We have been reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder Series after dinner. While the kids clear the table and Handsome does dishes, I read aloud. I read about this idea at this great blog not too long ago. We were looking for some ways to make evenings more peaceful; this one works for us. Even though our children are young, they are able to clear almost everything off of the table, wipe off the table, dry it, and sweep the floor, then sit back down and listen while Handsome does the dishes. The kids work quietly, because they want to hear the story…and I digress. That was totally a bonus WFM tip, because the tip I was going to share actually came from the book.
Anyway, in the first book in the series, Little House In The Big Woods, Laura explains how Ma makes and salts the butter. I thought that would be a fun thing for the kids to do. The next time I was at the store, I bought a small carton of heavy cream. The next evening when I started making dinner, I poured the cream into a container that sealed well (I used a glass canning jar, though you could easily use plastic.) I talked to the kids about how Ma made butter in a churn and then told them that it was their responsibility to make the butter for tonight’s dinner. They sat on the floor and took turns shaking the jar. When each child’s arms got tired they would pass the jar on. I did accelerate the process a bit by shaking it myself in between draining the pasta and cutting veggies for the salad. Handsome also shook the jar a few times. It took about 20 minutes (it’ll take less, if your kids don’t talk/goof off through the whole process), but we ended up with a nice size glob of light yellow butter to which I added just a bit of salt. The kids were very proud of their butter!
For more great tips, visit this week’s Works For Me Wednesday at Don’t Try This At Home. Usually Shannon of Rocks In My Dryer hosts WFMW, but this very week she is on a trip to Uganda with Compassion International. (Can I just say that I am crazy jealous! Makes me wish I had taken this blogging thing a bit more seriously!)
ooh fun. i loved those books when i was a kid and have shared them with my son but we haven’t tried this yet….sounds like fun!
I remember making butter in first grade at school like this! You just brought back a very cool memory for me! Thanks!
We LOVE making butter. And it is SO DELICIOUS!
That is a cool tip! Thanks for sharing it!
Is it really that simple? I want to try this…forget the kids!
That sounds really cool! It reminded me of a post that Sandy wrote at 4 Reluctant Entertainers
http://www.reluctantentertainer.com/2007/11/making-butter-with-thankful-heart.html
in which she made spiritual applications for the activity.
I have never read the Little House series, can you believe that? Since Max loves listening to books on CD, maybe we’ll check these out at the library.
Thanks for referring to my blog for butter-making! Yes, my Balcony Girls had a blast doing this. And I’m also SO happy that Shannon is doing what she’s doing! Go Girl! 🙂
I remember doing that with my sister when we were kids – it was super fun and made some really yummy butter! I’ll definitely put this to use when Bean is old enough NOT to take the lid off while shaking!
Thanks, all for the comments! It is a fun little activity. Like Sandy, I’ve done it in baby food jars for a larger group (like my class of third graders). That works really well, though they have to be old enough to shake, shake, shake the whole time! 🙂
Happy butter making, all!
So fun! I remember doing this when I was little! I love the Little House Books! I’m going to link to this so I remember it for when my little guy is older!