a rectangle about the size of a small card envelope, then cut it in half with a zigzag pattern to make two crowns. Place on foil-lined cookie sheets. Using small shaped cookie cutters or the top to a soda bottle, cut small shapes out for jewels. Using a small spoon, have the kids fill in the holes with powdered candy.  For best results, get as little as possible on the cookie dough and pile up a small heap in the center. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool at least 10 minutes; you can speed this process by taking the foil off the cookie sheet. Make sure candy jewels are hardened, then carefully remove the cookie.

Note: these cookies can look better than they taste; the melted candy can take on a burned, bitter flavor, so be forewarned. Making them is still fun for the kids.