Megan Ernst 7/1/20 Megan Ernst 7/1/20

Strawberry Lemonade

LCC kids discovered this yummy and refreshing recipe made with local strawberries last summer. You can try it at home. Hurry! the strawberries won't last for much longer. Last summer the kids made a batch to share with their families for one of our special gatherings. We encourage you to make a batch to gift to someone, because we found that it was that much sweeter when we shared it!

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar
1 cup water (for simple syrup)
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 8 lemons)
2-3 cups cold water 1
-2 cups fresh strawberries cut in half

Directions

Step one: make the simple syrup by combining one cup sugar and one cup water in a saucepan. Simmer until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and allow it to cool. When syrup is cool place in a jar for use later in the lemonade.

Step two: juice those lemons!! Squeeze out as much as you can. Too good to not get it all!

Step three: combine your simple syrup, fresh squeezed lemon juice and water to a big jar or pitcher. Start with 2 cups of water and if the lemonade seems to tart add a bit more water til your taste buds agree with the flavor!

Step four: add the fresh cut berries to the finished lemonade. So beautiful!

lemonade 4.jpg — Time to taste the yummy lemonade!

MMMMM! It’s so delish and refreshing on a hot summer day.

Megan Ernst 6/23/20 Megan Ernst 6/23/20

LCC Summer Butterfly Project

We love monarch butterflies. We just adore them! Last summer our LCC kids got to observe and care for monarchs from caterpillars all the way to butterflies. Here is our story! We’ve also included simple directions and tips to hatch your own at home. We hope that you’ll share your experiences with us with stories and photos on our facebook, instagram, or send an email to Molly

Monarch caterpillars love milkweed! In fact it’s the only thing they eat! They munch their way through the leaves and grow and grow!

Here is the chrysalis stage. Notice in the first picture the chrysalis is a beautiful green. It has some little golden dots around the top. Eventually we could see a butterfly had formed inside. When the butterfly finally wiggled out it hung on the clear shell for a while to dry its damp wings.

Did you know you can tell if a monarch is a boy or a girl? Male monarchs have two dots on their hindwings. Female butterflies don’t have any dots on their hindwings. So cool!

Butterflies have sticky little feet. It felt like they were tickling us !Here are two of our monarchs getting ready to fly away. Eventually they did but I think we had taken such good care of them that they kind of wanted to stay with us!

Tips for raising monarch butterflies:

Here’s what you’ll need:

Milkweed (fresh sprigs daily)
Monarch caterpillar
Clear container
Small piece of screen
large rubber band (optional)

Once you’ve gathered your supplies the last thing to do is place the milkweed and caterpillar (or several caterpillars!) in the container. I like to cover the container with some screen and a rubber band . The caterpillar will nibble and nosh for about two weeks until it is fully grown. Then the caterpillar will search around the container and find the perfect spot to attach itself and form a chrysalis. 10-14 days and a lot of changes later a new and beautiful butterfly will emerge! After hanging and beating its wings for a few hours the butterfly is ready to fly. Bon Voyage little friend!

Megan Ernst 5/27/20 Megan Ernst 5/27/20

“Is this you?” by Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson (read by Nora)

This is not just a book to read – it’s an activity too! Get some paper and something to draw with, and by the end of this video you will have made your very own book. And guess what? It will be a book about YOU!

Megan Ernst 5/26/20 Megan Ernst 5/26/20

Recycled Bird Feeders

Create and hang your beautiful bird feeder made from materials you likely have in your home. What will come to your feeder? What kinds of birds live around your house? We'd love to see your creation and hear what shows up!

feeder 1.jpg — Here is what you’ll need:

Milk carton (found mine in our recycling!)
Paints
Paint brushes
Scissors
Hole punch (or something to poke a hole in the top)
String or ribbon

feeder 3.jpg — Step 1:

Cut out all four sides of your carton. Be sure to leave a base to hold your birdseed.

feeder 4.jpg — Step 2:

Paint your carton. I decided to do stripes and polka dots! Don’t paint the inside though. Just the outside will do.

feeder 5.jpg — Step 3:

Punch a hole in the center top of the carton…

feeder 6.jpg — Step 4:

And pull a string through! Fill the base with some bird feed and…

feeder 7.jpg — Hang your beautiful bird feeder outside!

I am anticipating Robins and Blue Jays coming to my feeder. Probably a squirrel or two as well. I wonder what will come to your feeder? What kinds of birds live around your house? I’d love to hear what shows up!
XO Sara Tall XO

Megan Ernst 5/22/20 Megan Ernst 5/22/20

Roasted Asparagus

Roasted asparagus!

It's spring. Asparagus is a special treat. LCC kiddos gobble this seasonal delicacy. Kids can help wash, cut, and coat asparagus in olive oil. Grilling is best left to the grown ups! Thankfully it needs 3 minutes of grilling before its green shade brightens and can still hold its crispiness. It is a fabulous side dish or quick snack.

Ingredients:
1 lb. asparagus
Olive oil
Salt

Instructions:

Wash and trim, breaking off the hard end and leaving the tender stalk.
Brush with salt and olive oil.
Cook on a grill (a pancake griddle works too!) for a few minutes or roast in a 400° oven 5-9 minutes until tender.

Enjoy!

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Megan Ernst 5/21/20 Megan Ernst 5/21/20

Nature Painting with Sara Tall

Hi everyone! What a beautiful day! The sun is out. The birds are chirping and I am in the mood to PAINT! But I’m going to use something other than a regular paint brush. I’m going to try painting with natural objects around my yard and woods! And I am going to paint outside too!

Here are my supplies:

Paper
Paints
Palette Brushes (for coating plants)
Plants
Blanket

Our yard is full of beautiful, fluffy dandelions. I just love them. The yellow is so bright and cheery. I just dipped the flower into the paint and tapped it on the paper.

I used all the colors on my palette and tapped over the whole piece of paper. When I stopped and looked closely it looked like something had danced very fast across the page!

Next I used a bit of Hemlock from our woods. I used my regular paint brush to brush a good amount of paint on the Hemlock needles and the little cones. Then I pressed and dragged the tiny branch around the paper.

The design looks scratchy and rough. I love how the cones made blobs of color and the needles stretched the paint across the paper!

My last natural paint brush is a delicate purple myrtle flower. I twisted the flower through all the colors of paint (more than once as you can see!) and then pressed the petals flat faced to the paper.

nature 9.jpg — I had so much fun with this project

and I hope you will too! What natural objects can you find to use as a paint brush? I’m excited to find out! Enjoy this beautiful day! XO Sara Tall XO

Megan Ernst 5/21/20 Megan Ernst 5/21/20

Oh Oh Louise!!

This is an all time favorite LCC Music Circle call and response songs about two elephants named Louise and Jo. Thanks Nora for recording it for our kids to enjoy and perhaps for new folks to learn.

Megan Ernst 5/20/20 Megan Ernst 5/20/20

"Blueberries for Sal" by Robert McCloskey, read by Rachael

Join Little Sal and Baby Bear for a blueberry picking adventure into the woods. Adventures with a special adult are so much fun! This story will encourage counting, and some simple addition and subtraction concepts. Listen for the sounds of the berries dropping into the pail - alternative to visual prompts, your child can count while listening to the sound of each berry dropping into the pail. I can’t wait for berry picking season in Michigan! Enjoy!