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     As you may know, this is Women's History Month.  What better way to celebrate it than to learn more about amazing women in history, even recent history! 

     We used to have a series here on the blog called "What to Read Wednesday."  That kind of went by the wayside, but we thought we would bring it back this week and suggest some great titles to read about women that you may or may not have heard of.  Maybe you can learn about someone new!  And don't forget to check out our Women's History Coloring Pages available in our Etsy Shop! 
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       We have written so many posts about cooking with kids! Getting your kids to cook teaches and reinforces important  skills in their lives.  Here are a few for example:

• Early math skills like measuring, multiplying, fractions, adding, time...the list goes on.
• Reading and comprehension! As children learn to be able to read a recipe, they also need to be able to understand what the recipe is telling them to do! This is a real life example of how reading is important in their lives that will encourage them to improve in their reading skills.
• Following directions in order to have a good outcome.
• Science! There are so many chemical reactions in cooking and baking!  Experiments in science can also be part of your cooking class, such as capturing wild yeast to make sour dough, the reaction of baking soda and vinegar does more than make a volcano experiment when cooking. (Check out this eggless cake recipe that uses those two ingredients!)
• Healthy Eating and what foods are good for your body and which ones should be eaten sparingly.
• Hygiene!  Why is it important to have clean hands and a clean work environment for cooking?
• Motor Skills!  Learning to manage the tools in cooking, from stirring to breaking eggs to learning the claw hand for cutting all take practice and patience.  Cooking engages the left and the right brain! 
• Self Confidence grows as your child has successful outcomes with cooking.
• The adult skill of being able to take care of oneself by cooking your own food will be a skill they will be thankful for throughout their lives! 

     This year, Lindsey and Alicia are home schooling their children.  Cooking is a favorite part of the curriculum this year.  Of course, neither of them waited until they were home schooling to begin enjoying cooking with their kids.  They both started when the children were much younger.  Anyone can enjoy the fun and learning of cooking with your children even if you don't homeschool.  Check out these posts: 

     For this school year, Lindsey discovered a wonderful cookbook to use with Emily as they cook through this school year together! It is called the Cooking & Baking Class Box Set and you can order it on Amazon! 
       Lindsey loves that this set comes with a cooking and a baking set!  And, it comes with a little cutting board as well.  My granddaughter is in the first grade now.  She is a good reader, and she can read and follow all of the directions very well.  The beginning of the book teaches basic cooking knowledge and explains the cooking terms that the children may be using as they cook.  The recipes are rated from "one spoon"  to "three spoons" to let you know the level a skill that will be used with that particular recipe.  

     The other evening, little Emily was going to come over and stay with grandpa and I for a little while and she asked if we could cook something together out of her cookbook.  Of course, I said yes!  She let me know what ingredients that I would need to have on hand.  She chose a pasta salad recipe.  

  Emily was able to slice the cheese with a butter knife, snip the basil, do the tossing, add the seasonings and all I had to do was cook the pasta and slice the tomatoes with a sharp knife.  The salad was very delicious!  Since we were going to be eating dinner anyway, we turned the night into a little dinner party with more family members.  We added pork chops and watermelon to round out the meal.   We tried to add rolls, but unfortunately we discovered that my oven is broken and we couldn't bake the rolls!  

Luckily, Maddy was able to take the rolls home and bake them there to share with her roommate, so they didn't go to waste.  
     Everyone pronounced the meal delicious and a wonderful time was had by all! 
​   Emily went through the cookbook with me and showed me what she had already made.  I was amazed at the fun ideas that are in it that will encourage kids to cook.  Emily is so proud of all that she has done. 

     Some of the recipes do require cutting.  So far Emily has only cut things with a butter knife.  Alicia has taught her 9 year old son to use the claw hand so that he can safely use a sharper knife with supervision.  Amazon does have some knife sets that are safer and made for teaching younger children how to handle them.  

     Emily forgot to bring along her apron when she came to my house to cook.  But, it does my heart good to know that she and my other granddaughters that I've made aprons for enjoy using them!  Here is the link to the simple pattern for these cute aprons. 

     If you make cooking fun, soon your kids will have the confidence to create great recipes on their own!  Remember these posts from my 13 year old granddaughter? 

