Let the Kids Bake Cookies in Their Own Solar Oven!

Not only is a simple solar oven easy to make, they actually work! And they're perfect for camping trips. Now we can bake up some fresh cookies while we're camping, something we've never been able to do before and you can too.
Here's how. The first thing you need to do is to save your pizza boxes. One per child. The pizza box becomes the oven.
Close the lid of the pizza box as if you were keeping your pizza warm.
Let the kids decorate the outside of their pizza boxes or you can paint or cover the outside in black paint or paper.
Using a sharp knife (parent supervision here or a parent does this part depending on the age of the child) cut along three sides of the pizza box lid, about an inch or two from the edges. This should create a flap.
On the inside of this flap, use some regular white glue and apply tin foil to the entire inside area of the flap. Try your best to get out all the creases from the foil as you press it against the flap.
Now, open up the lid and line the inside of the whole lid with saran wrap or plastic wrap. You want to make this is as snug as you can, creating a nice seal along the edges of the inside of the lid of your pizza box.
This will create a window where you just created your flap.
Using tin foil again line the entire inside of the pizza box.
Find a stick or other sturdy stick like object and after you've closed the lid, open up the flap and hold it open with your stick or other object. Face in the direction of the sun and it won't take long for the inside of your pizza box to heat up.
When you're ready to bake some cookies place the dough in small cookie balls, slightly flattened inside your new oven. With the box lid closed and the flap held open, face your oven into the sun and wait for your cookies to bake!
Baking in a solar oven will take a little longer than in a regular oven depending on the temperature but well worth the wait.
Happy Camping!

Leanne Arnott invites you to read more articles about taking your family camping or going on a family hiking trip at http://www.family-camping-and-hiking.com. You can add your submissions on many topics and subscribe to our monthly ezine.