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Polar Bear Day Family Activity Pack – free printables

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Polar Bear Family Activity Pack

polar bear sitting on ice block next to penguin in the artic continent as they both stare off into the distance

February 27th is International Polar Bear Day so to celebrate them I’ve created some fun activity sheets! To promote team work, these pages are meant to be done as a family but can be used as a homeschool resource instead for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd graders.

Polar Bear Fun Facts

  • their skin is actually black, not white but since their fur is translucent, and only appears white because it reflects visible light.
  • the polar bears scientific name means “sea bear”
  • they can be found living in 5 different countries: United States (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Greenland, and Norway
  • these guys can swim for days in open water without rest and can swim up to 6 miles per hour.
  • polar bears are classified as marine mammals and are the only bear species to be considered marine mammals
  • male polar bears can weigh as much as 10 men and are twice the size of females.
  • they have a very strong sense of smell, which they use to find seal breathing holes in the ice. Once it has found the hole, the bear will wait patiently until the seal comes up for air to attack. They can even detect a seal in the water beneath a meter of compacted snow.

Scroll down for your free Polar Bear Activity Pack

polar bear fun facts for kids
intricate polar bear coloring page to promote mindfulness
polar bear word scramble
polar bear dot to dot

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you but I only recommend products that I actually use and love. Read the full disclosure here.

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pinterest pin for polar bear family activity pack with basic polar bear information and fun facts.

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How To Make A 4 Leaf Clover Pinata

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How To Make A 4 Leaf Clover Pinata

Follow along as I show you just how easy it is to make this 4 leaf clover pinata – perfect for st patricks day.

4 leaf clover shamrock pinata decorated in dark green, green, and pastel green cardstock with dark green fringe along the edges. it is sitting on a vintage oak hutch with 12 U.S. golden dollar coins sitting to the right of it.

You’re probably thinking “why would I make a Mexican pinata for St Patricks Day”? The answer is clear, BECAUSE YOU CAN’T HAVE A FUN PARTY WITHOUT A PINATA.

In all seriousness though I love making this lucky charm with my kids because it’s an excuse to bash something in and seeing their eyes glisten when golden dollars go flying out of the pinata is so heart warming.

I actually thought I was the only one that would ever make a 4 leaf clover pinata but I recently came across a subscriber on my Youtube channel who mentioned her friends do an Extreme Green party for St. Pattys Day and that one comment made this entire post so worth my time.

since I make piñatas specifically for my kids, I’ve included some fun St. Patrick’s Day themed coloring pages for your kiddos as an extra bonus freebie. fill out the form below to get yours.

scroll down for free downloadable pinata template or St. Patricks Day coloring pages

keep scrolling down to the bottom for free pinata template downloads

These instructions are for a 4 leaf clover pinata but the steps apply for any pinata you want to make.

INSTRUCTIONS – 4 leaf clover pianta

  1. trace & cut
    • trace 2 identical 4 leaf clovers (one for the front and one for the back of the pinata) onto cardboard then cut them out with a box cutter or xacto knife. You can use scissors but it will be more difficult. (free download for 4 leaf clover piñata is located at end of post)

The best cardboard to use for piñatas are the Costco carboard sheets because they’re the perfect thickness/thiness. They are usually stuffed in between the steel cages or within layers of product but if you can’t find any, just ask an employee for a SLIP SHEET – they’ll know what you mean.

Any cardboard will work though. For this 4 leaf clover pinata, I’m using the packaging box from my daughter’s Disney Frozen table.

cutting out a 4 leaf clover shape using a box cutter
  1. sides
    • with the leftover cardboard, cut out a bunch of 4″ wide strips – these will be the sides. The length doesn’t matter, but be sure to cut against the corrugation.
a pile of 4" wide cardboard strips
dotted line going across a piece of cardboard
  1. assemble
    • using masking tape, start attaching the 4″ cardboard strips to one of the 4 leaf clover cut outs. Do this until you have gone all the way around.

DO NOT ATTACH THE OTHER 4 LEAF CLOVER CUT OUT YET.