     My grandchildren are so cute and I could post all of them all over this page! 
     I hope you will take advantage of this great activity with your kids and grandchildren and help them learn so much in a fun way! Pick up the Cooking & Baking Class Set to get yourself started! One piece of sweet evidence that I have that kids love cooking with their parents and grandparents is a special card made for me by my granddaughter Amelia.  Her mom asked her to draw something that she likes to do with Grandma.  She drew a picture of the two of us baking cookies!  I loved it! 

     I'm so excited to get my Fall garden going this year!   I can't plant until the weather cools down a bit, but I can get prepared.  I need to see what seeds or transplants I need.  I need to decide where everything will be planted.  I will have to amend some soil and get the garden boxes ready.  There are so many things to think about! I decided that what I really needed was a garden journal that will help me prepare, plan and stay on a budget.  I looked at various garden journals online, but either they didn't have exactly what I wanted or they were expensive.  So, I decided to create my own!  While I was at it, I decided to put it in our Etsy Shop and make it available to everyone. 

     All 4 of us girls at 3 Winks Design love to read! Summer is the perfect time to fit in a book or two or three as you relax by the pool or stay indoors out of the heat!  It can be hard to decide just what you want to read, there are so many choices out there and it can be disappointing when a book doesn't live up to it's cover! If you need some ideas, we're sharing what we've been reading and maybe you can find something that you will enjoy.  We would also love some of your suggestions! ​

     I started a couple of books this summer that I ended up putting down after awhile.  But, a series that I have stuck with so far is The Myrtlewood Mysteries ​by Iris Beaglehole. I wanted something lighthearted and fun to read for the summer, and this one fits the bill.  It is a fantasy with magic and mystery.  The first book of the series is called Accidental Magic because a mother and her teenage daughter whose lives are pretty much a mess find out that they have surprisingly inherited their grandmother's home.  Little did they know that the grandmother was a powerful witch and that they also have inherited her magical abilities!  They end up moving to the town of Myrtlewood where magic is commonly understood and there they begin a whole new life of magic, mayhem and happiness! 
     The second book in the series is entitled Experimental Magic as mom and daughter learn more about how to use their magic and learn to get out of some sticky situations with  The Fae!  
     I have been reading these books on Kindle.  You can also buy them as sets here and here. They are a fun magical fantasy in the vein of Harry Potter, just not quite as good.  If you like that genre, they are enjoyable.

     Series are fun to read because when you find stories and characters that you really enjoy, your relationship with them doesn't have to end after just one book.  Maddy has been reading another series entitled The Culture​ by Lain M Banks.  It is a 9 book futuristic series that deals with a utopian universe that co-mingles humans, aliens and machines.  It deals with why cultures go to war and many proclaim it to be one of the best sci-fi series they have ever read.  It can be pretty pricey, so the Kindle or audible versions may be your best bet.  Maddy read book two first and they can apparently somewhat stand alone, but now she is going back to read book one. 

     Alicia is recommending two books that she has enjoyed this summer! Well, technically three!
​    First,  The Women by Kristen Hannah   This book is set in the turbulent 1960s and is a coming of age book about a young woman who learns first hand about the destruction and chaos of war and that not only men, but women can also be heroes.  This novel is described as one that deals with deep friendships and bold patriotism. 
     While Alicia says that this book is pretty good, she preferred Hannah's The Great Alone  more. It is about a family who try to make a new start  in the wilderness of Alaska. 

     Next, Alicia really enjoyed reading Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou.  This book contains beautiful essays that teach lessons and give insight from this woman's incredible life.  Many of those who have read this book suggest that it should be cherished by more than daughters.  Alicia speaks very highly of it! It is on my list! 

     Lindsey first has a recommendation from her childhood that she is now sharing with her daughter, Emily.  Emily is a very advanced reader and is reading chapter books at the age of 6! Lindsey has introduced her to the Baby-Sitters Club Books.  They specifically began with book #5, Dawn and the Impossible Three.  Lindsey was surprised that as they read it how much she still enjoyed it.  She says that it even made her tear up a bit! Emily is really enjoying these books as well.  Lindsey came to my house and scavenged my bookshelves for her old books from her childhood. But, you can find cool retro sets on Amazon, as well as updated graphic novels. 

     For her personal reading, Lindsey says that she enjoyed The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by ​Gabrielle Zevin.   I've heard of this story about a bookstore owner who loses a rare book and inherits a child at the same time.  It is on my list to read.  Lindsey said that she enjoyed it but preferred Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by the same author. 

    Have you read any of these?  What did you think of them?  What are you reading?  I always love recommendations, that is where you find the best books to read! 
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