Our PreSchool Blog

Another cooking day is here! Today we read If you give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff and talked about cooking at home. The boys and girls did a great job adding the ingredients and helping to mix it all together. The children really enjoyed making these yummy Carrot Muffins!

Summer has yet to make it’s official arrival, however, the weather has fooled us!  To kick off the season to come, we made Summer Fruit Pizza.  This delicious, kid friendly recipe was a blast to make, and even more fun to eat!

Summer Fruit Pizza:

Pillsburry pizza dough

Cream Cheese

Blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, bananas, and mandarin oranges

Directions:

1. Bake pizza crust according to package directions

2. Cut up fruit while pizza dough is cooking

3. Spread cooked dough with cream cheese, and then top with cut up fruit

Today we  read Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert.  After reading about vegetable soup we made our own! The children helped pour in the vegetables, add the water and stir it up. I hope everyone enjoyed our yummy vegetable soup!

It’s that time of year again!  As we eagerly await the arrival of the Easter bunny, we need to practice our egg hunting skills!  A big thank you to all of you who helped make this a fun occasion by sending in pre-filled Easter eggs.  We are thrilled that every child brought in eggs to share and had a blast participating!

Throughout the year, we have been learning about different country’s habitats.  Everything from the tundra of Greenland to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia taught us how different animals thrive in different living conditions.  This month, we had the zoo come in for a special visit.  This time, we got to pet a baby alligator and a hedgehog!  We learned that alligators like to live in dirty water (yuck!), and hedgehogs live in sand.

A cooking day is upon us once again!  The weather has turned and it’s time to head outside and enjoy the sun and warmth.  Here is an easy snack to put together and bring on those long walks, hikes or car rides:

Talkin’ Trail Mix:

Ingredients:

1 cup Chex Mix

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup yogurt rasins

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup almonds (we did not use these in our mixture today)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

On a foil lined baking sheet, combine almonds, pumpkin seeds, and coconut. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until coconut is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool thoroughly.  Combine all of the ingredients into a bowl, mix and enjoy!

In the rainforest, there are lots of animals that use their tails for practical purposes.  One example is the monkey.  Monkey’s swing from tree to tree using their tails.  Today, Miss Krista, our zoo animal expert, introduced us to two animals that have significant uses for their tails.

Meet Angelina: She is a type of bird called a galaf.  She likes to be in trees with bright pink flowers.  She eats seeds, nuts and fruits.  Her tail has two uses: to balance in trees and to help slow her down to land when she is flying.

Meet Cornflower:  He is a blue tongued lizard.  He uses his tongue to smell.  He eats flies, worms, flowers and loves snails!  His tail is used to help him climb rocks.

Did you wear your green today??  Our room was full of green, white and yellow as we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day.  Our day started off with a visit from a wee little leprechaun who left us not only a highly guarded pot ‘o gold, but some leprechaun dust, his shoes and hat!!  We never did find him, but we sure enjoyed a piece of his chocolate coins.  Here are some fun facts about St. Patrick’s Day:

-Leprechauns stem from Irish folktale.  In Ireland, they are not associated with St. Patrick, which makes leprechauns an Americanized symbol of St. Patrick’s Day.

-St. Patrick is actually English.

-March 17 is the day of St. Patrick’s death, hence St. Patrick’s Day.

There are lots of unique dishes that come from Brazil, but none as tasty as biscoitos de maiz.  These cornmeal cookies are popular in Brazil, and easy to make.  The children enjoyed making this yummy Brazilian representation!

Biscoitos de Maiz (cornmeal cookies)

2 cups cornmeal

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2tsp salt

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter

¼ tsp vanilla extract

1. Place the cornflour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and blend thoroughly then add the butter and mix well.
3. Set aside for 15 minutes to rest.
4. Preheat oven to 375.  Line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment paper
5. Form the dough into 1-inch balls and place on the lined baking sheets, spreading well apart. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

The fashion show is only two days away and the children are ready to make their runway debut!  The boys and girls strutted their stuff while we practiced lining up and walking the runway.  With some twirls, poses and smiles, everyone enjoyed practicing for their big moment!