1 piece of masking tape being attached to 4 leaf clover pinata template
4 leaf clover pinata being assembled using masking tape and cardboard
4 leaf clover pinata with bottom and sides assembled
  1. attaching the rope + rope cardboard piece
    • staple a leftover 4″ side cardboard piece where you want the rope to be (this will give the pinata some extra strength when the candy is added)
    • poke 2 holes wherever you want the rope to be
    • loop it through the holes then tie a knot at each end to secure it in place
    • give it a good tug to make certain it’s secure
placing an extra piece of cardboard where the handle for the 4 leaf clover pinata will go
poking 2 holes for the 4 leaf clover pinata rope to loop through
half finished 4 leaf clover pinata with handle attached
  1. toughening up the pinata
    • This step is optional but I highly recommend doing it. It’s extra work but well worth it in the end.
    • Fold one of your 4″ strips to resemble a toilet paper roll and glue it in the center of your pinata.

If you made a larger pinata then add a few more pieces but spaced apart. The more you add the tougher the pinata will be.

toilet paper roll
toilet paper roll glued to center of the 4 leaf clover pinata
  1. attach the other side
    • attach the other 4 leaf clover pinata cut out using masking tape.
masking tape being use to hold together a shamrock pinata
  1. reinforce
    • To make sure all parts of the pinata stay in place, tape long pieces of masking tape around the entire pinata. Use the same motion as if you were winding up a ball of yarn.

I used blue painters tape here for a better visual but I don’t recommend using painters tape because it does not stick well.

blue painters tape wrapped around 4 leaf clover pinata

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  1. decorate
    • click one of the tutorials below
pinata decorated with white buther paper and outlined with black paint to look like a coloring page
Traditional Mexican Pinata made using green fringed crepe paper
st patricks day pinata decorated with dark and light green card stock

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Pin It: 4 leaf clover stuffs

4 leaf clover pinata turtorial pinterest pin

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This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you but I only recommend products that I actually use and love. Read the full disclosure here.

Easy Valentine’s Day Bagels

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Easy Valentine’s Day Bagels

Showing just how easy it is to make your own delicious bagels at home and with a step by step guide on how to shape each one into a cute heart, perfect for your loved ones.

7 sourdough heart shaped bagels laying on dark wooden cutting board

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you but I only recommend products that I actually use and love. Read the full disclosure here.

Even if you’ve never made bagels before, you’ll soon be a bagel expert because I’m gonna show you everything I know!

scroll to bottom for printable recipe

My kids especially love when there are home made bagels cooking because it almost always means we’ll be backroading or off-roading in our old pick-up truck to have a picnic in the hills.

3 kids and dad having a bagel sandwich picnic in the hills

Our favorite thing to do with bagel bread is use them to make sandwiches since the everything bagel seasoning gives the sandwich such delicious flavor.

And to make them even more special, every now and then, I’ll shape them into little hearts just to remind my family that I love them ;).

It took a few trial and errors before getting them to keep their cute heart shape because they like to fatten up in the boiling water but my pain is your gain!

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The Tattooed Momma

I’m gonna show you exactly how to get it right, and if you don’t, I show you how to fix it to make it still look like they’re perfect.

scroll down for printable version

INSTRUCTIONS – valentine’s day heart bagels

1. THE NIGHT BEFORE – prep the dough
  • add sourdough starter, water, maple syrup, salt, and 2 cups flour to a stand mixer. (you can mix by hand if you don’t have a mixer).
  • set your mixer to low speed and let the dough mix for 7-10 minutes until it’s all incorporated together.
  • switch to a dough hook and add your remaining 2 cups of flour, only adding a 1/2 a cup of flour at a time.
  • mix until most of the dry spots are gone
  • roll the dough into a ball, place in a bowl, and cover it.
  • let rest overnight or at least 4 hours.
bagel dough after resting overnight, sitting on top of wooden cutting board
bagel dough after resting overnight
2. THE NEXT DAY – shape your heart bagels
  • divide dough into 10 equal pieces
  • shape your bagels using either a heart shaped cookie cutter or form your hands into a heart shape while squeezing a ball of bagel dough into your heart shaped hands. (see video for visual description).
  • poke a hole in the center of your bagel using your finger or a straw.
  • stretch the hole until it is about a nickel to a quarter size wide.
  • cover shaped bagels with a kitchen towel and let rest 1-3 hours. (if you don’t want to wait, you can move on to the next step but the longer you wait the fluffier they’ll be.)
8 uncooked bagels, 1 shaped in a valentines day heart, 7 round shaped bagels on white parchment paper
shape your bagels
3. BOIL
  • bring a pot of water to a boil and preheat oven to 425 degrees while you finish this step.
  • add 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or your sweetener of choice) to the boiling water then a little bit at a time, add 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • add a few bagels to your pot BUT DON’T CROWD THE BAGELS. leave enough room for each to puff out a bit more.
  • line your baking dish with parchment paper (or foil).
  • after 1-3 minutes, flip them so the other side boils in the baking soda/sugar water. (the time you leave them in the water is entirely up to you because the longer they boil, the puffier they get.)
  • once the bagels have reached your puffy preference, place them on your baking sheet that you’ve lined with parchment paper.
  • continue steps 4-7 until all your bagels have been boiled.
  • (optional) reshape your bagels if they got a bit wonky in the boiling water
  • (optional) add bagel toppings.
raw bagels being placed in a boiled water mixture of 1 tablespoon sugar + 1 tablespoon baking soda
boil the bagels
4. BAKE
  • place your boiled bagels in your 425 degree preheated oven for 20 minutes or until SLIGHTY GOLDEN.
  • Now, let them rest on your counter for 10 minutes to finish cooking on the inside.
slightly golden heart shaped food bagels
5. SLICE & EAT!

