About Amanda McMahon & her Blog
Amanda is a winner of Top 25 Eco-Friendly Moms - 2013
What's a fun way to repurpose household items into toys or crafts?
Up-cycling, recycling, repurposing - all such great ways to save "things" from entering the landfill and really help show the next generation just how savvy you are :)
We recently started making a village using the plastic containers that grapes come in. We can decorate them, cut out door spots and continually build the village. You can keep scrap paper/cuttings to help with the decoration as well. Keep a small box or bag of scrap paper to keep the organization alive.
Of course sheets can be come fort building supplies and costumes as well!
Do you know any great children's books that teach kids about being eco-friendly?
Some of my favorite eco-friendly books are by Barefoot Books (http://barefootbooksphoenix.com/) a few that come to mind are from their "Happy Planet" line:
Whole World Fun Eco Activities
Kids' Garden
My Mama Earth
What organic or healthy snacks do your kids love? Please share a link to a recipe if you have one.
My kids love crunchy snacks. Some of the best are the most basic. Raw veggies with guacamole is a favorite and guacamole is surprisingly easy to make.
http://www.creativefamilycooking.com/2012/10/7-days-sorta-raw-lunch-1-guacamole-and.html
They also like home-made pizza. It is easy to make the crust - we use a "naan" recipe.
http://www.creativefamilycooking.com/2011/11/home-made-veggie-pizza-or-naan-pizza.html
What are your favorite Blog Posts?
Amanda's Answers
Can you recommend a children's book or series that's great for summer reading? Please include the ages it's appropriate for.
We love a lot of the Barefoot Books for our 4 and 2 year old children. An especially great children's book for summer reading is "Playtime Rhymes for Little People." It is fun and since I"m located in Phoenix, we need options for the extremely hot hours (from around 10 am - 8 pm) and this sing-songy book allows us to make up new activities as well as a CD for car rides or fun with music
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From peach pies and berry cobbler to lemon shortcake and watermelon popsicles, fruity desserts are perfect for summer. Please share your favorite fruit-based dessert, and include a link to the recipe and photo.
I love keylime pie and I love cheese cake. This is a super "boosted" healthier version of both, conbined. Best of all worlds for sure!
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We're looking for decorating inspiration! Please share a link to a photo of your child's room.
We believe in open play for our kids and so our "formal" living/dining area is full of play areas. We have splashes of color, but use bins for organizing.
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What's a great finger food that your kids love? Please include a link.
Finger foods for us include a "dippable" and a "dippy." I'm not a huge tahini fan, but I love this version of "mama ganoush!"
http://www.creativefamilycooking.com/2012/01/mama-ganoush-twist-on-family-favorite.html
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How do you store your child's toys? Please include a link to a photo if you have one.
We do our best to try to keep things organized by type and also visible. It is a blend of the High/Scope method for preschool and Montessori. Accessible and logical makes sense!
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At what age can kids start trick-or-treating? And by what age should they stop?
We brought our daughter around when she was 2, we of course had the candy :) but it was nice to take her around our new neighborhood. If we lived closer to family I'm sure we would have brought her when she was only a few months old. Our son went when he was under a year... with his big sister.
Once the teenage years are around, some have parties, but I'm for as long as we can keep them innocent and out of trouble, let them trick or treat!
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What's a light, Springtime meal your kids like to eat? Please share a link to your recipe.
Curry vegetable wraps!!
My kids love anything rolled up or that they can dip. I love anything quick and healthy. This does it both!
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