Since our 7 year old son seems to have a good grasp on basic fractions, I thought it would be a good idea to show him how fractions can be applied in real life situations, such as cooking. I have created a free printable activity using cooking conversions. In this activity, your child will figure out the recipe for the Secret Sauce using what they have learned about how measurements in cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons relate to each other. With the help of these
Action Fun Appliances from
CP Toys, we have also made a cooking video to demonstrate how to make the Play To Learn Diner's Secret Sauce.
To use the worksheet below, go over the conversion chart provided on the left side of the sheet with your child. It would be helpful to provide a measuring cup and set of measuring spoons to help demonstrate your explanation. If need be, use sugar or water to prove to your child that the left sides of the equal signs really are the same quantity as the right.
TO PRINT: Click on image to enlarge. Then right click and choose print. Use your browser's back button to return to this page.
When you feel confident that your child understands the general concept of cooking conversions, ask him or her to fill in the right side of the worksheet, which will reveal the Secret Sauce Recipe.
The video below will reveal the answers to the Secret Sauce Recipe activity worksheet . . .
These
toy kitchen appliances were the perfect thing to use in our video because they look so real. We have owned some that were fun bright colors in the past, but our three children (ages 4.5, 4.5, and 7.5) really seem to enjoy playing with these far more.
Both the Action Fun blender and mixer run on AA batteries. The blender has a plastic graduated handled pitcher and working plastic blades inside. The pitcher can be removed from the base. The blender has two speed settings for add realism. The top of the mixer lifts up just like a real countertop mixer. There are two settings . . . Self and Auto. Your child can choose to have the mixer run with their finger holding down the button at the top or have the mixer run with just a push of the button. There are also two different attachments that come with the mixer and both are equally as fun to watch as they spin inside the clear mixing bowl.
Since both of these toys have spinning parts, I have instructed my children not to put there hands near the moving parts. I have also suggested that they do not put toy food inside the blender or the mixing bowl if they intend to turn the motors on.
This set also comes with a 2-slice toaster and a coffeemaker. The toaster does not need batteries, but rather is a friction-based toy. Your child just needs to turn the knob to the desired toaster setting and when the knob ticks back to zero, the toast pops up. The knob takes quite a bit of strength to turn and even our 7 year old son has trouble turning it all the way to the darkest setting.
The coffeemaker does run on AA batteries. It has two buttons . . . one for brewing and one for dispensing. Both functions are accompanied by realistic sounds, which pleased our children very much.
These Action Fun Appliances can be purchased by the pair or as a set of 4 on
CPToy.com. Remember that you can shop through the red button on our sidebar to receive an
exclusive Constructive Moms 15% off discount.
Thank you to CP Toys for providing a product sample for us to base this review upon and for providing a second product for our contest prize.
What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive
the Action Fun Appliances Combo Set (includes the blender, mixer, toaster, and coffeemaker).
Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. & Canadian entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.
How to Gain Entries:
Click the button below to browse the selection of toys offered by CP Toys. Then leave a comment telling me the name of one toy a child in your life would love to own. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.
(Remember by clicking on the button above, you will receive 15% off your entire purchase.)
Extra Entries:
1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.
2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.
7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.
8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.
(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)
Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Monday, August 8th, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.
Good luck in the drawing!
with a variety of 
made excellent coffee, was a breeze to use, and clean up was as easy as it could be, but a few design shortcomings on cup compatibility make the Keurig B31 slightly less than perfect. If this brewer was a couple of inches taller this would be the perfect coffee machine. This is not the machine to choose for brewing iced coffee or tea directly into a cup of ice, since that would require a taller cup to allow room for the ice.
