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This year Earth Day is Sunday, April 22. Kaboose.com has some great Earth Day activities like making Lady Bug Rocks. These would make great gifts for Mother’s and Father’s Day.

The Kaboose site has other crafts, word searches for all ages, and recipes for Earth Day celebrations. But you may want to heck out The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids Favorite Meals cookbook for some additional healthy recipes including this special Earth Day one:

Earth Day Milk Shake
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups vanilla low-fat ice cream or frozen yogurt
2. 4 to 6 tablespoons Green Juice (See Make-Ahead Recipe below)
3. ¼ cup milk
4. ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.
2. Serve in tall glasses with a quick squirt of whipped cream and a straw.

Sneaky Chef Make-Ahead Recipe: Green Juice
This makes about 1 cup of Green Juice. Double the recipe if you want to store another cup of juice.

1. 3 cups raw baby spinach leaves (or 2 cups frozen chopped spinach, or frozen chopped collard greens)
2. 1 cup water If using raw spinach, thoroughly wash it, even if package says “prewashed.”

Directions:

1. Bring spinach or collards and water to boil in a medium pot. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Pour into a fine mesh strainer over a container or bowl, pressing the green “pulp” with the back of a spoon until all the liquid is released.
3. Store in refrigerator up to 3 days, or freeze ¼ cup portions in sealed plastic bags or small plastic containers.

When I saw this snack on the FamilyFun e-newsletter (sign up here) I just had to share.

Snail Snack
Makes 4 to 6 pinwheel sandwiches.

This silly-looking snack may appear to be moving at a snail’s pace, but it goes together — and disappears — quick as a wink.

Ingredients:

1. Mayonnaise or whipped cream cheese
2. Large tortilla (square if possible)
3. Lettuce or baby spinach
4. Sliced deli meat of your choice
5. Sliced cheese of your choice
6. Gherkin pickles
7. Chive stalks

Instructions:

1. If necessary, trim the rounded edges of the tortilla to make it square, then spread on a thin layer of the mayo or cream cheese.
2. Layer on the lettuce or baby spinach, then the meat and cheese, and roll it up tightly.
3. With the seam on the bottom, slice the tortilla into 2-inch-wide pinwheels. For the snail’s heads, cut a pickle in half at an angle. Poke two small holes in the uncut ends and stick pieces of chive with knots at one end in each for antennae.
4. Slip each pickle half under the edge of a pinwheel, securing them together with a toothpick, if necessary.

Click here to see a step-by-step video demonstration of this recipe.

Since this snack appeals to the preschool crowd, a great book pairing would be Are you a Snail? (Backyard Books) or Snail, Where are You? Make the snack, and read aloud while you enjoy your snail treat. Yum!

I finally had a chance to finish Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart as my first venture into YA (young adult) fiction. It wasn’t bad, but I did find it a little disappointing. Some of the plot turns were kind of lame (why go back to Capricorn’s camp twice?). I’m also tired of the "missing or dead parent" plot device as A Wrinkle in Time and Disney use this ad nauseum. Still, the idea of having the ability to bring literary characters to life by "reading them out" of books was fascinating. I’ve heard the second book, Inkspell is even better and look forward to reading it.

However, it’ll have to wait for the "new" J.R.R. Tolkien book, The Children of Hurin. The book reunites Tolkien fans with the elves, men, dragons, dwarves, eagles and orcs that we all loved in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Nothing like visiting old friends.

The unfinished tale was reconstructed by J.R.R.’s son Christopher Tolkien after 30 years of editing. (You can read an essay on the book by Adam Tolkien, J.R.R.’s grandson.) It also contains paintings by Alan Lee, the Academy Award-winning designer of the film trilogy. He’s also interviewed on Amazon’s website.

I’m so excited about this that I’ll be going to the bookstore today to buy a copy instead of ordering it via Amazon.com and waiting for it to be delivered. Luckily, those nice folks at Barnes & Noble have provided a 37% off coupon. If you’re a Borders member you can use this coupon for 40% off. Both coupons expire 4/23/07.