Valentine’s Day Heart Bagel Video Tutorial

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Yield: 10 bagels

Easy Valentine's Day Bagels

7 heart shaped baked bagels with a slightly golden crust sitting on top of a cookie tray lined with parchment paper

Heart shaped sourdough bagel recipe. see Youtube video for visuals.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Additional Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients

Bagel Dough Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sour dough starter (or 1/2 packet of active dry yeast mixed with 1/2 cup of water)
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or your sweetener of choice)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 more cups all purpose flour (set aside)

Boiled Water Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or your sweetener of choice)

Instructions

THE NIGHT BEFORE - prep your dough

  1. add sourdough starter, water, maple syrup, salt, and 2 cups flour to a stand mixer. (you can mix by hand if you don't have a mixer).
  2. set your mixer to low speed and let the dough mix for 7-10 minutes until it's all incorporated together.
  3. switch to a dough hook.
  4. adding 1/2 a cup at a time, add your remaining 2 cups of flour. (1/2cup, mix it in. 1/2cup, mix it in. 1/2 cup, mix it in. 1/2 cup, mix it in.)
  5. mix until most of the dry spots are gone
  6. roll the dough into a ball
  7. place in a bowl and cover it.
  8. let rest overnight or at least 4 hours.

THE NEXT DAY - shape the bagels

  1. divide dough into 10 equal pieces
  2. shape your bagels using either a heart shaped cookie cutter or form your hands into a heart shape while squeezing a ball of bagel dough into your heart shaped hands. (see video for visual description).
  3. poke a hole in the center of your bagel using your finger or a straw.
  4. stretch the hole until it is about a nickel to a quarter size wide.
  5. cover shaped bagels with a kitchen towel and let rest 1-3 hours. (if you don't want to wait, you can move on to the next step but the longer you wait the fluffier they'll be.)

BOIL THE WATER

  1. bring a pot of water to a boil and preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. add 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or your sweetener of choice)
  3. a little bit at a time, add 1 tablespoon baking soda
  4. add a few bagels to your pot BUT DON'T CROWD THE BAGELS. leave enough room for each to puff out a bit more.
  5. line your baking dish with parchment paper (or foil).
  6. after 1-3 minutes, flip them so the other side boils in the baking soda/sugar water. (the time you leave them in the water is entirely up to you. The longer they boil, the puffier they get.)
  7. once the bagels have reached your puffy preference, place them on your baking sheet that you've lined with parchment paper.
  8. continue steps 4-7 until all your bagels have been boiled.
  9. (optional) reshape your bagels if they got a bit wonky in the boiling water
  10. (optional) add your bagel toppings.

BAKE

  1. place your boiled bagels in your 425 degree preheated oven for 20 minutes or until SLIGHTY GOLDEN. (see youtube video for visual)
  2. let them rest on your counter for 10 minutes to finish cooking on the inside.

SLICE & EAT!

Notes

UNDERCOOKED

if your bagels are undercooked, this is mostly likely because the hole needed to be bigger to allow for even cooking. WE CAN FIX THIS! slice your bagels and place them in your toaster before eating.

UGLY BAGELS

add bagels toppings to hide mistakes. 😉

© thetattooedmomma
Cuisine: bagel / Category: sourdough