But, when our Raddish Kids box with the French theme arrived and we tried their version, I was hooked, and so were my kids. Even my son who hates lettuce declared it yummy!

One of the best parts of this easy Nicoise salad is that my kids can literally make the whole thing without me–well, almost; they still need help with the can opener.

Let’s get started with our easy Nicoise salad that kids can make, shall we?

Making your salad

Start by slicing your tomatoes into quarters or eighths, whichever size you prefer.

Peel your hard boiled eggs. You can find our tutorial for making perfect hard boiled eggs in this post.

Open the can of olives and white beans and drain them both.

Slice the olives and set aside. You can slice them however you like them best. We sometimes do many slices, just in half, width wise or length wise.

Chop your lettuce into bite sized pieces. We use romaine and spinach or spring mix. Any lettuce that you prefer will do. Add to a bowl and set aside.

Once all of the ingredients are chopped, mix up the dressing. Add 2 Tablespoons of the dressing to the lettuce mixture.

Arrange all of the ingredients on a serving tray. We like to do it all in a line. Then drizzle the remaining dressing over the salad ingredients and serve!

We never have left overs with this one because it’s soooo good! The secret is the dressing. We never buy dressing from the store because it’s so easy to make quickly at home, and this is our go to recipe.

And there you have it, easy Nicoise Salad that kids can make that will become a quick easy meal for your family.

If you want your kids to gain kitchen skills, but don’t know where to start, you might like our post Teach Kids to Help in the Kitchen.

Easy Nicoise Salad Kids Can Make

Recipe by Kirsten, adapted from Raddish KidsCourse: Dinner, LunchCuisine: SaladDifficulty: Easy

Servings

5

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

1

minute

Total time

21

minutes

This easy Nicoise Salad is simple enough for kids to make and delicious enough for the whole family to enjoy.

Ingredients

• 2 tomatoes

• 3 hard boiled eggs

• 1 can white cannellini beans

• 1 can pitted black olives

• 4-6 cups romaine lettuce or spring mix greens

• Dressing

• 1 tsp honey

• 1 tsp mustard

• Juice of 1/2 lemon, about 2 Tbsp

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions

• Slice tomatoes into quarters or eights, depending on the size you want.
• Peel and slice the hard boiled eggs in half or quarters, depending on the size you want.
• Open olives and drain. Slice.
• Open beans and drain. Set aside
• Chop lettuce, if necessary, into bite-sized pieces. Add to a bowl
• Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
• Pour 2 Tablespoons dressing over salad greens and mix well.
• Arrange all salad ingredients–lettuce, tomatoes, eggs, olives and beans, on a serving tray in rows, keeping ingredients from mixing.
• Drizzle remaining dressing over salad ingredients and serve.

Recipe Video

The post Easy Nicoise Salad Kids Can Make appeared first on Vibrant Mom Society.

We all know electronics are one way to keep kids occupied, but we also know that all that screen time isn’t good for them either.

Our kids get car sick, so reading and electronics are out anyway, so we’ve had to come up with some old fashioned ways to keep them entertained. These are also good for any time you have to wait anywhere, whether it’s a restaurant, the doctor’s office, waiting in line at an amusement park or any place else.

1. The Category Alphabet Game

When traveling with kids, this one goes a long way because there are so many variations. And it’s pretty simple, so little ones can play too. It can last for as long as you want. Choose a category such as vegetables, animals, cities, people names etc.

Taking turns you go through the alphabet naming something from that category that begins with each letter. Person 1 has letter A. Person 2 has letter B and so on. When each person has had a turn, start back with person 1 and the next letter in the alphabet.

2. The Yes/No Game

I heard this one being played by a family as we were waiting in our doctor’s office and my kids wanted to add it to our game list. Its possibilities are really endless and can go on as long as you want to play.

Person 1 asks a question and everyone else has to say yes or no. That’s all. No explanations or qualifiers or anything else, just yes or no. For example, “Do you like the color blue?” Yes or no from everyone. Then you can go to the next person to ask a question, or you can have person 1 ask another question. You would decide before starting how many questions each person asks before it is the next person’s turn.