I love great science fiction and fantasy, and it looks like The Children of Hurin will fit the bill…at least until the July 21 release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I’ve placed my pre-order - have you?

(Click here for more YA novel reviews.)

Everyday Nathan comes home from school and announces how many days are left in the school year. Now that the count is in the 30s, I’m beginning to get in a panic about summer break. What am I going to do with these kids all summer so their brains don’t atrophy and they forget to read, write and do math?

One strategy is that we’ve signed Nathan up for summer school even though we didn’t get a recommendation from his teachers to do so. He’s doing o.k. in school, but we know he can do better. Since the cost is reasonable, why not have him do a couple of hours of math and language arts every day? There will be still be plenty of time for golf, baseball, martial arts, and art camp. (Did I mention that Nathan is only happy if he’s constantly kept busy. He’s a kid who hates downtime.)

Aside from all these paid sport and camp activities, what else can parents do?

If you have a mom’s club in your area, see what activities they’re planning for older kids. There’s the rec center/YMCA and local museums and zoos, too (get a membership - it’s soooo worth it).

Academically speaking, you may want to start a book club with some friends who have kids your children’s age. Maybe get together at someone’s home for lunch and book discussion during the heat of the day. Or go to a park for a picnic and discuss the book. The little kids can color, play, or do a craft while the big kids read and discuss the book. With the new Harry Potter coming out this July, your book club could do a bunch of pre-release activities like reading the previous books, or getting together to watch the movies.

Sign up for and e-newsletter from Reading is Fundamental and check out their monthly family activity calendar for reading activity ideas.

Find out what kids movies are being released this summer or being shown at your local park. Are any of them based on books? Read away!

If you’re traveling this summer, have your kids write a travel journal. They can add pictures later or draw scenes right in their journal. Bring tape to add postcards, ticket stubs, etc. and lots of markers and crayons. It’s a fun way to document the trip, keep family memories and keep your kids writing.

And don’t forget cooking! Explore the world through cooking this summer. And hit the local farmers’ markets for fresh produce. It’s a fun way to support locally grown food.

What else? I’d love reader suggestions!

I’ve been reading Everyday Traditions: Simple Family Rituals for Connection and Comfort by Nava Atlas. If you’re a parent who is looking to create meaningful traditions for your family not only at holiday time, but daily, you should read this book. The 2006 Grand Prize Winner of the 14th Annual Writer’s Digest International Self-Published Book Awards, Everyday Traditions will show you a myriad of ways to create unique celebrations and comforting rituals that will reflect your family’s values and interests.

There are suggestions for daily daily or weekly rituals around family dinner and bedtime routines. There are also examples of seasonal rituals like gardening at springtime. There are also ideas for annual celebrations like holidays, birthdays and anniversaries. Nanva also includes a friendship rituals with ways to spend time with friends as well family members.

Each chapter has a resource guide with book suggestions. Everyday Traditions also has a workbook area for recording your own family traditons. This is a book you can dip into time and time again, and will serve as a reference guide to bringing your family and friends closer through rituals. (Click here to read an excerpt on the Writer’s Digest website or check out the Everyday Traditions website.)

Food Traditions

Many of our family’s traditions revolve around food. On special holidays or birthdays, my husband Paul will make corn pancakes. He was introduced to these when he was a grad student living in Berlin, Germany. His friend Thomas invented them, and is very amused this has become our family’s breakfast celebration food because considers it poor student food.

Basically, the pancakes are a mixture of flour, egg and milk. We don’t have exact measurements so Paul makes them by feel. Start with a cup or two of flour, an egg or two, and add enough milk to make a thick batter. Then add a can of corn (drained) and some finely chopped onions, a bit of cooked bacon or sausage, and salt and pepper to taste. Fry up in oil like a potato pancake and serve with lots of ketchup. Delicious! 

What are some of your family traditions? Share them below!