Family Talk APRIL 2016

Barbara Ames—Family & Consumer Science Agent www.wildcatdistrict.ksu.edu

facebook.com/wildcat.extension.district

Looking for easy-peasy fun? Wiggle your fingers inside a sock for an almost-instant puppet or crayon a face on a paper lunch bag. Or try something more sophisticated like a marionette—perhaps with something as simple as cardboard and string. First, some quick ideas, for both kids and adults to make: **Turn the fingers of a glove into puppets with faces you make with a marker, yarn and maybe even a pair of wiggle-eye stick-ers or buttons. **Poke a finger hole in an old tennis or sponge ball and glue on facial features and a fabric scrap for a gown. **Take a square of light-colored fabric, rubber band it over a toilet tissue tube and add yarn hair, button eyes, a pompon nose and a heart-shaped mouth. **If you’re game for something more com-plicated, cut arms, legs, a head and torso

from cardboard, connect the joints with paper fasteners and add strings to the arms and legs for a marionette. Or sculpt a head with papier mache and attach it to a simple body of cloth or felt. **Simplest of all? Draw eyes on a finger and turn it into a character!

Rather look at puppets others have made? The Puppeteers of America maintain a list of puppet museums at https://www.puppeteers.org/discover-puppetry/museums-and-collections/. Or visit an online museum via the Smithsonian’s puppet exhibit at http://americanhistory.si.edu/puppetry. Find directions for this puppet at http://www.pbs.org/parents/peg/peg-cat-stick-puppets/ Reprinted with permission from Paren�ng Press News for Parents, copyright © 2016. For a compli-mentary subscrip�on, see www.Paren�ngPress.com/

Fun with Puppets

Getting the Facts About Food Are there days when you feel bombarded with messages related to food? Ever wonder if those if those messages are fact or fic�on?

To help clear the muddy messages, the In-s�tute of Food Technologists (IFT) has launched a new Food Facts website for con-sumers. The resource features videos and

fact sheets about food science for consum-ers. IFT member experts answer ques�ons, address food myths and misconcep�ons, and talk about many topics within food sci-ence such as food safety, nutri�on food chemistry and more.

Check out this resource at: h� p://www.i� .org/knowledge-center/learn-about-food-science/food-facts.aspx

It is the policy of Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Sta�on and Coopera�ve Extension Service that all persons shall have oppor-tunity and access to its educa�onal programs, services, ac�vi�es, and materials without regard to race, color, religion, na�onal origin, sex, age, or disability. Kansas State University is an equal opportunity organiza�on.

Family Talk—March 2016

Choking Hazards…A Reminder

Children and infants do not grind or chew their food well and may attempt to swallow food whole. Large pieces of food easily can lodge in the throat and result in choking. **For infants to age 1, cut up foods into small pieces no larger than 1/4 inch. **Toddlers and preschoolers generally can eat foods cut in pieces no larger than 1/2 inch .

Source: North Dakota Extension

Need Some Ideas for Making Food Fun for Kids? The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has a resource to help parents and caregivers prepare healthy meals and snacks for kids ages 2 to 5. Food Fun for Young Children includes recipes, newsletters, and other resources including topics for table talk and information on choking hazards. Sign up for their newsletter and follow their Pinterest board. Learn more at: http://food.unl.edu/foodfun-young-children. This site includes a fun recipe for a Bunny Face which is included in this newsletter.

It’s springtime and a great opportunity to enjoy the fresh flavors of the season! Sometimes it can be challenging for kids to try new foods. Here is a fun way to introduce a new fruit that some kids may have not tried before – kiwi!

Bunny Face

Ingredients: ½ of a whole wheat English muffin 1 Tablespoon Low-fat strawberry cream cheese ½ of a kiwi, cut in half 2 small blueberries 1 strawberry cut in the shape of a triangle. 6 pretzel sticks

Direc�ons: 1. Spread cream cheese on English muffin. 2. Have your child decorate with blueberries for the eyes, strawberry for the nose, pretzel sticks for the whiskers and kiwi slices for the ears.

Resource: h�p://food.unl.edu/foodfun-young-children

Nutrition Facts: Calories, 180; Total fat, 5g; Carbs, 29g; Fiber, 4g; Sugar, 12g;Protein, 6g.