It’s a really fun way to find out what people do and don’t like–especially the people you think you know best!

3. Would You Rather?

This one is kind of similar to the Yes/No game, since you’re going to be learning about what everyone playing feels or would choose in each situation.

The first person asks everyone which of two things they would rather have or do or be, and everyone else has to say which one they would rather. The answer can’t be neither or both.

For example, would you rather eat pizza or hamburgers every day? or would you rather be a dog or a cat? Or would you rather have a tiny left hand or a giant left hand?

4. Word Association Game

This one is a lot of fun, and requires no skill whatsoever. Person 1 starts and play goes around to each person, then starts back at person 1. Determine before you start how many turns each person gets so you know when to stop.

The first person says a word and the next person has to say the first word that comes to their mind, followed by the next person and the next etc. After each person has had the number of turns as you decided on in the beginning, compare the first word and the last word said. How different are they? How similar?

5. I Spy

There’s a reason that I Spy has endured the generations–it’s just classic and simple and anyone can do it. For little ones it can help with colors. For older kids it can help foster creativity because they’re trying to think of harder things to spy.

The first person looks around and finds an something they want as their “thing to spy” and then says, “I spy with my little eye, something that is ______ (whatever color the thing is)” and everyone takes turns trying to guess what the thing that was spied.

Keeping kids entertained while waiting–whether traveling and waiting in an airport, restaurant or in line for Disneyland, is hard. Buuuut, by playing some of the games above you’re practically guaranteed to have fun for at least a few minutes.

Good luck and happy travels!

The post 5 Games to Make Traveling with Kids Easier appeared first on Vibrant Mom Society.

I’m sure it’s happened before…you’re trying to get dinner on the table for your hungry family and your child wants to help…

Your blood pressure rises as you envision how much longer it’s going to take. Not to mention the much bigger mess it will make. You say in your most disappointed, sorry voice that it’s just not very fun and that they won’t like it, then hurry them out to go do something–anything–until dinner is ready.

But….then you feel bad because you actually do want your kids to learn how to cook and enjoy helping in the kitchen. You know that once they really know what to do that’s less cooking for you!

I know. I get it. I’ve totally been there, and heck, sometimes I still would rather just do it myself because it’s faster and easier. But, I’ve also learned that having my kids in the kitchen is a pretty fun way to spend time with them.

Here are three ways to teach kids to cook by letting them help in the kitchen while you all stay calm and have fun.

Pick the right time to start

Is there a right time and a wrong time to teach kids to cook? YES!

The wrong time is when you’re in a hurry or constrained on time in any way. If everyone is hungry, taking extra time to show techniques or fix mistakes is not what you want to be doing.

Pick a time when you have nothing else pressing going on and everyone is pretty well fed. After a meal or snack is great. Saturdays or Sundays tend to work best for this if you have school aged children, but really any time you have some time is great.

This lets you all relax and take things slowly, which is increases patience and you child will be more likely to listen.

Start small

When you’re teaching a child kitchen skills, small and simple is the best place to start. This is not the time to make anything that takes a long time or is elaborate or requires a lot of steps.

Think about the things you want them to know what to make. What will be helpful for you and for them? These are the foods to start with, because if you don’t get very far they’ll at least have the basics.

At the beginning they’re also less likely to have a long attention span. Keeping the recipe it short and simple will give them a sense of accomplishment when they’re done.

Teach skills they can master

When starting out, kids like to know that they’ve accomplished something. They want to feel capable and proud of themselves. But, it’s hard to do when they’re trying to get good at too many things at once.

When you’re cooking together, pick a couple of skills that your child wants to learn or that you want them to know. You can also pick recipes you want them to learn to make and focus on those.

It can be any skill. Like stirring or mixing or spreading with a knife. Little ones can wash fruits and vegetables or grate cheese. If you have an older child they could learn to chop vegetables too.

We love using our Raddish Kids box to help with specific skills. For a lot more info on that, check out this post all about it.

The key is repetition. So, take the time to show them how to do it right, then have them practice. This could become their new “job” in the kitchen whenever you need it.

