#2 Make Cookies

First of all, who doesn't love cookies?  Here is a super simple and healthy recipe for breakfast cookies that are vegan and gluten free. But don't let that scare you, they are delicious! Plus, you can eat all the batter without worrying about getting salmonella. <------ That's the part I like the best!!

I altered my recipe from a blog I found called Sallys Baking Addiction.

Trying new foods can sometimes be a challenge for preschool aged children. It isn't uncommon for them to be picky and turn their nose up to new foods. However, many parents find that kids are more likely to try new foods if they get to help prepare them. So give it a try!

Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
(**makes about 12 large cookies - double the recipe to make more)

1 1/4 cups of quick oats
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup of peanut butter
2 tablespoons of maple syrup
1 ripe banana
1/4 cup of shredded coconut
1/4 cup of chocolate chip cookies (we didn't have any this time)

First you have to mash up the banana. This is a fun and easy job for your preschooler. As they watch it transform from a solid to mush, they are learning about transformations. This concept also carries over when they watch you mix all the wet ingredients up with the dry ingredients and then again when when you bake the cookies in the oven and they go in raw but come out cooked! The idea that something can change, yet remain the same thing is pretty amazing to little ones.

Add all your ingredients into a large bowl and let your preschooler stir it up. Don't forget to show them that you are reading a recipe and measuring out the ingredients. When you talk about numbers and order, your preschooler is learning math skills!

The batter should be wet but not runny. He can help you scoop large spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. (I like to put them on parchment paper).

Bake them at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes. You want to make sure you don't bake them too long, they will seem a little gooey when they come out but as they cool, they will firm up.

Want to do some more things that encourage your preschooler to think about transformations? Try these: 

• Put several ice cubes into a bowl and leave it out until it melts. Then you can put the water back into the freezer and come back and see how it turned back into ice!
• pop popcorn with an air popper. 
• put some powdered instant pudding into a jar or baby bottle and add milk. Let your child shake up the jar until the pudding has formed. 

What other activity ideas have you tried? 

#1 Get a Balance Bike

Have you heard of the new balance bike craze? Balance bikes are these amazing little bikes for toddlers that teach them how to ride a bike without ever needing training wheels! "No way" you say? Yes way! Totally true.  I wasn't too sure when I first heard about it either but I was willing to give it a try.

Balance bikes are just like regular bikes except they don't have pedals. Or training wheels. And they're really small so even a two year old can ride one.

The idea is that the kid is able to teach themselves to balance without trying to pedal at the same time. Then, once they have the balance part mastered, you put them on a real bike. Amazing, right? 

When you first introduce a balance bike, expect your child to mostly walk with the bike. It's going to look awkward and you might wonder why you even spent your money on this thing. But trust me, it gets better.

The more they practice, the better they will become. And before you know it, they will be riding down your driveway with their legs up in the air and you'll be like, "OMG he is balancing on a two wheeler and he's only three years old!"

The next step is to introduce a bike with pedals. If your kid has never used pedals in his life, you might have to show him how to pedal on a tricycle or something first to learn how to do it. Then, you can try the bike.

We took a trip to our local bike shop, found a bike that was his size and sat him on top. Dad held on to the back and ran along side of him at first but it only took a few minutes for him to figure it out. I was so surprised that my three year old was riding a bike ALL BY HIMSELF!!

If you don't want to go out and buy a balance bike, I've heard that you can just take the pedals off a regular bike.  I have no idea how you would do that but there's probably a way.  Check out YouTube. We bought our balance bike for about half the retail price on Zulily. I see balance bikes for sale on there all the time. You should go check it out and let me how it goes.