This mathematical folktale from India shows just how powerful a young girl with a head for numbers can be! When the foolish Raja underestimates her, Chandra uses exponential growth to teach him a lesson.
If you enjoy this story, please consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HelenTozerTales
A loyal jellyfish pledges to save the Dragon Queen – but at what cost?
This Japanese story was originally sourced from ‘Japanese Fairy Tales’ by Yei Theodora Ozaki. Some details have been changed in this retelling.
If you only have a little you can’t share, right? Wrong! This European folktale shows us that if we each share a little we can feast together!
If you enjoy this story please consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/HelenTozerTales
Have you heard the story of the little red hen?
Why not make your own little red hen, using washable paints, pens and your handprint?
If you enjoy this post, please consider buying me a coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/HelenTozerTales
Did you know that trees can talk?
If you enjoy this video, please consider buying me a coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/HelenTozerTalesThanks!
This story is a brilliant way to spark kids’ interest in ecology. Best for ears aged 6 and over. An original story inspired by ecologist Suzanne Simard’s TED talk ‘How trees talk to each other’.
Incredible photography from Unsplash by: Lukasz Szmigiel, Sebastian Unrau, Steven Kamenar, Valeriy Andrushko, Gustav Gullstrand, Micah Hallahan, Dan Stark, Subtle Cinematics, Martin Sepion, John Tecuceanu, Johann Siemens, Camille Brodard, Tomas Tuma, Michael Hacker, Arnaud Mesureur, Matt Artz, Pine Watt, Johannes Plenio, Johannes Plenio, Sebastian Engler, Jan Huber, Gerrie van der Walt, Austin D, with two of my own images sneaked in.
Telling the gingerbread story got me hungry!
So I decided to make some gingerbread!
I found this brilliant recipe from Lovingitvegan.com
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (56g) Vegan Butter
1/2 cup (100g) Brown Sugar
1/3 cup (100g) Unsulphured Molasses
1 Flax Egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups (250g) All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
2 tsp Ground Ginger
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
For the Icing:
1 cup (120g) Powdered (Icing) Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tbsp Soy Milk
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C)
2. Add the vegan butter and brown sugar to an electric mixing bowl and cream together.
3. Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp Flaxseed Meal with 3 Tbsp Hot Water and allowing to sit for a minute.
4. Add the molasses, vanilla and flax egg to the electric mixer and beat together with the vegan butter and brown sugar.
5. Sift the flour into a bowl and add the baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves and mix together.
6. Add all the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl containing the wet ingredients and mix into a thick batter.
7. Flour a surface and your hands very generously and transfer the cookie dough onto the baking surface. Roll it into a ball, adding flour as needed so it doesn’t stick.
8. Roll out with a rolling pin to around a 1/4 inch thick and cut out some gingerbread folk. Dip your cookie cutter in flour each time so it doesn’t stick. Move the gingerbread men to a parchment lined baking tray. Gather the scraps of dough, form into a ball and roll out again, cutting out more people.
9. Don’t be shy to add more flour each time, this dough can be quite sticky and you need it not to be as you roll it, so add flour as needed. Any excess flour on the gingerbread cookies will bake off.
10. Repeat this process until you have used all the dough.
11. Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
12. After 15 minutes remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before decorating.
13. When you’re ready to decorate, mix the decorating frosting ingredients together. It should be quite thick, but when you stir it into a peak, it should hold it’s shape for a bit before melting back down and should be quite sticky.
Full recipe at: https://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-gingerbread-cookies/
Make your very own dinosaur fossils using simple kitchen ingredients.
Watch my video to learn how:
Recipe for homemade playdough from BBC Food:
Makes 1 coloured ball
Prep 10 minutes
You will need:
8 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp table salt
60ml warm water
2 tsp food colouring
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Method
1. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix together the water, a few drops of food colouring and the oil.
2. Pour the coloured water into the flour mix and bring together with a spoon.
3. Dust a work surface with a little flour and turn out the dough. Knead together for a few minutes to form a smooth, pliable dough. If you want a more intense colour you can work in a few extra drops of food colouring.
4. Store in a plastic sandwich bag (squeeze out the air) in the fridge to keep it fresh. You can make a batch of colours and give away as kids’ party bag favours or hold a playdough party for your child’s next birthday.
If you listen to BBC Radio Kent this evening, 9-10pm, you’ll hear me tell the story of The Cracked Pot: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0875t05
Looking for an easy art activity for kids?
Why not brighten up the classic baking soda and vinegar experiment with some food colouring or paint? Perfect for an outdoor activity, or indoors in a big tray or tub.
Materials:
vinegar, baking soda, trays, cups or glass jars
Method:
1. Give each child a tray
2. Put 1 tbsp (15 grams) of baking soda in each cup
3. Add a few drops of food colouring or paint to each cup
4. Pour about 3 tbsp of vinegar (60ml) into each cup and get ready for the explosions of colour and bubbles!
5. Use a paint brush to mix the colours, or dip some paper into the coloured foam. Have fun!
