Monday, March 7, 2011

Hedgehogs, hedgehogs...

Michael and I just love Hedgehogs.  I think it began with this Jan Brett book. If you are as in love with Jan Brett as we are you'll love this Free Jan Brett Activities page.  I love this idea, for Hedgehog cookies. 


After I made this little wooden Hedgehog for Christmas we decided we needed to learn more about our new little friend.


I added this poem to our circle time.

Prickly ball, unroll yourself-
Show your sniffly snout,
Show your shining little eyes, 
Patter all about;
Prickly ball unrolls himself-
Comes a hedgehog out!  
(Spring, Whynstones)

We learned a few facts from National Geographic, Kids. Like why they curl up into a ball and why they have prickly spines.  What they eat, etc.  There's also a cute little video and audio of the sounds they make.


 For baking day we made Hedgehog hard rolls.  I found this idea on Rhythm of the Home, here


Michael's favorite part of bread making is the punch at the end of the first rising.  I used a wheat hard roll recipe from one of my cookbooks.


As you can see I can't seem to catch Michael unaware anymore.  He is always the ham!



We didn't have any currants or cranberries for the eyes and nose.  So we used a combo of Coriander and Peppercorns.  I made sure the kids didn't eat them.  (Can you imagine?!)


We had so much fun with them we just had to invite some friends for an impromptu hedgehog party.  Homemade chicken soup and hedgehog rolls.  The boys loved them! 


The next day I found another project we just had to try.  This on Zakka Life.  Pom pom hedgehogs!

Introducing Meadow and Clover.  I used what wool I had- a medium and dark brown and some cream upcycled felt. Michael made the pom poms and I sewed the faces.  He loves them! They've found their way into our bed time stories as well and have taken on a life of their own.


 Until next time...

14 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you made the rolls! they are such fun. We're on a hedgehog kick, too--hard to not be!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those rolls are too cute!! I wish I'd have known about them when I wrote my blog entry about the book!! Thanks for sharing!!

    Hallie

    http://books2bridgemiles.blogspot.com/2010/11/mitten-and-hats-from-washington.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. We love hedgies and Jan Brett too. Lacey (who authored the hedgehog rolls) is actually a friend of mine and we made those rolls too, but with mini chocolate chip eyes and nose. I love those little pompom hedgies too. How fun!

    ReplyDelete
  4. oh.my.goodness! Love these hedgehogs ~ all of them! Too cute. Thanks for sharing.
    much love
    Shanti

    ReplyDelete
  5. you have the most fun... i learn from you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh what a fun week at your house! I'm bookmarking this one!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh I'm bookmarking this one- what fun!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Here's the recipe I used. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Whole-Wheat-Dinner-Rolls

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Just found your wonderful blog. What fun. I also "tried" to make the hedgehog pompom animals and cannot seem to make the face look right. How did you nestle the felt on to the hedgehog - mine just looks like it's sitting on top of the yarn. Yours are precious. I want mine to look precious too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi quazymama. Thank you! and welcome!

    I had trouble with that as well. I glued the back edge of the face and just pushed it in as far as I could. Then I glued some of the fur forward along side the face. That way it looks more set in than it is. Hope that makes sense.

    Becca

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yes, thank you. I'll try that. And I love your wool - much better than yarn. What exactly is it? So adorable. I'm such a copy-cat.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi! The dark brown is Lamb's Pride Bulky. It's 85% wool and 15% Mohair. The other color is a bulky wool yarn as well though I don't remember the brand now, sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Cute - We live in Germany and one day my daughter and I had a funny language moment regarding hedgehogs. - Here's the link if you are interested. http://highhillhomeschool.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-love-your-eagle-german-pre-school.html

    ReplyDelete
  14. So clever, they look so cute and delicious! Thanks for sharing them :-)

    ReplyDelete

Welcome to my sweet little part of the world! Please come by often and leave a comment! I love to get your feedback and know that my friends and family have visited!