Like many preschoolers, my daughter Lucie is beginning to recognize letters. One way we’re helping her learn is by using Usborne’s ABC Flashcards from the Farmyard Tales series of stories.

But thinking outside the box – that is a recipe box – for a moment, take a look at My A to Z Recipe Box: An Alphabet of Recipes for Kids by Hilary Shevlin Karmilowicz. Each letter has a recipe card, plus the set also comes with 26 fill-in cards to add your favorite recipes, and 50 stickers to rate the them.

Each recipe has clear, simple steps that children can easily follow. They come with fun facts plus serving suggestions. While cooking up these tasty healthy dishes, children can practice skills like following directions and measuring while learning their letters. Kid tested, this recipe box is for ages four to eight.

Since today is Lucie’s fourth birthday, we’ll do the “L” recipe card:

Lovely Lemon Hummus

Ingredients:

1. 2 large garlic cloves
2. 15-ounce can of chickpeas
3. 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt
4. 4 Tbsp. lemon juice
5. 1 tsp. ground cumin
6. 1/2 tsp. salt
7. 6 pieces of whole wheat pita bread

Directions:

1. Please put on your apron and wash your hands. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Grind the garlic cloves in the food processor.*
3. Add the chickpeas and yogurt to the food processor bowl and blend until a smooth puree forms. Occasionally stop the food processor and scrape the sides of the bowl with the spatula.*
4. Use the spatula to scrape the hummus into the small bowl.
5. Stir in the lemon juice, cumin, and salt.
6. Cut each piece of pita bread into fourths.*
7. Service the bowl of hummus with the plate of pita wedges for dipping.

*An adult helper should handle this step.

With all this falling back and springing forward, it’s been a challenge to figure out what time it really is. Take advantage of it by talking about clocks and teaching your children how to tell time.

Usborne has some great books on teaching children how to tell time. First there’s Telling the Time by Heather Amery. For ages 3 and up, it uses some familiar characters from the Farmyward Tales series, Poppy and Sam. Children will learn to tell the time with the two characters as they visit all the animals on the farm. They’ll find out what the animals do, from waking up to bedtime, and have fun turning the hands of the clock on every page.

Another product from the Farmyard Tales stories is Telling the Time Flashcards. The cards are a great way to help children learn how to tell the time, both analog and digital. Children can look at the clock hands and read out the time in words and numbers on one side of the card. Then they turn the card over and read about what’s happening at the farm. Fill in the answers on 15 wipe-clean cards, using the pen included in the box. This is a great activity to bring with you on a trip or at a restaurant.

Finally, there’s the Time Kid Kit. The workbook is designed to help kids develop their sense of time and begin to familiarize themselves with clocks and the idea of telling time. Clocks are introduced and there are activities to practice the hour and half-hour. The practice clock has an easy-to-read face with movable synchronized minute and hour hands and a removable stand. For ages 3 and up.

So are all the clocks in your home and car changed over to Daylight Savings Time? Get the kids to help you out!

Here are some more wonderful Usborne Christmas books for older children. I especially like the activity books – lots of great craft and cooking ideas to keep the kids busy during the holiday break.

50 Christmas Things to Make and Do Activity Cards – These are awsome and pretty much cover all the activities and many of the recipes in books like Christmas Fairy Things to Make and Do, Christmas Cooking, and Things to Mae and Do for Christmas. If you are having a Christmas party with kids, these will give you terrific ideas for crafts and decorating. And like all of Usborne’s cards, these make great party favors – just put one or two in the goodie bag. (As an Usborne consultant, I gave these out with my Christmas cards.)

Christmas Around the World, The Christmas Carol, and Stories of Santa are great read aloud books for grades 1-3. We keep them on the coffee table for Nathan to read from.

Advent Nativity Book – Build a nativity scene with the cutout figurines, one for each day of the Advent Calendar. The book and figurines can be reused year after year with a little TLC. I’ll be using this one this year with our family.

The Little Book of Christmas Cooking – All of Usborne’s holiday recipes in one adorable mini-volume.

Christmas Poems – This beautifully illustrated collection of children’s poems contains a mixture of well-loved classics and lively new verses, perfect for the festive season. (Note: the poetry competition is only open to UK residents.)

Finally, Usborne offers any books that give children the biblical story of Christmas. The Very First Christmas, The Stoy of Baby Jesus Board Book, and The Nativity Lift-the-Flap Book are for ages three and up. The Christmas Story and the Story of Jesus (with CD) are for ages five and up.

Technorati tags: children’s books, Christmas, bible stories, activities

Usborne Books has an amazing selection of Christmas books – from newborns to middle schoolers, there is something for everyone. Here are just a few of the ones for very young children. These would be terrific gifts for new parents celebrating their baby’s first Christmas.

Baby’s Christmas – Celebrate with baby as he opens presents on a happy Christmas morning. You can move him from page to page into a recessed jigsaw hole. (board book with a detachable piece)

Snuggletime Christmas Baby – What’s inside Baby’s present? The delightful pictures and familiar comforting touchy-feely blanket in this book will appeal to both babies and parents – an ideal book for sharing! (a touchy feely board book)

Santa Claus – A bigger, more elaborate touchy feely board book about our favorite jolly old elf.

Christmas Mice – What do the busy little Christmas mice do on Christmas Eve? Find out in this delightful board book which is full of different touchy feely textures and sparkling surprises.

Christmas Cloth Book – This delightful book is ideal for sharing with babies and toddlers. Along the trail you will find flaps, touchy feely patches and lots of other little surprises. The book contains a short, phonics-based text.

Nativity Touchy Feely Book – Inside this delightful retelling of the Christmas story, you’ll find donkeys with fluffy ears, woolly sheep and baby Jesus sleeping on his soft blanket. A perfect ‘first Christmas’ gift!

Christmas Lullabies – This delightful book is perfect for sharing with babies. The CD has over 35 minutes of soothing seasonal music, ideal for helping babies drift off to sleep.

More Usborne Books for older children soon….

Kristen from The Mom Trap was asking about good Halloween books for toddlers. Well, a great one is Usborne’s That’s Not My Monster – That’s not my monster…its eyebrows are too hairy, indeed!

Usborne’s Touchy Feely books are among their most popular titles with both parents and kids. For ages 9 months and up, even preschoolers love these books.

Make some monsters of your own with these seemingly easy to do how-to directions from Martha Stewart for Halloween Candy Creatures.

Monster Candy Creatures

You will need white and black gumdrops, a lollipop, 3 white spice drops, a green candy mint, black shoestring licorice, and a red sprinkle. Cut top and bottom off white gumdrop and press to top of lollipop. Cut top off black gumdrop and add for monster’s hair. Cut a white spice drop in half lengthwise for arms, and cut tops off two more to use for legs; press into place. Poke holes and add mint nose, snipped licorice eyes and neck bolts, and red sprinkle mouth.

I’m not sure where Martha’s staff got the lollipops. If you can’t find such large ones, maybe you can use a large marshmallow instead. Use marking pens (the kind with the edible ink – available at craft stores) or food coloring and a paint brush to decorate.