Scarecrows!

So, we've spent the last couple of days reading scarecrow books and completing a ton of scarecrow worksheets, so what better way to wrap it up than a scarecrow lunch? Oh, and we made butterscotch haystacks today, too. Yum! These are staple 'cookies' in our Christmas baking extravaganza, but they often go overlooked on the holiday platter. This year, it just made sense to make them for the fall, as they seemed more appropriate for that holiday. Hopefully, they can get their proper respect on the Thanksgiving dessert table... if they make it until then, that is.

Chicken salad (recipe to come), Swiss cheese, butterscotch haystack, orange bell peppers, and white/rye bread scarecrow boy with American and Swiss cheese accents.

Our lunch was based on the book, The Little Scarecrow Boy, by Margaret Wise Brown. But, we made ours 'the little CuteZCute scarecrow boy'! I think he turned out awfully cute. We used the main cutter for the head and hat, then the frog face cutter to make the mouth and ears. We packed it all in our EasyLunchBoxes!

I also decided to get a bit more organized with our worksheets and themed projects. Before I knew it, I had tons of printouts for scarecrows. Gah.. wait until you see Thanksgiving. My poor kid will be working on them well into Christmas. I'll be posting a bit more detail on how I'm organizing these sorts of things from here on out (hopefully), but in the meantime, I at least want to mention a couple folks I found inspiration and materials from. Thanks 1+1+1=1 and 2 Teaching Mommies.

Butterscotch Haystacks 
I know there are versions out there with peanut butter, peanuts, chocolate, raisins, etc., but ours are simply 2 ingredients, and they are perfect! You need 1 bag of butterscotch chips, which I strongly advise you splurge and get the name brand of, as it makes all the difference. You also need 1 large can of chow mien noodles. Most of the time, I just buy the big bag of chow mien and 2 bags of chips, though. Perfect! Melt your chips using whatever method you prefer. Stir in the chow mien to coat. Drop by spoonful on wax paper to let set. Store covered, and keep in a cool, dry place. Yum!

In this lunch...