News with Naylors

This is my all time favorite chocolate cake. My mom made this growing up and I have memories of my sister and I completing an entire pan by ourselves.. in one day. I made this today and love the chocolatey, soft consistency of the cake. I cut myself a rather large piece and put it in the microwave for eight seconds, which made the frosting melt even more into the cake (see picture below). If you want a good chocolate cake recipe, this one is all you need. Rating: 10/10 Ingredients for the Cake : 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar pinch of salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 heaping teaspoons cocoa 1 cube butter (1/2 cup) 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 cup cold water 2 eggs Directions for the Cake : 1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2) In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup buttermilk, and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Let is sit until foamy. In a large bowl combine 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar and a pinch of salt. Mix well and set aside. 3) In a saucepan

Can I just say we had the best time playing with SLIME today! This is the third recipe we've tried and it is by far the best. I found this recipe at Little Bins for Little Hands . Click the link to find out how slime is science. I love that it only has three ingredients, one being water. It's so simple to make and can be made it five minutes. The main reason I love this recipe is because it's not messy at all. The slime sticks to itself and nothing else. It's extremely stretchy, can be cut (my 19 mo. old loved using the rim of a cup to cut circles out of the slime) and you can even make bubbles! Seriously, go and buy the ingredients below and make this today. You'll love it! Don't forget to check out our other favorite play dough recipe and flubber recipe ! Ingredients for Slime : 1/2 cup of clear Elmer's washable school glue (must use this brand!) 1/2 cup liquid starch (found in the laundry isle - we used Sta-Flo) 1/2 cup water Optiona

Here's what our week looked like for a three and 19 month old:  Read, Read, Read . I love reading to my kids on a daily basis. I'll usually alternate reading during a meal time, before naps or randomly in the day. I checked out our  Letter K Booklist  at the library a week in advance. The picture above were our very favorite books, but you view more great Letter K books by clicking on the booklist link.  Read Letter K Book . We also love to read these  Little Letter Books  from The Measured Mom. For my three, we focus on the big and little letters at the beginning of each page. My 19 month old especially loves these books! He enjoys looking at the pictures and repeating the words after me on each page.  Letter K Songs & Rhymes . This year, I'm putting together an interactive set of songs & rhymes for each letter of the alphabet. My three and my 19 mo. old had so much fun doing the  Letter K Son

I was so excited to find an easy home-made play dough recipe from  kids activity blog ! There are so many things that I love about this recipe. Most home-made play dough needs to be heated on the stove, but this recipe is heated in the microwave. I love that I had all the ingredients, with the exception of Kool-Aid, already at home. My kids (ages 3, 1) loved helping me mix the dough together and we had a fun afternoon playing with our play dough! Ingredients for Kool-Aid Playdough : 1 cup flour 1/4 cup of salt 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil 2 kool-aid packets 3/4 cup water Directions for Kool-Aid Playdough : Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and stir until well mixed. Place your bowl in the microwave for one minute. Stir the edges of your bowl with a spatula and let the play dough sit for a minute to set. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and place on your working surface (I placed mine on parchment paper). Add 1-2 tablespoons

Here's a list of our favorite Letter K books: Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? by Eric Carle: This book was my 19 month old's very favorite on the list. He loved looking at the pictures of mother and baby animals. Each page starts with the question, "Does a (goes through a series of animals) have a mother, too?" And at the end of the book it asks, "Do mother animals love their babies, too? Yes, just as your mother loves you!"  Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes: This book was loved by both boys (ages 3, 19 mo.) and me. It's about a kitten who sees the moon in the sky and thinks it's a bowl of milk waiting for her. She does everything she can to get it, including climbing a tree and jumping into water seeing the moon's reflection. At the end of the book, the kitten goes home cold, wet and hungry to find a bowl of milk waiting for her on the porch. Cute story.  A Kissing Hand for Chester Raccoon by Audrey

1) K is for Kangaroo. Use the actions below to sing this song. We sponge painted aprons this week (to resemble kangaroo pouches as in our library book, Katy No-Pocket) and wore them while singing this song. Tune: Skip to my Lou Jump, jump jump Goes the kangaroo. (jump up and down) I thought only one, (hold up one finger) but now I see two! (hold up two fingers) Mommy and her baby (pretend rock a baby) With his head popping out; (place hands on head) He holds on tight  (hug self) As they jump about! (jump 3x) 2)  Five Little Kites   from Adventures in Storytime. Make five kites out of craft foam and place a magnet on the back. Place the kites on the magnet board as shown below. One little kite in the sky so blue, (hold up one finger, place first kite) Along cam another, and then there were two. (place second kite, two fingers up) Two little kites flying high above me. ("fly" hand with two fingers up) Along c

In my option, around 18 months is a great time to begin a letter of the week series! It's just when little ones are really beginning to explore and learn so many new things. Remember the focus of doing these activities at this age is to HAVE FUN. Let your child lead as they explore. At this point, I will include activities we did for both my three and 19 month old. Here's what our week looked like for Letter J:  Read, Read, Read . I love reading to my kids on a daily basis. I checked out our  Letter J Booklist  at the library a week in advance. The picture above were our very favorite books, but you view more great Letter J books by clicking on the booklist link.  Read Letter J Book . We also love to read these  Little Letter Books  from The Measured Mom. For my three, we focus on the big and little letters at the beginning of each page. My 19 mo. old especially loves these books! He enjoys looking at the pictures and repeating the words aft