A friend of mine told me a story today about how her two-year-old had gotten to go to McDonald’s for the first time with her daycare provider last year on St. Patrick’s Day. However, once her daycare provider had bought her lunch, my friend’s daughter said, “I can’t eat here. It will make me sick.”
My friend was surprised when she heard this because her daughter had actually never eaten at McDonald’s before. In addition to that, the girl had asked on several occasions if she could eat there…and then it dawned on her…my friend realized that when her daughter had asked her if they could eat there, she had replied, “No. I can’t eat there because I get sick!”
So, what you should be taking away from this story is…our kids are listening to us! They are listening to us when we least expect it and now, more than ever, we need to realize and remember that!
All the media coverage of the spread of this virus is completely exhausting me. The hysteria, fear, anxiety…all of it…it’s exhausting. And I’m not saying that it’s not legit or anything like that; just that there’s A LOT of information and misinformation to sift through, unfortunately. There are A LOT of different sides to a complex issue. Mom, your kids are watching. They are watching your reaction to all of it and on some level, they are reacting the same way you are.
If you freak out, your kids likely will too; if you make light of it, your kids probably will too. Finding the balance is difficult, but necessary; and if there was ever a time to remain calm for our children, it’s now!
Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day. Typically, I’ve never paid much attention to St. Patrick’s Day, as I’m not Irish and I’m not Catholic, and I definitely don’t drink beer! However, it is a great way to get everyone thinking of something else. I know that many St. Patrick’s Day festivities have been cancelled—probably most of them, in fact—but you can still have a really fun day with your kids in another effort to make the most of this time you have with them!
Five Fun Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at Home:
- Hide a Pot of Gold—This could be one of those Hershey’s Pot of Gold chocolate boxes, or it could be a pot with some real money in it. Trust me! Your children will love finding either one! You can keep it really simple and just hide it and ask them to find it. Or, you could make it a bit more complicated (but will also probably keep them busy for longer) and write out clues and/or a treasure map! In any case, have fun!
- Make Some Green Clothes—You don’t have to have a bottle of Rit dye, or tie dye, or any of those messy options that are very fun, but sometimes intimidating for moms! Instead, just grab an old white t-shirt, or whatever article of clothing you wish (as long as it’s made from a natural fabric like cotton) and a green permanent marker and get decorating! For a fun, tie-dye look without the mess, you can drop some rubbing alcohol (if you have been able to find any on the shelves) onto the permanent marker and watch what happens next! (Be sure to place a piece of cardboard between the layers of the shirt to keep the ink from bleeding through from the front side to the back side!
- Play with a Prism—This is the best time to experiment with a prism! You can get a prism at a hobby store, or online, but if you don’t have time for that, or you don’t have a hobby store nearby, you can make a prism with a glass of water. Then, you can trace the reflections on the paper using crayons, colored pencils, or chalk pastels (your child may have these in an art kit somewhere)
- Serve Green Food for Dinner—Of course, you can go for green peppers, broccoli, peas, and olives, but you can be creative too! Did you know that you can use food coloring to color mozzarella cheese? I went all out one year and made rainbow grilled cheese sandwiches, but you could definitely go for just green too (much less time consuming!) Also, you can add some yummy green foods like kiwi, green grapes, green apples, a salad of your choice, or you can always use some green food coloring on some pasta too!
- Make Rainbow JELL-O—Oh, this is one of my favorite things to do and I haven’t done it in a long time with my kids! This is a definite activity on my schedule for tomorrow. Here’s a pretty good step-by-step for it:
~ How to Make Rainbow JELL-O ~
You’ll need one small box of JELL-O for each color you want… so in this case, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. And one large tub of Cool Whip.
First, prepare purple (or whatever color you want on the bottom) JELL-O as directed, using the “quick chill” method, meaning add some ice.
Next, pour jello into glasses, (or a 9’x13′ baking dish sprayed lightly with cooking spray), reserving about 1/3 of the liquid JELL-O.
Then, put glasses, or dish in the refrigerator and chill for 15-30 minutes, or until slightly set. Mix about 1/3 cup of Cool Whip into the remaining purple JELL-O. Pour the JELL-O /Cool Whip mixture on top of the slightly set purple JELL-O already in the glasses (or dish).
Finally, repeat process for each color.
On a side note, I’ve seen recipes that use sour cream, or yogurt in place of the Cool Whip, so feel free to do that if it saves you a trip to the store. You can also substitute sweetened condensed milk mixed with 3 envelopes of Knox Gelatin and 3/4 cup boiling water. (I’ve done it this way, but I like the Cool Whip better).
Once set, top with some additional Cool Whip and sprinkles, if desired.
(If you’d rather have the JELL-O without the white layer in between, you just prepare it the same way, except without Cool Whip like the author did here, which is also really beautiful and fun!)
This St. Patrick’s Day will be so much fun! What a great way to take our minds off of the stress of this situation! Remember, staying calm will help your children to stay calm as well. Having fun will help your children to have fun too!