School holiday fun for the family
2020 has seen it all – bushfires, a pandemic, and lots and lots of time at home! So these school holidays, why not try some fun and relaxing activities with the kids that feel more like a reward than hard work! Best of all, these activities all involve incidental learning for your child, like following step-by-step instructions, reading and importantly having fun!
3-ingredient sugar scrub
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
½ cup olive oil
15 drops of essential oil to make it smell nice
Jar with a lid to store it in
Directions:
Combine sugar, olive oil and lavender essential oil in the jar. Stir well to combine. Add more oil if necessary. Easy!
How to use:
Use a clean spoon to take a couple of teaspoons of the hand scrub out of the container. Gently massage into hands or feet for 1 minute. Rinse hands or feet with warm water.
Sourced from: https://homemadeforelle.com/diy-sugar-hand-scrub/
Oaty energy cookies
Ingredients:
50g dried apricots
50g soft butter
50g light brown sugar
2tbsp condensed milk
50g rolled oats
85g self-raising flour
Directions:
Heat oven to 150C/130C fan. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Using children’s scissors, cut the apricots into small pieces.
Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat well with a wooden spoon. Use very soft butter to make it easy for young wrists to beat the butter and sugar together. Add the condensed milk, beat well, then add the oats and apricots, and mix well again. Finally, add the flour and mix until it starts to disappear – you can use your hands to mix it, too.
Bring the dough together into one big ball, then break into 6 equal-sized lumps (this ensures the cookies bake at the same time). Roll each into a ball, then squash onto the baking parchment with the palm of your hand.
Bake for 25-30 mins until golden on the edges. Leave to cool on the tray. The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Sourced from: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/oaty-energy-cookies
Nacho popcorn
Ingredients
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
50 g melted butter
1/3 cup popping corn
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
Make popcorn in the popcorn machine, and transfer the popcorn to a large bowl.
In a small bowl, stir paprika and cumin into melted butter.
Toss butter mixture with popcorn, coating evenly.
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and toss until coated.
Super easy science fun
We found 10 easy science experiments that will amaze kids but will likely amaze you too. These only use items you likely have around the house.
Sourced from: Raising da Vinci
If you do any of these experiments be sure to tell Kristina. You’d be amazed at how these experiences can be used in your child’s therapy sessions toward their goals!
Holiday outings
Did you know you can still visit the zoo from the comfort of your own home? Melbourne Zoo is streaming a number of animal encounters, zoo keeper talks and live streams that run 24/7! Visit https://www.zoo.org.au/animals-at-home/
Invite a celebrity to read to you and your kids at Storyline Online. This is a fun one with loads of celebrity readings including Oprah Winfrey, Rami Malek and Chris O’Dowd to name a few. With so many books to choose from this one is definitely fun for the whole family.
Melbourne Museum is reopening on 27 June
Melbourne Museum is reopening on 27 June. Tickets need to be booked online ahead of your in-person visit, with a suggested visit time of two hours. Social stories are available on their website as well as sensory friendly museum maps. These have been developed in conjunction with AMAZE. Friday 26 June is an early access autism friendly day at the museum, with multimedia turned off, low lighting and other adjustments.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0422 667 596 if you have any questions. Or subscribe to our seasonal Newsletter here for Aurora Speech updates.