Colors - Part 1 - PINK

With two little girls in the house, I couldn't start our rainbow week with any other color! Thankfully, Little Page isn't as pink-obsessed as some young girls I know, but those two x-chromosomes practically guarantee that she has her pink, girly moments.

The Book - Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann
Little Page found this book in the library and I was loathe to read it to her. Pinkalicious? Really? It looked ridiculous, completely frivolous, and devoid of any greater moral value. One reading, however, was enough to win me over. Yes, it is ridiculous, frivolous, and also a lot of fun!

In the story, a girl eats too many pink cupcakes and turns a violent shade of pink. Her parents are horrified, but she loves it, coming up with one after another wordplays on "pink". "I'm Pinkerbelle!" The doctor diagnoses her with pinkitis and tells her that she must eat lots of green foods to turn back. Instead, she sneaks more cupcakes and, to her horror, turns bright red.

The enthusiastic tone of the book is infectious, making this an enjoyable experience to share with your little girl (or boy - there is an annoying little brother in the story!).

The Activity - Pink-frosting Cupcakes, of course!


After reading a story featuring delicious pink-frosting cupcakes, what else are we going to do but make our own. Use any cake recipe you'd like - I'm rather partial to box mixes. Store-bought frosting is gross, however, so we made our own.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
from Food Network

Ingredients

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream
• red food coloring
  

Directions
In a bowl, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency. Finally, add a few drops of food coloring and mix, continuing to add coloring until you get your desired shade of PINK!

Put frosting into a piping bag with decorating tip, if you have one. Otherwise, cut the tip off of a ziplock back and scoop frosting into the bag. Let your child squeeze the frosting onto the cupcake - as much as she likes! Enjoy... but be on the lookout for pinkitis!