Strategy for Mid Winter Break

I wish we could pick up and leave; go on vacation for mid winter break to a new and exciting locale. Somewhere warm and beachy would be nice.

Since we won't be traveling farther than a 60 minute radius from our town, I found these fun activities to do this upcoming week. Making slime, erupting a volcano, car tracks, scavenger nature hike, bird seed craft, and helping to grocery shop should fill up some time and provide some learning to boot. I also have plans to bake bread and walk the kids around the neighborhood to meet our new neighbors with small children.

I am also planning on having the kids make and eat ice cream in a zip lock baggy. Sounds messy but they will love this one! The recipe is as follows:

Materials

•1/2 cup milk
•1/2 cup whipping cream (heavy cream)
•1/4 cup sugar
•1/4 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla flavoring (vanillin)
•1/2 to 3/4 cup sodium chloride (NaCl) as table salt or rock salt
•2 cups ice
•1-quart ZiplocTM bag
•1-gallon ZiplocTM bag
•themometer
•measuring cups and spoons
•cups and spoons for eating your treat!

Procedure

1.Add 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup whipping cream, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla to the quart ziplocTM bag. Seal the bag securely.
2.Put 2 cups of ice into the gallon ziplocTM bag.
3.Use a thermometer to measure and record the temperature of the ice in the gallon bag.
4.Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup salt (sodium chloride) to the bag of ice.
5.Place the sealed quart bag inside the gallon bag of ice and salt. Seal the gallon bag securely.
6.Gently rock the gallon bag from side to side. It's best to hold it by the top seal or to have gloves or a cloth between the bag and your hands because the bag will be cold enough to damage your skin.
7.Continue to rock the bag for 10-15 minutes or until the contents of the quart bag have solidified into ice cream.
8.Open the gallon bag and use the thermometer to measure and record the temperature of the ice/salt mixture.
9.Remove the quart bag, open it, serve the contents into cups with spoons and ENJOY!