For example, my kids love quesadillas. I got tired of grating cheese all the time so I taught my daughters how to use the cheese grater and grate the cheese. It took some practice, but now they do it perfectly fine on their own.

Now they get the tortillas, grate their cheese, put them on a plate and microwave it until the cheese melts. They love being self sufficient and doing it themselves.

Even little ones can wash fruits and veggies if they have a stool, and it does feel like a big help to them.

If you want your kids to help in the kitchen without you losing your patience and it taking way longer than necessary, pick the right time to start, start small, and teach them skills they can master.

One of my favorite recipes to get started with is Healthy Gluten Free Granola because it’s very simple and they can practice measuring and stirring skills.

The post Teach Kids To Cook by Helping in the Kitchen appeared first on Vibrant Mom Society.

I am an avid reader. When I was two years old my mom put all of my books in the bottom drawer of my dresser so that I had access to them whenever I wanted. If I was being too quiet, she would come check on me only to find all of them spread around me with at least one on my lap open and me studying the pictures and trying to read the words.

So, when I became a mom I knew that I was going to raise readers too. I had grand visions of recreating what I loved to do as a toddler.

But you know what happens to grand parenting visions when you have real, live children…they don’t always look quite the same.

All three of my kids were early readers. My oldest likes to read often for fun and can often be found with a book in his hand. My youngest adores stories and has a goal to be the best reader in her class this year.

But the middle one. Oh my. She is the definition of a reluctant reader who needs lots of encouragement. Getting her to read just what she’s required is hard! She doesn’t want to do it and honestly, I’ve struggled because it’s not something I understand very well.

But, because books are so important in our family, these are some things that I have done to encourage my children to read and they’ve have helped her become a better reader and enjoy it more.

Encourage children to read by starting early.

This one is pretty basic. Because when they’re little, it’s pretty easy. Read to them every day as much as you can. Before nap time, bed time, and any time in between. You choose the books, and they mostly listen to what you read. Creating that habit and culture of books in your home is essential.

I mean, there could be some children like Matilda, Roald Dahl’s character who has parents who discourage reading, who still loves it anyway. But, you’re much more likely to need to encourage your children to read.

Some ways that I practiced this was by talking to them all. the. time. I kept books all over the house. We played games involving stories (I’ll get to more on that in a bit). And I just made books an expectation.

Though, like I said before, this worked with only two out of three. There’s still more to do.

Encourage children to read by reading aloud longer than you think

One of the most important things you can do is keep reading out loud to them, even after they can read for themselves. When my oldest was in preschool, I learned about The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. It’s not only full of books for every age, but includes “proven techniques and strategies for helping children of all backgrounds and abilities discover the pleasures of reading and setting them on the road to becoming lifelong readers.”

The philosophy of the book is that you should always read to your kids–even when they’re big enough to read for themselves. Because it helps them learn how words are should be pronounced and the flow of language. One day they will be more likely to pick up books in the future.

We LOVED the suggestions in that book because the books are just so good. Some books I’d never heard of that became favorites, and it includes classics that I hadn’t thought of reading to him at his age.

As he grew as an independent reader we kept up reading together before bed and took turns reading every other page. That’s actually something we still do, even though he’s in middle school. We’re currently (slowly) working our way through Harry Potter.

Encourage children to read by understanding their point of view

If you have a child that just won’t read, or it’s a struggle all of the time, ask some questions to help them–and you–understand where their reluctance is coming from.
What are they feeling?
Are they reluctant because they are struggling to understand the words or pronounce them?
Are they nervous to make mistakes?
Are they too tired at reading time?
Can they see and understand the words?

We found out that with my daughter, she didn’t ever want to read aloud (so I would actually know she was reading and didn’t just look at the page) because she was afraid of making a mistake because she doesn’t like looking “bad” at anything.

So, we had some discussions about risk taking, and how it’s ok to make mistakes. Then, shortly after that, she told us that the words were blurry. Turned out she needed glasses, so once she got those, she’s dramatically improved.

