Margo Wayman

 

Plant and Tree Word Search P A J M D N O L E M G I O C I L R A G H L O P E M O C P D F B N P K T T E E S B R R E A S U B A G N A U O L L U P S W I R R V O T M R S I L X Z A Y M S S Y K E N A D C N R I B P E E S A C A F A H D A E G T A C J I P T E P L E F O N H G E I E K S J N L I A S N H B U A I W S M T N R O E C O K S I R A M A T A N B Y P S D E E R B N V A C A C I A N U Q S WORD LIST FOR PUZZLE tamarisk acacia papyrus lotus thistle onion garlic spinach reeds bananas broomrape dates figs melon pomegranate leeks peas beans jacaranda palms A Kid's Crossword Puzzle.  Click Here Write each of the words from the word list onto separate smaller pieces of paper. Fold up and put into a bowl. Hand out M&M’s, jellybeans, or some other edible ‘markers’ to each child. Pick a word out of the bowl and read it. If that child has that word on their card, they place a marker on it. When someone gets all the words in a row, they call out Bingo! "A LITTLE SQUIRT!" The morning sun shone down on the grove of citrus trees that stood next to the rapid flowing river, their roots firmly embedded in the rich black soil. Each tree was heavily laden with ripe, juicy oranges, ready to burst open and release their fragrant, sweet tasting flesh. Thabit, the rabbit, climbed out of her burrow, yawned, stretched and welcomed the rays of the sun as they danced on her soft gray fur and long whiskers. She was feeling hungry this morning. Her nose began to twitch as she sniffed the air for something delicious. The scent of the oranges drifted her way. Her bright pink eyes flickered as the sun danced in them, then off she hopped towards her morning meal. Thabit reached the first tree at the edge of the grove and looked up at the many fruits hanging from the heavy, bent over branches. With just a slight springy jump she plucked off several oranges and lay them next to her on the ground. She selected one and carefully peeled back the thick skin. Juice squirted onto her gray fur as each delicious section appeared. Thabit pulled the sections apart with her large, white front teeth and popped the fleshy orange into her mouth. She felt an orange pip inside her cheek and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it, so she spit it out. Kasib, a fluffy, wooly, brown sheep chose that moment to walk by. The spit out seed hit him right on his black nose. He stopped, looked down at the pip that had bounced off him, then let out a loud and angry baa. After glaring for a few moments at Thabit, he walked away. Thabit felt bad but kept on eating her orange. Each section had a large pip in it. She spit the next one out. It flew through the air and landed right on the leathery ear of Cantara. It stuck to her light coating of fur. Cantara was on her way to be milked at the other side of the grove, when she felt the pip hit her ear. She stopped, looked at Thabit angrily and mooed loudly. Thabit had to fold her long ears down because the noise was so loud. Cantara glared at her again, shook the sticky pip off her ear, and moved on. Thabit again felt bad, but was so hungry that she kept on eating the juicy fruit. She decided to hold one or two in her mouth and looked first to make sure no one was strolling by. Seeing no one, she spit the two seeds out. They went flying through the air and landed right on Sabra, the snake, as she slithered along in the dirt. Sabra began to hiss loudly, very annoyed at Thabit. She hissed and hissed and coiled up tightly, like she was going to bite the rabbit. Thabit hopped back a few hops, afraid of the angry snake, but felt relief as Sabra slithered into the river. From then on, Thabit kept all the seeds in her mouth. She ate one orange after another until her little cheeks were filled with orange pips. The ground around her paws was covered with thick orange rind. Suddenly Thabit needed to sneeze. "Aaaaaaacccchhoooooooooooooooo!" Dozens of slippery orange pips went flying into the air. They pelted Omar, the ostrich, as he happened to run by at that unlucky moment. Pips hit him on his beak, his beautiful tail feathers, his long, bald, spiny neck and head and his muscular wings. Omar stopped and looked at the rabbit. He ran over to her and cackled loudly in her face. His long neck and head bobbed up and down, his tail feathers and wings flapped up and down and he was very angry. After he finished his tantrum, off he ran through the citrus grove to the bank of the river to wash himself off. That was enough for Thabit. From then on she would not eat any more oranges in the orange grove. She took the rest of her oranges down to the river and