stART: Cupcake

While browsing the library shelves after story time, the cutest book caught my eye. Maybe it was the bright colors, or maybe it was because it was past lunchtime and there was a giant cupcake on the cover. In either case, I flipped though it and brought it home.

The book tells the story of Vanilla Cupcake, a lil guy who is so happy when he first comes out of the oven, but is soon saddened and thinking less of himself when he is the last

cupcake left in the plate ; not chosen because he is so plain when compared to his colorful brothers and sisters. I thought the story had something to offer - teaching self love while also giving insight to the fact that there is no pleasing everyone.

Anyhow, the kids liked the story well enough but what they really seemed to enjoy was the craft and activity that followed. I cut out cupcake tops and bottoms using all kinds of materials and let the kids decide how to pair them up and decorate using the stash of "stuff" that has collected in my craft closet. They both really took their time and it was very rewarding for me to watch - I did spend a good amount of time preparing after all!

The follow-up activity was a trip to a small local bakery to buy us each a cupcake. Yeah, that was fun :) It smelled soOooOOO good in there and the choices were a bit overwhelming. The book has a recipe for baking vanilla cupcakes, but I thought a mini field trip was more up our alley for this week. Besides, the dishwasher was acting wonky and I didn't want to make a big baking mess ;)