March Lego Sale

We're having a Lego Sale from March 14th to March 28th.  Over 24 sets to choose from including some sets from Star Wars, Atlantis, World Racers, Duplo and more!  

Some new 2011 Lego sets have also just arrived including Ninjago, Pharaoh's Quest and new sets from Star Wars, Atlantis, Duplo and games like Banana Balance and Pirate Plank!  

Baking with Kids - It's Bagel Time!

My daughter and I have a fascination with Montreal boiled bagels.  They aren't too easy to find in Prince Edward Island, except at Brighton Clover Farm, in Charlottetown.  One day, we decided to make our own.  

I found a recipe on the internet, but changed it around a little and added different types of flour that I like better than white pastry flour.  After we mixed all of the ingredients, it was time to knead the dough for about 8 minutes.

After kneading, we covered the dough and let it sit for about 15 minutes.  Then it was time to cut the dough into small portions, shape it into balls and roll the balls into long snakey shapes.

Then, loop the two ends together into a circle shape, pinching the ends together.

Next we worked the dough slightly to form our bagel shapes.

And placed them onto trays with parchment so they wouldn't stick together.

We decided we wanted sesame bagels, so we poured sesame seeds out onto a tray and Lily did some seed artwork designs.

Next, it was time to boil the bagels (on simmer) in a pot of water with a little sugar added, for about 7 minutes, turning them once.  They don't look very appetizing at the moment, while being boiled, but just wait until they are baked...

After the bagels are boiled, it's time to cover them with the sesame seeds.  Yum! 

And bake them at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. 

They turned out really well and what a great way to spend some fun time with your kids!

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Lego Mini Figures Series 3 Are Here!

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We finally have our Lego Mini Figures Series 3 in stock.  There is lots of excitement in the air!

Making Valentines

Instead of buying Valentine cards to give out to her classmates, my daughter decided to make her own.  She set up a little production table and got to work.  She used easy-to-find materials including: plain white paper, a glue stick, scissors, stamps, watersoluble pastels, a paint brush and a bowl of water.




We use this set of water-soluble wax pastels a lot.  They are made in Switzerland by a company called, Caran d'Ache.  We have a tin of 30 colours and it's great because there are different shades of the same colour.  The way these pastels work is like magic for children!  You draw on a surface as you would with a crayon and then paint over your drawing with a wet paint brush and it turns to watercolour.  You can also draw on wet paper with really cool results.




Watersoluble Wax Pastels by Caran d'Ache

  

We also use this Fairy Stamp Set by Djeco quite often.  It comes with lots of really beautiful fairy-inspired stamps, a stamp pad and a book for stamping.

Lily painted her sheets of paper, set them to dry by the fireplace and then cut them into heart shapes.

We used the scraps of paper from the big hearts to make little hearts to decorate with after.  I helped cut out the little hearts.  Some really pretty patterns come out just by chance when using the scraps of leftovers.

Later, she folded the hearts in half and then addressed each to the friends in her class.

And here are the finished Valentine Cards that Lily made for her class.  Each is unique.  What a fun way to spend an afternoon!

Fairy Stamp Set by Djecohttp://www.owlshollow.com/shop/by_brand.cfm?brand=143

Lego Mini Figures Series 2 Just Arrived

We just received a big order of Series 2 Lego Mini Figures.  Sixteen to collect.  Also just in are Lego Advent Calendars and lots of Lego games and new sets from Kingdoms, Atlantis, World Racers, Hero Factory, Star Wars & Toy Story.
We also have lots of Basic Buckets of Bricks.  You can't beat the classic Lego & Duplo bricks and base plates. 
Come in and see our biggest selection of Lego ever!

School Again!

Hope everyone is having a good start back to school this Fall!

Drawing Butterflies

My daughter found a beautiful butterfly one day and unfortunately it had died.  She decided to take it home to draw.

She sat down with her sketch book and a snack and started drawing. 

When encouraged to draw, children learn how to make choices.  

A neat exercise to try is asking your child (or anyone any age) to draw what they see without taking their eyes off the subject they choose (without looking at their paper).  This is great for hand-eye coordination and teaches kids how to study a subject carefully, taking time to really look and see.  It also takes the emphasis off an end result and places the importance on the process.

Drawing is a great way to conquer boredom and offers us new ways of viewing the world.

We have a great little art section at Owls Hollow including these neat sketch books made by eeBoo.  They come in a bunch of different designs and have several pastel and colour pencil sets to match.