sat down. The water sounded peaceful as it rushed by. She peeled her orange and popped the juicy flesh into her mouth. She spit the pip into the water without having to worry about it hitting any animals passing by. Just then, Farso, the bright green fish, came rushing up to the surface, blowing bubbles angrily. Thabit sighed. After the fish went back under the water, she gently rolled the rest of the oranges into the water and watched as they bobbed up and down, floating away rapidly. From then on, she never ate another orange or any other fruit with pips in it. Instead of oranges, lemons and limes, she nibbled on figs, bananas and crunchy carrots. And all the other animals that lived along the muddy banks of the swift flowing river were happier too. Plants, Trees and Flowers Recipes Apple Smiles Apples Miniature marshmallows Peanut Butter Cut your apple into wedges. Take out seeds. Take two wedges and spread peanut butter on one side. Stick marshmallows on the peanut butter on one of the apples. Put he other apple wedge on top to look like the apples are lips and the marshmallows are teeth. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Apples Apple Peanut butter Chocolate chips Rice krispies Raisins Cut apple in half. Spread peanut butter on the apple half. Dip your apple half into chocolate chips, rice krispies and raisins. The harder the child pushes down on the apple, the more goodies will stick to it. Eat it. Cabbage Cole Slaw with Worms 1 cabbage head 2 carrots 1/3 c. sugar ½ t. salt 1/8 t. pepper ¼ c. milk ½ c. mayonnaise ¼ c. buttermilk 1 ½ t. vinegar 2 ½ T. lemon juice 18 gummy worms Shred and chop the cabbage and carrots. Beat the rest of the ingredients together, except the worms. Add it to the cabbage and carrot mix. Toss lightly, then add the gummy worms. Orange Balls ¾ c. powdered sugar ¾ c. cocoa 1 to 2 oranges 1 box Nilla wafers ¾ c. powdered sugar ¼ c. cocoa 1 ½ c. pecans 3 T. light corn syrup Put ¾ c. powdered sugar into a shallow dish. Put ¾ c. cocoa into another dish. Grate the zest (the orange part of the skin) and set aside. Grind up the Nilla wafers. Add ¾ c. powdered sugar to the crumbs. Then add ¼ c. cocoa, pecans, and corn syrup. Cut the oranges in halves. Squeeze the juice to get ½ c. and add to the crumbs. Mix. Shape into 1" balls, Roll in the powdered sugar and cocoa. They’re ready to eat after refrigerating for an hour or two. Bunny Salad Place crisp lettuce leaf down on a plate. Put one chilled pear half upside down on top of the lettuce. Use two raisins and make eyes, 1 red cinnamon candy for its nose, 2 blanched almonds for ears, and a small cottage cheese ball for its tail. Fruit Dip 1 c. unsweetened applesauce 1 c. nonfat vanilla yogurt 1 t. ground cinnamon ¼ t. nutmeg Mix together. Cut up your favorite fruits and dip them in. Enjoy. Fresh Mango Crisp 5 c. ripe mangoes, peeled, thinly sliced 1 ½ t. cinnamon ¼ t. nutmeg 1 T. lemon juice ¼ c. soft brown butter ½ c. brown sugar ½ c. flour Mix mangoes, nutmeg, lemon juice, and 1 t. cinnamon. Place in a buttered 10x6x2" glass baking dish. Set aside. Blend butter and brown sugar. Pour in flour and remaining cinnamon. Mix till crumbly. Drop evenly over mango slices. Cook in a microwave for 9-11 minutes, turning after five minutes. Serve warm with scoop of vanilla ice cream, or cold with Cool Whip. Mini-Mango Muffins ½ c. whole wheat flour ½ c. flour 2 T. wheat germ 2 T. brown sugar, firm packed ½ t. baking soda 1/8 t. salt ½ c. ripe mangoes, mashed 1 ½ T. vegetable oil 1 egg, beaten 2 ¼ t. skim milk 1 ½ t. vanilla ¼ t. coconut extract ¼ t. almond extract Combine first six ingredients into a large bowl. Measure accurately. Make a well, or hole in center of this. Combine the mango, oil, milk, flavorings, and pour into the well. Stir just until moist. Spoon into a lightly greased muffin tin. Fill each up ¾ full. Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from pan right away, carefully, and let cool on a wire rack. Banana Split Salad A banana 2 T. fruit preserves of your choice 2 T. Cool Whip Lettuce Raisins Split the banana down the center. Put it on a bed of lettuce. Spread the preserves on the banana, then dollop Cool Whip on. Top with raisins. Pomegranate Punch 1 c. pomegranate juice 1 c. orange juice ¼ c. lemon juice 2 c. water 1 c. sugar 1 quart gingerale Chill all ingredients. Dissolve sugar in water and combine with pomegranate, orange and lemon juice. Add gingerale and serve. You can also add pineapple juice if you’d like. See also Color Me Egypt, Just for Kids.  Our children's section has stories by Margo Wayman as well as other activities.