Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, and is celebrated every autumn. On Saturday, we marked Diwali with special treats and craft projects. Our families enjoyed some delicious samosas and sweet snacks, and the children spent some time making paper diyas, which are small lamps or candles that are used to decorate homes during the festival.
Student Spotlight: Introducing Emily Rickson
We at Creating Together are fortunate to host placement students from post-secondary institutions across the Greater Toronto Area each year. This series introduces you to the dedicated students who bring their positive energy to our centre each semester.
“My name is Emily Rickson, and I am attending my second year of the Early Childhood Studies program at Ryerson University. I am doing my placement at Creating Together to learn more about families and the resources that the community provides for them. Creating Together provides a safe place for parents and caregivers to play with their children and to get to know other families in the area. As a placement student I hope to contribute my creativity by developing activities for the children while providing a fun and warm environment. I have really been enjoying learning with and from the families, while being a part of this community.”
Pumpkin Carving at Creating Together
Halloween is just around the corner! Have you chosen your costume? Put up your decorations? Found the perfect pumpkin for your jack-o-lantern? Here at Creating Together, we are busy getting into the spooky spirit. This morning, we had fun drawing and carving some pumpkins for the centre.
Be sure to join us for more spooky fun next week! On Monday October 31st, come to Creating Together during program hours for frightfully fun tricks, tasty treats, scary stories and Halloween games all day. Be sure to wear your costume – we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Maple Apple Oatmeal Muffins
We had many hands helping us whip up a batch of these Maple Apple Oatmeal Muffins yesterday! The children had fun measuring ingredients, pouring them out, and mixing the batter together with our staff. They had even more fun enjoying them at snack time!
Feel free to modify this recipe based on your child’s tastes and their experience with solids. You may use less sugar than this recipe calls for, or you can try adding raisins and a pinch of cinnamon.
Maple Apple Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (you can use a combination of white and whole wheat flour)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup sugar (brown or white)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups apples, diced (you can peel them or leave the skin on)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 °F (200 °C).
- Lightly butter a non-stick muffin pan or line with paper liners.
- In bowl, combine the oats and milk and let it stand for 5 minutes.
- In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, the baking powder and salt.
- Whisk in the sugar, maple syrup, egg, butter and vanilla extract into the milk mixture.
- Pour this into the dry ingredients and add the apples. Stir until just moistened.
- Spoon the batter into prepared muffin pan.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are firm to the touch.
- Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to rack.
Enjoy!
Banana and Raisin Mini Muffins
In case you didn’t know, the Creating Together staff prepares freshly baked muffins for families to enjoy every first and third Tuesday of the month. Yesterday, we tried out these yummy banana and raisin mini muffins. Not only are they an easy favourite with older kids and little ones alike, they have no added sugar – the sweetness in the muffins come from the bananas and raisins.
Banana and Raisin Mini Muffins
Makes 18 mini muffins
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all purpose flour (you can use a combination of white and whole wheat flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp allspice (or cinnamon if you prefer)
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- about 1/2 cup raisins
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Grease a mini muffin tray with butter or oil.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and allspice (or cinnamon) in a bowl.
- Add the butter and mashed banana to a separate bowl and whisk till smooth. Gradually mix in the egg.
- Fold in the flour mixture, and then add the milk and raisins.
- Spoon the muffin batter into your prepared muffin pan (depending on the size of your muffin tray, you may need to bake two batches).
- Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the tops of the mini muffins are golden.
Let them cool completely and enjoy!