Holes

Holes by Louis Sachar

Book Review: I initially read Holes many years ago, before I had children. I remembered a lot of the book, but didn't remember the details. I started reading this to my kids and then decided that the wording and subject matter was a little too mature for them. But once I started reading, my kids wanted to finish it. So we ended up reading the whole book. I would recommend this book for kids 7 and older. The wording is a little harder for little ones to understand. It also has flashbacks that may be confusing. My two-year old got bored at times because it's not as action-packed as some of the other books. There are also more mature themes. In one of the flashbacks, Sam, a black man, was killed because he fell in love with a white women. The women then goes on to become "Kissin' Kate Barlow", an outlaw who kisses the men she kills. These parts are not super graphic in nature, but do require some discussion with your kids. I used these themes as a chance to explain to my kids that everyone is different in some way, but that we love everyone. I really love this book, just gauge the maturity level of your children before you read. And as always, don't be afraid to discuss topics that come up from what you're reading.

Book Party

Supplies from your craft kit
Old magazines
Glue stick
scissors
butcher paper or poster board
Markers
various sizes of balloons
newspaper
paint

Food Supplies
Frozen onion rings or onion ring recipe below
Doughnuts
Frozen peaches
milk
yogurt
bananas
canning jars
straws
treats for piñata

Piñata

This was a super easy party. The piñata took the most time by far, but it was easy and fun for the kids. I decided to do a piñata because I knew I needed to do something with the infamous yellow spotted lizard. What better way to incorporate the scary foe then to let the kids beat it with a bat?! I remembered making a pinata in grade school and figured that if I could do it when I was 8, I could do it now. First I got a bag of mixed balloons. I thought it would have a long one for the tail, but it didn't. Instead I blew up some small balloons in various sizes and taped together a rough shape. Use your imagination! Then you need to make the paper mache. Tear newspaper into long strips. then make a mixture of flour and water. Mix it to the consistency of thin pancake batter.  Dip the strips of paper into the flour mixture. Then holding the paper over the bowl, take off the extra flour by putting the paper between two fingers and run your fingers down the paper. Then put the paper on the balloon and repeat.  It's messy, but the kiddos love it! This will need to be done in several days. Once you get the top of the lizard done, wait until dry (overnight). Turn over and repeat the process. You'll then need to do another layer on the top and bottom. I like to turn the paper the opposite way on the different layers so you're sure to have no cracks. Once it's dry, you're ready to decorate. In grade school we used crate paper and twisted tiny squares on a pencil eraser and glued each piece on.  It turned out wonderful, but I didn't have the patience to do this piñata the same way, and my kids certainly didn't either! If you have older kids who have a longer attention span with crafts, let them go at it with crate paper! We went with the much faster paint option. I finished it with red eyes and black teeth, as described in the book. I also made little claws out of paper and taped them on as well. When it's all dry, cut a little hole in the bottom of the pinata and fill with treats! Tape it back up and your lizard is ready to be whacked!

Tolerance Poster

I knew I needed to do a project to tie in the big theme of racism and tolerance. I discussed these issues with my kids when we read about them in the book, and then again while we were doing this project. It's simple, but a good lesson. I just drew a big heart on poster board and then had the kids find pictures of different kids in magazines. We cut them out and glued them onto the heart. We discussed that all of us are different in some way. But that we need to love everyone the same just as God does. We talked about how people can be different. They can look different. They can talk differently. They can wear different clothing, they can walk differently. The people hated Sam because he looked different from them, and we need to be better than that. This project really hit that lesson home with my kids.

Sweet Feet Game

So easy and fun! All you really need for this game is big shoes! Choose a course for your kids to run in a race. I added some cut-out foot shapes to mark the path, but that's optional. Have the kids put on big adult shoes and race to the finish line (which I marked with a drawing of the Big Thumb). If your kids are older and have bigger feet, you could tie the shoelaces of their shoes together instead and have them run. Both ways are hilarious!

Holes Doughnuts

I just bought some doughnuts, sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on a tray, lined up the glazed doughnuts and sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top. Does it look like sandy holes in the desert??

Sploosh Smoothies

I make smoothies for my kids all the time. This is a peach smoothie with a twist! I just added a few spoonfuls of yogurt to a bunch of frozen peaches. Then add enough milk to make it to the desired thickness. Don't forget the banana! It makes it nice and sweet. Then, since Katherine Barlow made spiced peaches, I added cinnamon and nutmeg to the smoothie! It tasted AWESOME! My kids asked if they could have Sploosh all the time! :o) Put it in little mason jars to make it look authentic. If you don't have any jars, they often have them super cheap at a second hand store. You could also buy ones like I have at Walmart for about $8/ dozen.

Onion Rings
I decided to make my own onion rings, but you could certainly just buy a bag of frozen and cook them up that way if you don't have the time. I don't like to deep fry things for a couple reasons. The first is that I try to cook somewhat healthy, and the second is that I don't like my house to smell like frying oil for a week afterward. So I tried this recipe baked instead of fried. Feel free to do it either way. Both are yummy!

Onion rings:

1 large onion
1 1/4 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 C milk
3/4 C Panko bread crumbs (found in Asian section)
seasoned salt to taste

-Cut onion into 1/4 in slices and separate into rings.
-In a gallon ziplock bag, combine flour, baking powder and salt (you may also add a little garlic powder or italian seasoning if you'd like).  Dump in onion rings and shake.
-Take out the rings. Then add egg and milk to the leftover flour mixture. Add onions, a few at a time, and shake.  Take rings out and tap off extra batter.
-Put into bag of bread crumbs, shake and tap of excess. Lay on a tray.
-If you're frying them, heat oil to 365 and fry a few at a time for 2-3 minutes.
-If you're baking them, lay on a cookie sheet that's been sprayed with Pam. Then spray top with a little Pam (canola oil). Bake at 400 for 15-20 min, turning once.
-sprinkle with seasoned salt.