Fall Craft #2 ~ Arm Tree w/Fingerprint Leaves

by Carrie Wells, Ed.D.

Our Fall bulletin board is growing!

Materials:

• brown paint
• orange paint
• yellow paint
• red paint
• small bowl
• paintbrush
• piece of construction paper, color of your choice

To make the tree trunk and branches: First, paint your child's forearm and hand with brown paint. Then place on paper.

To make the leaves: Swirl together orange, yellow, and red paint in a small bowl. Encourage your child to dip his/her fingers in the paint and use fingerprints to make leaves on the fall tree.

       

Kinda messy but lots of fun!

Apples Everywhere! Apple Crafts and Apple Cake

by Carrie Wells, Ed.D.


Today we went to the Apple Harvest Festival at Flamingo Road Nursery. We got to try some delicious food, like cider, different types of apples, focaccia, cake, smoothies, and dips. 

We bought a bag of assorted apples to make our own apple crafts and apple dessert!

Apple Seed Art - Colors & Counting

Apple Stamping

The Beginning of Our Fall Bulletin Board

Then I decided to combine two different recipes and add my own touches to make a cake with apples.

Apple Spice Crumb Cake

For the cake:
1/2 stick plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup raisins, soaked in rum
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup peeled, cored and chopped apples
 
Crumb topping:
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8” x 8” baking dish with 1 teaspoon of the butter.
In a large bowl, cream together the remaining ½ stick of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla.

Fold in the apples, pecans, and raisins.

Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.

To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool at least 10 minutes. Makes about 9 servings