Taking the time to learn what’s happening in their head can be half the battle.

Encourage children to read by letting them choose their books

This one is hard, but especially important when you’re trying to encourage children to read. We, as parents, often research books that we think will be good for our children, (you can see some of my favorite recommendations here.) Or have ones we liked in our own childhood. And sharing them with our kids is great. But, sometimes, much to my annoyance, my kids seem to love the books I hate the most. (Why do they do that!?!)

So, what to do? Let them choose what books they want to read–within reason, of course. My middle daughter loves graphic novels. I don’t. But, she’s reading, and some of them aren’t as bad as they look. My girls will read some of them again and again.

But when they aren’t into a book, well…it doesn’t go as well. When my son was about 8 I bought him all of the Percy Jackson books in a set through the school’s book fair. I was really excited because he was at the right age and level, and I figured he’d be excited too.

Uh, not so much. He wanted nothing to do with it! He told me he just wasn’t interested. Once my mind stopped reeling, I realized that most often, letting them choose appropriate books they want is better.

Now–this is not a blanket statement. We also have a “required reading” list in our house. It’s comprised of books that are just good and should be read. So far, my son has said he’s really glad I “made” him read all of the books and wishes he’d read them sooner.

Encourage children to read by setting reading goals

Sometimes you just need the proper motivation. We went through our home library with a reading chart and made a list of books that each child wanted to read, and some books that I wanted them to read. There are about 20-25.

Now, they know which books they want to read, I know what they want to read, and I can follow along with them. We can read together if they want, and they can earn extra screen time privileges or more allowance when they finish a book. They also have to read a minimum of 20 minutes per day before electronics.

Download a copy of our chart here:

Encourage children to read by exposing them to lots of books

I mentioned this a bit farther up, but exposing your children to lots of books is a great way to encourage them to read.
Beyond just reading to them daily, this can include regular trips to the library, visiting book stores to browse–or buying books to create your own library at home.

Visiting the library–it’s truly a great way to expose kids to books. When they’re small story time is fun, interactive and social. Depending on where you live, and your children’s ages, there are many programs, activities and possibilities to learn and explore at the library.

Book stores–ah, there’s just something about a book store that makes my heart sing. And, it’s another place your children will be surrounded by books. There’s so much diversity in a book store, and obviously it’s meant for you to pick books to take home and keep forever–which can be important for some kids. This is a great route to go if you’ve borrowed something from the library that your child loves and you want to have a copy.

It’s also great for creating your own home library! A place where your child’s books live so they can visit them any time they want. We’ve gone back and forth between keeping lots of books in the kids’ rooms, and having most of them in one central place. It depends on your kids’ ages, space, and where you think they’ll read more.

For creating a home library you can also consider a subscription book box. My “reluctant reader” is starting to look forward to her books each month and deciding which ones she wants to keep and which she’s not so into. Read more about our favorite one it here.

Encourage children to read by making reading fun

Reading should be fun. So make it fun! It shouldn’t be serious and disciplined. Tell made up stories, play story-making games (the series from Story Cubes is great), make a craft related to the story, make a food related to the story if possible. Just, make it interactive and they’ll be so much more likely to respond positively.

Encourage children to read by reading yourself

This one is pretty self explanatory, but it may need mentioning. Let your kids see you reading–something other than social media on your phone! Children learn by example, and by seeing a parent read for fun, they’re more likely to want to as well.

It could be anything–from a newspaper (do people still get those?) or a magazine to a novel in print or digital.

Another option is audio books. I don’t particularly like them, but they’re all my husband “reads.” And they can be great while you’re doing other tasks–like washing dishes, cooking, driving in the car etc. as long as it’s kid appropriate ; )

Encourage children to read by just doing your best

Raising children who enjoy reading is not guaranteed, no matter what foundation you give them. And sometimes they’ll look like they’re taking steps forward, but then go back. But, the important thing is progress and enjoyment.

Hopefully these ideas will help you along the way to helping you encourage your children to read and become a confident reader. Good luck!

The post How to Encourage Children to Read appeared first on Vibrant Mom Society.